Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

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

1. In a speech in Buffalo today, President Biden called white supremacy “a poison” and Saturday’s racist massacre “domestic terrorism” and shared each victim’s name and story.

Biden and his wife, Jill, met with victims’ families before the speech, in which Biden denounced “replacement theory” and condemned those “who spread the lie for power, political gain and for profit.” Biden added, “I don’t know why we don’t admit what the hell is going on.” But he stopped short of naming influential proponents of the conspiracy theory, like Tucker Carlson.

Not all residents welcomed his words: “I could care less about what Biden said. I want to see action,” one resident said. “I want to see our community actually get help.”

Biden voiced support for getting assault weapons off the streets but, before leaving, said he could do little on gun control via executive action and that it would be hard to get Congress to act.

2. By early Tuesday, more than 260 Ukrainian fighters at the Mariupol steel mill had surrendered to Russia. Their fate is uncertain, as is that of hundreds more still in the plant.

The soldiers laid down arms under orders from their country’s military, after very secretive negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The surrender seems to end the war’s longest battle so far, solidifying one of Russia’s few major territorial gains.

What happens next is unclear. The evacuated soldiers were taken to Russian-controlled territory, where Ukrainian officials said the fighters would be swapped for Russian prisoners. But the Kremlin did not confirm the swap and signaled that it might level war-crimes charges against the soldiers.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine appear farther apart than ever on peace negotiations.

3. Five states held primaries today.

No state is more closely watched than Pennsylvania. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who spent the day recovering from a stroke, is the front-runner for the Democratic Senate nomination over Representative Conor Lamb. Three candidates are neck and neck in the Republican Senate race; Dr. Mehmet Oz, a celebrity physician endorsed by Donald Trump, was slightly ahead in polls.

The former president also endorsed Doug Mastriano, a far-right loyalist who has promoted conspiracy theories and is the leading Republican candidate for governor. Officials said that final election results might not come tonight.

Madison Cawthorn, the controversial G.O.P. representative, is in a closely watched race in North Carolina. In Idaho, an extreme far-right candidate is running against its conservative governor. Oregon and Kentucky also held primaries; check in with us for results.

4. The Justice Department is requesting transcripts from the Jan. 6 committee.

The House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol has interviewed more than 1,000 people so far. And the Justice Department has asked the committee to send transcripts of any interviews it is conducting — including discussions with Trump’s inner circle, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation.

The transcripts could be used as evidence in potential criminal cases or to pursue new leads. The move comes amid signs that Attorney General Merrick Garland is ramping up the pace of his painstaking investigation into the Capitol attack, which coincided with the certification of the election that the former president lost.

5. America’s public schools have lost at least 1.2 million students since 2020.

Experts point to two potential causes: Some parents became so fed up with remote instruction or mask mandates that they started home-schooling their children or sending them to private schools that largely remained open during the pandemic. Other families were thrown into such turmoil by pandemic-related job losses, homelessness and school closures that their children dropped out.

While a broad decline was underway as birth and immigration rates have fallen, the pandemic supercharged that drop in ways that experts say will not easily be reversed.

6. Is he in or out?

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, raised further doubts about his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, saying (on Twitter) that “this deal cannot move forward” until he gets more details about the volume of spam and fake accounts on the platform.

Musk has latched onto the issue of fake accounts, which Twitter says make up fewer than 5 percent of its total, in a move that some analysts figure is an attempt to drive down the acquisition price, or walk away from the deal.

The social media company is pressing ahead. In a lengthy regulatory filing, Twitter’s board urged shareholders to vote in favor of the deal, and provided a play-by-play view of how the board reached an agreement with Musk last month.

7. More baby formula may be on the way.

As a national shortage of infant formula put many parents on edge, the F.D.A. announced an agreement with Abbott Laboratories to reopen the company’s shuttered baby formula plant.

The plant, in Sturgis, Mich. has been shut down since February, after several babies who had consumed formula that had been produced there fell ill, and two died. The company said the reopening could translate into more formula on store shelves in six to eight weeks.

Separately, House Democrats released a $28 million aid bill to address the formula shortage.

And new research on sudden infant death syndrome found that some babies at risk of SIDS had low levels of an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase. The study could pave the way for newborn screening if the results can be corroborated.

8. For the first time in 50 years, Congress held public U.F.O. hearings.

Two Pentagon officials spoke to a House subcommittee about unexplained sightings in the sky and showed previously classified video of a shiny spherical object overtaking a fighter jet. Another video showed small triangles — perhaps drones — moving through the air.

Last year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report cataloging unexplained aerial phenomena dating to 2004. Lawmakers say they want more transparency and thoroughness in investigations, just in case the objects represent actual extraterrestrial activity or are some advanced Russian or Chinese technology. Privately, some senior U.S. officials dismissed the idea that the objects represented anything extraterrestrial.

9. New restaurant dress codes enchant some customers and irk others.

Over the last two years, U.S. fashion has mostly trended toward sweats and tees. As a corrective, some restaurants are now asking customers to dress for dinner. “Upscale fashionable dress code strongly enforced,” warns the L.A. restaurant Olivetta. At Carte Blanche in Dallas, “polished casual” is the order of the day.

Many customers love it. One New York City fashion designer called it “a way to show your token of appreciation” to the battered restaurant world. But there can be a fine line between elegant and exclusionary: Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was denied entrance to a Capital Grille when she wore leggings. (The restaurant group’s president apologized and said it had updated its dress code and retrained staff.)

10. And finally, a donkey’s opera debut.

The Metropolitan Opera’s revival of “La Bohème” has a new star. Wanda has stepped in to fill the hooves of the beloved Sir Gabriel, who for 16 seasons appeared onstage in a crowd scene, drawing a toy cart. (Sir Gabriel has retired to a Maryland farm.)

Wanda has already starred in commercials and appeared on Palm Sundays at a New York City church. Her co-stars appreciate her presence. “Animals and children,” said Gregory Warren, who plays the toy vendor. “Having them onstage really changes things up.”

Have a dramatic evening.

Hannah Yoon and Eve Edelheit compiled photos for this briefing.

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