Friday, Feb 7, 2020 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering the latest developments in the Democratic presidential race and the death of the Chinese doctor who provided an early warning about the coronavirus. It’s also Friday, so there’s a new news quiz.

By Chris Stanford

A campaign worker for Pete Buttigieg in Londonderry, N.H., this week. Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times

Democrats turn to New Hampshire

With near-final results showing Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg in a dead heat for the lead in Iowa’s troubled caucuses, seven presidential candidates are set to debate tonight in Manchester, N.H. Here’s what to watch for when the event begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.

The debate follows another turbulent day in Iowa. After initially demanding a recanvass of results in the entire state, the head of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez, backtracked and said that only precincts with reported problems needed to be re-examined. Here’s a county-by-county map of results.

My colleague Maggie Astor reports: “It is very easy, at this point, to imagine a situation in which we know who won New Hampshire — which holds its primary on Tuesday — before we know who won Iowa.”

Closer look: A Times analysis found that the results released by the Iowa Democratic Party were riddled with errors.

Another angle: We asked the candidates about foreign policy and national security. Our survey found a party only partially committed to the Obama era, and unified by very few issues: most prominently the containment of Russia.

A memorial to Dr. Li Wenliang at the hospital in Wuhan, China, where he died today. Chris Buckley/The New York Times

Coronavirus whistle-blower succumbs to it

The Chinese doctor who was reprimanded after warning in December about the then-unidentified virus died of it today.

Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist in Wuhan, warned medical school classmates about evidence of a new virus in an online forum on Dec. 30, and the authorities later forced him to declare that he had spread an unfounded rumor. His death has prompted a rare online revolt in China.

Quotable: Dr. Li spoke to The Times for an article published last week: “If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier,” he said, “I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.”

Catch up: Japanese officials said today that 61 people had tested positive for the coronavirus on a quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama. Here are the latest updates.

The Times is also tracking these global developments:

■ The authorities in Wuhan, where the virus originated, have escalated their lockdown, ordering house-to-house searches and placing the sick in enormous quarantine centers.

■ There are no confirmed cases of the virus in Africa yet, but with steady traffic to and from China, experts worry that the outbreak could overrun already-strained health systems.

■ As supplies of medical face masks dry up in China, the government has said it will begin importing them. Our reporter visited a mask factory in France where demand has risen exponentially.

■ Art Basel Hong Kong, the major international art fair that was scheduled for next month, has been canceled as a precaution.

"I didn't rig anything," Senator Mitch McConnell said. "We had a vote." Erin Schaff/The New York Times

How Mitch McConnell delivered an acquittal

From the moment Democrats assumed power in the House in January 2018, the Senate’s Republican majority leader began preparing for President Trump’s impeachment trial.

He spoke to The Times about those preparations, which ended this week with all but one Republican senator voting to acquit.

Quotable: “If this was all about politics, and it was, at least at the moment I think it is fair to conclude that we won and they lost,” Mr. McConnell said.

Yesterday: Mr. Trump celebrated his acquittal with an hourlong address at the White House, denouncing “evil” and “crooked” lawmakers and the “top scum” at the F.B.I. for trying to take him down. Watch excerpts here.

Another angle: Bidding for a copy of the impeachment report that an auction site says was signed by Mr. Trump reached $17,000 this week. The Trump campaign is skeptical that it’s his signature, but authenticators disagree.

If you have 7 minutes, this is worth it

The Oscars tell a story of their own

Clockwise from top left: François Duhamel/Universal Pictures; Merrick Morton, via 20th Century Fox; 20th Century Fox; Niko Tavernise, via Warner Bros.; Andrew Cooper, via Sony; Netflix. Center: Wilson Webb, via Netflix

With the Academy Awards on Sunday, our critic Wesley Morris discussed the nine films nominated for best picture, eight of which are about white people.

“Couldn’t these nine movies just be evidence of taste? Good taste? They certainly could. They are.” But after years of threatened boycotts and diversification campaigns, he writes, “the assembly of these movies feels like a body’s allergic reaction to its own efforts at rehabilitation.”

Here’s what else is happening

Harvey Weinstein trial: The prosecution rested its case against the former Hollywood producer after graphic, first-person testimony from six women who said he had sexually assaulted them.

Utah land protection ends: The Trump administration finalized plans to allow mining and energy drilling on nearly a million acres in southern Utah that were once part of a national monument.

No help in Dutch crash inquiry: Boeing and American safety officials refused to cooperate with a new investigation of a deadly 2009 crash that had similarities to recent accidents involving the 737 Max.

Associated Press

Snapshot: Above, the newly crowned Miss Independence, Rosemary Anieze, in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1960. Seventeen countries in Africa declared their independence that year, which we’ve revisited with the help of The Times’s photo archive and others.

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

Modern Love: In this week’s column, a young woman struggling with an eating disorder tries to shift from self-loathing to self-loving.

Late-night comedy: President Trump started his political attacks on Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast. Jimmy Kimmel said, “This is a prayer breakfast at which he’s naming people he doesn’t like. Nancy Pelosi was so upset she ripped her pancakes in half.”

What we’re reading: This deep dive by The Atlantic into disinformation and the 2020 election. “Dark,” tweeted our White House correspondent Katie Rogers.

Now, a break from the news

Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Cook: You need only one pan for roast chicken and mustard-glazed cabbage.

Read: “Saltwater,” a novel about a young Englishwoman questioning her place in the world, is among 10 books we recommend this week.

Watch: The final season of “Homeland” premieres on Showtime on Sunday. Its stars, Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, spoke to The Times about how the espionage drama has evolved.

Smarter Living: Our advice column Culture Therapist suggests ways to solve your problems using art. Today’s question is about opening oneself to romance.

And now for the Back Story on …

Covering the Oscars

The Oscars are on Sunday, so it’s crunchtime for Kyle Buchanan, The Times’s Carpetbagger columnist. He spoke to Sara Aridi of the Culture desk about what it’s like to cover the awards.

What stands out about this year’s season?

After last year, when Netflix was so ascendant, people are very excited about movies in the theater. “1917” is one of those movies that you need to see in a theater, and “Parasite” became such a huge word-of-mouth hit in the theater. Those movies provide that encapsulation of what we go to the movies for.

We go to see something on a gigantic screen that moves us in a gigantic way. We go to be transported into an experience that startles and shocks us. Streaming has its virtues and its pleasure, but I think those are testimonials to what the theatrical experience can be.

Mr. Buchanan at his home in Los Angeles. Emily Berl for The New York Times

Do the Oscars still carry weight in pop culture?

Absolutely. If the Oscars reflect Hollywood in 2020, it says that we’re still going through growing pains about the streaming era and that we still have a lot of ground to make up when it comes to representation and whose stories we take seriously.

How have you been preparing for the big night?

I’m trying to get a full night’s sleep. In the campaigning phase, from November to the Oscar nominations, you can go to a brunch for a certain star, and then to a lunchtime screening with a Q. and A., and then to an afternoon performance of a song contender, and then a premiere and then an after-party.

What else have you seen that readers might not know?

Joaquin Phoenix, who’s up for best actor for “Joker,” has been a fascinating figure on this circuit. He’s trying to both play the game and stay out of it. All these awards shows have bent over backward to attract him.

I never would have thought I would miss the boiled chicken breast I usually got at these shows, but they have converted to a plant-based menu in the hopes that Joaquin will attend.

Here are Mr. Buchanan’s Oscar predictions.

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

— Chris

Thank you
Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about Harvey Weinstein’s trial.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Bird on a dollar bill (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The 1619 Project is the centerpiece of a new wave of ads from “The Truth Is Worth It,” a Times campaign. Preview our latest TV commercial, which will air during the Oscars, featuring the singer, actor and producer Janelle Monáe.