Your Friday Briefing

> Shutdown, Laquan McDonald, Mary Oliver: Here’s what you need to know. [The New York Times]( [nytimes.com]( [The New York Times]( Friday, Jan 18, 2019 | [View in browser]( Supported by Good morning, We start today with the latest round in the Trump-Pelosi feud, uncounted family separations at the border, and a contentious verdict in a case involving the Chicago police. And it’s Friday, so there’s a new news quiz. By Chris Stanford Al Drago for The New York Times Washington needs a timeout The capital now “resembles nothing so much as an unruly sandbox,” [one of our White House correspondents writes](. “As the shutdown drags on, septuagenarian politicians are squabbling like 7-year-olds.” On Thursday, a day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Trump to delay his State of the Union address, he [denied her access to a military plane]( for a congressional visit to American troops in Afghanistan. “Obviously,” [he said in a letter]( flying commercial remained an option. Mr. Trump also canceled plans to send a U.S. delegation to Davos, Switzerland, next week for the World Economic Forum. The impact: The partial government shutdown is in its 28th day, and [federal courts are running out of money](. They’re expected to be able to continue funded operations through at least next Friday. Milka Pablo was reunited with her daughter Darly Coronado, 3, last summer in Phoenix after being separated for four months. Victor J. Blue for The New York Times Family separations at the border went uncounted The Trump administration [most likely separated thousands more migrant children]( from their parents at the southwestern border than was previously believed, according to a government report released on Thursday. The federal government has reported that nearly 3,000 children were forcibly separated from their parents last year under the “zero tolerance” immigration policy. But inspectors from the Department of Health and Human Services found that there was no coordinated tracking system, meaning the total number is “unknown.” Catch up: The separations were a crucial part of the administration’s effort to deter migrant families, many fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, from trying to enter the U.S. U.S. plans to expand its missile defenses President Trump on Thursday endorsed [an updated effort to detect and intercept missiles bound for the U.S.]( evoking Ronald Reagan’s 1983 “Star Wars” program. Details released by the Pentagon suggested something more incremental, aimed largely at destroying small numbers of missiles launched by regional powers, rather than overwhelming strikes from Russia or China. Go deeper: The U.S. has spent more than $300 billion on antimissile projects over the decades, according to one expert. [Our video explains the projects’ unimpressive rate of success](. Another angle: In his speech on Thursday, the president did not mention the threat from North Korea, long a focus of missile-defense advocates. A North Korean envoy is in Washington today, as part of an effort to set up a second summit meeting between Mr. Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North’s leader. Chicago officers are acquitted of a cover-up [Three police officers were acquitted on Thursday]( of charges that they had conspired and lied to protect a white officer who fatally shot a black teenager in 2014. Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted in October of the second-degree murder of Laquan McDonald, is to be sentenced today. Background: While in view of a police dashboard camera, Mr. Van Dyke fired 16 shots at Laquan, who was holding a knife. The shooting prompted citywide protests, the firing of Chicago’s police chief and a federal investigation. If you have 18 minutes, this is worth it What if we misinterpret DNA from ancient bones? David Maurice Smith for The New York Times Geneticists have begun using bones to make sweeping claims about the distant past. But their revisions are making some scholars of prehistory uneasy. That’s partly because some stories sound like the Nazis’ claims of a superior race, but [they also play into science’s real-world rivalries](. PAID POST: A Message From XBrand Renewable Energy in Today's Age Look around you...All of the things that you love about this planet can be used to power it. the sun, rain, wind, tides and waves. We are creating renewable enery that benefits you and our planet, more efficiently and inexpensively. Recharge today with something different. [Learn More]( Here’s what else is happening Deadly attack in Colombia: At least 21 people were killed and 68 wounded when [a car bomb exploded outside a police academy]( in Bogotá on Thursday. It had been years since such an attack in the city, which was once terrorized by drug traffickers and leftist guerrillas. Los Angeles teachers’ strike: The city’s school superintendent and the president of the teachers’ union met face-to-face on Thursday for the first time since the walkout began in the country’s second-largest public school system. But [negotiations still appeared to be at an impasse](. Brexit deadlock is extended: Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain must return to Parliament on Monday with a Plan B for pulling the country from the European Union, after lawmakers soundly rejected her original proposal this week. [A vote on the alternative isn’t expected until Jan. 29]( two months before the scheduled withdrawal. L train shutdown: Two weeks after Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered a last-minute solution to avert a major New York City subway disruption, [it’s unclear when construction will begin]( or how long it will last. Critics have also raised safety concerns. Reuters Snapshot: Above, bullet trains at a maintenance facility in Guangzhou, China, today before next month’s Lunar New Year celebrations and the accompanying travel rush. In memoriam: [Mary Oliver]( a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, used plain language and minute attention to write about the natural world. She earned wide popularity, and comparisons to Walt Whitman and Robert Frost, although critical reaction was mixed. She died on Thursday at 83. N.F.L. playoff predictions: [If our reporter is right about Sunday’s games]( you’ll see the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? [Test yourself](. Late-night comedy: After a rapper made a rare venture into politics on Instagram, [Trevor Noah said]( “How cool would it be if Cardi B. somehow ended the shutdown?” What we’re listening to: [This clip of a speech]( by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., recommended by Lynda Richardson, an editor in Travel. “Ahead of the national holiday honoring the assassinated civil rights leader, here he is observing that ‘Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic.’” ADVERTISEMENT Now, a break from the news Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: LIza Jernow. Cook: [Cauliflower rice]( steps in easily for normal rice. Roast it so the edges caramelize. Listen: “[Mile High]( from James Blake’s new album “Assume Form,” treats love as a murky, uncertain, only sporadically blissful thing, [our critic Jon Pareles writes](. Go: [Alternative museum tours]( are examining the collections of British cultural institutions in novel and sometimes radical ways, sharing stories that had largely gone untold. Read: [These eight new books]( are recommended by our editors, including a graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary. Smarter Living: Water heating can account for up to 18 percent of a home’s energy consumption, but it’s often overlooked, even by energy-conscious homeowners. There are [straightforward ways to increase efficiency]( like lowering the temperature on your water heater, using low-flow fixtures and demand-activated pumps, and insulating hot-water pipes. And we have suggestions on [what to do with all those spices]( in your cabinet. And now for the Back Story on … The waning glory of the Detroit auto show The North American International Auto Show in Detroit has lost of much of its cachet as the industry’s focus has [shifted from horsepower to high tech](. This year’s event, which began this week, hardly resembles the spectacles of the past. Only a handful of major models are making debuts. Audi, BMW, Mazda, Mercedes and Porsche stayed home. But for many years it was a can’t-miss affair. Chrysler became famous for rollicking presentations worthy of halftime at the Super Bowl. In 1992, it had its new Jeep Grand Cherokee arrive by crashing through a glass wall. (The fun begins in [this video]( at 3:14.) It once presented the Chrysler Aspen S.U.V. by simulating a blizzard. Most memorable was probably [the cattle drive](. Cattle in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show in 2008. Tony Ding/Associated Press To promote its new Dodge Ram pickup, the company staged one outside the convention center. The new truck emerged from a herd of 120 longhorn, led by cowboys on horseback — in the middle of downtown Detroit. That’s it for this briefing. We’re taking Monday off for Martin Luther King’s Birthday, but the briefing will return on Tuesday. See you then. — Chris Thank you To Eleanor Stanford and James K. Williamson for their cultural and Smarter Living tips. Neal E. Boudette, who is covering the Detroit Auto Show for The Times, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?&te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_nn_p_20190118§ion=endNote;section=endNote). P.S. • We’re listening to “[The Daily]( Today’s episode is on divisions in the Women’s March movement. • Here’s today’s [mini crossword puzzle]( and a clue: Stackable cookies (5 letters). [You can find all our puzzles here](. • One of the earliest appearances of the term “publicity stunt” in The Times was [in 1922]( when a furrier was prosecuted for releasing a fox on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, to the detriment of the fox. Were you sent this briefing by a friend? [Sign up here]( to get the Morning Briefing. [Today's Front Page]( [nytimes.com]( [Subscribe to The Times]( You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing newsletter. 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