California, Walmart, Eric Greitens: Your Thursday Evening Briefing

Advocates for Medicaid beneficiaries say the new policy is likely to be challenged in court if people are denied coverage.

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Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

3. Rescue workers in California are searching for more than a dozen people still missing after mudslides early Tuesday in a wealthy enclave northwest of Los Angeles.

The death toll has risen to 17. The mud flows were so powerful that some one-story homes were covered up to their gutters.

This video shows how mudslides occur — and why wildfires make them more likely.

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Harrison Hill for The New York Times

4. Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., will use savings from the new tax law to increase pay and expand benefits for hourly workers.

The wage increase brings Walmart in line with some of its retail rivals amid a tightening labor market. Target raised its base pay last fall.

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Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times, via Associated Press

5. The decision by the Trump administration to exempt Florida from new rules widely expanding offshore drilling has other states crying foul.

First, the White House announced that almost all coastal waters were open to oil drilling. Days later, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke posed for the photo above with Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, left, and declared the state exempt. He cited the state’s “unique” coastline and reliance on tourism.

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That gave Mr. Scott, a Republican who is expected to run for Senate, a big political boost — and upset Mr. Trump’s critics, who say the move highlights the president’s willingness to use the nation’s public lands and waters as political bargaining chips.

Now other governors are demanding their own exemptions.

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Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

6. The Winter Olympics kick off next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

That made us wonder: How is climate change affecting the Winter Games? We looked at other cities that have hosted and found that by 2050, many of them may be too warm to host again. Above: Sochi in 2014.

Other big sports events this year include the World Cup in Russia and the World Equestrian Games in North Carolina. Our travel desk compiled a roundup.

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Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

7. In Missouri, Gov. Eric Greitens, above, admitted that he had an extramarital affair, but denied allegations that he had threatened the woman, a local hairdresser, to keep it a secret.

A lawyer for the woman’s former husband said that Mr. Greitens had threatened her with retribution if she revealed their relationship.

Mr. Greitens is a rising Republican star with presidential ambitions, but he’s clashed with lawmakers and come under fire for relying on “dark money” political groups.

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Fabio Lovino/TriStar Pictures

8. Today in #MeToo:

Reports that Mark Wahlberg made $1.5 million more than Michelle Williams for reshooting scenes from “All the Money in the World” after Kevin Spacey’s ouster are roiling Hollywood’s pay equality debate.

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The creator of a list of men in media accused of sexual misconduct outed herself amid a furor over a forthcoming article in Harper’s.

And several women have accused the actor and filmmaker James Franco of sexually exploiting them or behaving inappropriately.

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Serena Williams, via instagram

9. Serena Williams opened up in the new issue of Vogue about the complications she experienced after giving birth.

The 36-year-old tennis superstar was bedridden for six weeks after giving birth to Olympia in September. The ordeal included an episode where her medical team didn’t act on her concerns that she was having a pulmonary embolism.

She’s slated to be back in action in March, playing in a one-day tiebreaker tournament at Madison Square Garden.

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images

10. Finally, a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania introduced a bill this week that would require presidential candidates to undergo mental health exams.