Monday, November 6, 2023

The Evening: Trump testifies at his fraud trial

Also, Israel says it encircled Gaza City, essentially cutting the territory in two.
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The Evening

November 6, 2023

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Monday.

  • Trump testified at his fraud trial
  • Israel said it encircled Gaza City
  • Plus, how commutes have changed
Donald Trump in Manhattan after testifying in his civil fraud trial today. Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

Trump testified at his New York civil fraud trial

During four hours of testimony in a Manhattan courtroom today, Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the judge overseeing the trial and defended himself against accusations of fraudulently misvaluing his properties.

On the witness stand, the former president acknowledged helping assemble documents stating the value of his properties, which a judge had already decided were filled with fraud and which are central to the New York attorney general's lawsuit against him. But he denied being involved in undervaluations and insisted that the financial statements were ultimately of little importance.

The judge in the case, Justice Arthur Engoron, became frustrated as he repeatedly sought to rein in Trump, whose asides included proclaiming the proceeding was "a very unfair trial" and calling the New York attorney general "a political hack." At one point, Trump complained that the judge had "called me a fraud and he didn't know anything about me."

What's next: Ivanka Trump will testify on Wednesday.

What's at stake: New York's attorney general, Letitia James, who brought the case, has asked that Trump pay $250 million and that he and his sons be permanently barred from running a business in the state.

Residents leaving Gaza City today. Mohammed Saber/EPA, via Shutterstock

The Israeli military cut off Gaza City

Israel's military said today that it had encircled Gaza City, effectively splitting the Gaza Strip in half. The move, officials said, would make it harder for Hamas to control the enclave.

Israel has described Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, as a center for Hamas's military operations. "It's close-quarters urban warfare," said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman. "A lot of infantry working there."

Israel said it struck 450 targets last night in Gaza. The extent of the fighting there remained unclear because of a communications blackout, but phone and internet connectivity appeared to be gradually returning today.

In related news, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Turkey today on the final stop of his Middle East tour. Blinken told reporters that the Biden administration was "very aggressively" working on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

A chart shows Donald Trump's advantage over President Biden in five of six swing states in next year's presidential election, according to a new poll. He leads in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan, while Biden leads in Wisconsin.
The New York Times

A year before Election Day, Biden is playing catch up

New polls by The New York Times and Siena College found that President Biden was trailing Donald Trump in five of the six most important battleground states; that Black voters, a crucial Democratic constituency, were turning away; and that an overwhelming majority said he was "too old" to be an effective president.

The Biden campaign sought to downplay the polling, but their own internal numbers suggested similar results. A lot will change before the 2024 election, and our polling suggests a conviction could sink Trump. Our chief political analyst explored why Biden was behind and how he could come back.

 Gifty Gyan stands on a scale, back to the viewer, and is weighed by a nurse who wears a surgical mask in the doorway of the Kaneshie Polyclinic. The nurse looks out the door, and a patient waiting to be seen at the clinic sits outside in a chair. Other nurses rest their heads on a table inside.
Gifty Gyan, left, was diagnosed with tuberculosis in June, in Accra, Ghana. Natalija Gormalova for The New York Times

Tuberculosis passed Covid as the deadliest infectious disease

Many scientists believe that the defeat of tuberculosis is within reach. It is preventable and curable, innovations in diagnosing and treating it have started to reach developing countries, and a promising vaccine is in the last stage of clinical trials.

However, the disease killed 1.6 million people in 2021 and supplanted Covid-19 as the world's most deadly infectious disease, reflecting the world's continued failure to get treatments into the hands of the people who need them most.

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Gain unlimited access to The Times — with just one subscription. Independent reporting. Recipes. Games. Product reviews. Personalized sports journalism. Enjoy it all with an introductory offer.

TIME TO UNWIND

A woman sits in the front seat of a car, and is seen through the windshield.
Torie Hargreaves, a nurse in Minneapolis whose commute is now much shorter than it was before the pandemic. Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times

How we commute now

The rise of working from home during the pandemic shifted millions of commutes. My colleagues took a deep dive into the data to see what has changed: People are driving more and driving faster, taking public transit less often and, on average, facing shorter commutes.

They found that the average American commute was about 27 minutes, about a minute shorter than in 2019. Those who commute by public transit spend roughly twice as much time traveling to and from work as people who drive.

In a group of movie scenes, a man wears an elf costume on the left. On the right from top to bottom, a man sings into a microphone, a second man and a woman stand side by side and wave, a third man holds up a sign that reads,
Will Ferrell in "Elf," left, and scenes from "Love Actually," right. Alan Markfield/New Line Productions ("Elf"); Universal Studios ("Love Actually")

Will we ever get another holiday classic?

On Nov. 7, 2003, American audiences had the opportunity to see either "Elf" or "Love Actually" for the very first time in theaters. Chances are, many of you have seen at least one of them, because, after all, they have become bona fide seasonal classics.

Both now seem like relics of a different time, when movies received the kind of dedicated theatrical releases that allowed them to win over viewers. In recent years, with streaming audiences fragmented and options galore, finding a new holiday classic feels far-fetched.

A close-cropped shot of a woman's midsection in bright pink pants with a wedge-shaped cutout at the hip. No useful pocket.
Getty Images

Dinner table topics

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WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Linda Xiao for The New York Times.

Cook: This carbonara swaps out spaghetti for smooth, velvety orzo.

Drink: Several producers are blending wine and ciders to make fascinating beverages.

Watch: "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" is a premier showcase for magicians where kindness rules.

Listen: "I Got the Fear" from Torres is one of nine new songs our critics are listening to.

Prepare: If you're thinking about having a baby, it's a good idea to train for it.

Shop: Our 2023 holiday gift guide has something for everyone.

Compete: Take our quiz and test your knowledge of these military-themed books and movies.

Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.

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ONE LAST THING

An illustration of a man looking through a telescope at a sequence of outer-space photographs.
Illustration by Daniel Zvereff, Photo by NASA

Beyond what we can see

From our perspective on Earth, space appears to be a dark and dusty void spotted with a smattering of tiny stars. But with a little help from the new James Webb Space Telescope, a stunning array of stars, nebulas and galaxies spanning billions of years comes into view.

The telescope's discoveries have already given humans a clearer understanding of the universe than we have ever had: It has shown us a plume of water spanning 6,000 miles in our solar system and a galaxy that formed only 390 million years after the Big Bang. The New York Times Magazine has a visual guide to understanding it all.

Have a celestial evening.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.

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Evening Briefing Newsletter Logo

Writer: Matthew Cullen

Editorial Director: Adam Pasick

Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe

Photo Editor: Brent Lewis

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