The Daily

This weekend, one of the most watched sporting events of the year, the Super Bowl, will draw an estimated $16 billion in bets from Americans, more than double last year’s total.

The booming trade is a sign of how gambling has gone from illegal to legal very quickly in many states — and hints at the enormous risks posed by the change.

Guest: Kenneth P. Vogel, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Cigars, booze, money: A lobbying blitz helped to make sports betting ubiquitous.
• Government oversight of gambling in the United States offers scant consumer protections and looks to the industry to police itself, The Times found.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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For the past decade, San Francisco has worked hard to turn its downtown into a vibrant hub, providing a model that other cities in the United States looked to emulate.

In the wake of the pandemic, however, many buildings and offices in the center of the city have remained empty.

What went wrong?

Guest: Conor Dougherty, an economics reporter at The New York Times and author of “Golden Gates: The Housing Crisis and a Reckoning for the American Dream.”; and Emma Goldberg, a reporter covering the future of work for The Times. 

Background reading: 

• What lessons does San Francisco have for the future of downtowns in America?

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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This episode contains descriptions of violence. 

The death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, at the hands of officers in Memphis last month has intensified calls for fundamental reform in policing. Those calls were echoed yesterday by President Biden, who hosted Mr. Nichols’s parents at the State of the Union address.

Today, we hear about a Times investigation into the special team of officers, known as the Scorpion unit, that is accused of killing Mr. Nichols.

Guest: Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief and a national correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• For 14 months, officers from the high-profile Scorpion unit patrolled Memphis with an air of menace.
• City leaders had praised the Scorpion unit as a key strategy for fighting crime. Now they are trying to assess whether it was flawed from the start.
• The unit has been disbanded, but Memphis wasn’t the only city to turn to specialized police teams.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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On Monday, a giant 7.8-magnitude earthquake and an aftershock almost as big shook the earth in southern Turkey. The quakes sent ripples through neighboring countries, but the area along the Syrian-Turkish border was hit particularly hard.

Thousands of people have been killed, and dozens of cities have been gutted.

We hear from witnesses on the ground about what happened when the devastating tremors hit.

Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The initial earthquake struck before dawn, shattering lives in a region already rocked by war, a refugee crisis and economic distress.
• In northwestern Syria, nearly three million people displaced by the country’s civil war were already living in precarious conditions.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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On Wednesday, residents in Montana saw a mysterious object — a balloon — hovering and bobbing around in the skies. The enigma brought Americans out to squint at the heavens, caused a diplomatic visit to be canceled and opened a political debate.

How did a balloon end up kindling such tension between Washington and Beijing?

Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The Chinese balloon drifted for seven days across the United States. Here’s a timeline of events.
• The balloon was brought down by an air-to-air missile fired at it off the coast of South Carolina.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Going out to dinner with Juan Tamariz in Madrid is a little like accompanying a cartoon character on a journey to the real world. As Shuja Haider, the author of today’s Sunday Read, walked with him on side streets off the city center’s main drag, the Calle Gran Vía, heads turned left and right.

Mr. Tamariz, 80, has been a professional magician for 52 years, and in that time, he has managed the singular feat of becoming both a household name in his home country and a living legend in magic everywhere. David Blaine has called him “the greatest and most influential card magician alive.” But in Spain, Mr. Tamariz is an icon, less like Mr. Blaine or David Copperfield and more like Kermit the Frog.

In the United States, the most visible performers of magic in the late 20th century were stage illusionists who worked with big boxes and flashing lights. But Mr. Tamariz appears on stage and screen armed with little more than his two hands. He introduced Spanish viewers to the style of magic called “close-up,” done with ordinary objects, in near-enough proximity for a conversation and incorporating the participation of spectators.

This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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The Biden administration said this week that it would end the public health emergency for Covid, a sign that federal officials believe that the pandemic has moved into a new, less dire phase.

The move carries both symbolic weight and real-world consequences for millions of Americans.

Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The end of the public health emergency, planned for May, will bring about a complex set of policy changes and signals a new stage in the government’s pandemic response.
• Among the effects of the change, access to tests and treatment will be more complicated.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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For the past 50 years, the race to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee has been shaped by the where the contest begins: Iowa.

But that process could soon be overhauled. In a coming meeting of the Democratic National Committee, South Carolina — a state that is more representative of the party and, possibly, of the country — could take over the key role of going first.

Guest: Adam Nagourney, a West Coast cultural affairs correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• President Biden’s push to abandon Iowa for younger, racially diverse states is likely to reward candidates who connect with the party’s most loyal voters.
• Reshuffling the early-state order could run into logistical issues in Georgia and New Hampshire.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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The typical sales price of an existing family home in the United States in December: 372,700. The number of layoffs in the tech sector since the beginning of the year: 76,000. The number by which consumer spending fell in December: 0.2 percent. The increase in the cost of the same kind of carton of eggs bought by an editor on “The Daily” a year apart: 251 percent.

What do these numbers tell us about the state of the country’s economy?

Guest: Ben Casselman, an economics and business reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The U.S. economy showed momentum at the end of 2022, defying recession fears and displaying the resilience of consumers and businesses in the face of inflation and rising interest rates.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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In the United States, 40 million people in seven states depend on water provided by the Colorado River.

After 20 years of drought, the situation is dire and the river is at risk of becoming a “deadpool,” a condition in which there is not enough water to pass through the dams.

The states were supposed to come up with a deal to cut their usage by Tuesday. Now, the federal government may have to step in and make a difficult decision.

Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The seven states that rely on the river for water are not expected to reach a deal on reductions. The federal government could impose cuts for the first time in the water supply for millions of Americans.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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