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Feb 19

Exclusive: Who's behind QAnon?

Computer scientists say they have identified two men as its likely authors — including one of the first online commentators to call attention to the messages that shaped the viral movement. nyti.ms/36rmLJa

The studies provide the first empirical evidence about the origins of QAnon, a toxic myth and conspiracy theory that has been linked to scores of violent incidents and that the FBI has labeled a potential terrorist threat. nyti.ms/36rmLJa

The analyses built on long-established forms of forensic linguistics that can detect telltale variations.

Sophisticated software broke down the Q texts into patterns of three-character sequences and tracked the recurrence of each possible combination. nyti.ms/36rmLJa

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Feb 16

For the first time, the quadruple jump could be essential for Olympic medals in women’s figure skating. It’s a Russian specialty and they are expected to land several in Thursday’s free skate, the only program in which they are allowed to perform quads. nyti.ms/3uVk5h5

The Russian women are so good at those quads that even the top male skater, the Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen, said he did not want to compete against them. “They are so awesome that I think they’d beat all of us,” he said with a laugh. nyti.ms/3uVk5h5

Men have been landing quadruple jumps for years, beginning in 1988. But on the women’s side, the advent of the jump and its necessity for success is relatively new and has shaken up the sport. nyti.ms/3uVk5h5

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Feb 10

Figure skating in the U.S. is now plainly an Asian American sport.

For the second consecutive Winter Games, four of the six figure skaters representing the U.S. in the singles events are Asian American: Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Alysa Liu and Vincent Zhou. nyti.ms/3HIBZHn

Asians make up around 7% of the U.S. population but have become vividly overrepresented in ice rinks and competitions at every level, from coast to coast.

Gradually, they have transformed a sport that, until the 1990s, was almost uniformly white. nyti.ms/3HIBZHn

Skaters have infused competitions with music that draws from their Asian heritage, expressing their roots while navigating the perils of hate on social media and a climate of anxiety about anti-Asian violence. nyti.ms/3HIBZHn

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Feb 10

Nathan Chen is on the cusp of winning an Olympic gold medal in men's figure skating. After his defeat at the Games four years ago, he was crushed. This time, he's trying to appreciate the experience — win or lose. nyti.ms/3BiZYuw

In an interview, Chen described how finishing 17th in the short program in the 2018 Games was the worst moment in his young life. But, in many ways, it was also the best. nyti.ms/3BiZYuw

Four years ago, Chen was an 18-year-old rising star under pressure that threatened to crush him. The world expected him to win an Olympic gold medal. The expectations soon started to feel like demands, and he internalized them. nyti.ms/3BiZYuw

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Feb 8

For some extreme Olympic sports — halfpipe, slopestyle, big air — there is no limit to the imagination. They can fly as high as they want. Winning means doing tricks that no one else can do. Or wants to do.

They live in fear of the next new trick. nyti.ms/34jYcNK

Just keeping up gets harder every Olympic cycle. The tricks get higher, bigger, twistier — more dangerous. Performances that won medals at past Olympics might not even qualify this time. Time weeds out those who do not evolve, who cannot keep up. nyti.ms/34jYcNK

Shaun White, 35, is heading to his fifth Olympics. He has to be doing tricks much more difficult and dangerous than he performed when he won gold medals in 2006, 2010 and 2018. It is a cruel trick of reverse-aging — getting better while getting older. nyti.ms/34jYcNK

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Feb 7

A letter alleging an Islamist plot to take over schools in Birmingham, England, started a national panic. The letter was fake, but the fallout for Muslims in Britain was real. Our new podcast from Serial investigates “The Trojan Horse Affair.” nyti.ms/3GwCzqs

@BriHReed

To get to the bottom of the Trojan horse affair, @BriHReed and @HamzaMSyed go into "Sherlock Holmes mode" to investigate who wrote the letter that started a panic over a fake plot to infiltrate Birmingham’s schools. Listen to Part 2 of the Serial podcast. nyti.ms/334nrmv

@HamzaMSyed

“Mate, I’m pissed.” An interview with the Birmingham city councilor who first received the Trojan horse letter outlining an alleged Islamist threat unsettles @HamzaMSyed in Part 3 of a new Serial podcast. “It was eye-opening,” he says. nyti.ms/3LluKYj

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