Your Monday Evening Briefing

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Evening Briefing

Your Monday Evening Briefing

Here's what you need to know at the end of the day.

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April 17, 2023, 5:45 p.m. ET[2]

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

Smoke billowed behind residential buildings in eastern Khartoum today.

Credit...Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images

1. Two generals battled for control of Sudan for a third day.

More than 180 civilians have died since intense fighting erupted on Saturday between the Sudanese Army and a powerful paramilitary group.

Millions of residents in Khartoum, the nation's capital, were trapped without water or electricity, and many hospitals came under attack.

It is unclear who, if anyone, is in control of Sudan. Follow our live updates [4].

The battles are the culmination of a long-brewing conflict between two generals who took over in a coup two years ago. Pushed by Western governments, the two leaders -- the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his rival, Lt.

Gen. Mohamed Hamdan -- were scheduled to cede power to a civilian government [5] this month.

Instead, fighting broke out. In Khartoum, blasts left a bridge across the Nile River in flames and the airport in ruins.

The battles spread to the four corners of the country, where the rival forces fought over control of military bases. These photos and videos show the scale of the violence.[6]

The chaos was an alarming turn for Sudan, a large, strategically significant state [7] that serves as a bridge between north and sub-Saharan Africa. Concerns grew that the fighting might embroil other nations [8] in the region.

The U.S., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called for immediate peace talks.

But Sudan's generals did not seem to be listening. Both men claimed to be winning the fight and issued belligerent threats. In an interview, General Hamdan said General al-Burhan would "die like any dog" if he was not brought to justice.

Hundreds of migrant children have been sent to the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.Credit...Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

The Biden administration ignored or missed repeated warnings of migrant child labor.

The White House in February quickly announced a crackdown on child labor violations after a Times investigation revealed that thousands of migrant children were being exploited. But over the past two years, government workers had repeatedly warned the White House and federal agencies about the problem [9].

As the administration scrambled to clear shelters that were strained beyond capacity, children were released to sponsors who expected them to take on grueling, dangerous jobs [10]. In interviews with The Times, government officials expressed concern for migrant children but shifted blame for failing to protect them.

At least five Health and Human Services staff members said they had been pushed out after raising concerns about child safety.

Credit...Ahmed Gaber for The New York Times

3. Republicans descended on New York to attack the man who charged Donald Trump.

The House Judiciary Committee traveled to New York City for a hearing ostensibly about crime in the city. Republicans on the panel spent much of the time attacking the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg [11], who charged Trump.

They accused Bragg of instituting "pro-crime" policies.

The hearing was the latest clash between Bragg, who says that New York is the "safest big city in America," and the committee's chairman, Jim Jordan, the right-wing Ohio Republican who has aligned with Tump and who defines himself by punching back [12].

In other politics news, Speaker Kevin McCarthy proposed a one-year debt ceiling increase [13] paired with a set of spending cuts. The plan is dead on arrival in the Senate, but it helps clarify Republican priorities.

Separately, the defamation trial for Fox News, in a case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, was delayed and is now set to begin tomorrow [14].

Credit.../EPA, via Shutterstock

4. A prominent critic of Vladimir Putin was sentenced to 25 years in a penal colony.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, an activist who contributes to the opinion section of The Washington Post, was convicted of treason over his criticism of Putin's invasion of Ukraine [15].

Many political activists have been prosecuted since the invasion, including Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, but Kara-Murza's sentence was the longest yet.

The verdict sends a chilling message to the remaining anti-Putin activists as the Kremlin continues to clamp down on dissent.

In other news from the war, NATO is turning itself into the war-fighting alliance it was during the Cold War. It is shedding its inhibitions about placing increased numbers of troops along its border, with the intention of making NATO forces more visible to Russia [16].

Credit...Gaelen Morse/Reuters

5. A grand jury in Ohio decided not to charge police officers in the death of Jayland Walker.

Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot more than 90 times by the police after an attempted traffic stop in Akron, died in June.

Ohio's attorney general announced today that the officers involved would not be charged [17].

The police had chased Walker, who did not pull over, first in vehicles and then on foot and said that they believed he had fired a weapon from his car. Walker was unarmed when he was fatally shot [18].

In other law enforcement news, the F.B.I. arrested two men who were charged with conspiring to act as agents of China [19] as members of a Chinese police outpost in Manhattan's Chinatown.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E, an electric car, qualifies for half of the £7,500 tax credit.Credit...David Dee Delgado/Reuters

6. Tesla and General Motors will benefit most from new tax breaks on electric vehicles.

Most of Tesla's available models, as well as G.M.'s inexpensive Chevrolet Bolt, will qualify for the full £7,500 tax credit [20] that the U.S. will begin offering to buyers tomorrow.

The Treasury Department released the list of eligible vehicles.

E.V.s made by foreign manufacturers like Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan do not qualify. That's because new rules designed to limit China's role in the auto industry require that a certain percentage of battery components come from domestic sources or trade allies.

Credit...Ian MacLellan for The New York Times

7. Hellen Obiri and Evans Chebet of Kenya won the Boston Marathon.

Obiri, a 33-year-old making her Boston debut, sped ahead of the lead pack with roughly a half-mile left in the 26.2-mile race, securing first place among the women [21] with a time of 2 hours 21 minutes 38 seconds.

Her training took her to Boulder, Colo., and involved a coach who insisted that she slow down [22].

In the men's race, Chebet won his second straight Boston Marathon [23] with a time of 2:05:54. Chebet, a 34-year-old Kenyan, pulled ahead of his countryman -- and the world's best marathoner -- Eliud Kipchoge, who could not keep up the pace in the pouring rain. Kipchoge finished [24] in 2:09:23, his slowest marathon ever.

For more: When regular runners try to keep up with elite racers, it doesn't go well [25].

8. Some people are already using A.I. tools in their everyday lives.

The release of ChatGPT kicked off a wave of interest in artificial intelligence and the ways it could quickly perform tasks that would take humans far longer.

The bots -- which still have many flaws -- can code, design or fluidly write with the click of a button.

To get a sense of the ways in which A.I. is already helping people in work, life, play and procrastination, we collected the stories of 35 people who use the technology [26], including a Ph.D. student who learned Chinese with the help of ChatGPT and a NASA engineer who designed spaceship parts.

Credit...Christopher Simpson for The New York Times

9. What to do tonight:

Cook: These bricklayer-style nachos [27] are a hearty treat.

Watch: The final season of HBO's "Barry" is here.[28]

Read: Times books editors selected the 12 books we should be reading right now [29].

Marvel: This new map lets you see all of Mars all at once [30].

Dry off: This towel has remained Wirecutter's go-to pick for five years [31].

Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee [32], Wordle [33] and Mini Crossword [34].

An akiya pictured in 2019, before it was renovated.Credit...Andrew Faulk for The New York Times

10. And finally, your dream home might be in Japan.

As its population declines, Japan's stock of abandoned homes has grown to unmanageable heights.

More than 10 million such homes are scattered across the country, many of which have been left vacant by heirs unwilling to maintain them.

The sheer volume has created an opportunity for an emerging segment of buyers, who feel less tethered to cities and are seeking out rural architecture in need of some love. One family recently picked up a 2,700-square-foot house for just £23,000 [35].

Have a bucolic night.

Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.

Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here.[36]

Have any feedback? Let us know at [email protected].[37]

Continue reading the main story [38]

References

^ Continue reading the main story (www.nytimes.com)
^ NewsletterEvening Briefing (www.nytimes.com)
^ the sign-up (www.nytimes.com)
^ Follow our live updates (www.nytimes.com)
^ cede power to a civilian government (www.nytimes.com)
^ photos and videos show the scale of the violence. (www.nytimes.com)
^ a large, strategically significant state (www.nytimes.com)
^ might embroil other nations (www.nytimes.com)
^ repeatedly warned the White House and federal agencies about the problem (www.nytimes.com)
^ take on grueling, dangerous jobs (www.nytimes.com)
^ attacking the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg (www.nytimes.com)
^ defines himself by punching back (www.nytimes.com)
^ proposed a one-year debt ceiling increase (www.nytimes.com)
^ set to begin tomorrow (www.nytimes.com)
^ convicted of treason over his criticism of Putin's invasion of Ukraine (www.nytimes.com)
^ making NATO forces more visible to Russia (www.nytimes.com)
^ the officers involved would not be charged (www.nytimes.com)
^ unarmed when he was fatally shot (www.nytimes.com)
^ conspiring to act as agents of China (www.nytimes.com)
^ qualify for the full £7,500 tax credit (www.nytimes.com)
^ securing first place among the women (www.nytimes.com)
^ insisted that she slow down (www.nytimes.com)
^ Chebet won his second straight Boston Marathon (www.nytimes.com)
^ Kipchoge finished (www.nytimes.com)
^ it doesn't go well (www.nytimes.com)
^ stories of 35 people who use the technology (www.nytimes.com)
^ bricklayer-style nachos (cooking.nytimes.com)
^ HBO's "Barry" is here. (www.nytimes.com)
^ 12 books we should be reading right now (www.nytimes.com)
^ Mars all at once (www.nytimes.com)
^ go-to pick for five years (www.nytimes.com)
^ Spelling Bee (www.nytimes.com)
^ Wordle (www.nytimes.com)
^ Mini Crossword (www.nytimes.com)
^ picked up a 2,700-square-foot house for just £23,000 (www.nytimes.com)
^ You can browse them here (www.nytimes.com)
^ [email protected] (www.nytimes.com)
^ Continue reading the main story (www.nytimes.com)