THE BIG STORY

A Justice Department employee said she was raped by a senior official. New documents show a pattern of harassment at the department.

In December 2018, the Justice Department’s inspector general announced that investigators had “substantiated” allegations that a senior DOJ official was a repeat sexual harasser.

The announcement was scarce on details. The inspector general said the official, who had retired by that point, harassed five women under his chain of command. One woman reported that she was not only harassed, but also sexually assaulted. Another woman reported that she was pressured into having sex to get a promotion.

The inspector general’s summary was barely two pages, and didn’t have a great deal of information. It said that because the official had left the department, there wouldn’t be any internal disciplinary process. No criminal charges were filed.

Through diligent Freedom Of Information Act work that took months, our reporter Zoe Tillman was able to obtain a redacted version of the inspector general’s report that includes significant new information — including detailed accounts from two of the women who described a pattern of escalating workplace harassment.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Sondland changes his impeachment inquiry testimony

Quick refresher here: the whole Donald Trump impeachment inquiry hinges on whether there was a quid pro quo — in other words, a demand from Trump for Ukraine to investigate his political rivals in exchange for military aid.

Gordon Sondland is the US ambassador to the European Union. His testimony to the impeachment inquiry was high-profile. When he testified three weeks ago, he told impeachment investigators he couldn’t remember much about a quid pro quo.

Still, his testimony wasn’t great for the White House: he painted a picture of how Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer working for Trump, moved the goal posts over time, pushing harder on Ukraine until Trump got what he wanted.

Well, something has changed: Sondland made an addition to his testimony, saying he remembers delivering a quid pro quo. I reached out to political reporter Miriam Elder to explain what just happened:

IMPEACHMENT TODAY

Can you say no takebacksies on your Congressional testimony? What Sondland's admission means for the Nixometer. Plus: a closer look at Marie Yovanovitch's explosive testimony to the impeachment inquiry. Listen and subscribe to our daily impeachment podcast.

SNAPSHOTS

Basically every US national security leader is warning about foreign interference in the 2020 election. The leaders of seven federal agencies joined together to warn Americans about attempts by foreign nations to influence voters in an effort to undermine US democracy.

The white supremacist charged with plotting to blow up a Colorado temple documented his racist activities on Facebook for years. 27-year-old Richard Holzer had been known to law enforcement due to his frequent, neo-Nazi postings on Facebook, including a video of himself urinating on a California synagogue.

A high school teacher filmed in blackface on Halloween has been placed on administrative leave. The school board has launched an investigation after a viral video showed the California teacher in blackface as the rapper Common.

A woman who was fired for flipping off Trump’s motorcade won an election in Virginia. Juli Briskman, a Democrat, beat the Republican incumbent for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. Briskman lost her job shortly after this photo was taken:

Out for a stroll. Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE

Thousands of scientists around the world declared a climate emergency and warned of “untold suffering”

It’s hard to say just how many scientists it’ll take for us to understand the gravity of the climate change problem, but a really big group is taking a stab at it.

This time around, 11,000 scientists issued a dire warning that the world must take immediate action to fundamentally alter a range of human activities to avert “untold suffering due to the climate crisis.”

The group, which includes experts from 153 countries, cited increases in human and livestock populations, meat production, tree cover loss, fossil fuel consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions among factors that have contributed to the crisis.

When reached for comment, humanity was unsure if 11,000 scientists was the magic number that’ll finally change mass behavior.

WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT

5 books we couldn’t put down last month

The season has arrived when you’re a little less likely to frolic outside, and a little more likely to get cozy and dive into a good book.

The good folks at BuzzFeed books assembled a short list of five books that stood out in the last month. I think I’m going to pick up Olive, Again. Which one stands out for you?

Take a moment to ground your priorities in your values today,

Elamin