Thursday, Oct 24, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering President Trump and the “deep state,” efforts to suppress the student vote and the eruption of protests around the world.

By Claire Moses

President Trump has referred to officials detailed to the White House from agencies around the government as "Obama people." Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

Trump’s attacks on ‘deep state’ draw return fire

The House impeachment inquiry is in many ways the climax of a 33-month struggle between the president and the government he inherited but never trusted.

The witnesses heading to Capitol Hill consider themselves not part of any nefarious “deep state,” but public servants who have loyally worked for administrations of both parties only to be denigrated or forced out by a president marinated in conspiracy theories.

But it is also true that some career officials have sought ways to thwart President Trump’s aims.

Yesterday: About two dozen Republican lawmakers stormed a secure office suite where the impeachment inquiry was taking testimony.

Related: Top Ukrainian officials were told in August that $391 million in U.S. aid would be delayed. That undermines one of Mr. Trump’s arguments: that there was no quid pro quo because the Ukrainians did not know assistance had been blocked.

Go deeper: Underneath the impeachment investigation, there’s a forgotten war. As Mr. Trump froze military aid to Ukraine, the country was already struggling in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.

A convoy of U.S. military vehicles arriving near the Iraqi Kurdish town of Bardarash after withdrawing from northern Syria. Safin Hamed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Trump says U.S. role in northeast Syria is over

President Trump said that Turkey had agreed to a permanent cease-fire, claiming that the U.S. was bringing peace. Mr. Trump also lifted sanctions imposed against Turkey in recent weeks.

Pushing back against criticism that he had enabled a Turkish offensive and empowered Russia and Iran, the president said that his approach had defused a dangerous situation.

“Let someone else fight over this long-bloodstained sand,” he said.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. Pete Marovich for The New York Times

Mark Zuckerberg withstands a Washington ‘beating’

The Facebook chief executive traveled to the Capitol to defend a cryptocurrency project. But he ended up answering questions on other issues, including political advertising, disinformation, work force diversity and child pornography.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was one of Mr. Zuckerberg’s harshest questioners, asking about recent outreach to conservative news outlets: “Do you see a potential problem here with a complete lack of fact-checking on political advertisements?”

Mr. Zuckerberg replied: “In a democracy, I believe that people should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying, and judge their character for themselves.”

As the student vote surges, so do suppression efforts

Energized by issues like climate change and the Trump presidency, college students have suddenly emerged as a potentially crucial voting bloc in the 2020 election.

The share of college students casting ballots doubled from 2014 to 2018, a potential boon to Democrats. But Republican lawmakers around the country are erecting roadblocks to the polls, and barriers are rising fastest in political battlegrounds.

Quotable: “Efforts to deprive any American of a convenient way to vote will have a chilling effect on voting,” said the director of Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy and Higher Education.

Related: On Saturday, New York will join 38 other states that allow early voting in some form. But with the anticipation comes an almost equal dose of concern.

If you have 8 minutes, this is worth it

Tomas Munita for The New York Times

Protests erupt around the world

Popular fury has been raging across the globe in recent weeks, from Chile, above, to India, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

The protests may seem unrelated, but experts have spotted a pattern: a louder-than-usual howl against elites in countries where democracy is a source of disappointment, corruption is seen as brazen, and a tiny political class lives large while the younger generation struggles.

Here’s what else is happening

Harvey Weinstein sued: The actress Rose McGowan filed a lawsuit against the producer and his lawyers, claiming he used underhanded tactics to stop her from publicizing sexual assault allegations.

More electricity cuts: California’s largest utility began a new round of blackouts to reduce wildfire risk from its equipment.

Exhuming a dictator: Spain began moving the remains of Gen. Francisco Franco today from the basilica where he was buried in 1975. Critics said it would stir painful memories.

$1 million award: Ruth Bader Ginsburg won the Berggruen Prize, for a thinker whose ideas “have profoundly shaped human understanding and advancement.”

Animal cruelty as a federal offense: The House approved a bill that would include a penalty of up to seven years in prison as part of the proposed expansion of an animal welfare law.

Protests over Bolivia’s elections: Early vote counts showed close results, but President Evo Morales declared himself the outright winner.

Rasmus Hjortshoj

Snapshot: Above, the Amager Bakke power plant in Copenhagen is topped with an artificial ski run. Its synthetic bristles aim to simulate a freshly groomed slope.

World Series: The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros, 12-3, to take a two-game lead. Game 3 is Friday.

Late-night comedy: “For five hours today, Republicans blocked someone from saying damaging things about President Trump,” Conan O’Brien said. “Yeah. Yeah, they left after they realized they could be there the rest of their lives.”

What we’re reading: This Man Repeller profile of Claire Saffitz, the star of Bon Appétit’s viral “Gourmet Makes” YouTube videos and an occasional Times contributor. “If you’ve been anywhere near the internet lately, there’s a good chance you already know Claire,” Kasia Pilat on the Reader Center team writes. “She’s everywhere, and this story chronicles the how and why.”

Now, a break from the news

Linda Xiao for The New York Times

Cook: Creaminess is the main goal for spaghetti carbonara.

Read: “Me,” Elton John’s autobiography, rockets to the top in its first week on our hardcover nonfiction and combined print and e-book nonfiction best-seller lists.

Listen: Prince’s 1979 acoustic version of “I Feel for You” includes a more intricate rhythmic line on guitar than the album recording had room for, our critic writes.

Go: Rijeka, Croatia, has been named the European Capital of Culture for 2020. We have recommendations for what to see and do.

Smarter Living: Before giving advice, make sure the person asking really wants guidance, and not just to vent. If they do, try to relate your own experience. People tend to be more receptive when you can say, “I’ve been there, and here’s what I did.”

And keeping intimacy alive with your partner is a bit more complicated once you’re parents.

And now for the Back Story on …

Coronation traditions

Naruhito, Japan’s 126th emperor, formally declared his ascension to the world’s oldest monarchy on Tuesday. The enthronement ceremony will be followed next month by a mysterious ritual known as the daijosai, in which he enters an inner sanctuary with a bed inside. Nobody knows for sure what happens next. Some say he lies down with his ancestors and communes spiritually with the gods; another theory is that he has a conjugal visit with the sun goddess.

Which got us thinking — what are coronation traditions for the nearly 30 active monarchies around the world?

Sacred water for the coronation ceremonies of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun of Thailand. Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press

For weeks leading up to the coronation of a Thai king, officials collect water from more than 100 sources across the country. The water is then blessed before it is used to purify and anoint the monarch. The coronation of the king of Tonga begins with a taumafa kava, a ceremony in which the king drinks a traditional beverage with 150 nobles. Eswatini, the country once known as Swaziland, keeps its rites secret, but the king is chosen by a council of elders.

The empress of Iran was decked out in Dior — as were her ladies in waiting — when her husband assumed the throne in 1967, according to this Times account.

And God save the queen: Britain is the last European country to practice royal coronations.

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

— Claire

Thank you
Melina Delkic helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson, Chris Harcum and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. Remy Tumin, on the briefings team, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach us at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” In today’s episode, David Shulkin, President Trump’s former secretary of Veterans Affairs, discusses how he was pushed out.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Repeated cry before “Read all about it!” (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Adweek has named Meredith Kopit Levien, The Times’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, publishing executive of the year.