Trump’s Second-Term Promises: What He’s Done So Far on Immigration, Trade, DEI and More
President Trump has driven illegal crossings at the border to record lows, helped bring about an uneasy cease-fire in Gaza and upended the global trading system.
Kennedy Center Chief Threatens Legal Action Over Canceled Christmas Concert
The musician Chuck Redd called off the annual Christmas Eve performances after the Kennedy Center board added President Trump’s name to the performing arts center.Crews added President Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 19.
Karoline Leavitt Says She’s Expecting Her Second Child
The White House press secretary announced on Instagram that she was pregnant with a daughter who is due in May. She and her husband have a 1-year-old son.Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, this month at the office. She’s the youngest person to hold the job.
California Drops Lawsuit Over $4 Billion Federal Cut to High-Speed Rail Project
California sued after the Trump administration cut grants for the long-planned project. The state says it will seek private investors instead.A high-speed rail overpass being built outside Hanford, Calif., in April.
Russia Pummels Kyiv Before Trump-Zelensky Meeting
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that the assault, which continued for nearly 10 hours, showed that Moscow was not serious about peace.Firefighters at the site of a Russian strike on an apartment building on Saturday in Kyiv, Ukraine.
This Ukrainian Soldier Spent More Than a Year on the Front Line
Serhii Tyschenko, a Ukrainian combat medic, spent 472 days in a bunker. His case appears to be an extreme example of a problem that has long plagued Kyiv’s military.Sgt. Serhii Tyschenko last month in his home village near Kyiv, Ukraine.
What Went Wrong Before Hong Kong’s Inferno
Records show how government departments played down residents’ warnings about corrupt practices and substandard materials that fueled the deadly blaze.The Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong days after a fire on Nov. 26 killed 161 people and displaced thousands.
How One Father Created an Organ Empire
The National Kidney Registry has matched thousands of kidney donors with recipients. It has also paid millions of dollars to a company owned by its founder.The organization, which began as a nonprofit, charges hospitals for access to its donor registry.
Park Chan-wook and the Funny Thing About Stomach-Churning Horror
When American studios wouldn’t back his film about a laid-off manager committing gruesome murders, the director returned to Korea. Now he has a hit on his hands.When Park adds humor to his films, “it sometimes skips a couple of steps, so it can go over people’s heads,” Lee said.
In Which I Try Valiantly to Cheer You Up
OK, 2025 wasn’t the best year ever. But we’re arguably still in the best decade in the history of humanity.
Good Calls
This week, we close out the year with your best advice of 2025.
More Than 2 Inches of Snow Falls in New York City, Disrupting Flights
Predictions were revised down on Friday. Central Park still saw more than two inches of snow, with higher totals outside of New York City.
Annette Dionne, Last of the Celebrated Quintuplets, Dies at 91
She was the first to crawl, the first to cut a tooth, the first to recognize her name, and the last to die. And, like her sisters, she resented being exploited as part of a global sensation.Clockwise from top left, Marie, Emelie, Annette, Yvonne and Cécile in 1952.
In Myanmar, the Election Is Called Fake, but the Human Suffering Is Real
A coup set off a brutal civil war and made a poor country poorer. Now its military rulers are seeking a veneer of legitimacy by holding elections.Buddhist devotees visiting the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, on Thursday.
A Wealth Tax Floated in California Has Billionaires Thinking of Leaving
It’s uncertain whether the proposal will reach the statewide ballot in November, but some billionaires like Peter Thiel and Larry Page may be unwilling to take the risk.Peter Thiel, a tech venture capitalist, could face a tax bill of more than $1.2 billion if the proposed wealth tax is placed on the