Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The Evening: The stakes of Super Tuesday

Also, China set an ambitious goal for economic growth.
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The Evening

March 5, 2024

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Tuesday.

  • What to watch on Super Tuesday
  • China's new growth target
  • Plus, the Pritzker Prize winner
A woman at a voting booth in a hall.
The last polls will close in California and Alaska this evening. Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times

It's the biggest day of this year's primary elections

Millions of Americans in 15 states and one territory went to the polls today for primary contests that will set the stage for November's elections. We call it Super Tuesday because it's the busiest voting day before November, and typically it plays a central role in the presidential nomination process.

This year, however, is different. President Biden faces no major challengers, making him a lock to win every Democratic primary. Donald Trump is competing only against the dwindling campaign of Nikki Haley, whom he is expected to defeat in most or all of today's contests.

Still, tonight's results — which we will be tracking live as the votes come in over the next several hours — will offer important insights about the American electorate and the likely rematch between Biden and Trump, both of whom are deeply unpopular. Here's what else to watch for:

Signs of strength or weakness: While it is difficult to use primary results to gauge general-election prospects, my colleague Kellen Browning said he would be monitoring the enthusiasm for both Trump and Biden. For Trump, Kellen is watching the suburbs, where Haley has demonstrated strength. For Biden, he is watching for protest votes against the president's support for Israel.

Haley's do-or-die moment: If polls in California and Texas that show Trump leading by huge margins prove correct, Haley will most likely lack a clear path forward.

California: For those uninterested in the presidential race, "there is still plenty to watch for tonight," Kellen said. The most closely watched Senate race will probably be in California, where the Democrat Adam Schiff is a front-runner. And a few key House districts may determine control of Congress.

North Carolina: The state's primary for governor is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country. And the leading candidates — Josh Stein, the mild-mannered Democratic attorney general, and Mark Robinson, the polarizing Republican lieutenant governor — could not be more different.

For more: We talked to an ice cream maker in Texas whose top concern is the economy. She plans to vote for Trump; hear her explain why.

The Great Hall of the People in Beijing filled with delegates. Red banners hang on both sides of the national emblem.
Premier Li Qiang of China at the National People's Congress in Beijing today.  Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

China set an ambitious goal for economic growth

At China's annual legislative meeting today, the country's top leaders announced an official growth target of about 5 percent for this year. Meeting that target would be a significant boon for a country battered by a property crisis and a lack of consumer confidence.

But it could be hard for China to pull off. Officials signaled that they were not ready to ramp up deficit spending for economic stimulus, and no new measures were offered to turn around recent headwinds. "It's an unsurprisingly unrealistic set of targets," one analyst said.

A chart showing the price of Bitcoin.
The New York Times

Bitcoin hit a record high

For the first time, the price of a single Bitcoin rose above $69,000 today, capping a remarkable 300 percent rise since the collapse of FTX in 2022. The digital currency's value rose over the last year as regulators authorized its inclusion in mainstream investment products.

Still, cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile. Within five hours of hitting the record, Bitcoin's price dropped by about $7,000.

More top news

TIME TO UNWIND

The book cover of Tana French's novel

A moody, mesmerizing new thriller

Tana French, who is well known for gut-wrenching mysteries set almost exclusively in Ireland, came out today with a new novel: "The Hunter." In it, a retired Chicago cop living in an insular, rural Irish community tries to help a teenager.

"It's the kind of reading I like the best, where you are somewhere else and you completely lose yourself," said my colleague Tina Jordan, who is an editor on the Book Review.

For more, here are the 15 books we are most looking forward to this month.

A transparent cube, several stories tall, with an open parking area on the ground floor.
The Hiroshima Nishi Fire Station in Hiroshima, Japan, designed by Riken Yamamoto. Tomio Ohashi/The Pritzker Architecture Prize

Celebrating community and transparency in architecture

Architecture's highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, was awarded today to Riken Yamamoto, a Japanese architect who is known for modest designs featuring literal and figurative transparency.

He has designed family homes without walls, public buildings made of glass and a fire station that allows passers-by to watch the firefighters train. Check out his designs.

Cillian Murphy, wearing a brown suit and hat, holds a pipe in a scene from
Cillian Murphy in "Oppenheimer." Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures, via Associated Press

Dinner table topics

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WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

A plate of chicken and brussels sprouts with a spoon.
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Cook: This stir-fry of sticky chicken and brussels sprouts is a good weeknight dinner.

Drink: My Cooking colleagues say this is the best espresso-martini recipe.

Watch: Here are the best movies and TV shows coming to Netflix this month.

Read: RuPaul's new memoir chronicles his path to drag-queen superstardom.

Beware: Sellers claim hydrogen water has many benefits. But experts are skeptical.

Declutter: Getting rid of old clothes? Wirecutter has tips for what to do with them.

Compete: Take our quiz to see how well you know Oscar-winning book adaptations.

Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.

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ONE LAST THING

A gray cat peers out from a box with images of ice cream and the inscription
Courtesy of the Worcester Public Library

Got cat pictures? They'll waive the fine.

In an effort to shake people out of solitary routines created during the pandemic, the public library system in Worcester, Mass., began a new fee-forgiveness program this month. All fees for lost or damaged books will be wiped away, the managers said, if you bring in a picture of a cat.

A cute photo or a magazine clipping will do. They'll even accept a drawing. No cat? No problem. "We take a lot of honorary cats," the executive director of the library said. "Any ungovernable animal."

Have a purrfect evening.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.

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Writer: Matthew Cullen

Editorial Director: Adam Pasick

Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe

Photo Editor: Brent Lewis

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