Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Friday.
A powerful earthquake devastated MyanmarA 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar today and wrought destruction across a vast expanse of Southeast Asia. The quake — one of the three largest to hit the region in a century — gouged open roads, toppled century-old religious monuments and destroyed many multistory buildings. The U.S. Geological Survey, which tracks seismic activity, estimated that the death toll was likely to surpass 10,000 people, and that there was a possibility of a much higher toll. A preliminary count from Myanmar's military government said that at least 144 people had been killed and 732 injured in just three cities. That did not include Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, which is just 10 miles from the epicenter. Photos and videos from the country showed stunning scenes of destruction. A giant metal bridge near Mandalay partially collapsed into the river. Monks cried out as a monastery building toppled over. And patients at Mandalay General Hospital laid on the concrete in the 100-degree heat. The quake was strong enough to level a 33-story building that was under construction more than 600 miles away in Bangkok, in neighboring Thailand. At least eight people died there, the authorities said. Here's a map of the affected area. The full extent of the devastation was hard to assess in a country that has largely been isolated from the rest of the world. Electricity and communication lines were down. Myanmar's ruling junta, which is under heavy U.S. sanctions, made an extraordinary plea for international assistance. President Trump promised that the U.S. would help, and the U.N. set aside initial relief funds.
The legal world is split over Trump's attacksTrump announced today that he had made a deal with the elite law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The firm agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono work on issues that Trump supported. The deal was an effort to avoid the kind of punishing executive orders that the president recently imposed on firms that employed lawyers whom he perceived as enemies. Other firms have decided to fight back. Today, two big firms sued the Trump administration, seeking to stop executive orders that could significantly harm their businesses. The firms, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, had previously employed lawyers who investigated Trump's ties to Russia.
Vance went to Greenland, a place that didn't want himVice President JD Vance, his wife, Usha, and a couple other top U.S. officials spent roughly three hours today in Greenland, a territory of Denmark that Trump has vowed to acquire "one way or the other." He found the weather, and the reception, chilly. The trip was significantly scaled back after the island's government blasted the trip as "highly aggressive" and residents geared up to protest. Instead, the entire visit unfolded at one of the most remote military installations in the world — far from any town, or any chance of an embarrassing TV moment.
Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in drinking waterUtah's governor signed a bill this week to outlaw the addition of fluoride to public drinking water — the first of its kind. Several other states are considering similar bans in the months after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the health secretary, said the Trump administration would advise all states to remove fluoride from public water. Since 1945, fluoride has been added to U.S. drinking water to prevent cavities. Research suggests it has improved oral health. But the mineral has come under renewed scrutiny, as studies have linked extremely high levels of fluoride exposure — more than twice as high as people are generally exposed to through community fluoridation — with lower childhood I.Q.s. More top news
We're living in Gatsby's worldThis year marks a century since the publication of "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald's slender novel about a mysterious, lovelorn millionaire living and dying in a Long Island mansion. The book is among the most widely read, and it has inspired countless interpretations — from high school papers to feature films, and everything in between. Our critic A.O. Scott looked back at some of the more striking and improbable Gatsbys of the past 100 years, and what they tell us about ourselves.
What makes someone famous these days?As internet and social media culture have seeped into the mainstream, ideas about who's a celebrity and who's not have blurred. "Everyone has at least a thousand hard-core fans," the pop culture journalist Lindsey Weber said. "You don't even have to be that famous to have a dedicated audience." On Weber's podcast "Who? Weekly," she and her co-host, Bobby Finger, categorize people into two categories: "who" for sweatily grasping would-be stars and "them" for bona fide celebrity names. It's not always ease to differentiate.
Dinner table topics
Cook: Boost your weekend with this peach upside-down cake. Watch: "The Ballad of Wallis Island" came together after a long wait and a help from Carey Mulligan. Read: Our critic recommended "Fagin the Thief" and three other new historical novels. File: Tax returns are due in a couple weeks. We have some last-minute tips. Gaze: If you're on the East Coast, check out the partial solar eclipse tomorrow. Repair: Here's how to fix your squeaky wood floors. Compete: Take this week's news quiz. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here.
Overwhelmed by cuteness? There's a word for that.The golden retriever puppy pictured above can make some people feel gigil — a Tagalog word for the intense feeling of witnessing something adorable. The word (pronounced ghee-gill) was added this week to the Oxford English Dictionary, along with 41 other so-called untranslatable terms from languages around the world. Have a verbose weekend. Thanks for reading. I'll be back on Monday. — Matthew Kirsten Luce was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.
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