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Here's what you need to know:
Trump stands with Saudis over Khashoggi killing
In a remarkable statement on Tuesday, President Trump brushed aside the conclusions of American intelligence officials and a growing body of evidence linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to the killing of the dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
Mr. Trump said it might never be known whether Prince Mohammed had prior knowledge of the act. "In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the president said.
• Analysis: In Mr. Trump's remarks, our correspondents saw the staking out of a foreign policy in which alliances are transactional and friends are excused for abhorrent acts — a potential blueprint for autocrats.
A frustrated desire to prosecute Clinton and Comey
President Trump told the White House counsel in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton and James Comey, the former F.B.I. director.
Donald McGahn, the lawyer, told Mr. Trump that presidents did not have the authority to order prosecutions, and warned him that any such move could lead to impeachment. The encounter is one of the most blatant examples of how Mr. Trump has seen the Justice Department as a tool to use against political rivals.
• Another angle: The president's lawyers have submitted his answers to the special counsel about any possible conspiracy with Russia's 2016 election interference. "It is time to bring this inquiry to a conclusion," his lawyers said.
• Go deeper: The man overseeing the Russia inquiry, Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general, received $1.2 million from a conservative group that does not reveal its donors, raising questions about potentially undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Warning sign flashes about the economy
A market sell-off led by technology stocks has wiped out gains for 2018 and stoked fears that the U.S. could face significant challenges.
Though the economy appears strong — unemployment is low, corporations are producing large profits and wages are beginning to rise — slides in stocks are often the first sign of trouble. In this case, the slump reflects concerns about privacy lapses and mismanagement at tech companies, as well as fears about slowing growth and the impact of the trade war between the U.S. and China.
Asian and European markets signaled a potential respite today, and futures contracts that predict how American markets will perform suggested that Wall Street could open higher.
• The numbers: Five tech companies, Amazon; Apple; Facebook; Netflix; and the Google-parent, Alphabet, have lost a combined $822 billion in value since the end of August.
• Go deeper: What's happening to oil prices? We explain.
Candidate apologizes for "public hanging" remark
In a debate last night, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican of Mississippi, expressed regret over a comment she made about a "public hanging," though she insisted her words had been twisted. It was an attempt to steady a campaign that has appeared imperiled since video of the remark caused an outcry in a state scarred by racial violence.
• Why it's important: A victory by Mike Espy, the Democratic candidate, would limit Senate Republican gains to a single seat.
Business
• China's booming box office sales and ability to finance movies have increased its influence over Hollywood. The Chinese government has used this to control how it's depicted in films.
• Knockout movies come to the theaters
The holiday movie season is here, and there are strong options. Our critics raved about "Creed II" ("the only heroic Hollywood multisequel narrative worth caring about") and "Ralph Breaks the Internet" ("a terrifying, incisive satire").
• Best of late-night TV
Jimmy Kimmel struggled to arrive at a punch line for the news that Ivanka Trump had used her personal email account for her work in the White House: "Sometimes the jokes write themselves. And this is one of those times."
• Quotation of the day
"I think we are going to have a lot of elderly people who were wiped off the face of the earth because they were sleeping."
— Thomas D. Allman, the sheriff of Mendocino County, Calif., who said he expected a rising death toll for the Camp Fire, in which nearly 700 people are still missing.
• The Times, in other words
Here's an image of today's front page, and links to our Opinion content and crossword puzzles.
Back Story
It was another year of the woman, with a catch.
On this day almost a century ago, Rebecca Felton became the first woman in the U.S. Senate.
For one day.
In 1922, Georgia's governor decided to run for the seat of a senator who had died. Seeking votes from the newly enfranchised women of his state, he appointed the 87-year-old Mrs. Felton to "serve" during a congressional recess.
He lost, but Mrs. Felton was able to take office anyway.
And she was no novice.
Besides being a suffragist and a fighter for temperance, she had worked tirelessly on the campaigns of her husband, a congressman. Complicating her legacy, she was also an outspoken white supremacist.
Her one and only speech on the Senate floor concluded with a prescient promise to future female lawmakers:
"You will get integrity of purpose, you will get exalted patriotism, and you will get unstinted usefulness."
Jennifer Steinhauer, a reporter in our Washington bureau, wrote today's Back Story.
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