Monday, Oct 28, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering the death of the Islamic State leader, the threat posed by California’s wildfires and an announced resignation from the House.

By Chris Stanford

Breaking

The European Union will extend the deadline for Britain to leave the bloc by three months, to Jan. 31, one of its leaders said.

The news of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death was broadcast in Najaf, Iraq, on Sunday. Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters

The hunt for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The planning that resulted in Mr. al-Baghdadi’s death over the weekend began last summer, when the C.I.A. learned roughly where he was in northwestern Syria. The information came after the arrest and interrogation of one of Mr. al-Baghdadi’s wives and a courier, two American officials told The Times.

The C.I.A. worked with Iraqi and Kurdish intelligence officials to more precisely identify Mr. al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts. Our reporters reconstructed a timeline of the operation, which was complicated by the U.S. military’s withdrawal from northern Syria this month.

On Sunday, President Trump gave a vivid account of Mr. al-Baghdadi’s death after a five-year manhunt. “He died like a dog,” Mr. Trump said. “He died like a coward.” Watch his announcement.

Mr. Trump said that Mr. al-Baghdadi had detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three children who were with him, after being pursued through a tunnel by U.S. military dogs. No Americans were killed in the operation, although two were injured, as was a dog.

Closer look: See the raid site and learn more about the process used to identify Mr. al-Baghdadi’s remains.

Background: Mr. al-Baghdadi, 48, was the world’s most wanted terrorist chieftain, having transformed the Islamic State into a global network.

Quotable: “The irony of the successful operation against al-Baghdadi is that it could not have happened without U.S. forces on the ground that have been pulled out, help from Syrian Kurds who have been betrayed, and support of a U.S. intelligence community that has so often been disparaged,” said Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. Read more from our national security correspondent.

What’s next: Mr. al-Baghdadi’s death is a significant blow to the Islamic State, but the largely decentralized group still poses a threat, analysts said.

A home on fire in Healdsburg, Calif., on Sunday, when Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency. Eric Thayer for The New York Times

In California, ‘no water, no power, no anything’

The number of Northern California residents under mandatory evacuation orders climbed to 180,000 on Sunday, as the state battled wildfires driven by dry conditions and wind gusts of 80 miles per hour or more.

As a precaution, California’s largest utility cut power to as many as 2.7 million people, the largest intentional blackout in the state’s history. Officials said they might extend the outages.

Go deeper: Our maps show the extent of the power cuts, the evacuation areas and the fires. Times photographers are also documenting the fires.

Boeing pushed for reduced oversight

The company lobbied for and helped shape legislation last year that essentially undercut the government’s role in approving airplane designs, a Times investigation has revealed.

When the bill was being written, the Federal Aviation Administration and a labor group representing inspectors raised safety concerns.

Weeks after the law was passed, a Boeing 737 Max jet crashed off Indonesia, killing everyone aboard. The Max was grounded after a second deadly crash less than five months later.

How we know: The Times interviewed more than 50 regulators, industry executives, congressional staff members and lobbyists, and examined drafts of the bill and federal documents.

What’s next? Boeing’s chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, is to testify before Congress this week.

If you have some time, this is worth it

One year, 200 dispatches

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

It’s been just over a year since The Times started its Dispatches series, in which our global correspondents look at an often fleeting moment in a particular place.

So far, they’ve covered suicidal dogs, chic bees, icy marathons and South Korean grandmothers, above, learning to read. Discover more here.

Here’s what else is happening

Test for impeachment inquiry: A former deputy national security adviser, Charles Kupperman, is expected to defy a subpoena today as he awaits a federal court ruling on whether he can speak to House investigators.

Lawmaker to step down: Representative Katie Hill, Democrat of California, said she would resign after less than 10 months in office. She was accused of violating House rules by having a sexual relationship with a staff member.

Leftist victory in Argentina: As the country struggles with a deep recession, President Mauricio Macri was defeated by a ticket that had the former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the No. 2 spot.

Support for married priests: Roman Catholic bishops recommended that Pope Francis let married men become priests in the Amazon region.

The Weekly: The latest episode of The Times’s TV show is about Don McGahn, the former White House counsel who helped reshape the federal judiciary. Read behind-the-scenes notes about the episode, which is available on FX and Hulu.

Al Drago for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, President Trump on Sunday attended his first Major League Baseball game since taking office. He faced a hostile crowd in Washington, whose Nationals lost their third straight World Series game to the Houston Astros.

In memoriam: Former Representative John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan, was a staunch liberal voice in the House and the longest-serving black lawmaker in Congress. He died on Sunday at 90.

Honor for Dave Chappelle: The stand-up comedian and former TV host was awarded the Mark Twain Prize, considered comedy’s top honor.

In sports: With convincing victories, the 49ers, the Patriots and the Saints made clear they’re the N.F.L.’s best teams. Separately, Tiger Woods captured his 82nd victory on the PGA Tour, tying Sam Snead for the career record.

Metropolitan Diary: In this week’s column, meeting fellow New Yorkers abroad, confronting a litterbug and more reader tales of New York City.

What we’re reading: This essay in The Economist’s sister magazine, 1843. “It takes you inside the gilded Aspen Institute, which has been described as celebrity summer camp meets liberal-arts college,” writes Alisha Haridasani Gupta of the briefings team. “The article, peppered with juicy sightings, questions whether the institute can help counter growing populism around the world.”

Now, a break from the news

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: Peanut butter-miso cookies need some time in the fridge, so plan ahead.

Watch: The director Robert Eggers discusses how he achieved a dreamlike sensibility in “The Lighthouse” using a collage of bright and dark images.

Listen: On her debut album, “Cheap Queen,” King Princess — the 20-year-old songwriter Mikaela Straus — crafts candid songs that are grounded, but not stuck, in past pop. Read our review.

Go: In his touring show “American Utopia,” the former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne “emerges as an avuncular, off-center shepherd to flocks of fans still groping to find their way,” our critic writes. It’s at the Hudson Theater in Manhattan.

Smarter Living: Apple’s new iPhone operating system, iOS 13, has hidden gems including better voice control, a more useful Reminders app and the ability to find a phone even when it’s offline.

We also have tips on packing your wallet for Europe.

And now for the Back Story on …

Floppy disks

The antiquated system that controls the U.S. nuclear arsenal quietly got a long-awaited update this summer — eliminating the use of eight-inch floppy disks that were roughly 50 years old.

Proving that the technological past — like the future — is not evenly distributed, floppy disks have hung around far longer than most people would have expected. Norway’s nationalized health plan, which once distributed thousands of 3.5-inch disks to physicians every month, phased them out only a few years ago.

A floppy disk in use at a U.S. missile facility in 2014. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The floppy disk was created by IBM in 1971, with its name derived from a magnetic disc enclosed in a flexible plastic envelope. Initial versions could hold about 175 kilobytes of data (if you’re reading this on a phone, it’s likely to have at least 45,000 times as much storage). The disks shrank over time — from eight inches to 5.25 inches to 3.5 inches — then abruptly fell out of favor, most notably when the iMac was introduced without a disk drive in 1998.

The disks haven’t been manufactured for several years, but are still available from specialty retailers. And they endure as the “save” icon in modern software.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Chris

Thank you
Melina Delkic helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. Adam Pasick of the briefings team wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach us at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is the first in a two-part series about vaping.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Ingredient in a caprese salad (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The “Modern Love” Amazon series that was inspired by the long-running Times column has been renewed for a second season.