Wednesday, Feb 5, 2020 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering regional fallout from the coronavirus, the lead-up to the State of the Union address and confusion and chaos in the Iowa caucuses.

By Penn Bullock

A Hong Kong checkpoint on Tuesday for screening people from mainland China for the coronavirus. Many medical workers remained on strike to demand a full border closing. Billy H.C. Kwok for The New York Times

Hong Kong records coronavirus death

A 39-year-old man in Hong Kong became the second person to die from the new coronavirus outside mainland China. He had traveled last month to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and had an underlying health condition: diabetes. Here are the latest updates.

The virus has spread to some two dozen countries and territories and sickened more than 20,000 in Asia. At least 427 people have died, including a man in the Philippines over the weekend.

Other developments: Hong Kong has closed many, though not all, crossings with the mainland. Macau, the gambling hub that’s also a semiautonomous region of China, said it would shut its casinos for two weeks, and Japan quarantined a passenger ship with 3,700 people aboard. Hyundai said that it was suspending operations at factories because of supply-chain disruption. Travelers have been struggling to get refunds on canceled flights.

Political dangers: China’s state-run news media reported that President Xi Jinping on Monday called the outbreak “a major test of China’s system and capacity for governance.” China is turning to familiar authoritarian techniques to contain the outbreak, including asking neighbors to inform on one another. And it is making herculean efforts to keep the country fed amid food hoarding.

Analysis: Our New New World columnist, Li Yuan, writes that the crisis has eroded trust in the government, perhaps permanently.

The Capitol Building in Washington, where President Trump will give the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Doug Mills/The New York Times

Trump to address a divided Congress, and country

President Trump will deliver the annual State of the Union address around 9 p.m. Eastern. Check our site for live video and coverage.

Many inside and outside the House chamber will be watching to see how or if he directly addresses his impeachment trial, which he has called a “hoax.”

What’s sure is that Mr. Trump plans to hit on the theme of a “great American comeback,” with the economy as one of his selling points. Here’s what to expect.

Details: There will be time-honored ritual and a wide range of invited guests, and Democrats will deliver two responses, one in Spanish.

Related: The Senate is set to acquit him on Wednesday of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and senators have been explaining their positions before the vote.

A caucus at a middle school in Johnston, Iowa, on Monday. Results in the Democratic contest have been delayed by technical snarls, about which party officials gave few details. Pete Marovich for The New York Times

How the Iowa caucuses melted down

The U.S. Democratic presidential nominating process got off to a bewildering start.

Party officials announced that the results from the Iowa caucuses — the first statewide contest for the nomination — would be delayed, saying there were “inconsistencies” that they were sorting out. Here are the latest updates.

A spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic Party initially denied that a new app for tabulating results was the problem, but now the organization says that, indeed, there was a “coding issue.” People briefed on the app told The Times that it hadn’t been tested properly.

We’ve pieced together the events that led up to what one former state party official called “a systemwide disaster.”

The details: Partial results have been promised shortly. We’ll put them here when we get them.

What’s next: The candidates are now trying to frame the events to their advantage, and fighting with the party and one another, ahead of the New Hampshire primary next week.

If you have 7 minutes, this is worth it

Smita Sharma for The New York Times

A growing cult around Gandhi’s assassin

Mohandas Gandhi is a symbol of nonviolent resistance the world over, but his vision of a secular Indian state is anathema to many Hindu nationalists. Some of the most extreme nationalists have taken up the cause of his killer.

Across the country that Gandhi helped to found, dozens of statues, like the one above, have been erected of Nathuram Vinayak Godse, who fatally shot Gandhi in 1948 — a signal that Godse’s admirers are moving from the fringe to the mainstream in the right-wing era of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here’s what else is happening

Zuma warrant: A judge issued an arrest warrant for Jacob Zuma, the former president, for failing to appear in court in a corruption case that he has sought to avoid for months.

Infighting in Lebanon: Antigovernment protesters in recent months have drawn in people from all religious sects. But Hezbollah, the Islamist militia and political party that is invested in the status quo, has worked to smother demonstrations by Shiites.

Christina Simons for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, Simon Kelly, center, a farmer who has buried some 9,000 sheep killed in fires on Kangaroo Island in Australia, where the livelihoods of its 4,500 residents and the future of rare species are in doubt.

Indian traffic trick: In a test to cut back on honking in traffic, the Mumbai police installed decibel meters at red lights. When the noise exceeded a certain level, the light stayed red longer — and Indians in every corner of the country are laughing about it.

What we’re listening to: This episode of “Literary Friction ,” a monthly podcast about books, by Carrie Plitt, a literary agent, and Octavia Bright, a writer and academic. “I’m just catching up with its 2019-in-review episode,” says Chris Stanford, on the Briefings team. “And based on their recommendations, I’ve already added to my nightstand’s ever-growing pile.”

Now, a break from the news

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Cook: This recipe for a chocolate caramel tart comes from the dawn of the salty-dessert trend, and it’s a perfect example of why the pairing works.

Watch: We ranked the movie trailers that aired during the Super Bowl, which included ones for James Bond, “Mulan” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.”

Read: In “Unfinished Business: Notes of a Chronic Re-Reader,” the revered memoirist Vivian Gornick makes an urgent argument for the value of returning to a book you’ve already read.

Smarter Living: A former F.B.I. negotiator offers some interesting tips for travel.

And now for the Back Story on …

The kindness of Australian strangers

Australia’s bushfires have brought pain and destruction to land, wildlife and property, but they have also highlighted the camaraderie and support that Australians call “mateship.” Damien Cave, our Australia bureau chief, experienced it firsthand recently while reporting on volunteer firefighters. This is his account.

We had just finished interviewing a group of firefighters trying to contain a sprawling blaze, and after bouncing down rocky roads for a few miles, we hit pavement.

That’s when I heard the familiar thump, thump, thump. I turned to Matthew Abbott, the photographer who was driving. “I think we’ve got a flat,” I said.

The back left tire on his Toyota pickup was hissing like a snake. And the jack he had? Built for a smaller car.

Edmund Blenkins, 19, a volunteer firefighter, and his father, Michael, shaking hands in January with members of the Australian Army sent to Batlow to organize fire relief. Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

While we searched for rocks to prop it up, an S.U.V. pulled over. “Need any help?” the older gentleman behind the wheel asked.

Then a truck driver pulling a load of timber stopped, and a man with tattoos on his arms and legs hopped out.

Within minutes, he’d found a better place for the jack, lying on the ground to push it into place.

Three or four other cars drove down the small country road while we were stuck. Every driver stopped to offer assistance.

Every. Single. One.

Such kindness is no panacea for climate change or mega-blazes, but it does show that Australia has depths of something it will need to recover from this horrific fire season: thoughtfulness and empathy.

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

— Penn

Thank you
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for 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 Iowa caucuses.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Ethnic group making up more than 90 percent of China (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Mihir Zaveri, a reporter on The Times’s Express Desk, has been voted president of the South Asian Journalists Association.