Your Friday Evening Briefing

March 13, 2020

Your Friday Evening Briefing

By Remy Tumin and Marcus Payadue

Good evening. Here’s the latest.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

1. President Trump declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency as life in the U.S. and around the world continued to rapidly change.

Speaking from the White House, Mr. Trump pledged to supply $50 billion in emergency funding, lift restrictions on doctors and hospitals and waive interest on student loans. Congress and the White House separately struck a deal on a sweeping relief package.

The president, above with Bruce Greenstein, a home health care executive, also said that millions of virus testing kits would become available, but added that he did not think that many would be needed. Mr. Trump said he would “most likely” be tested for the coronavirus, but not because of his contact with a Brazilian official who was infected.

Cases in the U.S. have climbed past 1,800, even with sporadic and spare testing, and the death toll has risen to 41. Worst-case coronavirus projections, based on C.D.C. scenarios obtained by The Times, are chilling — but don’t account for interventions now underway.

The explosive spread of coronavirus can be turned to our advantage, two infectious disease experts argue: “But only if we intervene early. That means now.”

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Peter Adamik

2. What does the world look like without ___________? We’re starting to get an idea.

The sports seasons of 2020 are about to take a place in the realm of what if, writes our columnist. The Boston and London marathons have also been postponed, as has the Masters.

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Because of a ban on large gatherings, the Berlin State Opera was empty for a performance of Bizet’s “Carmen” that was streamed online, above.

In New York, restaurants began to feel the pinch; shoppers flooded stores and emptied shelves, looking to stockpile groceries and household items to prepare for the unknown. Toilet paper has become a hot commodity (this Opinion video might even make you laugh).

Illustration by Guillem Casasus; Photo: Getty Images

3. Could the economic shock from the coronavirus outbreak turn out to be worse than the 2008 financial crisis?

In many ways, writes our European economics correspondent, the current turmoil feels far less predictable. The most profound alarm may be from the perception that officials, especially the leader of the world’s largest economy, the U.S., are not tackling the challenge head-on.

Stocks surged at the end of a turbulent week as business leaders pledged to support the government with virus testing.

It’s hard to make sound financial decisions when there’s so much uncertainty. Here’s some expert advice if you’re considering unloading stocks or selling your home.

Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters

4. U.S. airstrikes in Iraq on Thursday killed three Iraqi soldiers, two police officers and a civilian, according to Iraqi military officials, and damaged an unfinished civilian airport.

The Iraqi Joint Command described the strikes as “an aggression.” Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command, said the strikes had been aimed at a pro-Iranian militia group and were meant to destroy rockets and other weapons that could be used against American and allied troops in Iraq. It was not clear whether any militia fighters had been killed.

On Wednesday, a volley of rockets killed three service members — two Americans and one British — at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

5. The big three opioid distributors have offered to pay $19.2 billion over 18 years to settle lawsuits over the epidemic. Above, opioid distribution industry leaders testified before Congress in 2018.

But according to a confidential document, states that have signed on will have to compel cities to drop their cases in order to receive all the money. Cities and counties, which have brought far more cases than state governments have, say they are being blindsided because the proposed agreement would give states control over the money that would trickle down to them.

So far, 31 states plus the District of Columbia have tentatively agreed to the deal, while 19 states, including Florida, Connecticut and West Virginia, have not.

Laura Boushnak for The New York Times

6. Hundreds of women in Nigeria have been recruited by Boko Haram as suicide bombers. This woman managed to outsmart the terrorist group.

Balaraba Mohammed, who was 19 when she was blindfolded and kidnapped by Boko Haram, was sent out as a suicide bomber. Time and again she found a way to defy one of the most deadly terrorist groups in the world. Her resistance, along with others, has largely been forgotten in Nigeria.

She’s the subject of the next episode of “The Weekly,” which airs tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX.

Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui; The New York Times

7. Cities are growing, and more people are working. Why aren’t they taking the bus?

By late 2019, through nearly seven straight years of decline, national bus ridership in America was at its lowest level since the mid-1970s.

We looked at what’s causing the drop in 15 major cities and found trends that are rooted in seismic shifts in urban life: the rise of on-demand technology, the changing nature of work, the evolution of e-commerce, the redevelopment of city centers, the influx of young professionals and the suburbanization of the poor. Changing age demographics may also be at play.

Trisha Krauss

8. Instagram-inspired enthusiasts are making their interior-design dreams real — but 12 times smaller.

While they may not be able to serve a meal in their ideal kitchen, a growing community of artisans have turned the craft of dollhouse making into an exercise in aspirational home design on an itty-bitty scale.

For life-size ideas, our special design section this weekend looks at furniture customization, an experimental Dutch community with few building restrictions and tips for how to renovate your kitchen (and not end up in tears).

Colleen Mcgrath/The Herald-Mail, via Associated Press

9. 3.141592653589793238462643383279502… and counting.

Pi, as we all learned in school (and are reminded every March 14, on Pi Day, which is tomorrow), is defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. The famous mathematical ratio is estimated to more than 22 trillion digits.

We looked back at some of our past coverage on this auspicious day with an essay by the mathematician Steven Strogatz, who wrote that π is the perfect symbol for our species’ long effort to tame infinity, and another by the columnist Natalie Angier on the multiplicities of infinity in science.

Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

10. And finally, one cook’s scraps are another’s liquid gold.

If you’ve been throwing out your Parmesan rinds, our Food contributor has some words of advice: don’t. Many seasoned cooks save their leftover rinds to impart umami to brothy dishes.

All you need is five or six rinds. The resulting brew will keep in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer indefinitely. Throwing a rind directly into your pasta sauce, pot of beans or soup can also add a more subtle flavor.

Here are five more recipes to stave off cabin fever.

Have a delicious weekend. But first wash your hands.

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