Go for the gold: Your Weekend Briefing

July 18, 2021

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. We're covering the global climate crisis, low vaccination rates and the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Clouds of smoke illuminated by flames from the Bootleg fire on Friday night near Bly, Ore.Payton Bruni/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

1. Extreme weather over the past week drove home a harsh reality: Climate disasters can hit wealthy nations, too.

Once-in-a-millennium floods swept Germany, and fires and heat waves suffocated the American West. The events ravaged some of the world's wealthiest nations, whose affluence has been enabled by the very activities that pump the planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

"I say this as a German: The idea that you could possibly die from weather is completely alien," a climate scientist said.

The big question is whether the mounting disasters in the developed world will have a bearing on what the world's most influential countries and companies will do to reduce their own emissions.

The floods have killed at least 165 people, most of them in Germany, and hundreds are still missing across Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. With floodwaters receding in parts of the region, firefighters and soldiers began clearing debris and assessing the damage. These images show the extent of the devastation.

Mountain Home, Ark., is experiencing rising coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

2. While much of the nation tiptoes toward normalcy, coronavirus cases are again overloading hospitals in areas with low vaccination rates.

Infections rose in every state last week, but counties with low vaccination rates were far more likely to have bigger jumps. Among the 25 counties with the sharpest increases in cases, all but one had vaccinated fewer than 40 percent of their residents, and 16 had vaccinated fewer than 30 percent, a Times analysis found. The new divide in America is particularly stark in Mountain Home, Ark., where fewer than a third of the residents are vaccinated.

The global outlook for the pandemic remains grim as vaccinations lag and the Delta variant takes hold. Indonesia has become the new hot spot of the pandemic, passing India and Brazil to become the country with the world's highest count of new infections. Africa is in its deadliest stage of the pandemic. Only about 1 percent of Africans are fully vaccinated, and there's no relief in sight because rich nations are hoarding shots.

Supporters of President Jovenel Moïse attend a symbolic funeral for the assassinated Haitian leader.Federico Rios for The New York Times

3. Under President Donald Trump, and then under President Biden, the U.S. stood by President Jovenel Moïse as democracy was unraveling in Haiti.

Critics say U.S. backing for the Haitian president's increasingly autocratic rule contributed to the chaos that erupted with his assassination. The resulting leadership void and scramble for power were predictable, current and former officials said, because Washington had paid little attention to clear warnings of mayhem and had possibly made things worse by publicly supporting Moïse.

It's a playbook the U.S. has used around the world for decades: siding with or tolerating leaders accused of authoritarian rule because they serve U.S. interests, or because of fear of instability.

Chuck Schumer, right, the Senate majority leader, on Capitol Hill this week.Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times

4. One by one, pandemic relief programs that financially supported millions of Americans are going away.

The eviction moratorium expires at the end of the month. Unemployment enhancements after that. Then the student loan pause, food stamp provisions and more. If you rely on any of the programs that are going away, this is an anxious time. Fortunately, there's still help out there — and here's how you can find it.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, gave Democrats until Wednesday to work out the details of a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that could yield transformative change in social and environmental programs. The blueprint will unlock use of the fast-track reconciliation process, which will allow Democrats to pass a broad economic package without Republican votes.

A rally at the Supreme Court in 2019 in support of protection for young immigrants.Jose Luis Magana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

5. Two developments underscore the pressure facing President Biden on immigration, an issue that could shape his legacy.

Border officials encountered a total of 188,829 migrants at the southern border in June, the largest monthly number in recent history, according to new federal data. And a federal judge ruled DACA unlawful, jeopardizing the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, most of whom came to the U.S. as children.

Biden faces criticism from all sides. If the president expands detention facilities to hold border crossers for long periods of time, he risks accusations that he is embracing his predecessor's anti-immigrant policies. If he allows tens of thousands of migrants to wait in the U.S. for their court hearings, he will be accused of allowing a "catch and release" policy with a pandemic still raging.

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Recovery crews continued their work this week at the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Fla.Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

6. The Surfside collapse is causing new turmoil in Florida's troubled insurance market.

Insurers were already skittish after repeated losses from hurricanes. But after the recent condo collapse, which killed at least 97 people, insurance companies in Florida are scrutinizing the buildings they are covering, raising rates that are already among the highest in the nation, or canceling coverage altogether.

The shift also presents a new issue in the climate crisis: whether parts of the U.S. are too risky to insure.

Cuban protests this week denouncing the Communist government re-energized the hopes of exiles in Florida for change on the island. But the giddy anticipation is tempered by wariness, especially from older exiles, that this might be one more disappointment.

A giant puppet from the Tohoku region in Tokyo for the Olympics' opening ceremony.Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images

7. The Olympics represent a pinnacle of athletic achievement. But are they worth it anymore?

Each Olympic cycle sparks bidding scandals, human rights outrages, overburdened host cities, rampant cheating — and, to be sure, thrilling competitions. In many ways, critics argue, the Olympics are stuck in time, a 19th-century construct floating through a 21st-century world.

A year after being delayed because of the pandemic, the Tokyo Summer Olympics get underway on Friday. Here's a schedule of some of the major events.

Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo. Professional skateboarders are finally embracing an otherwise ubiquitous practice among elite athletes: physical therapy.

Fans flocked back when "Springsteen on Broadway" opened its doors again in June.George Etheredge for The New York Times

8. The city that never sleeps is waking up from an 18-month slumber. New York's culture scene is leading the way.

The arts — Broadway, nightclubs, museums, concert halls — are coming back to life after the pandemic shutdown. Culture is part of the lifeblood of New York — a magnet for visitors and residents alike that will play a key role if the city is to remain vibrant in an online era. While health and public safety concerns loom large, the big question is: Will people come?

Bruce Springsteen is already onstage; an actual play, "Pass Over," by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, opens in August (gasp!); and in September, show upon show arrives anew or picks up where it left off. We broke down everything you need to navigate Broadway as it reopens, from what to see to how to nab tickets.

What's wrong with your tomatoes, anyway? Check our helpful guide.Peter J. Nitzsche/Rutgers NJAES

9. It's mid-July, which means it's that special time of the year: corn and tomato season.

If you're growing tomatoes this year, don't let those spots on the foliage or disfigured fruit cause frustration. Our garden expert offers a beginner's guide on tomato disorders (and here are some suggestions for how to cook with them).

For the corn lovers, consider sweet corn arepas de choclo from the food stylist Mariana Velásquez. In Colombia, where Velásquez grew up, every region has its own variety, "but arepas de choclo were essential because they are special, unlike the others," she said. These arepas combine corn kernels with the usual ground corn to make the batter.

For more ideas on what to cook this week, here are five weeknight dishes and 16 no-bake desserts for blazing summer days.

A medical breakthrough helps a man speak through a brain implant.Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times

10. And finally, relax and catch up.

A scientific milestone helps a paralyzed man speak. Why Jane Goodall still has hope for us humans. The dark side of chess. All these and more await you in The Weekender.

Our editors also suggest these 10 new books, a new documentary about Naomi Osaka and a posthumous album from Pop Smoke.

Did you follow the news this week? Test your knowledge. And here's the front page of our Sunday paper, the Sunday Review from Opinion and today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Have a pleasant week.

David Poller compiled photos for this briefing.

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

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