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Obama, Gina Haspel, Texas: Your Monday Evening Briefing

Zach Johnk and

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good evening. Here’s the latest.

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Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

1. President Trump praised the “patriots of the C.I.A.” as he swore in Gina Haspel, above left, as the agency’s next director.

It was a departure from his accusations that intelligence agencies had orchestrated a conspiracy against his presidential campaign. (Last year, on his first visit to the agency, he delivered a diatribe against the news media and Democrats.)

Over at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Ms. Haspel’s predecessor, Mike Pompeo, above center, delivered a remarkably hard-line speech about Iran. Mr. Pompeo, now secretary of state, offered no concessions to European leaders who want to do business with Tehran.

And we looked at the “shadow N.S.C.” advising John Bolton, the national security adviser. Drawn from the world of conservative politics, international consulting and defense contracting, some have business interests that overlap with the National Security Council’s work.

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Credit...Paul Hanna/Reuters

2. China called the Trump administration’s bluff.

President Trump promoted his administration’s trade talks with China as a success, saying China would end up buying more American agricultural goods.

But though Washington has held off on imposing tariffs on $150 billion in Chinese goods, Beijing has stood its ground, rebuffing demands and avoiding specific pledges. Above, a booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona belonging to ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company hit with severe American penalties.

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Credit...Evan Vucci/Associated Press

3. President Trump is moving toward breaching an established constraint on executive power: The White House does not make decisions about individual law enforcement investigations.

In an extraordinary meeting, he summoned the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, above, and the F.B.I. director, Christopher Wray, to the White House to apply pressure on the Russia inquiry.

It’s part of an increasingly aggressive strategy to contain the threat and undercut the credibility of the escalating investigations targeting him and his associates.

Mr. Rosenstein has agreed to meet increasingly onerous demands from Mr. Trump and his allies, and legal scholars and former law enforcement officials worry that such moves could allow the Justice Department to be used as a cudgel to attack presidents’ political enemies.

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Credit...Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

4. In 23 years on the Houston police force, he never had to fire his gun.

But four months into his job as a school resource officer, John Barnes took a shotgun blast to his right arm while confronting a gunman on Friday at Santa Fe High School, above, in eastern Texas.

Officials said that Officer Barnes and a colleague confronted the gunman within about four minutes, hemming him into one classroom and saving lives by drawing his attention and fire. But the shooting still left 10 dead and 13 wounded, including Officer Barnes, who remains in critical condition.

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Credit...Ángel Franco/The New York Times

5. New York City landlords have twisted housing court into an eviction machine.

Our investigation details how mega-landlords have pushed out tenants and wrested a civic commodity, affordable housing, out of regulation and into the free market. Above, Neri Carranza, who was targeted for eviction after living for more than a half-century in a rent-regulated apartment.

“I was sick of fighting with them and sick of the harassment,” said another tenant who was pushed out of his Manhattan apartment. (This is Part 2 of a series; here are Part 1 and Part 3.)

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Credit...Jim Young/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

6. They’re back: the Obamas, the Clintons and — drumroll — Don Blankenship.

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will produce television shows and films for Netflix as part of a multiyear deal, the company announced. The streaming service said they would produce a mix of scripted and unscripted series and documentaries.

Another former first couple, Hillary and Bill Clinton, are emerging from a political hiatus, with Mrs. Clinton set to endorse Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his progressive rival, Cynthia Nixon, in New York’s Democratic primary for governor. Both Clintons are treading carefully, though — some Democrats see them as liabilities.

And Mr. Blankenship wants to run as a third-party candidate for Senate in West Virginia, having lost the Republican primary. Democrats would welcome his splitting the Republican vote, but the state has a “sore loser” law that may foil his plans.

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The Indian-owned Morongo Casino Resort and Spa near Cabazon is one of dozens of California casinos that leaders of the Indian tribes say are legally entitled to play a major role in sports betting.Credit...David McNew/Getty Images

7. Sports betting is set to be widely legal, and Native American tribes in the casino business want to be dealt in.

A pivotal Supreme Court decision last week sent state governments scrambling to capture the tens of billions of dollars in projected revenue. Their efforts could hinge on the fine print of a series of gaming agreements between states and Native American tribes.

Tribes in Connecticut and other states insist that the agreements give them alone the legal authority to offer sports betting. Still, there may be motion, since no one wants a yearslong legal fight at the expense of huge profits. Above, the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in California.

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Credit...Andreas Solaro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

8. A Chilean survivor of sexual abuse said Pope Francis told him that being gay was “not a problem” and that “God made you this way and loves you this way, and the pope loves you this way.”

The Vatican declined to comment on what would be a remarkable expression of Roman Catholic inclusion.

In July 2013, the pope responded to questions about a supposed “gay lobby” in the Vatican by saying “Who am I to judge,” a remark that caused celebration among liberals and consternation among conservatives.

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Credit...Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

9. “Our deity is coming down to play.”

That was a hula dancer and poet referring to Pele, Hawaii’s goddess of volcanoes and fire. Reverence for her hasn’t diminished with the eruption of the Kilauea volcano, which has laid waste to dozens of homes and set off earthquakes.

“My house was an offering for Pele,” said a woman whose home was destroyed by lava. “It’s an awe-inspiring process of destruction and creation and I was lucky to glimpse it.” Above, Stefani Hinkle gave thanks to Pele.

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Credit...Jose Calvo/Science Source

10. Finally, let’s return to science class.

Remember the nucleolus? It’s that blob inside the nucleus that you might have seen under a microscope.

And it may play a key role in aging, a new scientific review found, after researchers examined how it waxes and wanes in response to a body’s available nutrients and growth signals.

Scientists are amazed that their long hunt for markers of longevity might have been sitting there in (nearly) plain view all along.

Have a great night.

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Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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