Go for the gold: Your Weekend Briefing

January 24, 2021

By Remy Tumin and Jeremiah M. Bogert, Jr.

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. We’re covering President Biden’s first week, the troubled coronavirus vaccine rollout and the road to Super Bowl LV.

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

1. Even with a new president, the Trump legacy lingers over Washington.

The House will transmit its article of impeachment for former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday. But under a deal struck between Senate leaders, the chamber will then pause until Feb. 9 to give the prosecution and defense time to draft and exchange written legal briefs.

It will also give President Biden the time to put crucial members of his cabinet in place and push forward on a large coronavirus aid package.

Mr. Trump, who was impeached for the second time earlier this month, is charged with “incitement of insurrection” for urging on a mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 to protest the results of the election.

We looked at a crucial moment during the attack as the insurrectionists closed in on lawmakers and a Capitol Police lieutenant fatally shot a woman who was vaulting through a window. Our investigation showed a dire set of circumstances that left a lone officer to confront a mob.

In the month leading up to the riot, Mr. Trump was devising his own plan: He and a Justice Department official plotted to oust the acting attorney general to try to advance baseless election claims, interviews showed, and only backed down after top department officials threatened to resign.

Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times

2. President Biden got right to work this week.

In his first 48 hours in office, Mr. Biden cranked out about 30 executive actions, 14 of which target a broad range of former President Trump’s executive mandates, with the remainder aimed at implementing emergency measures intended to deal with the pandemic and the economic crisis.

While Mr. Trump came to rely on executive action for many of his achievements, Mr. Biden seems to understand that it is best used to repeal someone else’s legacy, not build his own, our White House reporter writes.

Among Mr. Biden’s actions was a reversal of Mr. Trump’s so-called Muslim ban. Few foreigners welcomed Mr. Biden’s victory as much as the tens of thousands of Muslims who had been barred from the U.S.

In his first days in office, Mr. Biden devoted more attention to issues of racial equity than any new president since Lyndon Johnson. Historians see the moment as a unique opening for change.

Juan Arredondo for The New York Times

3. The need for coronavirus vaccines has never been greater: The U.S. has surpassed 25 million known cases, and more contagious variants threaten to erase recent gains made in curbing the spread of the virus.

And yet the reality on the ground is growing more confusing by the day. Health officials around the country are growing desperate, unable to get clear answers as to why the long-anticipated vaccines are suddenly in short supply. Many vaccine appointments have been canceled. Above, a mass vaccination site in Glendale, Ariz.

The Biden administration has pledged to overhaul how doses are distributed to states, but vaccine experts warn that shortages will persist in the short term. See how your state is doing with vaccine distribution compared to others.

As wealthier nations (and people) get first dibs, new research shows that if poor countries go unvaccinated, rich ones will pay the economic price.

Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

4. A year ago this weekend, Wuhan, China, went into lockdown.

The city, the first epicenter of the coronavirus, offered the world a preview of the dangers of the virus. Now, it heralds a post-pandemic world where the relief of unmasked faces, concerts and daily commutes conceals the emotional aftershocks.

“I always thought I wasn’t afraid of death,” one delivery worker said. “But I found out during the epidemic that I’m terrified of it.”

Nate Palmer for The New York Times

5. 13,000 school districts. 13,000 approaches to teaching during a pandemic.

To assess how public schools have navigated remote and in-person learning and the impact on students, The Times examined seven representative districts. With little federal guidance, the answer looks vastly different across the country.

In Washington, D.C., some teachers spend one day a week going door to door, above, tracking down students who aren’t logging on, and whose education is suffering.

And in Las Vegas, the reminders of lockdown-driven suffering among students have come in droves. By December, 18 students had taken their own lives in Clark County, Nev., pushing the county’s schools toward bringing students back as quickly as possible.

Subscribers help make Times journalism possible. To support our efforts, please consider subscribing today.

Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

6. Tens of thousands of Russians rallied in support of the jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny on Saturday. It was the biggest nationwide showdown in years between critics of the Kremlin and the Russian authorities.

More than 3,000 people were arrested. The broad scope of the protests — from the Far East to Moscow — signaled widespread fatigue with the stagnant, corruption-plagued political order that President Vladimir Putin has presided over for two decades.

Mr. Navalny, a 44-year-old anticorruption activist and Mr. Putin’s most prominent domestic critic, was poisoned in August in Siberia and recovered in Germany. After flying home to Moscow last Sunday, he was arrested at passport control.

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, via Getty Images

7. We remember two legends of their fields.

There are Hall of Famers. And then there’s Hank Aaron, who faced down racism to become one of baseball’s greatest players and its home run king. He died at 86. This is how his fellow Hall of Fame players will remember him.

“Hank Aaron,” the pitcher Jim Palmer said, “it’s like getting to the top of the mountain.”

Here is our full obituary, a collection of photographs of Aaron, a longtime Atlanta Braves slugger, and one of his final interviews.

And in five decades on radio and TV, Larry King interviewed presidents, psychics, movie stars and swindlers — anyone with a story to tell. He died at 87. No cause of death was given, but Mr. King had recently been treated for Covid-19.

He spoke to The Times Magazine in 2015 about death. “I can’t get my head around one minute being there and another minute absent,” Mr. King said.

Monica Almeida/The New York Times

Butch Dill/Associated Press

8. Around this time last year, there was a lot of speculation that Tom Brady, 43, would retire. Now Brady, the longtime New England Patriots quarterback, is a game away from the Super Bowl with another team.

Brady will lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the N.F.C. championship against the Green Bay Packers today. Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m. Eastern. The winner of that game will meet either the Buffalo Bills or the Kansas City Chiefs. That game starts at 6:40 p.m. Here are our predictions.

To say Bills fans are excited for the possibility of their first Super Bowl title is an understatement. Their longstanding ritual of slamming into folding tables makes the ridiculous look routine.

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

9. We have your weekend kitchen projects covered.

It’s January, and comfort food is in order. Consider this straightforward sausage and apple dinner (no mixing bowl required) or make a polenta that masquerades as lasagna, above. If you just want a bowl of pasta, we don’t blame you. This creamy (and vegan) leek pasta delivers a ton of texture and flavor.

And you’ll need a Cooking subscription for this one, but the satisfaction may be worth it. Our food contributor Claire Saffitz created a guide for how to make a traditionally chewy, crusty bagel. For anyone who took on sourdough baking in the beginning of quarantine and gave up on it, “this is a great place to land,” says Claire. Watch her make them.

L. Kasimu Harris for The New York Times

10. And finally, a smattering of great reads.

In the latest edition of The Weekender, our reporters examine the search for a missing black hole, a tumultuous year for the Broadway smash “Moulin Rouge!” Mardi Gras in the pandemic, above, and more.

Our editors also suggest these 10 new books; “Blown Away” is back for a second season; and there’s a new song from Billie Eilish and Rosalía.

Did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, the Sunday Review from Opinion and our crossword puzzles.

Have a dazzling week.

Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6:30 a.m. Eastern.

Did a friend forward you the briefing? You can sign up here.

What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com.

Browse our full range of Times newsletters here.

Continue reading the main story

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

The Morning Briefing newsletter is now The Morning newsletter. You received this email because you signed up for the newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account.

To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.

Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app

Connect with us on: