1. We are in the hottest period in the history of civilization, leading to record-breaking weather events and temperature extremes.
That’s according to an exhaustive scientific report unveiled by 13 federal agencies that says humans are the dominant cause of global warming. The White House approved its release even though the findings contradict much of the administration’s stance on the issue.
The U.N. convenes its annual climate change conference next week in Germany, and the American delegation is expected to face harsh criticism over the decision to walk away from the Paris climate accord.
Above, smoke from a wildfire in Oregon in August.
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2. President Trump began what’s scheduled to be the longest tour of Asia by an American president since George Bush in 1991.
Before Mr. Trump left, he again blasted the Justice Department for not investigating Democrats. And he was briefly silenced: A rogue contractor at Twitter shut down @realDonaldTrump for 11 minutes.
Mr. Trump is slated to visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. A spokesman for the Kremlin said that officials were discussing a meeting between Mr. Trump and Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an economic meeting in Vietnam.
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3. The Republican tax bill could include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act rule that requires most people to have health insurance. The leading tax writer in the House, Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, said President Trump wants to nix the rule. Above, a free clinic in Virginia.
We mapped out the five biggest changes for families in the tax plan, and looked at how changing the mortgage interest deduction could shake up the housing market.
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4. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, above center, won’t serve time in prison for deserting his base in Afghanistan in 2009. He was ordered to be dishonorably discharged from the Army by a military judge, but received no prison time for desertion or endangering troops.
President Trump quickly criticized the decision on Twitter, calling it “a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.”
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5. The New York Police Department is building a case to arrest Harvey Weinstein after the actress Paz la de Huerta, above in 2015, accused him of sexually attacking her in the city in 2010.
The reverberations from the case, and the #metoo campaign, continue to be felt around the globe. Our Saturday Profile this week is of Henda Ayari, a French activist who has accused the well-known scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape. He denies the accusation.
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6. The Syrian and Iraqi governments each made major advances against the Islamic State near their shared border.
The Syrian government said it had retaken all of the provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, above, while Iraqi forces seized control of a crucial border crossing at Qaim. Iranian-backed militias were crucial in both operations, and intense Russian airstrikes also assisted the Syrian government.
The militants now control only fragments of their self-declared caliphate. These maps show how they quickly gained — and lost — control.
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7. Atlanta, the celebrated base of African-American cultural, economic and political power, has had only black mayors since the Ford administration.
That could change soon. There are eight major contenders in a wide-open race to replace Mayor Kasim Reed, who is facing term limits. Three of them are white.
The vote is on Tuesday. Above, Mr. Reed and Keisha Lance Bottoms, a councilwoman and candidate.
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8. On Sunday, more than 50,000 people will run the New York City Marathon. There will be a heavy police presence along the route after this week’s truck attack. We’ll have live coverage.
And whether you’re doing a marathon or a more modest workout this weekend, you may be interested to hear this: A new study found that a hot bath is better than ice for sore muscles. Above, last year’s race.
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9. Lincoln Center kicked off 12 concerts this week featuring all 150 biblical psalms set to music.
For centuries, the Book of Psalms has been fodder for composers. David Lang, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008, called it “a catalog of all the ways you can have a conversation with God.”
The concerts include nine new psalm settings. Listen to audio excerpts from each of them here, with comments from the composers.
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10. Finally, on “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah weighed in on the hearings with lawyers for social media companies on Capitol Hill this week.
“I love that even in real life, Facebook conversations devolve into anger and frustration,” he said. “Look at Al Franken: He’s doing a real-life ‘facepalm’ emoji.”
A friendly reminder: clocks “fall” back by one hour on Sunday. And if you’re wondering why daylight saving time exists, we’ve got answers.
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