Here\u2019s what you need to know at the end of the day.<\/b>
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Good evening. Here\u2019s the latest.
1. The polar vortex continued to cripple much of the country as temperatures remained near record lows across the Midwest for a second day. Parts of the Northeast also endured subzero wind chills.
At least eight deaths have been connected with the record-breaking cold, including a University of Iowa freshman who was found unconscious near his dorm, and who died at the hospital.
The sustained cold taxed energy systems and forced the cancellation of thousands of flights and closings of schools and universities. In Milwaukee, wind chill fell to minus 50. Above, Chicago at sunrise. Here\u2019s what photographers across the frigid regions are seeing.
But the cold is expected to begin to lift on Friday. By the end of the weekend, temperatures in some areas could swing up to the 40s or 50s, bringing rain instead of snow.
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2. The Senate, in a stinging bipartisan rebuke to President Trump, advanced a measure opposing his moves to withdraw troops in Syria and Afghanistan.
The measure, written by Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, warned that \u201cthe precipitous withdrawal of United States forces from either country could put at risk hard-won gains and United States national security.\u201d
The measure was backed by virtually every Senate Republican and will be added to a broader bipartisan Middle East policy bill expected to pass the Senate next week.
But the bipartisan spirit had its limits. Mr. McConnell (above, on Capitol Hill today) called a proposal to make Election Day a holiday a \u201cpower grab\u201d by Democrats .
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3. Two days of trade meetings between the U. S. and China ended with a flurry of good will, but much work remains to avert a major escalation of the trade war.
In a letter, President Xi Jinping promised big purchases of American agricultural products, but President Trump said any deal must include an unprecedented opening of China\u2019s markets to American businesses. Above, Mr. Trump with cabinet members and the vice premier of China.
The president also signed an order to help, in the words of his trade adviser, U. S. manufacturers and \u201cblue-collar Trump people,\u201d whose economic prospects have been shaken by the trade war.
Our team of reporters sat down with President Trump this afternoon. We\u2019ll have takeaways, a fact check and excerpts from the interview later tonight on nytimes.com.
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4. Companies across Britain, faced with increasing uncertainty around the country\u2019s departure from the E. U., have been stockpiling products, making backup plans and exploring new shipping routes. International banks are shifting thousands of jobs from Britain to the Continent.
\u201cIt\u2019s meant extra resources, extra overtime, to get it done,\u201d said one executive. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly annoying. It\u2019s frustrating.\u201d Above, an auto parts factory in the Midlands of England.
The economy is 2.3 percent smaller than it would have been if Britain had voted to remain in the E. U. in 2016, according to one research institution. And investment in the auto sector was found to have plunged by almost 50 percent in 2018.
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5. The cold war between the two giant companies over data use and privacy is heating up.
Tim Cook, Apple\u2019s chief executive, has cut off Facebook\u2019s access to apps and updates that it was working on internally, citing violation of Apple\u2019s rules with a research app that allowed Facebook to snoop on users\u2019 online activity.
Our tech writer sees the possibility that Mr. Cook, above, could become \u201ca technology regulator of last resort \u2014 using the power of Apple\u2019s iOS operating system as a cudgel to force software companies to respect user privacy and play by the rules, or risk losing access to millions of iPhone users.\u201d
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6. Three people in California were indicted in a crackdown on a multimillion-dollar \u201cbirth tourism\u201d business as part of the biggest federal criminal probe to target an industry that capitalizes on the birthright of U. S. citizenship.
The businesses coached clients to falsify U. S. visa applications and pay indigent rates at hospitals where they delivered. Some Chinese couples were charged as much as $100,000 for a package that included housing, nannies and shopping at Gucci, according to the indictments.
One suggested pregnant mothers indicate that they intended to stay at a Trump luxury hotel, to convince immigration officials that they were well-to-do vacationers. Above, federal agents conducted raids in Irvine, Calif., in 2015.
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7. Jason Hairston played briefly in the N.F.L., hunted with Donald Trump Jr., and owned a successful hunting gear and apparel company. For years, he was convinced he had the degenerative brain disease known as C. T. E. from his football years.
When he fatally shot himself in his bedroom last September, his family and friends were shocked. Not his wife, who watched his decline up close. \u201cWe were really good at hiding it,\u201d she told our reporter.
We took a look at the history of his deterioration, and the posthumous confirmation of C. T. E.
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8. Frida Kahlo meticulously built her own image as an artist in the 20th century. Now, a sweeping survey in New York examines how she did it, and why.
Through her own works and collections, the show, at the Brooklyn Museum, highlights Kahlo\u2019s skill of leaving behind a public persona that still resonates well into the 21st century. It is the biggest stateside show ever devoted to the artist. We have images of some of the exhibits here.
We also have a review of \u201cBlack Leopard, Red Wolf,\u201d the first volume of Marlon James\u2019s \u201cDark Star\u201d trilogy. The novel is packed with dizzying references fused into something new and startling, our former chief book critic Michiko Kakutani writes.
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9. One hundred years ago today, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in a red-clay corner of Georgia.
In 1947, he was a 28-year-old rookie in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, the first African-American to play in the major leagues in the modern era. Jackie Robinson pushed the boundaries of baseball, and by extension, the entire country. Above, Mr. Robinson after winning the National League Championship in 1950.
We\u2019ve collected 100 photos of the icon \u2014 a ballplayer, a change agent, a humanitarian \u2014 and commissioned a series of essays that examine the legacy of the baseball great . (They also all appear in a special section in today\u2019s print paper.)
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10. Finally, we end the day slightly brokenhearted.
Sweethearts, the brightly colored Valentine\u2019s Day candy that offered \u201cBe Mine\u201d and \u201cKiss Me\u201d messages, will be hard to find this year. The factory that manufactured the conversation hearts shut down last year. Brach\u2019s, which also makes candied hearts, is ramping up production.
But there may be hope yet for Sweethearts fans. A new owner of the brand left a three-heart response on its website for adoring fans: \u201cMiss U 2,\u201d the hearts said. \u201cWait 4 Me.\u201d \u201cBack Soon.\u201d
Have a sweet night.
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An item in yesterday\u2019s briefing incorrectly referrenced the last time the Rams had a chance at winning the Super Bowl. It was 1999, not 1992.
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