1. A constitutional clash between President Trump and Congress appears imminent.
He plans to sign the spending package Congress is rapidly approving, to keep the government open past Friday.
But then, according to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, he plans to declare a national emergency to sidestep Congress for funds to build his long-promised border wall. Above, the border fence between New Mexico and Mexico.
In an interview with “60 Minutes” ahead of the publication of his memoir, Mr. McCabe said that topic was broached in 2017 by officials deeply alarmed by Mr. Trump’s decision to fire the bureau’s director, James Comey. Above, Mr. McCabe testifying on Capitol Hill in 2017.
The news came hours before the Justice Department came under new leadership. The Senate confirmed William Barr as attorney general, despite concerns from Democrats that he might not make public the findings of his department’s continuing Russia investigation.
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3. Amazon canceled its plans to build a corporate campus in New York City after stiff opposition from some local lawmakers and unions. The finger-pointing has begun.
A point of contention was the $3 billion package of incentives and subsidies the city and state agreed to — their largest ever, dedicated to one of the world’s richest companies.
Amazon said the deal would have created 25,000 jobs, but the debate it stirred touched on the city’s very identity. Before Amazon’s announcement, we looked at how the resistance was empowered by the rise of Democratic political strength. Above, anti-Amazon protesters before a New York City Council hearing last month.
Our business columnist notes that Amazon was forced to confront a challenge to one of its bedrock beliefs: “that being loved by customers is all that matters.”
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4. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., observed a day of mourning for the 17 lives lost a year ago today in the nation’s deadliest school shooting.
Some gathered for a moment of silence at 10:17 a.m. in a memorial garden. Others took solace in smaller groups, seen above. There was an early dismissal.
On today’s episode of “The Daily,” four students who survived the massacre told us how it changed them. “It’s hard to differentiate what’s from the shooting and what’s from regular teenage anxiety,” one said.
And in an Op-Ed essay, a third-year medical student details what it’s like in the emergency room when young gunshot victims arrive.
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5. In parts of the Alps, the warming climate is making glaciers disappear. The Swiss have a plan to make use of the valleys left behind.
Our climate reporter and multimedia reporter traveled to the Alps to see how glacial melting is affecting hydropower. Swiss researchers are studying the newly exposed valleys, like that from the Trift glacier, above, and say some may be ideal sites to collect the diminishing meltwater — and still make power.
6. Guatemalan police officers stood by for nine minutes as a fire raged through a locked room packed with dozens of girls. The toll: 41 young lives, and agony for the few survivors. The one above suffered burns over 95 percent of her body.
Our bureau chief for Central America investigated the 2017 fire, at a government-run home for at-risk youth. It was one of the deadliest episodes in Guatemala since the end of its civil war decades ago.
His interviews and review of case files reveal a pattern of physical, psychological and sexual abuse allegations at the home stretching back years.
7. Yesterday, we brought you an obituary for a robot. Today, we mourn an airplane model that once revolutionized the skies.
The European aircraft maker Airbus said it would cease production of the mammoth A380. An engineering marvel, the double-decker, four-engine aircraft can carry more than 500 passengers while offering amenities like showers and a bar.
But orders dwindled, with air travel shifting focus to smaller jets and regional airports, and demand from Emirates Airline, a major customer, also fell.
8. Jane Austen died more than 200 years ago, but she’s still the life of at least some parties.
Last month, some 300 costumed revelers gathered in Pasadena, Calif., for the annual Jane Austen Evening, one of the regular events around the country that unite the novelist’s hard-core fans and period dance enthusiasts. Our reporter and videographer captured the scene.
And our Children’s Books editor offers appreciation for another author: Maurice Sendak.
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9. Here’s a tip for cooks at any level: You don’t always need a recipe.
Our food editor, Sam Sifton, gives you 38 ways to get dinner on the table, no recipe required. He suggests improvising off themes, like stir-fries, salads, braised chicken thighs or pasta bakes. Maybe seared lamb chops with butter braised potatoes, above, should be on your menu tonight.
“It’s fun to cook that way, and it helps you develop your kitchen skills along the way,” he writes in today’s Cooking newsletter. (You can sign up for the newsletter here.)
Our California restaurant critic also writes an appreciation of the classic Los Angeles restaurants that define the city.
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10. Finally, we end with a Valentine’s Day proposal.
Not for marriage! Tara Parker-Pope, the founding editor of Well, suggests using the day to be kinder to ourselves. A gentler internal dialogue can be good for us, studies say, and she has some practical ways to tame self-criticism.
She drew this quote from a Buddhist monk’s book: “Treat yourself to a delicious meal, a good book, a nice walk with a lovely view. As you would invest in the person you love, so you should invest in yourself.”
Have a compassionate night.
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