Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.
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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
1. Russia announced a flurry of military drills across its vast territory in response to what the country said were Western provocations.
The drills span from the Pacific Ocean to its western flank around Ukraine and include joint drills with the Chinese fleet in the Arabian Sea. Russia is blaming the U.S. for the escalation and insists that it has no plans to invade Ukraine. But Russia has stepped up its propaganda war.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is working with Middle Eastern and Asian gas suppliers to bolster supplies to Europe in case Russia cuts off fuel shipments.
But as the West warns of a possible Russian attack, Ukraine is sending a different message: stay calm. Some analysts say that after years of war, the country simply calculates risks differently.
2. The E.U. will relax its travel rules for residents vaccinated against the coronavirus, as well as those who can prove recent infection.
The bloc recommended that E.U. residents traveling through the 27 member states who have been vaccinated in the past nine months or recovered from the coronavirus should not face additional restrictions like testing or quarantine. The new rules were the latest indication that the bloc is accepting Covid as a part of everyday life.
In the U.S., Democratic officials, once cheered for strict lockdowns and precautions, are heeding voters who want plans for living with the virus.
And there are more heartening signs that the Omicron variant is causing less severe illness: A smaller share of Americans with Covid have been hospitalized compared with previous waves.
3. The S&P 500 fell nearly 3 percent at its lowest point today before recouping most of those losses.
The dizzying swings were driven again by uncertainty about what the Federal Reserve might reveal on Wednesday, after its first policy-setting meeting of the year. The stock market has been startling, and it’s wise to prepare for much worse, our columnist writes.
In other economic news:
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An “alarming” shortage of semiconductors is threatening U.S. manufacturing, a government survey of more than 150 companies found.
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Economic slowdowns in the U.S. and China will hold back global growth, the International Monetary Fund said.
4. Fighting between the Islamic State and U.S.-backed forces over a Syrian prison is spilling into surrounding neighborhoods.
The U.S. military joined the fight on Monday to back its allies in the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS. Days earlier, the militant group attacked a makeshift prison in the city of Hasaka to try to free ISIS fighters held there.
The prison in Hasaka is now the center of the biggest confrontation between the American military and ISIS in three years, and it’s a sign of the group’s resurgence. ISIS controls about one-quarter of the prison and is holding hostages, including child detainees.
Separately, hundreds of C.I.A.-backed Afghan fighters and their families are among thousands stuck at a sprawling refugee compound in the Emirati desert.
5. Put down your No. 2 pencils: The SAT will go completely digital by 2024.
The exam, which students will complete on laptops or tablets at testing centers, will also be shortened to two hours from three hours. The College Board is trying to retool the test in the face of questions about whether college admissions tests are fair, or even necessary. More than 1,800 schools did not require standardized test scores for 2022 admissions.
Test-screened public high schools in New York and across the country are under pressure to end their own entrance exams. Critics argue that such schools are bastions of elitism and that they are functionally racist and segregated. Students have complicated feelings about the push to end entrance testing.
6. In Lewiston, Maine, a man who called himself Abraham Rodriguez was known for being a good neighbor. His old life in New York City got him killed.
Alberto (Alpo) Martinez, nicknamed “The Mayor of Harlem,” was one of New York City’s most notorious cocaine dealers of the 1980s. In 1991, he was arrested and charged in a sweeping drug trafficking case, and he would later inform on scores of associates as a federal witness. He was released on parole in 2015 with a new name — Abraham — and he started over under the federal witness protection program.
In October, Martinez was shot and killed through the window of a pickup that he drove into the city. Investigators now believe that Martinez was probably back in the drug trade in Harlem. But as the police investigate his murder, they say they are running into a problem: An awful lot of people wanted to see Alpo Martinez dead.
7. Public support for unions in the U.S. is the highest it has been in decades. But participation has steadily fallen.
Unionization efforts involving some of the most recognizable names in business — Starbucks, Amazon and REI among them — have dominated headlines across the U.S. The membership numbers paint a different picture: In 1983, about 20 percent of employees belonged to a union; by 2021, that number had dropped to just over 10 percent.
Nearly all of that decline has been in the private sector, in part because of employer opposition and labor laws that favor employers.
Another growing trend among a set of workers: quitting, which can be contagious.
8. The Australian Open is moving into the semifinals.
Rafael Nadal is just two victories from claiming his 21st Grand Slam singles title, breaking his three-way tie with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Nadal beat Denis Shapovalov in five sets, then rejected his opponent’s complaints about unfairness. Nadal will play Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals.
In women’s singles, the unseeded Madison Keys will play Ashleigh Barty, the No. 1 and hometown favorite, in the semifinals.
It will be hard to let go of aging stars like Nadal, Federer and Serena Williams, as well as troubled ones like Djokovic, our Sports columnist writes. But a new era has already arrived.
9. Mahershala Ali is finally getting a leading role.
After a string of supporting performances (“True Detective,” “The Hunger Games,” “House of Cards” and “Moonlight,” to name a few) Ali got his first starring role in a feature film. He plays not one but two main characters in the sci-fi drama “Swan Song,” in which he plays both a dying man and his clone.
From the big screen to the big stage: Jonathan Freeman has been associated with the role of Jafar in “Aladdin” for 30 years, including a nearly eight-year run on Broadway, and he’s the only person in the Disney universe to have brought the animated character he voiced to the stage. “No one wants to see a villain cry,” he said after his final curtain call on Sunday.
10. And finally, do you even air fry?
It took an inventor in the Netherlands three years to figure out how to crisp a French fry without deep-frying. Now, 12 years after the original air fryer hit the market, it has crisped its way into America’s heart. Home cooks are plopping anything in and hoping it tastes good. It usually does — even a dense and creamy cheesecake, chicken Parmesan and corn on the cob.
The pandemic led to a huge boost for sales, and social media influencers have ratcheted up the creativity of recipes for the air fryer. This is how air fryers came to grace the kitchen counters of 36 percent of American households.
Have a delicious night.
Angela Jimenez compiled photos for this briefing.
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