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📷 Pic du jour Photo: Andrew Leyden/Getty Images The newly reopened Washington Monument provided a fresh vantage point today on construction crews continuing to remove the East Wing of the White House in preparation for ballroom construction.

Brutal entry-level job market Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios College students graduating in the spring will be entering one of the worst job markets in years, The Wall Street Journal reports from a survey of employers (gift link). Big companies believe they can get by with significantly fewer workers than they've had in the past, so they're hiring less overall. Entry-level applicants are also competing against a large population of recently laid-off workers with a bit more experience. And AI may eat everyone's lunch before long. 💼 By the numbers: Handshake, a job site catering to people who are early in their careers, says there are an average of 26% more applications per job, compared to the same time last year, per the WSJ. Over 60% of the upcoming graduating class said they're pessimistic about their careers.

🐣 Nepo mania on the Hill Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios We've written all about the lawmakers fleeing Congress. Now we'll tell you about the lawmakers whose kids want to join the family business. Shaheen's daughter Stefany Shaheen is running in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. Rep. Chellie Pingree's (D-Maine) daughter Hannah Pingree is running for governor of Maine. Sen. Angus King's (I-Maine) son Angus King III is running for governor of Maine. Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-S.C.) son Alan Wilson is running for governor of South Carolina. Rep. Andy Biggs' (R-Ariz.) daughter Mylie Biggs is running in 2026 for a state legislative district her father once held. Zoom out: President John F. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg is running to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) in New York's 12th Congressional District. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's son-in-law Michael Alfonso is running to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. House seat Duffy held from 2011 to 2019. Beau Bayh, son of former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and grandson of former Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), launched a bid in October for Indiana's secretary of state. Between the lines: Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J) — and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — all had parents who served in the House. Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) father also served in the House. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) father was a senator. What's next: In 2028, Christine Pelosi is running for California's state Senate. — April Rubin

💪 Key players on ACA talks In this new phase, the focus is shifting from the small bipartisan gang that held talks on reopening the government. The Senate Finance Committee, led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), is expected to lead the negotiations — with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) members also closely involved, multiple sources familiar with early talks tell us. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) chairs HELP, but is also a member of Finance. He is passionate about health care issues, up for reelection next year and a trained physician. He's pushing a plan he says fulfills Trump's call to send the subsidy money to consumers directly by filling flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — Finance's ranking member — is a key player on the Democratic side, as is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. A Schumer spokesperson said: "The bill Democrats bring to the floor will be a caucus product." Other key voices to watch include Sens. Marshall, Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Jon Husted (R-Ohio) for Republicans. For Democrats, watch Sens. Shaheen and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). — Stef Kight and Peter Sullivan

🚨The next hard deadline Millions of Americans have a huge financial stake in the next few weeks of Senate negotiations over the Affordable Care Act's enhanced tax credits. Why it matters: Absent a deal, health care coverage costs could double next year for people who rely on ACA exchange plans. Zoom in: Senators from both parties are cautiously optimistic that a bipartisan deal to extend the subsidies is possible. But there are significant political headwinds. House Speaker Mike Johnson won't guarantee a vote in the House, even if enough Republicans support a bipartisan deal to get it through the Senate. President Trump would need to sign off, but his recent Truth Social posts have emphasized problems with the ACA — not a need to continue the expiring tax credits. If no bipartisan deal comes together in the Senate, Republicans are expected to put forward their own proposal. Between the lines: Most Senate Republicans have been adamant that any deal to extend the tax credits will need to be short-term and require "reforms." Income caps: Conservative Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told us he could see himself supporting a deal if an income cap was placed back on the enhanced subsidies, and even Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) has said such a change is reasonable. Fraud prevention: Republicans have raised concerns about $0 premium plans, which they say allow fraudsters to sign people up without their knowledge, costing the government more money. One idea being floated is a low-cost premium, such as $10. Hyde amendment: "We're not doing something without the Hyde amendment attached," Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told reporters last week, an argument many Republicans agree with. The hot topic of abortion has the potential to derail any bipartisan compromise. The bottom line: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), leaving a meeting of Finance Committee Republicans on Monday, said no "consensus" exists on what to do on health care, but he thinks a deal is possible in the next month. Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) said he'll "be open-minded," adding, "Let's see how all this plays out." — Stef Kight and Peter Sullivan

Doritos and Cheetos dial back the bright orange in new versions without artificial ingredients Doritos and Cheetos are getting a makeover. PepsiCo said Thursday it’s launching toned-down versions of its bright orange snacks that won’t have any artificial colors or flavors. Many other big food companies, including Kraft Heinz and General Mills, have made similar pledges. They’re feeling pressure from federal regulators and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are urging companies to eliminate synthetic food dyes by next year. Read more.

New prosecutor takes on the Georgia election case against Trump and others Pete Skandalakis, a longtime prosecutor, announced he will take over the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from the case and no one else wanted the job. Read more.

She wanted to keep her son in his school district. It was more challenging than it seemed It was the worst summer in years. Sechita McNair’s family took no vacations. Her younger boys didn’t go to camp. Her van was repossessed, and her family nearly got evicted — again. But she accomplished the one thing she wanted most. A few weeks before school started, McNair, an out-of-work film industry veteran barely getting by driving for Uber, signed a lease in the right Atlanta neighborhood so her eldest son could stay at his high school. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ PHOTO ESSAY: One single mom’s quest to find housing after an eviction Takeaways from AP’s story on the links between eviction and school Getting the story: How an AP reporter chronicled a sensitive story about school and eviction

Marjorie Taylor Greene Tears Into Trump’s ‘Gaslighting’ in Escalating Feud The Georgia Republican isn’t quitting in her fight with her own party. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is accusing the Trump administration and MAGA Republicans of “gaslighting” Americans about the cost of living. The Georgia Republican, who has been butting heads with President Donald Trump over spending and foreign policy, rejected his claim that groceries are “at the lowest prices they have ever been.” Polling has repeatedly shown that voters do not believe inflation has eased enough to improve their daily costs, and Greene suggested the administration is pretending otherwise. Speaking on The Sean Spicer Show on Thursday, the congresswoman told former White House press secretary Sean Spicer that the line coming from Trumpworld is not just tone-deaf—it is politically dangerous. “President Trump and his administration [do] deserve a lot of credit for lowering inflation and holding it steady, but that doesn’t bring prices down,” she said, adding, “And so gaslighting the people and trying to tell them that prices have come down is not helping.” Greene warned that the messaging is already enraging voters. “It’s actually infuriating people because people know what they’re paying at the grocery store. They know what they’re paying for their kid’s clothes and school supplies. They know what they’re paying for their electricity bills,” she said. She argued Republicans should “show that we are in the trenches with them” rather than deny voters’ reality. “That’s first and foremost,” Greene continued. “You don’t gaslight them. You don’t lecture them, and you don’t deny what’s happening.” She did not spare her own party’s record, pointing to government spending as the long-term accelerant of rising prices. Greene cited both Trump-era COVID stimulus packages and later Democratic bills as culprits. “Government spending drives inflation,” she said, arguing that the CARES Act and subsequent Democratic legislation “dump money into the economy” in ways that sent prices soaring. Her broadside comes as Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have spent the past week dismissing the idea of a cost-of-living crisis as a media-driven hoax. Both have insisted that prices are down and accused Democrats and their allies of pushing a “con job.” Trump, meanwhile, has said his one-time MAGA ally has “lost her way” and is now “catering” to Democrats. “I don’t know what happened to Marjorie. She’s a nice woman, but I don’t know what happened. She’s lost her way, I think,” Trump said when asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to respond to Greene’s criticism that he is too focused on foreign policy rather than domestic issues such as rising healthcare and food costs. Greene said in an appearance on The View last week that she loves the president, despite their current disagreements. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-tears-into-trumps-gaslighting-in-escalating-feud/?

Trump Rages About Affordability ‘Con’ as Living Costs Rise The president insists goods are cheaper despite evidence to the contrary. President Donald Trump has blasted Democrats for lying about affordability as he struggles to keep his promise to bring down costs. A series of recent economic and political indicators has put the Trump administration on the defensive, even as the record-long government shutdown comes to an end. “Affordability is a lie when used by the Dems. It is a complete CON JOB,” Trump wrote in a post on Friday. He argued that costs under his administration are tumbling down, but data suggest otherwise. While inflation has dramatically eased over the past few years since it dramatically peaked under President Joe Biden as the U.S. came out of the pandemic in 2022, the cost of living has continued to go up. The most recent data has not been released and may never come out due to the government shutdown, but inflation was up three percent year over year in September while the price of food was up 3.1 percent. Trump has repeatedly claimed the cost of energy is down, including in his post on Friday, and while Americans are paying somewhat less at the gas pump, energy prices are still up from a year ago. Electricity costs were up more than five percent, and service costs were up more than six percent. U.S. consumer confidence hit a six-month low, according to the latest survey released this week. “We are the Party of Affordability!” the president declared in his post on Friday. However, that claim does not appear to be sticking with voters. Last week, Democrats swept a series of off-year elections while running largely on the issue of affordability and the cost of living, signaling the administration and Republicans’ discussion around the topic have not been landing or believed. Voters who said the economy was a top concern helped deliver victories for both the Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey as well as the New York mayoral race for Zohran Mamdani in New York. And while a group of Democrats caved and voted for the GOP bill to end the shutdown this week, millions of Americans are still waiting to see how the president and congressional Republicans in power address the cost of health care as premiums are set to spike with the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies at the end of the year. The president and GOP members have not revealed how they plan to prevent costs from skyrocketing while Democrats have demanded the ACA tax credits be extended and will try to force a vote. At the same time, the president’s widespread tariffs have muddled Trump’s own messaging on lowering prices as the administration has contradicted itself repeatedly over whether tariffs are a tax on American consumers. Economists have warned for months that Trump’s sweeping tariffs would drive up prices as the cost is passed on to American consumers and it has started to show up in the economic data. This week, the president claimed in a Fox News interview that the administration was going to “lower some tariffs” in response to the rising price of coffee. It was an apparent acknowledgement that he knew his trade policies were impacting costs for Americans. The price of coffee is up nearly 20 percent from a year ago. One week ago, Trump also accused foreign-owned meat packers of driving up the price of beef in the U.S. and called for the Justice Department to investigate. However, economists have also warned his tariffs were driving up the cost of beef as Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world while the U.S. remains a major buyer. The New York Times reported on Friday that the administration is preparing broad exemptions to some tariffs to help ease food prices. If implemented, it would be the latest backtrack on one of the president’s main economic policies as the administration faces affordability concerns. “The Trump administration is committed to pursuing a nimble, nuanced, and multi-faceted strategy on trade and tariffs, said White House spokesperson Kush Desai in response to Daily Beast’s question about the report. ”President Trump’s September 5th executive order specifically laid out various natural resources and agricultural products not produced in the United States that could be eligible for tariff-free treatment." He said that exemptions are set “to be granted following a spate of new trade deals being inked with some of our biggest allies in the western hemisphere.” However, Democrats immediately seized on the report as an admission. “After lying for months, Donald Trump has finally admitted that his tariffs are forcing Americans to pay more for groceries and making the affordability crisis worse,” Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden said in a memo. “Even if he lifts his taxes on a few products this week, American consumers, farmers, and small businesses will be paying more for essential goods for as long as he’s in office and Republicans refuse to do their job and end the tariffs.” Meanwhile, the the White House has continued to argue that it inherited a mess from Biden when Trump took office eleven months ago. With affordability in mind, they sent out a release on Friday insisting they’ve made progress and touting the GOP tax bill passed over the summer that extended provisions of the 2017 law while throwing in some new ones aimed at working Americans such as allowing them to temporarily deduct overtime and tips. Trump blasting affordability as a “con job” by Democrats comes more than a week after he said while responding to a Fox News reporter’s question “I don’t want to hear about the affordability.” The comment echoed across cable news and the internet turning heads even among his base which urged him to do something to address rising costs. Since then, the president has continued to argue he has done better than former President Joe Biden while repeating false claims about falling prices despite being called out. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rages-about-affordability-con-as-living-costs-rise/?

Trump Demands New Epstein Probe With One Glaring Loophole The move came as the president struggles to contain the firestorm over Epstein’s bombshell emails. President Donald Trump has ordered Pam Bondi to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s links to Bill Clinton and other Democratic enemies as he struggles to contain the fallout over the convicted sex offender. But there is one prominent name he has missed off his list of DOJ targets—himself. After avoiding questions about Epstein for the third consecutive day, Trump took to social media on Friday to direct his Attorney General to investigate the disgraced financier’s connection to the former president, as well as former Harvard president Larry Summers, mega-donor Reid Hoffman and JP Morgan Chase.“Now that the Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans, to try and deflect from their disastrous SHUTDOWN, and all of their other failures, I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him,” he wrote. “This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats. Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his “Island.” Stay tuned!!!” Trump’s Friday morning post is not the first time he has ordered Bondi to go after his enemies. So far this year, his retribution campaign has targeted former FBI director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Democrat Senator Adam Schiff. And once again, Bondi - who had promised to release the Epstein files but has since come come under fire for her handling of the issue - quickly adhered to his demand. Within hours she had appointed Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to take the lead. “As with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people,” Bondi said. The push to probe Clinton and other high-profile figures in Epstein’s orbit comes as the president braces for several Republicans to break ranks next week and support a bipartisan bill calling for the Justice Department to release the Epstein files. The issue exploded to the fore again on Wednesday when explosive emails released revealed Trump may have known more about Epstein’s conduct than he has acknowledged. One email claimed Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s house with one of his victims, who has since been identified as the late Virginia Giuffre. In another, Epstein explicitly stated Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop”—a reference to Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who recruited victims as part of his sex trafficking operation. But as the president’s frustration over the Epstein files grows, he has now sought to turn the blowtorch on others, declaring earlier on Friday: “Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!” Epstein and Clinton moved in overlapping social and political circles, but the former president has long insisted he knew nothing about the child sex trafficker’s crimes. According to flight records, Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet—sometimes referred to as the Lolita Express—for what he has said were trips related to his charitable foundation. As reported earlier this year, Clinton also contributed to a 50th birthday book for Epstein decades ago, just as Trump did, in which he described the “childlike curiosity” of the then-financier. A spokesperson for Clinton told the Daily Beast: “These emails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else.” Epstein’s emails also feature correspondence with Summers, a former Treasury Secretary and a prominent economist who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations. In one email, Summers tells Epstein about a 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia, including a quip that the “general view” among Saudi officials was that “Donald is a clown, increasingly dangerous on foreign policy.” In another email, Epstein describes himself as a “good wing man” as they discuss Summers’ attempts to attract women. Hoffman was also linked to Epstein, but has previously said his “few interactions” involved fundraising for the MIT Media Lab. The venture capitalist and LinkedIn founder once invited Epstein to an August 2015 dinner in Palo Alto with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and JD Vance’s top donor, Peter Thiel. In a statement on X, Hoffman called for all the files to be released. “I refuse to bend the knee to Donald Trump and is slanderous lies,” he added. The men, along with JB Chase, who was one of Epstein’s former clients, are among many people named in the latest trove of emails. The emails, released by the House Oversight Committee, also name Trump multiple times over 15 years as well as allies such as Steve Bannon and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack. But Trump has ordered Bondi to probe the group anyway, while at the same time describing the Epstein files as a “hoax” designed to distract from his achievements. “Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!” he said. The Daily Beast has reached out to Summers. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-demands-new-epstein-probe-with-one-glaring-loophole/?

Trump, 79, Melts Down at His Own Party Over Epstein ‘Hoax’ The president ranted about “soft and foolish” Republicans on social media. President Donald Trump raged against members of his own party on Friday as a growing number of Republicans have indicated they will vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump, 79, has been desperately trying to stop more documents from going public after the House released a series of damaging emails from the Epstein estate on Wednesday in which he was mentioned. That same day, the bipartisan discharge petition reached enough signatures to force a vote in the House to release the full Epstein files despite the GOP leadership’s wishes. After months of pushing back, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the vote would take place next week. But the president took aim at members of both parties on Friday. Trump accused Democrats of doing everything they can to “push the Epstein Hoax again” and claimed in his Truth Social post that it was to deflect from the “SHUTDOWN EMBARRASSMENT, where their party is in total disarray.” However, several Republicans signed onto the discharge petition, and a significant number of GOP members are expected to buck Trump and support the release of the full files related to the convicted sex offender when the vote takes place. “Some Weak Republicans have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish,” Trump wrote in his post. “Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!” GOP Reps. Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert signed the discharge petition in September and refused to back down despite pressure. Reps. Don Bacon, Rob Bresnahan, Tim Burchett, Warren Davidson and Eli Crane have all said either publicly or to a publication including CNN and Politico that they would vote for the bill when it comes to the floor. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who introduced it with Massie, said he expects 40 to 50 Republicans to back it. Trump has ignored questions from reporters about the Epstein files since the latest documents were released on Wednesday despite being in settings where he usually engages with the media. The president on Friday ranted on Truth Social that “Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, and Larry Summers about Epstein, they know all about him, don’t waste your time with Trump.” The three, like Trump, are known associates of Epstein. None have been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. In a separate post, the president then said he was directing the Justice Department and FBI to investigate their relationships. “I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him,” he wrote. The documents released on Wednesday showed that Epstein wrote in an email that Trump knew about the girls and had spent hours with one of the victims. The name was redacted when Democrats released it, but Republicans on the House Oversight Committee said it was Virginia Giuffre and accused Democrats redacting her name to try and create a “fake narrative.” The committee Republicans released 20,000 pages of documents on Wednesday. Trump was mentioned numerous times in the emails released. Epstein referred to Trump as “dirty,” “mad,” “f---ing crazy” and “borderline insane” in emails provided by his estate. In a 2018 one he wrote “I am the one able to take him down.” Trump has never been accused of engaging in criminal activity in connection with Epstein. The White House this week attempted to downplay the released emails. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats in a statement of “selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-melts-down-at-his-own-party-over-epstein-hoax/?

Judge says he’ll approve opioid settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue and Sackler family NEW YORK (AP) — A federal bankruptcy court judge on Friday said he will approve OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s latest deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids that includes some money for thousands of victims of the epidemic. https://apnews.com/article/purdue-pharma-bankruptcy-sackler-settlement-a8c9ae5427b3195096aec8d54b17a054?

College football coach John Beam from ‘Last Chance U’ has died after being shot OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland’s celebrated former football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U” that showcased his success with players others wouldn’t gamble on, died Friday, a day after being shot on the college campus where he worked. https://apnews.com/article/john-beam-shooting-last-chance-u-oakland-arrest-6c398d3216d3f3a5fbbcc85c68030e26?

Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts On Oct. 2, the second day of the government shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived at Mount Rushmore to shoot a television ad. Sitting on horseback in chaps and a cowboy hat, Noem addressed the camera with a stern message for immigrants: “Break our laws, we’ll punish you.” https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-dhs-ad-campaign-strategy-group?

FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two other newly hired senior FBI staff members, exempting them from passing polygraph exams normally required to gain access to America’s most sensitive classified information, according to a former senior FBI official and several other government officials. https://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-kash-patel-dan-bongino-waived-polygraph? ps:Of course he did!! ⚖️ Attorney General Pam Bondi assigned the U.S. attorney in Manhattan to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats, including former President Clinton. President Trump ordered the investigation on Truth Social. Go deeper. 🪖 The Trump administration will deploy Border Patrol agents to Charlotte as early as this weekend, as part of its immigration crackdown. Go deeper. ✈️ The Trump administration killed a Biden-era proposal to require airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays or cancellations. The Transportation Department said airlines already have incentives to reimburse passengers voluntarily. Go deeper. Trump scraps tariffs on beef, coffee and tropical fruit in a push to lower grocery store prices WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was scrapping U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and a broad swath of other commodities — a dramatic move that comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices. https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-coffee-beef-fruit-4fe084c2724ec6d92096efa263fdcf76?

Magnesium for Sleep Question: My 70-year-old mother struggles with insomnia. Will magnesium supplementation help her sleep better? https://adventistreview.org/lifestyles/well-being/magnesium-for-sleep/

A girl in Zambia made her decision: No opposition would stop her from embracing Jesus. https://adventistreview.org/news/how-much-are-you-willing-to-endure-for-the-sake-of-truth/

Louisiana prison guards cut a Rastafari inmate’s dreadlocks. Supreme Court will decide if he can sue WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday wrestled with whether a former Louisiana inmate can sue prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-prison-inmate-dreadlocks-rastafari-louisiana-c7c9b37c5d82b74b1685746461025f00?

Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols asks governor for life in prison instead NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols are asking the governor to convert his sentence to life imprisonment with just a month until his scheduled execution date. https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-death-row-harold-wayne-nichols-execution-382fb1ba695a5736c8f778bbf7c7e6dd?

Israeli settlers torch a mosque and scrawl hateful messages despite official condemnation DEIR ISTIYA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance, a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians. https://apnews.com/article/israel-settlers-radical-west-bank-netanyahu-herzog-46127028ea1c06cf7cb57a81816b3ded?

US Catholic bishops select conservative archbishop to lead U.S. Catholic bishops have elected Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley to lead them during President Donald Trump’s second term. In choosing Coakley, the bishops are doubling down on their conservative bent, even as they push for more humane immigration policies from the Trump administration. Read more. Why this matters: Coakley was seen as a strong contender for the top post, having already been elected in 2022 to serve as secretary, the No. 3 official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He beat out centrist candidate Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who was subsequently elected vice president. Coakley serves as adviser to the Napa Institute, an association for conservative Catholic powerbrokers. In 2018, he publicly supported an ardent critic of Pope Francis, Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who was later excommunicated for stances that were deemed divisive. The bishops' conference has often been at odds with the Vatican and the inclusive, modernizing approach of Francis. His U.S.-born successor, Pope Leo XIV is continuing a similar pastoral emphasis on marginalized people, poverty and the environment. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US bishops officially ban gender-affirming care at Catholic hospitals At the 6-months mark, Pope Leo finds his footing and starts charting his own path and style Immigration crackdown stokes fear and solidarity at a Catholic church in DC Vatican rehires couple fired from its bank for violating workplace marriage rule VATICAN CITY (AP) — A married couple who had been fired from the Vatican bank for violating an internal rule barring workplace marriages has been rehired in a negotiated settlement, the union for Vatican lay employees announced Wednesday. https://apnews.com/article/vatican-couple-workplace-marriage-reinstated-cb22a5487d97e34f53246430c70ea2d5? Vatican investigates Swiss Guard after allegations of an antisemitic incident in St. Peter’s Square ROME (AP) — The Vatican said Monday it was investigating a possible antisemitic incident, in which a Swiss Guard allegedly made a spitting gesture toward two Jewish women. https://apnews.com/article/vatican-swiss-guard-antisemitism-jewish-women-pope-leo-f270174110f18f5527a5c3a55800f10e?

🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Weekend watchlist, Ohtani and Judge win MVP, gambling headlines, MLS 3.0, NBA All-Breakout Team, Padres could be for sale, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 💵 Gambling headlines: The NFL is restricting prop bets in the wake of scandals in the NBA and MLB; Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was arrested and pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces in the aforementioned MLB scandal; 14 people were charged in New Jersey for their roles in a Mafia-backed betting ring involving college athletes. 🏀 Curry splits from Under Armour: After more than a decade, Stephen Curry and Under Armour are parting ways. The Warriors guard's Curry Brand, which was launched in 2020, will continue independently of the company. 🏈 CFP committee shake-up: Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek is replacing Baylor AD Mack Rhoades as the College Football Playoff selection committee chair after Rhoades took a leave of absence amid an investigation into a potential violation of school policies. ⚾️ Coming home: The Tampa Bay Rays are set to return to Tropicana Field next year after being displaced this past season due to damages caused by Hurricane Milton. 📺 Pac-12's new home: The rebuilt Pac-12 has finalized its TV contract for the near future, inking a deal with USA Sports to televise 22 football games a year through the 2030 season.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Will MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford continue his torrid pace in a huge divisional matchup against Seattle? (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 🏈 NFL, Week 11 The Commanders and Dolphins meet in Madrid on Sunday morning (9:30am ET, NFL) for the seventh and final international game of the season. Back home, the Week 11 slate is headlined by four tantalizing heavyweight matchups: Buccaneers at Bills (1pm, CBS): Both are 6-3. Both are led by MVP candidates. Both are coming off losses. Seahawks at Rams (4pm, Fox): The game of the weekend. These NFC West foes are tied atop the division at 7-2 and have both won four straight games. Los Angeles has the second-best title odds (+700 at BetMGM) and Seattle has the fifth-best (+1100). Chiefs at Broncos (4:25pm, CBS): With an eighth straight win, Denver (8-2) would make it very tough for KC (5-4) to challenge for their 10th consecutive AFC West crown. Lions at Eagles (8:20pm, NBC): Not a bad way to end the day, with first-place Philly (7-2) and first-place Detroit (6-3) playing on "Sunday Night Football." Best of the rest: Bears at Vikings (1pm, Fox); Bengals at Steelers (1pm, CBS); Chargers at Jaguars (1pm, CBS); Panthers at Falcons (1pm, Fox) 🏈 NCAAF, Week 12 Saturday's slate features four matchups between ranked teams, including two SEC showdowns inside the top 11. No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 22 Pitt (12pm, ABC) No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 4 Alabama (3:30pm, ABC) No. 21 Iowa at No. 17 USC (3:30pm, BTN) No. 10 Texas at No. 5 Georgia (7:30pm, ABC) Best of the rest: NC State at No. 15 Miami (3:30pm, ESPN); No. 13 Utah at Baylor (7pm, ESPN2); UCLA at No. 1 Ohio State (7:30pm, NBC); TCU at No. 12 BYU (10:15pm, ESPN). 🎾 ATP Finals Today's group stage finale pits Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton (8am, Tennis) and Alexander Zverev against Félix Auger-Aliassime (2:30pm, Tennis). Sinner is already through to the semis, where he'll play Alex de Minaur tomorrow, while the winner of the Zverev-FAA match will face Carlos Alcaraz in tomorrow's other semifinal. The championship is on Sunday (12pm). ⚽️ NWSL Semifinals The second-seeded Washington Spirit host the third-seeded Portland Thorns on Saturday (12pm, CBS). The fourth-seeded Orlando Pride host eighth-seeded Gotham FC on Sunday (3pm, ABC). Fun fact: It would have been nearly impossible to hand-pick a more appropriate final four. The league's last four champions? Washington (2021), Portland (2022), Gotham (2023) and Orlando (2024). More to watch: 🏀 NBA: Heat at Knicks (Fri. 7pm, Prime); Warriors at Spurs (Fri. 9:30pm, Prime) … Day 3 of the in-season tournament. 🏒 NHL: Bruins at Canadiens (Sat. 7pm, NHL) … Montreal and Boston are part of a three-way tie with Ottawa atop the Atlantic 🏀 NCAAM: No. 5 Arizona at No. 15 UCLA (Fri. 10pm, Peacock); No. 3 UConn vs. No. 7 BYU (Sat. 7pm, Fox); No. 1 Houston vs. No. 22 Auburn (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) 🏀 NCAAW: No. 18 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Michigan (Sat. 4pm, NBC); No. 2 South Carolina at No. 8 USC (Sat. 9pm, Fox); No. 17 TCU at No. 10 NC State (Sun. 1pm, ESPN) ⚽️ Friendly: USMNT vs. Paraguay (Sat. 5pm, TNT) … At Subaru Park outside Philadelphia. ⛳️ DP World Tour: Tour Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf) … Season-ending tournament in Dubai. ⛳️ LPGA: The Annika (Fri-Sun, Golf) … Haeran Ryu (-6) leads by one stroke after Round 1. 👊 MMA: UFC 322 (Sat. 10pm, ESPN+ PPV) … Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev (welterweight) and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili (flyweight) are the headliners at MSG. 🥊 Boxing: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn (Sat. 4:30pm, DAZN PPV) … Family rivals meet in a rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.   ⚾️ MLB AWARDS OHTANI, JUDGE WIN MVP (AGAIN) (Yahoo Sports) For the first time in MLB history, the same two players won National League and American League MVP in back-to-back years. NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani won his fourth MVP award (all unanimous) to join Barry Bonds (7) as the only players with more than three. From Yahoo Sports' Jack Baer: When Ohtani signed his 10-year, $700 million with the Dodgers in 2023, the price shocked a baseball world that had never seen a contract larger than Trout's $426 million deal. And two years later, that contract, and its deferrals, could not look like a bigger bargain. Ohtani has been the most valuable player in the NL in back-to-back years, and a World Series champion in back-to-back years. He has transformed the business of the Dodgers, turning them into an advertising powerhouse in his native Japan, one of the richest countries in the world and a nation that worships him at a level of celebrity beyond anything in the U.S. It's quite possible Ohtani has already paid for himself as far as the Dodgers are concerned. The team had an enormous set of advantages, such as its enormous TV contract and the largest stadium in MLB, but Ohtani's success has sent them to a higher plane, and there's no telling if they come down as long as he's on the field. (Yahoo Sports) AL MVP: Aaron Judge beat out Cal Raleigh in a close race to win his third MVP award, joining Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to do so. From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: This third MVP all but secures Judge a place in Cooperstown. All the other three-time winners are either in the Hall of Fame (Berra, Roy Campanella, DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Mike Schmidt), not yet eligible (Ohtani, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout) or would be first-ballot shoo-ins if not for alleged PED use (Bonds, Alex Rodriguez). There is a strong case to be made that Judge is the single greatest right-handed hitter in the sport's history. His 179 OPS+ is the highest career mark for a righty since integration. Only 10 other hitters (Mike Trout, Mark McGwire, Dick Allen, Frank Thomas, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Manny Ramírez, Frank Robinson, Ralph Kiner and DiMaggio) are even above 150. Put differently, Judge is the type of hitter so unavoidably good that he supersedes seasons like the one Raleigh just put up. It's yet another data point on Judge's résumé as one of the best sluggers to ever play the game. There remains a gaping void in his trophy case; that ever-elusive first World Series title. But as this October showed us, one locked-in dynamo cannot carry a franchise alone. Judge dominated this postseason and it made little difference.   ⚽️ FALL-TO-SPRING MLS 3.0: NEW CALENDAR, NO PAYWALL (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) Major League Soccer made two sweeping changes on Thursday, voting to (1) overhaul its schedule and (2) ditch its paywall. Owners voted to flip to a fall-to-spring season starting in 2027, aligning with top leagues around the world. MLS will do away with the "Season Pass" paywall next season, meaning all games will be available to Apple TV subscribers at no additional cost. From Yahoo Sports' Steven Goff: For decades, MLS rowed against the current, starting the season early in the calendar year, playing through soccer-busy summers and ending as Christmas lights went up. Starting in 2027, however, the 30-team circuit will align itself with most European leagues by conducting the season from mid-to-late July until late May. It's a seismic move, one that MLS executives and team owners weighed for years before finally finding consensus Thursday at the Board of Governors meeting in South Florida. The last time they took such pronounced action was 2007 by instituting the Designated Player rule, a mechanism for teams to get around the salary cap and sign global superstars, such as David Beckham and Lionel Messi. For a league with big ambitions but a history of puzzling decisions, the schedule change needed to happen. Ideally, it would have been enacted before the World Cup in North America casts an enormous shadow over the league next summer. But it will finally happen. Good for MLS.   🌎 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS Henderson after scoring his third touchdown. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Foxborough, Massachusetts — The Patriots (9-2) cruised past the Jets, 27-14, for their eighth straight win behind a monster game from rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson (93 total yards, 3 TD), clinching their first winning season since 2021. MVP? Drake Maye's MVP-caliber campaign continued (281 yards, TD) and put him in rarefied air as the first QB in NFL history with at least 2,500 passing yards, 250 rushing yards, 20 passing TDs, a 70% completion rate and an .800 win percentage in a single-season span of 11 starts. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) 🇮🇹 Turin, Italy — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Lorenzo Musetti to finish the group stage of the ATP Finals undefeated and clinch his spot as the year-end world No. 1 for the first time since 2022. His record this season? 70-8. Not bad. De Minaur finally breaks through: In the day's other match, Alex de Minaur took down Taylor Fritz to secure his spot in the semifinals alongside Alcaraz, snapping an 0-5 lifetime record in the ATP Finals and an 0-16 streak against top-10 players. Ronaldo sarcastically acknowledges Ireland's fans after being sent off. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland — Well, there's a first time for everything, and in Cristiano Ronaldo's 226th career international match, the 40-year-old was shown his first red card with Portugal, which fell 2-0 to Ireland in World Cup qualifying. Elsewhere: Norway beat Estonia, 4-1, behind a brace from Erling Haaland to put them on the verge of qualifying for their first World Cup this century. Haaland has now scored 30 goals for club and country in just 19 games this season. An absolute machine. Rory McIlroy lines up a putt on the 16th green. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) 🇦🇪 Dubai, UAE — While the PGA Tour continues its fall swing, the European Tour is holding its season-ending tournament, where Rory McIlroy seeks his second straight title, and record fourth overall. Opening round recap: McIlroy (-6) is two strokes off leader Michael Kim (-8), who hit 11 of 18 greens inside 10 feet (!) on Thursday. Tommy Fleetwood (-7) is in second, continuing his torrid pace. He's made just one bogey in his last 98 holes.   🏀 ON THE RISE NBA ALL-BREAKOUT TEAM (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) First Team Jalen Duren, C (Pistons) Deni Avdija, F (Trail Blazers) Jaime Jaquez Jr., F (Heat) Austin Reaves, G (Lakers) Stephon Castle, G (Spurs) Second Team Alexandre Sarr, C (Wizards) Trendon Watford, F (76ers) Matas Buzelis, F (Bulls) Ajay Mitchell, G (Thunder) Reed Sheppard, G (Rockets)   ⚾ FOR SALE? MLB TRIVIA (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) The Padres could be up for sale soon, according to a statement from the Seidler family on Thursday. Question: Four MLB teams have been sold so far this decade. Can you name them? Hint: Three AL, one NL. Answer at the bottom.   🏈 PLAYER SURVEY NO MORE REPORT CARDS? (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) The NFL has filed a grievance against the NFLPA over its annual practice of surveying players and handing out "Report Cards" for every team. The league's grievance stems from CBA Article 51, Section 6, that requires the NFLPA and league management council to "use reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by Club personnel or players which express criticism of any club…" Above: How all 32 teams fared on their most recent report card (February 2025).   Trivia answer: Rays (2025), Orioles (2024), Royals (2020), Mets (2020)

November 14, 2025 By Sam Sifton Good morning. The government is creaking back to life. But before we get to the news, I’d like to take us to Santa Marta, Colombia, a port city on the Caribbean, to meet the family of a fisherman who Colombia says was killed in a U.S. military strike. Fishermen arriving to the beach at the end of the day in Santa Marta. Federico Rios for The New York Times Boat strikes The United States military has killed at least 80 people on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean since early September. Officials said the 20 strikes by the Navy had targeted boats smuggling drugs, but the government hasn’t provided any evidence. (We’re tracking the strikes here.) Simon Romero, a longtime correspondent for The Times in Latin America, traveled to Colombia to see what he could learn. Alejandro Carranza, 42, had been a fisherman in Santa Marta for a long time, his family said. He had an easygoing personality and enjoyed drinking beer and playing pool. Was he also a drug smuggler? Colombia’s president said at a news conference last month that Carranza “may have been involved very intermittently” with drugs, adding that many fishermen along the country’s coast dip into the drug trade because their poverty leaves them few alternatives. But Katerine Hernández, who is the mother of three of Carranza’s children, told Simon that he had never smuggled drugs. “If he was some kind of narcoterrorist,” she asked, “then why are we living in misery instead of a mansion?” The U.S. claim The New York Times Experts on the use of lethal force say the strikes are illegal, partly because the intentions of targets like Carranza have not been proved. International law says the military cannot kill civilians unless they pose an imminent threat of violence — even if they appear to be engaged in criminal activity. The Trump administration, for its part, told Congress that the president had “determined” that the U.S. was in an armed conflict with drug cartels in Venezuela and elsewhere in the region, making the boat crews “combatants”: fair game for extrajudicial killing. (Last night, The Times reported on the secret legal memo that justifies the strikes by relying on the president’s assertions about cartels.) “The president is going to defend the national interest and national security of the United States, which is under threat by these terrorist organizations,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday. The strikes, along with a huge U.S. military buildup in the region, have ignited a diplomatic feud between the United States and Colombia. Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, called the strikes “murder” and stopped sharing intelligence with the United States. President Trump retaliated by branding Petro an “illegal drug leader” and placing him on a sanctions list generally reserved for drug criminals. A human toll Katerine Hernández with her family (left) and Leonardo Vega, the leader of a fisherman’s association in Santa Marta. Federico Rios for The New York Times Carranza’s death has left his family shattered, Simon told me. “I was taken aback at how vulnerable they are,” he wrote. “These are people who already had very little prior to what happened, and now they are deprived of their breadwinner.” The children have been particularly affected. One was shown the video of the attack by another child. Carranza’s 14-year-old daughter, Cheila, held back tears, Simon wrote, “as she gazed at a photo of him on her phone in her grandmother’s crowded home, where she lives in one room with her mother and two siblings.” Simon told me that fear grips the family now, that it envelops the whole community. Some family members were hesitant to speak to him at all, he wrote, frightened of reprisal from parts unknown: the U.S. military, maybe, or local organized crime groups. Leonardo Vega, a friend of Carranza’s who leads a local fisherman’s association, told Simon that was true of his colleagues as well. It is tuna season now, a lucrative one. But many fishermen in Santa Marta are staying home. They’re scared they’ll be seen as drug traffickers and killed, far out to sea, in a ball of flame. Federico Rios, who went to Santa Marta with Simon, captured evocative images from Colombia. See them and read more of Simon’s story here. Now, let’s get you caught up. THE LATEST NEWS Government Shutdown There are signs of life in the government: Dozens of national parks fully reopened. Federal courts resumed their dockets, with backlogs. And agency employees streamed back into offices. The Agriculture Department told states to ensure that food stamp recipients quickly receive their full November benefits. Most should get them by Monday, the agency’s director said. Some air traffic controllers and T.S.A. agents will receive $10,000 bonus checks for working through the shutdown, the administration said. Epstein Files The Republicans thought they had a plan to calm public anger over the Epstein files. They might have fed it instead, Michael Gold writes. Two prominent British men — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly known as Prince Andrew) and Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to Washington — came up in the files. More on Politics James Comey and Letitia James, two former officials targeted by Trump’s Justice Department, are challenging whether the prosecutor pursuing charges against them was appointed legally. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was hospitalized after a fall near his home outside Pittsburgh. The unsolved case of bombs planted at Democratic and Republican headquarters before the Jan. 6 attack has become a fascination of conservative media. Now, Republican lawmakers are feuding with F.B.I. leaders over the investigation. Katie Wilson, a self-described socialist and a leader of a transit advocacy group, was elected mayor of Seattle. Anchorage, Alaska, will allow voters to cast their ballots on smartphones in upcoming local elections. Higher Education Texas A&M will limit classroom discussions of subjects like gender and race ideology unless a campus president approves of the course material. A professor at Indiana University was removed from teaching a class after she showed a graphic that labeled Trump’s MAGA slogan as an example of white supremacy. International The BBC’s headquarters in London. Henry Nicholls/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The BBC apologized to Trump for a misleadingly edited documentary about the Jan. 6 riot, but it refused to pay him compensation. Trump has sued for $1 billion. The Trump administration is working on a deal to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Pentagon officials worry that could allow China to acquire the plane’s advanced technology. Other Big Stories Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, successfully landed a rocket booster after launching a craft toward Mars — a feat only SpaceX had achieved previously. Officials warn that a storm system that hit Southern California could bring heavy rain and potential landslides through the weekend. COMMUTER HELL Junho Lee and Mika Gröndahl/The New York Times Penn Station in Manhattan is America’s busiest transit hub. It’s also a dank basement under a basketball arena, filled with grimy passageways and gloomy passengers awaiting chronically delayed trains. Why does such a prominent gateway into one of the world’s great metropolises remain so miserable? It is, the longtime transit reporter Patrick McGeehan writes, “a stagnant symbol of something deeper in America, a condition that afflicts so many attempts to get big things done: inertia.” Patrick’s new story explains how the station became this way — and the larger forces that are preventing it from getting better. Read it here. OPINIONS The Constitution gave Congress, not Trump, the authority to tax and spend. If Congress refuses to assert itself, it’s up to the courts to face Trump instead, the editorial board writes. Legalized gambling has not ruined sports. It has brought accountability and standards to the betting markets, Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, writes. The Times Sale: Our best rate for readers of The Morning. Save now with our best offer on unlimited news and analysis as part of the complete Times experience: $1/week for your first year. MORNING READS Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times Underdogs: The Faroe Islands, population 55,000, have a sliver of a chance to make next year’s World Cup. The team includes carpenters, electricians and a car salesman. Classroom devices: How much screen time is your child getting at school? We asked 350 teachers. Modern Love: Despite her children’s worries, a senior widow found true love in assisted living. Cool head: William Rataczak, the co-pilot of a passenger jet that was hijacked in 1971 by the man known as D.B. Cooper, has died at 86. Cooper sipped bourbon before parachuting into the night with $200,000 in ransom money and disappearing forever. TODAY’S NUMBER 220 feet — That’s at least how far the base camp of Mount Everest has sunk since the 1980s. It sits on a melting glacier. SPORTS M.L.B.: The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani unanimously won his fourth M.V.P. award, for the National League, and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge won his third M.V.P. award, for the American League. N.F.L.: Charlotte Jones, co-owner of the Cowboys, defended Bad Bunny being selected for the Super Bowl halftime show, saying, “Our whole society is based on immigrants that have come here and have founded our country, and I think we can celebrate that.” Motorsports: The drag racer John Force, a 16-time champion, retired after a record-breaking career. At 76 years old, Force hadn’t raced in 17 months after surviving an engine explosion at the National Hot Rod Association Virginia Nationals in June 2024. RECIPE OF THE DAY Ryan Liebe for The New York Times If you see fresh, wild-caught shrimp at the market, pounce, then make this terrific new recipe for shrimp cakes with smoked paprika aioli. You can make the cakes any size you like, but larger ones may be a little tough to work with unless you give them a rest in the refrigerator to firm them up for the skillet. I serve mine alongside a green salad dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a spray of salt, with saltines to dip in the aioli. But coleslaw would be nice as well. TROPICAL DREAMS AND SORROWS Wifredo Lam’s “La Jungla (The Jungle)” at the Museum of Modern Art. Succession Wifredo Lam, Adagp, Paris/ARS, NY; Guarionex Rodriguez for The New York Times The artist Wilfredo Lam (1902-1982) is the subject of a retrospective that just opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Our critic Holland Cotter calls it a “blazingly hallucinatory” tribute to Lam’s career. Which was varied and fantastical and hard for some to explain. Art history has never known what to do with the guy. Was he a surrealist? A cubist? Latin American? Afro-Asian? Was he an insider? An outsider? Holland’s answers: “Yes. No. Sort of. Maybe. So how about we go with Unclassifiably Fabulous Visual Poet?” That’s terrific. Go see for yourself, in person or online. More on culture Wesley Morris talks about the near disappearance of pop music covers on his show “Cannonball” this week, calling it a kind of national tragedy. It’s good listening — and a fine excuse to cue up Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” when you’re done. “Cinephile catnip” is how Manohla Dargis describes “Nouvelle Vague,” Richard Linklater’s new film. Among other things, it’s a movie about a movie — “Breathless,” Jean-Luc Godard’s first feature film, one of the signature movies of the French New Wave. The film is saturated with intoxicating glamour, Manohla writes — “the glamour of youth, of beauty, of grand aesthetic pursuits, Paris at twilight and, bien sûr, cinema itself.” Allons-y! Late night hosts sifted through the Epstein emails. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Jeanie’s, a restaurant in San Miguel, Mexico. Tony Cenicola/The New York Times Spend 36 hours on Cozumel, in Mexico. Spend 72. Spend the whole winter if you can. Consume less salt. Ninety percent of us eat too much of it. Here are some alternatives. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was nomadic. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with me and The Times. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Karl Russell News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

TACO Trump Plots Humiliating U-Turn on Beloved Policy The White House says it’s just being “nimble” and “nuanced.” Donald Trump’s import tariffs—a central plank of his economic agenda—may soon no longer apply to certain types of food as the administration tries to push down grocery bills. Amid rising consumer anxiety, the administration is preparing to make exemptions that will likely include beef and citrus fruit imports, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing three people briefed on the plans. The exemptions will also likely apply to countries that haven’t even made trade deals with the U.S. In that way, they would go beyond a September executive order in which Trump directed Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to determine exemptions for a wide variety of foods and other products from countries that had negotiated a more favorable trade rate with the U.S. Lutnick, 64, has been advocating for food exemptions due to their current cost, according to the Times. Neither the White House nor the Commerce Department immediately responded to a request for comment from the Daily Beast. White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Times in a statement that “the Trump administration is committed to pursuing a nimble, nuanced, and multifaceted strategy on trade and tariffs.” A “critical mass” of trade agreements have been made since April, allowing for the exemptions, a Trump administration official added. New agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Ecuador were announced Thursday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 63, revealed to Fox News Wednesday that coffee and bananas would also be exempt. “That will bring the prices down very quickly,” he claimed, adding that the Trump administration “inherited this affordability mess.” Trump, who has insisted that prices are “way down,” has been pressed about affordability, especially after he tried to claim that Walmart’s Thanksgiving Dinner was cheaper this year—without mentioning that the package contains fewer items. Fox News host Laura Ingraham also pointed out the issue of affordability during an interview aired Tuesday. And Trump, 79, was forced to respond on Fox last week to a longtime supporter’s dissatisfied message. The administration’s exemption plans come after Democrats won gubernatorial races last week in New Jersey and Virginia—as well as the mayoral race in New York—after campaigning heavily on the issue of affordability. Consumer confidence fell to a six-month low at the end of October. https://www.thedailybeast.com/taco-trump-already-crumbling-on-his-sweeping-tariffs/?