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Good Morning. In today’s edition, U.S. stocks hit record highs, Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser is open to testifying before a Senate panel, Michael Cohen has talked with Robert Mueller about President Trump, and more. |
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The Dow and the S&P 500 set new highs. | |
Record closes for U.S. stock indexes kindled hopes among some investors that the buoyant market is on track to exceed Wall Street’s expectations for the year. Thursday’s rally left the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 7.8% for the year and the S&P 500 up 9.6%—within striking distance of the 2018 targets of banks such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. From reporter Michael Wursthorn: The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the last major U.S. index to rebound from the inflation-and-trade-fueled anxieties that sent stocks tumbling earlier this year. The Dow went 163 trading days between record closes, its longest dry spell since one that ended in July 2016 after 288 trading days. Without the massive growth in corporate profits, stoked by last year’s tax overhaul, several investors said trade tensions likely would have had a more detrimental impact on stock prices. |
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Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser is open to testifying before a Senate panel. Christine Blasey Ford’s attorney said Dr. Ford would be willing to appear next week, but not as early as Monday, when a hearing is now scheduled. The attorney, Debra Katz, also said Dr. Ford had been receiving death threats. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 38% of registered voters oppose the nomination, up from 29% last month; supporters about held steady, at 34%. Analyzed by party, the difference of opinion is wider than for any other nominee since the poll started asking in 2005: Among Democrats, 66% oppose the nomination; among Republicans, 73% support it. “She wishes to testify, provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.” | — Debra Katz, lawyer for Christine Blasey Ford |
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Google said it still lets other companies scan Gmail accounts and share data. App developers are allowed to scan accounts—as Google itself did for ad targeting until last year—and generally are free to share the data with others, as long as their privacy policies adequately disclose potential uses. Separately, internal emails show that Google employees discussed ways to tweak search-related functions to show users how to contribute to pro-immigration organizations and contact lawmakers and government agencies. Google said none of the ideas were implemented. From reporter Douglas MacMillan: If you give an app developer permission to access your Gmail account, that company may try to share data from your inbox with its business partners. Surprisingly, Google admits it does not prohibit this practice. It’s another sign the internet giant has little control over what hundreds of outside software developers do with user data. |
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The White House publicly acknowledged it had relaxed rules on U.S. use of cyberweapons. National security adviser John Bolton confirmed that the old rules had been replaced by new classified guidance allowing the Defense Department to launch offensive cyber strikes without an elaborate interagency process. “Our hands are not as tied as they were in the Obama administration.” | — National security adviser John Bolton |
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Mr. Bolton didn’t specify what is in the rules, but described them as “very different” from their Obama-era ones they replaced. |
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Teen vaping is rising fast. | | PHOTO: STEVEN SENNE/ASSOCIATED PRESS |
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Roughly 75% more high-school students are vaping—defined as having used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days—than were last year, according to a person who has seen new preliminary federal data. That would put the number of vapers at about three million, or some 20% of high-school students. Nearly a third of 13-to-18-year-olds who responded to a separate survey said they currently vape. From reporter Betsy McKay: It has been tough for public health officials and parents to keep up with teen use of e-cigarettes, in more ways than one. E-cigarette sales are soaring, but it’s difficult to know how much of that is due to teens. Data are generally published months or even years behind a trend. Our exclusive reporting on preliminary federal data, and the results of our own WSJ survey, gave us a unique view into teen vaping in 2018, suggesting that teens are helping fuel the strong sales growth. |
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Michael Cohen has met multiple times with Robert Mueller’s investigators. | | Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer for President Trump, leaving federal court last month. PHOTO: DON EMMERT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES |
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As part of the meetings, the special counsel’s investigators asked Mr. Cohen—President Trump’s former lawyer—about the president, on subjects including dealings with Russia. Mr. Mueller is investigating whether Trump associates colluded with Russia in its efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. Mr. Trump has denied collusion. |
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What We’re Following | | United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. PHOTO: SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES |
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Trump at the U.N.: Ambassador Nikki Haley said the president’s speech before world leaders Tuesday will focus on “protecting U.S. sovereignty.” The Russia Squeeze: In its escalating campaign against Moscow, the Trump administration imposed sanctions against a key Chinese military-research unit for two Russian arms deals. Wells Fargo Job Cuts: The bank plans to reduce staffing by up to 10% from the current 265,000 through layoffs and attrition over the next three years. Airline Fees: U.S. airlines are fighting to prevent federal limits on what they charge passengers to change flight reservations, currently good for $3 billion a year. |
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Trending Stories at WSJ.com What do Beyoncé and some billionaires have in common, beyond money? Massive mortgages. (Read) Latin America is the murder capital of the world. Riven by drugs, gangs, weak institutions and lawlessness, the region is facing a crisis. (Read) Disney decided to reanimate portions of a coming film after criticism that it had lightened a black character's skin. (Read) |
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What Else We’re Reading Another Tesla vice president is leaving. This time it’s Liam O’Connor, chief of global supply management, who has resigned. (Bloomberg) Insurance provider John Hancock is adding fitness tracking to all of its policies. (BBC News) |
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WSJ Crossword We’re trying out a new Friday feature in The 10-Point: The WSJ Crossword Contest. For the uninitiated, WSJ Puzzles is our online collection of elegant, adventurous and addictive crosswords and other word games, and Friday is a big day in the WSJ Puzzle world. Try your hand. |
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Today’s Question and Answer Responding to yesterday’s question about the new steps announced by Roman Catholic bishops in the U.S. for dealing with sexual-abuse accusations: Claudia Bartz of Wisconsin wrote: “All allegations of sexual assault and abuse in the church (and elsewhere) should be immediately handed over to civil authorities for investigation and appropriate action if warranted. It does not make sense to allow clergy or church laypeople to handle these cases. Clergy might consider themselves holy and therefore smarter and better than civil authorities, but they are wrong.” Rich Irwin from Ohio said: “At least they are trying to do something about the allegations. As scary and as difficult as these situations may be, regardless of the truthfulness of the accuser, it is important to respect the rights of the accused.” Bethany Kacich of Illinois shared: “I am a 31-year-old woman who was raised Catholic and recently quit her job and moved across the country to attend the University of Chicago Divinity School. I see this new policy as a tiny step in the right direction. But as a religion that professes to embrace new life through death, why stop there? This is an opportunity for reform! Catholic theology teaches that celibacy is a ‘charism,’ meaning a gift. It is high time that the church hierarchy acknowledge that to mandate such a gift is a contradiction.” Susan Prillman of North Carolina said: “The Bible says the antidote to sin is true repentance. I haven’t seen or heard much of that from the individuals involved or the church hierarchy that covered it up for so many decades. It’s more than just saying ‘We’re sorry.’ Until that happens, all the systems in the world will be futile.” Question for Monday’s 10-Point: Going back to our story above, what are your thoughts on Google allowing other companies to scan and share data from Gmail accounts? Email us your comments, which we may edit before publication, to 10point@wsj.com, and make sure to include your name and location. |
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| The 10-Point was the name given to the news column that runs on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Eleanor Miller (eleanor.miller@wsj.com) in collaboration with Editor in Chief Matt Murray. Let us know what you think by replying to this email. Editor’s note: The 10-Point is now a WSJ member benefit. If you receive our flagship newsletter and are not yet a member, we’ll continue sending it to you for now. To ensure you don’t miss out, we invite you to join us and enjoy the full breadth of scoops, analysis and great storytelling from our journalists around the globe. |
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