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Port Authority Bus Terminal, Donald Trump, N.F.L.: Your Monday Briefing

Firefighters and police officers on 8th Avenue in Manhattan after the reported explosion.Credit...David Scull/The New York Times

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• A lone suspect was in serious condition after an explosion this morning in a tunnel that connects the Times Square and Port Authority subway stations, the Police Department said.

The man, identified by the police as Akayed Ullah, 27, from Brooklyn, had been wearing an explosive device, said a senior city official who declined to be identified because the investigation was continuing.

The Fire Department reported four injuries. The two subway stations and the Port Authority Bus Terminal were evacuated.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called the blast an attempted terrorist attack and said no other devices had been found.

As he ends his first year in office, Donald Trump is redefining the presidency.

In interviews with 60 advisers, associates, friends and members of Congress, our reporters found a man who “views himself less as a titan dominating the world stage than a maligned outsider engaged in a struggle to be taken seriously.”

Mr. Trump reasons that his approach got him to the White House, so it must be the right one.

Among the highlights of our behind-the-scenes report:

• “For most of the year, people inside and outside Washington have been convinced that there is a strategy behind Mr. Trump’s actions. But there is seldom a plan apart from pre-emption, self-defense, obsession and impulse.”

• Armed with Twitter and fueled by Diet Coke, the president spends at least four hours a day — and sometimes as much as twice that — in front of a TV. (Mr. Trump disputed the characterization today.)

• A novice who is skeptical of anything that does not come from inside his bubble, Mr. Trump is, aides say, learning that a president cannot rule by fiat but must work with Republican leaders.

• Senator Lindsey Graham, once a fierce critic of Mr. Trump’s but increasingly an ally, said the presidency was still “a work in progress.” At this point, Mr. Graham said, “everything’s possible, from complete disaster to a home run.”

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President Trump boarding Air Force One on Saturday. He is more unpopular than any of his modern predecessors at this point in his tenure, yet he dominates the landscape like no other.Credit...Tom Brenner/The New York Times

• Doug Jones remains a slight underdog to the Republican Roy Moore in Tuesday’s special Senate election.

But groups outside the state have been working hard to assist Mr. Jones, while also trying to avoid appearing to dictate whom Alabamians should support.

The effort received an unexpected lift on Sunday when Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican, said: “I couldn’t vote for Roy Moore. The state of Alabama deserves better.”

The race has revolved almost entirely around Mr. Moore’s divisive views and allegations of improper behavior toward teenagers. Here are some of the policy issues the uproar has overshadowed.

• Extremist forces, which have limited access to global arms markets, routinely manufacture their own weapons. But the Islamic State has taken the practice to new levels.

Reports provided to The Times detail the weapons the militant group has developed, including chemical rockets and space heaters rigged with explosives.

After more than three years of fighting, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State on Saturday. Analysts warned that it did not mean the end of the ISIS threat.

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Iraqis in Baghdad on Sunday after the prime minister announced the end of the battle against the Islamic State. The militant group once controlled nearly one-third of Iraq.Credit...Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• Large parts of the island continue to be without electricity after September’s hurricanes, and the sick and elderly have suffered most acutely.

A look inside Puerto Rico’s largest housing project for low-income seniors helps explain the storms’ impact.

Officially, 64 people were killed as a result of Hurricane Maria. The actual death toll may be more than 1,000, a Times analysis found.

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

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Firefighters outside a burning home in Carpinteria, Calif., on Sunday. More than 8,500 firefighters were battling six blazes across Southern California.Credit...Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Under the Republican tax plan, the same amount of income would be taxed at different rates depending on how the money was made.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates this week. Investors want to know what’s next.

The F.C.C. is set to repeal net neutrality rules on Thursday, one of the headlines to watch this week.

What might a future without the rules look like? Parts of Europe offer a clue.

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

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

Even marathon runners need to watch their diet and lifestyle.

Hanukkah begins Tuesday. Here’s how to make perfect latkes.

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The kind your Bubbe used to make.Credit...Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Recipe of the day: Start the week with homemade fried chicken.

Nikki Haley, the American ambassador to the U.N., said that women who accused President Trump of sexual misconduct “should be heard.”

Pope Francis said the common rendering of one line in the Lord’s Prayer — “lead us not into temptation” — was “not a good translation” from ancient texts.

Eli Manning reclaimed his job as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback, but the team still lost. So did the Jets. Here’s the rest of Sunday’s N.F.L. scores.

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After being benched, Eli Manning returned as the Giants’ starting quarterback on Sunday, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions.Credit...Ben Solomon for The New York Times

Baker Mayfield, the quarterback for Oklahoma, became the first Heisman Trophy winner to begin his career as a walk-on since the 1950s.

“Coco” earned $18.3 million to remain No. 1 at the North American box office.

Iceland’s hot springs.

In today’s 360 video, soak in one of the country’s geothermal pools.

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Iceland has more than 100 public pools, most of which are heated by the country’s abundant geothermal energy.CreditCredit...Kaitlyn Mullin/The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.

Golden Globe nominees announced.

“The Shape of Water,” “Dunkirk,” “The Post” and “Call Me by Your Name” all received multiple nominations this morning. Check our live briefing for more.

Here’s a list of all the nominees.

It’s not all bad out there.

In our Weekend Briefing, we featured a roundup of some inspiring stories in The Times.

We’d like to incorporate more of those, so today we introduce you to the Mekong Review. The magazine covers Southeast Asia’s literary scene and offers a voice in countries where free speech is perennially threatened.

Quotation of the day.

“When you grow up in France, none of the heroes you learn about are entrepreneurs. When someone gets rich in France, people immediately ask, ‘What did he do to make this money? He must be a nasty person.’ ”

Brigitte Granville, a professor at Queen Mary University of London who was raised in France, on shifting views toward business as the country tries to make the most of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

“Greed is good.” Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of “Wall Street.”

Michael Douglas won an Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko, the ruthless corporate raider who takes a young stockbroker named Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, under his wing.

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Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko.Credit...20th Century Fox

The movie was meant as a harsh critique of the excesses of 1980s capitalism — but it became wildly popular with actual Wall Street types. (When it came out, our critic suggested that its moralizing was its weak point: “The movie crashes in a heap of platitudes,” Vincent Canby wrote.)

The director, Oliver Stone, said that in a twist, many young people told him it had inspired them to work on Wall Street. Even years later, brokers would tell him, “You’re the man!”

Mr. Stone discussed the film’s legacy in this 2009 Times video. He said it was “misunderstood by some, because it was about a horrible thing that was going on, about how people would worship money at all costs.”

That interview took place as he was preparing to film the sequel, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” released in 2010. Our critic called it “a corrective, a parody and a sly act of auto-homage.”

Karen Zraick contributed reporting.

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