Tuesday Briefing

Gaza hospitals “must be protected,” Biden says

President Biden called for “less intrusive action” around hospitals in Gaza, as Israeli troops battled to seize control of what Israel says is a Hamas command complex that lies below the enclave’s main medical center, Al-Shifa Hospital. Hamas and hospital officials have denied the allegation. Here’s the latest.

U.S. officials “remain in contact with the Israelis” to secure a pause in the fighting to allow for the release of Israeli hostages, Biden said, adding: “I remain somewhat hopeful, but hospitals must be protected.” Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser, said at a briefing shortly afterward that the U.S. and Israel “do not want to see firefights in hospitals.”

Thousands of people fled Al-Shifa over the weekend as Israeli troops encircled it, and the W.H.O. has warned of a “dire and perilous” situation for patients. The health organization said in a statement that Al-Shifa “is not functioning as a hospital anymore” after it ran out of fuel and water, risking the lives of patients.

In the hospital: Medicine and food are running out for the hundreds of patients and thousands of people sheltering there. Without electricity or fuel, dozens of corpses are decomposing, a chief nurse and a health official said, and hospital staff members are trying to keep premature babies warm after removing them from now-useless incubators.

Displacement: In Israel, more than 125,000 people have been evacuated from areas where tensions have escalated in recent days. The Israeli state is paying to house the evacuees indefinitely in hotels and guesthouses.

Britain’s troubled leader shakes up his cabinet

In a dramatic reshuffle, Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of Britain, fired Suella Braverman, the hawkish former home secretary and one of his most senior and divisive ministers, and unexpectedly brought a centrist predecessor, David Cameron, back into government as foreign secretary. Here’s a list of the new cabinet members.

After 13 years in Downing Street, the Conservatives’ grip on power appears to be slipping, with the party trailing Labour in the polls and a public sector under acute strain after years of austerity. A general election is expected next year.

Braverman: The hard-right politician has now been fired from the home secretary’s position twice, once by Sunak, and once by his predecessor, Liz Truss. Her hard-line stances and inflammatory rhetoric on law enforcement, immigration and national security have often stoked divisive cultural debates in Britain.

Cameron: The former prime minister will return to government without needing to face an election, thanks to an unusual mechanism that will award him a lifetime place in the House of Lords. But the new foreign secretary comes with political baggage of his own, as the leader who called the vexed referendum on Brexit in 2013.

Trees in the fight against climate change

Restoring global forests where they occur naturally could potentially capture an additional 226 gigatons of planet-warming carbon, equivalent to about a third of human emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Era, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.

But trees are far from a silver bullet, even as they provide shelter, shade and food and remain essential to tackling the climate and biodiversity crises. If we protect all current forests, where will people get timber, rubber and palm oil? Would forests be able to store carbon quickly enough? And how much forest carbon would be lost to natural disasters?

Related: In the U.S., the great hope for the future of nuclear power, which does not emit planet-warming carbon dioxide, is to go small. Meanwhile, a group of start-up companies is trying to ignite fusion energy.

THE LATEST NEWS

Around the World

• President Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will meet tomorrow. Here’s what’s at stake.

• Years of speeches by Xi offer an unvarnished view into the leader at the center of a superpower rivalry that is shaping the 21st century.

• Ukrainian partisans killed three Russian officers in a bomb attack in Melitopol over the weekend, the military authorities said.

• Nepal said it planned to ban TikTok over the platform’s refusal to curb hate content.

• Six beech trees that were made famous by the series “Game of Thrones” will be cut down, officials in Northern Ireland said.

From the U.S.

• Prosecutors accused Donald Trump of trying to turn his Jan. 6 trial into “a media event” after he backed calls to have it broadcast live on television.

• Federal officials are investigating whether the campaign of Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, conspired with members of the Turkish government.

• The Supreme Court adopted an ethics code for all nine justices after some took undisclosed gifts and property deals.

• The gap in life expectancy between men and women in the U.S. grew to its widest in nearly 30 years.

What Else is Happening

• More Americans say they have serious cognitive problems than at any other time in the last 15 years. Researchers say long Covid is a major cause.

• Two hikers were rescued by helicopter in British Columbia after following a nonexistent trail on Google Maps.

• A gospel singer was threatened with removal from a flight after she refused to stop singing on the plane.

• Lost: One tool bag. Last seen floating through space.

A Morning Read

The British entertainer Russell Brand built an army of fans with his conspiracy-minded podcast. Now, as he faces a host of sexual assault claims, they have become his whole world.

“It’s almost like cancel capital,” Nick Marx, a professor of film and media studies at Colorado State University, said. “It’s something he recognizes as having a value distinct from money.”

SPORTS NEWS

Inside an instant Premier League classic: Long stoppages weren’t enough to slow a torrid goal-scoring pace between Chelsea and Manchester City.

A women’s soccer crossroad: Megan Rapinoe, who helped define the sport for a decade, is retiring, while Emma Hayes, her former coach, is returning to the U.S.

The Premier League’s biggest questions: Will Man City regret letting its young striker go? Also, why would Liverpool consider selling Mohamed Salah in January?

ARTS AND IDEAS

A furious bride

For 157 years, the woman at the center of the painting “The Hesitant Fiancée” by Auguste Toulmouche has issued a withering glare at those who dare to regard her. Lately, her gaze has landed on a new generation of appreciators, becoming a surprise hit on TikTok.

Modern viewers have come up with wide-ranging interpretations of the painting and its applications to modern life — seeing it as a take on women bristling at societal expectations, or using it as a punchline in response to phrases like “You’re overreacting” and “You really should smile more.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

Cook up a pot of roasted cauliflower soup.

Deal with people who interrupt you.

Buy one of Wirecutter’s favorite advent calendars.

Watch the final season of “The Crown.”

Keep your neckties — at least for now.

Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today’s Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all of our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha

P.S. The Times editor behind the “Overlooked” obituary series talks about an upcoming book compilation.

You can reach Natasha and the team at [email protected].