When the Democrat Tom Suozzi won yesterday in a special election in New York, it narrowed the Republican majority in the House to the point where the party can only afford two defections on otherwise party-line votes.
The shift leaves Republicans with virtually no cushion to deal with the inevitable absences caused by illness, travel delays and other unforeseen events that could keep party members away from the House floor for votes. It also means that any three Republicans could tank a bill, or that they could threaten to do so to gain leverage. And the development comes at an inopportune time: Congress is facing a crush of legislative issues, including March deadlines for funding the government.
Suozzi’s eight-point victory in a district last won by a Republican could offer Democrats a playbook for competing on turf where President Biden and the party remain deeply unpopular. Suozzi broke with party orthodoxy on crime, taxes and, above all, immigration, calling on Biden to shut down the southern border.
Suozzi’s election, however, probably doesn’t add much clarity to November’s presidential contest: Over the last three decades, there has been essentially zero relationship between presidential results and special election outcomes, our political analyst Nate Cohn wrote.
One dead, several injured at Super Bowl parade shooting
A celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory was marred when several people were shot at the event this afternoon. At least one person was killed, the police said. The shooting led to a scene of chaos as thousands of fans in red jerseys fled the rally.
Here’s the latest.
Two armed people were detained, the police said. Kansas City’s police chief said the authorities were still working to determine how many people were injured in the shooting. “It could be upwards from 10 to 15,” the chief said.
A strongman is on track to lead Indonesia
Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s defense minister, declared victory today in the country’s presidential election, after unofficial results suggested that he had a substantial lead.
If the projections are confirmed, Indonesia — the world’s third-largest democracy — would soon be led by a president who has said that the country needs neither elections nor democracy. Prabowo was ejected from the military in the late 1990s for his involvement in the torture and abduction of pro-democracy activists.
Indonesians are now grappling with what the country will look like under Prabowo’s lead, including what it would mean for Indonesia’s transition to cleaner energy.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes in Lebanon
Israel carried out extensive airstrikes in southern Lebanon today in response to a deadly rocket attack on northern Israel. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hezbollah compounds and control rooms. Hezbollah vowed to respond. Here’s the latest.
The tit-for-tat, which has been going on for months and has escalated in recent days, has led some in the region to worry that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict could spiral out of control and derail diplomatic efforts to prevent a major expansion of the war in Gaza.
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Valentine’s Day reading
New love, a connection deeper than lust but distinct from the attachment of long-term partnership, can mess with our heads, researchers have found.
M.R.I. scans of people in the early stages of a romantic relationship (who typically have been together for less than a year) have revealed increased brain activity in areas that are rich in the neurochemical dopamine and control feelings of longing and desire. This type of dopamine activity may explain why, in the early stages of love, you have the irresistible urge to be with your beloved constantly — what the addiction literature calls “craving.”
A Spider-Man spinoff misses the mark
Dakota Johnson stars as a clairvoyant superhero in “Madame Web,” the latest cinematic installment in the Spider-Man universe, which arrived in theaters today. Johnson, who has a fascinating, seemingly natural ability to transcend the nonsense around her, manages to stand out, our critic Manohla Dargis wrote in her review. But overall, the movie is flat and predictable — “a dud,” Manohla wrote.
In related news, the streaming service Tubi has gained a cult following for its library of really, really bad movies.
The lost objects of New York City
Inside the basement of the New York Police Department headquarters is a cavernous repository of evidence from each of Manhattan’s 22 precincts. Some objects come from crime scenes. Others were turned in after they were left behind on a park bench or a sidewalk.
There are the expected items: drugs, samples of DNA and more than 40,000 firearms. But also the bizarre: a gold dental grill, a half-drunk bottle of Smirnoff and a samurai sword. We recently toured the facility and realized the Police Department faces the same problem as many New Yorkers: a lack of storage space.
Have a packed evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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