Go for the gold: Your Weekend Briefing

January 23, 2022

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. We're covering Russia-Ukraine tensions, Omicron's retreat and the N.F.L. playoffs.

Thousands of civilians have joined volunteer military units in Ukraine.Sean Gallup/Getty Images

1. The Kremlin appears to be developing plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin weighs whether to invade, the British government said.

The highly unusual disclosure by British intelligence officials comes at a pivotal moment in negotiations between the West and Russia, which has deployed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders that could, according to American officials, attack anytime.

According to a British intelligence assessment, Russian planners are considering installing Yevgeniy Murayev, a former member of Ukraine's Parliament, as leader of a pro-Kremlin puppet government in Kyiv. Officials disclosed few details about how Russia might impose a new government on a sovereign Ukraine and did not say whether such plans were contingent on an invasion by Russian troops.

British officials said the intent of sharing the information was both to head off the activation of such plans and to put Putin on notice: This plot had been exposed.

Here are the basics of the conflict.

A Covid ward at a hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y.Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

2. Omicron is finally in retreat.

More and more states have passed a peak in new coronavirus cases in recent days, as glimmers of progress have spread from a handful of eastern cities to much of the country. By the end of last week, the country was averaging about 720,000 new cases a day, down from about 807,000 last week. New coronavirus hospital admissions have also leveled off.

The U.S. is not in the clear yet. It continues to identify far more infections a day than during any prior surge, creating havoc for hospitals and businesses in small towns. Deaths continue to mount, with more than 2,100 announced most days. Still, the decline in new cases offered a sense of relief to virus-weary Americans. Here's what scientists know about Omicron.

Did you get a breakthrough infection? Vaccinated people may now have "hybrid" immunity, but experts still encourage precautions.

President Biden has argued that inflation is a result of supply chain problems caused by the pandemic.Doug Mills/The New York Times

3. Rapid inflation is fueling a debate in Washington: Who — or what — is to blame?

The White House is emphasizing that price surges are worldwide. Economists say that's true, but point to government policies as a big reason that U.S. inflation is at a 40-year high. They say that America's decision to flood the economy with stimulus money helped to send consumer spending into overdrive, exacerbating the global trends.

In sectors as diverse as housing and fast food, the pandemic is sending prices soaring across industries. This is the first time many adults have experienced meaningful inflation, and to help bring some clarity to the situation, we asked experts to answer your questions.

President Xi Jinping of China promoted winter sports in the fall.Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

4. When China hosted the Olympics in 2008, it sought to mollify critics. Now, President Xi Jinping is defying them, delivering the Games on his own terms.

China has plowed through the obstacles that once made Beijing's bid for the Winter Games seem a long shot — limited experience with winter sports, little snowfall and dense pollution — and faced down new ones, including an unending pandemic and mounting international concern over its authoritarian behavior.

But unlike in 2008, "they don't need this to legitimize their rule," one historian said. "And they don't need to please the whole world to make the event a big success."

With the Games set to open in about two weeks, thousands of Olympians worldwide are integrating a routine into their daily regimens: Sidestepping Covid-19, by whatever means necessary.

Two police officers were shot in Harlem while responding to a domestic dispute.David Dee Delgado for The New York Times

5. A spate of violence in New York City is increasing pressure on Mayor Eric Adams to deliver on his promise of bolstering public safety.

On Friday, one police officer was killed and another critically wounded when a gunman opened fire on them inside a Harlem apartment. They were the third and fourth officers to be shot in the line of duty this week. Last weekend, an Asian-American woman was shoved in front of a moving train in Times Square. On Wednesday, an 11-month-old baby was shot in the face in the Bronx.

"This was just not an attack on three brave officers," Adams said of Friday's shooting. "This was an attack on the city of New York."

Adams used the shooting to call for a unified, citywide response to gun violence and to attack Congress for doing too little, in his view, to control guns. He also offered an implicit rebuke of the call from his party's left wing to shift funding away from the police.

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Abortion rights activists in front of the Supreme Court in December.Kenny Holston for The New York Times

6. This weekend marked the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It may be its last as settled law.

As the Supreme Court considers a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks, and whether to overturn Roe altogether, The Times examined how U.S. abortion law compares with other countries. While many rich democracies have earlier cutoffs for abortion, the U.S. is an outlier in another way — by considering rolling back abortion access.

On Friday, anti-abortion protesters descended on Washington for the annual March for Life. This year's ritual took on the tone of a celebration as marchers predicted the court's reversal of Roe, which established a constitutional right to abortion.

Before the anniversary of the Roe decision, Times Opinion spoke to women who had abortions before they became widely available.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are two wins away from returning to the Super Bowl.Jay Biggerstaff/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

7. Today's divisional round playoff games will decide the N.F.L.'s conference championship matchups.

The teams feature four of the highest-rated quarterbacks from the regular season. In the first game, Matthew Stafford and the star-studded Los Angeles Rams will face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defending Super Bowl champions, at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Then Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills' top-ranked defense, a rematch of last year's A.F.C. championship, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Here's what to watch for.

The conference championships are partly set: The Cincinnati Bengals shocked the Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers upset the Green Bay Packers.

Yakei, a Japanese macaque monkey, has become a rare alpha female.Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden

8. If you like sports, soap operas or primatology, this is for you.

Yakei, a female Japanese snow monkey who lives in a nature reserve, violently overthrew a trio of high-ranking males (and her own mother) to move up the ranks and become the first female leader in the reserve's 70-year history. Yakei's ascent to alpha status surprised both scientists and reserve workers, who are now closely observing her reign.

But mating season could endanger her grip on power. "Mating season generally heats things up in Japanese macaque society," one primatologist explained. "The environment becomes more competitive and tense."

In other news from the animal kingdom, scientists discovered a unique piece of anatomy that prevents whales from choking every time they ingest giant amounts of seawater to filter out food.

Silken tofu absorbs the flavors of this curry broth.Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Maeve Sheridan.

9. Winter weather is testing even the strongest among us this year. These recipes can help warm you up.

Each year around this time, Yewande Komolafe finds herself making the same dishes almost by instinct: broths, soups and teas built from simple ingredients. She calls them restoratives, as they replenish and nourish her.

The upside of winter: citrus season. Thanks to a deeply flavored citrus shrub, the classic French 75 cocktail can also be adapted for those who want something lighter or are abstaining from alcohol.

Grudges are small, persistent and powerful, like an ant hauling a twig.Illustration by Dan Gluibizzi

10. And finally, catch up on some great stories.

Kathy Griffin's attempt at a comeback. The astronomical debate over Pluto. Why holding a grudge is so satisfying. All these and more await you in The Weekender.

Our editors also suggest these nine new books, a new rapid-fire comedy series, a knockout country-rap crossover track and these narrated Times stories.

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 cozy week.

Shaminder Dulai compiled photos for this briefing.

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