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Good morning,
We start today with the deepening investigation into President Trump’s inaugural committee, a preview of tonight’s State of the Union address and a look at the rift between leaders in Virginia.
Prosecutors seek inaugural committee’s records
Federal prosecutors ordered on Monday that officials from President Trump’s inaugural committee turn over documents about donors, finances and activities, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
The subpoena expands an inquiry opened last year. Investigators are interested in whether any foreigners donated to the inaugural committee; such gifts are illegal.
No one who worked for the committee, including its chairman, Thomas Barrack, has been accused of wrongdoing.
Background: The investigation grew from the one into Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer. Mr. Cohen’s case was referred to federal prosecutors in Manhattan by the office of the special counsel, Robert Mueller.
Wall looms over State of the Union address
President Trump is expected to focus on immigration in tonight’s speech, which was postponed by the partial government shutdown, and he will probably reiterate his demand for a wall on the southern border. He is not expected to declare a national emergency, a fallback plan that would circumvent Congress but that Republicans have warned could divide the party.
Mr. Trump is also expected to announce a plan to stop transmission of H.I.V. by 2030. Here’s what to watch for in the speech, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have live coverage and analysis.
The details: Thirteen guests will join Mr. Trump and his wife, Melania, at the Capitol. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost a race for Georgia governor last year, will deliver the Democrats’ official response.
Looking back: We examined how much progress Mr. Trump has made in achieving goals set out in last year’s State of the Union address. Those include passing an immigration overhaul, bringing down drug prices and revamping American infrastructure.
Political turmoil in Virginia deepens
Gov. Ralph Northam told aides on Monday that he was not planning to step down after questions about a racist photograph that appeared on his medical school yearbook page.
At the same time, Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, denied a woman’s claim that he had sexually assaulted her in 2004. He suggested that Mr. Northam’s allies were plotting to keep him from assuming the governor’s post if Mr. Northam resigned.
“Everybody is shaking their heads; nobody knows what’s going to happen,” one state lawmaker said. “It might change in 15 minutes.”
Another angle: The initial reports about Mr. Northam and Mr. Fairfax, both of whom are Democrats, were published by Big League Politics, a site that has promoted conspiracy theories favored by the far right.
Fresh resistance to New York’s Amazon deal
A critic of the $3 billion deal to bring the company to the city was named on Monday to a state board that could kill the arrangement.
The State Senate’s selection of Senator Michael Gianaris, who represents the area of Queens where Amazon would like to build a campus, is a challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who must decide whether to reject the pick. Doing so could create a standoff with the Senate’s new majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and other Democrats.
What’s next: Mr. Cuomo has said that the Public Authorities Control Board must vote on the development plan for Amazon, which is expected to bring 25,000 to 40,000 jobs to the city. Company executives have said that they don’t expect the plan to go before the board until next year.
If you have 9 minutes, this is worth it
Tech is splitting the U.S. work force
Robotics and automation mean that the growth in American jobs lies in businesses like hotels, restaurants and nursing homes, where wages are low and replacement by machines is less appealing.
“Economists are reassessing their belief that technological progress lifts all boats,” writes our economic reporter, “and are beginning to worry about the new configuration of work.”
Here’s what else is happening
Threat in the Himalayas: Rising temperatures in the region, home to most of the world’s tallest mountains, will melt at least one-third of its glaciers by 2100, according to a report released Monday.
Taking sides on Venezuela: Most of the European Union’s member countries backed Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader, joining the U.S., Australia, Canada, and much of Latin America in withdrawing recognition of President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Presidential nominations: President Trump announced that he would nominate David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist and current deputy chief of the Interior Department, to lead the department. Mr. Trump also plans to nominate David Malpass, the under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs, to head the World Bank, administration officials said.
Blunt talk from Pope Francis: In a speech in the United Arab Emirates, the pontiff mentioned the war in Yemen and called on Gulf countries to extend citizenship rights to religious minorities.
Late-night comedy: Conan O’Brien on Sunday’s Super Bowl: “I found that to be — what is the opposite of a nail-biter? It was a nail-grower. I thought I was watching a baseball game.”
What we’re reading: This BuzzFeed article. Alisha Haridasani Gupta, on the briefings team, writes: “Working all the time, answering emails in bed, living with our parents or taking on side gigs to save up on cash. These experiences have — unfortunately — become all too common for many millennials and, as this writer argues, it’s leading to widespread burnout.”
Now, a break from the news
Cook: A bowl of longevity noodles with chicken, ginger and mushrooms is a perfect dinner to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Listen: The bright, infectious instrumentation of Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” belies the melancholy, wistful lyrics. The song appears often in the new Netflix series “Russian Doll.”
Watch: Gina Rodriguez outsmarts a drug cartel in a scene from “Miss Bala,” narrated by the film’s director, Catherine Hardwicke.
Go: At modern spas in the Italian Alps, tranquillity imposes itself by the very nature of the landscape.
Smarter Living: When’s the last time you tidied up your digital life? For a data cleanse, back up your photographs, documents and other information (preferably using an automatic, online, off-site backup service), and run your system’s software update for the most recent security fixes.
We also have guidance for making the transition to Medicare from other types of insurance.
And now for the Back Story on …
China’s most famous pig
Peppa Pig’s feature-length movie “Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year” debuts today for the start of the Year of the Pig. But, as illustrated in a heartwarming short film promoting the movie, most Chinese still don’t know “What is Peppa.”
China’s most famous pig is Zhu Bajie (猪八戒), frequently called Pigsy in English. In the classic novel “Journey to the West,” he is one of three disciples protecting a monk on a quest to retrieve Buddhist scripture. He is bighearted, but his appetites get him into trouble.
The 1958 animated short “Pigsy Eats Watermelon,” a landmark hit in a rapidly growing Chinese animation industry, tells the story of one episode from the novel in which he finds a watermelon and divides it into four pieces, intending to bring it to share with his comrades.
Much to his embarrassment, however, he can’t stop himself from eating it all.
That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.
— Chris
Thank you
To Eleanor Stanford and James K. Williamson for the break from the news. Albert Sun, an assistant editor who helped redesign the Morning Briefing, 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 Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader.
• Here’s today’s mini crossword puzzle, and a clue: English city near Manchester (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Times introduced a Chinese-language website on June 28, 2012. Access from within China has been blocked since October 2012.
Source : Nytimes
