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Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. President Trump recently promised to delay an order to close the southern border. A few days later, he urged an official to do it anyway.
The conversation with Kevin McAleenan, whom Mr. Trump was about to name acting secretary of Homeland Security, came last week on the heels of Kirstjen Nielsen’s refusal to move forward with the closure before she resigned as secretary. Mr. Trump also told Mr. McAleenan that he would pardon him if he encountered any legal problems as a result of taking the action. Above, an asylum seeker waits in Tijuana, Mexico.
2. An overnight vote by the Supreme Court revealed a bitter divide on the death penalty.
In a 5-to-4 vote, the court allowed the execution of an Alabama inmate to proceed, prompting a 3 a.m. dissent by Justice Stephen Breyer. The majority, he said, had denied his request that the execution be delayed so the justices could discuss the matter during a private conference on Friday morning. The ruling provided a rare glimpse of the inner workings of the court.
Separately, Ohio became the third state to ban abortion at the first sign of a fetal heartbeat, the latest front in the decades-long campaign by conservatives to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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3. The arrest of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange brought his self-imposed exile to a dramatic close. But don’t expect to see Mr. Assange in an American courtroom any time soon.
Extraditing him from Britain to the U.S., where Mr. Assange faces a conspiracy charge, is far from certain, experts say. Within hours of Mr. Assange’s arrest, the topic of extradition became a partisan issue in Britain, with Labour Party leaders saying he should not be extradited. To complicate things further, prosecutors in Sweden could reopen a rape investigation involving Mr. Assange and request his extradition to that country.
And what happened to Mr. Assange’s cat? The cat had a social media following that transcended the complicated politics of its owner.
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4. The ice is melting in the high Arctic despite frigid temperatures. And that means the Russians are coming.
Moscow is moving to claim Arctic territory as barriers between Russia and North America melt. Yet still-bitter temperatures pose an immediate threat to NATO troops defending icy waterways. Our reporter visited Resolute Bay, where military drills are underway to counter Russia’s move, above.
In other international news, Finland is preparing for a general election on Sunday in which climate change has emerged as the central issue. Populists are now capitalizing on fears of climate activism, saying urban elites will “take the sausage from the mouths of laborers.”
5. Standardized-testing officials are scrambling to fix weaknesses in the testing process after the college admissions scandal.
The College Board, which administers the SAT, said it would crack down on requests from students to take tests at schools other than their own. The extra layer of scrutiny came as Mark Ridell, a test whiz at the center of the scandal, pleaded guilty to charges related to the case.
In other college campus news, students are pushing back against the honor code at Brigham Young University, the latest move to modernize the Mormon Church, which owns the school. The code includes sexual activity and drinking coffee among its prohibitions.
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6. The financial fallout of the Boeing 737 Max crisis is rippling across the industry.
With the Max grounded following two deadly crashes in five months, Boeing and the airlines that rely on its planes are scrambling to adjust. Major airlines have canceled thousands of flights. Boeing has slowed production of the Max and stopped deliveries. And with no timetable for the return of the jet, Boeing is facing escalating bills, numerous legal threats and a crisis of confidence.
One estimate projects that the cost of lawsuits and reimbursements could total $1.9 billion in just six months. Above, 737 Max 8s at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash.
7. LeBron James may have not made it to the N.B.A. playoffs, which begin this weekend. But there’s a different kind of success story out of Akron, Ohio, his hometown.
This time last year, the students at the I Promise School, a public school supported by Mr. James, were identified as the worst performers in the Akron public schools. Now, the inaugural class of third and fourth graders has posted extraordinary results on its first set of test scores.
“We are reigniting dreams that were extinguished — already in third and fourth grade,” the school’s principal said. “We want to change the face of urban education.”
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8. In one of our best-read stories today:
A white restaurateur in New York advertised “clean” Chinese food, where the lo mein wouldn’t make people feel “bloated and icky.” Chinese-Americans had something to say about it.
The restaurant, called Lucky Lee’s, has become the latest front in the debate over cultural appropriation. The owner has apologized.
“Where she is coming from is a very dark place, and it’s a very sensitive place in the hearts of Chinese people,” said the owner of an acclaimed dumpling restaurant in Brooklyn.
In other food news, a former chef is harvesting thousands of snails on the North Fork of Long Island, making it the only legitimate snail farm in the U.S.
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9. The wait is almost over.
The final season of “Game of Thrones” begins Sunday night after a nearly two-year hiatus. As the fantasy saga heads for the explosive finale it has promised, our TV critic is hoping for a little more conversation and a little less action. We also have this very thorough guide that details where the show left off, and what’s to come.
And in other fantasy worlds: E L James changed the literary landscape with her blockbuster erotica trilogy, “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Now she is trying something (sort of) new with a new novel.
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10. Finally, let’s dance.
The Times has a treasure trove of dance photographs in its archives, from Martha Graham to break dancing, and formal dinner dances at the Waldorf Astoria in New York to dancing in East Village Bars, pictured above in 1967. We had Misty Copeland, a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater, sift through them to choose some of the best.
“There are captions that can inform, but they are not necessary,” Ms. Copeland writes. “These photographs of dancers, like dance itself, can tell a hundred stories without uttering a single word.”
However you shake it, have a great weekend.
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Source : Nytimes
