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| Happy Friday, Daily Briefing readers! One of the men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery says he plans to stand trial for a second time in the killing. A winter storm is bearing down on a giant swath of the country. The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics is just minutes away – let the Games begin! And, after a one-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL All-Star Game is back. |
| It's Jane and Steve, with Friday's news. |
| 🚨"Enough is enough": President Joe Biden met with New York officials to discuss gun violence and honored two NYPD officers who recently died in the line of duty. |
| 💹 $230 billion? Facebook's stock plunge brings big losses for Mark Zuckerberg, Meta – and maybe you. |
 | | As Meta's largest individual shareholder, Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally lost nearly $32 billion after the company's stock dipped Thursday. | | USA TODAY | |
| 🔴Family and community members were mourning the deaths of two campus officers described as a "dynamic duo" who were shot and killed Tuesday at Bridgewater College in Virginia. |
| 🏈 The Jacksonville Jaguars have found their next head coach. After an extensive search, the team has hired former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson. |
| 🛒 Amazon is raising the price of its Prime membership for the first time since 2018. An annual membership will go up $20 from $119 to $139 and the monthly fee will go up $2 from $12.99 to $14.99. |
 | | The cost of an Amazon Prime membership will rise for new and current members in the coming weeks and months. | | USA TODAY | |
| 🔴 Four men face charges that they were members of the drug distribution crew that supplied a deadly mix of drugs to Michael K. Williams, the renowned actor from "The Wire." |
| ⛸ "We couldn't say goodbye": Why Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue broke up off the ice, but stayed together on it. |
 | | Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, of the United States, compete during the ice dance team program in the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) | | The Associated Press | |
| 🍪 Humankind: Delaware bakery Waggies by Maggie & Friends hires adults with intellectual disabilities to bake dog biscuits. "It's a community of untapped talent," a co-founder said. |
| 🗞 What happened this week? Test your knowledge with the USA TODAY news quiz. |
| 🎧On today's 5 Things podcast, senior tech reporter Jessica Guynn talks about new laws that pressure companies to reveal salaries. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Beijing Olympics will officially begin with opening ceremony |
| The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will officially commence on Friday with the opening ceremony at the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, the same stadium that hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. Although competition is already underway in several sports, the opening ceremony will mark the ceremonial start when the Olympic flame is officially lit. More than 150 U.S. athletes are expected to participate in the fanfare, which includes the illustrious Parade of Nations, where athletes and officials march into the Bird's Nest with their country's flag. Curler John Schuster and speedskater Brittany Bowe will be the flag-bearers for the U.S. Bowe replaces bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, who remains in isolation after testing positive Saturday for COVID-19. The opening ceremony is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. ET. Coverage began at 6:30 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. |
| 📺 2022 Olympics TV schedule: Here's what's on the NBC, CNBC and USA Network on Friday, Feb. 4. |
| 🏅Chasing Gold: Sign up for our newsletter to learn everything about USA's quest for gold in Beijing. |
| 📱Exclusive access: Sign up for USA TODAY's Olympics texts to get the latest updates and behind-the-scenes coverage. |
| 🏅 Who are you rooting for? Meet the American athletes competing at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in our searchable database. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Bob Costas says NBC is in a tough spot |
 | | Bob Costas at the anchor desk is a familiar sight. | | USA TODAY photo and graphic | |
| Just about any kind of drama, controversy or logistical problems that could arise, Bob Costas, the former face of the Olympics on NBC Sports, has probably been there. |
| Yet the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing look and feel different due to due to China's COVID-19 restrictions, the tenuous relationship between the United States and the host country and other related issues. And Costas discussed those challenges with the New York Times in a new interview. |
Defendant in Arbery killing set to stand trial again |
| One of the men convicted of murder in the chase and fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, says he plans to stand trial for a second time in the killing rather than plead guilty to a federal hate crime. Greg McMichael reversed course late Thursday on a planned guilty plea, days after a U.S. District Court judge rejected terms of a plea deal that he and his son, Travis McMichael, had negotiated with prosecutors. That deal was met with passionate objections by Arbery's parents. Travis McMichael was scheduled to appear in court Friday morning to announce his decision. The McMichaels and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison. Separate from that case, the three white men were also indicted on charges that they violated Arbery's civil rights and targeted him because he was Black. |
Just for subscribers: |
| 🎓Bethune-Cookman University, founded 118 years ago, still standing as proud as its founder, civil rights leader and educator Mary McLeod Bethune. Today, it's ready to continue its mission to educate the Black community. |
| ⚖️Who is Justice Leondra Kruger? The jurist is widely considered among the top candidates President Joe Biden is considering to replace Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. |
| 🔵 United Nations experts called on the U.S. government to stop a small tribe in Washington state from evicting some disenrolled members in a growing dispute. |
| 🛳 Cruising Hawaii is a unique adventure: A passenger's experience on the first ship back to the islands. |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Here is all of our subscriber content. |
Winter storm dumps ice, freezing rain and up to 18 inches of snow across US |
| A massive winter storm was expected to bring snow , sleet and freezing rain to millions from the Rockies to the Northeast through Friday evening, according to forecasts. Parts of the Midwest and Northeast could see up to 18 inches of snow, and up to an inch of ice was possible in isolated areas around Kentucky and Tennessee, forecasts said. Schools were closed, flights were canceled and power was knocked out in some areas on Thursday as more than 100 million people were under some form of a winter weather alert, according to the National Weather Service. The latest storm comes after a nor'easter recently pummeled the East Coast with blizzard conditions. |
Surging omicron cases, worker shortage likely hurt early 2022 hiring |
| Last month's huge wave of omicron infections is thought to have weakened hiring in January, though the pullback is likely to prove a temporary one. Economists have forecast that the Labor Department will report Friday that employers added just 170,000 jobs last month, according to data provider FactSet via the Associated Press. That would mark a dip from the disappointing 199,000 jobs added in December. Economists expect the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 3.9%. If the forecast is accurate, January would mark the lowest monthly job gain in about a year. Some economists fear that the government's report will show the economy actually lost jobs last month, mostly because omicron infections forced many workers to call in sick and stay home. But most economists expect a relatively quick rebound in hiring as soon as this month. Nationally, reported omicron infections are trending down . And the overall outlook for the job market remains bright, with many businesses still desperate to hire. |
Friday's film rundown: Halle Berry, the 'Jackass' franchise return to theaters |
| 🎥 "I never want to color it again": 'Johnny Knoxville talks about going gray, a brain hemorrhage he suffered on set and the new "Jackass Forever," which hits theaters Friday. |
| 🎥 What to watch this weekend: Among the new movies out is "Moonfall," which stars Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson as astronauts trying to prevent a global catastrophe in "Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich's latest sci-fi disaster movie. |
 | | Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson play astronauts who go on a space mission to keep the moon from taking out Earth in "Moonfall." | | LIONSGATE | |
NHL All-Star weekend returns after one-year hiatus |
| After a one-year hiatus brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL All-Star Game returns this weekend, with festivities kicking off Friday night in Las Vegas with the skills competition (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Many of the classic events are back, including hardest shot, fastest skater, accuracy contest, save streak contest and the breakaway challenge, which is returning for the first time since 2016 and will feature celebrity goalies in actor Wyatt Russell and women's hockey trailblazer Manon Rheaume. There will also be two events that take advantage of Sin City: The "Fountain Face-off" and the "Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22." The former is a target shooting competition taking place on the water of the Bellagio fountains. The "21 in '22" event will see players on "The Strip" trying to shoot a puck at an oversized deck of cards trying to get 21. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| 🔵 Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in an overnight U.S. military raid in Syria, President Joe Biden announced. |
| 💊Why do Americans keep taking ivermectin for COVID despite FDA warnings? Hundreds of doctors continue to prescribe it. |
| ☄️A powerful solar flare made its way to Earth as a "moderate" geomagnetic storm, making the northern lights visible throughout the northern part of the USA. |
| 🌉A Dutch port city will dismantle a historic bridge to allow room for Jeff Bezos' superyacht to pass through this summer, and locals aren't happy. |
📸 Photo of the day: Nathan Chen helps Team USA get off to a good start 📸 |
 | | Nathan Chen of the USA competes in the team figure skating men's short program event during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Capital Indoor Stadium. | | Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports | |
| So far, so good for Nathan Chen and the U.S. Olympic figure skating team. |
| With a calm, clean short program by the reigning three-time world champion, Team USA raced out to an early lead Friday in the team competition at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The Americans won the first two events – the men's short program and rhythm dance – and are sitting in first place in the 10-country competition after Day 1. |
| Head here to see the event's best figure skating photos and click here to see the top images from the Beijing Winter Olympics. |
| 🏅 From Christine Brennan: Nathan Chen is the gold medal favorite in men's figure skating. But he knows there are no guarantees. |
| 🏅 Spinning on ice: Graphics explain American Nathan Chen's powerful quad jumps. |
| 🏅 Nathan Chen at the Beijing Olympics: Get to know Team USA's star figure skater. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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