Your Friday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/briefing/leaked-documents-charges-supreme-court-abortion.html

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

1. The suspected leaker of classified documents was charged under the Espionage Act.

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who was arrested yesterday for what the authorities say was his role in the leak of U.S. secrets, was charged with two separate counts related to retaining and distributing classified and national defense information. He will remain in custody until a hearing on Wednesday, officials said.

Teixeira started posting U.S. secret documents in a Discord chat with his gaming friends months ago, according to court documents. Teixeira was aware that what he was doing could get him into trouble, the documents suggest, and he began taking documents home and photographing them.

The leaked documents were particularly concerning to U.S. officials because some of them were just a few weeks old. They revealed weaknesses about the Ukrainian military and secrets about both friends and foes.

The authorities indicated that Teixeira had been granted a top-secret security clearance in 2021, which was required for his job as a computer network technician. While that may sound like an exceptional degree of access for such a junior-ranking service member, it is typical for someone in his job.

For more: We spoke to members of Teixeira’s group chat.

2. The Supreme Court briefly preserved broad availability of a commonly used abortion pill.

Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay this afternoon ensuring that the abortion pill mifepristone would remain widely available while the Supreme Court decides whether to take formal action. The stay will expire at midnight on Wednesday.

Alito’s move followed an emergency application filed this morning by the Biden administration asking the justices to pause parts of an appeals court ruling that had limited the availability of the pill. Such a stay is meant to preserve the status quo while the justices study the briefs and lower court rulings, and it did not forecast how the justices would ultimately rule.

For more: Medication abortions, which typically occur early in pregnancy and account for more than half of all abortions in the U.S., only recently became mired in controversy. In a January poll, only one in three Americans said they had heard of the practice.

3. The biggest U.S. banks reported huge profits amid industry turmoil.

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — three of the world’s largest financial institutions — unveiled their earnings today for the first three months of the year, showing that they had earned billions more than analysts had expected. Their robust results proved that, if anything, the tumult at midsize banks helped strengthen the larger ones.

In other economics news, unemployment is low and inflation appears to be falling, yet many economists still worry that a recession is on the way.

4. Republican presidential hopefuls embraced gun politics at an N.R.A. event.

Nearly all of the biggest names in the race to secure the 2024 G.O.P. nomination descended upon an annual gathering of the gun rights group today. The speakers included Donald Trump, his vice president, Mike Pence, and Ron DeSantis, who sent a video message.

Following recent mass shootings in Nashville and Louisville, the near-universal support for the N.R.A. — a group that rejects even many modest efforts to curb gun violence — underscores a central and deepening tension in the broader American culture wars. Support for gun ownership has become a core issue for Republican voters, but one that can be a tougher sell in a general election.

In other politics news, DeSantis is facing the difficulty of navigating two conflicting elements of his base: Republicans who are repelled by Trump, and those who remain enthralled by him.

5. Much of the U.S. plan to fight climate change relies on a simple premise: Electrify everything.

President Biden is pushing for a transition to electric power so significant that the country’s emissions would be almost zero by 2050. To accomplish that, 280 million gasoline-powered cars and 200 million home appliances across the country would all have to be replaced or radically retooled.

Using data from an energy modeling firm, we visualized the discrepancy between our current situation and the future Biden and his team of climate experts are envisioning.

In related news, Chinese drivers appear to have fallen out of love with foreign cars as they buy up more domestic electric vehicles.

6. Should Times Square have a casino?

Some businesses in New York City’s tourist haven are excited by a bid to bring a Caesars Palace casino to the area. But the plan is also meeting heavy resistance from a coalition of local organizations, including the iconic restaurant Sardi’s, a nearby church and a group of theater owners.

They have argued that a casino would harm the neighborhood’s character and draw people away from the restaurants and theaters that are so essential to the city’s tourist economy, which is only now getting back on its feet.

In other news from the city, when Mayor Eric Adams named a rat czar this week, it revived memories of countless horror stories involving rats in toilets, trains, beds and everywhere in between.

7. The N.B.A. playoffs begin this weekend.

Two win-or-go-home games tonight — between Chicago and Miami at 7 p.m. Eastern, and Oklahoma City and Minnesota at 9:30 p.m. — will determine the final entries into the postseason. Tomorrow, the playoff tournament begins in full. The Athletic made some predictions.

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets, both led by perennial M.V.P. candidates, are the top seeds, while the Golden State Warriors are looking to pick up their fifth ring in nine years. Filling out the bracket are underdogs like the New York Knicks, who haven’t won a title in 50 years, and the Sacramento Kings, who just finished their first winning season in 15 years.

In other sports news, by agreeing to sell the Washington Commanders, Daniel Snyder gave his fellow N.F.L. owners what they have long wanted: his departure.

8. Broadway’s longest-running show is turning off its lights.

“The Phantom of the Opera,” the famed musical that has put on 13,977 performances for more than 20 million viewers over the last three decades, will close its doors for good on Sunday.

The show — a New York City institution housed at the Majestic Theater — was powered in part by a group of die-hard patrons who call themselves Phans. Those fans, who dress up as “Phantom” characters and discuss the production obsessively, are mourning the loss of a show that has been with them for much of their lives.

For more: Michael Paulson, our theater reporter, discussed the show’s meteoric rise and bittersweet closing on The Daily.

9. What to do this weekend:

Cook: This roasted white bean pasta is on our list of inexpensive yet tasty vegetarian meals.

Watch: The final season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” premiered today.

Listen: Two new tracks from Kelly Clarkson were among this week’s top songs.

Read: “Real Easy,” a mystery novel, is one of the new paperbacks we recommend this week.

Relax: Don’t feel as if you need to rush into spring cleaning.

Compete: Take this week’s News Quiz.

Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword.

10. And finally, not just your everyday calendar.

A year has a simple definition: one trip around the sun. But it took many centuries for people to decide on the calendar we use today.

My colleague Jason Farago recently examined exquisite calendars from previous eras, including one that he calls “the most beautiful calendar ever produced.” It was made in the 1410s for one of the most powerful men in France and is known as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.

It was learned. It was detailed. It was impossibly lavish. And almost no one saw it but its owner.

Have an exceptional weekend.

Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.

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