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Good morning.

We’re covering a new openness to gun control in Washington, the boycott at Equinox and SoulCycle, and a shake-up in the country’s intelligence ranks. It’s also Friday, so there’s a new news quiz.

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By Chris Stanford

Lawmakers in both parties are deeply skeptical that Senator Mitch McConnell will bring any sort of gun control measure to the floor unless President Trump demands it. Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

Republicans consider a new stance on guns

In the wake of two mass shootings, President Trump has reached out to allies and opponents about expanding background checks on gun purchasers. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, has also signaled that he would be open to considering the idea.

Both men have previously opposed such legislation, which would have to overcome opposition from the National Rifle Association and other powerful conservative constituencies.

Mr. McConnell said on Thursday that a measure expanding background checks would be “front and center” when the Senate returns next month, although he stopped short of supporting it or committing to bring it to a vote.

Related: The mother of the suspect in the El Paso shooting called the police before the attack, concerned about the military-style rifle he had ordered.

Closer look: Behind the Walmart in El Paso where 22 people died, dancers, mariachis and prayers commemorate the victims.

Cries of harassment as a donor list is revealed

Calling out the contributors to a political campaign is not a new tactic, but Republicans have repeatedly argued that the degree to which donors are publicly disclosed results in harassment and has a chilling effect on free speech.

Republicans have accused Representative Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who serves as the chairman of the presidential campaign of his brother, Julián, of “doxxing” private citizens after he shared a list of donors to President Trump’s re-election campaign.

Mr. Trump’s critics have also called for a boycott of the boutique fitness chains Equinox and SoulCycle, which are owned by Stephen Ross, a billionaire developer who is scheduled to host a fund-raiser for Mr. Trump today at his home in the Hamptons.

Related: Our reporter visited a SoulCycle studio in the Hamptons to ask customers about the dispute.

Quiz: Are you a Democrat or a Republican? A few background questions often predict the answer.

Spy games in Iran’s embargoed oil industry

Since President Trump imposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales last year, information about those sales has become one of Tehran’s most heavily guarded secrets, and a target of Western intelligence agencies.

Oil traders have been offered enticements — vacations, alcohol, prostitutes and money — to reveal data. “Sometimes I feel like I am an actor playing in a thriller,” one said.

Backlash: Last month, Tehran arrested 17 Iranians that it said were working for the C.I.A. It appears that the suspects may have been asking about oil sales.

The details: Iran’s economy depends on oil, but U.S. sanctions are estimated to have reduced sales to about 500,000 barrels a day, down from 2.5 million barrels in 2018.

David Morrison, 7, with his mother, Aminah Ali. She took him to protests when he was in preschool but stopped when she noticed the toll it was taking on him. Jared Soares for The New York Times

The children of Ferguson

Five years ago today, Michael Brown, a black teenager, was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

For young people, growing up in a city now synonymous with racial division and anger over police tactics in black communities is a source of both pride and stigma. Therapists say they see signs of trauma in young patients.

Background: More than half of Ferguson’s City Council and police officers are now black — a dramatic shift from the nearly all-white leadership and police force in 2014. But some residents say the city is not moving aggressively enough to undo racial inequities.

If you have 25 minutes, this is worth it

The philosophy of Nicolas Cage

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times

Buckle up.

In The Times Magazine, the actor whom our interviewer calls “Hollywood’s greatest surrealist” opens up about his stolen dinosaur skull, his literal quest for the Holy Grail and how his cobras informed his acting.

Here’s what else is happening

Shuffle in intelligence ranks: President Trump named Joseph Maguire, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as the acting director of national intelligence after Dan Coats steps down next week. Sue Gordon, the nation’s No. 2 intelligence official — who by law had been next in line — will depart along with Mr. Coats.

Fired deputy sues: Andrew McCabe, the F.B.I.’s former deputy director, filed suit against the bureau and the Justice Department, saying his dismissal in 2018 was retaliatory and politically motivated.

Record Uber loss: A $5.2 billion loss in the second quarter, combined with slow growth, renewed questions about the prospects of the ride-hailing company.

Hong Kong demonstration: Thousands of antigovernment protesters swarmed the city’s international airport today, and are planning to disrupt it all weekend.

A solemn homecoming: The remains of Col. Ray Knight Jr., who was killed in the Vietnam War, were returned to Dallas on a plane flown by his son. Colonel Knight was shot down in 1967 and later declared dead. His remains were identified this year.

Dominic Lipinski/Press Association, via Associated Press

Snapshot: Above, Beatles fans gathered at the most famous crosswalk in London on Thursday, 50 years after the band was photographed for the cover of “Abbey Road.”

News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.

Modern Love: In this week’s column, a woman whose husband checked out of their marriage finds flirtation at the office.

Late-night comedy: The Iowa State Fair started Thursday. “This is that very stupid time in American politics when the presidential hopefuls have to impress Iowans by posing next to a farm animal sculpted out of butter,” Jimmy Kimmel said.

What we’re reading: This Guardian article about how wild boars are wreaking havoc in European cities. Our food editor, Sam Sifton, recommended it in The Times’s Cooking newsletter — and offered a recipe for wild boar ragù.

Now, a break from the news

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Cook: Mint chocolate chip ice cream cake will please a crowd.

Watch: A Times writer looks back at the raunchy coming-of-age film “Superbad” and finds it (mostly) holds up. But she may have loved it for the wrong reason.

Listen: “Leave Me Alone,” from the new album by NF, who emerged from the Christian rap scene with Eminem-esque pop hits. Now he has the No. 1 album in the U.S.

Read: “Semicolon” is a history of the punctuation mark; it’s one of 12 books we recommend this week.

Smarter Living: Before you buy a household item, think about when you won’t need it anymore. Could you swap it, donate it, or sell it? Martin Bourque, who directs an ecology center in Berkeley, Calif., says consumers should consider “what you’re going to do with the item at the end of its life” — and whether you really need it.

Catching up on housework this weekend? Here’s how to fold a fitted sheet.

And now for the Back Story on …

The power of water

Last week, we told you about “Add oil!” — an exhortation popular among the antigovernment demonstrators in Hong Kong. Next up: “Be water,” a rallying cry and protest tactic with ties to a local hero.

The phrase — a line from a 1971 episode of the American television series “Longstreet” — was uttered by the martial-arts superstar Bruce Lee, who hailed from Hong Kong. “Water can flow, or creep, or drip or crash,” Mr. Lee’s character says in the episode. “Be water, my friend.”

A statue of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

In Chinese Taoism, water represents power and flexibility in the face of obstacles. Many Hong Kong protesters see “Be water” as a guiding principle of their flash-mob-style civil disobedience, forsaking hierarchical leadership and fixed protests in favor of decentralized, amorphous tactics.

A bronze statue of Mr. Lee, who died in 1973, stands along the Hong Kong waterfront, and a local fan club has long wanted to turn his former home into a museum. But the trust that owns the home plans to demolish it and replace it with a Chinese studies center.

That’s it for this morning. Here comes the sun.

— Chris

Thank you
Melina Delkic helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. Mike Ives, a Hong Kong-based reporter, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about India’s crackdown in Kashmir.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Mixologist’s creation (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The first reference to the actor Bruce Lee in The Times came in a 1971 review of “Longstreet,” which judged that he “emerges impressively enough to justify a series of his own.”