Your Friday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/briefing/us-china-near-space-lsat-debate.html

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

1. U.S. officials are worried that China may have surpassed them in “near space.”

Washington and Beijing are testing new defense systems high above Earth, but below orbiting satellites, in a zone known as “near space.” Until this month, little was known about the strategic contest. But it’s of urgent concern to military commanders, many politicians and policymakers.

Officials point to China’s exploitation of the zone with aerial craft and advanced munitions as evidence that it is pulling ahead of the U.S. in important ways. In a speech this week, President Biden said he would seek “common global norms” in near space.

For more: Navy divers have completed the recovery of the Chinese spy balloon that was downed by a U.S. fighter jet this month. The debris was sent to the F.B.I. for analysis.

2. The five Memphis police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols pleaded not guilty.

The officers faced charges of second-degree murder among others, a month after they were captured on police and traffic cameras punching, kicking and striking Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was hospitalized and later died.

During a brief hearing, the five men quickly filed in and out of the courtroom as their lawyers entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.

The officers, all of them Black, had been part of a specialized street crime unit called Scorpion, which was disbanded following Nichols’s death. A sixth officer has been fired, and others are facing internal departmental discipline as well.

3. Senator Rick Scott dropped his plan for potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Following a year of bipartisan criticism, Scott, a Republican of Florida, amended his policy agenda to exempt Social Security and Medicare from his proposal to terminate all federal programs every five years and subject them to congressional review.

His retreat was the latest evidence that Republicans, who have long called for revisions to the popular retirement programs to help rein in the nation’s soaring debt, have fully backed off from such proposals.

In other news from Washington, Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican senator, is eyeing a run for the presidency.

4. Ukraine’s president said Western weapons would be key to defeating “the Russian Goliath.”

“We need to hurry up,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told officials in a video address at the opening of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Moscow has rushed tens of thousands more troops to the front lines as it seeks to demonstrate gains before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion next week. Ukraine’s allies have been working to come up with ways to provide the weapons that Ukrainian forces will need for the fight ahead.

Zelensky warned against “fatigue” as the war is expected to last at least another year. The leaders of France and Germany vowed that the West would not waver in its support, even as debate grows about the war’s scale and cost. Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, hinted at the prospect of a negotiated settlement.

5. The strong economy is making some stock traders jittery.

Recent data showed that employers are continuing to hire, consumers are continuing to spend and the U.S. economy is growing. For most people, that’s welcome news. But the latest data has forced many stock traders to realize that they were wrong about the Federal Reserve and its path on raising interest rates.

Wall Street analysts have sharply raised their expectations for the number of times the central bank will increase interest rates in the coming months — slowing a rally predicated, in part, on the hope that the Fed would soon end its increases.

For more: You can buy extra low-risk federal inflation bonds using your tax refund. But it’s not for everyone.

6. Do law schools need the LSAT?

One arm of the American Bar Association is pushing to drop a longstanding requirement that law schools administer admissions tests in order to be accredited while another has voted to retain it. Both factions have made arguments centered on diversity.

Proponents of the change say they are seeking to give schools more flexibility, in an effort to draw applicants who may currently feel unwelcome. Opponents argue that dropping the LSAT would lead to more subjective, biased criteria for admittance. If the proposal to drop the LSAT is approved, law school applicants would probably not see any change until 2026, and even then, law schools could decide to continue to require the test.

7. Basketball’s big names are ready to entertain.

While the N.F.L. season is now behind us, the 2023 sports calendar is just beginning to heat up, starting this weekend with the N.B.A.’s All-Star events.

Much of the attention will be on superstars like Luka Doncic, the Dallas guard who is having the best season of his career and who makes the game look easy. But the showiest event of All-Star weekend is the Dunk Contest: “It’s one of professional sports’ last strange, silly, subtext-free and wonderfully overwrought occasions,” Katie Heindl writes in The Times Magazine.

For more: The Athletic looked at why fans love All-Star jerseys from the mid-90s.

In other sports news, Tiger Woods’s comeback is a work in progress.

8. A restored “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” highlights what made it great.

The Chinese-language martial arts film enthralled American moviegoers, many of whom had never before experienced the genre, when it was first released in 2000. It still remains the highest-grossing non-English-language film in the U.S.

The new version, which is now in theaters, brings the unforgettable action sequences into 4K resolution. But it also reminds viewers of the film’s unusual effectiveness in taking B-movie pulp and transforming it into a tragic fable.

Also in theaters this weekend, the latest installment of “Ant-Man.” Our critic called it “busy, noisy and thoroughly uninspired,” but it’s almost certain to make a lot of money.

9. Your dentist wishes you would stay away from charcoal toothpaste.

The black-hued alternative has grown in popularity in recent years, marketed as a natural teeth whitener, but research has found that it can cause tooth hypersensitivity without offering proven benefits.

Sticking to A.D.A.-approved toothpastes was just one of several recommendations that dentists told us they wished we kept in mind. Another thing they said to remember: Your gums aren’t supposed to bleed when you floss.

One more research-backed tip: Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule can have big health benefits.

10. And finally, about that weird blue plushie.

If you walk around New York City, you may find a menacing gaze staring back at you from souvenir shop windows and the tables of sidewalk sellers. His name is Huggy Wuggy and, although retailers have rushed to get him onto shelves, many have no idea who he actually is.

It turns out that Huggy Wuggy is the villain of an indie horror video game called Poppy Playtime, which became a surprise hit in 2021. Then, inexplicably, the plush character found a second life on YouTube, where children as young as preschool age came across tribute videos and quickly became fans themselves.

Have a strangely captivating evening.

Elizabeth Bristow compiled photos for this briefing.

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