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Jared Kushner, Poland, ‘Game of Thrones’: Your Monday Briefing

Protesters in Lublin, Poland, on Sunday. After widespread opposition, President Andrzej Duda declined today to sign measures that would have increased government control of the country’s courts.Credit...Agencja Gazeta/Reuters

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• “I did not collude,” Kushner says.

President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said that he was unaware of the agenda of last year’s meeting with a Russian lawyer who had promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

We have a copy of his prepared remarks to congressional investigators, which were released this morning before he testifies in front of a Senate panel.

“I had no improper contacts. I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,” he said.

• White House signals support for Russia bill.

The White House indicated on Sunday that President Trump would accept new legislation curtailing his authority to lift sanctions on Russia.

It’s a striking turnaround after a revolt by lawmakers of both parties who distrusted his friendly approach to Moscow and sought to punish Russia for its interference in the election.

The bill to toughen sanctions is a setback for Mr. Trump and for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, our national security correspondent writes.

• The president’s priorities.

Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, went on his first official television outing on Sunday, reassuring President Trump that “we’re going to get your agenda out into the heartland.”

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Anthony Scaramucci and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the new White House press secretary, during a news briefing Friday.Credit...Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

One of our White House correspondents also looked at how Mr. Trump’s $1 trillion campaign pledge to rebuild American infrastructure has stalled.

• Racing to kill cancer.

The approval of gene therapy for leukemia, expected in the next few months, will open the door to a radically new class of treatments.

The therapy works best for blood cancers, one doctor said, adding: “If it can start to work in solid tumors, it will be utterly transformative for the whole field.”

• Poland’s president quashes court measures.

President Andrzej Duda defied expectations today and vetoed two proposed laws that would have placed the judiciary more directly under the control of the right-wing governing party.

• The last woman standing.

President Michelle Bachelet of Chile is the only female head of government in the Americas.

But her term ends next year, raising questions for those who had hoped that South America’s recent track record of electing women was a lasting step toward gender equality.

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President Michelle Bachelet of Chile in Santiago last month. In office since 2006, she is widely regarded as the first woman in the region to be elected without riding the coattails of a politically powerful husband.Credit...Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

• “The Daily,” your audio news report.

In today’s show, we discuss a busy few days at the White House, including the resignation of Sean Spicer, the press secretary.

Listen on a computer, an iOS device or an Android device.

• The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention faces a backlash from public health advocates for having accepted $1 million to fight child obesity from Coca-Cola.

• The recent struggles in China of Apple, Facebook and LinkedIn show why fewer tech companies are willing to do business there.

• Today’s meeting of OPEC officials in Russia is among the headlines to watch this week.

• U.S. stocks were down on Friday. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

• Even a tough breakup can leave you a better person, our Modern Love guest columnist says.

• Our weekly newsletter has tips on how to beat procrastination.

• Recipe of the day: Cold noodles with spicy pork and herbs comes together quickly.

• Israel’s placement of metal detectors at entrances to the sacred Aqsa Mosque compound led to bloodshed and fears of a long wave of violence.

• At least nine migrants found in a tractor-trailer in a San Antonio parking lot have died.

• Jordan Spieth won the British Open, his third major title; Chris Froome captured his fourth Tour de France; and England’s cricket team beat India in the Women’s World Cup.

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Jordan Spieth is now only a P.G.A. Championship title away from becoming the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam. He won the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2015.Credit...Ben Stansall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• “Dunkirk” exceeded expectations, earning $50.5 million and the top spot at the North American box office.

• On Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones,” characters connected in new ways. Here’s our recap.

• A rest stop for half a billion birds.

In today’s 360 video, hop aboard a tractor in Israel that spreads food to birds migrating between Europe and Africa to keep them away from crops.

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During their migration between Europe and Africa, hundreds of millions of birds stop in Israel to rest and refuel. Hop aboard a government-sponsored tractor spreading birdseed and corn to keep the birds away from local crop fields.CreditCredit...Uriel Sinai for The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.

• South Asian identity and me.

The new film “The Big Sick” explores the romantic complications faced by people with South Asian roots who grow up in America.

Sopan Deb, a culture reporter for The Times, says the movie reflects the world in which he grew up, and he confronts the criticism that it rejects South Asian women.

• Quiz time!

Did you keep up with last week’s news from around the world? Test yourself.

• Quotation of the day.

“We’re sicker here than in Central America. In Central America, they’re eating beans and rice and walking everywhere. They’re not drinking Mountain Dew and eating candy.”

Dr. Joseph Smiddy, a lung specialist who has worked on charity health trips abroad, treating patients at a free clinic in southwestern Virginia.

Today is Pioneer Day, commemorating the entry in 1847 of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. Their leader, Brigham Young, declared on arrival: “It is enough. This is the right place.”

A holiday in Utah, Pioneer Day recognizes the journey from Nauvoo, Ill., from which the Mormons had been expelled (having previously been driven out of Missouri, Ohio and New York) after Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was killed by a mob.

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A parade in Salt Lake City last year celebrating Mormon heritage.Credit...Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

The journey spanned 1,300 miles, took nearly 18 months to complete and resulted in “many deaths.” The historian Purnell H. Benson wrote, “In the annals of the American Frontier,” there is “no more thrilling story.”

Today, Utah will honor the Mormon migration with parades, rodeos and barrel races, among other activities — though some of residents will celebrate an alternative holiday: Pie ’n’ Beer Day.

“Pioneer Day, Pie ’n’ Beer Day,” said Leslie Sutter, the owner of a bar that celebrates the day. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to grab it.”

Or, as George Kelner, another Utah resident, explained, eating pie and drinking beer “gives us non-Mormons or former Mormons a chance to celebrate in a different way.”

Evan Gershkovich contributed reporting.

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Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help.

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