New Evidence Was Unsealed in the Federal Election Case Against Trump

Also, Biden ordered 1,000 troops to help areas destroyed by Helene. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

A federal judge in Washington made public portions of a sprawling legal brief in which prosecutors provided the fullest picture yet of what they found in their investigation of Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

In the brief, the special counsel, Jack Smith, depicted scenes in which Trump minimized concerns for the safety of then-Vice President Mike Pence during the Jan. 6 riots — “So what?” Trump said, according to the filing — and dismissed attempts to convince him that he lost the election.

Smith argued that Trump is not immune from prosecution because his actions at the center of the criminal charges were the unofficial acts of a desperate losing candidate, rather than the official acts of a president. Read the newly unsealed evidence here.

We took a look at the decisions now facing the judge presiding over the case.

On the campaign trail

The presidential election is 34 days away.

• Last night’s vice-presidential debate was largely civil and policy-focused. Here are our takeaways.
• Both Tim Walz and JD Vance say the government should spend more on child care, a rare point of agreement.
• Trump said he wants to jail his political opponents. Here’s how he could do it.

Biden ordered 1,000 troops to help areas destroyed by Helene

President Biden traveled to North and South Carolina this afternoon to survey areas devastated by Hurricane Helene and meet with officials leading the rescue efforts. He took an aerial tour of the region, where floods and landslides rendered roads useless, turned downtowns into ghost towns and reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble.

Biden also ordered the Pentagon to deploy up to 1,000 active-duty troops to join thousands of National Guard members in providing disaster relief. At least 175 people have died, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. It’s unclear how many people are still missing.

“It’s going to take a long haul to restore these communities,” Biden said.

In Asheville, N.C., a fast-growing city in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, water access remains a stubborn problem. Some towns in southern Appalachia that were effectively knocked off the grid have turned to methods that have been out of date for a century or more, like town meetings where everyone gathers for daily updates.

In related news, legal aid groups are preparing for clashes with insurers, aid agencies and others over compensation, rebuilding and even scams.

Israeli troops clashed with Hezbollah

Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants said today that they were fighting at close range in southern Lebanon. During the clashes, which appeared to be the first ground confrontations since the Israeli invasion began, eight Israeli solders were killed, officials said.

Here’s the latest, as well as a map of the invasion.

The fighting suggested that Hezbollah remained capable of carrying out deadly attacks despite a devastating Israeli bombing campaign over the last few weeks.

What’s next: Biden said that he would not support an attack on Iranian nuclear sites in retaliation for yesterday’s missile attack on Israel. However, Israel appears willing to risk all-out war.

Ukraine withdrew from a vital bastion

The Ukrainian military said today that it was ordering the last of its forces to retreat from the ruins of Vuhledar, once a key stronghold against Russia’s onslaught on eastern Ukraine.

The loss of the town will complicate Ukraine’s strategy in the Donetsk region and allow Russia to step up its attacks on Pokrovsk, a rail and road hub. However, it took Russia nearly three years of attacks to capture Vuhledar, and signs have emerged that both armies have grown exhausted after years of fighting.

More top news

• Tech: OpenAI completed a deal that values the company at $157 billion.
• Labor: The dockworkers’ strike has begun affecting an ecosystem of supply-chain workers.
• New York City: Federal prosecutors told a judge that they might bring additional charges against Mayor Eric Adams.
• The Vatican: The issue of whether women can be ordained as deacons was taken off the agenda for the synod that begins today, angering many Catholics.
• Law: Unsealed testimony from a lawsuit against JPMorgan revealed new details about sexual abuse committed by Jeffrey Epstein, one of the bank’s clients.
• New York City: In the past year, the bodies of three men have been found in an industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn known for its clubs.
• Sports: Two NASCAR teams, one co-owned by Michael Jordan, sued the organization over monopolistic practices.

TIME TO UNWIND

Fashion month just ended. Here’s what we learned.

Fashion month was big, glamorous and stuffed to the brim with celebrities. But there were few satisfying answers about what’s next in style, our fashion critic Vanessa Friedman wrote.

Yesterday, however, Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton closed out Paris Fashion Week with a revelation. They didn’t worry about the confusion; they embraced it, combining fancy fabrics with athleisure or pouffy 16th-century jackets with biker shorts. And that idea, Vanessa said, was the best of the month — a takeaway you can actually replicate at home, whether you wear the designers’ clothing or not.

Another striking look: A performance artist used prosthetics to create a lifelike Jack Nicholson costume to attend Balenciaga’s Paris show.

A new tool to help smokers quit

Cigarettes are notoriously difficult to kick: Most people fail to quit cold turkey, nicotine gums often don’t satisfy cravings, and even after one year of abstinence, about half of smokers light up again.

One of the most promising new approaches is taking pills of cytisine, a little-known plant-based compound that has been used for decades in Eastern Europe to treat nicotine addiction. A small biotech company is now running trials in hopes of bringing the drug to the U.S.

Dinner table topics

• Iconic Hollywood: Sable Ranch has been the backdrop for “American Horror Story,” “Oppenheimer” and many other productions. Now it’s for sale.
• Where literary ghosts linger: Our book critic explored Dublin, which is known for its bookstores, libraries and pubs.
• Stunning detail: Scientists mapped out how 140,000 neurons are wired in the brain of the fruit fly.
• Changes to the iPhone: Did Apple just kill social apps?

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Cook: This sweet and spicy roast chicken is one of our best Rosh Hashana recipes.

Watch: “American Movie” is one of the best documentaries to stream right now.

Read: The author R.L. Stine picked out his favorite Halloween books for kids.

Listen: It’s hard not to love Betty Carter’s vocals.

Stock up: We have a guide to all the makeup brushes you might need and how to clean them.

Prepare: Wirecutter has tips for winterizing your grill.

Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here.

ONE LAST THING

A cake worth fighting for

When rumors spread across the internet last month that Whole Foods was discontinuing its Berry Chantilly cake, legions of fans spoke out in furor. Its layers of almond-scented cake, fluffy mascarpone frosting and fresh mixed berries have attracted a sizable cult following and even become a staple at weddings.

The grocery chain promised it wasn’t getting rid of the cake, but rather tweaking the recipe to standardize it across all stores. That didn’t satisfy many Chantilly lovers, and Whole Foods reversed its planned changes. For all you home bakers, we have the recipe.

Have a dedicated evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

Philip Pacheco was our photo editor today.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.