Your Friday Evening Briefing

Your nightly rundown of the day's top stories delivered straight to your inbox. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, March 3, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Friday Evening Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND SANDRA STEVENSON Good evening. Here’s the latest. Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters 1. Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said the [Fed was likely to raise interest rates]( this month, barring any unpleasant economic surprises. Rates remain low by historical standards, supporting economic growth by encouraging borrowing and risk-taking. The change would come earlier than expected. But officials say that the economy is nearing the end of its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, and that maintaining low rates could increase growth to an unsustainable pace. _____ Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 2. Republicans are resisting calls for an inquiry into the Trump administration’s ties to Russia. With a majority in Congress, [they do have the power]( to stop one. Who is [Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador]( at the center of the sprawling controversy? The longtime envoy cultivated a powerful network in the U.S., hosting lavish dinners but sparing no one a blunt defense of his country’s actions. We delve deeper into Mr. Kislyak’s back story in our podcast, The Daily. Listen from [a computer]( on an [iOS device]( or on an [Android device](. _____ Toby Melville/Reuters 3. Uber has for years used its app [to secretly identify and sidestep law enforcement]( officials where it was restricted or banned. The program, which involves a tool called Greyball, uses data collected from Uber’s app and other techniques to identify and circumvent officials. Uber used these to evade authorities in cities like Paris, Boston and Las Vegas, and in countries including Australia, China, South Korea and Italy. Greyball was described to The Times by four current and former Uber employees, who also provided documents. _____ Arkansas Department of Correction 4. Arkansas plans to execute [eight inmates from April 17 to 27]( before one of the state’s lethal-injection drugs expires. Two men would be put to death on each of four dates set by the governor, Asa Hutchinson, who has long sought to bring back the state’s death penalty. Executions had been stalled in the state for the last 12 years because of legal challenges and the difficulty of acquiring the drugs. _____ Capucine Granier-Deferre for The New York Times 5. The European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling for [the reintroduction of visa requirements]( for U.S. citizens. It’s a response to the U.S. refusal to grant visa-free access to citizens of five European Union countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. The resolution is an important political signal of growing frustration, and it increases pressure on European officials to confront the new administration in Washington. _____  6. Federal authorities charged a St. Louis man with making [more than half a dozen bomb threats]( against Jewish community centers, schools and a Jewish history museum. Juan Thompson made some of the threats in his own name and others in the name of a former girlfriend, in an attempt to intimidate her, prosecutors say. The 31-year-old is not believed to be responsible for the majority of more than 100 threats made against Jewish groups across the country since the beginning of this year. The F.B.I. is still investigating who made the others. _____ Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 7. Early reviews of the [new Nintendo Switch game console]( were largely positive, but they were tempered by reviewers’ inability to test key points like online play and game downloading. The device is intended to be used both at home, and out and about. [Our critic called it]( “mediocre as a portable gaming device” but said it “excels as a powerful and compelling home console.” _____ Charles Leclaire/USA Today Sports, via Reuters 8. Animal rights activists were outraged after the Pittsburgh Penguins [used actual penguins at an N.H.L. game](. The penguins (from a Pittsburgh zoo and aquarium) took to the ice during the pregame festivities for the outdoor Stadium Series. At one point, a pyrotechnic display startled and scattered them. “Hockey fans come to see talented athletes compete, not shy animals terrorized,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote in a letter to the team. _____ Ben Rothstein/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation 9. Our critic says the new Wolverine movie, “Logan,” is good enough that [you might forget it’s a comic-book movie](. The film marks the 10th time that Hugh Jackman has played Logan, but it’s a major shift in style from the rest of the franchise. “It’s part western, part neo-noir, the kind of movie in which a stranger steps from the shadows and shakes off his isolation and existential burden long enough to right whatever wrong needs righting,” she says. _____ Gramercy Pictures 10. Finally, if you’ll be sticking with a smaller screen this weekend, you may want to consult [our guide to what’s streaming in March](. At the beginning of every month, streaming services add a new batch of movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are the titles we think are most interesting, from Hulu, Netflix, HBO and Amazon. Highlights include the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy classic “Blazing Saddles,” the Australian New Queer Cinema cult film “‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” and newer fare like the Netflix original series “Love,” a romantic dramedy produced by Judd Apatow. Have a great weekend. Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing [this version]( of the briefing should help. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a.m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s [last night’s briefing](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Evening%20Briefing%20Feedback). 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