Your Thursday Briefing

> Weather, Facebook, Venezuela: Here’s what you need to know. [The New York Times]( [nytimes.com]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, Jan 31, 2019 | [View in browser]( Supported by Good morning, We start today with the continuing polar vortex, a dispute between Apple and Facebook, and the end of a marathon church service. By Chris Stanford Temperatures hovered around minus 20 degrees in Chicago on Wednesday. Scott Olson/Getty Images Merciless cold lingers The polar vortex is expected to continue today, and the high in New York is [forecast to be 16 degrees]( tying a city record for Jan. 31. On Wednesday, it brought temperatures as low as minus 28 in Minneapolis and [upended daily life for many in the Midwest]( halting planes and trains, shutting schools, and prompting officials to open emergency centers. The bitter weather is believed to be tied to at least eight deaths, and health officials warned residents to go outdoors only if necessary. For you: Exposed skin can quickly lead to frostbite. Chicagoans shared [cold-weather survival tips](. Trump pushes back against intelligence officials President Trump has [accused the nation’s intelligence agencies of being “passive and]( about the dangers posed by Iran, a day after the agencies gave their annual assessment of the biggest threats to the U.S. Lawmakers and former intelligence officials condemned Mr. Trump’s attack, calling it inappropriate and dangerous. But the president’s defenders noted the threat assessment came from the very national security establishment the president has vowed to disrupt. Side effect: President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan has offered Mr. Trump [reduced costs for keeping U.S. troops in the country](. Afghan officials are worried about the effects of an American withdrawal and a resurgent Taliban. Notable: The intelligence chiefs pointed out growing cyberthreats from Russia. Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that he [wouldn’t intervene with the Justice Department’s decision-making process]( about releasing the special counsel’s report. Feud between Apple and Facebook intensifies Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has called privacy a “fundamental human right.” On Wednesday, he and his company took aim at Facebook for violating Apple’s rules with a research app that allowed Facebook to snoop on users’ online activity. “The move is the clearest sign yet that the cold war between Facebook and Apple over data use and privacy is heating up,” [our tech columnist writes](. Another angle: Facebook [reported record profit and 1.52 billion daily active users]( in the fourth quarter of 2018, suggesting that advertisers and users haven’t been deterred by a string of scandals. Friends and family carrying the coffin of Yonaiker Ordóñez, 18, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday. His relatives said he was killed by a special police force created by President Nicolás Maduro. Meridith Kohut for The New York Times Venezuelan leader issues a warning to the U.S. [President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela said on Wednesday]( that an American intervention in his country “would lead to a Vietnam worse than they can imagine.” Washington has recognized Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the country’s acting president and imposed sanctions in an effort to pressure Mr. Maduro. Go deeper: Mr. Maduro has [called on a special police force to crack down on protesters]( a potential sign of the strained loyalties inside the military he once relied on. Opposition’s perspective: Ending Mr. Maduro’s tenure requires the support of pro-democratic governments, institutions and individuals around the world, Mr. Guaidó wrote in [an Op-Ed for The Times](. The messier Brexit gets, the better Europe looks “Nothing has brought the European Union together quite as much as Britain’s chaotic breakdown,” our chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe writes. When Britain voted to leave the bloc in 2016, European officials feared other countries would seek to withdraw. Britain now serves as a cautionary tale, though, and analysts tend to agree that [the bloc will fare far better than Britain will](. The impact: Retailers warned this week that the country’s food supply [would be the first to feel the effects]( of leaving the European Union without a deal. Some businesses have been stockpiling products, exploring new shipping routes and [making backup plans](. If you have 25 minutes, this is worth it A marker of China’s big plan Andrea Frazzetta/Institute for The New York Times A remote part of the steppes of Central Asia is inhabited by a small number of hardy souls, like the horsemen above. But a transformation looms. The Chinese government plans to turn the region, which straddles China’s border with Kazakhstan, into [a major hub of its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative](. 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 Fed’s reversal: The [Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged]( on Wednesday, signaling that its push for higher interest rates might end sooner than expected. Factory plans in doubt: The Taiwan electronics maker Foxconn is [reassessing plans for a $10 billion plant in Wisconsin]( that President Trump had hailed as an example of a revival for American factory jobs. Marathon church service ends: [A 96-day vigil in the Netherlands]( [came to an end]( after its organizers received confirmation that a family of refugees sheltering inside would no longer face immediate deportation. Dutch law forbids the police from interrupting church services. State of the Union address: An undocumented immigrant who worked at one of President Trump’s golf clubs in New Jersey [has been invited to attend his speech next week](. Guillermo Arias/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Snapshot: Above, asylum seekers from Central America returned to Tijuana, Mexico, from the U.S. on Wednesday while their cases are processed. Late-night comedy: The [weather was on the minds of all the hosts]( including Jimmy Fallon: “Midwesterners were so upset, they almost started cursing. ‘Gosh darn it! It’s flipping freezing!’” (And [here’s Wednesday’s roundup]( for those who missed it.) What we’re listening to: [The “Justice in America” podcast](. “It is humbling how much I learn from this every week,” writes Caity Weaver, a writer at The Times. “I tend to traffic in fun facts but it is this weekly dose of regular facts that actually changes the way I think.” ADVERTISEMENT Now, a break from the news Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Cook: Looking for a gluten-free treat? [Flourless cocoa cookies]( will do the trick. Read: The 12-year-old detective Flavia de Luce returns in Alan Bradley’s “The Golden Tresses of the Dead” on our [hardcover fiction]( and [combined print and e-book fiction]( best-seller lists. Watch: “Black Panther” will be playing for free in AMC theaters all over the country, starting Friday. [Here are more tips on seeing Oscar-nominated films](. Listen: “[Daddi]( is from Cherry Glazerr’s “Stuffed & Ready,” an album that has far more quandaries than answers, [Jon Pareles writes](. Smarter Living: Need to [make sure your food avoids allergens]( It’s easy to tell by the label when milk, eggs or nuts are in a product, but after that, it’s harder. Reach out directly to the manufacturer if you need to, and avoid items with labels that say “may contain” or “processed in the same facility as.” You can also look for foods made in allergen-free plants. We also have a look at your brain and life [if you quit Facebook](. And now for the Back Story on … The term “polar vortex” The word “vortex,” derived from the Latin for “to turn,” has been in use since at least the 1600s, [according to the Oxford English Dictionary](. It’s cited in centuries-old scientific theories to mean a swirl of something around a central axis. The first pairing of “polar” and “vortex” is widely credited to an article published in 1853, in a magazine that Charles Dickens edited. The author, John Capper, was a merchant and journalist who lived in what’s now Sri Lanka. The polar vortex now. Evan Grothjan/The New York Times His article, “[Air Maps]( was a somewhat florid account of the state of the relatively new science regarding wind, a crucial factor for nautical travel and trade in the era before marine engines. The patterns of the Earth’s major winds could be tracked, Capper wrote, and one “whirled about the pole in a continued circular gale: at last, reaching the great polar vortex.” These days, we know the polar vortex as [those swirling winds breaking out of the polar region]( bringing frigid temperatures south. That’s it for this briefing. A happy birthday to Jackie Robinson. The man who broke Major League Baseball’s color line in 1947 [would have been 100 today](. See you next time. — Chris Thank you Inyoung Kang helped compile today’s briefing. Eleanor Stanford, Chris Harcum and James K. Williamson provided today’s break from the news. James also 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_20190131§ion=endNotetion=endNote). P.S. • We’re listening to “[The Daily]( In today’s episode, Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter, discusses an error that threatened to derail his reporting about Watergate. • Starting this week, [we now provide transcripts]( with episodes of “The Daily.” • Here’s today’s [mini crossword puzzle]( and a clue: Nimble for one’s age (4 letters). [You can find all our puzzles here](. 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. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018 ADVERTISEMENT