Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering expanding travel restrictions in China, a ruling by the United Nations’ top court to protect Rohingya Muslims, and the retirement of Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback.

By Chris Stanford

Representative Adam Schiff said on Wednesday, "The president has shown that he believes that he's above the law and scornful of constraint." Erin Schaff/The New York Times

The continuing case against President Trump

House impeachment managers will resume their arguments against the president this afternoon, a day after they accused him of pressuring Ukraine in an effort “to cheat” in the 2020 election.

On Wednesday, Representative Adam Schiff argued that Mr. Trump’s conduct was exactly what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they devised impeachment.

Related: Democrats rejected a suggestion that they might call Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, to testify in exchange for an appearance by John Bolton, the former national security adviser.

News analysis: In the trial’s opening days, “the House managers have focused on the facts,” one of our Washington correspondents writes. “The defense team has focused instead on the process.”

Closer look: The Times asked 81 Americans from nearly 30 states what they thought. Most grasped the basics of the case and had strong opinions, if not always the ones you’d expect.

What’s next: The House managers have used about a third of their allotted 24 hours for opening arguments, after which the White House team gets its turn. If senators later vote to subpoena witnesses and documents, the trial could go deep into February. If they don’t, it could be over before Mr. Trump’s State of the Union speech on Feb. 4.

Today in Wuhan, China, where flights and trains leaving the city were canceled. Getty Images

Travel restrictions affect millions in China

The authorities today banned travel from three cities in central China, including Wuhan, the epicenter of a deadly respiratory virus that has spread to at least five other countries, including the U.S. Here are the latest updates.

Experts said the scale of the shutdown was unprecedented. The three cities involved have a combined population of nearly 20 million.

The details: The virus has killed at least 17 and sickened more than 570. Here are maps of its spread.

What’s next: The Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions travel across China, begins Friday. Epidemiologists fear it could make the outbreak harder to contain.

Farmland abutting prairie potholes, a type of ephemeral wetland, in North Dakota.

Jim Brandenburg/Minden Pictures

U.S. to lift water pollution controls

The Trump administration is set to finalize a rule today that would remove Obama-era protections for streams, wetlands and other bodies of water.

For the first time in decades, landowners and property developers could dump pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers directly into many waterways, and destroy or fill in wetlands for construction.

Last month, a government advisory board of scientists said the new rule “neglects established science,” but farmers and fossil fuel groups supported the change.

Go deeper: The measure, to be implemented in the coming weeks, is the latest step in the Trump administration’s push to repeal or weaken environmental regulations.

How Jeff Bezos’ iPhone was hacked

A message sent in 2018 from an account belonging to the Saudi crown prince concealed code that probably let hackers into the Amazon chief’s device, according to an analysis that Mr. Bezos commissioned.

Mr. Bezos has sought to find out who penetrated the phone since early 2019, when he said The National Enquirer’s parent company had threatened to release private photographs and texts.

Yesterday: Two United Nations experts said the hacking was an effort to “influence, if not silence” critical coverage of Saudi Arabia by The Washington Post, which Mr. Bezos owns. Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident writer killed by Saudi agents in 2018, was a Post columnist.

Response: The Saudi Embassy in Washington called the accusations about Mr. Bezos’ cellphone “absurd.”

If you have 7 minutes, this is worth it

The gentrification of Paris

Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times

When the brothers Ali and Amar Sitayeb, above, opened a convenience store in 1984 in the Marais, Paris’s historic Jewish quarter, the neighborhood had plenty of textile and metal factories.

Today, their shop is among the independent businesses being swept away by gentrification. A Japanese-owned lingerie chain will take the space.

“How is a bra going to replace my orange juice?” asked a retiree who has lived next to the shop for two decades.

Here’s what else is happening

Air tanker crash in Australia: Three firefighters from the U.S. were killed today when an aircraft being used to battle bush fires crashed south of the capital, Canberra.

Ruling for Rohingya: The International Court of Justice at The Hague said today that Myanmar must take action to protect Rohingya Muslims after what the country’s accusers have called a campaign of genocide.

Trump at March for Life: President Trump plans to address the annual rally of anti-abortion demonstrators on Friday in Washington. He would be the first sitting president to do so.

Only dogs allowed: The Department of Transportation is proposing to ban all service animals except dogs aboard U.S. flights. Airlines would also no longer have to accommodate emotional support animals.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, Eli Manning in 2008, after leading the New York Giants to an upset victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. After 16 seasons with the Giants, the quarterback is scheduled to announce his N.F.L. retirement on Friday.

Child prodigy: A 3-year-old in Britain has become the youngest current member of Mensa, a society whose membership rules require an I.Q. in the top 2 percent of the population. (The youngest ever was 2 years and 4 months.)

Late-night comedy: Representative Adam Schiff repeatedly invoked the nation’s founders at the impeachment trial. “Schiff quoted Hamilton so many times today, he was nominated for five Tony Awards,” Jimmy Kimmel said.

What we’re reading: This explainer on a measure of deliciousness, from Taiwan Business Topics: “Today’s lesson,” writes our food correspondent Kim Severson, “is understanding the Q factor in Taiwanese food. It’s good-chewy.”

Now, a break from the news

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: If tres leches cake is not enough, add three more milks.

Watch: Twenty-five years after the release of “Before Sunrise,” the film’s stars and creators spoke to The Times about how they made movie magic out of a tiny budget and capricious trains.

Read: “Leadership Strategy and Tactics,” by the former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, is a No. 1 debut on our advice, how-to and miscellaneous best-seller list.

Smarter Living: Here’s how to tip hotel workers.

And now for the Back Story on …

The front line of an outbreak

Javier C. Hernández, a correspondent in our Beijing bureau, is reporting this week from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak. Mike Ives, on the Briefings team, spoke with Javier via Slack, a messaging service.

Javier C. Hernández, a correspondent in The Times's Beijing bureau. Isaac Lawrence for The New York Times

Hi, Javier. What’s the mood in Wuhan right now?

Walking the streets, you definitely feel a sense of urgency is spreading. Lots of people are wearing masks and avoiding big crowds. All of this is happening in the midst of the Lunar New Year holiday, so it has forced many families to rethink their plans. People are canceling dinners, staying home from work and hunkering down.

It must be hard to avoid big crowds in a city of 11 million.

Yes, it’s almost impossible to avoid crowds in a modern Chinese city. But Wuhan is trying to push people to take more precautions. When you get in a cab now, there are reminders about opening the window and wearing a mask. Some of the famous street markets are totally empty, surrounded by signs warning about the virus.

Are you hearing any common sentiments in your interviews?

Several people told me about their memories of the SARS crisis of 2003, which killed hundreds of people in China. They’re worried this could erupt into a full-blown epidemic. Of course, others say they’re not very concerned and have faith that China can beat this. One common theme is people say they want the Chinese government to speak honestly about the severity of the outbreak — something that didn’t happen during SARS.

Are you taking any specific precautions, like wearing a mask?

Yes, at the advice of experts, my colleague Elsie Chen and I are washing our hands regularly and avoiding meat markets and hospital wards. We are wearing masks all the time. It’s a bit odd having that kind of barrier when you’re interviewing people on the street. But we’ve found that it is quickly becoming the norm in Wuhan. There are even videos now circulating of people giving New Year’s toasts with their masks on!

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Chris

Thank you
Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Chris Harcum provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Presidential candidate Klobuchar (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Times will premiere two documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival this month.