Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a stoic figure who for two years loomed silently over the seething political landscape, finally spoke Wednesday. While he didn’t drop any bombshells, he made three things quite clear: Russia tried very hard to throw the 2016 presidential election; his report didn’t exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice; and the law didn’t allow him to charge a sitting president. —David E. Rovella

Here are today’s top stories

China is gearing up to use its dominance of rare earths to retaliate against Trump in the trade war. At risk is military hardware that includes America’s F-35 fighter jet.

An Ethiopian Airlines pilot said before one of its Boeing 737 Max jets crashed, killing all aboard, that more training was needed to avert a repeat of a similar disaster that killed everyone on a Lion Air 737 Max.

U.S. stocks fell to a 12-week low while Treasuries advanced. Investors are focused on a bond-market recession warning that may be growing louder.

Eike Batista, the man who managed to lose $35 billion in one year, has some advice for Tesla founder Elon Musk.

“McConnell is a hypocrite.” So says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, echoing other Democrats enraged by the Republican majority leader’s promise to confirm a Trump Supreme Court nominee during an election year. In 2016, McConnell refused to allow a vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee, U.S. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland.

Trump says he wants to upend the Pentagon’s new aircraft carrier program and use the old steam catapult design instead of a new electromagnetic version. Industry experts say that won’t happen.

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is tipping his hat to hedge funder David Tepper, who is converting his operation into a family office. Joe thinks a big part of Tepper’s success has been his centrist politics, which may have enabled him to see past the passions of the moment while others went down the rabbit hole.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

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What you’ll want to listen to tonight

The Shrink Next Door, Part 4: The Familia

The photo hung in the Hamptons house for years, an indelible scene from one of the parties that Ike Herschkopf—psychiatrist, business consultant, host—threw there over more than two decades. In the center of the shot sits Herschkopf. He’s surrounded by three women in bathing suits. Two are resting their hands on his thighs. The third is behind him, her arms dangling over his neck. They were Herschkopf’s psychiatric patients, they and others said in interviews.

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