Wednesday, Oct 30, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering the newest testimony in the impeachment investigation, a new order in Syria, and a battle cry for Generation Z.

By Chris Stanford

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman met with House impeachment investigators on Tuesday. Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

Ukraine expert sought to fill gaps in call record

The White House’s reconstructed transcript of a call between President Trump and Ukraine’s president omitted crucial details, according to testimony on Tuesday by the National Security Council’s top Ukraine expert, who listened to the call.

The official, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, told impeachment investigators that he tried unsuccessfully to have the omissions restored. They included mentions of Joe Biden and Burisma, the energy company whose board employed Mr. Biden’s son Hunter.

Colonel Vindman didn’t testify to a motive behind the White House editing process, but the omissions don’t fundamentally change lawmakers’ understanding of the call.

Reaction: Right-wing commentators have questioned the patriotism of Colonel Vindman, a Ukrainian-American immigrant who received a Purple Heart after he was wounded in Iraq.

Another angle: Robert Livingston, a former Republican congressman turned lobbyist, repeatedly told a White House official that the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine should be fired because of her association with Democrats, the official plans to tell investigators today.

Related: House Democrats released their proposed rules for impeachment proceedings. The plan, which is scheduled to come up for a vote on Thursday, would require the production of a public report and allow for due process rights for President Trump.

A U.S. military vehicle in northeastern Syria in front of a billboard featuring the country's president, Bashar al-Assad. Delil Souleiman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

How the new Syria took shape

The U.S. military withdrawal and Turkey’s subsequent incursion into northeastern Syria have reordered the country, helping four American adversaries in particular:

■ President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has expanded his control.

■ Iran, which could gain a supply route to Hezbollah, its proxy in Lebanon.

■ The Islamic State, which has an opening to regroup.

■ Russia, which has been cemented as the main power in Syria.

Our animated map shows the changing state of play.

Related: The past three weeks have also reshaped diplomatic efforts to end Syria’s eight-year civil war. Peace talks led by the United Nations are to start on Thursday in Geneva.

Another angle: The House voted overwhelmingly to designate the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. The vote reflected bipartisan anger at Turkey for its assault in Syria.

A roll of the dice could settle Brexit

Britain will hold a general election in December, giving a public that has become exhausted by the shambolic process another say on how, or even if, their country should leave the European Union.

The House of Commons on Tuesday approved plans for the vote. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is betting that he can win a parliamentary majority that he currently lacks by selling voters a Brexit plan that Parliament has held up.

What’s next: The Dec. 12 election should provide competing visions of Britain’s future: Mr. Johnson’s, based on a swift exit from the European Union; or the opposition Labour Party’s, based on holding a second referendum on whether to leave at all.

If you have 4 minutes, this is worth it

California wildfires expose a wealth gap

Max Whittaker for The New York Times

Fires don’t discriminate between rich and poor, but the process of recovering from them offers a look at California’s vast income inequalities.

Our correspondents examined past recovery efforts, from the wealthy who could sometimes rebuild houses worth more than the ones that burned, to those who lost everything and years later still have nothing.

Here’s what else is happening

The threat of rising seas: About 150 million people are living on land that by 2050 will be underwater during high tide, according to new research.

Child migrant detentions soar: The U.S. has detained a record number of children trying to cross the southwestern border on their own over the past year. More than 76,020 minors traveling without their parents were apprehended in the fiscal year that ended in September.

Lebanon’s leader quits: Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he would step down after nearly two weeks of protests. With no obvious alternative leader and the economy veering toward collapse, his resignation threw the country into further uncertainty.

Georgetown University fund: The school said it would raise about $400,000 a year to benefit the descendants of 272 enslaved people who were sold to help keep it afloat nearly two centuries ago.

Deadly shooting in California: Three men were killed and at least nine people were injured at a Halloween party in Long Beach on Tuesday night, the authorities said.

SEAL’s punishment is reduced: The Navy demoted Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher by a single rank after he was acquitted of all but one charge in a war crimes case.

Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, Boeing’s chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, was surrounded by family members of the victims of two deadly crashes of the company’s 737 Max jets on Tuesday before an emotional hearing in Congress. Mr. Muilenburg is scheduled to testify again today.

Winner-take-all World Series: The championship will be decided tonight after the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros to force a Game 7. Neither team has yet won a game in the series at home.

52 Places traveler: In his latest dispatch, our columnist visits Tunis, the capital where the Arab Spring began, and finds artists, entrepreneurs and activists creating the future.

“O.K. Boomer”: The phrase has become Generation Z’s endlessly repeated retort to its elders and a rallying cry for young people fed up with the status quo. (Your briefing writer, a proud Gen Xer, watches from the sidelines.)

Late-night comedy: There was a Halloween celebration and trick-or-treating at the White House. “And the kids were super excited, until they got the bill,” Seth Meyers said.

What we’re reading: This Boston Globe article. “Charles Ogletree is a giant of the legal world and has been a brilliant presence at Harvard for decades,” writes Carolyn Ryan, our assistant managing editor and a Boston native. “This story captures the tender journey he and his wife are on now, as he recedes from public life with Alzheimer’s, and she lovingly cares for him.”

Now, a break from the news

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Cook: Apple cider whoopie pies, cakelike cookie sandwiches dusted in cinnamon sugar, are inspired by apple cider doughnuts.

Watch: We’ve rounded up some devilish films on Netflix that will have even the most stoic souls jumping at shadows.

Read: The 10-year-old siblings at the heart of the new book “Nothing to See Here” have a little problem: Whenever they experience intense emotion, they burst into flames.

Eat: Peter Luger, which once defined the New York steakhouse experience, has lost its way, our critic, Pete Wells, writes in a zero-star review. (Readers seemed to agree.)

Smarter Living: There are benefits to being alone. Experts say that taking time for yourself can help you better handle negative emotions and experiences. Thirty minutes a week reading at a cafe could make a real difference.

And in our Ethicist column, a writer asks whether she should tell her adult children about the affair that ended her marriage.

And now for the Back Story on …

Remaking ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’

John Legend and Kelly Clarkson are releasing a reworked version of the holiday classic, whose original lyrics have not aged well in the #MeToo era.

John Legend and Kelly Clarkson at the Billboard Music Awards last year. Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated Press

The song, written in 1944, has a surprising history — including a small role in the development of Islamic fundamentalism. Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian scholar whose writings influenced Osama bin Laden, was radicalized during a stay in 1950s Colorado, where the song played at a church dance.

Critics say it depicts a man refusing to take “no” for an answer. Complicating matters, there have been versions with women playing the aggressor — including one where Miss Piggy pursues a towel-clad Rudolf Nureyev. In the reimagined version, Clarkson sings “I’ve got to go away,” to which Legend responds, “I can call you a ride.”

“What will my friends think?”

“I think they should rejoice.”

“If I have one more drink?”

“It’s your body, and your choice.”

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 second of a two-part series about vaping.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Part of a Santa costume (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Our Book Review is now including excerpts from the opening chapters of books with selected reviews.