Your Weekend Briefing

Sacramento, Russia, Easter | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Sunday, April 1, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Weekend Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND BRENT MURRAY Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. Cristobal Herrera/European Pressphoto Agency 1. “No amount of kindness or compassion alone would have changed the person that Nikolas Cruz is and was, or the horrendous actions he perpetrated. That is a weak excuse for the failures of our school system, our government and our gun laws.” Among our best-read articles this week was [an Op-Ed written by Isabelle Robinson]( a senior from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. She wrote the piece because she was disturbed by the notion that the shooting might have been prevented if Mr. Cruz’s classmates were nicer to him. Above, a memorial outside the school after the attack. John Paul Stevens, the retired Supreme Court justice, also wrote [a well-read Op-Ed on guns](. He labeled the Second Amendment “a relic” and called for its repeal. Did you keep up with the headlines this week? Test your knowledge with [our news quiz](. Here’s the [front page of our Sunday paper]( and our [crossword puzzles](. ____ Alexander Nemenov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 2. President Trump’s advisers are [urging tougher policies on Russia]( after a week of mass expulsions of diplomats. But Mr. Trump has refused to embrace a tough public posture, and remains uncertain how far to authorize his administration to go. Above, the American Embassy in Moscow. Meanwhile, turnover continued in his administration with the departure of Hope Hicks, the communications director, and David Shulkin, the secretary for veterans affairs. [Here’s our running tally.]( And here’s a roundup of [the five biggest stories in politics this week]( including the uproar over a citizenship question on the census. ____ Hussein Malla/Associated Press 3. In Ohio, President Trump visited a training center for union workers to promote his infrastructure plan. But he diverted to other topics, saying he [might delay a trade deal with South Korea]( — and promising to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. Above, American service members near Manbij. Two members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting there were killed this week — one American soldier and one British. [Mr. Trump ordered the State Department]( to suspend more than $200 million in funds for stabilization and humanitarian aid, as the administration reassesses its role in the conflict. Idlib Province, the largest remaining rebel-held enclave in Syria, has been flooded with refugees from other areas. As the government wraps up a blistering military campaign in the eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, [Idlib is likely to be the next target]( and civilians there are trapped. ____ Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 4. The Israeli military killed 15 Palestinians [in confrontations on the border with Gaza](. Tens of thousands of Gazans had gathered for what was billed as a peaceful demonstration against Israel’s longstanding blockade and in support of their right to return to their homes in what is now Israel. Gaza’s economy is collapsing and residents — most of whom are refugees or their descendants — face intense restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of the territory. The Israelis said that some demonstrators hurled stones, firebombs and burning tires, and that two gunmen fired at them. They responded with tear gas and gunfire. Some 1,000 people were injured. ____ Sacramento Police Department 5. Stephon Clark, the unarmed man killed by the Sacramento police in his grandmother’s backyard last month, [was shot eight times from behind]( according to a private autopsy. Above, an image from police footage of the shooting. Protesters in California’s capital have taken to the streets nearly every day since Mr. Clark’s death, demanding that the city’s leadership fire the two officers involved. An activist at a rally outside the city on Saturday was [struck by a Sheriff’s Department vehicle]( and was treated for minor injuries. And the [police in Baton Rouge, La., fired the officer]( who shot Alton Sterling in 2016. The department released new footage of the killing that shows the officer shouting profanities at Mr. Sterling, slamming him into a car and threatening to shoot him in the head. ____ Susan Clary/Susan Clary, via Associated Press 6. The acquittal by a federal jury of [Noor Salman, the widow of the man who gunned down dozens of people]( at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando two years ago, handed federal prosecutors on Friday the rarest of defeats: a loss in a terrorism case. Jurors unanimously rejected government charges that Ms. Salman had helped her husband plan his violent assault in the name of the Islamic State. After our recent coverage of the bombings in Austin, Tex., some readers took issue with our reporting, asking why we didn’t label him a terrorist. Some of our editors and reporters [addressed those questions here](. ____ Amazon, via YouTube 7. We took a look at recent [patent applications filed by Amazon and Google](. (Above, Amazon’s Alexa Super Bowl ad.) Tech companies apply for a dizzying number of patents every year, many of which are never used and are years from even being possible. But the recent filings offer a peek at how the companies could seek to mine data from smart speakers and other household devices. For example, a device could start analyzing speech when it hears “love,” “bought” or “dislike” and then send out targeted ads based on that information. ____ Pei Cobb Freed 8. Our critic writes that the clock is ticking on the overdue [International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C.]( Above, a rendering. But will $11 million be found to fully fund it? And the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is Wednesday. As we sorted through historical photographs for our coverage, we encountered many people, particularly women and children, who had gone unnamed. Now we want to know: Who were they? We’re hoping you might [be able to help us](. ____ Orlie Kapitulnik 9. Tax Day is approaching. The deadline to file is April 17. Our personal finance experts say it’s also an excellent time to give yourself [a financial tuneup.]( They’ve created a weeklong program that walks you through some of the simplest financial tasks you can do to tidy your finances, optimize your spending and make sure you are planning appropriately for the long term. ____ Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images 10. Why are Catholic colleges so good at basketball? While theological explanations are tempting, there is more than just something in the holy water. [Our college sports reporter explains](. One of those colleges is Loyola-Chicago, whose fans, above, cheered its long-shot run to the N.C.A.A. tournament’s Final Four. The team [lost to Michigan]( which will face Villanova in the championship game Monday night. ____ Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times 11. Finally, competing bunnies were beaten by a cat in the race to No. 1 on the [New York Times best-seller list]( for children’s picture books. The bunnies are both named Marlon Bundo. (One was created by the vice president’s daughter, and the other by the staff of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.”) They were overtaken by “Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure.” On that note, if you’re looking for last-minute [Easter recipes]( we’ve got you covered. Above, homemade Peeps, also known as [saffron honey marshmallows](. We also have a wide array of [recipes for the Passover table](. Up for some more reading? Try this collection of [our best weekend reads]( which includes our coverage of the “Roseanne” reboot, Sean Penn’s literary adventures and a bittersweet return to Puerto Rico. Have a great week. ____ Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. You can [sign up here]( to get our Morning Briefings by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning, or to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? 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