T/past-week

U.S.

• Read the Complaint. Blake Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC et al
• Read the Statement. Statement to The New York Times from Bryan Freedman, attorney for Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives.
• Traditions Overlap as Christmas Meets Hanukkah. The first night of Hanukkah and Christmas Day converge for the first time since 2005. What are families who celebrate both to do?
• Death on the Night Shift at Frozen Pizza Factories in Chicago. Undocumented workers help feed America’s hunger for prepared foods, but some take jobs with staffing agencies that expose them to hazardous conditions.
• Congress Approves Full Social Security Benefits for Public Sector Retirees. The popular measure gives full benefits to millions of people who currently receive them at a reduced level. Critics warn the $196 billion cost will speed up the program’s insolvency.
• Chicago Board of Education Votes to Fire Leader of City’s School System. The job status of Pedro Martinez, the chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, had been in doubt for months amid tension with Mayor Brandon Johnson.
• Missouri Detective’s Sentence Is Commuted. Eric J. DeValkenaere was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Cameron Lamb. Calls for clemency angered many in Kansas City, Mo.
• She Turned in Her ‘Star Trek’ License Plates, but the Tickets Kept Coming. Beda Koorey, 75, returned personalized plates inspired by the identifying tag on the U.S.S. Enterprise to New York State in 2020. She has since been inundated with tickets for others who used the same tag.
• 2024: The Year in Visual Stories and Graphics. Selected Times graphics, visualizations and multimedia stories published this year. All free to read for a limited time.
• Indiana Man Sentenced to 130 Years for Killing 2 Teenage Girls. Richard Allen, of Delphi, Ind., received the maximum sentence, concluding a case that came to be known as the Delphi Murders. His lawyers plan to appeal.
• Russia’s Abrupt Setback in Syria Creates Headaches for Putin. Losing Syrian military bases would hurt the Kremlin’s attempts to project power in the Middle East and Africa.
• Student Is Accused of Plot to Attack Israeli Consulate in New York. A freshman at George Mason University, who is a citizen of Egypt, was arrested on Tuesday after being accused of planning an attack.
• Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools. Politicians on both the left and the right have sought to change or limit what teachers can do inside classrooms. Teachers often ignore them.
• They Entered Treatment. Drugs, Overdoses and Deaths Followed. Baltimore addiction programs draw patients with free housing while collecting millions. Some say one company offered little help.
• Chinese National Charged in California After Aiding Local Candidate, Prosecutors Say. The man is charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent. The move is part of an effort by the authorities to prevent China from influencing American politicians.
• Ex-Police Chief Who Sexually Assaulted 17-Year-Old Gets 25 Years in Prison. Larry Allen Clay Jr., 58, of Fayetteville, W.Va., was also a sheriff’s deputy at the time of the crimes, which he tried to cover up, prosecutors said.
• The Timeless Craft of the Courtroom Sketch Artist. In courtrooms where cameras are banned, these artists provide a curious public a glimpse behind closed doors. Here’s how they do it.
• Philadelphia City Council Says Yes to New 76ers Arena Next to Chinatown. The mayor and labor unions touted the economic promise of the $1.3 billion project. Opponents said the arena would decimate the city’s storied Chinatown.
• Oysters Sicken at Least 80 at Restaurant Event in Los Angeles, Officials Say. The county Health Department said that the outbreak at the 101 Best Restaurants event was linked to a broader outbreak from oysters that have since been recalled.
• Wisconsin School Shooter May Have Plotted With California Man. At the request of law enforcement officials, a judge ordered a man, who reportedly corresponded with the shooter about a second attack, to surrender his guns.
• Former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Fails in Bid to Avoid Prosecution. Investigations have singled out Pete Arredondo, the former chief, for the delayed police response to a 2022 school shooting in Texas. A judge denied his request to quash the charges against him.
• Mutating Bird Flu Virus Is Called ‘Covid for Cows’ The virus has spread rapidly in California, the nation’s largest producer of milk. Farmers are frustrated that their herds are getting infected despite various precautions.
• Court Disqualifies Georgia D.A. In Election Case Against Trump. The panel overruled the trial judge, who had allowed Fani T. Willis to keep the case despite a romantic relationship that defendants said created a conflict of interest.
• President Threatens Veto of a Bill to Add More Judges. The Senate backed a bipartisan bill to add dozens of judges, but the House held off on voting until after Election Day. Now, Donald Trump would be assured at least 22 picks.
• A Lottery Drawing Included Four Consecutive Numbers. What Are the Odds? A Mega Millions drawing turned up 66, 67, 68 and 69. Is that unusual?
• Suspect in C.E.O. Killing Agrees to Be Extradited to New York. Luigi Mangione, jailed in Pennsylvania, was charged in New York this week with first-degree murder in what prosecutors said was part of an “act of terrorism.”
• ‘It’s a Beaut, Clark!’ What’s It Take to Light Up the Griswold House? The blinding light display in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” dazzled the Griswolds and nearly broke the power grid. What would it cost, and how much power would it really need?
• Commandments Slab Sells for $5 Million. Sotheby’s called the stone the world’s oldest inscribed with the Ten Commandments, but some experts had raised questions about its provenance and authenticity.
• F.B.I. Searches Home of L.A. Deputy Mayor Suspected of Bomb Threat Against City Hall. The official, Brian Williams, was appointed by the mayor last year to oversee public safety. He was immediately placed on administrative leave, the mayor’s office said.
• Florida Charges Man Accused Of Trying to Assassinate Trump. As Ryan W. Routh fled the scene, a highway was shut down and a car crash ensued. In charging him with attempted felony murder, the state defied federal prosecutors.
• 2 Endangered Whales Found Entangled in Fishing Gear, With 1 Likely to Die. The North Atlantic right whales, which were seen off the coast of Massachusetts, are one of the most endangered large whale species.
• Justices to Hear Case on South Carolina’s Bid to Defund Planned Parenthood. The issue in the case is whether Medicaid beneficiaries may sue under a law that lets them choose care from any provider qualified to perform the required services.
• Congress Orders Action on Troops’ Brain Health. Mandates in the annual appropriations act, passed on Wednesday, call for the Pentagon to track and mitigate risks to troops’ brains from firing their own weapons.
• Ivy League Agrees to Let Football Teams Start Competing in the Postseason. The conference’s eight schools will be able to participate in the Football Championship Subdivision’s 24-team playoff.
• ‘Murder Hornet’ Has Been Eradicated From the U.S., Officials Say. The hornet was discovered in a corner of Washington State. Five years later, a massive mobilization has eliminated the invasive species, at least for now.
• Two Dead in Small Plane Crash in Hawaii. The plane, which was reportedly on a training flight with a cargo carrier, could be seen veering away from a highway before it crashed into a vacant building.
• Dashcam Video Shows Honolulu Plane Crash. A small plane crashed near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, killing two people, officials said.
• Rayful Edmond, Drug Lord Who Stoked D.C.’s Crack Cocaine Epidemic, Dies at 60. He rose to prominence in the 1980s, spending lavishly and befriending athletes, as the city was wracked by murders tied to the drug trade. He later became an informant.
• 2024 Was the Most Intense Year for Tornadoes in a Decade. The year brought not only an increase in volume, but severe storms in the U.S. also caused $46 billion in damage, among the highest costs on record.
• U.S. Agrees to Pay $116 Million to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at California Prison. Lawyers for the victims said it was the largest deal of its kind reached with the federal Bureau of Prisons.
• Sherrod Brown Signs Off in the Senate. For Now. Ohio’s senior Democratic senator told colleagues that despite his defeat, he was not done with politics just yet.
• Gun Violence at Schools Has Risen Since the Pandemic. But mass shootings remain a rare occurrence. Only a small fraction of the nation’s nearly 130,000 schools report gun incidents each year.
• Suit Accuses Elite Colleges of Admissions Based on Wealth. The schools were accused of giving special treatment to wealthy students who might not otherwise have been admitted.
• As Trump Turns From Ukraine, Supporters in Congress Chill on Aid. Reality has set in on Capitol Hill that with President-elect Donald J. Trump poised to take office, the era of U.S. military support for Ukraine is coming to an end.
• Rear Car Seatbelt Alarms To Be Requirement by 2027. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration changed an existing rule to expand and enhance seatbelt warning requirements.
• City Mourning School Victims Seeks Answers. Officials in Wisconsin gave little new information on Tuesday about a shooting that left a student and a teacher dead and six others injured.
• Tech Consultant Convicted In Death of App Founder. Nima Momeni, 40, was convicted by a San Francisco jury in the fatal stabbing of Bob Lee, a well-known tech executive.
• She’s Undocumented. Her Children Are Citizens. Undocumented immigrants whose children or spouses are U.S. citizens are feeling particularly vulnerable to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threats to push them out.
• New York City Water Main Break Floods Streets in the Bronx. Some cars were submerged by the rising water. Emergency workers were working overnight to identify the source of the break.
• Confidence in U.S. Justice System Plummets. Very few countries have experienced similar declines, typically in the wake of wrenching turmoil. Experts called the data, from a new Gallup poll, stunning and worrisome.
• Officials Release Names of Victims in Wisconsin School Shooting. The police in Madison, Wis., were working to establish a motive for the attack, which left a 14-year-old student and 42-year-old teacher dead and six others injured.
• 15-Year-Old Girl Identified as the Shooter in a Wisconsin School. Natalie Rupnow was identified by the police as the shooter in the attack at Abundant Life Christian School. Investigators are still trying to piece together what led up to the shooting.
• Abundant Life’s Precautions ‘Helped Keep Students Safe,’ Official Says. Training and precautions taken by the Christian school in Wisconsin may have prevented the shooter from harming even more people, officials said.
• Sirens, Then an Excruciating Wait for School Families. It would be hours before any details emerged about Monday’s shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, including that the shooter was a student at the school.
• Florida Man Is Sentenced to Death for Killing 5 Women in a Bank in 2019. The man, Zephen Xaver, 27, will have his case automatically appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.
• ‘Every person in that building is a victim,’ Madison’s police chief says. Chief Shon F. Barnes said schools “should be a refuge for students in our community.”
• A student and a teacher died in the shooting, the police say.
• The shooting was the 323rd at elementary or secondary schools this year.
• Harvard Law Reports A Plunge in Enrollment Of New Black Students. After a Supreme Court decision ended race-based admissions, some law schools saw a decline in Black and Hispanic students entering this fall. Harvard appeared to have the steepest drop.
• SoftBank Pledges Big Investment On Heels of Trump Victory. Again. The technology company plans to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects, echoing the multibillion-dollar pledge it made after Donald J. Trump’s first election victory in 2016.
• The school, founded in 1978, serves grades K-12 and relies on the Bible.
• Read the Letter. Adeel Mangi, who would have been the first Muslim American federal appellate court judge, wrote an angry letter to President Biden describing bigotry he faced in the confirmation process.
• Emergency workers were mobilized quickly, dispatch audio indicates.
• Several Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting, Including Juvenile Suspect. The police responded to a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wis., on Monday.
• At Least 5 Killed, Including Juvenile Shooter, at a School in Wisconsin, Police Say. At least five others were injured in the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, which has about 390 children in kindergarten through 12th grade.
• Here’s the latest on the shooting. At least five others were injured in the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, which has about 390 children in kindergarten through 12th grade.
• U.S. Employers Of Immigrants Fear an Exodus. Jabil says it required “herculean efforts” to replace employees from a staffing agency. Other businesses are bracing for “an enforcement storm” under President-elect Trump.
• Democrats Aim to Foil a Constitutional Rewrite. Some Republicans have said that a constitutional convention is overdue. Many Democratic-led states have rescinded their long-ago calls for one, and California will soon consider whether to do the same.
• Addled by Combat, Allayed by Psychedelic Trips. Unable to find effective treatments at home, veterans with brain-injury symptoms are going abroad for psychedelics like ibogaine that are illegal in the U.S.
• Colonel Found Guilty of Sexual Harassment in Trial Seen as a Milestone. The conviction is considered one of the first of its kind since Congress required the military to change how its legal system addresses sexual assault and harassment.
• Spree Shooter Who Killed 1 Gets Sentence Of 100 Years. The rampage on Thanksgiving Day killed one person and injured several others in Nevada and Arizona.
• Jury Awards Woman $34 Million for Wrongful Conviction. Kirstin Blaise Lobato sued the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and two detectives after she spent nearly 16 years in prison for a murder she did not commit.
• Read the email from Revere’s principal. The email the principal of Revere High School sent to parents about the June 2023 cafeteria fight.
• Hegseth to Let Accuser Talk, Graham Says. Senator Lindsey Graham said that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, promised to release his accuser from a settlement that his lawyer has said was already breached.
• An Immigrant Felt He Belonged in the U.S., Until Now. His friends and family members in Rome, Ga., voted to support mass deportation. Now he’s scrambling to stay in the country.
• In the Land of Christmas Trees, Hope After Helene. The storm upended the Christmas tree industry in the state’s western region. Now, farmers and residents are eager for the comfort of the season’s rituals.
• Trump Loyalist Is Set For a Leadership Role On Espionage Policy. As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, he attacked the Russia inquiry and Donald J. Trump’s first impeachment. Now, Mr. Nunes runs Mr. Trump’s social media company.
• Trump Says He Supports an End to Daylight Saving Time. President-elect Donald J. Trump said on social media that the time change is “inconvenient” and that the Republican Party would try to put an end to it.
• Tornado Warning Alert During Powerful Storm Is a San Francisco First. Less than two weeks after a tsunami warning, residents were jolted awake before 6 a.m. to consider a new potential disaster scenario.
• Oregon Public Art Prank Gets Eye Roll From City. The eyes were attached to eight installations, to the delight of residents. City officials, who lamented the cost of repairs, were less amused.
• Personal Data of Rhode Island Residents Breached in Large Cyberattack. An “international cybercriminal group” harvested the personal data of potentially hundreds of thousands of people from the state’s social services and health insurance systems, officials said.
• Pelosi Gets Hip Surgery After a Fall In Europe. The former speaker of the House “is well on the mend,” her spokesman said. She fell while in Luxembourg as part of a congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

Politics

• Justice Thomas Did Not Disclose Additional Trips, Democrats Say. The revelation was included in a report by Democratic staff members on the Senate Judiciary Committee who had conducted a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court.
• The Best Movies About Politics (According to You). Tired of real politics? Try the silver screen instead.
• House Passes Bill To Avert Threat Of A Shutdown. The Senate passed the measure, sending it to President Biden’s desk, shortly after the midnight deadline for funding to lapse.
• In Late Push, Senate Democrats Narrowly Top Trump on Judicial Confirmations. With the vote, the Senate approved its 235th lifetime judge of President Biden’s tenure, besting his predecessor by a single judgeship.
• U.S. Prisons Flout Law by Keeping Inmates Past Release Date, A.C.L.U. Says. Tens of thousands of prisoners deemed to be at low risk of committing crimes again have languished in lockup for as long as a year after they reached their release date under the First Step Act.
• Spending Rift Might Hamper G.O.P. Agenda. President-elect Donald J. Trump is known for his tight grip on members of his party, but the rare rejection of his demand to suspend the debt limit reflected a disconnect that could plague his policy agenda.
• An X-supported bill to help victims of deepfake porn fell with the spending measure Musk helped kill.
• Biden Administration Weighs Putting Up Roadblocks to Trump’s Deportation Campaign. The administration may extend protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants whose legal status is set to expire near the start of the Trump administration.
• Biden Scraps Pending Rules On Education. The decision to withdraw the regulations seemed to be an acknowledgment that they would go nowhere under the Trump administration.
• See Which Government Workers Would be Impacted if a Spending Bill Doesn’t Pass. Some workers would be forced to report to work, while others would be furloughed.
• See which federal workers would be affected if a spending bill doesn’t pass. A government shutdown would affect employees across major agencies, but the proportion that would be furloughed varies widely across agencies.
• As RFK Jr. Pursues Bid for Health Secretary, Federal Authorities Begin Campaign for Childhood Vaccines. “Parents have heard so much misinformation,” Kaye Hayes, a federal infectious disease official, said in a statement announcing the campaign. “Many of them are overwhelmed.”
• Trump Moves to Replace Officials Whom New Presidents Traditionally Leave Alone. Congress devised some positions to stay on during changes in administrations. But Donald Trump has declared his intent to replace at least three.
• Trump Used Government Shutdowns as Leverage During His First Presidency. A partial government shutdown in Donald J. Trump’s first term was the longest in U.S. history.
• Republicans Who Defied Trump’s Call To Pass Bill. The rebels are largely the most conservative lawmakers who are passionate about slashing spending and debt. They hail from deep-red districts where a primary challenge is less of a danger.
• Markets Rally, Shaking Off Threat of Government Shutdown. The S&P 500 jumped after a November inflation reading helped ease worries. A partial government shutdown, analysts said, wouldn’t have a lasting economic impact.
• Trump Says Shutdown Is ‘a Biden Problem’ The president-elect was eager to evade responsibility for the consequences of a potential shutdown even as he blew up a bipartisan deal that would have kept the government open.
• Top Senate Democrats Want Epshteyn to Address Pay-to-Play Allegations. The chairmen of the Finance, Judiciary and Banking Committees demanded answers from a Trump lawyer accused of soliciting payments from potential administration nominees.
• Here are the latest developments.
• Senior U.S. Diplomats Travel to Damascus to Meet With Syria’s Governing Militias. The U.S. officials in Damascus are also looking for signs of Austin Tice, a missing American journalist, as well as other U.S. citizens.
• Dozens of House Republicans Defy Trump in Test of His Grip on G.O.P. Thirty-eight Republican lawmakers resisted the president-elect’s command to support a spending and debt deal, showing that at least some of his followers are willing to buck his leadership in the right circumstances.
• What Government Shutdown Could Mean. With a funding deadline approaching, workers are bracing for the possibility of a disruptive holiday season, which could include longer wait times for travelers.
• How Each House Member Voted on the Bills to Avoid a Government Shutdown. The House passed a measure to fund the federal government for a few months, extend the farm bill and provide new disaster aid.
• Assessing the Claims That Musk Has Made On the Spending Deal. The world’s richest man posted or amplified inaccurate claims about the bill’s provisions for congressional salaries, a football stadium and biological research.
• Estimate of U.S. Troops in Syria Is Doubled. A Pentagon spokesman said the increase was unrelated to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad to rebel forces in early December.
• Spending Deal Debacle Threatens Johnson’s Hold on His Job. A Republican backlash to the speaker’s plan to temporarily fund the government has sparked new talk of ousting him, and highlighted the challenges he will face if he manages to keep his job.
• Billionaire Rivals Bezos and Musk Are Said to Have Dined With Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, ate with President-elect Donald J. Trump. Both have courted Mr. Trump.
• Kennedy Returns to Capitol Hill With New ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Caucus in Senate. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president-elect’s pick for health secretary, has spent much of the week meeting with friendly Senate Republicans, including some who appear to be trying to institutionalize his influence in Congress.
• House Kills Plan Sought By Trump On Spending Bill. Dozens of right-wing Republicans joined Democrats in opposing a bill ordered up by President-elect Donald J. Trump to tie a government funding extension to a two-year deferral of the debt limit.
• Musk Wields Political Might At Fiscal Deal. The world’s richest man led the charge to kill a bipartisan spending deal, in part by promoting false and misleading claims about it.
• Famed Pollster Departs With a ‘Spectacular Miss,’ Then a Lawsuit. Known for her “gold standard” polls of Iowans, J. Ann Selzer is facing retribution from Donald Trump after her final 2024 survey showed a surprising, and ultimately wrong, winner.
• Chaos Consumes Drive to Avoid Government Shutdown, With 2 Days to Go. President-elect Donald J. Trump’s denunciation of a bipartisan spending bill all but buried that deal while leaving unclear what form a new agreement could take.
• An Election Draw Decided by a Straw. In an era of invective and distrust, two California candidates turned a tie over to chance.
• Education Dept. Reopening Two Loan Repayment Plans. The department had been trying to phase out the two plans in favor of a more generous new one that has been tied up by litigation since this summer.
• Trump Takes Credit for New Border Security Plan Outlined by Canada. After Canada unveiled its plan to secure the border with the United States, Mr. Trump’s transition team attributed the action to the president elect.
• Trump Attacks All but Doom Spending Bill. The president-elect weighed in against the huge spending package after Elon Musk had spent the day warning Republicans not to support it. The blowup left the compromise on life support.
• Senators Call for Inquiry in Georgia Over a Medicaid Program. A group of Democratic lawmakers accused Georgia Pathways to Coverage, the only Medicaid work requirement program in the country, of spending little of its funding on health benefits.
• Revenge Tour Maps Its Case Versus Cheney. President-elect Donald J. Trump has never been shy about his desire to see his enemies punished. But he often shows a measure of caution about taking credit for potential prosecutions himself.
• Biden Pushing Search For Journalist in Syria. U.S. officials have given the rebel group in control of Damascus a list of former members of the Assad government who could have information about Austin Tice.
• Where the Money Is Going: Hurricane Relief, Farmers, a Stadium and a Raise. The mammoth year-end federal funding measure congressional leaders agreed on does far more than just keep the government running. It is stuffed with all manner of policy and other changes.
• Senate Clears Defense Bill Denying Transgender Care. The annual defense bill directing $895 billion toward the Pentagon and other military programs would deny transgender health coverage to minors. It now heads to President Biden’s desk.
• A Prisoner’s Self-Portraits of C.I.A. Torture Surface From a Sealed Court Record. “This is what his nightmares are all about,” said a lawyer for a now-confessed war criminal who spent years at Guantánamo Bay.
• Supreme Court Fast-Tracks TikTok Case. The company and its Chinese parent invoked the First Amendment in urging the justices to step in before a deadline to sell or be shut down.
• House Panel Quietly Voted To Release Gaetz Report. Lawmakers agreed the report would come out after the House has completed legislative business for the year and once they have left Washington to return to their districts.
• New Watchdog Group Seeks Records About Efficiency Department’s Talks With Agencies. State Democracy Defenders Fund, founded by a former ethics official from the Obama Administration, asked 16 federal agencies if they had heard from Elon Musk’s budget-cutting group.
• Pentagon Repatriates 2 Malaysian Prisoners Who Pleaded Guilty to War Crimes. The prisoners were airlifted from Guantánamo Bay in a secret operation nearly a year after they admitted to serving as foot soldiers for the accused Indonesian terrorist leader Hambali.
• Trump Picks Herschel Walker to Be Ambassador to the Bahamas. The president-elect tapped the former football star for the job two years after a failed run for a Senate seat in Georgia.
• House Republicans’ interim report on Jan. 6 calls for former Rep. Liz Cheney to be investigated.
• Biden Administration Running Out of Time to Send Allocated Aid to Ukraine. Senior officials discussed U.S. plans to announce additional support for Ukraine, and spoke about casualties among North Korean troops sent to help Russia.
• George Santos, Disgraced Former Congressman, Still Wants Your Attention. After his lies and expulsion from Congress, and before his sentencing in February, George Santos chases the limelight with a party and a podcast.
• National Archivist Rejects Bid to Certify the Equal Rights Amendment. With President Biden under pressure to add an amendment explicitly guaranteeing sex equality to the Constitution, Colleen Shogan said she could not legally certify it.
• Democratic Donors Will Gather to Plot Ways Forward Under Trump. The liberal group American Bridge is planning to bring donors together early next year in Palm Beach, Fla., as the Democratic big-money universe debates what it can do better in 2026 and 2028.
• Trump Sues Des Moines Register, Escalating Threats Against the Media. President-elect Donald J. Trump has said he would use his power to punish people he claims have wronged him. Those goals are now coming into focus.
• Biden, Wearied and Stinging, Prepares to Exit. Still stinging from the election, President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has largely absented himself from the national conversation about Donald Trump after warning repeatedly that he was a threat to American democracy.
• U.S. Releases Kenyan Man Held Without Charges at Guantánamo Since 2007. The detainee was approved for transfer from Guantánamo Bay three years ago as the Biden administration tried to empty the wartime prison.
• Armed Services Committee Democrats call the allegations against Hegseth disqualifying. A group of Democrats told President-elect Donald J. Trump’s chief of staff that his pick to lead the Pentagon is unfit because he faces charges of sexual misconduct and opposes women serving in combat.
• Elon Musk Met With Nigel Farage at Mar-a-Lago. The British politician shared an image on social media that showed him at Donald Trump’s Florida resort with the tech billionaire.
• For Years, U.S. Collected Tips About a Journalist’s Disappearance in Syria. Nongovernmental workers and journalists have scoured prisons for clues about his fate in the absence of an official American presence in the country.
• Party Shuns Ocasio-Cortez For Top Oversight Panel Post. The New York progressive’s defeat was a counterpoint to generational change in the Democratic ranks, as House members chose younger members for top posts on other committees.
• Harris Urges Young People to ‘Stay in the Fight’ In her first major speech since conceding defeat, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed optimism for the nation’s future to young voters.
• Harris Implores Young Voters to Stay Engaged. In her first major speech since her election loss, Vice President Kamala Harris suggested she did not intend to fade into the background in the years ahead.
• Kennedy Tries to Ease Concerns on Capitol Hill. He is expected to meet this week with more than 20 senators, many of them receptive to his case to run the Health and Human Services Department.
• After Trump’s Victory, Republicans Trust the Election System Again. Surveys taken since Donald Trump’s win show a resurgent faith among the president-elect’s supporters, and little Democratic appetite for conspiracy theories.
• Charges Filed In Fatal Strike On U.S. Base. The men are accused of supplying key parts in Iranian drones that killed three U.S. service members and injured dozens of others at an American military base in Jordan.
• Biden May Ban China Telecom For Cyber Hack. The Commerce Department is banning the few remaining operations of China Telecom in the United States, a move that appears unlikely to deter Beijing from conducting sophisticated cyberoperations.
• Trump Is the Same. The Flattery Is New. Reflecting on how much has changed, and hasn’t, for Donald Trump since he first became president.
• An Offhand Remark by Trump Gives a Glimpse Into His Worldview. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” the president-elect said. “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”
• Weird Sightings in Sky So Far Have Very Boring Backstories. As tips roll in, most reported incidents involve piloted planes and hobby drones, not foreign spying or secret programs, officials say.
• Young Republicans Eager to Make America Vengeful Again. At a gala on Wall Street for the New York Young Republican Club, attendees were looking forward to retribution from the next Trump era, and musing on another run in 2028.
• Fact-Checking Trump’s First Post-Election News Conference. The president-elect made inaccurate claims about a small-business survey, the federal budget, autism rates and pesticide use, among other claims.
• TikTok Appeals to Justices To Lift Looming U.S. Ban. The company and its Chinese parent invoked the First Amendment in urging the justices to step in before a Jan. 19 deadline to sell or be shut down.
• Blocked Muslim Judicial Nominee Decries Senate ‘Smear Campaign’ Adeel Mangi, who would have been the first Muslim American federal appellate court judge, wrote an angry letter to President Biden describing bigotry he faced in the confirmation process.
• Hegseth Guard’s Past Includes Court-Martial. John Hasenbein, who has escorted Donald J. Trump’s pick for defense secretary to meetings on Capitol Hill, said he was unjustly prosecuted for the 2019 episode.
• At Trump’s first post-election news conference, topics include autism, the border wall and drones.
• Trump Expounds on Vaccines, the Border Wall and Drones. President-elect Donald J. Trump announced a $100 billion investment from SoftBank, a Japanese company, then jumped from one topic to another in his first news conference since the election.
• As Kennedy Woos Senate, Vaccine Ideas Loom Large. Mr. Kennedy has begun meeting with Republican senators to build support for his confirmation, which could be imperiled by his anti-vaccine stance.
• Netanyahu Tells Trump Israel Must ‘Complete Its Victory’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he told President-elect Donald J. Trump that the country had delivered “a tough blow” against Hamas and Hezbollah.
• Grenell Named ‘Special Missions’ Envoy. A combative loyalist and the president-elect’s former ambassador to Germany, Mr. Grenell had hoped to be secretary of state.
• No Evidence Drones in Northeast Are a Threat, Officials Say. Numerous sightings of flying objects in recent weeks have raised alarm, but federal law enforcement officials say that at least some were manned aircraft, such as airplanes or helicopters.
• Trump Brings Embattled Nominee to Army-Navy Game. President-elect Donald J. Trump made a public show of support for his choice to lead the Defense Department.

World

• Five Books That Explain the Chaos of 2024. And one to read for fun.
• The Pelicots’ children provided a dramatic moment in the trial.
• ‘The Daily’ podcast covers Gisèle Pelicot’s rise to feminist hero.
• Who is Dominique Pelicot?
• The Year in Pictures 2024: Far From Ordinary. Photographers captured historic moments of war, grief and wonder that defined the year.
• Massive Earthquake in Vanuatu Damages U.S. Embassy. The embassy was one of many damaged buildings filmed by a resident after the 7.3-magnitude earthquake.
• Map: 7.3-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Near Vanuatu. View the location of the quake’s epicenter and shake area.

Africa

• How Many People Did Cyclone Chido Actually Kill on a French Island? Officials have said that the death toll in Mayotte, currently at 35, could end up in the thousands. But in the capital, there were no scenes of public mourning and little talk of searches for missing loved ones.
• Cyclone Chido Death Toll Nearly Doubles in Mozambique. The swirling wind and rain hit an area where a yearslong insurgency had already forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
• France Rushes Aid to Mayotte After Deadly Cyclone. Hundreds are feared dead after the storm razed entire neighborhoods in Mayotte, a series of islands off the eastern coast of Africa, before unleashing its destructive force on Mozambique.
• Cyclone Off Eastern Coast of Africa Devastates a French Territory. Officials on the archipelago off the eastern coast of Africa said the number of people killed by Tropical Cyclone Chido could be much higher than the 21 now confirmed dead.
• At Least 11 Dead as Cyclone Devastates Islands in Indian Ocean. The prefect of Mayotte said the death toll could climb. The storm, the equivalent of a Category 3, made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday.
• Civilian Militias Backfire in War In Burkina Faso. By arming civilians who are poorly trained and have little to no respect for human rights, the military in Burkina Faso has brought the West African nation to the brink of civil war.

Americas

• Where Each Employee Feels Indispensable. A popular restaurant in Buenos Aires is staffed almost entirely by workers with neurological challenges, tapping into often-overlooked talent and harnessing their skills.
• Guatemalan Officials Raid Compound of Jewish Sect and Remove Dozens of Minors. The authorities say at least 160 children and teenagers may have been victims of human trafficking and other crimes on a farm run by an ultra-Orthodox sect, Lev Tahor.
• How Trudeau Went From Icon to Outcast For Many Canadians. Allies and opponents alike are calling for him to resign as prime minister.
• Bolivia in Turmoil Over Rupture Between the President and His Onetime Mentor. Protests in Bolivia triggered by a feud between the president and a political rival have caused turmoil. One fallout: fuel shortages that have left drivers lining up for gas for days.
• Brazilian Police Arrest Close Ally of Ex-President Bolsonaro, Official Says. Gen. Walter Braga Netto was Jair Bolsonaro’s running mate. The arrest was for meddling in an investigation into a plot to stage a coup, the police said.
• Sucesso de bilheteria no Brasil gera expectativas de Oscar – e de um acerto de contas. Décadas após sua mãe perder a disputa do Oscar, Fernanda Torres tem a chance de conquistar a sonhada estatueta com sua atuação no filme que incitou o país a uma profunda reflexão

Asia Pacific

• Terrorism Roars Back in Pakistan, 10 Years After a Campaign to End It. Political instability, dwindling public support and economic constraints are eroding the costly gains that the country made in combating militancy after a ghastly school attack in 2014.
• Can Wall Street Pressure Ease Brutality in India’s Sugar Fields? Pension funds and big investors are pressuring Coca-Cola, Pepsico and others over brutal working conditions in India’s cane fields. Some of the sugar buyers are tiptoeing toward change.
• Here Are 4 Reasons China Meddles in Local U.S. Politics. American intelligence agencies have warned of influence operations targeting city halls and statehouses. But what’s in it for Beijing?
• As China Seeks Influence, It Has a Cuddly Way Into City Hall: Pandas. Records and interviews show that Beijing has used pandas as leverage to shape policy on Taiwan and to cultivate relationships with local U.S. politicians.
• Chinese Spacewalk Apparently Breaks a Record (Barely). China said two of its astronauts spent nine hours outside the Tiangong Space Station. The longest previous spacewalk, by Americans, was eight hours and 56 minutes.
• Chinese Astronauts Spend 9 Hours Outside Space Station. The spacewalk appears to be the longest in history, barely breaking a record set by American astronauts in 2001.
• China’s Nuclear Arsenal Continues Rapid Growth. Corruption investigations may have shaken Beijing’s confidence in top commanders, but China’s military expansion hasn’t slowed, a report found.
• Poppy Boom in Afghan Desert Has Gone Bust. Funding its war against the United States, the Taliban reaped millions from boom towns trading opium, heroin and meth. Victorious, the group crushed the trade, leaving ghost towns in its wake.
• China Lengthens Visa-Free Stays for Tourists. In its efforts to attract visitors, the country extended stays from less than a week to up to 10 days for visitors between destinations.
• Trump’s Tariffs Helped Northern Vietnam Boom. But What Now? The north benefited from the global search for alternatives to Chinese manufacturing. No one knows whether a second Trump term will impede or accelerate that growth.
• What North Korea Gains, and Risks, From Ties With Russia. Sending troops to fight against Ukraine has gotten North Korea much-needed cash and diplomatic leverage. But there may be hidden costs, too.
• Quake Jolts Vanuatu, Killing at Least 14 and Badly Damaging U.S. Embassy. A tsunami alert was lifted for the Pacific island nation, but government websites were offline after the quake. The U.S. Embassy building was seriously damaged, officials said.
• Report Points to Ex-Leader In Bangladesh Abductions. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and top officials are implicated in a centralized program that abducted dissidents and held them in secret prisons, an official commission’s preliminary report said.
• ​Impeachment in South Korea Has Cost Washington a Staunch Ally. President Yoon Suk Yeol shifted his country closer to Washington and stood up to Beijing. But that foreign policy could be recalibrated in the future.
• In Myanmar’s War, Doctors Are Becoming ‘Date Girls’ Nearly four years into a grinding civil conflict, the economy is in ruins, and people — even professionals with degrees — are desperate.
• Impeachment in South Korea Brings Joy, but Political Challenges Loom. The suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s powers left a seasoned but unelected prime minister in charge of a country facing daunting challenges at home and abroad.
• Blunt U.S. Ambassador In Nicety-Bound Japan. In a society used to quiet consensus-building, Tokyo has made bold changes to its defense policy. “Did I contribute to that?” Mr. Emanuel asked. “Uh, yeah.”
• South Koreans Celebrate the President’s Impeachment in Seoul. A dozen members of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s own party helped remove him from office. Lawmakers sought to impeach the president after his declaration of martial law drew public outrage.
• The Impeachment of South Korea’s President, Explained. In its second attempt, the National Assembly moved to force President Yoon Suk Yeol from office. But the troubles for him and his country are far from over.

Australia

• Three Deals in 12 Days: How Australia Is Countering China in the Pacific. In separate agreements with Nauru, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Australia is attempting to edge out China’s influence in the region.
• Powerful Earthquake Causes Extensive Damage in Vanuatu. The 7.3-magnitude earthquake caused heavy damage to buildings, including the U.S. Embassy, and knocked out the internet across most of the Pacific Island nation.
• 5 Australians Are Sent Home After Jail Time In Indonesia. The men were the last Australians still imprisoned in Indonesia for trying to smuggle heroin in 2005, in a case that became a diplomatic flashpoint between the countries.

Canada

• In Top Minister’s Resignation, Shades of an Earlier Political Crisis for Trudeau. Chrystia Freeland’s departure this week recalls the 2019 SNC-Lavalin affair, in which Jody Wilson-Raybould quit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet after a demotion.
• From Liberal Icon to MAGA Joke: The Waning Fortunes of Justin Trudeau. Canada’s prime minister gained global renown 10 years ago for his unabashedly progressive politics. But at home, voters turned sour on him long ago.
• Jewish School in Toronto Is Targeted for a Third Time. Canadian ministers will convene a meeting with the police to discuss antisemitism, after attacks at Jewish establishments in Toronto and Montreal this week.
• Key Ally Abandons Trudeau in Fresh Blow to His Government. The leader of the party that supported Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party vowed to bring down the government, saying Mr. Trudeau had failed Canada.
• Canada’s Finance Minister Resigns, Stunning Trudeau. Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, had been helping lead Canada’s response to the incoming Trump administration.

Europe

• Pope Francis’ Christmas Message to His Top Advisers: Don’t Gossip. Francis urged the Vatican inner circle to bless more and talk less badly of others. It wasn’t the first time he had used the occasion to scold them.
• ‘Powerships’ and U.N. Monitors: Ukraine Is Desperate to Keep the Lights On. The Ukrainian energy network has been so battered by Russian attacks that officials are seeking out new options to prevent a crisis, like renting floating power plants and scavenging scrapped ones from the region.
• German Officials Search for Motive in Christmas Market Attack. At least five people were killed and more than 200 others injured after a driver rammed an SUV into a crowded Christmas market in eastern Germany.
• Driver Plows a Car Into a Christmas Market in Germany. At least two people were killed and dozens were wounded after a car rammed into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in central Germany on Friday evening.
• Police Respond to Vehicle Ramming Attack at German Christmas Market. Emergency responders attended to an incident at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday.
• Deadly Attack at Christmas Market Stuns Germany. Video showed a car plowing into a large crowd in the city of Magdeburg. The driver, identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen who worked as a doctor, was arrested.
• French Court Convicts 8 People Tied to Events That Led to Teacher’s Killing. Samuel Paty was beheaded in 2020 by an Islamist extremist after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his students to illustrate free speech.
• Matteo Salvini Acquitted After Blocking Rescue of Migrant Boat in Italy. The deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party claimed he was a victim in the fight against illegal immigration that has swept across Europe.
• Musk Expresses Support for Far-Right Party in Germany’s Election. It was not the first online intervention by Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and adviser to Donald Trump, on behalf of once-fringe anti-immigrant parties in Europe.
• Romanian Court Blocks Andrew Tate’s Case From Heading to Trial. An indictment against Mr. Tate, the online influencer facing accusations of human trafficking and sexual misconduct, was sent back to prosecutors, an appeals court said.
• At 23, Surviving Scandal to Take a Green Seat in the E.U. Parliament. Lena Schilling, the youngest lawmaker in Brussels, faced a harsh questioning of her character and credibility before winning a chance to fight against climate change in the halls of power.
• Trump Is Threatening Europe With Tariffs. Is It Ready? The incoming president promised “tariffs all the way” unless Europe bought more U.S. oil and gas. European officials have no clear strategy for avoiding a trade war.
• On Avignon’s Ancient Ramparts, Modern Messages Denounce ‘Rape Culture’ A feminist collective, the Amazons of Avignon, has been plastering the walls of the city with testimony from the trial of the 51 men who were convicted in the Gisèle Pelicot rape case.
• Ukrainians Mourn the Loss of a Young Journalist and Her Stories. Viktoria Roshchyna died in September in Russian custody. The reporter had been well-known for her stories about life in parts of occupied Ukraine.
• Britain to Name Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the U.S. The veteran Labour lawmaker chosen by Prime Minister Keir Starmer has experience in trade policy and business and was once nicknamed “the Prince of Darkness” for his political tactics.
• 51 Men Guilty in Rape Trial That Horrified France. Dominique Pelicot, who admitted to drugging and raping his wife for almost a decade and to inviting dozens of strangers to join him, was convicted on Thursday of aggravated rape and other charges and was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison...
• Giséle Pelicot’s Ex-Husband Found Guilty in Mass Rape Trial. A French court found the ex-husband of Ms. Pelicot, Dominique Pelicot, guilty and sentenced him to 20 years in jail. Fifty other men were also convicted in the mass rape trial.
• In Mayotte, Devastation and Deep Poverty Stoke Anger at France. A visit to the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte, which were struck by Cyclone Chido last weekend, reveals the devastating toll of the storm on an impoverished territory that belongs to France.
• Gisèle Pelicot Speaks After Rape Trial Verdict: ‘We Share the Same Struggle’ In brief remarks after her ex-husband and 50 other men were convicted, she said she had never regretted her decision to allow the trial to be public.
• Zelensky Discusses Peacekeepers in Ukraine. But many European leaders say that with no sign that Russia is interested in peace, it is too early to discuss the presence of peacekeeping forces.
• Activists say the sentences for other defendants are too light.
• 51 Varieties of ‘Every Man’ Found Guilty in French Trial. Most of the accused received sentences of eight to 10 years, less than the 10- to 18-year terms that the public prosecutor had recommended.
• Supporters of Gisèle Pelicot came from far and wide.
• In Annual Talk, Putin Sees a Glass Half Full. The Russian president, in a marathon annual news conference, said that he had not yet met with Bashar al-Assad, the ousted Syrian leader who fled to Moscow, but that he planned to.
• Here’s a look at the details of the case.
• Decades to Conviction: The Pelicots’ Timeline. Dominique Pelicot received a 20-year sentence after he admitted to drugging and raping his wife, Gisèle. Here’s how the events unfolded.
• Amid Political Disarray, Europe Girds for Trump’s Return. With Germany and France both in political turmoil, the new administration of Donald J. Trump will begin at a time of instability for the continent.
• Google Street View Captures a Man Loading a Bag Into a Trunk. Arrests Follow. The image, from northern Spain, showed a man with a white bag in the trunk of a car. The National Police said it helped them solve a missing-person case.
• Court Lets Police Seize Millions From Influencer. The online influencer has bragged about refusing to pay taxes. A London court found that he and his brother had not paid taxes on more than £21 million in business revenue.
• Despite Kyiv’s Deadly Message, Its War Doesn’t Change. Ukraine’s forces are steadily losing ground on the battlefield. The assassination of a top general in Moscow won’t improve their war effort, analysts and Western officials say.
• The Dark Mystery of France’s Most Notorious Sexual Predator. For over three months, judges and lawyers have tried to grasp the true nature of Dominique Pelicot, who said he had invited dozens of strangers to join him in raping his drugged wife.
• E.U. Leaders And Zelensky Discussing Kyiv’s Future. As Donald J. Trump prepares to take office in the United States, President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a meeting hosted by the NATO chief to plot the path forward in the war with Russia.
• First Domestic Flight Since Assad’s Ouster Lands in Aleppo. A Syrian Air flight from Damascus landed in Aleppo on Wednesday, as the transitional government tries to demonstrate its ability to run the war-shattered country.
• Who Is Friedrich Merz, Top Candidate for Germany’s Next Chancellor? If polls are correct, Olaf Scholz’s successor could be the 69-year-old leader of the Christian Democratic Union. He is offering to get the German economic engine humming again.
• Russia Detains Suspect It Says Killed General on Ukraine’s Order. The Russian prosecutor’s office said the suspect, a 29-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan, confessed to planting the bomb on the orders of Ukrainian agents.
• British Police Chiefs Faulted for Response to Riots. Police leaders waited too long — three days — to trigger a national mobilization to tackle the anti-immigrant violence that broke out in Britain this year, a report found.
• Congressional Leaders Unveil Short-Term Spending Bill Tied to Disaster Aid. What started out as a simple stopgap measure to avert a shutdown for a few months became a magnet for more than $100 billion in emergency disaster and farm aid, plus a host of unrelated policy measures.
• Video Captures Moment When Blast Killed Russian General. A video clip that recorded the assassination of Igor Kirillov, a high-ranking general, gives a few clues about the power and the placement of the explosive device.
• Why General Was Targeted By Bombing In Moscow. The general had faced sanctions for using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
• Paul Watson, Anti-Whaling Activist, Is Released After 5 Months in Prison. Mr. Watson was facing extradition to Japan but was released after Denmark decided to reject the extradition request, his lawyer said.
• Bomb Kills Russian Military General in Moscow. Gen. Igor Kirillov was responsible for Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces. A Ukrainian official said Kyiv was behind his assassination.
• Economic Pain Made Germans Sour on Leader. One of Europe’s powerhouses is losing its competitive edge, and the political class can’t agree on why — or what to do about it.
• N. Koreans Now Fighting And Dying For Moscow. The Pentagon spokesman said the North Koreans had entered combat last week in the Russian region of Kursk, but he did not specify the number of casualties.
• Russian General Is Assassinated In Moscow Blast. A Ukrainian official said Kyiv was responsible for the assassination in Moscow of Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces.
• Putin’s Silence Over Syria Speaks Volumes About What His Priority Really Is. In an hourlong televised meeting with his top military brass, Vladimir Putin left Syria unmentioned and made it clear that winning in Ukraine was his top priority.
• How to Understand the Collapse of Germany’s Government, and What’s Next. Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German Parliament, ending the unpopular three-party coalition government he has led since 2021.
• Germany’s Olaf Scholz Loses a Vote of Confidence. Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany called for the confidence vote after his three-party coalition broke up. Lawmakers voted to dissolve the existing government by a vote of 394 to 207, with 116 abstaining.
• British Nurse’s Lawyers Seek Appeal After Expert ‘Changed Mind’ on 3 Deaths. Lawyers for Lucy Letby, a British nurse found guilty of murdering seven babies, said that the prosecution’s expert witness was not reliable after he changed his mind about why three infants died.
• Europe Rattled As Germans Vote Government Out. Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, deepening the political turbulence in one of the continent’s most powerful economies.
• 12 Die at Georgian Ski Resort From Suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. The police say the bodies were found in a room above an Indian restaurant not long after a generator had been plugged in nearby.
• Italy Grants Citizenship To President Of Argentina. Javier Milei is proud of his Italian ancestry and has tried to bolster ties with Italy’s conservative prime minister. But his new passport angered critics of Italy’s rules on citizenship.

Middle East

• Houthi Missile Strikes Tel Aviv as Attacks Increase. The Israeli military said several people were lightly injured after its air defenses failed to intercept the projectile, which struck a playground in the city.
• Ten Years Later, a Political Exile Returns to a Syria in Transition. In 2014, Sawsan Abou Zainedin left Syria during a civil war, while Bashar al-Assad was in power. Now, with rebel militants in control, Ms. Abou Zainedin is working on the country’s delicate political transformation.
• Its Syrian Bases in Doubt, Russia Sends Cargo Flights to Libya. A Libyan officer said the stepped-up flights from Russia and Syria delivered military gear.
• Maps: See Israel’s Moves in Syria Since al-Assad Was Toppled. Israeli fighter jets have launched hundreds of airstrikes, while soldiers have seized a buffer zone and captured military posts in territory formerly under Syrian control.
• Gaza Hospital Makes Plea For Israeli Attacks to Stop. Medical workers at one of the last functioning hospitals in the north of the territory say the facility has come under heavy attack by Israel this week.
• On a Flight With Gaza’s Rare Evacuees. The war in Gaza is one of the few conflicts most civilians can’t escape. But a small number of sick or critically injured people have been evacuated. The Times Magazine reporter Nicholas Casey went on a rare evacuation flight to try to understand ...
• Israel Hits Back at Houthis, Killing 9 in Yemen. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for more than a year in what they have described as a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
• Joy and Sorrow as Syrians Return to Rubble of an Ancient City. The ancient city, an early stronghold of opposition to Bashar al-Assad’s oppressive regime, was ravaged by a government crackdown. New York Times correspondents in Homs spoke to people who were reacting to his fall with smiles and tears.
• They Fought for Assad in Syria. Now They’re Handing in Their Guns. Across Syria, soldiers tied to the former Assad regime are surrendering their weapons to the interim government. The New York Times spoke to some of these men in Latakia, as they face a new and uncertain future as civilians.
• Truce in Syria Is Threatened By Conflicts In the North. U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces say they have come under fresh attack in several places by a Turkish-backed militia, even as Washington seeks a lasting cease-fire.
• Syria’s First Domestic Flight Since the Assad Regime Fell Takes Off. The Damascus International Airport reopened on Wednesday with a domestic flight to Aleppo, signaling that Syria’s new rulers are confident in their ability to govern after the end of the Assad family’s rule.
• Al-Assad’s Soldiers Hope for Amnesty. First, They Have to Take a Number. Syria’s new rulers say they will spare conscripts of Bashar al-Assad and pursue those who oversaw his regime’s abuses. Hundreds are lining up to learn which promise applies to them.
• Limits on Aid to Syria Threaten to Worsen the Country’s Humanitarian Crisis. Major obstacles could stymie Syria’s new leaders as they struggle to find some footing and improve the country’s living conditions.
• Syrians Work Toward Order as Netanyahu Visits Troops. Ahmed al-Shara said that fighters would be brought under the defense ministry’s authority. The announcement came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited captured Syrian territory.
• Optimism May Be on the Rise For a Cease-Fire Deal in Gaza. The pace of peace talks has picked up, pushed by multiple factors, including wars in Lebanon and Syria that have seriously weakened Hamas’s allies and the election victory of Donald J. Trump.
• In Visit to Territory Seized in Syria, Netanyahu Says Troops Will Stay. The previously unannounced trip highlighted Israel’s expanded military presence across the de facto border with Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
• Syria’s Rebel Leader Vows to Disband Armed Factions. The leader of the rebel coalition that swept to power last week said that fighters would be brought under the defense ministry’s authority. It was not immediately clear how that would be achieved.
• Syrian Rebel Leader Wants Sanctions Lifted, as al-Assad Defends Exit. Ahmed al-Shara urged nations to remove sanctions from Syria and the terrorism designation from his group so Syria could rebuild. Bashar al-Assad also gave his first account of fleeing to Russia.
• Syria’s top rebel tries out the role of top diplomat. In an interview, Ahmed al-Shara shed his green fatigues and sought to leave his militant past behind to talk of rebuilding the state.
• The U.S. military says its airstrikes killed 12 Islamic State operatives in Syria.
• Tice’s Mother Asks Netanyahu for Pause in Syria Strikes to Search for Journalist. Debra Tice wrote to the Israeli prime minister that her family had “credible information” that Austin Tice may be held in a prison outside Damascus, in an area where Israel had been conducting military operations.
• Here’s what to know.
• Al-Assad Wanted to Stay in Syria and Fight, Statement Says. The country’s former leader, Bashar al-Assad, appeared to give his first account of his flight from Syria in a statement posted to a Facebook account used by his presidency.
• Bashar al-Assad appears to give his first account of leaving Syria. a statement posted to the facebook account once used by president assad when he was in office
• Syria’s New Leadership Takes Early Steps Toward Recognition. A little over a week after taking power, the rebel alliance that led the overthrow of the Assad regime has begun to receive diplomats in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
• Israel Carries Out Heavy Strikes on Syria’s Coast, Monitor Says. Overnight strikes targeted former army positions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. Israel has said it aims to keep military equipment away from extremists.
• Turkey’s Sway In Syria Spells Risk for Kurds. The Kurds helped the United States contain the Islamic State. Now they fear a resurgent Turkey that has long considered them an adversary. Here’s a guide.
• Diplomatic Row With Ireland Leads Israel to Close Embassy. Amid mounting international criticism of its military conduct in Gaza, Israel says it will deepen ties with countries it considers friendly toward it.
• Israel Bombards Gaza; North and Center Hit. Israel’s military said it carried out strikes and raids against Hamas targets in northern Gaza on Sunday. The actions followed days of deadly attacks across the territory.
• Past Holds Clues To Ruling Style Of Syrian Rebels. The Islamist rebels who ousted Syria’s dictator ran a pragmatic and disciplined administration in the territory they controlled. They also jailed their critics.
• Bombing of Syrian Military Sites Is Necessary to Foil ‘Extremists,’ Israel Says. The Israeli military hit weapons depots and air defenses, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israel has said it aims to keep military equipment away from extremists.
• As Peace Settles on a Town, Its People Rush to Get Back Home. Elated residents are trickling home to their shattered Syrian town, a rebel stronghold controlled until recently by the government.
• Hezbollah Loses Supply Route Through Syria, in Blow to It and Iran. The militant group’s leader admits that the toppling of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, cut off an important land route from Iran.

New York

• Top Uniformed N.Y.P.D. Officer Resigns After Abuse Allegations. Jeffrey Maddrey traded sexual favors for overtime, according to a report from The New York Post. He had previously been accused of harassment on the job.
• These Trash Bins Take Some Getting Used To. Citywide rules now require more buildings to place trash bags inside containers for pickup. Many New Yorkers are thrilled to see fewer rats, but some are discovering new headaches.
• Tea and Tennis, and Plenty of Snacks. Sophia Cheng, the founder of Oddball, takes a snack tour around the city, breaks for tennis and wards off the Sunday scaries with Channing Tatum.
• White Judge Who Threatened to Shoot Black Teens at Party Resigns. Justice Erin P. Gall of Oneida County, N.Y., faced removal from office after a judicial commission found that she engaged in a “racially offensive, profane” tirade at a high school graduation party.
• Suspect in Killing of C.E.O. To Face State Charges Soon. Luigi Mangione faces terror and murder charges in New York court. A federal prosecution is proceeding in parallel.
• At Luigi Mangione’s Perp Walk, Mayor Eric Adams Appeared Stage Right. In widely seen images, Mayor Eric Adams was behind Mr. Mangione, a murder suspect, when he arrived in Manhattan. Some questioned the mayor’s motives.
• Table for 2 at Tatiana? There Used to Be a Bot for That. A new state law will clamp down on what Gov. Kathy Hochul called a “predatory black market” for restaurant reservations.
• Look, Up in the Sky! It’s a, Well, No One’s Quite Sure. No matter how many official voices declare there is no drone emergency, conspiracy theories continue to flourish. We’ve been here before.
• Hochul Weighs Legislation Limiting A.I. and More Than 100 Other Bills. A bill passed by the New York State Legislature to regulate the state’s use of artificial intelligence is among more than 100 that await Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision.
• Former Knicks Star Clashes With Dolan Lawyer Over Run-In at Garden. Charles Oakley answered questions in a federal courtroom on why he didn’t preserve old text messages that might have shed light on the case.
• Tisch Shakes Up N.Y.P.D. Staff and Orders 500 Officers Back to Key Roles. Commissioner Jessica Tisch is replacing the Police Department’s head of communications, who had clashed with reporters, and sending many officers back to patrol.
• New York to Pay $10 Million in Woman’s Death After Abuse in Group Home. The state in 2019 paid a $2 million abuse settlement. In retaliation, staff members withheld the victim’s medicine, and she died in a hospital.
• Ex-Top Aide to Mayor Adams and Her Son Are Charged in Corruption Case. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned as the mayor’s chief adviser, was charged in a bribery scheme involving $100,000 for a new Porsche for her son.
• Adams Hosts Fox News at City Hall, as N.Y. Leaders Mute Trump Hostility. In an interview, Mayor Eric Adams criticized the Biden administration and did not take aim at President-elect Donald J. Trump. He is not the only New York Democrat treading lightly.
• Read the Criminal Complaint Against Luigi Mangione. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have filed four charges against Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive.
• Andrew Cuomo Plans to Sue Harassment Accuser for Defamation. Mr. Cuomo, the former governor of New York, accused a former aide, Charlotte Bennett, of falsely saying that he sexually harassed her, harming his political future.
• Suspect in C.E.O.’s Killing Faces U.S. Charges and Possible Death Penalty. Federal authorities filed a total of four counts against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.
• F.A.A. Bans Drone Flights Near ‘Critical’ Regions of New Jersey. The temporary ban covers parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. The F.A.A. also issued a monthlong ban on drone flights over a large swath of New Jersey.
• The Congresswoman Wore an F.D.N.Y. Jacket. In her official portrait, former Representative Carolyn Maloney posed in the jacket, which referenced her support for health benefits for 9/11 workers.
• A Jaw-Dropping Backyard Find: Mastodon Teeth. Remarkably well preserved ice age remains like those discovered recently in a yard near Scotchtown, N.Y., are rare — but not as rare as you might think.
• Once a Haven for Families, Now Unaffordable to Them. Families in Washington Heights are being pushed out by rising rents and costs, and New York City is losing its youngest demographic group.
• New York City Approves Pact For Elite School Test System. The vote by the Panel for Educational Policy came after a contentious five-hour meeting. The exam for eight highly competitive high schools will now be computerized.
• Suspect in Insurance C.E.O.’s Murder Is Said to Face Federal Charges. The nature of the potential charges against Luigi Mangione was unclear, but they could allow federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
• Congestion Pricing Settlement Stalls Between New York and New Jersey. Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York offered New Jersey “generous” incentives to settle its lawsuit against the tolling plan. A judge could soon determine the program’s fate.
• Bat Feces Used to Fertilize Cannabis Is Linked to 2 Deaths. Two men in Rochester, N.Y., died after being infected with a rare fungus found in bat feces, which is sometimes used as fertilizer, researchers wrote in a medical journal.
• $100,000 Porsche Loan at Center of Charges Against Ex-Adams Aide. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, her son, and two businessmen were expected to be arraigned on bribery charges connected to the loan for Lewis-Martin’s son.
• Man Who Ran New York Security Outpost Says He Was Agent for China. Chen Jinping used the office in Lower Manhattan to quash dissent against the Chinese government. The Justice Department is fighting Beijing’s efforts to wield its influence secretly.
• New York City to Pay $92.5 Million to Improperly Detained Immigrants. The city was accused of unlawfully holding more than 20,000 people beyond their scheduled release dates between 1997 and 2012 to comply with ICE detainer requests.
• What to Know About the Charges Against Luigi Mangione. The man the authorities say killed UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive is accused of crimes in Pennsylvania and New York, including first-degree murder, which is a terrorism charge.
• Read the decision. A court ruled that the New Jersey attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, overstepped his authority by seizing control of the Paterson Police Department.
• New Jersey Wrong to Seize A City’s Police, Court Rules. New Jersey’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, seized control of the Paterson Police Department in March 2023. He vowed to appeal a ruling that found he had overstepped his authority.
• Report Finds Police Cards Have Created Gap in Justice. Videos released by a New Jersey government watchdog have pierced a veil of secrecy around cards that can be used to avoid traffic tickets.
• 500 Drones Over Central Park? Nothing to Worry About. Both Central and Prospect Parks are planning drone shows on New Year’s Eve, after canceling their usual fireworks displays.
• Who Will Be New Jersey’s Next Governor? It’s Wide Open. At least 10 candidates are vying for attention, including two members of Congress, two mayors, a far-right radio host and a former state senator known as “Ed the Trucker.”
• Tax Preparer Known as ‘the Magician’ Bilked I.R.S. Out of $145 Million. A businessman in the Bronx falsified information on thousands of returns, committing one of the largest tax frauds in Department of Justice history, prosecutors said.
• Luigi Mangione Is Charged With Murder. The first-degree murder charge branded him a terrorist over the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, Brian Thompson.
• Trump Accuses Juror of Misconduct in Latest Move to Overturn Conviction. The president-elect’s most recent attempt to overturn his Manhattan conviction was rebuffed by the judge overseeing the case, who said it was based on “mere hearsay and conjecture.”
• Mangione Charges Include Accusation of Terrorism. A grand jury formally indicted Luigi Mangione in the killing of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.
• In New York Mayor’s Case, A Bribery Count Is Upheld. Lawyers for Mayor Eric Adams of New York had asked for the bribery charge to be thrown out, but the judge was not persuaded.
• Gilgo Beach Defendant Is Charged in a Seventh Killing. The man whom authorities call a serial killer was charged with second-degree murder in the case of Valerie Mack, who disappeared in 2000.
• The Mayor’s Week Gets Off to a Rough Start. Eric Adams loses his closest aide and is denied access to public matching funds. But Donald Trump said he would consider pardoning him.
• As Adams and Trump Get Cozier, Some New York Republicans Recoil. Donald J. Trump is speaking sympathetically about Mayor Eric Adams, but Republicans in New York still view the mayor with skepticism.
• Woman Who Stowed Away on Paris Flight Tries to Flee by Bus to Canada. The woman, Svetlana Dali, had been ordered to wear an ankle monitor after her arrest, but she cut it off and boarded a bus, a law enforcement official said.
• Judge Denies Trump’s Bid To Throw Out Conviction. Justice Juan M. Merchan thwarted one of several attempts by Donald J. Trump to clear his record of 34 felonies before returning to the White House.
• Gilgo Beach Prosecutor Promises Major Development in Serial Killing Case. The defendant, Rex Heuermann, is due in court Tuesday. Investigators have been trying to tie him to other unsolved killings on Long Island.
• Real Estate Leaders Sue to Stop New York’s Overhaul of Broker Fees. A law in New York City shifting broker fees from renters to landlords is set to take effect in June. Real estate leaders want to stop it.
• For Mayor of New York, Empathy From Trump. President-elect Donald J. Trump’s comment reflects an unusual relationship that Mr. Adams, the New York mayor, has encouraged as his federal corruption trial nears.
• Governor of New Jersey Grants His First Pardons. The women, who had been abused, were recommended for clemency by a panel that Philip D. Murphy, New Jersey’s governor, set up.
• Way Cleared To Start Trial Of Ex-Official In New York. The former lieutenant governor of New York, Brian Benjamin, is accused of funneling state money to a local real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions.
• The Deadly Lure of Subway Surfing. For more than a century, people have climbed on top of moving trains in search of a thrill. Now social media has attracted a new generation of daredevils.
• Board Denies Adams Public Matching Funds For a Re-election Bid. The New York City Campaign Finance Board voted to withhold as much as $4.3 million in matching funds from Mayor Eric Adams, as he faces federal corruption charges focused on his fund-raising practices.
• The Reverberations of the Daniel Penny Verdict. Penny was acquitted in the chokehold killing of Jordan Neely. The case has set off a debate over justice, race and the treatment of mentally ill people.
• Private Schools Group Apologizes After Claims of Antisemitism at Event. After criticism from Jewish groups over speeches at a conference, the president of the National Association of Independent Schools said future addresses would be vetted.
• See How Much NYC's Congestion Pricing Plan Would Cost You. A new toll on drivers hopes to reduce traffic in one of the world’s most congested cities. How would it work?
• Grand Jury Is Said to Hear Evidence on Adams Aide. Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have presented evidence that is focused at least in part on Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who was the top aide to Eric Adams until her resignation.
• ‘At the End of the Bench, a Man Was Leaning Against the Railing’ Curiosity rewarded on the C train, a Christmas gift and more reader tales of New York City in this week’s Metropolitan Diary.
• Hochul May Face a Challenger She Knows Well: Her Lieutenant Governor. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has begun to carve out his own political path, potentially putting him on a collision course with his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul.
• Weeks of Drone Sightings Leave New Jerseyans Muttering, and on Edge. In the Garden State, where the rash of sightings started a month ago, residents are looking to the skies, wondering why they still don’t have definitive answers from officials.

Business

• Amazon Warehouse Workers in New York City Join Protest. The workers’ union hopes that adding employees at the Staten Island warehouse to a protest started by delivery drivers will increase pressure on Amazon.
• Party City to Close All Stores by February, Company Says. In an internal letter, the company said inflation and changes in consumer spending had forced it to shut its more than 700 stores.
• Hitting Home for the Holidays: A Jump in Egg Prices. Costs have soared again amid a bird flu outbreak, bringing renewed attention to the fact that while inflation is cooling, prices are still elevated.
• Is ‘People Pleasing’ Giving You Money Problems? Here’s How to Fix Things. Spending money to avoid conflict or gain social acceptance can ruin your finances. Some self-reflection and support from professionals can help turn things around.
• ‘The Most Influential Chef in Korea’ Anh Sung-jae went to America as a 13-year-old, joined the Army, went to culinary school and opened a top restaurant in San Francisco. Now back home in South Korea, he’s a Netflix star.
• Volkswagen Reaches Labor Deal, Avoiding Plant Closures. The automaker agreed to keep all 10 of its factories in Germany open and to guarantee workers’ jobs until the end of 2030.
• Regulators Sue 3 Big Banks Over Rampant Fraud on Zelle. Action against Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo may not survive President-elect Donald J. Trump’s return to office.
• Wall St. Is at It Again, Making Irrelevant Market Predictions. Optimistic guesses about the future are not forecasts, our columnist says.
• Trump Transfers Media Company Shares. A regulatory filing showed that the president-elect transferred some 115 million shares of Trump Media to a trust controlled by his son Donald Trump Jr.
• Macau Is the Casino Capital of the World. For China, That’s Not Enough. A quarter century after the former Portuguese colony was made a Chinese territory, Macau’s economic boundaries with the mainland are being blurred.
• Amazon Reaches Settlement to Resolve Federal Safety Accusations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration agreed to withdraw citations at nine of 10 warehouses where it had flagged violations; the company agreed to a $145,000 penalty.
• American Airlines Settles Racial Discrimination Case. Three Black men had accused the airline of wrongly forcing them to get off a plane for an hour because of a complaint about body odor.
• Amid Spending Talks Over a Debt Limit, Rumblings by Trump. President-elect Donald J. Trump was forced to negotiate with Democrats over the borrowing cap during his first term.
• Britain’s Economy Is ‘Bumbling’ Into the New Year. Stubborn inflation, tax rises and high interest rates make it difficult for many to muster optimism, at least in the short term.
• Luka Doncic Wants Young Players to Embrace ‘Mess and Joy’ The N.B.A. star is worried that for too many youth basketball players, the sport is no longer fun. He’s trying to find ways to change that.
• G.M. Led in China for Years. Here’s How It Ended Up 16th in Sales. General Motors has gone from market leader to also-ran in the world’s largest car market, stymied by its own missteps and Chinese policies that favored its local rivals.
• Starbucks Has a Pumpkin Spice Latte Problem in China. For years, Starbucks was the dominant coffee chain in China. Now rivals offering local flavors and cheaper prices are crushing the company’s bottom line in its second-largest market.
• Stocks Plunge as Fed Forecasts Fewer Rate Cuts Next Year. The Federal Reserve cut rates for a third time this year, but investors shuddered at revised forecasts suggesting only two cuts in 2025.
• What to know about the Fed’s rate move. Federal Reserve officials projected just two rate cuts in 2025, and they made it clear that future reductions would hinge on inflation progress.
• Takeaways from the Fed’s final meeting of the year.
• Hyundai Supplier Ends Prison Contract. The supplier fired dozens of prisoners after some of them said they felt they had no choice but to take those jobs.
• The other interest rate that investors are watching today.
• Central Bankers Around the Globe Gird Themselves for Another Trump Term. Central bankers are alert to the risk that global trade tensions will make managing inflation more challenging.
• What Fed Rate Moves Mean for Your Finances. Here’s how the central bank’s interest rate moves influence car loans, credit cards, mortgages, savings and student loans.
• How to Read the Fed’s Projections Like a Pro. The Federal Reserve will release fresh economic estimates on Wednesday. Here’s how to read the outlook for 2025 and beyond.
• Fed Cuts Rates, but Sees Fewer in 2025. Federal Reserve officials projected just two rate cuts in 2025, and they made it clear that future reductions would hinge on inflation progress.
• A 7-Eleven Heir’s $50 Billion Fight to Keep the Company in the Family. A battle for control of the chain shows how traditional business models embraced by family owners are clashing with a more shareholder-centric approach.
• Honda and Nissan Weigh Possible Merger. The merger talks between Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers highlight the intense upheaval within the world’s auto industry.
• Senate Panel Discusses Sports Betting. With the industry’s popularity on the rise, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss its effect on athletes, the public and the integrity of games.
• Authorities in the U.K. Come Under Criticism For Sewage Overflows. The condemnation by a watchdog comes as England’s largest water company asks for an emergency loan and the nation wrestles with water pollution.
• A Look Inside Huawei’s Phone Shows How China’s Chip Advance Has Stalled. An analysis of Huawei’s latest series of smartphones, the Mate 70, found chips that showed little progress from those used in last year’s devices.
• In Rare Move, Disney Plans To Make Film With ‘Bluey’ BBC Studios and the Walt Disney Company will collaborate on a movie about the hit children’s character.
• Bracing for a Fed Pullback. Wall Street sees the central bank cutting interest rates on Wednesday. But growing worries about inflation are adding to investor uncertainty about its policy agenda for 2025.
• Secret Payments Allowed Opioid Pills to Flow Freely. Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.
• One Ski Resort’s Long-Shot Bet to Survive Low Snowfall and Devastating Wildfires. The closest ski hill to Los Angeles recently sold to an investment group with big plans. But can those ideas work amid catastrophic climate threats that continue to plague the mountain?
• Automakers Struggle With Market Shift and Competition From China. Changing technology, political turmoil and competition from China are cutting into profits and forcing carmakers to cut jobs and close factories.

DealBook

• From Inflation to Bitcoin, 9 Charts That Explain 2024. Rate cuts, stock surges, and Trump’s tariff threats are among the biggest forces shaping business and the economy.
• The Other Game. At the DealBook Summit, seven sports stars and experts discussed how building a brand as an athlete has changed.
• Who’s in Charge? Donald Trump has yet to take office but the president-elect and Elon Musk are already influencing policy, putting the federal government hours away from a shut down.
• Britannica Didn’t Just Survive. It’s an A.I. Company Now. The encyclopedia maker could have become a casualty of the Wikipedia era. But it has remade itself into a digital learning giant that is weighing going public.
• Artificial Intelligence in 2030. At the DealBook Summit, ten experts in artificial intelligence discussed the greatest opportunities and risks posed by the technology.
• Why the Specter of Trump Hangs Over the Fed, Congress and the Markets. The President-elect takes office in a month, but his influence on policy is already being felt by investors and across Washington.
• The New Politics. At the DealBook Summit, nine prominent political figures, advisers and journalists debated what drove Trump’s victory and what it means for politics going forward. Here’s what they said.
• Is Elon Musk a National Security Risk? Federal agencies are reviewing whether the tech mogul and ally of Donald Trump complied with disclosure rules meant to protect state secrets.
• Giving Pledge Group, Led by Gates and Buffett, Removes Billionaire Accused of Fraud. Arif Naqvi, founder of the Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based private equity firm that collapsed in 2018, was indicted by U.S. prosecutors in 2019.
• How Much Progress Have Women Made at Work? At the DealBook Summit, nine prominent female leaders set out to answer the question, “Why aren’t there more women at the top levels of corporate America?”
• Are Tariffs Inevitable? World leaders and C.E.O.s are struggling to convince President-elect Donald Trump to shift his position on imposing new levies against America’s trade partners and its rivals.
• Google’s Sundar Pichai on Antitrust, Trump and A.I. Google’s chief executive spoke with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit

Economy

• For Economy To Be Rebuilt, The Sanctions Must Be Lifted. Years of strife ruined the energy sector, battered the currency and strangled growth. The West must ease financial controls to help the economy, experts say.
• A Shutdown’s Economic Toll: Less Spending, More Uncertainty. A short lapse in funding would probably do only modest damage. But it could send a troubling signal about government dysfunction.
• The Fed’s Preferred Inflation Measure Sped Up in November. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index climbed 2.4 percent from a year earlier, though the report’s details were more subdued than expected.
• Starbucks Workers Begin a Strike in 3 Cities on Friday. The walkouts in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle come after talks between the company and the workers’ union failed to produce an agreement on raises.
• Thousands Who Deliver For Amazon Go on Strike. The retail giant said it expected its operations to be largely unaffected by the strike of some drivers at contracting firms Amazon uses to deliver packages.
• Where Does a ‘Remarkable’ U.S. Economy Go From Here? America’s economy is far outstripping its peers, but there are serious risks, including from the president-elect.
• The Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates By a Quarter Percentage Point. Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, announced the central bank’s final interest rate cut for the year and suggested only two more reductions in 2025.
• A Stable Economy, But for How Long? President-elect Donald J. Trump’s proposals on tariffs, immigration, taxes and deregulation may have far-reaching and contradictory effects, adding uncertainty to forecasts.
• Tech Makes an Economic Case for Skilled Immigrants. Will Trump Bite? Silicon Valley hopes that tech giants like Elon Musk could help to push the incoming Trump administration toward offering more visas to highly skilled foreign workers.
• Wall St. Takes Rosy View of Trump Plans. Investors and executives are often emphasizing what they like in the president-elect’s agenda, while dismissing what they don’t as mere posturing.
• U.S. Casts Eye on Limiting ‘Legacy’ Chips From China. The investigation could result in tariffs on older types of chips from China, though the decision would ultimately fall to Trump.
• Amazon Quotas and Injuries Linked. A staff report by the Senate labor committee, led by Bernie Sanders, uncovered evidence of internal concern about high injury rates at the e-commerce giant.
• Trump and Powell’s Fed Appear Destined for Another Collision. Rates may not come down as much or as quickly as had been expected, just as Trump — a self-declared “low-rate guy” — returns to the White House.

Energy & Environment

• PG&E Secures $15 Billion Loan Via Energy Dept. The loan, the biggest-ever commitment from the Loan Programs Office, is intended to fund the California utility’s grid and climate resiliency projects.

Media

• ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine. Private messages detail an alleged campaign to smear Blake Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.”
• Kylie Kelce Doesn’t Want to Talk About Besting Joe Rogan. But in her first interview since her podcast reached No. 1, she does share ideas about why the show has become a breakout hit.
• Publishers Battle for the C-Suite. Numerous media outlets, looking for new lucrative lines of business, are pursuing newsletters and events aimed specifically at top executives.
• Inside End Of ABC Suit With Trump. Talks started and finished on the same day, after Disney decided that fighting the lawsuit could potentially hurt the company and protections for the press.
• Disney Cuts Trans Plotline From a Series. The animated “Win or Lose” follows a middle school softball team, and each episode is told from the perspective of a different character.
• Theater Debuts Ensure Streaming Hits. Just a few years ago, media executives thought theatrical releases didn’t benefit their streaming services. Now, many of them think the opposite.
• Co-Founder Of Ozy Media Gets 10 Years In Prison. A federal jury in July found Mr. Watson, who started the digital media company in 2013, guilty of trying to defraud investors and lenders.
• Message Sent With a Rise In Threats Of Libel Suits. The small flurry of threatened defamation suits is the latest sign that the incoming Trump administration appears poised to do what it can to crack down on unfavorable media coverage.
• ABC Will Settle Trump Lawsuit For $15 Million. The outcome of the lawsuit marks an unusual victory for President-elect Donald J. Trump in his ongoing legal campaign against national news organizations.

Your Money

• How a New Year’s Resolution Can Set Up Your Financial Goals for Success. Don’t give up on resolving to do better, psychologists and personal finance experts say. The key is to reframe the way you think about it.

Technology

• What’s Next for Google’s Search Monopoly. The federal judge who ruled Google was a monopolist in search is weighing his options to fix the monopoly. Here’s what happens now.
• Google Proposes Fix to Solve Search Monopoly. The search giant’s proposals included allowing flexibility for companies and consumers in choosing a search engine.
• OpenAI Unveils New A.I. That Can ‘Reason’ Through Math and Science Problems. The artificial intelligence start-up said the new system, OpenAI o3, outperformed leading A.I. technologies on tests that rate skills in math, science, coding and logic.
• Are Amazon’s Drones Finally Ready for Prime Time? A recent visit to the company’s overhauled drone delivery program in Arizona left me impressed by the drones, but skeptical that the public will welcome them.
• How Your Car Might Be Making Roads Safer. Researchers say data from long-haul trucks and General Motors cars is critical for addressing traffic congestion and road safety. Data privacy experts have their concerns.
• Nvidia’s Booming A.I. Business Collides With U.S.-Chinese Tensions. The chipmaker expects more than $10 billion in foreign sales this year, but the Biden administration is advancing rules that could curb that growth.
• Is the Tech Industry Already on the Cusp of an A.I. Slowdown? Companies like OpenAI and Google are running out of the data used to train artificial intelligence systems. Can new methods continue years of rapid progress?
• These Voters Want to ‘Stop the Steal.’ Top Democrats Aren’t Interested. A movement by some Democratic voters to investigate the results of the 2024 presidential election mirrors a push by Republicans in 2020. But it’s struggling.
• A.I. Start-Up’s Funding Haul Shows Investors Remain Enthusiastic. The artificial intelligence start-up’s funding shows investors remain enthusiastic about the A.I. boom.
• Musk Flouted Security Rules; Faces Reviews. Federal agencies have opened at least three reviews into whether the company and its leader complied with disclosure protocols intended to protect state secrets, people with knowledge of the matter said.
• Jeff Bezos Prepares to Close the Gap in His Space Race With Elon Musk. A new rocket from Mr. Bezos’ company Blue Origin and a satellite system from Amazon could heat up competition with SpaceX, owned by Mr. Musk.
• Why Does OpenAI Need So Much Money? Building a chatbot like ChatGPT requires billions upon billions of dollars. That’s the driving force behind OpenAI’s plans to change how it’s managed.
• How OpenAI Hopes to Sever Its Nonprofit Roots. As the maker of ChatGPT battles Google and Meta for A.I. supremacy, it’s also fighting to end control by a nonprofit board.
• A Ride-Hailing Start-Up in Washington Tries to ‘Out-Uber Uber’ A company called Empower is trying to take on Uber, Lyft and local regulators as it piles up fines and draws new passengers to its service.
• Phones Fueling Violent Scenes At U.S. Schools. Cafeteria melees. Students kicked in the head. Injured educators. Technology is stoking cycles of violence in schools across the United States.

Personal Tech

• How to Find Your Way Around That Updated Photos App. Redesigned interfaces, new features and artificial intelligence are meant to enhance the experience, even if the changes can be confusing at first.

Sports

Pro Football

• The Fair Catch Free Kick, and 4 Other Obscure-but-Real N.F.L. Rules. On Thursday, the Los Angeles Chargers pulled off a rare “free-kick field goal.” There are other oddball rules in the book if you dig deep enough.

Obituaries

• Ann Rockefeller Roberts, 90, Champion of Native Americans. The eldest daughter of Nelson Rockefeller, she founded a nonprofit to support Indigenous culture and helped fill two institutions with artifacts.
• Cathy Cade, 82, Who Photographed Same-Sex Female Relationships, Dies. She became a photographer the same year she came out, chronicling the lives of women in same-sex relationships — something most people had never seen.
• Marisa Paredes, 78, Acclaimed Diva of Spanish Cinema. A prolific actress, she was best known globally for her work with the filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, with whom she had a stormy relationship.
• Joanne Pierce Misko, Ex-Nun Who Made F.B.I. History, Dies at 83. She and Susan Malone were sworn in together in 1972 as the first female agents, only months after the bureau opened the door to women.
• The Rev. James Callan, Renegade Catholic Priest, Dies at 77. He was excommunicated in 1999 after allowing women to celebrate Mass, blessing same-sex unions and offering communion to non-Catholics.
• Sir Lady Java, Trailblazing Drag Star Who Challenged a Law in Los Angeles. Long before the term “drag queen” was widely used, her act was popular in the Black entertainment world but barred under a Los Angeles municipal code.
• Orrin H. Pilkey, Geologist Who Fought to Save Beaches, Is Dead at 90. An eminent geologist, he argued against putting condos and hotels on vulnerable coastal landscapes. Environmentalists applauded; many others didn’t.
• Lorraine O’Grady, 90, Late-Blooming Artist Who Defied Category, Dies. She worked in collage, photography, performance, video and installation, and she dealt forthrightly with the complexities of race and gender.
• Polly Mellen, an Unassailable Fashion Editor at Vogue, Is Dead at 100. With photographers like Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Bert Stern and others, the veteran editor created some of the most indelible images of modern fashion.
• Robert Fernandez, Who Survived Pearl Harbor as a Teen, Dies at 100. He was a 17-year-old sailor aboard the U.S.S. Curtiss when Japanese forces attacked. He said he had joined the Navy to see the world.

Art & Design

• Rick Kaufmann, 77, Impresario of Art Furniture in ‘70s and ‘80s, Dies. Was it art or was it furniture? No one was quite sure what to make of the New York movement that an idiosyncratic gallerist led in the 1970s and ’80s.

Cultura

• Marisa Paredes, icono del cine español, muere a los 78 años. Actriz prolífica, era mundialmente conocida por su trabajo con el cineasta Pedro Almodóvar, con quien tuvo una relación por momentos tensa.

Dance

• Arlene Croce, 90, Critic Whose Dance Reviews Could Cut Deep, Dies. Writing for The New Yorker, she was both admired and feared, wielding a sometimes merciless pen. Her study of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers drew accolades.

DealBook

• David Bonderman, 82, Pioneer in the Private Equity World. A globe-trotting lawyer turned investor, he helped transform a cottage industry into a colossus with influence on Wall Street and beyond.

Media

• Troy Masters, Pioneering L.G.B.T.Q. Journalist, Dies at 63. He was at the helm of several influential publications, notably Gay City News in New York City and, since 2017, The Los Angeles Blade.
• William J. Hennessy Jr., Sketch Artist of Courtroom Drama, Dies at 67. His lively drawings of historic Supreme Court arguments, impeachment trials and murder cases gave the public a peek into venues where cameras were banned.
• E.B. Furgurson III, 70, Reporter Who Covered Attack on His Paper. After five people were killed in the newsroom, he set up a work space in the back of his pickup truck and made sure the next day’s issue was published.

Music

• Michael Brewer, 80, Whose ‘One Toke’ Was a Big Hit, Dies. The duo Brewer & Shipley reached the Top 10 in 1970 with “One Toke Over the Line,” a ditty about marijuana that ran afoul of Nixon-era censors.
• Zakir Hussain, Indian Percussionist Who Fused Music Styles, Dies at 73. His collaborators included John McLaughlin, Béla Fleck, Ravi Shankar, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Grateful Dead.

Politics

• Jim Leach, 82, Iowa Republican Who Extolled Moderation, Is Dead. During his 30 years in Congress, he resisted his party’s rightward tilt. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and became a Democrat in 2022.
• Richard W. Murphy, Roving Diplomat in World Hot Spots, Dies at 95. As a State Department Arabist, he served as ambassador to three Arab countries and helped broker the end of a 15-year civil war in Lebanon.

Pro Basketball

• Dick Van Arsdale, 81, N.B.A. All-Star And Half of a Hard-to-Tell-Apart Duo. A three-time All-Star, he played for the Knicks and the Phoenix Suns. For one season, he and Tom Van Arsdale were hard-to-tell-apart teammates.

Briefing

• Your Favorite Things. Today, your highly personal, hyperspecific best-ofs of 2024.
• The House Voted to Avert a Government Shutdown. Also, Canada’s leader suffered another setback. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.
• When We Roll Back the Rules. We cover America’s embrace of individual freedom.
• The New York Times News Quiz, Dec. 20, 2024. Did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz to see how well you stack up with other Times readers.
• Friday Briefing. The rape trial that horrified France.
• 2024 Faces Quiz. See how well you know the defining personalities of 2024 with The New York Times Faces Quiz.
• 2024 Faces Quiz: Culture. See how well you know the television, movie, music and literary figures of 2024 with The New York Times Faces Quiz.
• 2024 Faces Quiz: Sports. See how well you know the athletes of 2024 with The New York Times Faces Quiz.
• 2024 Faces Quiz: Politics. See how well you know the politicians of 2024 with The New York Times Faces Quiz.
• Republicans Offered a Plan to Avoid a Government Shutdown. Also, country music was ubiquitous in 2024. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
• Friday Briefing: 51 Men Convicted in French Rape Trial. Plus, the year in viral moments.
• Electoral Wishcasting. We cover a lesson from the Democrats’ 2024 defeat.
• Thursday Briefing. Syrian soldiers step toward amnesty.
• The Fed Cut Rates and Signaled a Long Fight Against Inflation. Also, California declared an emergency over bird flu. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.
• Wednesday Briefing: Russia Arrests a Suspected Assassin. Plus, the big stories of 2024 through our photographers’ eyes.
• The Photos that Defined 2024. The year was made up of extraordinary moments — and Times photographers captured them in extraordinary images.
• Wednesday Briefing. Here’s what you need to know.
• Ukraine Said It Assassinated a Russian General in Moscow. Also, Elon Musk and SpaceX face national security reviews. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
• Monday Briefing: Ukraine says it killed a Russian General. Plus, the search for a van Gogh masterpiece.
• The Unintended Consequences of Tariffs. The biggest benefits often emerge outside the countries engaged in a trade war.
• Tuesday Briefing. Germany’s political turmoil.
• Trump Held His First News Conference as President-Elect. Also, Syria’s new leader called for sanctions to be lifted. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
• Tuesday Briefing: Syria’s New Leader Calls for Lifting Sanctions. Plus, the breakout stars of 2024.
• Hints That Trump’s Second Term May Be Chaotic. We cover the people who will surround Donald Trump in his second term.
• Monday Briefing. Here’s what you need to know.
• Monday Briefing: South Korea’s Power Vacuum. Plus, how travel benefits us.
• A Trip to New York. Expert advice to make the most of a New York City vacation.

Podcasts

• André 3000 Performs in the New York Times Newsroom. After an interview on The Times’s Popcast podcast, André 3000 and the band behind “New Blue Sun” — featuring Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, Carlos Niño and Deantoni Parks — performed an improvised piece in the newsroom.
• André 3000 Performs Surprise Concert in The NY Times Newsroom. André 3000 and the band behind “New Blue Sun” — featuring Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, Carlos Niño and Deantoni Parks — perform in The Times’ newsroom.
• How Anti-Obesity Drugs are Redefining Pharma and Wellness. Listen to our interview with David Ricks and Fatima Cody Stanford.
• From Amazon to Space — Jeff Bezos Talks Innovation, Progress and What’s Next. Listen to our interview with Jeff Bezos.
• Bill Clinton: ‘There Was No Plan’ After Biden Dropped Out. Listen to our interview with Bill Clinton.
• Serena Williams on Her Impact in Sports and Beyond. Listen to our interview with Serena Williams.
• Jerome Powell on the Fed’s Role in America’s Financial Future. Listen to our interview with Jerome Powell.
• Sundar Pichai on A.I., Regulation and What’s Next for Google. Listen to our interview with Sundar Pichai.
• Prince Harry on His Murdoch Tabloid Fight and Big Tech. Listen to our interview with Prince Harry.
• Ken Griffin Says ‘America Is Open For Business Again’ Listen to our interview with Ken Griffin.
• Sam Altman on the Future of A.I. and Society. Listen to our interview with Sam Altman.
• Alex Cooper on Building a Media Brand. Listen to our interview with Alex Cooper.
• Is Amazon’s Drone Delivery Finally Ready for Prime Time? We flew to Arizona to test the recently debuted service ourselves.
• What a Shutdown Could Look Like, and a ‘Healthy’ Food Fight. Plus, real estate’s trendiest mash-up: the “barndo.”
• 51 Men Found Guilty in France Rape Trial, and a U.S. Shutdown Looms. Plus, man vs. hornet.
• Fed Expected to Cut Rates, and C.E.O. Shooting Suspect Branded Terrorist. Plus, a beefy new skin care trend.
• Your Worst Dates Ever: With Joel Kim Booster. The actor and host of the podcast “Bad Dates” brings a fresh perspective to your worst dates.
• A Perilous Time for Europe, and a Brazen Assassination in Moscow. Plus, a school shooting in Wisconsin.
• Trump Threatens More News Outlets, and Injuries at Amazon’s Warehouses. Plus, a troubling trend in American schools.
• The Narrator. Banias is an 8-year-old living in Gaza, and she has a story to tell — many stories, in fact.

The Daily

• Ring-Kissing, Lawsuits and a Looming Shutdown. Watch or listen to our political round table about the aftermath of the 2024 election.
• Ring-Kissing, Defamation Lawsuits and a Looming Shutdown. On this week’s round table, Michael Barbaro sits down with Maggie Haberman, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Catie Edmondson to discuss the latest news in Donald J. Trump’s transition to power.
• Musk, Ring-Kissing and a Looming Shutdown. Andrew Ross Sorkin sits down with Michael Barbaro to discuss raising the debt ceiling and Elon Musk’s political impact.
• Crypto’s Big Bet Is Paying Off. How the cryptocurrency industry grew to where it is now, and how Donald Trump gave it a boost.
• France’s Horrifying Rape Trial Has a Feminist Hero. Gisèle Pelicot’s former husband and 50 other men are accused of raping her. Her poise and courage have made her an icon.
• Syria Unearths Years of Atrocities. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, tens of thousands have been released from his brutal prisons. This is the story of one man who made it out.
• Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue. President-elect Donald J. Trump and his supporters exerted intense political pressure to salvage his pick for the Department of Defense.
• The Sunday Read: ‘What if A.I. Is Actually Good for Hollywood?’ It’s already powering remarkable visual innovations, like in the new movie “Here.” But boosters think that’s just the beginning.

Science

• One of 2024’s Last Meteor Showers Is About to Reach Its Peak. The astronomical event, which overlaps with the Winter Solstice, is often overlooked because of the winter chill.
• A Mouse That Swims and Dozens More Species Are Discovered in a Peruvian Jungle. A 38-day expedition in the remote Alto Mayo region, where development threatens wild habitats, turned up one previously unknown animal after another.
• Popular Arthritis Drug for Dogs May Have Severe Side Effects, F.D.A. Says. The agency recommended that the maker of Librela update its label to reflect the possibility of more serious adverse reactions.
• This Brazilian Velvet Ant Is So Dark That It’s Ultrablack. Scientists found that the dark markings on a species of fluffy wasp reflected less than 1 percent of light.
• A Grisly Discovery at a Bronze Age Mass Grave: The Victims Were Eaten, Too. “It’s taken us all aback,” said a professor who led a study revealing that 37 people in a prehistoric site in England were likely consumed by their attackers.

Space & Cosmos

• A Solstice of the Soul. For his next trick, your cosmic correspondent for the past quarter-century will (try to) retire.

Climate

• E.P.A. Administrator Michael Regan to Depart at End of December. Mr. Regan informed agency employees that he would leave before the formal end of the Biden term.
• How the Climate Crisis Became an Insurance Crisis. Even in formerly low-risk areas, home insurers are raising premiums and ending coverage. The upheaval could push down home values and reverberate through the economy.
• Biden, Headed to the Exit, Sets an Aggressive Climate Goal for the U.S. The promise of deeper emissions cuts will very likely be ignored by the Trump administration, but officials hoped it would send a signal to the world.
• California Gets Approval to Ban Gas-Powered New Car Sales by 2035. The Trump administration is expected to revoke the program, setting up a legal clash between the state and federal government.
• Youth Climate Activists Get Major Win in Montana Supreme Court. The court agreed that the state’s energy policies violated Montanans’ constitutional right to a clean environment.
• Insurers Are Deserting Homeowners as Climate Shocks Worsen. Without insurance, it’s impossible to get a mortgage; without a mortgage, most Americans can’t buy a home.
• See Where Home Insurance Policies Were Dropped in Your State. Insurers are retreating from communities across the country that face growing risks from hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters. Here’s how your area compares.
• Worrying Signs From the Arctic. Scientists are seeing changes that could have consequences for the whole planet.
• Selling L.N.G. Overseas Is Said To Risk Higher Costs at Home. The long-awaited study was criticized by the oil and gas industry and could help environmental groups that want to stop new export terminals.
• Fusion Start-Up Plans to Build Its First Power Plant in Virginia. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an M.I.T. spinoff, aims to generate carbon-free electricity in an industrial park near Richmond in the early 2030s.
• A Holistic Concept to Save the Planet. We tend to look at environmental problems in isolation. A holistic approach would be more effective, a new report says.
• Pace of Gas Exports Is Called Unsustainable by Energy Official. Jennifer Granholm said a new analysis showed that the continued pace of exports was “neither sustainable nor advisable.”

The Upshot

• Flashback: Your Weekly History Quiz, Dec. 21, 2024. Can you sort 8 historical events?
• How Drug Overdose Deaths Have Plagued One Generation of Black Men for Decades. In dozens of cities, the recent rise of fentanyl has put older Black men in particular jeopardy.
• Postmortems Are Bad at Predictions: Democrats May Just Need a ‘Change’ Election. An opening will probably emerge for Democrats in four years, but it may not be what the party and pundits expect today.
• Week 16 N.F.L. Playoff Picture: A Team-by-Team Guide. With three weeks to go in the N.F.L. season, these detailed tables and scenarios explain every team’s paths to the playoffs — and to better seeding.

Opinion

• For Some, a Silver Lining In Alzheimer’s Caregiving. Readers discuss a guest essay by a woman who finds things to cherish in caring for her dad.
• A Legacy of Essential Humanitarian Aid. Catholic Charities provides help to the poor, homeless, hungry and the most vulnerable immigrants.
• Calls to the Media: Fight Trump’s Lawsuits. Readers discuss lawsuits against The Des Moines Register and ABC News. Also: Violence in school; a Mideast bridge; cash and the disabled; murder is wrong.
• There’s Still Time for the Senate to Support the First Amendment. Trump hasn’t been the least bit reticent about his plans to reshape Washington in his image.
• The Moments That Shaped 2024, in 17 Photos. The people, places and objects that held our collective attention in this election year.
• Democrats, Don’t Forget the Atheists. Galvanize these voters without alienating of party members of faith would be pretty easy.
• Aghast at a Move to Revoke Polio Vaccine. Readers write about the polio vaccine and the dread of the disease in the past. Also: Reducing crime; the Unabomber’s victims; health insurances woes.
• 62 Books ‘The Ezra Klein Show’ Guests Recommended This Year. An eclectic list of works that influenced, intrigued and entertained our guests.
• Pre-emptive Pardons, Wanted or Not. Responses to a guest essay by Sarah Isgur, who is on Kash Patel’s enemies list. Also: A strategy intended to prevent suicides; a renewal of hope.
• Worthwhile Canadian Resignation. Chrystia Freeland’s departure raises questions about how sharply Trudeau will counter Trump.
• I Hope Hegseth’s Accuser Testifies. The possibility that she was drugged means the Senate needs to learn every detail of what happened.
• Should the President Have Nuclear Sole Authority? We Asked 530 Incoming Congress Members. If there is a widespread urgency in Congress to cooperate on bills that create safeguards around nuclear war, it was not apparent.
• Trump Can Pull Us Back From the Nuclear Brink. He is about to regain control of the country’s nuclear arsenal at one of the most volatile times in history.
• A Spineless Senate Abandons a Qualified Judge. The attacks on Adeel Mangi were without merit.
• New York Won’t Be Burned Twice by Mayor Adams’s Deceit. The council should make campaign finance reform a priority, even if it has to override a mayoral veto.
• Ways to Fix the Health Insurance Debacle. Responses to an essay by Andrew Witty, the C.E.O. of UnitedHealth Group. Also: Threats to democracy, in Hungary and America; a check on Trump; avoiding taxes.
• Short Books Are Perfect for Our Distracted Age. There is something special about works I can read in full on a rainy Sunday afternoon or in the lamplight hours between supper and bedtime.
• Don’t Cut an Agency So Vital to Our Health. Readers worry about cuts to the National Institutes of Health. Also: Maternity wards; overdose deaths; vetting presidential candidates; tech tycoons in charge.

Letters

• Elon Musk’s Growing Political Influence. Readers discuss his role in the government shutdown negotiations. Also: Trump austerity; G.O.P.’s future; clean energy; guns and young people.

Op-Ed

• This Christmas Seems Different. Why religious trends in the later 2020s might be different from the trends of the 2010s.
• Finally, the Male Movie Star Is Back. For decades, the film industry seemed to forget how to mint new male matinee idols. Then came a much-needed windfall.
• A Conversation About the Virgin Birth That Maybe Wasn’t. The scholar Elaine Pagels discusses her research about ancient accounts suggesting that Jesus’ father might have been a Roman.
• Why I Would Never Donate Sperm in the United States. Children deserve better than to feel left in the dark against their will.
• The Budget Fight and Trump’s Nihilistic Style. A surprise congressional standoff remind us that big, discordant change could be coming.
• The Fate of This Federal Program Helps Explain Trump’s Win. It was a cushion for workers hurt by free trade. Why did Congress let it lapse?
• We Need a Great American Fantasy. In search of a New World answer to Narnia and Hogwarts.
• The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’ The film feels like an artifact of a more optimistic feminist moment.
• The Great Drone Freak-Out Is Coming. The Drone Age is already upon us and the skies are going to get a lot more crowded.
• Yes, Biden’s Green Future Can Still Happen Under Trump. Jigar Shah and Robinson Meyer discuss how the decarbonization rollout can continue during the second Trump administration.
• ‘It Will Be a More Robust Check on Trump Than the G.O.P. Congress’: Three Legal Experts on Trump 2.0. Opinion writers discuss potential legal issues and executive power in a second Trump term.
• Packed Cubicles, Empty Corner Office: Remote Work Is Increasingly a Right of the Rich. Remote work is increasingly a privilege enjoyed by the most affluent Americans.
• The Shock of Faith: It’s Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be. The word “faith” implies the possession of something, whereas I experience faith as a yearning for something beautiful that I can sense but not fully grasp.
• Why Silent Film Still Speaks Volumes. The old movies have a great deal to say, and linguistics can explain why.
• France’s Horrifying Rape Trial Has Changed the Country. Gisèle Pelicot has opened up a conversation about sexual violence in a country where a serious reckoning was well overdue.
• What if Trump Doesn’t Need to Keep Any of His Promises? For the 47th president, illusion is the new accountability.
• Manhattan D.A. Makes a Simple Case Harder. It could complicate a simple case and turn it into a political circus.
• Put Down the Laser Pointer, Please, and Then Let’s Chat. The drone panic isn’t just about drones.
• How to Make the Drone Panic So Very Much Worse. Incidents like these require quick, clear communication from the government. That’s not what people are getting.
• Thomas Friedman on Syria, the U.S. and Trump. The columnist on why Trump’s biggest challenge will be weak states, not strong states.
• 10 Life Lessons for Grown-Ups From Children’s Classics. Even in a world populated by devious wolves, beauty shines through occasionally.
• Obscene Prices, Declining Quality: Luxury Is in a Death Spiral. Luxury brands have triggered their own death spiral by selling overpriced, overexposed and lower-quality products.
• Bibi Netanyahu Is Failing Ever Upward. The Israeli prime minister remains in power.
• The Case for Throwing Stones From a Glass House. One of the epic moral battles of this century is the one against sexual violence worldwide, and the U.S. has a chance to lead.
• Disconnected From Politics? Feel No Guilt. Black women aren’t the only voters who are taking a moment.
• Can Anyone Make Sense of Luigi Mangione? Maybe His Favorite Writer. How to make sense of the UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. shooting
• Surveilling Speech Won’t Increase Birthrates. It’s easier for governments to restrict freedom of expression than it is to fix material conditions.
• Now Is Not the Time for Surrender. What do Democrats need to do? Act like an opposition party.
• Why I Quit My Job as a Health Insurance Executive. Shareholders, not patient outcomes, tend to drive decisions at health insurance companies.
• What if Our Democracy Can’t Survive Without Christianity? An atheist helps David French understand how religion supports America’s political ideals.
• Done With Never Trump. There’s plenty to dislike and fear about Trump, but Never Trumpers overstated our case, defeating our purpose.
• How Elon Musk and Taylor Swift Can Resolve U.S.-China Relations. Trump will face a new China this time, one whose advanced manufacturing muscles have exploded in size, sophistication and quantity.
• If Men Are in Trouble, What Is the Cause? The declining ability of many boys and men to compete at school and in the workplace has become both a social and a political issue.
• ‘A Sword and a Shield’: How the Supreme Court Supercharged Trump’s Power. The legal scholars Gillian Metzger and Kate Shaw discuss how recent Supreme Court decisions could enable Trump in his second term.
• Paul Krugman: After 25 Years, My Parting Words to Readers. A columnist reflects on a quarter-century of contrarian opinions at The Times.
• Pope Francis: There Is Faith in Humor. The best thing to do in front of a mirror is to laugh at ourselves. It is good for us.
• The Germany We Knew Is Gone. The economically prosperous, socially cohesive and politically stable country is no longer itself.
• The Great Capitulation. Powerful Americans have lost the will to resist Trump.
• How Does A.I. Think? Here’s One Theory. It may employ a kind of reasoning humans use all the time — but you’ve probably never heard of it.
• Trump Is the Wrong Answer to the Right Question. The president-elect and the president are in transition.
• A Mild Defense of Lara Trump. The Senate takes itself seriously, but its members aren’t always public-servant all-stars.
• Trump Hates the ‘Deep State.’ But He Also Needs It. He should fuse these two impulses into a single governing ideology.
• Why I’m Not Dreading Holiday Chores This Season. Holidays often mean more work. Here’s how to view that work differently.
• Why Ultraprocessed Foods Aren’t Always Bad. The category of ultraprocessed foods is so broad it borders on useless.
• Four Scenarios for Ukraine’s Endgame. The war is entering what could be its final phase. What happens next?
• My 500-Mile Journey Across Alaska’s Thawing Arctic. I had read about how the rapid warming of the Arctic was upending the landscape and its people. Now I’ve seen it.
• How Biden Should Spend His Final Weeks in Office. The president can still do a lot before he leaves the White House.
• When #MeToo Became #ChurchToo. Yes, people want justice — as long as justice costs them nothing or very little.
• For the Sake of 600,000 Children, Science Must Be Bold. Gene drives offer hope in our battle against malaria.
• This Unreadable Russian Novel Is Xi Jinping’s Spiritual Guide. The Chinese leader is digging into the language of revolution, and a radical Russian novel, as he prepares for battle with Donald Trump.
• The Risk of an ISIS Resurgence Is Growing. With the fall of al-Assad’s regime, the risk of an ISIS resurgence increases.

Arts

• The Black Blackface Performer Who History Tries to Forget. Bert Williams, the first modern Black entertainment star, was born 150 years ago. The contradictions at the heart of his career are still relevant today.
• Artists We Lost in 2024, in Their Words. Shelley Duvall, Quincy Jones, Faith Ringgold and Paul Auster are some of the greats who died this year.
• New Year’s Eve in New York: What to Do, See and Eat. Whether you brave Times Square, pop into a drag show or snuggle up in a heated igloo, we have you covered for this year’s countdown.
• The 73 Best Illustrations of 2024. The most memorable illustrations of the year, chosen by art directors at The New York Times.
• Two Debut Games That Are Captivating and Strange. 30 Birds takes its visual cues from Persian miniatures and asks the player to gather birds for a ritual. Threshold has the quality of a bad dream: It’s brief, a bit illogical and haunting.
• Maxed Out on L.A., He Chased His Hollywood Dream to Albuquerque. Would life in the Southwest be easier for someone doing gig work in the television and film industry?
• ‘Skibidi Toilet’ Has Come to Fortnite. What the Heck Is It? In the survival battle video game with 110 million monthly players, you can now wear a skibidi toilet as a backpack. Here is a breakdown of what in the world that means.
• When Your $3 Million Cello Gets Bumped From Your Flight. The cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason had to cancel a concert in Toronto last week after an airline refused to let him board with his instrument, even though he had bought a ticket for it.
• The ‘Unexpectedly Sly’ and ‘Brilliantly Scuzzy’ Shows, Music and Movies Readers Loved. Critical favorites like “Anora,” “Cowboy Carter” and “The Bear” still left room for more recent arrivals like “Wicked” and Broadway’s “Maybe Happy Ending.”
• The Breakout Stars of 2024. Across the arts world, these 10 performers broke away from the pack this year by channeling guts and grit into their work.
• How the Swedish Dungeons & Dragons Inspired Helldivers 2. The studio behind the fastest-selling PlayStation title of all time adjusts its story arc based on corporate decisions by players.
• Jamie Foxx Recovering After Being Hit With a Glass in the Mouth. Foxx was celebrating his birthday at a restaurant on Friday when someone from another table threw a glass, a representative for the entertainer said.

Art & Design

• Timely Debates Short on Fresh Viewpoints. “Vital Signs: Artists and the Body” draws from MoMA’s 20th-century collection to show that identity is broader than physical form. But in skipping social media the show can’t go far enough.
• There’s No Place Like It: Exploring Where We Live. The Smithsonian’s “Making Home” winds up with an uneven mix of beauty, politics and platitudes.
• Documenta Chooses New Leader. Naomi Beckwith, who holds a leadership role at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, said she would make navigating crises a central theme of her exhibition.
• The U.S. Has No Special Panel for Nazi-Loot Claims. Could That Change? Several European countries have restitution commissions that decide claims regarding art lost in the Holocaust. Some people think there should be a U.S. panel too.
• Buy, Donate, Repeat. Picasso paintings. Jasper Johns ale cans. Irving Penn photos. The cosmetics heir created the model for the headline-grabbing donation that museums dream of today.
• A Top van Gogh Is Out of View. The Hunt Is On. Cast off by the Nazis, but heralded by curators, the artist’s painting of his doctor, made just before van Gogh’s suicide, has not been seen in 34 years.
• A Late Starter Was Well Ahead Of Her Time. Through her writing and performances, the artist helped new audiences to understand the cultural roots of racism and sexism.
• Works That Speak for a Quiet Artist. Marlon Mullen’s show at the Museum of Modern Art, the first by a developmentally disabled artist, speaks volumes.

Dance

• How to Dance Through the Holidays. The New York dance instructor Angela Trimbur, known for her high-fun vibes, shares easy choreography for the season’s festive — and socially challenging — occasions.
• It’s Vintage Vampires, And Comic Balanchine. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo opens its season at the Joyce Theater with its vintage, vampiric “Giselle” and a new take on Balanchine.
• Gracefully Timeless: Men in Tights and Tutus. The Trocks were never interested in making a political statement, their artistic director said. “We are men doing performances of ballet in drag for comedic purposes.”
• With Grace, He Ascended to Princehood. Guillaume Diop has reached the highest level in the Paris Opera Ballet. He has also become a fashion-world darling and a symbol of a more diverse France.
• Two Dance Debuts Head for the Light. Hope Boykin’s “Finding Free” and Lar Lubovitch’s “Many Angels” aspire to find higher ground at New York City Center.

Music

• After This Interview, André 3000 Performed in Our Newsroom. The rapper-turned-flutist improvised in the middle of The Times’ office following a wide-ranging conversation on Popcast.
• In Memoriam: the Musicians We Lost in 2024. Hear songs from Quincy Jones, Melanie and Toby Keith.
• Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas Love Song, and 12 More New Holiday Tunes. Hear tracks from Bartees Strange, Madi Diaz, GloRilla and Kehlani, and others.
• Why Composers of Any (or No) Faith Are Drawn to Sacred Music. Many Christmas standards were not written by Christians. David Lang explains the appeal for him, a Jewish composer of a modern holiday classic.
• Lift Every Voice: A D.I.Y. ‘Messiah’ Co-Stars You. Our critic joined with amateur singers and professionals for a “Messiah” sing-in at David Geffen Hall, just one “Messiah” on the city’s holiday calendar.
• Country Went Everywhere, And Everyone Went Country. Our critic hit the road to talk with Jelly Roll, Shaboozey, Tanner Adell and other artists to understand why country music was inescapable in 2024.
• Digging Deep for Musical Gems: The Year in 18 Boxed Sets and Reissues. Joni Mitchell’s experimental period, Green Day’s ambitious concept album and Alice Coltrane’s thrilling 1971 Carnegie Hall concert arrived in new packages this year.
• Megan Thee Stallion Seeks Restraining Order Against Tory Lanez. Her lawyers said Mr. Lanez had facilitated a “campaign of harassment” from prison, where he is serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted of shooting her.
• Drug Charges Against Sean Combs Associate Are Dropped in Florida. The charges against Brendan Paul, a former Syracuse University basketball player who was arrested amid raids on Mr. Combs’s homes, were dropped after he completed a diversion program.
• The Making and Remaking of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ Eighty years after its release, the sentimental holiday standard continues to enchant listeners and inspire the musicians who take it on.
• 6 New Songs You Should Hear Now. Hear just-released music from Julien Baker and Torres, Horsegirl and Amber Mark.
• Old Voice Mails? Instructional VHS Tapes? They’re Music to His Ears. Paul de Jong makes collaged songs out of obscurities he collects in his Mall of Found: a library of low-budget, homespun and dated pieces of spoken-word media.
• Still Defying Expectations at 80. As Thomas turns 80, new collections of his recordings reveal the legacy of a maestro who has exuberantly refused to conform to expectations.
• Jay-Z Will Seek Dismissal of Assault Suit. The woman who accused him of raping her in 2000, when she was a minor, acknowledged to NBC that there were inconsistencies in her account, but stood by her claim.
• An Exiled Conductor’s Once and Future Orchestras. Banished from his ensembles after striking a singer, John Eliot Gardiner has assembled a new group, with the same programming at the same venue.
• Decades of Friendship in a One-Word Libretto. “Paris & Nicole: The Encore,” a sequel to “The Simple Life,” is a comedic lark about creating an opera, with enlightening lessons along the way.
• The Holiday Canon Welcomes New Entries. Our critics on Christmas records from Jacob Collier, Megan Moroney, the Christmas Tree-O and more.

Television

• Seth Meyers: Donald Trump Got ‘Cable Guy’-ed by Elon Musk. The “Late Night” host likened Trump’s relationship with Musk to the 1996 Jim Carrey movie: “You let him do you a favor, and now you can’t get rid of him.”
• Neil Cavuto, Longtime Fox News Host, Signs Off the Network. “Your World with Neil Cavuto” was shown in the 4-5 p.m. slot for 28 years, since the network began in 1996.
• Maybe Not a Detail for Her Dating Profile. Starring Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet, the series tells a darkly comic story about a woman whose past sexual partners start dying. And keep dying.
• Best TV Episodes of 2024. Examples from “The Bear,” “Blue Lights,” “Chimp Crazy” and others topped our three TV critics’ list of standout episodes this year.
• Late Night Continues to Drone On About Sightings in the Sky. “‘Nothing nefarious, apparently’ doesn’t exactly inspire confidence,” Stephen Colbert said of President Biden’s comments about mysterious drones seen over New Jersey.
• Seth Meyers Questions Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Workout Fashion. Reports said Kennedy exercised at a gym in jeans and hiking boots. “If you think that’s weird, wait until you hear every single other thing about him,” Meyers said.
• ‘Black Doves’ Is a Fun, Festive Spy Thriller. From the creator of “Giri/Haji” comes an international-intrigue drama full of smarts, thrills and great performances by Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw.
• Golden Rules For Bigger Laughs. On a CBS Christmas special and a new stand-up hour for Netflix, the comic keeps audiences connected by finding the magic in deliberately quotidian subjects.
• A Quarterback Wired Differently. A documentary about Rodgers, the 41-year-old quarterback, delves into drugs, religion and politics (and yes, that’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr.).
• Late Night Delights in Pie-in-the-Sky Theories About the Drones. Jimmy Fallon said no one knows where the drones spotted on the East Coast come from or why they exist: “It’s basically air crypto.”
• Evicted, ‘Sesame Street’ Seeks Its Next Home. The venerable children’s series must find a new home after airing on HBO and then the streaming service Max. Old episodes will be available on Max through 2027.
• This Week on TV. Watch how “The Ultimatum,” “Laid” and “Virgin River” test relationships in different ways. Get into the holiday spirit with Josh Groban.
• ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Season 1, Episode 5 Recap: Mother Inferior. A sister with history shows up at the emperor’s palace. Not everyone is pleased. Nor should everyone be.
• ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ Is Getting a Four-Episode Revival on Disney+. The return of “Malcolm in the Middle,” which aired from 2000 to 2006, will follow Malcolm as he helps his parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, Disney+ announced.
• On ‘S.N.L.,’ Luigi Mangione Is Busting Out All Over. As Chris Rock hosts, the man charged in the UnitedHealthcare shooting dominates this week’s riffs on the news.

Theater

• In ‘Mrs. Stern’ and ‘Racecar,’ Humans Keep Repeating Their Worst Mistakes. Pernicious patterns figure heavily in two thought-provoking plays on small Manhattan stages.
• Your Ticket to the Theater (at Home). Make it through the holidays with these movies, books and music from the past year that are adapted from stage productions or evoke a theatrical spirit.
• ‘The Tempest’ Review: A Weak Wind Blows for Sigourney Weaver. The veteran actress, playing Prospero in her West End debut, is strangely absent from Shakespeare’s narrative.
• Hold Your Hats and Hallelujah. Hold your hats and hallelujah, our leading musical tragedienne offers an ultra-dramatic Rose in George C. Wolfe’s Broadway revival.
• This Corpse Has Had a Wild Journey. Its Next Stop? Broadway. “Dead Outlaw,” a musical about the mummified body of a bandit, will open at the Longacre next spring, following a successful Off Broadway run.
• A Hard-Knock Life Is Still So Sweet. In a just sweet enough production with a strong cast, the “View” host delivers a performance that reaffirms her savvy as a comic actor.
• A Metaphysical Puzzler Resurfaces. New York theater’s elder statesman of the avant-garde brings “Suppose Beautiful Madeline Harvey” to the stage, his first new work in over a decade.
• What’s Funny About John Mulaney and Simon Rich’s Friendship? Everything. The former “S.N.L.” writing partners have reunited for Rich’s “superficially wacky” Broadway show, “All In: Comedy About Love.”
• Performatively Woke at an Elite Private School. A hilarious new Broadway production asks: Can the superwoke vaxxers and anti-vaxxers at an elite private school learn to get along?

Books

• Heroes in Their Twilight Years, and Still in the Spotlight.
• How a Scrappy New Publisher Landed 25 Books on the Best-Seller List in a Year. Bloom Books took off with the help of E L James, the author of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It broke with tradition and became the fastest-growing imprint in romance.
• The Books Readers Loved in 2024. Memorable characters, delightful nonfiction and poignant novels stuck with people across the world.
• Will You Fall in Love With This Poem? I Did. “Romantic Poet,” by Diane Seuss, is one of the best things that our critic A.O. Scott read (and reread) this year.
• This Book Tour Comes With a Side of Fried Rice. Curtis Chin’s memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” celebrates the cuisine and community of his youth. Now he’s paying it forward.
• Books That Make Great Gifts. Joumana Khatib, an editor at The New York Times Book Review, recommends a few books to readers looking for gifts for their loved ones.

Book Review

• Audiobooks to Cook (or Eat) To, From Ina Garten to David Chang. These culinary coming-of-age tales are movable feasts for the gluttonous listener.
• Book Club: Let’s Talk About Claire Keegan’s ‘Small Things Like These’ This slim novella about one Irishman’s crisis of conscience during the Christmas season is the topic of our December book club discussion.
• The Story of Hong Kong’s Billionaire Dissident. “The Troublemaker” is a brisk account of the life and work of Jimmy Lai, the media mogul and democracy activist currently on trial for national security offenses.
• Maurice Berger Held a Mirror to a Racist Art World. A posthumous anthology of photo essays by the curator and art historian reveals the “troubling reality” of prejudice and the power of images to “undermine the very concept of difference.”
• Book Club: Read ‘Our Evenings,’ by Alan Hollinghurst, With the Book Review. In January, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss “Our Evenings,” a sweeping story about the life, loves, struggles and triumphs of a queer English Burmese actor.
• Daydream Believers. Like Max and Madeline, this boy and girl keep faith with the intangible treasures of their imaginations.
• Staffers at The Times on the Books They Enjoyed in 2024. A taboo-busting Brooklyn memoir, a tender Japanese novel about the beauty of connection, a book by a death doula: Editors and writers from around the newsroom describe their favorite books of the year.
• 5 New Books We Recommend This Week. Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
• Mark Leyner. “I’m like one of those deranged soldiers they find on some remote island still fighting a war that’s ended decades ago,” he says. “A Shimmering, Serrated Monster!” is his collection of comic fiction.
• The History of Poetry, From the Bronze Age to A.I., in a Single Poem. With “Context Collapse,” Ryan Ruby aims to explain poetry’s origins and its waves of innovation all the way to the present.
• What Satan’s Biographer Can Teach Us About Tyranny and Resistance. A new book about John Milton and “Paradise Lost” traces the 17th-century epic’s influence and relevance through the ages.
• How Well Do You Know the London of Charles Dickens? Try this short quiz to see how many landmarks and locations around the city you remember from the great author’s works.
• Percival Everett’s Prose Is Having a Moment. How Is His Poetry? The winner of this year’s National Book Award in fiction has published several collections of poems. Our critic takes a look.
• It’s Hard to Be the Brother of a Genius Who Died Young. In “Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words,” Michael Owen offers a sympathetic portrait of the lyricist, overshadowed in a life that had him tending the legacy of his younger sibling George.

Movies

• For Pedro Almodóvar’s Movies, the Poster Tells Its Own Story. The filmmaker has long collaborated with the graphic designer Juan Gatti to make alluring posters for his films, including one for his latest, “The Room Next Door.”
• Kyle Mooney on Divorced-Dad Music. The “Saturday Night Live” alum and director of the new horror-comedy movie “Y2K” talks yacht rock, Cheez-Its and “cat” videos.
• Watch Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton Connect in ‘The Room Next Door’ The writer and director Pedro Almodóvar narrates a bittersweet sequence between the two at a luxurious home.
• ‘The Room Next Door’ | Anatomy of a Scene. Pedro Almodóvar narrates a sequence from his film starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
• Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now. In this month’s sci-fi picks, time loops, zombie apocalypses and robot/dog friendships.
• ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ Burnishes a Career (but Charmingly). The star is in positive, future-looking mode in this Disney+ documentary, directed by his husband, David Furnish, and R.J. Cutler.
• 7 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week. Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.
• Meet the Director Who Reinvented the Act of Seeing. In “Nickel Boys,” RaMell Ross uses what he calls “sentient perspective” to convey the characters’ view of their world. Critics say the result is stunning.
• One of the Most Unpredictable Actresses of the ’70s Is Back From Exile. Jessica Harper made risky moves (“Suspiria” over “Annie Hall”), then took time off for family. Her “Nightbitch” role is a nod to her career choices.
• Movie Shelved After Jonathan Majors’s Arrest Gets Release Date. Before the actor was charged with assault, “Magazine Dreams” generated Oscar buzz for his performance as a bodybuilder. The movie is now scheduled to reach theaters in March.
• Art and Commerce In Postwar America. Adrien Brody stars as a talented architect who flees postwar Europe to meet his match in America, a power-hungry industrialist played by Guy Pearce.
• The Six Triple Eight. Kerry Washington leads a female postal battalion on a moving mission in this World War II drama.
• Homestead. The moment these Doomsday preppers have been waiting for has arrived, and from within their secure compound they’re confronting unexpected complications.
• In a Video Game World, Life Moves Fast. Keanu Reeves steps in as Shadow, while Jim Carrey doubles his fun as Robotnik in this action-adventure comedy.
• Circle of Life Returns For Yet Another Spin. This wan photorealistic prequel to a remake, the latest addition to the Disney juggernaut, was directed by Barry Jenkins of “Moonlight” fame.
• So, What Makes Life Worth Leaving? Pedro Almodóvar’s moving drama stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton as friends facing mortality together.
• The Count Of Monte Cristo. Stirringly acted and gorgeously filmed, this swashbuckler leaves previous versions of Dumas’s famous revenge saga in the dust.
• Some Early Inklings Of Best Picture Nods. You can expect the A-B-C-D-E movies (“Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Dune: Part Two” and “Emilia Pérez”). But what will join them?
• ‘Didi,’ ‘Janet Planet’ and the Year’s Great Under-the-Radar Streaming Films. Here are just a few of the year’s finest indies, documentaries and international selections, available to stream at this very minute.
• Documentaries Ripped From the Headlines Are Becoming Harder to See. Films about Israel and a union drive at Amazon are acclaimed Oscar hopefuls. But they are largely unavailable to American audiences.
• What Is a New York Movie? In 2024, the Definition Changed. Whether it was “A Complete Unknown” with 1960s Greenwich Village or “Anora” with present-day Brooklyn, filmmakers put new frames around the city.
• ‘Emilia Pérez’ Makes a Strong Showing on the Oscar Shortlists. The musical appears twice for best song, along with big names like Pharrell Williams and Elton John. “Wicked” is potentially up for best score.
• New Berlin Film Festival Director Walks a Tightrope Over Israel. Can the event’s American-born leader reinvigorate the festival and maintain its commitment to open debate while satisfying German lawmakers?
• ‘Star Trek II’ and ‘Dirty Dancing’ Join Film Registry. The movies, along with “Uptown Saturday Night,” “Mi Familia” and “The Social Network,” are among the 25 selected by the Librarian of Congress.
• Tackling the Difficult Subject at the Heart of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ A festival devoted to the film usually focuses on its comforting message. This year, it also underscored suicide prevention.
• When ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Gets the Anime Treatment. “The War of the Rohirrim” is the latest and most high-profile anime adaptation of a Western franchise to hit screens big and small.

Food

• Get Ready for Oohs and Aahs. Clare de Boer’s rice and squash bombe makes a glorious vegetarian centerpiece or a show-stealing side for a roast or braise.
• The Best Holiday Brunches Start With This Supermarket Ingredient. Turn store-bought croissants into so much more with these effortless recipes for a crowd.
• The Winter Solstice Is Upon Us. Here Comes the Sun Bread. A joyful baked creation, taken from a children’s book, celebrates the return of longer days.
• The Trinidadian Christmas Staple Worth the Yearlong Wait. Chow chow, a bright and bracing pickled relish, is essential to the holiday table in Trinidad and Tobago — and the perfect accompaniment to ham.
• This Classic Kwanzaa Cookbook Invites Improvisation. Dr. Jessica B. Harris revisits and expands “A Kwanzaa Keepsake,” her highly personal book from 1995.
• Mushroom Bourguignon, Ginger Sesame Granola and Fried Eggplant Heroes. Weekend kitchen shenanigans to keep everyone festive and fed.
• Your College Football Team, Now Brought to You by Whiskey. The high cost of amateur athletics has led to some unlikely partnerships.
• The First-Ever ‘Where to Eaties’ Awards. The best place to wash your hands, the restaurant that will scare your parents and more 2024 superlatives.
• The Simplest Way to Make Creamy Scrambled Eggs for a Crowd. All it takes is one pot, two dozen eggs and 10 minutes of cooking to serve breakfast to a full house.
• 2024 Was the Year of Chickpea Anxiety. It was also a good year for easy, excellent bean recipes and cooking yourself cauliflowers.
• White Chicken Chili to Welcome Them Home. Lidey Heuck’s customizable, five-star chili replenishes and restores.
• In This Industrial Design Class, Students Eat Their Homework. The Rhode Island School of Design uses recipes to teach the trial-and-error process of tweaking and refining a product.
• Perfect Latkes, However You Like Them. My five-star latkes fry up either thin and crunchy, flecked with golden, crackling strands, or chubby and nubby, with soft, fluffy centers.
• American Kitchens Face an Uncertain Mix: Olive Oil and Tariffs. Trump hasn’t said whether he’ll move against imported foods, but the effects on oil producers and consumers are already being debated.
• The Food Stories We Couldn’t Put Down in 2024. From restaurant lists to indispensable cooking tips, these are our most read articles of the year.
• At a Loss for Words? Enjoy the Pastry. Levant, in Little Egypt, is an impressive addition to Steinway Street, a thoroughfare already thick with fascinating food choices.
• Wayward Fare Explores the Deep Mediterranean Pantry. F&F gets a more formal extension for pizza and more, Entre Nous offers 3,500 bottles of wine and more restaurant news.
• You Can’t Mess Up This Holiday Roast. Want to impress with a glistening, delicious centerpiece this holiday season? This miso-marinated pork will stay juicy no matter what.
• Simply Having a Wonderful Weeknight Dinner. Recipes that live at the intersection of easy and fancy: salmon with salsa verde; chicken all’arrabbiata; BBQ pepper shrimp.
• Memorable Meals Coast to Coast. A perfectly beefy suadero taco, a studded arroz caldo and more of our favorite bites from a year of eating.
• Load Up Baked Potatoes for a Party. A simple trick yields crisp outsides and fluffy insides, ready to be topped in three smart, exciting ways from Eric Kim.
• This Hanukkah-Ready Recipe Does Everything Right. Inspired by a Ukrainian cafe and a mother-in-law’s classic, this take on kasha varnishkes is rich with caramelized onions.
• 11 Fun Party Appetizers That Start With Frozen Puff Pastry. These golden, flaky bites are sure to impress your guests during the holiday season.
• Sweet and Sour, Festive and Fast. This cranberry-orange chicken works just as well for a quiet Tuesday dinner as it does a Friday night gathering with friends.
• Perfect Broiled Salmon, Beef Chow Fun and Mushroom Smash Burgers. A list of excellent recipes to cook this week (no need to check it twice).

Style

• What Is It About the Doechii Aesthetic? Braids as tethers, visible face tape, hip-hop-inflected preppiness: Recent looks by the Grammy-nominated rapper have inspired fascination and at least one nail-art tribute.
• After the Wedding Day, These Artifacts Remain. We recently asked readers to tell us about the one saved item from their wedding day, or the time leading up to it, that they still cherished today. Here are 10 sentimental stories.
• Scarred by a Childhood Bullet Wound. Getting shot, and trying to keep it a secret.
• What Do We Want From the Mall? Decades after mega retail centers became a shorthand for bland suburbia, there may be some hope for them yet.
• Would You Wear Jeans at the Gym? Frequent images of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others lifting weights in jeans and boots raise the question of what can be classified as proper gym attire.
• After the Election, Speeding Up Wedding Plans. After a year of dating, Adrian Burrus and Quinn Sames began considering marriage. But when the presidential election results were announced, getting married became a priority.
• Opening the Champagne, and Keeping the Cork. Blair Smith and Alec Hall met on a gloomy winter night, but their time together took a celebratory turn when he popped a bottle of champagne.
• Grief Makes Us Time Travelers. A neuroscientist studying memory, I used to believe time was linear. Then my mother had a stroke.
• She Knew Just How to Break the Ice. When Brianna Brown and Kevin Malinak were introduced in 2015, they didn’t know the dramatic journey the next nine years would hold.
• After Losing Limbs in War, Finding Each Other. Anastasia Savka and Oleksiy Levchenko met at a rehabilitation facility earlier this year after surviving critical injuries as Ukrainian soldiers.
• How to Make a D.I.Y. Menorah. Creating your own candleholder can be a fun way to teach kids about the holiday — and to spread a bit of festive light.
• SeaQuest, Interactive Aquarium Where Many Animals Died, Files for Bankruptcy. After the chief executive stepped down, the company acknowledged that “mistakes were made.”
• ‘Getting Your Pink Back:’ How Moms Felt Like Themselves Again After Having a Baby. Flamingos, which can lose their bright color when tending to their young but get it back over time, have been a helpful metaphor for some women in their postpartum experiences.
• All They Want for Christmas? This Mariah Carey Bar. A New York City lounge devoted to the singer plays her 1994 holiday hit every 15 minutes.
• Could This 20-Year-Old Be One of the Democrats’ Bro Whisperers? Dean Withers argues online with right-wing stars like Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro. His goal? To reach their young, male followers.
• If You Can See the Tree, There Is Room for More Decorations. Minimalism is on the naughty list this Christmas as people decorate their trees with bows, garland, tinsel, ornaments and, well, anything else that will fit on a branch.
• The Jewelry of the Moment Is Bigger and Bolder. And Silver! Record-high gold prices and a fatigue with so-called quiet luxury set the stage for a resurgence of statement silver pieces.
• The Year in Micro News. Blink and you might have missed these viral but fleeting moments.
• The Face of Courage. The French rape trial is over. The verdicts have been levied. And Gisèle Pelicot’s image has become a symbol of female strength around the world.
• Think You’re High Class? How Do You Feel About Twice-Baked Potatoes? By weighing in on 35 meal options, a popular online quiz claims it can determine your social standing. It might not be so simple.
• Tiny Love Stories: ‘What Could Those Two Be Talking About?’ Modern Love in miniature, featuring reader-submitted stories of no more than 100 words.
• A Baby Capybara’s Rise to Fame Is a Perfect End to 2024. Like this year’s other viral baby animals, Tupi was quickly embraced on social media. An hour later, the San Antonio Zoo distanced itself from a memecoin named after him.
• A Woman on Our Girls’ Trip Has Grown Snarky. Can We Stop Inviting Her? Her bitter comments and antisocial behavior may spring from discomfort around her high-achieving friends, but that doesn’t make her any easier to deal with.
• These Men Can’t Get Enough Leather. A younger generation discovers the appeal of wearing skins.
• The Art of the Gift: Roz Chast. The award-winning cartoonist, who admits to having a “very fraught” relationship with gift-giving, still loves handmade gifts from her children.
• A Vanguard of Cool Back on the Scene Again. David Bowie loved its couscous. Norman Reedus hung out there. It put avocado toast on the map. Thirty years later, and with a new book honoring it, Cafe Gitane is drawing a fresh crowd.
• Matilda Djerf Apologizes Amid Claims of Workplace Toxicity. The popular Swedish influencer began a fashion brand in 2019. Some employees say working there wasn’t as great as it looked on social media.
• People Are Putting Beef on Their Faces. What Could Go Wrong? Natural, tallow-based cosmetics can be made at home or bought from artisans. Doctors aren’t thrilled, but they’re all the rage on TikTok.
• The Offline Joy of the Board Game Club. Hungry for in-person interaction, Gen Z and millennial players are joining old-fashioned chess, mahjong and backgammon groups.
• Listen: Can You Guess These 12 Christmas Movies? Find out if you deserve the expert’s Santa hat or a big old lump of coal.
• Musings on Love (and Gummies) From Tom Hanks, Jon Stewart and Fran Lebowitz. Actors and comedians offered relationship advice at a performance of the new Broadway play, “All In: Comedy About Love,” by Simon Rich.
• Is It Ever OK to Go Barefoot in Public? A shoeless talk-show appearance leads a reader to contemplate the current rules around going barefoot in public, and our critic weighs in on naked feet in fashion and society.
• The Joy of Christmas Ornaments (as a Jew). After I met my husband, I realized there was a whole little world inside these ornaments.
• Four Years Later, CrossFit’s Disgraced Guru Attempts a Comeback. Greg Glassman, who sold the company amid sexual harassment complaints, has a new health and fitness venture. It sounds a lot like his old one.
• Young Stars and the Inside Skinny. As an era of macho politics sets in, sinewy stars like Timothée Chalamet, Dominic Sessa and Mark Eydelshteyn embody a slinky alternative image of white masculinity in American pop culture.
• A Christmas Gnome Tradition, More than 1,000-Strong. The writer Andrew Solomon recounts his enduring love for the cheerful little heroes of Swedish folklore, handed down from his late mother.
• Isak Andic, 71, Founder of a Brand Turned Fashion Empire. Mr. Andic got his start by selling T-shirts in Barcelona in the mid-1980s. He died in a fall during a hike.

Weddings

• Helping L.G.B.T.Q. Couples Marry Before Biden’s Exit. Some couples have been speeding up plans to marry since the election, and wedding vendors have reached out with free or discounted services.

Magazine

• Jonathan Roumie Plays Jesus to Millions. It Can Get Intense. The star of “The Chosen” discusses his early struggles in Hollywood, fans who conflate him with his character and how his own faith informs his work.
• In Search of Loved Ones, Syrian Women Face Horror of Assad’s Regime. In Syria, women begin to pick up the pieces of a broken nation.
• Naomi Feil Developed a Radical Approach to Caring for Dementia Patients. She believed that people with dementia were desperate to connect.
• The Orphaned Sea Otter Who Became a Foster Mom to 15 Pups. Despite never having had offspring of her own, she was an instinctive caregiver.
• Wafa Al-Udaini Captured the Experiences of Palestinians From Within. As a journalist, she was determined to tell a story of Gaza that was full of life.
• How Wally Amos Lost It All — and Found Something New in the Wreckage. He made his cookies — and himself — “famous.”
• Were Pete Rose’s Sins Ahead of His Time? Banned from Major League Baseball, he turned his disgrace into a personal brand.
• Angela Bofill Sang What She Could Until the End. She was a musical virtuoso who never quite got her due.
• Hettie Jones Helped Kickstart New York’s Beat Scene. Despite her husband's betrayal, she recreated herself as the writer she always was.
• Peter Buxtun Refused to Give Up. For years, he tried to expose the Tuskegee syphilis study – but no one would listen.
• Janice Burgess Combined High Culture With Childish Delight. In “The Backyardigans,” she created a world for kids as wildly sophisticated as her own.
• Bob Newhart’s Comedy Left a Lot Unsaid. For him, comedy became a form of therapy.
• The Rise and Fall of Ivan Boesky, Notorious Inside Trader. He was seen as greed incarnate — and never said otherwise.
• Dr. Ruth and Phil Donahue Answered Life’s Big Questions. Together, they told us everything we wanted to know about sex.
• Eleanor Coppola’s Frustrated Ambitions. Her own filmmaking aspirations were thwarted by domestic life. Her daughter’s would not be.
• Shelley Duvall Made Her Mark Well Before ‘The Shining’ She redefined how an actress was supposed to be — and then she left Hollywood.
• Paul Auster’s Life and Work Were Marked by Death. He knew that tragedy comes for us all.
• How Edward Stone Resolved NASA’s Scientific Turf Wars. To run a scientific expedition that travels billions of miles, it takes more than great engineers — it takes a great manager as well.
• When Willie Mays Was Banned From Baseball. The strange, sad period when the Hall of Famer was exiled from his sport.
• Michaela DePrince Danced as if She Were Sprinkled With Pixie Dust. As a professional ballerina, she inhabited the world of fairy tales. It’s tempting to read her real life as one too.
• Mary Weiss Influenced Musicians From the Ramones to Amy Winehouse. Her singing career began and ended before she turned 20.
• Frankie Beverly Created America’s No. 1 Cookout Song. How the R&B hit ‘Before I Let Go’ became an enduring anthem.
• Jerry West Was the N.B.A.’s Tortured Genius. One of the world’s greatest basketball players, he thought of himself as a loser.
• James Earl Jones Found His Voice Through Silence. After refusing to talk for most of his childhood, he discovered the power in performance.
• Gena Rowlands Refused to Play the Traditional Woman. She worried that marriage would ruin her acting career. Instead, it fueled one of the most dynamic partnerships in film history.
• The Lives They Lived. Remembering some of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in the past year.
• The Best Friends They Left Behind. The beloved pets of some of the notable people we lost this year.
• The World Is Falling Apart. Should I Scrap My Plans to Have Kids? The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on family planning in uncertain times.
• Are Weight-Loss Drugs Causing a Rift in Your Relationship? We Want to Hear About It. For an upcoming article, we are looking for stories about what happens to a long-term relationship when one partner decides to get much thinner.
• Bonus Advice From Judge John Hodgman. Does it count as vandalism? What if it’s funny?
• For a Desperate Few, a Hectic Escape From Gaza. The war is nearly impossible to flee — except for a small number of sick and wounded who are offered a dramatic path to safety.
• My Neighbor Won’t Stop Praying for Me. What Should I Do? The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how to navigate religious differences with someone you care for.
• Perfect Match: Potatoes and olive oil come together in this simple yet extraordinary mash. Potatoes and olive oil come together in this simple yet extraordinary dish.
• Web Comics. Sketches are constantly gesturing toward internet culture — which makes sense, since the show has long been internet culture itself.
• Personal Urination Device. A plastic aqueduct provides new pathways for relief.
• Renaissance Man. Fifty years since he left the Soviet Union, he insists on using his huge fame to bring attention to difficult, esoteric art.

T Magazine

• The 10 Architectural Sites You Should See in São Paulo. These buildings and places capture the city’s playful approach to concrete-and-asphalt Modernism.
• The Queer Book Shops Opening Across the Country. Plus: a stylist’s new fragrance line, a sophisticated stationery box and more recommendations from T Magazine.
• How a Forgotten TV Show Forever Changed the Way We Look at Art. Weekly from 1956 to ’63, a charismatic painter named Lorser Feitelson filled America’s living rooms with the first televised history of art. We’re still exploring — and trapped in — his world.
• The Next Evolution of Cantonese Food. A wave of new restaurants are challenging diners to go beyond sesame chicken and crab Rangoon.
• An ‘Architectural Dream World’ Filled With Hundreds of Dollhouses. The artist Dennis Maher — who rescued his Buffalo, N.Y., home from the brink of destruction — has always treasured what others have overlooked.
• House Tour | Dennis Maher. The artist’s Victorian home in Buffalo, N.Y., is filled with found objects, including over 100 dollhouses.

Travel

• The Government Shutdown: What Travelers Need to Know. The failure to act by Congress could cause airport lines and other disruptions across the travel industry during a busy holiday travel period.
• Looking for the Restless Soul of Nella Larsen in Copenhagen. The celebrated Harlem Renaissance author was inspired by her experiences as a mixed-race teenager and young adult in the Danish capital, a time that informed her 1928 novel, “Quicksand.”
• Hidden ‘Junk’ Fees Must Be Disclosed, F.T.C. Rule Says. Hotels, short-term rentals and event ticket-sellers must advertise the full price of their offerings under the rule, which is supposed to go into effect in the coming year. Here’s what to know.
• 36 Hours in Innsbruck, Austria. Futuristic architecture rubs shoulders with centuries-old opera houses in this picture-perfect Austrian ski town.
• Skiing’s Budget Secret: It Can Be Cheaper in Europe. We do the math on a winter vacation in the Alps or Dolomites, where lift tickets and lodging are often a fraction of what you’d pay at a U.S. resort.
• Two Mountains, Two Countries, a Cross- Border Skiing Adventure. On a ‘two-nation ski vacation,’ a writer samples Idaho’s Schweitzer and Red Mountain, in British Columbia, two less-crowded resorts with miles of terrain to explore.
• In Search of Sauna Nirvana Around Lake Superior. On a 750-mile road trip through the heart of sauna culture in the United States, a writer searches for the perfect combination of steam, heat and cold.
• New Protections for Travelers Flying With Wheelchairs Are Coming Soon. The Transportation Department has expanded the rights of airline passengers with mobility disabilities. The first changes will go into effect next month.
• Tainted Drinks: How to Protect Yourself While Traveling. Deaths and hospitalizations of travelers in Laos and Fiji after they consumed drinks containing alcohol raised concerns about possible methanol poisoning. Here are signs you can look out for.
• Oh, the Places We Went! This year, of the 52 destinations on our annual list, our writers and photographers touched down in 11 to capture their essence. Here’s what they found.
• Yellowstone in Winter: 5 Ways to Enjoy the Quiet Season. Forget the summer crowds, exploring wide-open landscapes by ski, snowmobile or snowshoe, and revel in a solitude that few park visitors ever get to experience.
• Alaska in Winter: Reveling in a Playground of Ice and Snow. Juneau, a popular cruise port in summer, becomes a deal-seeker’s base for skiing, skating, hiking and glacier-gazing in winter.

Real Estate

• My Building’s Gym Is Too Loud. Can I Get the Volume Lowered? It’s possible that a gym isn’t even allowed in your building. If it is, it cannot violate the noise code, the warranty of habitability or the lease.
• The Fight to Save Googie, the Style of Postwar Optimism. The car-centric architectural style, characterized by neon signs and dramatic rooflines, is now endangered. Its admirers mourn the loss of the ideals it represented.
• Googie, a Futuristic Style of Architecture, Is Endangered. Googie architecture is a midcentury design style characterized by dramatic rooflines, pops of color, large glass windows and flashy signs. Anna Kodé, a reporter covering design and culture for the Real Estate section of The New York Times, describ...
• $1.5 Million Homes in Thessaloniki, Greece. The area in and around Greece’s second-largest city offers traditional Greek houses, modern renovations and waterfront views.
• Priced Out of New York, She Took Her $350,000 Budget to Philadelphia. Here’s What She Found. After a near-death experience gave her a new lease on life, a writer ‘broke up with New York’ and headed south to find a one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment.
• Homes for Sale in Connecticut and New York. This week’s properties are five-bedroom house in Westport, Conn., and a five-bedroom in New Rochelle, N.Y.
• Homes for Sale in Manhattan and Staten Island. This week’s properties are in the East Village, Chelsea and Port Richmond.
• Even Mobile-Home Prices Keep Rising. From 2018 to 2023, the average sale price of a new manufactured home grew faster than that of a new single-family home, according to a recent study.
• When a Barndominium Won’t Do, Try a Shouse. Homeowners and builders weighed in on the difference between the two design styles taking over rural America.
• The Design Trend Taking Over Rural America. Barndos, large, open-plan structures, have surged in popularity with the recent exodus from urban to rural areas.
• Miami Broker Turns Himself In to Face Sexual Battery Charge. Ohad Fisherman is accused of participating in an alleged sexual assault in 2016 alongside Oren and Alon Alexander.
• Woman Who Faced Racism When Buying a Home Speaks Out Against Bias. Raven Baxter will be the face of a national campaign to prevent housing discrimination, supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• $300,000 Homes in Kansas, Virginia and New Jersey. A Queen Anne Revival in Leavenworth, a ranch house in Richmond, and a rowhouse in Trenton.
• Don’t Call It a Bachelor Pad. TikTok Says It’s a ‘Boy Apartment.’ Men with meticulously curated homes are going viral on TikTok, changing the way people think about male living habits.
• She Wrote the Book on Preservation in New York. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel has made it her life’s work to make sure that the city’s landmarks, and the contributions of its residents, are never forgotten.
• What’s Mitchell-Lama? Timothée Chalamet (Kind of) Explains. The actor’s family were the beneficiaries of a New York State housing program aimed at middle-income residents.
• $1.1 Million Homes in California. A craftsman-style house in Oakland, a 1922 home in Stockton and a midcentury modern-style house in Santa Rosa

Health

• As Drugstores Close, Older People Are Left in ‘Pharmacy Deserts’ Shuttered drugstores pose a particular threat to older adults, who take more medications than younger people and often rely on pharmacies for advice.
• Democrats highlight a casualty of the spending fight: funding to combat pediatric cancer.
• What Are ‘Healthy’ Foods? The F.D.A. Updates the Labeling Terms. The Food and Drug Administration released final rules on labeling foods as “healthy,” tightening limits for sugar, sodium and saturated fat.
• Trump’s Return May Worsen Financial Woes for Global Health Institutions. The U.S. provides nearly half of the aid for global health, including childhood vaccination, H.I.V. treatment and disease surveillance.
• California Declares an Emergency Over the Outbreak of Bird Flu in Its Dairy Cattle. Officials have discovered the virus in 645 dairy herds, more than in any other state so far.
• He Built a Wellness Empire While Adventuring With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Dr. Mark Hyman, a “functional medicine” proponent and longtime friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is finding powerful allies in his bid to treat disease with blood tests and supplements.
• In Trump Orbit, A Clash of Ideas To Curb Obesity. Statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk tap into a dispute over whether lifestyle changes or drugs are a better way to treat obesity.
• A Stubborn Enemy Stalks the Children of Congo. Problems with getting vaccines to families have left many children unvaccinated and in danger of contracting the virus.
• Consistent History of Casting Doubt on Polio Vaccine. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for health secretary has suggested that the polio vaccine cost more lives than it saved and that the vaccine did not wipe out the disease in the U.S.
• Alabama Woman Gets Nation’s 3rd Pig Kidney Transplant. The patient, Towana Looney, was in better health than previous recipients, and her case could signal progress toward solving the organ-supply shortage.
• Psychedelics for When Life Is Ending. People are turning to psilocybin, ketamine and other treatments for palliative care.

Well

• How to (Gently) Set Boundaries During the Holidays. Experts share tips for minimizing irritation and avoiding intrusive questions.
• F.D.A. Approves Weight Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Zepbound is the first prescription drug approved specifically to treat the common condition.
• More People Are Now Dying From the Cold. A new study finds that deaths related to cold weather in the United States have risen in the past two decades.
• How to Actually Sleep on an Airplane. These tested strategies can help you get some degree of rest, even in an unforgiving upright seat.
• Weight Loss Drugs Changed Their Lives. Then They Lost Coverage. In Michigan, the state’s largest insurer has tightened restrictions around medications like Wegovy. Patients are panicking.
• How Worried Should We Be About Bird Flu? California has declared a state of emergency over the virus. We asked experts how concerned they are.
• How the Right Claimed ‘Crunchy’ Once, eating whole foods and avoiding toxins was associated with a lefty worldview. Now, being a “crunchy mom” is more often about “health freedom.”
• Can You Be Allergic to Your Christmas Tree? Itchy eyes, wheezing, sniffles, sneezing: Here’s how to keep “Christmas tree syndrome” symptoms at bay.
• How to Get a Party Buzz Even When You’re Not Drinking. These tips for sober socializing may not have you dancing on tables, but they’ll help you have plenty of fun.

Eat

• Is Protein Powder a Scam? Most people don’t need to consume this supplement, experts say, but it can be useful in certain situations.

Family

• How to Talk to a Loved One About Their Drinking. There are ways to broach the topic successfully — it’s all about time, place and tone.

Move

• A 20-Minute Exercise Band Workout to Build Strength. If you are short on time and space, here is a cheap, effective way to get stronger.

Times Insider

• Cardinal Journalistic Sins, Playing Out Onstage. A Culture writer takes stock of recent stage productions that depict newsrooms and reporters.
• Holiday Hints From a Gift-Guide Maker. Mari Uyehara helps develop the dozens of guides published by Wirecutter. She likes gifts you can’t buy in more than one place.
• Walt Disney, Painted Out of the Photo. A photo found in The New York Times’s clippings library held a secret: One famous figure had been cropped out in order to spotlight another.

Corrections

• Quote of the Day. Quotation of the Day for Saturday, December 21, 2024
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.
• Quote of the Day. Quotation of the Day for Friday, December 20, 2024.
• Quote of the Day. Quotation of the Day for Thursday, December 19, 2024.
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
• Quote of the Day. Quotation of the Day for Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024.
• No Corrections: Dec. 16, 2024. No corrections appeared in print on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
• Quote of the Day. Quotation of the Day for Monday, December 16, 2024.
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.
• Quote of the Day. Quotation of the Day for Sunday, December 15, 2024
• Corrections. Corrections that appeared in print on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.

Crosswords & Games

• The Connections Companion No. 560. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.
• Wordle Review No. 1,282. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.
• Spelling Bee Forum. Feeling stuck on today’s puzzle? We can help.
• It’s a Little Shady. Barbara Lin and Lewis Rothlein’s puzzle packs the right amount of punch.
• Wordle Review No. 1,281. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
• The Connections Companion No. 559. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
• Move Like a Crab. Henry Josephson makes his New York Times Crossword debut.
• Wordle Review No. 1,280. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.
• The Connections Companion No. 558. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.
• Baby Bear. Brandon Koppy asks us to pivot.
• The Connections Companion No. 557. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
• Wordle Review No. 1,279. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
• Change With the Times. Jeffrey Martinovic and Will Nediger up the ante.
• Wordle Review No. 1,278. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
• The Connections Companion No. 556. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
• Possible, but Not Looking Good. Kathy Lowden makes a few changes.
• Wordle Review No. 1,277. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
• The Connections Companion No. 555. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024.
• Faller in Fall. Ailee Yoshida crafts her origin story.
• Wordle Review No. 1,276. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
• The Connections Companion No. 554. Scroll down for hints and conversation about the puzzle for Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
• Art Heist. David Kwong draws us in with a magical challenge.

The Learning Network

• What’s Your Favorite Holiday Movie or TV Special? “Elf,” “Home Alone” or “A Charlie Brown Christmas” — what’s on your must-watch list each holiday season?
• Googly Eyes. Tell us a story, real or made up, that is inspired by this image.
• Word of the Day: animatronics. This word has appeared in three articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
• How Do You Feel About Winter? This season can be difficult, but experts share how to make it more bearable. What can you find to love about winter?
• 2024 in Pictures. Which of the images in this Times collection best capture how you’ll remember this year?
• Word of the Day: combustion. This word has appeared in 97 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
• Should Schools Spy on Student Devices to Prevent Self-Harm? New technology alerts schools when students type words related to suicide. Should all schools use it? Or is it an invasion of privacy?
• Social Media Trends. What are the best and worst you’ve seen this year?
• Word of the Day: marginalized. This word has appeared in 344 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
• Holiday Break. How will you spend your time off from school?
• Word of the Day: primatology. This word has appeared in one article on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
• Why Do You Think the Killing of a Health Care C.E.O. Has Sparked Such an Intense National Conversation? Have you been following the story? What do you think the news and our reactions to it say about America today?
• What Will Stick With You From 2024? What from your own life, around the globe, or in the world of art, culture and sports will you remember about this year?
• Word of the Day: vocational. This word has appeared in 220 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?

En español

• Un veredicto en Aviñón y otras 4 noticias. Quedan 11 días de 2024 y esto es lo que hay que saber.
• Veredicto del caso Pelicot: del calvario surge un mensaje de esperanza. El juicio que ha horrorizado y cautivado a Francia terminó con una victoria para Gisèle Pelicot, la mujer que se convirtió en un icono feminista por su valentía al permitir que el caso se juzgara públicamente.
• Una imagen de Google Street View ayuda a esclarecer un asesinato en España. La imagen, captada en el norte del país, muestra a un hombre acomodando una bolsa blanca en el maletero de un coche.
• ¿Los gatos podrían volverse portadores de la gripe aviar? Un nuevo estudio subraya la necesidad de que los funcionarios de salud pública intensifiquen la vigilancia de la gripe aviar en nuestros compañeros felinos.
• Los genes y la historia de tu familia pueden influir en tu manera de beber. Las investigaciones sugieren que tener un familiar directo, como uno de los padres o un hermano, con este trastorno, aumenta las probabilidades de padecerlo.
• Cómo pasarla bien en una fiesta sin beber alcohol. Es cierto lo que dicen: no necesitas tomar para divertirte.
• ¿Es posible ser alérgico al árbol de Navidad? Picor en los ojos, silbidos al respirar, síntomas de resfriado, estornudos: he aquí cómo mantener a raya los síntomas del “síndrome del árbol de Navidad”.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., las vacunas y la salud pública. La visión del elegido de Donald Trump para dirigir el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos.
• Walt Disney bajo una capa de pintura gris. Una foto encontrada en un archivo de recortes de The New York Times guardaba un secreto: una figura famosa había sido recortada para destacar a otra.
• El Brasil donde fluyen el ‘schnapps’ y la grapa. Un viaje por carretera por el estado brasileño de Rio Grande do Sul te lleva a la cocina alemana e italiana, a sus dialectos y a un sorprendente número de festivales de música.
• ¿Realmente necesitas proteína en polvo? La mayoría de la gente no necesita consumir este suplemento, dicen los expertos, aunque puede ser útil en ciertas situaciones.
• La posible inspiración del anillo de compromiso de Selena Gomez. Un mensaje en una canción puede haber presagiado el diamante marquesa de su anillo.
• ¿Tengo que decirle a mi novio que me han pagado por sexo? El columnista de The Ethicist responde una pregunta sobre qué parte del pasado es importante compartir con una pareja.

América Latina

• Redefiniendo la inclusión: un restaurante encuentra la fuerza en la neurodivergencia. Un popular restaurante de Buenos Aires está formado casi en su totalidad por trabajadores neurodivergentes aprovechando un talento que a menudo se pasa por alto y aprovechando sus habilidades.
• Semanas de protestas han paralizado Bolivia. Esta es la razón. La rivalidad entre el actual presidente Luis Arce y el expresidente Evo Morales ha ocasionado bloqueos que han afectado la circulación de productos de primera necesidad en el país.
• Un éxito de taquilla en Brasil aviva las esperanzas de un Oscar, y una revancha. Hace un cuarto de siglo, Fernanda Montenegro hizo historia al convertirse en la primera actriz brasileña nominada a un Oscar. Hoy, su hija Fernanda Torres puede tener la oportunidad de ganar la estatuilla dorada.

Ciencia y Tecnología

• Un solsticio del alma. El corresponsal de asuntos cósmicos del Times se retira, pero no quita los ojos de las estrellas.
• Investigadores descubren un ratón que nada y muchas especies más en la selva de Perú. En una expedición de 38 días por la remota región de Alto Mayo, amenazada por la influencia humana, se descubrieron nuevas especies de mamíferos, peces, anfibios y mariposas.
• Las opiniones encontradas de Kennedy y Musk sobre cómo hacer que EE. UU. sea más sano. Las declaraciones de Robert F. Kennedy Jr. y Elon Musk sacan a relucir una disputa sobre si son mejores los cambios en el estilo de vida o los fármacos para tratar la obesidad.
• Una mujer de Alabama recibe el tercer trasplante de riñón de cerdo en EE. UU. La paciente, Towana Looney, gozaba de mejor salud que los pacientes anteriores que habían recibido órganos porcinos. Su caso podría indicar un avance hacia la solución de la escasez de órganos.
• No, las vacunas no sobrecargan el sistema inmunitario de los niños. Las vacunas actuales son más eficaces y contienen muchos menos estimulantes del sistema inmunitario que las que se utilizaban hace décadas.
• Un ‘segundo árbol de la vida’ podría causar estragos, advierten los científicos. Según un grupo de biólogos, la investigación sobre las llamadas “células espejo”, que desafían las propiedades fundamentales de los organismos vivos, debería prohibirse por ser demasiado peligrosa.

Cultura

• La búsqueda de la obra maestra perdida de Van Gogh. ‘Retrato del doctor Gachet’, vendido en una subasta en 1990, prácticamente ha desaparecido desde entonces y su paradero se ha convertido en uno de los mayores misterios del mundo del arte.
• ‘Mufasa: El rey león’: más que rugir, maúlla. En esta precuela del remake fotorrealista de 2019, dirigida por Barry Jenkins, los resultados generales son bonitos, ligeramente divertidos y a veces aburridos.
• Un macabro descubrimiento en una fosa común de la Edad de Bronce: las víctimas fueron devoradas. Lo que hasta ahora se consideraba un hallazgo arqueológico poco interesante ha resultado ser todo lo contrario.
• ‘Malcolm el de en medio’ vuelve fugazmente a Disney+. El regreso de la serie, que se emitió de 2000 a 2006, seguirá a Malcolm mientras ayuda a sus padres a celebrar su 40 aniversario de boda.
• Reseña de ‘Kraven El Cazador’: una película en serio tonta. El héroe de Marvel de Aaron Taylor-Johnson se ve eclipsado por unos villanos descaradamente divertidos.

Estados Unidos

• Su familia y amigos votaron por Trump. Ahora él lucha por quedarse en EE. UU. Jaime Cachua llegó de México a Georgia cuando era un bebé. Aunque es muy querido por su comunidad, la mayor parte de ella votó por las deportaciones masivas.
• ¿Quién manda en Washington durante la transición de Biden y Trump? Donald Trump aún no ha tomado posesión de su cargo, pero el presidente electo y Elon Musk ya están influyendo en la política, poniendo al gobierno federal a horas de un cierre.
• Cierre del gobierno de EE. UU.: lo que hay que saber si vas a viajar. La inacción del Congreso podría afectar los planes de decenas de millones de estadounidenses que viajan debido a las fiestas de diciembre.
• Cierre del gobierno en EE. UU.: esto es lo que podría ocurrir. Al acercarse la fecha límite para aprobar el presupuesto federal, los funcionarios se preparan para la posibilidad de una temporada de vacaciones con perturbaciones, que podría incluir tiempos de espera más largos para los viajeros.
• EE. UU. presenta cargos contra Mangione que podrían llevar a la pena de muerte. Las autoridades federales presentaron un total de cuatro cargos contra Luigi Mangione, quien es acusado de asesinar a Brian Thompson, director ejecutivo de UnitedHealthcare.
• Trump se opone a ley de financiación que evitaría el cierre del gobierno de EE. UU. La oposición del presidente electo Donald Trump al proyecto de ley bipartidista prácticamente ha enterrado ese acuerdo, a dos días de expirar la financiación del gobierno.
• Tras el tiroteo en una escuela de Wisconsin, las familias intentan procesar el trauma. Las familias manifestaron estar de duelo por el tiroteo del lunes, el cual causó la muerte de un alumno y un profesor, así como otras seis personas heridas.
• Luigi Mangione se enfrenta a múltiples cargos, incluido uno por terrorismo. Mangione se enfrenta a tres cargos por la muerte del ejecutivo de UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson: el cargo de homicidio en primer grado que lo califica de terrorista y dos variantes de homicidio en segundo grado.
• La pérdida masiva de trabajadores indocumentados sumió en un lío a una compañía tecnológica. Hace unos años, la compañía tecnológica Jabil afrontó la repentina pérdida de trabajadores indocumentados. El caso presagia un posible escenario para las empresas que dependen de las agencias de empleos.
• Un fatigado Joe Biden se dirige hacia la salida. Todavía afectado por el resultado de las elecciones, el presidente estadounidense está enfocado en resolver sus últimas prioridades al margen de la conversación nacional y la discusión sobre Donald Trump.
• Trump deja entrever su visión del mundo en un comentario fortuito. El presidente electo hizo una valoración no solicitada de la diferencia entre su transición a la Casa Blanca hace ocho años y ahora.
• Las misteriosas luces en el cielo de EE. UU. tienen explicaciones poco interesantes. Al ir aumentando los reportes sobre extrañas luces en el cielo de Nueva Jersey y otras partes de la Costa Este, funcionarios del gobierno han afirmado que, en esencia, no hay nada que ver.
• Datos clave sobre el tiroteo en la escuela de Wisconsin. La policía de Madison, Wisconsin, está trabajando para establecer el móvil del ataque, que dejó un alumno y un profesor muertos y otros seis heridos.
• Tiroteo en Wisconsin: una niña de 15 años es identificada como la atacante. La policía identificó a Natalie Rupnow como la autora de los disparos en el ataque a la escuela Abundant Life Christian School. Los investigadores siguen intentando averiguar qué condujo al tiroteo.
• El guardia que protege a Pete Hegseth dejó el ejército tras golpear a un civil durante un entrenamiento. El guardia, llamado John Hasenbein, abandonó el ejército tras un entrenamiento en 2019 en el que, según testigos, atacó a un civil.
• Un estudiante disparó y mató a 2 personas en una escuela cristiana de Wisconsin, según la policía. El atacante mató a otro estudiante y a un profesor, dijo la policía, y fue hallado muerto en la escuela Abundant Life, de Madison. Al menos otras seis personas resultaron heridas.
• Lo que sabemos sobre los reportes de avistamientos de drones en Nueva Jersey y Nueva York. Fotos y videos de objetos voladores en el cielo nocturno han generado inquietud en la población. Funcionarios estatales y locales aseguran que no representan una amenaza.
• El FBI pasó información sobre Mangione tras el asesinato del director ejecutivo. No estaba claro cuándo llegó la pista a la policía de Nueva York, ni si habría ayudado a acelerar la detención en el caso de la muerte de Brian Thompson, director ejecutivo de UnitedHealthcare.

Estilos de Vida

• Mi hijo se fue, pero nuestra conversación continúa. Cada noche le escribo en un diario a mi hijo de 12 años y continúo una conversación que iniciamos apenas tres días antes de que muriera inesperadamente.
• Bebidas adulteradas: cómo protegerte mientras viajas. Las muertes y hospitalizaciones de viajeros en Laos y Fiyi tras consumir bebidas con alcohol suscitaron preocupación por una posible intoxicación por metanol. Estos son los signos a los que debes poner atención.
• ¿Está bien ir descalzo en público? Una lectora se pregunta si no llevar zapatos en público será una tendencia y nuestra crítica reflexiona sobre las costumbres en nuestra sociedad a la hora de cubrirnos los pies.
• Gisèle Pelicot: el rostro de la valentía. El juicio por violación en Francia ha terminado. Se han dictado las sentencias. Y la imagen de Gisèle Pelicot se ha convertido en un símbolo de la fuerza femenina en todo el mundo.
• Cómo dormir de verdad en un avión. Estas estrategias probadas pueden ayudarte a conseguir cierto grado de descanso, incluso en un poco conveniente asiento vertical.
• ¿La gripe aviar presenta un riesgo para los humanos? California ha declarado el estado de emergencia por el virus. Esto es lo que los expertos saben de la gripe hasta el momento.
• Guía para pasar las fiestas en Nueva York, según una neoyorquina. Los habitantes de la ciudad han aprendido algunos trucos para disfrutar sin problemas la algarabía navideña. He aquí cómo residentes y visitantes pueden celebrar esta temporada manteniendo el estrés al mínimo.
• Cómo la covid puede cambiar tu intestino. Diarrea, estreñimiento, dolor, hinchazón: hemos preguntado a expertos por qué el virus causa estos problemas y qué hacer al respecto.
• 6 destinos turísticos para escapar del frío. No tienes que viajar muy lejos para aprovechar los beneficios del sol en pleno invierno.
• ¿Por qué no decirle a alguien que se ve increíble hoy? No subestimes el sencillo poder de hacer un cumplido a un desconocido.

Mundo

• ¿Cuáles son las opciones políticas de Justin Trudeau? El primer ministro de Canadá se ha enfrentado a críticas de la oposición por algunas de sus políticas sobre la pandemia y la economía.
• Trump amenaza a Europa con aranceles. ¿Está preparada? El presidente electo prometió “aranceles hasta el final” si Europa no compra más petróleo y gas estadounidenses. Los funcionarios europeos no tienen una estrategia clara para evitar una guerra comercial.
• Musk expresa su apoyo a un partido de extrema derecha en las elecciones alemanas. Elon Musk, empresario y asesor de Donald Trump, ha utilizado las redes sociales para expresar su apoyo a favor de partidos antiinmigrantes en Europa.
• Putin resta importancia a los fracasos de Rusia, Siria incluida. El presidente ruso, en una conferencia de prensa anual, dijo que aún no se había reunido con Bashar al Asad, el derrocado dirigente sirio que huyó a Moscú, pero que tenía previsto hacerlo.
• Europa tiene un vacío de liderazgo. ¿Cómo manejará a Trump? Con Alemania y Francia sumidas en la agitación política, el nuevo gobierno de Donald Trump comenzará en un momento de inestabilidad para el continente.
• ¿Quiénes son los 51 hombres condenados en el juicio por violación de Gisèle Pelicot? La mayoría de los acusados fueron condenados a penas de entre 8 y 10 años, inferiores a las penas de entre 10 y 18 años que había recomendado el fiscal.
• Caso Pelicot: algunas claves sobre el juicio y la condena por violación en Francia. Durante casi una década, Dominique Pelicot drogó y violó a su esposa e invitó a extraños a unirse a él. El caso ha convertido a Gisèle en una heroína feminista.
• 51 hombres condenados en el juicio por violación: lo que hay que saber del caso Pelicot. Dominique Pelicot fue condenado a 20 años por violar a su esposa, tras admitir que la drogó e invitó a otros hombres a violarla. La mayoría de los otros hombres también fueron condenados por violarla.
• El asesinato de un general ruso envía un mensaje a Moscú, pero no cambia el rumbo de la guerra en Ucrania. Las fuerzas ucranianas no dejan de perder terreno en el campo de batalla, y el asesinato del general no mejorará su esfuerzo bélico, afirman analistas y funcionarios.
• El juicio Pelicot: una cronología del caso. El juicio contra Dominique Pelicot por violar y drogar a su esposa, Gisèle, está a punto de llegar a un veredicto. He aquí cómo se desarrollaron los acontecimientos.
• ¿Quién es Dominique Pelicot, el depredador sexual más infame de Francia? Durante más de tres meses, jueces y abogados han intentado comprender la naturaleza del hombre que dijo haber drogado a su esposa e invitado a decenas de desconocidos a abusar de ella.
• ¿Quién es Friedrich Merz, el candidato más fuerte a la cancillería de Alemania? Si las encuestas no fallan, el sucesor de Olaf Scholz podría ser Friedrich Merz, de 69 años, líder de la Unión Cristianodemócrata. Ofrece volver a poner en marcha el motor.
• Rusia detiene a un hombre que dice haber matado al general Igor Kirillov por orden de Ucrania. La fiscalía rusa dijo que el sospechoso, un ciudadano uzbeko de 29 años, confesó haber colocado la bomba por orden de agentes ucranianos.
• La explosión que mató al general ruso quedó captada en video. Un video que grabó el asesinato de Igor Kirillov, general de alto rango, da algunas pistas sobre la potencia y la posición del artefacto explosivo.
• La alianza de Corea del Norte con Rusia le da beneficios y riesgos. El envío de soldados para combatir contra Ucrania ha proporcionado a Corea del Norte el dinero y la influencia diplomática que tanto necesitaba. Pero también puede tener costos ocultos.
• Un potente terremoto sacude Vanuatu y daña edificios. Se levantó la alerta de tsunami para la nación insular del Pacífico pero los sitios web del gobierno quedaron fuera de servicio. El edificio de la embajada de Estados Unidos sufrió graves daños, dijeron las autoridades.
• Las claves del colapso del gobierno de Alemania y lo que sigue. El canciller Olaf Scholz perdió un voto de confianza en el Parlamento alemán, poniendo fin al impopular gobierno de coalición tripartita que ha dirigido desde 2021.
• Ucrania dice que mató al general que dirigía las fuerzas de defensa nuclear rusas. Un funcionario ucraniano dijo que Kiev era responsable del asesinato de Igor Kirillov, jefe de las fuerzas de defensa radiactiva, química y biológica de Rusia.
• Putin guarda silencio sobre Siria, con el futuro de Rusia allí en entredicho. En una reunión televisada de una hora de duración con sus altos mandos militares, Vladimir Putin dejó claro que ganar en Ucrania era su máxima prioridad.
• Otro revés para Justin Trudeau: dimite la vice primera ministra de Canadá, Chrystia Freeland. Chrystia Freeland, vice primera ministra y ministra de Finanzas, había estado ayudando a dirigir la respuesta de Canadá al gobierno entrante de Donald Trump.
• El gobierno de Alemania se derrumba en un momento peligroso para Europa. El canciller Olaf Scholz perdió un voto de confianza, agravando las turbulencias políticas en una de las economías más poderosas del continente.
• ¿Cómo gobernarán Siria los rebeldes? Su pasado ofrece pistas. Los rebeldes islamistas que derrocaron el régimen de Bashar al Asad dirigían una gestión pragmática y disciplinada en el territorio que controlaban. También encarcelaron a sus críticos.
• Bashar al Asad no planeaba irse de Siria, según un comunicado. El exdirigente sirio dijo que fue evacuado por las fuerzas rusas después de que una alianza rebelde tomara la capital, pero que había querido quedarse y luchar, según una publicación del lunes en redes sociales.
• La guerra de Birmania ha obligado a médicas y enfermeras a prostituirse. Tras casi cuatro años de conflicto civil, la economía está en ruinas y la población está desesperada.
• Siria hace el recuento de los horrores en las cárceles de Al Asad. En la prisión más tristemente célebre del país, los sirios se enfrentan a sus peores miedos: nunca sabrán qué les ocurrió a sus seres queridos.
• Lisonjas, súplicas y halagos: Ucrania presenta su caso a Trump. Los funcionarios ucranianos, incluyendo el presidente Volodímir Zelenski, están haciendo todo lo posible para atraer al presidente electo Donald Trump a su bando.
• El presidente de Corea del Sur es destituido tras la crisis de la ley marcial. El destino del presidente Yoon Suk Yeol está ahora en manos del Tribunal Constitucional del país, que decidirá si lo restituye o lo destituye formalmente.
• ¿Qué es el captagon, el estimulante ilegal que hizo de la Siria de Al Asad un narco-Estado? La anfetamina ilegal, utilizada en todo Medio Oriente, se convirtió en la mayor exportación de Siria durante sus 13 años de guerra civil.

Negocios

• Disney retira el argumento transgénero de su nueva serie ‘Win or Lose’ Cuando Robert Iger regresó a Disney como director ejecutivo en 2022, dijo que algunos de los contenidos de la empresa se habían vuelto demasiado políticos y ordenó una revisión de los proyectos en curso.
• Claude, el chatbot con ‘entrenamiento de la personalidad’ que está ganando adeptos. Para sus simpatizantes, Claude parece ser más creativo y empático. Menos irritantemente robótico. Sus respuestas, dicen, no parecen tener la prosa genérica generada por otros chatbots.
• Los directores ejecutivos están alucinando. ¿Pueden las drogas psicodélicas mejorar el liderazgo? Una creciente industria artesanal se dedica a la teoría de que las drogas que alteran la mente pueden mejorar la alta dirección empresarial.

Opinión

• ¿El caso de los hermanos Menendez podría cambiar nuestra comprensión del abuso? Ahora la sociedad sabe más sobre el abuso, pero, desafortunadamente para los hermanos, la defensa social rara vez trae consigo un cambio judicial en Estados Unidos.
• Yo era ejecutivo de seguros de salud. Lo que vi me hizo renunciar. Los accionistas, y no los resultados de los pacientes, tienden a impulsar las decisiones en las compañías de seguros médicos.
• La Alemania que conocíamos ya no existe. El país económicamente próspero, socialmente cohesionado y políticamente estable ya no es el mismo.
• En defensa de Lara Trump, más o menos. El Senado de Estados Unidos se toma en serio a sí mismo, pero sus miembros no siempre son figuras particularmente devotas al servicio público.
• 4 escenarios para el desenlace de la guerra en Ucrania. Casi tres años después de que Vladimir Putin ordenara a los soldados rusos invadir Ucrania, la guerra está entrando en la que podría ser su fase final.
• El director ejecutivo de UnitedHealth Group: El sistema de salud es defectuoso. Arreglémoslo. Tenemos que mejorar la forma de explicar qué cubre un seguro y cómo se toman esas decisiones.

Weather

• Why Britain Has So Many White Christmases (Technically). Bing Crosby dreamed of it and Charles Dickens romanticized it, but the truth about a white Christmas in Britain may surprise you.
• Weather’s Impact on Your Wallet: See How Much You Know. Where do wildfires threaten the most homes? How much can an inch of floodwater in your house cost you? Take our quiz to find out.
• Mayotte Residents Struggle With Cyclone Chido Aftermath. Residents of Mayotte began relief efforts after Cyclone Chido devastated the French territory. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, surveyed the damage and received a mixed welcome.
• Traveling for Christmas? Here’s Where Weather May Snarl Your Plans. A day-by-day look at the snow, cold and rain that may make driving or flying home for the holidays more difficult.
• Back-to-Back-to-Back Atmospheric Rivers Are Expected to Soak the West Coast. A run of storms is moving through the Pacific Northwest and Northern California over the next week.
• France Sends Soldiers to Find Survivors Following Cyclone Chido. The French territory of Mayotte off the eastern coast of Africa was left devastated by Tropical Cyclone Chido. French authorities said it could take days to establish a death toll.
• Expect Icy Roads in Parts of the Northeast on Monday Morning. Light snow and freezing rain in parts of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York could make the commute hazardous, forecasters said.

Video

• Many Videos That Purport to Show Drones in New Jersey Likely Show Planes, Visual Analysis Finds. Here’s why it’s hard to distinguish objects in the night sky.

International Home

• With Guilty Verdicts, Victim’s Rape Ordeal in France Becomes a Message of Hope. Dozens of men who abused Gisèle Pelicot were convicted, including the man who invited them to do so: her husband of 50 years. She wanted the public trial to show rape victims they were not alone.