Wednesday, Feb 19, 2020 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering President Trump’s clemency decisions and China’s encouraging numbers in the coronavirus outbreak. We’re also looking ahead to tonight’s Democratic debate, the first to include Michael Bloomberg.

By Chris Stanford

President Trump on Tuesday dismissed a suggestion by Attorney General William Barr that he refrain from commenting on criminal cases. Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump says he’s the law of the land

Calling himself “the chief law enforcement officer of the country,” the president on Tuesday renewed his attacks on the criminal justice system, demanded a new trial for his friend Roger Stone, and granted clemency to several white-collar criminals.

By the end of the day, Attorney General William Barr was said to be considering resignation, though the Justice Department denied such suggestions. The attorney general said last week that Mr. Trump was making his work “impossible,” and the president agreed with him on Tuesday, saying: “I do make his job harder. I do agree with that. I think that’s true.”

White House officials said Mr. Trump had followed recommendations from friends, celebrities and campaign donors in granting full pardons or commutations to 11 people. (A commutation makes a punishment milder without wiping out the underlying conviction.)

The details: The Supreme Court has ruled that presidents have unlimited authority to grant pardons; here’s a full list of those who received clemency on Tuesday. Among them are Michael Milken, the Wall Street financier and so-called junk bond king of the 1980s, and Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who essentially tried to sell the Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated after he was elected president.

Perspective: In the years since Mr. Milken was convicted of securities fraud, influential friends have portrayed him as a maverick crushed by the establishment. Not so, says our business columnist James Stewart, who wrote a book about Mr. Milken.

In Beijing on Tuesday. The death toll from the coronavirus in China is now over 2,000. Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times

Spread of coronavirus in China appears to slow

The Chinese authorities reported today that, for the second day in a row, there were fewer than 2,000 new cases of the virus. The number hadn’t fallen below that threshold since Jan. 30, but public health officials have warned against excessive optimism.

Also today, hundreds of passengers began leaving a cruise ship in Japan after the end of a two-week quarantine. More than 540 people aboard the ship had tested positive for the virus. Here are the latest updates from around the world and maps of where the virus has spread.

Go deeper: As it works to contain the epidemic, China has sidelined groups that the Communist Party considers rivals. Our columnist writes: “Beijing has shown the world that it can shut down entire cities, build a hospital in 10 days and keep 1.4 billion people at home for weeks. But it has also shown a glaring weakness that imperils lives and threatens efforts to contain the outbreak: It is unable to work with its own people.”

Another angle: China said today that it would revoke the credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters, after officials objected to a headline this month in the newspaper’s opinion pages: “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia.”

Michael Bloomberg’s debate debut

Tonight is the ninth Democratic presidential debate, but it will be the first to include the former New York mayor, who has been rising in recent polls. The debate, held in Las Vegas ahead of Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, starts at 9 p.m. Eastern. Here’s what to watch for.

News analysis: “After a mass introduction to the Democratic electorate on his terms, powered by hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money, Mr. Bloomberg is submitting for the first time to an uncontrolled setting on a national scale,” our political reporter Matt Flegenheimer writes. “This does not necessarily play to his strengths.”

Another angle: Bernie Sanders’s campaign said it would request a recount of the results in Iowa after the state’s Democratic Party said it had completed a partial recanvass, changing results in 29 precincts but shifting no national delegates.

If you have 9 minutes, this is worth it

The iPhone at the deathbed

Tawnya Musse

In a collision of technology and culture, of new habits and very old ones, we are beginning to photograph our dead again. Such images may feel jarring on social media, but they have a long history. Above, the late Robert Alexander and his sister Kary Manzanares.

For families like Mr. Alexander’s who are choosing home funerals and eschewing the services of conventional funeral parlors, photography is a celebration of that choice.

Here’s what else is happening

Disputed result in Afghanistan: President Ashraf Ghani was declared the winner of the country’s presidential vote after months of delayed results. Hours later, his leading challenger also claimed victory. The dispute comes on the verge of a U.S. peace deal with the Taliban.

Associated Press

Snapshot: Above, civilians fleeing toward Turkey last week from Idlib, the last opposition-controlled province in Syria. About 900,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled their homes since December as the Syrian government tries to seize the area. “It’s like the end of the world,” one relief worker said.

What we’re reading: This joint undercover investigation by Correctiv and Frontal21, two German news outlets, into the Heartland Institute, an American organization that promotes the denial of climate science. Our climate reporter John Schwartz calls it fascinating.

Now, a break from the news

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.

Cook: Bittersweet brownie shortbread combines two treats.

Eat: Caleta 111 Cevicheria, a Peruvian restaurant in Queens, specializes in seafood with citrus-based marinades. Read the review by Pete Wells.

Listen: The Angolan-Portuguese star Pongo puts a global pop spin on African music. “Canto” is from her new EP, “Uwa.”

Smarter Living: April 15 is approaching. Here are tips on hiring an accountant.

And now for the Back Story on …

Covering the courts

Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial went to a jury on Tuesday. We asked the reporter covering the trial and other court veterans to tell us how it’s done.

Jan Ransom had a lot of early starts. Now, she’s waiting for a verdict in the Weinstein case, but during the trial, the line to enter the courtroom in Manhattan Criminal Court stretched down the block by 6 a.m. Once the day’s proceedings began, around 9:30 a.m., she listened closely all day, every day, watching the movie producer’s facial expressions, noting the testimony of the witnesses and recording the reactions of the jury.

In many federal courthouses, cellphones, laptops and recording devices are not permitted, which means reporters must often take notes by hand, then call their editors or other reporters to relay the news.

Harvey Weinstein and his legal team arriving at court in Manhattan on Tuesday. Caitlin Ochs/Reuters

“You’re back to being a reporter from the 1950s,” said John Schwartz, a Times reporter who previously worked as the legal correspondent for the National desk. “You phone it in and compose it in your head and provide that first bit of information just as quick as you can.”

There are often hours of proceedings that can include long exchanges between lawyers and the judge. Skilled reporters are able to discern important developments.

“It’s 99 percent tedium,” said Ben Weiser, who has covered the Manhattan federal courts for The Times for many years. “But you have to be listening and then suddenly someone will say something, and that will be your lead.”

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

— Chris

Thank you
Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. Katie Van Syckle 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 the first of a two-part series about a digital underworld of child sexual abuse imagery that is hiding in plain sight.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Things actors memorize (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Times’s correspondent Rukmini Callimachi spoke to Elle Magazine about how she considers her clothing and self-presentation when covering Islamic extremism.