Friday, Jan 31, 2020 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering the panic around the Wuhan coronavirus, a battle for Gandhi’s legacy and Brad Pitt’s beauty trap.

By Melina Delkic

The Costa Smeralda cruise ship docked in Civitavecchia, Italy, where experts tested a passenger for coronavirus on Thursday. Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

Coronavirus shuts borders and fuels xenophobia

Russia closed off part of its 2,600-mile eastern border to China as the number of confirmed cases worldwide surpassed 7,700, by far the most still in China. Here are the latest updates.

More than a dozen countries, including the U.S., are isolating patients and screening travelers from China. No deaths from the respiratory disease have been recorded outside mainland China, where the toll rose to 170.

Fears that a sick passenger had the coronavirus led the Italian authorities to block more than 1,000 people from disembarking a cruise ship in a port town, until the passenger and her husband could be tested. And from Asia to Canada, the panic has unleashed anti-Chinese sentiment.

In the U.S.: The first person-to-person transmission, the husband of a woman who recently returned from Wuhan, was documented in Illinois.

World Health Organization: Officials declared the outbreak a global health emergency. The declaration has no force of law or practical effect, but it adds urgency to any W.H.O. appeal for money to fight it.

The Daily: Our latest episode is about the virus.

Opponents of India's new citizenship law sat in for a silent protest at a mosque in New Delhi on Thursday, the 72nd anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi's assassination. Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times

Who gets to claim Gandhi?

The Indian icon is being pulled into the growing tension between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and protesters challenging his Hindu-centric vision for India.

Mr. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have invoked Gandhi in speeches and pamphlets, saying he would have supported a contentious citizenship law.

The protesters — who see the law as discriminatory, with the potential to strip Muslims of citizenship — point out that Gandhi sought protections for Muslims.

Where Gandhi stood: He envisioned the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Hindus under a secular government. He was killed 72 years ago by a Hindu nationalist nurtured by the same hard-line group that shaped Mr. Modi.

Quotable: “You can’t have Einstein without relativity,” said a biographer of Gandhi. “You can’t have Darwin without evolution. And you can’t have Gandhi without Hindu-Muslim harmony.”

A woman holding up flags for the European Union and Britain in Brussels on Thursday. Francisco Seco/Associated Press

Brexit is here (a headline years in the making)

Britain is scheduled to formally withdraw from the European Union on Friday, after more than three years of confusion, political division and missed deadlines.

At 11 p.m. local time, the end of that chapter will arrive, a relief to many Brexiteers.

But a potentially volatile new chapter — in which London and Brussels try to hash out a trade deal by the end of the year — is just beginning as Britain enters a transition phase.

Fun detail: The E.U. gave a last seal of approval to the withdrawal agreement on Thursday. The end was undramatic and bureaucratic (that is, quintessentially Brussels): Four dry, procedural questions were emailed to the 27 nations in the European Council with instructions to respond with “yes,” “no” or “abstain.” You can expect a lot of steps in the process to be this muted.

If you have eight minutes, this is worth it

Brad Pitt and the beauty trap

Justin Metz

William Bradley Pitt was born in 1963. But Brad Pitt, our co-chief film critic writes, sprang forth in a 13-second scene in the 1991 film “Thelma & Louise” in which the camera panned from his chest to his face in an “ode to eroticized masculine beauty.”

Ever since, his life has been closely watched and his acting skills undervalued — by the academy, fans, journalists and casting directors alike. But what he’s really done is create complex and understated portrayals of masculinity.

Here’s what else is happening

Carlos Ghosn: Japan issued arrest warrants for three Americans in connection with the escape of the former Nissan chairman, who fled the country while awaiting trial on charges of financial wrongdoing.

Get crackin’: A sculpture outside C.I.A. headquarters contains an encrypted message that hasn’t been fully decoded for almost 30 years. Its creator has offered a new clue.

The Guardian: The British newspaper said it was no longer accepting advertisements from oil and gas companies, making it one of the latest institutions to limit financial ties to fossil fuel businesses.

NSO/NSF/AURA

Snapshot: Above, the surface of the sun in a high-resolution image captured by a new telescope in Hawaii. The cell-like “kernels,” each about the size of Texas, carry heat from inside the sun to the outside.

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer on Thursday, putting his eighth Australian single’s title in reach. He will face the winner of today’s match between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

What we’re reading: This essay in Cleveland Magazine. Stephen Hiltner, an editor on the Travel desk, writes: “Dave Lucas, Ohio’s poet laureate, ruminates on the beauty and the mystery of Lake Erie’s annual freeze.”

Now, a break from the news

Con Poulos. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: Sausage and peppers pasta with broccoli riffs on a classic Italian combination.

Watch: We spoke to the actor George MacKay about how he pulled off the thrilling final run in the film “1917.”

Read: “A Very Stable Genius,” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, is a No. 1 debut on our hardcover nonfiction and combined print and e-book nonfiction best-seller lists.

Smarter Living: When donating to environmental organizations, it can be hard to figure out who’s actually making a difference. Here’s what to look for.

And now for the Back Story on …

The ethics of watching the Super Bowl

On Sunday night, around 100 million people are expected to tune in for the ultimate national party: the Super Bowl. But with growing concern over the violence of American football, what are the ethics of watching the biggest sporting event of the year? Our culture critics have their own take. Here’s what Ken Belson, who has been reporting on C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head hits, told our Briefings teammate Remy Tumin.

What keeps fans coming back?

It’s an event that transcends the sport. The N.F.L. has been brilliant in turning it into a spectacle, and there’s nothing like it. That’s partly because of how the league has structured it — one final game, winner takes all, in a neutral city, on the first Sunday of February, every year. Other sports don’t have the same permanency.

You’ll be watching from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. What can you see that viewers can’t?

Often when there’s an injury timeout, they go to commercial. I’ll be able to see doctors attending players, including a neuro-trauma consultant who’s on the sidelines (they wear a red hat). If you see them get involved, it means someone has had a concussion.

Patrick Chung, on the New England Patriots, after an apparent injury in the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta. Richard Mackson/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

What would you say to fans who are having moral issues?

It’s a collision sport at heart, and if you don’t want see it, turn on something else. If you can’t reconcile that violence, and it is violence, then there are many other sports. I think it’s O.K. to watch it and have misgivings. It’s human nature — you can both admire and be horrified by the same thing.

That’s it for this briefing. I will be out next week on vacation, but you’ll be in great hands with my colleague Penn Bullock.

Have a great weekend.

— Melina

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.” Our latest episode is about the coronavirus outbreak.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Highly capable (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Copies of The New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project” are back in stock for the final time in our online store.