February 16, 2020

Your Weekend Briefing

By remy tumin and stephen reiss

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

1. President Xi Jinping was aware of the coronavirus outbreak well before he first spoke publicly about it, drawing him directly into questions about whether Chinese officials did too little, too late.

In an internal speech published by the government on Saturday, Mr. Xi said he had “issued demands about the efforts to prevent and control” the coronavirus on Jan. 7 — while officials at its epicenter in the city of Wuhan were still playing down its dangers.

Mr. Xi’s advisers might have hoped that publishing the speech would reassure his people that he could be trusted to lead them out of the epidemic.

To contain the virus, Chinese authorities are mainly relying on a flood of workers to keep hundreds of millions of people from coming in contact with outsiders. The grass-roots mobilization, reminiscent of Mao-style mass crusades, has not been seen in China in decades. Above, a resident standing guard outside a Beijing apartment building.

Here’s the latest.

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Michael A. Mccoy/Associated Press

2. The Justice Department is facing an internal crisis of confidence.

In more than three dozen interviews, lawyers across the federal government’s legal establishment expressed concern that President Trump was undermining the Justice Department’s treasured reputation of independence from political influence — and whether Attorney General William Barr was able to or willing to protect it, especially if it means complicating his relationship with the president.

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Those concerns stemmed in part from a week in which Mr. Barr intervened on the sentencing of Mr. Trump’s longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, and ordered reviews of politically charged cases.

In the days since Mr. Trump was acquitted by the Senate, he has “turned paranoia into policy,” our White House reporters write.

Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

3. Michael Bloomberg’s charitable giving soared as he eyed a presidential run. We examined how his billions created an unmatched empire of influence.

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The Times found that the former New York City mayor’s philanthropy was deeply entwined with political preoccupations, giving away or spending more than $10 billion on a combination of charitable and political donations over the years. That’s earned him enormous sway with Democrats, even those who take issue with parts of his record.

Here are five takeaways on his political spending.

And with the Nevada caucuses less than a week away, Democratic contenders fanned out in Las Vegas on Saturday, the first day of early voting. Here’s what else is happening in the 2020 race.

Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

4. A 14-year-old boy was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the killing of Tessa Majors, a Barnard College student, during a robbery in December. Above, a memorial for Ms. Majors.

Police believe that the boy was one of three young men aged 13 to 14 involved in the attack and that he wielded the murder weapon. The authorities said he would be tried as an adult.

The death of Ms. Majors, 18, and the ages of the suspects in her attack, rattled New York City. Investigators had been under pressure to solve the first high-profile case under the new police commissioner, Dermot Shea.

Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

5. The wildfires that ravaged Australia have forced the country to imagine an entirely new way of life. Above, Bell, in New South Wales.

What many have witnessed this fire season feels alive and monstrous, our Sydney bureau chief writes in an analysis. Climate change is making Australians, who have always taken great pride in nature and a relaxed attitude about life, stumble toward new ways of work, leisure and life. Will politics follow?

“If there’s not a major shift that comes out of this, we’re doomed,” said a political scientist and climate policy expert at the University of Melbourne.

Lexey Swall for The New York Times

6. The reading wars are back.

As test scores lag — only a third of American students are proficient readers — there’s a growing debate between proponents of a phonics-heavy approach and educators who prefer to instill a love of literature (teachers are often exposed to this theory in schools of education).

Eye-tracking studies and brain scans suggest that learning to read is the work of deliberately practicing how to quickly connect the letters on the page to the sounds we hear each day. But the education establishment is pushing back, worried that too many lessons based on sound-letter combinations could be stultifying.

Harry How/Getty Images

7. Kobe Bryant is a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bryant, who retired from the N.B.A. in 2016 after spending his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, was expected to take the step toward the hall even before he died in a helicopter crash in January. Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Tamika Catchings are also on the ballot.

The N.B.A. All-Star Game is tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT. Multiple tributes are expected, including special jerseys and an altered game format.

Luka Doncic, who is making his All-Star debut, will be thinking of Bryant during the game: Bryant once surprised the 20-year-old Mavericks star with trash talk — in Slovenian.

Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

8. Our fascination with houseplants has hit a new benchmark: You can pay people to style your greenery.

Plant stylists, like Lisa Muñoz, above, say people’s ability to properly choose and care for houseplants is woeful, even as the reported desire to live among them is high. That’s where plant stylists come in, ready to do all the dirty work for you (for a price).

“I wanted someone who could give me the answers that you probably learn over time,” said one client.

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

9. One pot, one pan, one sheet: The wonders of the single-vessel meal never cease to impress.

Our Cooking editors put together a wide-ranging collection of recipes devoted to just that. The majority of the meals are a one-stop shop, like skillet-baked pasta, above. For others, you’ll need to add only a vegetable or starchy side dish, maybe a salad or a basket of bread if you’re inclined.

And if you’re reading this over your morning coffee, this story is for you: In our latest installment of “Scam or Not,” we examine the health benefits of your cup of joe.

Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

10. And finally, dig in to The Weekender.

This week we talk to an ultramarathoner about his Olympic challenge, above, and to Zoë Kravitz about having a breakthrough moment. The Times Magazine also has a new installment of The 1619 Project.

For more ideas on what to read, watch and listen to, may we suggest these 10 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 sunny week.

Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern.

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