Joe Biden, N.F.L. Draft, ‘Avengers: Endgame’: Your Friday Briefing

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning,

We’re covering the latest news from Sri Lanka, a phone call between Joe Biden and Anita Hill, and the first-round results of the N.F.L. draft.

Sri Lanka’s leader blames security officials

President Maithripala Sirisena said today that he had not been warned of terrorist threats and that Sri Lanka’s security apparatus would be undergoing a “total reorganization.” Mr. Sirisena, who is also the defense minister, has faced intense criticism since the suicide bombings across the country on Sunday.

Japan initially insisted that the U.S. return to the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Mr. Trump abandoned two years ago. But concerns about North Korea and China have helped restart negotiations.

Yesterday: Mr. Trump said that China’s president, Xi Jinping, would visit the White House soon, fueling anticipation of a trade deal.

Anita Hill isn’t satisfied by Joe Biden’s regret

On Thursday, the day Mr. Biden announced his run for the White House, his campaign revealed that he had recently called Ms. Hill to share “his regret for what she endured” 28 years ago after she accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Mr. Biden, then a senator from Delaware, presided over the hearings as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ms. Hill and others have faulted him for refusing to seriously investigate her accusations or to take public testimony from other potential witnesses.

Ms. Hill is now a professor at Brandeis University. In an interview with The Times, she said she didn’t consider Mr. Biden’s call an apology. “I cannot be satisfied by simply saying, ‘I’m sorry for what happened to you,’” she said. “I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose.”

San Francisco learns a hard lesson on integration

For decades, the mantra in education has been that ZIP code shouldn’t determine school quality. Few cities have pushed harder to make that ideal a reality than San Francisco.

The city lets parents apply to any elementary school in the district, having done away with traditional school zoning in an effort to desegregate classrooms. But what was once seen as a national model hasn’t worked as intended.

Quotable: “Our current system is broken,” said Stevon Cook, president of the district Board of Education, which, late last year, passed a resolution to overhaul the process. “We’ve inadvertently made the schools more segregated.”

Feral cats are formally deemed an invasive pest in Australia, and they are driving the country’s native species to extinction — particularly threatened rodents and marsupials.

The government’s response has been to try to kill two million cats by 2020. Methods include dropping poisoned sausages from planes.

Here’s what else is happening

Invalid voting maps: A panel of federal judges ruled on Thursday that 34 districts in Michigan are extreme partisan gerrymanders and unconstitutional.

Abortion rule is blocked: A federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction temporarily blocking a Trump administration rule that would bar organizations that provide abortion referrals from receiving federal family planning money.

New cyclone hits Africa: The storm, Cyclone Kenneth, has made landfall in Mozambique and other countries, just over a month after Cyclone Idai killed more than 1,000 people and displaced millions in the region.

L train slowdown: Starting tonight, the line’s tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan is partly closing on nights and weekends. Here’s what to expect.

Bill for captive: North Korea demanded $2 million for the medical care of Otto Warmbier, an American student who fell into a coma while being detained and died days after his release. It’s unclear whether the Trump administration complied.

Uber’s I.P.O.: The ride-hailing company said today that it’s aiming to be valued at as much as $91 billion in its initial public offering next month, making it one of the largest offerings in the history of the technology industry.

Snapshot: Above, the Arizona Cardinals took Oklahoma’s quarterback Kyler Murray with the first pick of the N.F.L. draft on Thursday. We analyzed all 32 first-round selections.

In memoriam: John Havlicek, one of the greatest clutch stars in N.B.A. history, won eight championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1960s and ’70s. He died on Thursday at 79.

News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.

Modern Love: In this week’s column, a man reassesses what he wants after two girlfriends broke up with him by coming out.

Late-night comedy: The hosts had fun with Joe Biden’s campaign announcement. Trevor Noah was incredulous that Mr. Biden’s run in 1988 was cut short by an accusation of plagiarism: “That was a scandal?”

What we’re reading: This article in Mosaic from 2016. Anna Holland, an editor in London, writes: “This piece on suicide rates among young people in Northern Ireland is how I first learned of Lyra McKee, who dedicated her journalism career to covering the lasting trauma of the Troubles. She was killed last week doing just that, at only 29.”

Cook: Blistered green beans and tomatoes with honey, harissa and mint make a flavorful vegetarian dinner.

Watch: “Avengers: Endgame” arrives in theaters today. Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and other stars settle scores and take a long victory lap in the final chapter of this cycle.

Read: Four memoirs and one near-memoir are among 11 new books we recommend.

Go: (Or maybe don’t.) “Beetlejuice,” a musical adaptation of the 1988 Tim Burton film, has opened on Broadway. It’s “absolutely exhausting,” our theater critic writes.

Smarter Living: Not all plastic is created equal. Ever notice those recycling symbols with the numbers inside? The numbers identify the type of plastic you’re looking at, and depending on where you live, they may indicate that it isn’t recyclable.

And here are kitchen tools to help you minimize food waste and maximize savings.

And now for the Back Story on …

The bard of the comments section

April is National Poetry Month. So we thought we’d look at a different kind of poet: Larry Eisenberg, a prolific commenter on nytimes.com who posted in verse, mostly limericks.

With more than 13,000 comments, beginning in 2008, Mr. Eisenberg became a cult figure. A former editorial page director called him “the closest thing this paper has to a poet in residence.”

Mr. Eisenberg was a biomedical electrical engineer by day who wrote science fiction (and limericks) by night. He died in December at 99.

He turned a decade of news into poetry, from the doings of President Barack Obama and President Trump to sports to TV reviews. In 2011, he took on the topic of social media:

Was there no Life before there was Twitter?
Was it stodgy, lackluster or bitter?
I find Life too fleeting
To spend time in Tweeting,
I’m a face-to-face kind of a critter!

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Chris

Thank you
To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen for the break from the news. Remy Tumin, on the Briefings team, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about the measles outbreak.
• Here’s today’s mini crossword puzzle, and a clue: Vehicle for a luger (4 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Like many offices across the U.S., The Times took part in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. The kids got to make a cookbook, a podcast and a crossword; learned about journalism; got temporary tattoos and more. Some employees shared evidence on Twitter.