Friday Briefing: Stormy Daniels, day two

May 10, 2024

	By Amelia Nierenberg

Good morning. We’re covering the cross-examination of Stormy Daniels and another setback in talks between Israel and Hamas.

Plus, how loneliness can affect the brain.

A blonde woman in a black jacket walks looking down toward a car. A police officer stands near her, and there’s a man facing away. Railing is all around.

Stormy Daniels, 45, leaving court yesterday. Justin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock

A tense day in court for Stormy Daniels

Lawyers for Donald Trump again sought to make Stormy Daniels look as if she was lying yesterday about her account of a 2006 sexual liaison. But Daniels — who took the $130,000 hush-money payment at the heart of the 34 felony charges Trump is facing — pushed back.

“You made all this up, right?” a lawyer asked.

Daniels responded with a forceful “No.”

During a combative cross-examination — which started on Tuesday and continued yesterday — Daniels swung between vulnerability and defiance. When the defense attacked her for hawking gear to supporters, she responded by likening it to Trump’s own merchandising.

Susan Necheles, Trump’s lawyer, searingly questioned Daniels for more than two hours. As Necheles tried to undermine her credibility, Daniels continuously parried. In one exchange, Necheles suggested that Daniels, because of her career in porn, had a lot of experience with “phony stories about sex.”

Daniels shot back, “The sex in the films is very real, just like what happened to me in that room.”

A Daniels-Trump recap: They met in July 2006, but their lives intersected over the next decade and beyond. Here’s a breakdown of the timeline.

A Blackhawk helicopter hovers above a patch of dirt as four soldiers look on.

An American-made Blackhawk helicopter owned by the Israeli military. Amir Cohen/Reuters

Hopes for a Gaza deal shrank as talks stalled

High-level negotiations in Cairo were put on hold yesterday; the Israeli and Hamas delegations left, as did the C.I.A. director, dealing a blow to hopes a deal could be reached soon.

Here’s the latest.

The pause is a setback, given that some had seen signs earlier in the week that a deal might be close. Still, one official said that negotiators were interpreting the suspension as a pause rather than a derailment.

Israel’s actions in Rafah could set the tone for future discussions. On Wednesday, President Biden acknowledged that Israel had used American bombs to kill civilians in Gaza. He said the U.S. would also withhold artillery if Israel were to go ahead with a major operation in Rafah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel reacted defiantly to Biden’s comments: “If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.” Fears are growing that a rift with the U.S. could affect Israel’s ability to continue its war. Netanyahu is caught between allies demanding a cease-fire deal and right-wing demands in his own country to go forward with the invasion.

A satellite image from Rafah shows the positions of Israeli tanks shortly after they took over the border crossing.

The New York Times

A view from the sky: These satellite images of Rafah, taken after Israeli forces entered the city, show widespread damage and clusters of Israeli armored vehicles.

A satellite image that shows orange fire and dark smoke.

An image released by Maxar Technologies shows a Russian oil refinery on fire after a drone strike in January. Maxar Technologies, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Ukraine strikes deep in Russia

Ukraine struck an oil refinery far inside Russia, officials on both sides said yesterday, as Kyiv works to weaken Russia’s military and its energy industry.

The drone strike on the facility, which is one of Russia’s largest and lies more than 700 miles (over 1,100 kilometers) from Ukraine’s border, shows that Kyiv is increasingly able to reach targets further inside its enemy’s territory.

Background: This attack, along with others on two oil depots, were part of an ongoing campaign. Kyiv hopes to disrupt Russia’s military logistics by targeting the facilities that supply fuel for its tanks, ships and planes. Ukraine also hopes to undermine Russia’s energy industry, which is central to its economy.

Impact: An energy expert in Belgium said the strikes had taken more than 10 percent of Russia’s oil-refining capacity off line, temporarily reducing its ability to turn its crude oil into products like gasoline, diesel and petrol.

MORE TOP NEWS

Soldiers and military vehicles in Red Square.

Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday. Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

Russia: The Victory Day celebration was more expansive than last year’s event, a sign of a country that has recovered from the initial shock of the war and holds a battlefield advantage.
Hungary: Xi Jinping, China’s leader, received a rapturous welcome. Hungary is looking to Chinese investment to establish itself as a European manufacturing hub for E.V.s.
Britain: The Bank of England left interest rates steady as inflation eased, but signaled that it could cut them soon.
Climate: At a private meeting, Donald Trump told oil executives and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to his campaign because, if elected, he would roll back environmental rules.
Mexico: Officials are trying to plan for a potential shift in U.S. relations if Donald Trump returns to power in 2025.
Boeing: At least 10 people were injured when a plane went off the runway in Senegal.
South Africa: Rescuers were looking through tons of concrete rubble for dozens of people who were missing after the collapse of a building on Monday.

Sports

Soccer: Luis Rubiales, Spain’s former soccer chief, will stand trial on a count of sexual assault for forcibly kissing a player.
Fencing: Suspensions and accusations over refereeing integrity and preferential treatment have cast a shadow over the sport ahead of the Olympics.

MORNING READ

A portrait of Majid Khan, wearing a white T-shirt and black basketball shorts, holding a newborn baby on a gravel road with overgrown plants on either side.

Majid Khan said integrating into his new life in Belize has been a challenge. Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times

Majid Khan, a former courier for Al Qaeda, spent two decades in Guantánamo Bay and was tortured in C.I.A. custody. In the year since his release, he has reunited with his wife, met his daughter and had a son. They now live in Belize.

“Life is a test,” he said. He sees the next chapter of his life as an opportunity to make things right. He was hurt, he said, and did things that hurt others. “May God forgive.”

For more, listen to the latest season of the “Serial” podcast, which is about Guantánamo.

Lives lived: Steve Albini, a musician and audio engineer who helped define the sound of ’90s alternative rock, died at 61. Listen to some of his essential recordings.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

New friends: Our tech columnist spent the past month hanging out with some A.I. companions. This is what he learned.
More drugs, less violence: Changing attitudes have prompted Britain’s film ratings board to rerate some classic movies, like “Mary Poppins.”

“Kinkeeping”: The ceaseless work of keeping a family connected has a name. It’s also still mostly handled by women.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

An illustration of a seated figure and the person's reflection in a vast landscape. Above the person is a web of neural pathways.

Jialun Deng

How loneliness affects the brain

Everyone feels lonely from time to time. But for some people, loneliness becomes entrenched in a way that’s bad for their health. Chronic loneliness can even change people’s brains.

Neurologically, chronic loneliness is associated with changes in areas important for social cognition, self-awareness and processing emotions. For years, scientists have known about a connection between loneliness and Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. A study published late last year suggested an association with Parkinson’s disease. It is also linked to depression.

So what can you do? It sounds obvious, but a common recommendation is to put yourself in places and situations where you can meet people and make new friends. Cognitive behavior therapy can also help address the root problem for why it might be hard for you to interact with others.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A close up shot of a piece of carrot cake, riddled with walnuts.

Vaughn Vreeland and Scott Loitsch for The New York Times

Bake: If you’re celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday, make this classic carrot cake.

Watch: “Evil Does Not Exist” is a powerful parable about a rural Japanese village and the resort developer eyeing its land.

Hunt: Which home in France did a retired U.S. teacher buy? (Her budget was $300,000.)

Learn: Can you tell which of these dogs is more inbred? Take this quiz to find out.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. Have a lovely weekend. — Amelia

Email us at briefing@nytimes.com.

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