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Good morning,

We start today with a Times investigation of President Trump's efforts to end the inquiries surrounding him, a look at Americans who want to return home after joining ISIS, and a dispute over California's high-speed rail project.

By Chris Stanford

Inside President Trump's war on investigators

Mr. Trump's public campaign to discredit the investigations that have ensnared his presidency is well known. But an examination by The Times has revealed a sustained, secretive assault on federal law enforcement.

The efforts have exposed the president to accusations of obstruction of justice in the special counsel's inquiry.

The details: One of our findings is that Mr. Trump wanted to put an ally in charge of a federal inquiry in New York related to hush money payments by his former personal lawyer. Mr. Trump called that account "fake news." Here are four takeaways from our report.

How we know: Times reporters interviewed dozens of current and former government officials and others close to Mr. Trump, and reviewed confidential White House documents.

In numbers: Mr. Trump has publicly criticized the investigations into contacts between his campaign and Russia nearly 1,200 times in the past two years.

Hoda Muthana with her son in Syria. Ms. Muthana, from Alabama, joined the Islamic State in 2014. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

Wives of ISIS militants want to return to the U.S.

Two American women being held in a detention camp in Syria told The Times that they regretted joining the Islamic State and wanted to come home. One is from Alabama; the other holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

At least 59 Americans traveled to Syria to join ISIS, according to the George Washington University Program on Extremism. Of the Americans captured, nearly all the men have been repatriated, but at least 13 women and their children have not.

Response: A spokesman for the State Department on Tuesday described the situation as "extremely complicated." An official with the George Washington program said there were "thousands of legitimate reasons to question the sincerity" of those asking to return.

Related: The British government has told the family of Shamima Begum, 19, who traveled to Syria four years ago to marry an ISIS militant, that it intends to revoke her citizenship, according to a family lawyer.

U.S. wants California to return high-speed rail money

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it was exploring legal options to get back $2.5 billion in federal funds spent on the state's high-speed rail network, and also terminating a $929 million grant.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who scaled back plans for the project last week, accused the administration of retaliating for California having joined a lawsuit challenging President Trump's emergency declaration on the southwestern border.

Background: Last year, The Times examined the opposition to the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco bullet train, and the questions about how to pay for it.

Tank Battalion 414 is the first battalion in the European Union made up of soldiers from two countries. Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times

What a European army might look like

It's an idea as old as the European Union itself, but the notion of a European army has taken on a new urgency because of the Trump administration's threat to reduce support if the Continent doesn't increase military spending.

The political and practical challenges are immense, but a German-led tank battalion with Dutch soldiers has become an informal test of deeper cooperation.

Quote of note: "The life we have had for the last 70 years is possible because of the American security guarantees we have had, largely for free," said an official with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

Karl Lagerfeld, pictured in 1985, once said, "I would like to be a one-man multinational fashion phenomenon." Pierre Guillaud

Remembering Karl Lagerfeld

The luxury fashion designer, who died on Tuesday, was one of the most recognizable faces in an industry he helped define. He was generally thought to be 85, although his birth year was a matter of dispute.

Mr. Lagerfeld, with his signature dark glasses and powdered white ponytail, was the longtime creative director at both Chanel and Fendi. He also had his own line.

Read an appraisal by the director of the Times's fashion coverage, and look at photographs from his six-decade career.

Remembrances: Mr. Lagerfeld's peers, including Giorgio Armani and Donatella Versace, offered reflections. "Today, the world has lost an icon and a genius," Ms. Versace said.

If you have 23 minutes, this is worth it

A portrait of the Vietnam War

John Olson/The LIFE Images Collection, via Getty Images

In February 1968, as U.S. and South Vietnamese forces fought desperately to counter a surprise onslaught that became known as the Tet offensive, John Olson took a picture of a gravely wounded infantryman surrounded by his brothers-in-arms.

The identity of that man is only now becoming clear.

Here's what else is happening

The 2020 election: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose populist agenda has helped push the Democratic Party to the left, announced on Tuesday that he's running for president again. Here's where he stands on the issues.

New House inquiry: Democrats have opened an investigation after a report said that a proposed nuclear power venture in Saudi Arabia could involve conflicts of interests in the Trump administration, and perhaps break laws.

Reconsidering libel: Justice Clarence Thomas has urged the Supreme Court to revisit its landmark ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan, which made it difficult for public officials to win libel suits. Justice Thomas said the 1964 decision had no basis in the text and history of the Constitution.

New York subway death: A man has died in Midtown Manhattan after a piece of his clothing or the strap of his bag apparently became caught on a subway train that dragged him into a tunnel, the authorities said.

Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, the Forbidden City in Beijing on Tuesday. For the first time since 1925, when the former home of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties became a museum, it opened to the public at night.

In memoriam: Don Newcombe, one of the first black pitchers in Major League Baseball, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and won the first Cy Young Award. He died on Tuesday at 92.

Late-night comedy: With glasses, a wig and a Brooklyn accent, Jimmy Fallon said, "Hello, I'm Bernie Sanders, and I'm yelling for president of the United States."

What we're reading: This Atlas Obscura article. Michael Roston, a science editor, writes: "There are many great stories about the mating behaviors of animals confounding scientific expectations, and this tale of two nonagenarian tortoises who can no longer stand the sight of each other after a lifetime hit me in both the heart and the funny bone."

Now, a break from the news

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Cook: Dates sweeten sesame chicken with cashews.

See: "If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a ____," the professional debut of the playwright Tori Sampson, runs at Playwrights Horizons in New York through March 31. The play, a critique of adolescent culture and a "celebration of black female beauty," reminds our critic of Suzan Lori Parks's "Venus."

Watch: The final season of "Game of Thrones" is coming in April. We'll be rewatching the first seven seasons. Join us.

See: Look behind the scenes at a day of rehearsals and costume fittings for New York City Ballet's "Sleeping Beauty."

Smarter Living: It's good to think ahead about what to say to someone who is grieving. If you knew the person who's been lost, tell a personal story. There's no better gift.

And exercise may help to fend off depression.

And now for the Back Story on …

The secrecy of the Nobels

Did Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan nominate President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize? Mr. Trump says he did, but Mr. Abe has declined to comment, citing a Nobel policy of 50 years of secrecy for the process.

But an insider could always write a tell-all book. In 2015, the longtime secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Geir Lundestad, did just that, infuriating the committee.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan with President Trump at the White House in June. Shawn Thew/EPA, via Shutterstock

Among his revelations: The decision to honor Barack Obama just months into his presidency was intended to strengthen his campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons. And Mr. Obama considered not going to Norway to accept the award, but realized that would only create more uproar.

Mr. Trump is definitely in the running this year. Two Norwegian lawmakers have said that they nominated him after his Singapore meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea.

The recipient will be announced in October.

That's it for this briefing.

Our article yesterday about a black mathematician was one of the most popular in the briefing. The correspondent explained more about why she thought the subject was worth reporting on.

See you next time.

— Chris

Thank you
To our stalwarts, Eleanor Stanford and James K. Williamson, for the break from the news. Andrea Kannapell, the briefings editor, wrote today's Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We're listening to "The Daily." Today's episode is about the Democratic presidential field.
• Here's today's mini crossword puzzle, and a clue: Beatles album with a "!" in its name (4 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Coverage of the Vietnam War by David Halberstam inspired Times correspondents in Iraq.

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