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

1. U.S. fighter jets shot down an unidentified object flying off the coast of Alaska.

President Biden ordered the military to down the object over the Arctic Ocean near the northeast border of Alaska and Canada “out of an abundance of caution,” a White House spokesman said. The incident came less than a week after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic.

U.S. officials said they could not immediately confirm whether the craft was a balloon, but they said it was unmanned and traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft. Officials said the government did not know who owned or sent the object, but described it as “roughly the size of a small car” — much smaller than the Chinese surveillance balloon, which had a payload the size of multiple buses.

In China, the government is finding it difficult to play down the spy balloon saga.

2. Russia ramped up its offensive in Ukraine.

Drones, rockets and cruise missiles rained fire on cities across Ukraine in what the Ukrainian Air Force described as a “massive attack.” The strikes, the first heavy aerial barrage in weeks, came as fighting on the ground intensified.

Russia has been pouring troops and equipment into eastern Ukraine to try to swallow up new territory as the first anniversary of the war approaches and Kyiv waits for more powerful weapons from the West, Ukrainian officials say.

The White House said that Biden will travel to Poland later this month for the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

In response to a wave of Western sanctions, Russia announced that it would cut oil production next month by 5 percent, most likely in a bid to raise prices.

3. The earthquake destroyed entire blocks in cities across southern Turkey.

In Kahramanmaras, Turkey, a city of about 400,000, much of the downtown lies in ruins, with rubble strewn across the streets and homeless families sheltering in tents in a soccer stadium. Take a look at these before and after photos.

The damage there is just a sliver of the wreckage left from Monday’s quake across southern Turkey and northwestern Syria. The death toll has now surpassed 23,000 people as aid efforts have been strained by bitter cold, power outages and shortages of essential supplies.

4. The F.B.I. searched former Vice President Mike Pence’s home and found one classified document.

The five-hour search of Pence’s home in Indiana took place after one of the former vice-president’s aides found classified documents there last month and alerted the Justice Department. The disclosure renewed questions about how classified material is handled at the highest echelons of government, with both Biden and former President Donald Trump the subject of special counsel investigations into the matter.

The search came a day after reports that Pence was subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating Trump’s role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Pence is potentially a key witness because he is well positioned to provide information about Trump’s state of mind at the time, legal experts said.

For more: The inquiry into Biden appears to have been the result of haphazard tracking of classified papers.

5. Electric vehicles are becoming more affordable.

Increased competition, government subsidies and falling prices for battery materials have, in just the past few months, brought down prices substantially. By the end of this year, the sticker prices for fully electric cars could be on par with those of gasoline cars for the first time.

General Motors, for example, will soon offer its battery-powered Equinox for about $30,000, just $3,400 more than the least expensive gasoline-fueled Equinox. But after factoring in government incentives, not to mention lower fuel and maintenance costs, the electric Equinox should be cheaper.

If you’re thinking about going electric, here’s a guide to saving money and fighting climate change.

6. A star of “19 Kids and Counting” revisits her upbringing.

Jinger Duggar Vuolo, a member of the Duggar family whose conservative Christian lifestyle was documented on the popular reality show, denounces many aspects of her upbringing in a new memoir, “Becoming Free Indeed.”

The Duggars’ rules for living touched on everything from marriage (abstain from sex for two weeks each month) to music (avoid anything with a syncopated beat). Vuolo describes feeling “crippled with fear” throughout a childhood defined by anxiety and guilt. Her book is the latest from a growing number of young adults grappling with the strict religious teachings of their childhoods.

7. Can a fugitive owl make it in New York?

In the week since Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo, the Eurasian eagle-owl, who sports distinctive orange-and-black stripes, has been spotted around the New York City park. While he remains just a short flight from the zoo, he has so far managed to elude attempts to retrieve him.

Each day Flaco spends outside his familiar surroundings puts him at risk, experts said, in part because, having lived his whole life in captivity, he is not used to finding food on his own. And if he did make a meal of, say, a rat, it could be hazardous to his health.

8. There’s plenty to watch at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face off in what is expected to be one of the closest championship games in years. It’s also the first Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts of Philadelphia and Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City. It is a celebratory and overdue matchup in a league that for decades has struggled with inequities.

Another first: Anheuser-Busch gave up exclusive rights for national ads during the game, opening the floodgates for beer and alcohol ads in Sunday’s broadcast.

The Times has answers to all your Super Bowl questions, coverage from The Athletic and ideas for what to cook for the big game.

9. For many fans, Rihanna at the Super Bowl halftime show is the main event.

Once one of pop’s most reliable hitmakers, Rihanna has not released an album in seven years. Her headlining set at the halftime show will be her first public performance since 2018.

But even in absentia, Rihanna has a way of staying at the center of attention. The stakes of her return have grown, our critic writes.

Also in music news, we followed several New York musicians to compile the city’s global soundtrack. It includes music brought by immigrants and remade, from steel drums in south Brooklyn to bangla in the Bronx. Take a look.

10. And finally, they got caught hoarding rare booze.

Whiskey aficionados were outraged this week when an investigation found that six top officials in Oregon had used their positions on the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Commission to divert hard-to-find bottles of high-end bourbon for their personal use.

The officials for years requested liquor from a special supply held in a state warehouse, including highly sought-after bottles of Pappy Van Winkle — a bourbon status symbol that has been barrel aged for 23 years and can sell for more than $5,000 a bottle.

Have a smooth evening.

Allison Zaucha and Scott Nelson compiled photos for this briefing.

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