January 12, 2020

Your Weekend Briefing

By remy tumin and stephen reiss

Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead.

Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

1. As tensions between the U.S. and Iran appear to have settled — at least for now — a new account shows just how close the countries came to the brink of war.

The story of seven days in January — in which the U.S. killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani in a targeted strike and Iran retaliated days later — and the secret planning in the months preceding it, ranks as the most perilous chapter so far in President Trump’s three years in office. Above, General Suleimani’s burial on Tuesday in Iran.

The president’s decision to ratchet up decades of simmering conflict with Iran set off an extraordinary worldwide drama, much of which played out behind the scenes, interviews with dozens of administration officials, military officers and others show.

And in the confusion, a Ukrainian civilian passenger jet was destroyed by an Iranian missile, killing 176 people. Iran took responsibility for downing the jetliner, reversing three days of denial, but that did little to quell the growing fury inside the country and beyond.

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Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

2. The Senate impeachment trial of President Trump could start as early as Wednesday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to lawmakers that she would move next week to send the impeachment articles to the Senate, a long-awaited step that would prompt just the third presidential impeachment trial in American history.

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The pivotal role of impeachment managers is one reason that Ms. Pelosi has waited to send the charges — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — to the Senate. It is a job that veterans of the process say is fraught with legal complexity, political pressure and historic significance.

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

3. With the Iowa caucus just weeks away, and a debate set there for Tuesday, the Democratic primary race remains as fluid as ever.

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Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have been seeking to take control of the race in its early stages, trying to deny momentum to their top two rivals, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg. Mr. Sanders held a slim lead in Iowa in a poll published Friday, while recent polls in New Hampshire have found the leading candidates closely bunched.

Here’s what else happened in the race this week.

Erika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times

4. Puerto Rico is struggling to come back online after a series of strong earthquakes and aftershocks.

Just as signs of life began to return to coastal towns, a 5.9-magnitude aftershock on Saturday brought new power outages, damage and fears that perhaps the worst of the island’s incessant shaking was not over. It was the strongest aftershock yet in the wake of the 6.4-magnitude quake on Tuesday.

Seismologists said the recent tremors were a sign that the island’s multiple faults may have started activating one another.

Much of the island remains in the dark, another tale of vulnerabilities in the nation’s utilities laid bare by disasters, the result of mismanagement and failure to maintain equipment.

Chiang Ying-Ying/Associated Press

5. Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, won re-election after a campaign in which she vowed to preserve the island’s sovereignty amid pressure from Beijing.

The victory was a remarkable comeback for Ms. Tsai, who tapped into an electorate that is increasingly wary of China’s intentions. China’s authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping, has warned Taiwan that unification between the sides is inevitable.

And looking ahead at U.S.-China relations, the Trump administration has invited at least 200 people to a Jan. 15 ceremony for the signing of a Phase 1 trade deal. But the two countries have yet to finalize what exactly will be signed.

Hilary Swift for The New York Times

6. Helen Obando is 16 with sickle cell disease and just wanted to be normal. Now she’s a pioneer in the fight to cure the disorder.

Helen is the youngest person ever to get gene therapy that scientists hope will cure the disease, an inherited blood disorder that can cause excruciating pain, organ damage and early death.

The outcome of her gene therapy could help determine how an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. and millions more around the world are treated. It’s the subject of the latest episode of “The Weekly.” Watch it tonight on FX or tomorrow on Hulu.

Pool photo by Ben Birchall

7. When Prince Harry and Meghan announced this week that they would step back from royal life, many black Britons had one question: What took them so long?

At long last, many said in interviews, the couple might finally escape the abuse, much of it racially tinged, that has been heaped upon them by the British press, particularly the country’s raucous tabloids.

Buckingham Palace held an emergency session on Friday to discuss the couple’s proposal, which includes splitting their time between Britain and North America. Could Canada be their next stop?

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

8. A field of 32 teams is down to its final matchups in the quest for a championship. Our experts picked the players most instrumental to each team’s success.

Za’Darius Smith, linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, above, has been a constant guiding force; Russell Wilson, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, is capable of doing anything and everything at any time; George Kittle, tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, lines up all over the field. Here are their other picks.

The divisional series is well underway. On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans beat the heavily favored Baltimore Ravens; the Minnesota Vikings lost to the 49ers. Today’s matchups include the Houston Texans against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Seahawks against the Packers.

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

9. As we gear up for a new year of 52 Places to Go, our last traveler reflects on one of the routines that kept him grounded over his year of travels: postcards.

Sebastian Modak sent a postcard home from each destination he visited in 2019 (which sometimes proved difficult to find). “Now that I’m back, they’re a collage of my memories,” he writes.

One change in 2020: We won’t be sending out a 52 Places Traveler this year, but will report from many of the destinations. If you need a touch of wanderlust, here’s the full list for 2020.

Christina Simons for The New York Times

10. And finally, check out one of our Best Weekend Reads.

This week our reporters examined the toll on Australia’s animals from the deadly wildfires; the life, and lie, of a New York real estate star; and the dimming of a star in the constellation Orion.

For more ideas on what to read, watch and listen to, may we suggest these 11 new books our editors liked, a glance at the latest small-screen recommendations from Watching, and our music critics’ latest playlist.

Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, the Sunday Review from Opinion and our crossword puzzles.

Have a delightful week.

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