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Good morning.
We’re covering newly revealed testimony in the war-crimes case involving a Navy SEAL leader, an election victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and a deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan.
The SEALs who turned in Edward Gallagher
In tearful, anguished testimony to Navy investigators, members of Alpha platoon, SEAL Team 7, described their leader, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, as “toxic” and “freaking evil.”
Video recordings of the interviews, which were obtained by The Times, were used in the prosecution of Chief Gallagher on war crimes charges including murder. He was acquitted by a military jury in July of all but a single relatively minor charge, and was later cleared of all punishment by President Trump.
The interviews broke an unwritten code of silence among members of one of the nation’s most elite commando forces. In them, three SEAL members said they had seen Chief Gallagher shoot civilians in Iraq and fatally stab a wounded captive.
The details: Seven members of the 22-person platoon testified at Chief Gallagher’s trial that they had seen him commit war crimes. Two said they hadn’t seen any evidence of crimes, and others did not cooperate. Crucially, one SEAL member who had accused the chief during the investigation later changed his story on the witness stand.
Response: Chief Gallagher has insisted that the charges against him were concocted by team members who couldn’t meet his high standards. His lawyer said the interviews with the SEALs contained inconsistencies and falsehoods that created “a clear road map to the acquittal.”
Watch: The videos are featured in the latest episode of “The Weekly,” The Times’s TV show. It’s available to stream now on Hulu and will air on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX.
A new Saudi strategy: diplomacy
Since the U.S. decision not to respond forcefully after an attack on two Saudi oil facilities in September, the kingdom has quietly reached out to its enemies in the Middle East, worried that it can no longer count on Washington for defense.
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has stepped up talks with rebels in Yemen and even engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran, the kingdom’s regional archnemesis that U.S. and Saudi officials say was behind the September attacks.
Background: For decades, the U.S. has kept open the possibility of using force to ensure the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.
Another angle: In an effort to shift its economy away from dependence on the petroleum industry, Saudi Arabia is spending billions to promote itself as a tourist destination.
A barrier to a U.S. border wall
Among the challenges to constructing the 450 miles of new wall along the border with Mexico that President Trump has promised by 2021, access to private land may be the biggest.
The administration has built 93 miles of the new wall, nearly all of it on federal land, according to Customs and Border Protection. While the wall’s final path is not set, most of the section in southern Texas would be on land that is privately owned, according to the agency.
Mr. Trump has suggested using the government’s power of eminent domain to “take the land,” and the law appears to be on the administration’s side, according to lawyers and scholars.
Quotable: The construction isn’t on the border, which follows the Rio Grande, but to the north, well on the American side. “If the wall goes up, it will be the new border,” said Richard Drawe, a landowner in Texas.
Loyalty abides for Bernie Sanders
Months after a heart attack threatened his Democratic presidential campaign, the Vermont senator is at or near the top of polls in Iowa and other early voting states, driven in no small part by the enthusiasm of his supporters.
His progressive message, buoyed by the coveted endorsement of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has resonated with working-class voters and young people who say that a revolution is needed to fix a corrupt system.
Mr. Sanders’s fans are unwavering: A recent poll from The Des Moines Register showed that among likely Democratic caucusgoers who said Mr. Sanders was their top choice, 57 percent said their minds were made up; no other candidate registered above 30 percent.
Quotable: “From my conversations, it appears that people are not ambivalent about Sanders,” said a Democratic Party official in Iowa. “They are either behind him or he is not on their list of potential candidates.”
Another angle: Financial firms are creating bundles of investments that are tailored to different outcomes in November. “Market participants agree that the U.S. election is the big event for 2020,” said a saleswoman at Goldman Sachs.
If you have 10 minutes, this is worth it
Making ends meet, five cents at a time
In New York City, a shadow economy has sprouted up around recyclable bottles and cans. Dionisia Rivera, above, sells the items she collects on the Upper East Side.
Our reporter takes you inside the world of “canning,” which provides a lifeline to thousands as stable low-skill jobs disappear in the city.
Here’s what else is happening
Israel’s leader wins vote: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu easily defeated a challenger for the leadership of the conservative Likud party, but his victory is likely to perpetuate the country’s political deadlock.
Plane crash in Kazakhstan: At least 12 people were killed today when a passenger jet carrying 98 crashed into a building shortly after takeoff from the city of Almaty.
Deadline for wildfire victims: A team in California is racing to find those who are eligible to submit claims against the state’s largest utility.
Electric bikes rejected: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York vetoed a bill that would have legalized electric bikes and scooters, citing safety concerns.
Modern Love: In this week’s column, a New Year’s Eve eviction leads to confusion, courage and grace for a mother and daughter.
What we’re reading: This Twitter thread started by Jeff Loveness, a writer and actor. “It’s the kind of wild ride that you wish more Twitter would be — self-revelation, irony upon irony, sprinklings of sincere compassion,” says our briefings editor, Andrea Kannapell. “Though if you just revealed something grave to your adult child over the holidays, maybe skip.”
Now, a break from the news
Cook: Shrimp scampi is an easy crowd-pleaser.
See: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, DaBaby and the phenomenon of slime are the subjects of some of our favorite culture photographs from 2019.
Read: A scathing analysis of Brexit is among 10 new books we recommend this week.
Smarter Living: Toaster ovens keep getting smarter and more powerful — but what really works for you? Our tech columnist’s trial runs might help you narrow the options.
And now for the Back Story on …
The gray whale migration
If you traveled for the holidays, you may be grumbling about the hours on the road.
You’ve got nothing on the gray whale.
About 20,000 of them have begun their 5,000-mile southern migration from the icy waters off Alaska, where they’ve been fattening up for months on a diet of invertebrates sucked up from sea mud and strained out by the bristly baleen in their huge mouths.
The whales pass within a few miles of shore, so spectators and volunteer counters have gathered for decades to count their telltale plumes. Oregon’s Whale Watch Week, for example, begins today.
The whales are bound for Baja California, where higher temperatures are more suitable for giving birth. The calves have only a thin layer of the blubber that protects adult whales.
But the Baja mud offers little sustenance, so the whales return north within months, babies in tow.
The 10,000-mile round trip ranks as one of the longest of any mammal, rivaled only by another baleen whale, the humpback.
That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.
— Chris
Thank you
Mark Josephson and Raillan Brooks 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 revisits how family history websites have been used by law enforcement to track down suspects and win convictions.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Land on one side of Mount Everest (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• This Sunday, the print edition of The Times has a special section for kids, on the human body.