Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.

Hong Kong police fire teargas as protesters try to flee campus

Hundreds of anti-government protesters remained trapped inside a Hong Kong university early on Monday after police firied teargas at those attempting to flee, as the unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese city spirals further out of control. The US has condemned the “unjustified use of force” by Hong Kong authorities, while pro-democracy activists expressed concern at the presence of Chinese soldiers seen participating in clean-up efforts.

Xinjiang detentions. Xi Jinping urged the authorities in Xinjiang to “show absolutely no mercy” in the “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism”, amid a vast crackdown on the region’s Uighur Muslim population, according to internal government documents leaked to the New York Times.

Help us to cover the critical issues of 2020

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The climate crisis, the supreme court, the presidential election: 2020 will be another momentous year. Illustration: Guardian Design/The Guardian

Next year, the US faces a momentous choice – and the result could define the country for a generation. As we approach 2020, many vital aspects of American public life are in play: the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, big tech and much more. Today, Guardian US is launching its year-end fundraiser, with a goal to raise $1.5m by January. If you are enjoying this newsletter, we hope you will consider making a contribution.

Thank you … To everyone who has supported our journalism so far – here are some of the projects you helped fund in 2019.

Republicans slammed for smearing impeachment witnesses

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, is sworn in before testifying to the House intelligence committee last week. Photograph: Ron Sachs/CNP/Rex/Shutterstock

Donald Trump and his Republican allies have been condemned for their attempts to smear several key witnesses in the impeachment inquiry as potentially disloyal because they were born overseas. Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, the National Security Council’s Ukraine expert, Alexander Vindman, and the British-born former White House Russia security expert, Fiona Hill, face accusations of having dual loyalties: a suspicion widely regarded as anti-immigrant and, historically, as antisemitic.

Journalists threatened. The New York Times editor, Dean Baquet, told the Guardian’s Jim Waterson he believes Trump has put his reporters’ lives at risk by subjecting them to personal abuse and describing them as “enemies of the people”.

Anonymous author. The unnamed Trump administration insider behind the critical new book, A Warning, reveals little that we did not already know about the chaos and corruption in the White House, says reviewer Lloyd Green.

Prince Andrew urged to speak to FBI over Epstein claims

Play Video 1:54 Prince Andrew denies having sex with teenager, saying he took daughter for pizza in Woking – video

Prince Andrew is facing a disbelieving reaction from both sides of the Atlantic after an extraordinary interview with the BBC, in which he defended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and denied having sex with the then-teenager Virginia Giuffre in March 2001, claiming he took his daughter Beatrice to a mid-market pizzeria in the town of Woking, near London, on the day in question. Lawyers for victims of the late billionaire sex offender called on the royal to apologise and to speak to the FBI.

‘Incredibly gracious’. The prince was reportedly pleased with the interview before its broadcast, and offered to show the BBC interviewer, Emily Maitlis, around Buckingham Palace after the recording.

Cheat sheet

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kevin Smith at home in LA: ‘I was never ambitious.’ Photograph: Jessica Pons/The Guardian

Kevin Smith: ‘When I almost dropped dead, I was OK with it’

In February 2018, the film-maker Kevin Smith had a massive heart attack that nearly killed him. As his latest riff on characters from his 1994 debut Clerks is released, he looks back on an unlikely career, telling Amy Nicholson: ‘Most days I’m like, “Oh, I probably did die on the table and this is heaven.”’

The Democratic war council working to turn Florida blue

Florida has always been a key swing state, not least in 2016 when Trump beat Clinton there by fewer than 113,000 votes. But it was the narrow losses of last year’s midterms that really spurred Sunshine State Democrats to plot a new strategy for 2020, as Richard Luscombe reports from Miami.

The national push for more all-female exhibitions in 2020

Next fall, more than 60 US museums and institutions will host all-female art exhibitions as part of a nationwide project aiming, as one organiser tells Nadja Sayej, to “shed a light on feminist issues, to spark public dialogue and to inspire engagement leading into the next presidential election”.

Progress on paternity leave, but old attitudes persist

American attitudes towards paternity leave have shifted dramatically over the past five years, reports Miranda Bryant, with increasing numbers of men taking time off to be with their newborns. But when it comes to damaged career prospects and home responsibilities, mothers are still bearing the brunt.

Opinion

Trump has packed the courts with rightwing, anti-abortion ideologues. If you care about the rights of women to make their own reproductive choices, electing a Democratic president next year is essential, says Jill Filipovic.

This is the very real threat of 2020: Not just the end of Roe, which itself would be catastrophic, but an end to safe, legal abortion anywhere in the United States of America.

Sport

Kyle Busch has claimed his second Nascar title after winning the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, joining the seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as the only other active driver with multiple titles.

The Dallas Cowboys kept pace in the NFC East with a 35-27 victory over Detroit on Sunday, while the Buffalo Bills completed a season sweep of the dire Miami Dolphins. Elsewhere in the NFL, the Patriots, 49ers and Raiders beat the Eagles, Cardinals and Bengals respectively.

Sign up

The US morning briefing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.