Your Thursday Briefing

Greenland, Jay Inslee, Amazon: Here's what you need to know. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

nytimes.com Thursday, Aug 22, 2019 | View in browser Supported by Good morning. We’re covering the dispute between President Trump and Denmark, a spate of ransomware attacks across the U.S., and the threat of new hostilities between India and Pakistan. By Claire Moses Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark said she was "not going to enter into a war of words with anybody."  Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix, via Associated Press He wanted to buy Greenland. She said no. It got ugly. “It started as a headline seemingly straight out of The Onion. Then it unleashed a torrent of jokes on late-night television and social media. And finally it exploded into a serious diplomatic rupture between the United States and one of its longtime allies,” our White House correspondents write in a news analysis. President Trump said that Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark had been “nasty” to him by calling his interest in buying Greenland “absurd.” The president responded on Twitter, saying that Denmark, a NATO member, did not spend enough on its military. Background: Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. Mr. Trump is interested in its strategic location, as well as its natural resources. Quotable: “I’m not going to enter a war of words with anybody, nor with the American president,” Ms. Frederiksen told Denmark’s TV 2. The Danish response to the cancellation of Mr. Trump’s visit had been “good and wise,” she said. A business built on right-wing disinformation In an office outside Phoenix, a team of writers and editors curates reality. Their news and opinion website, WesternJournal.com, stokes outrage and creates a narrative in which conservatives and their values are under constant assault. Driven by Facebook, The Western Journal has been among the most popular publications in the U.S., reaching 36 million readers and followers. But little has been known about it. Context: The publishers are caught in a high-stakes clash between Silicon Valley and Washington. The site has struggled to maintain its audience as Facebook and Google have tweaked their algorithms to penalize disinformation — actions the site’s leaders see as evidence of political bias. Closer look: For decades, enterprises belonging to the Brown family, which owns The Western Journal, have blended political campaigns and partisan journalism, helping reshape American politics and earning tens of millions of dollars along the way. Go deeper: Here are more takeaways from our investigation. Budget deficit is set to pass $1 trillion The gap between what the government takes in through taxes and other revenue sources and what it spends is growing faster than expected, as President Trump’s policies force the U.S. to borrow more money. Tax revenues for 2018 and 2019 have fallen more than $430 billion short of what the Congressional Budget Office predicted they would be in June 2017, before Mr. Trump’s tax cuts were approved. By 2029, the national debt will reach its highest level as a share of the economy since the immediate aftermath of World War II. Details: The need to borrow has been aggravated by several budget agreements that raise domestic discretionary spending. It could increase further if the economy slows. What’s next? The deficit will reach $960 billion for the 2019 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, and will widen to $1 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year, the budget office said in updated forecasts. Hackers disabled Baltimore city computers in May. Recovering from the attack has cost more than $5.3 million.  Stephanie Keith/Reuters Ransomware attacks test cities across the U.S. More than 40 municipalities have suffered cyberattacks so far this year, from major cities such as Baltimore, Albany and Laredo, Tex., to smaller towns including Lake City, Fla. The recovery is costing millions of dollars. The hackers have often targeted small-town America, figuring that local governments are the least likely to have updated their cyberdefenses or backed up data. Lake City is one of the few cities to have paid a ransom demand, of about $460,000, because it thought reconstructing its systems would cost even more. Background: Two years ago, ransomware attacks were relatively rare. But they’ve become increasingly frequent and sophisticated, with more ingenious ways of breaching victims’ systems and more powerful encryption of their data. If you have 6 minutes, this is worth it Like ‘Sex and the City,’ but in Senegal Jane Hahn for The New York Times By taking on taboos, a hit show called “Mistress of a Married Man” has set off a debate about contemporary womanhood in Senegal, which is largely Muslim. The pilot alone has received more than three million views on YouTube. It is part of a burst of woman-driven television and film production across Africa in which writers, producers and actors are openly asserting female sexuality and challenging traditional gender roles. PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR Email Marketing 102: Work smarter, not harder. Working smarter means running beautiful, results-driven email marketing campaigns – without sacrificing any bandwidth along the way. And with Campaign Monitor, you'll have access to a drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates, and personalized customer journeys – all the tools you need to replace ‘harder’ with ‘smarter.' Learn More Here’s what else is happening Regulation for migrants: A new rule would allow the U.S. to indefinitely detain families who illegally cross the border, abolishing a 20-day limit. 2020 race: Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, who ran on a message of fighting climate change, ended his presidential campaign. Fires in the Amazon: The rain forest is burning at one of the fastest paces in years. Farmers often start fires there to clear land. “No point in talking”: Pakistan’s prime minister complained about India’s crackdown in Kashmir, and spoke of the dangers of a military escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Executive action on student loans: President Trump ordered student loan forgiveness for disabled veterans. He estimated 25,000 people would save an average of $30,000 each. Surprises from DNA tests: Scores of people born through artificial insemination have learned that their biological fathers were the doctors who performed the procedure. Atlantic Productions Snapshot: Above, the remains of the Titanic, which divers visited this week for the first time in 14 years. The once-grand ship, which sank in 1912, is rapidly falling apart. (Our hearts will go on.) Late-night comedy: Most shows are in reruns, so our column is on hiatus. What we’re reading: This excerpt from Lyz Lenz’s new book “God Land,” in Pacific Standard, published shortly before the online magazine ceased publication. “It examines the definition of ‘rural’ and the intersection of religion, gun ownership and class,” writes Dan Saltzstein, our senior editor for special projects. ADVERTISEMENT Now, a break from the news Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food styling: Vivian Lui. Cook: You can pull together everything in this shrimp and kimchi rice bowl while the rice cooks. Watch: The documentary “American Factory” looks at what happened when a Chinese company took over a closed General Motors plant in Ohio. It’s a Critic’s Pick. Visit: A writer went in search of the “big bang” of country music in Southern Appalachia. Read: “How to Be an Antiracist,” Ibram X. Kendi’s primer for creating a more just and equitable society, debuts this week on our hardcover nonfiction and combined print and e-book nonfiction best-seller lists. Smarter Living: Irritated by a younger colleague’s constant social media updates? Think of them as a survival strategy in a precarious job market, our Work Friend columnist advises. And if you’re shopping for a TV, a new feature, High Dynamic Range, or H.D.R., is worth considering. And now for the Back Story on … Fried chicken Two major fast-food chains, Chick-fil-A and Popeyes, are waging a Twitter war over fried chicken sandwiches. We went to the history books to see what everyone is all aflutter about. While many cultures fry chicken, the American version drew from the palm-oil frying traditions of West Africa carried across the Atlantic by enslaved women and from the fritters made by Scottish immigrants who staffed or owned plantations. There's more history in fried chicken than most people might realize.  Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Cookbooks written by white Southerners circulated recipes, and after the Civil War, freed black entrepreneurs, especially women, carried baskets of fried chicken to train stations to sell to travelers. The dish spread nationally during the Great Migration of black Americans from the Jim Crow South, and the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain eventually took its version around the world. Who first sandwiched fried chicken in bread may never be known — one writer found an ad for a fried chicken sandwich in a Kansas newspaper from 1936. That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. — Claire Thank you Melina Delkic helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Chris Harcum provided the break from the news. Andrea Kannapell, the briefings editor, 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 the 2020 campaign playlists. • Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: New York Times podcast, with “The” (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Gillian Wong, who manages much of The Times’s coverage of the protests in Hong Kong, discussed how we do it. (Breathing masks and goggles are involved.) Were you sent this briefing by a friend? Sign up here to get the Morning Briefing. Today's Front Page nytimes.com Subscribe to The Times You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing newsletter. Want to change the time you receive your briefing? 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