Your Monday Briefing

> Donald Trump, Justin Fairfax, Grammy Awards: Here’s what you need to know. [The New York Times]( [nytimes.com]( [The New York Times]( Monday, Feb 11, 2019 | [View in browser]( Supported by Good morning, We start today with a breakdown in border security talks, possible impeachment proceedings in Virginia, and the winners of last night’s Grammy Awards. By Chris Stanford Migrants tried to cross into El Paso, at the U.S. border with Mexico, this month. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters New shutdown looms as border talks break down Efforts to reach a border security deal [bogged down on Sunday]( less than a week before parts of the federal government are again set to run out of money. The details: The breakdown appears to center on Democratic demands for a limit on the number of unauthorized immigrants already in the U.S. who could be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. That could force the Trump administration to focus on immigrants with criminal records, rather than on broader sweeps. Looking ahead: President Trump is [scheduled to hold a rally tonight in El Paso]( to build support for his proposed border wall. Officials in the West Texas city dispute the president’s assertion that border fencing has reduced violent crime there. Related: Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is expected [to withdraw nearly 400 of his state’s National Guard troops]( from the border with Mexico today. A clue about the special counsel’s investigation One of Robert Mueller’s prosecutors suggested last week that the special counsel investigation was focusing on [Trump campaign officials’ response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine]( in 2014 and to American sanctions on Moscow. According to a transcript of a hearing in Washington, the prosecutor, Andrew Weissmann, discussed contacts between President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a Russian associate. Mr. Mueller’s team says that Mr. Manafort misled them about those discussions, and when pressed by the judge about why it mattered, Mr. Weissmann said, “This goes, I think, very much to the heart of what the special counsel’s office is investigating.” Background: Prosecutions by the special counsel have skirted the question of whether there was some kind of deal between Russia and Mr. Trump’s campaign. Persuading the U.S. to ease or end sanctions has been a primary goal of Moscow. Mr. Trump has dismissed Mr. Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt.” Virginia lawmaker takes a step to impeach No. 2 official A draft resolution sent to a state House committee on Sunday directs lawmakers to determine whether the sexual assault accusations facing Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax [constitute grounds for impeachment](. Mr. Fairfax has denied accusations from two women and released a statement over the weekend calling for an investigation and “due process.” Some Democrats are wary of impeaching Mr. Fairfax, who is black, without taking action against the governor and attorney general, who are white and have resisted calls to step down after acknowledging wearing blackface in the 1980s. Go deeper: Gov. Ralph Northam’s early life on the Eastern Shore of Virginia [helped shape his views on race](. Reaction: According to [a poll conducted for The Times]( one in five American adults has seen someone wear blackface. Far fewer said they had worn blackface themselves. At the Tabiat Bridge in Tehran. The strict rules governing Iranian society have loosened in the 40 years since the revolution. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times The Iranian revolution at 40 The government in Tehran collapsed on Feb. 11, 1979, after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had helped inspire the uprising, returned from exile. The country has changed enormously in the four decades since, as a growing middle class has quietly rebelled against the rigid ideology of the revolution’s early years. [Our correspondent in Tehran takes us inside a society]( where divisions between the private and the public have broken down. Looking ahead: The Trump administration has been pressuring Iraq to stop buying energy from Iran, [raising tensions between Washington and Baghdad](. If you have 8 minutes, this is worth it A princess who tried to escape In a video she secretly recorded last year, the adult daughter of the ruler of Dubai described a life of rigid restrictions and stunted hopes in the United Arab Emirates: “Especially if you’re a female, your life is so disposable.” In March, the princess known as Sheikha Latifa, pictured above left with her trainer, announced that she had left Dubai “for good.” But she was soon captured at sea and forcibly taken back. [This is the story of her short-lived escape and the video]( that has reminded the world of the few freedoms allotted to women in the region. 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 Splitting the bill for troops: South Korea agreed on Sunday [to increase its contribution for the cost]( of the U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula. The deal resolves a dispute that had raised fears that President Trump might propose a reduced presence as a bargaining chip during his next summit meeting with the North Korean leader. Pacific Northwest snowstorm: Seattle has already had its snowiest February since 1949, and several more storms [are threatening the region](. The 2020 election: Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota [entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination]( on Sunday, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts [formally announced her run]( on Saturday. Protests in Europe: More than 50,000 people across France marched in [the 13th straight weekend of “Yellow Vest” demonstrations](. Separately, protesters in Spain [called for the ouster of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez]( after he proposed talks over the secessionist movement in Catalonia. Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Snapshot: Above, Lindsey Vonn finished third on Sunday in the final race of her career, in Sweden. The 34-year-old American skier won an unprecedented 20 season-long World Cup discipline and overall titles from 2008 to 2016, as well as three Olympic medals. We selected [photographs from her career](. Grammy Awards: Kacey Musgraves won album of the year on Sunday for “Golden Hour,” at [a ceremony in which women took center stage](. The awards show was criticized last year for its track record on gender representation. Here’s [the full list of winners]( and [photographs from the red carpet](. What we’re reading: [This essay on digital postpartum loneliness in Wired](. Jenna Wortham, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, writes: “Instagram, in many ways, is an alternate reality. Pieces like these are essential for getting a grip on the projections and narratives that social media fosters.” ADVERTISEMENT Now, a break from the news David Malosh for The New York Times Cook: Transform cauliflower into [a weeknight vegan curry](. (Our [Five Weeknight Dishes]( newsletter has more recipe recommendations.) Go: San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, offers [lovely beaches, energetic night life and gregarious island charm](. Watch: Albert Finney, the distinguished British thespian and five-time Oscar nominee, died last week. [Stream some of his best performances at home](. Listen: Ariana Grande’s latest single is “[Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored]( a satisfying thumper with an astral-trap beat, [Jon Caramanica writes](. Smarter Living: If you have a chance to spoil yourself, try spending to enhance where you [spend the most time](. A cruise can be wonderful, but a great mattress or a comfortable pillow offers six to eight hours of pampering every night. Our lead consumer tech writer also has [ideas on combating “bait apps”]( that lure your kids into buying junk online. And now for the Back Story on … A dance move that’s back in the news It was 1983, and 47 million people in the U.S. were watching [Michael Jackson moonwalk across the stage]( to his hit “Billie Jean” during a TV special. The performance immortalized a move that recently re-entered the public consciousness when Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam, who is white, said [he had dressed as Jackson and done the moonwalk]( during a dance contest in 1984. Michael Jackson during the performance that immortalized the moonwalk. Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank, via Getty Images [In Jackson’s 1988 autobiography]( which shares its name with the famous move, he describes the moonwalk as “a ‘popping’ type of thing that black kids had created dancing on street corners in the ghetto.” The moonwalk had been performed for decades by [a range of entertainers]( (albeit often by a more literal name, the backslide). But it was the King of Pop who would be remembered, [as one dance critic put it]( “coasting backward across the stage, step by gliding step, as if on a cushion of air.” That’s it for this briefing. Since the Westminster Dog Show begins tonight in New York, we combed through The Times’s photo archives and found [dogs that were stars long before Instagram](. See you next time. — Chris Thank you To Eleanor Stanford, James K. Williamson and John Dorman for the break from the news. Chris Stanford went overtime to write 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_20190211§ion=endNotetion=endNote). P.S. • We’re listening to “[The Daily]( Today’s episode is about President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, who is preventing millions of dollars’ worth of aid from entering the country. • Here’s today’s [mini crossword puzzle]( and a clue: The “turf” part of “surf and turf” (5 letters). [You can find all our puzzles here](. • The Times announced its inaugural class of newsroom fellows last week. [Twenty-two were selected]( from more than 5,000 applicants. Were you sent this briefing by a friend? 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