Tuesday, Oct 29, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering the latest developments in the impeachment investigation, an ominous forecast for wildfire-stricken California and the promise of a new tuberculosis vaccine.

By Chris Stanford

Aide who heard Ukraine call is to testify

A White House national security official plans to tell impeachment investigators today that he heard President Trump appeal for Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a request he reported to a superior.

The official, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the Army, is the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council. His testimony will be the first from a White House official who listened to the July call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Read a draft of his opening statement.

Go deeper: Colonel Vindman, a decorated Iraq war veteran, came to the U.S. when he was 3 after his family fled Ukraine.

Related: House Democrats, who had resisted a floor vote on the impeachment inquiry, plan to hold one on Thursday to lay out rules for the investigation. Republicans have criticized the lack of a formal authorization, although it is not required by the Constitution or House rules.

A funeral for Kurds killed by Turkish-led forces in Syria this month, after the U.S. withdrawal. Delil Souleiman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Kurds’ role in ISIS leader’s death

A Kurdish-led force that fought alongside the U.S. against the Islamic State was essential in finding the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in Syria, according to American officials.

The Kurds’ commander, Mazlum Abdi, said on Monday that they had helped confirm Mr. al-Baghdadi’s identity by stealing his underwear and obtaining a blood sample, both for DNA testing.

The U.S. joined forces with Mr. Abdi’s group five years ago. Our reporters reconstructed how that partnership fell apart after President Trump withdrew American troops from Syria.

Watch: Mass funerals, wounded children, displaced families. Our video documents what our journalists found in northeastern Syria.

Reaction: Those who suffered under the Islamic State greeted the news of Mr. al-Baghdadi’s death with grim satisfaction at best. “He deserves a worse and more abhorrent death,” said one man in Mosul, Iraq.

Another angle: Mr. Trump shared a photo of a dog that participated in the raid, saying its name remained classified. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the dog “is still in theater, returned to duty.”

The Daily: Today’s episode is about Mr. al-Baghdadi.

The Getty fire threatened the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Monday. Kyle Grillot for The New York Times

California battles statewide wildfires

Forecasters warned that strong winds and very low humidity would return today, as officials struggle to contain 16 blazes from Northern California to the hills of Los Angeles.

“It’s all starting to blend together,” said Joe Augino, a firefighter in Southern California whose company was summoned eight hours north to Sonoma County.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that 880,000 residents remained without electricity after precautionary power cuts.

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

Automakers side with Trump administration

General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota said on Monday that they were joining the federal government in its battle with California over fuel economy standards for automobiles.

In July, Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and BMW struck a deal with California to follow more stringent standards, which President Trump has proposed rolling back.

The automakers siding with the administration said that the federal government, not California, has the ultimate authority to set standards.

Why it matters: Several states have pledged to follow California’s lead in enforcing stricter standards, with the potential to divide the U.S. auto market.

What’s next: The fight has grown into a battle over states’ rights and climate change that is likely to be resolved in the Supreme Court.

If you have some time, this is worth it

An American road trip

Jessica Lehrman for The New York Times

This summer, The Times sent teams of photographers and writers on a road trip. Each of the four pairs was guided by a unique theme — community, patriotism, tradition and youth — but a unifying question: What does America look like now?

They found anger and fear. But they also discovered perseverance, patience, bravery, quiet resistance and joy. Pictured above are teenagers in Yuma, Ariz.

Here’s what else is happening

New tuberculosis vaccine: An experimental treatment has protected about half the people who received it, scientists reported today. Tuberculosis is the world’s most lethal infectious disease, killing about 1.6 million people a year.

Boeing’s leader in Congress: The company’s chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, is set to answer lawmakers’ questions today for the first time since two deadly crashes. Here’s what to watch for.

Dissent at Facebook: Hundreds of employees criticized the company’s decision to let politicians post false claims in ads on the site.

North Carolina map is barred: A state court said congressional districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered for Republicans.

Jeff Sessions considers campaign: The former attorney general may run for his former Senate seat from Alabama, people familiar with his thinking told The Times.

Erin Kirkland for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, workers outside a General Motors plant in Flint, Mich., this month. Our photographer documented the 40-day strike at the automaker, which ended Friday.

In memoriam: Robert Evans was a larger-than-life Hollywood producer who helped bring classics like “The Godfather” and “Chinatown” to the screen. He died on Saturday at 89.

Late-night comedy: Noting President Trump’s visit to a World Series game, Jimmy Kimmel said, “Usually to get booed that much at a sporting event in Washington, D.C., you have to play for the Redskins.”

What we’re reading: This article from New York magazine. “Olivia Nuzzi’s so-close-you-can-feel-his-hot-breath profile of Joe Biden is beautiful, intimate, empathetic, brutal, honest and revelatory,” says our magazine writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner. “And she never even got an interview with him.”

Now, a break from the news

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

Cook: Shower lemon chicken breasts in herbs, and serve with orzo and a delicious pan sauce. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)

Watch: Jenny Slate, Nikki Glaser, Bill Burr and Jaboukie Young-White have new comedy specials that will make you chuckle, sigh or laugh out loud.

Listen: On “Jesus Is King,” Kanye West’s ninth album, the rapper turns to gospel music, suggesting a shift in his public image that’s actually not much of a change.

Read: New thrillers present women and girls who refuse the roles of passive victim, staid detective or femme fatale.

Smarter Living: Our guide to being a better friend has simple steps to nurture relationships. Five minutes of real attention can go a long way, as can creating a tradition — even if it’s infrequent.

And our Social Q’s column takes on a knotty problem: when you can’t stand a friend’s partner.

And now for the Back Story on …

A secret space plane

An unmanned U.S. spacecraft landed on Sunday after a record-breaking 780 days in orbit — but possibly only the Pentagon is sure what it’s been up to.

The Boeing-built X-37B resembles a small version of NASA’s retired space shuttles. It was launched via a SpaceX rocket on Sept. 7, 2017, but flew back to the Kennedy Space Center like a plane.

The secret X-37B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday. U.S. Air Force, via Associated Press

Reporting on a previous flight, Tim Fernholz of Quartz described the X-37B as one of the “weirdest open secrets in space,” a reminder to Russia and China that the U.S. “has a maneuverable spacecraft capable of hanging out quietly in orbit, shadowing their space assets, and doing, well, who knows what?”

This flight’s mission was to “test experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipe technologies,” according to a U.S. Air Force statement, and to provide “a ride for small satellites.”

That alarmed Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who noted that the U.S. had not registered any satellite deployments, as required by U.N. convention.

“This would be the first time that either the USA or Russia has blatantly flouted the Convention,” he tweeted.

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 about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Staple food for nearly half of the world (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, now beginning its 108th year, has raised over $300 million in support of a global community of people less fortunate.