Mitch McConnell, Ukraine, Oscar Nominations: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/briefing/mitch-mcconnell-ukraine-oscar-nominations.html

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.

1. Senator Mitch McConnell denounced the Republican National Committee’s characterization of Jan. 6 as “legitimate political discourse.”

“We saw it happen,” McConnell said. “It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next.”

The minority leader also pushed back hard on the R.N.C.’s censure of Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for participating in the House investigation of the Jan. 6 attack.

But House Republicans emerged from a closed-door meeting with a clear talking point: The party should focus on ensuring that Cheney does not win re-election. Kinzinger has announced his retirement.

In other political news, Erik Prince, a former C.I.A. contractor who founded the private military firm Blackwater, helped raise money for a spy operation intended to infiltrate opponents of Donald Trump, according to documents obtained by The Times and interviews with people familiar with the plan.

2. Russia undercut Emmanuel Macron, the French President, during his shuttle diplomacy.

The Kremlin spokesman rejected reports that Macron and President Vladimir Putin, who met for five hours yesterday, had reached any agreement to de-escalate the crisis over Russia’s military buildup at Ukraine’s border, suggesting that it was the U.S., not France, that had standing to negotiate such a deal.

The statement came as Macron was in Kyiv to meet with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Here are the latest updates.

With few compromises so far, the standoff could turn into a drawn-out and dangerous diplomatic slog. The Ukraine crisis is here to stay, our Moscow bureau chief writes in an analysis.

3. Trucker protests in Canada spread to a crucial international crossing.

Heavy trucks and private vehicles blocked traffic on the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit, a vital link for the automobile industry, temporarily closing it this morning before traffic began moving through a secondary entrance.

Around the world, the protests have become a rallying cry for far-right and anti-vaccine groups. In Australia and New Zealand, they have inspired copycats. In Canada, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, is facing calls to be more forceful — like his father.

4. Four Democratic governors are rolling back mask mandates.

Shortly after New Jersey’s governor, Philip Murphy, announced he would end school mask mandates in March, four other states — Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon — followed with similar decisions.

The move to eliminate mask mandates in these states come as the number of cases has dipped to its lowest level since the Omicron variant touched off a wave in December. Polls show that the public’s resolve to combat the pandemic is waning.

Separately, Johnson & Johnson late last year quietly shut down production of its easy-to-deliver Covid vaccine at the only plant making usable batches. The facility has instead been making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine for an unrelated virus.

5. Promised a new culture, women in the N.F.L. say the league pushed them aside.

After the 2014 release of a video that showed the running back Ray Rice punching his fiancée unconscious, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell promised that the league would take a stricter stance on domestic violence and sexual assault and hire more female executives.

Instead, more than 30 women described to The Times a stifling corporate culture that demoralized some female employees and drove others to quit. Voicing concerns to supervisors or human resources often resulted in women being “managed out” of the organization.

Theresa Locklear, the league’s former director of Business Intelligence and Optimization, was one of about 50 women who met with Goodell after the video was released. “I remember leaving there and thinking that nothing had changed,” she said. “There were no takeaways.”

6. Peloton announced the resignation of its chief executive, and 2,800 layoffs.

Once a pandemic winner, the company has struggled to recalibrate its supply chain to meet wavering demand. Peloton said it lost $439 million in its most recent quarter. The layoffs represent about 20 percent of its corporate work force.

Barry McCarthy, the former chief financial officer of Spotify, replaced John Foley as chief executive. The moves could buy Peloton time as it fends off pressure from Blackwells Capital, an activist investor. Foley and other insiders control a majority of Peloton’s shares.

In other business news, 2021 was a record year for the U.S. trade deficit, which rose 27 percent from 2020, as Americans continued to spend heavily on goods made in foreign factories during the pandemic.

This year could be critical for electric cars, which are booming in an otherwise depressed market.

7. The envelopes, please: The Oscar nominations are out.

The Netflix Western “The Power of the Dog” led with 12 nominations, in a big year for streaming services. Another Netflix film, “Don’t Look Up,” is also in the running for best picture, along with “CODA,” a romantic drama from Apple TV+ about the only hearing member of a deaf family. Here’s the full list.

Among the notable nominations: A year-end surge of praise pushed Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” to four nominations; Kenneth Branagh became the first person nominated in seven different categories over his career; and “Flee” was the first film to receive nominations for documentary, animated film and international film in the same year.

The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 27.

8. Wasabi is in crisis.

Climate, untended forests and demographic threats are chipping away at a centuries-old culture surrounding the cultivation of the fluorescent green plant, a pungent staple of plates around the world.

In Shizuoka, one of Japan’s largest wasabi-growing regions, production has declined by close to 55 percent in the past decade. The delicate plants, which take more than a year to mature, do best in conditions no higher than about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. In recent years, heat waves have caused more stalks to rot.

In other food news, The Sims, a 22-year-old life-simulation video game, has become the internet’s most exciting place to eat.

9. With a world record, Nathan Chen is halfway to gold in Beijing.

Four years after a mistake-laden short program cost him a chance at gold, the American figure skater set a world record with his high score. The gold medal will be decided on Thursday after the free skate (Wednesday night in the U.S.).

Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old freestyle ski star who was born and raised in California and competes for her mother’s home country of China, won gold in big air with a trick she hadn’t tried in competition. Here’s how she did it.

China chose a little-known Uyghur athlete to light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony. Since her star appearance, Dinigeer Yilamujiang has kept a low profile.

Here’s the latest news, the medal count and how to watch.

10. And finally, a call to take out the trash, in A minor.

Every weeknight in Taiwan, a canary-yellow garbage truck drives by, blasting a rendition of Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” or “Maiden’s Prayer,” a flowing 19th-century piano melody. Then, residents take their trash to the trucks, transforming the scene into something like a neighborhood block party.

It’s all part of a waste management policy in Taiwan under which “trash is not allowed to touch the ground.” Officials insist it has helped clean up a place once nicknamed “garbage island.”

The ritual has also fostered a sense of community. There are stories of couples who met while waiting in line for the trash pickup. And for some, it has been a source of solace at a time when the pandemic has left many feeling isolated.

Have a melodious night.

Eve Edelheit compiled photos for this briefing.

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