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How Trump flipped America's race conversation Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Trump's Cabinet applauded him this week after he described Somali immigrants as "garbage" who "contribute nothing." He unapologetically condemned an entire community, with no fear of political backlash. Why it matters: Guardrails against racist, xenophobic or dehumanizing rhetoric have all but vanished on the American right. What was once disqualifying — or the exclusive domain of online trolls — is now a fixture of national political discourse, Axios' Zachary Basu and Russell Contreras write. ⚡ Flashback: Before Trump came on the scene in 2015, it was common in modern American politics for elected or appointed officials to face consequences for making racist or bigoted comments. In 2002, GOP Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott stepped down from leadership after praising Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign. Even during Trump's first term, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was censured and removed from committees for questioning why terms such as "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" had become offensive. But Trump himself has been largely impervious to those norms, with public outrage over his caustic language growing more muted year after year. Trump vaulted into political prominence by promoting the racist conspiracy theory that President Obama wasn't born in the U.S. — a playbook he revived in 2024 against other rivals of color. His 2016 campaign-opening claim that Mexico was sending "rapists" into the U.S. triggered weeks of national uproar, as did his leaked complaint in 2018 about immigration from "shithole countries." 🔎 Zoom in: Then came the 2024 election campaign, which blew open the Overton window on race and identity. Trump discarded any lingering restraint, declaring that unauthorized immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country" (echoing a Nazi theme), and amplifying false claims that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating pets. Conservatives mobilized around backlash to the 2020 racial justice movement, the Biden administration's immigration policies and perceived censorship of political speech by the left. Trump's MAGA movement treated his 2024 win as a sweeping cultural mandate — and grew more explicit in its mission to "defend Western civilization" and preserve white Christian identity. 🔭 Zoom out: Nearly a year into Trump's second term, language that once led to denials, clarifications or resignations now circulates freely online and at the highest levels of government. GOP members of Congress reacted to New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's election by posting images of the 9/11 attacks and calling for the Ugandan-born Democrat to be denaturalized and deported. DHS and White House social media accounts now routinely mock immigrants targeted for deportation, deploying trollish memes on official channels. White nationalist Nick Fuentes has edged into the mainstream, with Trump defending the Holocaust denier's interview with Tucker Carlson as legitimate political dialogue. White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told Axios: "It's not racist to want secure borders and to deport illegal aliens who are undermining our sovereignty and destroying our country. President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency."

Trump said 'we appreciate' that Colombia sells cocaine to the US Claim: U.S. President Donald Trump said: "I hear Colombia, the country of Colombia, is making cocaine. They have cocaine manufacturing plants, OK? And then they sell us their cocaine. We appreciate that very much." Rating: Correct Attribution About this rating Context Trump's intent behind the remark was unclear. We have reached out to the White House to learn more. Right after making the statement, Trump said anyone bringing drugs into the U.S. "is subject to attack." https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-colombia-cocaine-us/?

Are 50% of Minnesota visas and programs fraudulent? Investigating Kristi Noem's claim The homeland security secretary made the claim as her department ramped up immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis. https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/12/05/minnesota-visa-fraud-noem/?

Illinois court tosses religious discrimination claim where faith met wastewater management On December 4, 2025, the Illinois Appellate Court ended a three-year legal effort by John Schoff and Jane Stoller-Schoff to frame a zoning dispute as a matter of religious […] The post Village Enforcement of Septic Code Was Lawful, Not Discriminatory, Court Says appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article

The Birth of Writing Proto-cuneiform tablet discovered in southern Iraq https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/birth-of-writing/? What Is the Best Bible Translation? Learn more in BAS’s guide to Bible translations and editions https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-versions-and-translations/best_bible_translation/? The Cyrus Cylinder A Persian edict and the return of the Judean exiles https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/the-cyrus-cylinder/? Mapping Troy’s Luwian Context Study maps Bronze Age Anatolian sites https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/mapping-troys-luwian-context/? First Person: Did the Kingdoms of Saul, David and Solomon Actually Exist? From the September/October 2017 Biblical Archaeology Review Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls An accessible introduction to the scrolls and their significance https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/rediscovering-the-dead-sea-scrolls/? When Was the First Communion? How Jesus’ Last Supper in the Bible was commemorated by early Christians https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/when-was-the-first-communion/? Baptismal Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” Added to UNESCO World Heritage List Bible and archaeology news https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/baptismal-site-bethany-beyond-the-jordan-added-to-unesco-world-heritage-list/?

US supreme court to decide on legality of Trump birthright citizenship order The US supreme court agreed on Friday to decide the legality of Donald Trump’s order to heavily restrict the right to birthright citizenship, the long-held constitutional principle that individuals born on US soil are automatically United States citizens. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/birthright-citizenship-legality-scotus-trump?

Bombed Chornobyl shelter no longer blocks radiation and needs major repair – IAEA The protective shield over the Chornobyl disaster nuclear reactor in Ukraine, which was hit by a drone in February, can no longer perform its main function of blocking radiation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/06/chornobyl-disaster-shelter-no-longer-blocks-radiation-and-needs-major-repair-iaea?

Swedish navy encountering Russian submarines ‘almost weekly’ – and more could be on the way The Swedish navy encounters Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea on an “almost weekly” basis, its chief of operations has said, and is preparing for a further increase in the event of ceasefire or armistice in the Ukraine war. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/06/swedish-navy-chief-russia-baltic-presence-ukraine-peace? ps:So this must be OK too? For those that approve Russia invading Ukraine!!

December 6, 2025 Eight Rivals “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6) The number seven is known to be the number of fullness and rest, with the seven-day week used ever since the week of creation; “eight” seems commonly to be associated in the Bible with a new beginning, new life, resurrection, or renewal. The Lord Jesus Himself was resurrected, never to die again, on the eighth day—that is, the first day—of the week. It is perhaps significant, therefore, that eight great spiritual revivals are described in the Old Testament—one each under Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah. It is even more significant, however, that each revival was centered around the Word of God. The first, for example, was based on the giving of the law at Sinai. “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7). Then, much later when “Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.... And the word of Samuel came to all Israel,” eventually “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (1 Samuel 3:20; 4:1; 7:2). Analysis of all of the other revivals will reveal that they also were based on reception and acceptance of God’s Word. The last was under Nehemiah. “And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God” (Nehemiah 9:3). There were other ingredients in these revivals, but the Word of God was always the foundation, and there can be no true and lasting revival without it. This is why it is so important in our day, when the need for revival is so desperate, that we first get back to a serious study of the Holy Scriptures, believing and obeying as best we can all that is written therein. HMM

The missing piece in the affordability debate Affordability—or the lack of it—is dominating the public discourse. “Affordability, affordability, affordability: Democrats’ new winning formula,” proclaims Politico. “Trump tries to seize ‘affordability’ message,” reports The New York Times. Election results in New Jersey, Virginia, New York and elsewhere showed that voters are responding to candidates who speak directly to the cost of living. https://www.epi.org/blog/the-missing-piece-in-the-affordability-debate-higher-paychecks/? A history of the federal minimum wage 85 years later, the minimum wage is far from equitable https://www.epi.org/blog/a-history-of-the-federal-minimum-wage-85-years-later-the-minimum-wage-is-far-from-equitable/?

thern Asia-Pacific Division leaders join local members to mark a new chapter for mission and administration. https://adventist.news/news/adventist-church-in-nepal-dedicates-long-awaited-headquarters

Tko what extent are SDA membership records accurate? The following article is shocking. https://spectrummagazine.org/views/the-missing-millions-problems-in-adventist-statistics/

🏆 Matchups set Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios The FIFA 2026 World Cup schedule is (mostly) set, Axios' Maxwell Millington and Andrew Pantazi report. Mexico will face South Africa in the opener on June 11 in Mexico City. The U.S. Men's National Team will play its entire Group D stage on the West Coast, along with Paraguay, Australia and the winners of a playoff between Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo and Romania. The completed groups after all the teams were drawn at the Kennedy Center on Friday. Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters Nearly 2 million tickets have already been sold. More on marquee matches.

🫡 Pearl Harbor slips from living memory American ships burn during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. Photo: AP Survivors of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor — 84 years ago today — have long been the center of the annual remembrance ceremony. But only 12, all centenarians, are still alive. For the first time, none can make the pilgrimage to Hawaii for today's ceremony, the AP reports from Honolulu. Survivors have been present every year in recent memory except 2020, when the Navy and the National Park Service closed the observance to the general public because of COVID. 🪖 That means no one attending today's "missing man formation" of fighter jets will have firsthand memories of serving during the attack, which killed more than 2,300 troops and catapulted the U.S. into World War II. The ceremony begins with a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the same time the attack began on Dec. 7, 1941. 🎤 As survivors fade, descendants and historians are turning to other ways to memorialize the bombing. Daniel Martinez, a retired National Park Service Pearl Harbor historian, said the circumstances echo the early 20th century, when Civil War veterans were dying in increasing numbers — no longer able to share their stories of Gettysburg and other battles. Martinez knew something similar would happen with Pearl Harbor survivors, so he began recording oral histories. During a 1998 convention, he conducted interviews 12 hours a day for three days. The Park Service today has 800 interviews, most on video. Some are shown in the Pearl Harbor museum. The Library of Congress has collections from 535 Pearl Harbor survivors, including interviews, letters, photos and diaries. Over 80% are online. They're part of the library's Veterans History Project of firsthand recollections of veterans who served from World War I onward. Many were recorded by relatives, Eagle Scouts and other amateurs. An organization of descendants, Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, speaks in schools and marches in parades.

Winner-take-most economy Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios Everything is becoming more concentrated — from merging streaming giants, to a stock market powered by a handful of AI winners, to an economy increasingly driven by the spending of the wealthy. Why it matters: With fewer participants, winning is harder, whether you're an investor looking for returns, a consumer looking to build wealth or a business trying to compete, Axios' Madison Mills writes. 📺 Netflix's victory in bidding to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets, potentially combining two of the world's largest streaming platforms, is part of a larger trend of dealmaking soaring under the Trump administration — due in part to its friendlier regulatory practices. In streaming, scale has become one of the only viable strategies for growth. (Netflix can't increase its subscriber count forever, which may be why the company stopped reporting that figure in earnings releases.) The big picture: The same forces driving consolidation in media are playing out across the economy. A tiny cluster of AI stocks accounts for 40% of the S&P 500. They've delivered a bull market with back-to-back years of double-digit gains. But a wobble in AI could take down the broader market. The top 10% of earners in America now make up half of all consumer spending — and any pullback by that small group can drag down growth.

December 7, 2025 Good morning. Today, Wirecutter helps Morning readers with their trickiest holiday gift searches. Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter The gift of giving By Hannah Morrill I’m a Wirecutter editor focused on gifts. My team rigorously assessed hundreds of gifts this year, including a golden analog nose hair trimmer. I often get texts from long-lost acquaintances around this time of year. Parents of my children’s preschool friends, the sibling of a college boyfriend, a former neighbor — they all suddenly recall my existence (and my number) when they’re in a pickle to find a gift. Here’s the thing: The panicked texts are never really about a gift, or at least not only about a gift. Beneath the surface there’s almost always something more personal — a strained relationship, different income brackets, generational divides — that the gifter hopes to overcome. It’s one of the things I find most beautiful about giving gifts. It can be the ultimate act of relationship hope, a prettily wrapped chance to do better, start anew and express one’s love, acceptance and appreciation. We recently invited readers of The Morning to tell us about the people they’re having trouble shopping for. Below, I offer some advice. (And if you’re one of the intended recipients, sorry for the spoilers!) Submissions have been lightly edited for length and clarity. My 82-year-old uncle, who loves books, art and L.G.B.T.Q. history, and who recently started using a wheelchair. —A.A.F. If your uncle is a little closer to home these days, he might appreciate some of the beautiful finds in our guide to housewarming gifts. I’m particularly fond of the Heller Asti ice bucket — which actually is a piece of art, with a permanent home in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Or how about a Danny DeVito head planter, or, from that same Etsy store, a cast of Lucille Ball or Sir Elton John? My son and his wife. Both 43-year-old doctors. Vegetarian foodies. I am on Social Security and it’s difficult to think of something —R.A.J. My colleague Mari Uyehara put together some great ideas in our gift guide for foodies — and the silicone pot grips shaped like jumbo pasta bow ties are a real standout. They’re just over $20 and so functional. And we agree with our colleagues at New York Times Cooking that “Six Seasons of Pasta” is one of the best cookbooks of the year. My husband. He is a tool guy and has just about every tool known to man. —R.I. Bet he doesn’t have this $300 titanium hammer that Doug Mahoney, Wirecutter’s home improvement writer (and an ex-carpenter), swears by! “As impossible as it sounds, the benefits of titanium justify its ridiculous cost, especially to someone used to swinging a hammer,” Doug says. Or maybe he needs a set of air wedges, which have saved the lumbar of Liam McCabe, another home improvement writer. My grandchildren, ages 4 ½ and 3. They have lots of toys, art supplies, books and gadgets already! I don’t want anything with A.I. in it and I’m also concerned about too much “stuff.” —P.W. What about a book subscription service? Our favorite allows you to personalize by the child’s age and interests. Or you could go with some practical items to help them get involved in everyday tasks, like an apron and a set of mini cooking tools. One of our favorite STEM toys is a programmable robot — our experts on babies and kids appreciate how it offers loads of screen-free fun, but is still modern enough to hold kids’ attention. My mom, who hates everything I get her. She doesn’t like robes or skin care and doesn’t have any hobbies outside of taking care of her adult kids and her own mother. —M.B. For the trickiest recipients, go back to basics. Even this woman eats and sleeps. I wonder if she’d enjoy noshing on any of our kitchen team’s favorite food gift baskets? (The sweet and savory Zingerman’s one, which has a transcendent sour cream coffee cake and excellent Maine Cheddar, is particularly nice to share.) A box of chocolates could also be a lovely offering. And I can’t help but think a digital frame preloaded with photos of the people she loves could spark joy — or at least something like it. For more gifting help, check out: The best gifts for everyone on your list. Gifts for people who have everything. And here’s our big holiday gift guide, a joint effort from Times and Wirecutter journalists. THE LATEST NEWS Trump Administration James Comey Doug Mills/The New York Times A federal judge halted the Justice Department’s attempt to seek another indictment against James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, over concerns that the bulk of evidence in the case was obtained improperly. President Trump’s approval rating has dipped slightly after months of holding steady, according to a Times analysis. The Trump administration issued a new security strategy that called for European countries to take “primary responsibility” for their own defense. Hong Kong The Hong Kong government is pushing to increase turnout in today’s legislative elections, which are going ahead despite last month’s deadly apartment complex fire. The elections are largely devoid of opposition parties, and pro-establishment candidates approved by Beijing are all but certain to dominate. Hong Kong’s national security police arrested a 71-year-old man and accused him of posting videos about investigations related to the fire. Immigration Joe Biden at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2023. Doug Mills/The New York Times Early in his administration, Joe Biden ignored warnings about a surge at the border and rejected recommendations that could have alleviated it, a Times investigation found. Those decisions helped Trump win back the White House. ICE agents arrested a Harvard professor weeks after he fired a pellet gun near a synagogue and officials accused him of antisemitism. He said he had been hunting rats. Other Big Stories Japan accused China of aiming military radar at its fighter jets as they flew over international waters; China disputed the account. Tensions between the countries are rising over Japan’s support for Taiwan. Experts warn that the increasing availability of stablecoins, a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar, could make it harder to cut off criminal networks from the global banking system. A man in Michigan died of rabies after receiving a kidney transplant from another man who had died of the virus. THE SUNDAY DEBATE Should schools let students use artificial intelligence? No. A.I. as a tool encourages students to cheat and to stop thinking. “Artificial intelligence, simply, takes the onus for learning away from the student,” Barth Keck writes for CT News Junkie. Yes. Students need to be proficient with A.I. in order to be prepared for the next generation of work. “If the true goal of K-12 education is to equip students with the skills for the future, then we must be honest about what that future includes,” Ruhan Gupta writes for The Austin American-Statesman. FROM OPINION The Supreme Court’s conservative justices are enabling Trump’s campaign to undermine the Constitution, the editorial board writes. Here are columns by Ross Douthat on the deficit of Christian morality in the Trump administration and Jessica Grose on a contentious paper at the University of Oklahoma. Morning readers: Save on the complete Times experience. Experience all of The Times, all in one subscription — all with this introductory offer. You’ll gain unlimited access to news and analysis, plus games, recipes, product reviews and more. MORNING READS Mario Nawfal Katarina Premfors for The New York Times Influencing the influencer: This man has a knack for getting Elon Musk’s attention, and for turning that into big business. Young Republicans: William Hendrix dreamed of a life in politics. This is how he ended up joining a racist, antisemitic group chat and losing his job. What a Waymo couldn’t see: A video shows what happened before a self-driving taxi killed a beloved cat in San Francisco. Your pick: The Morning’s most-read story yesterday was an overview of the work of Frank Gehry. SPORTS College football: Indiana capped off its undefeated season with a win over Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, while Duke knocked Virginia out of playoff contention in the A.C.C. Here’s a recap of the conference championship games. M.L.S.: Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami claim the M.L.S. Cup for the first time in a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. BOOK OF THE WEEK By Elisabeth Egan “The American Revolution,” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns: Leave your elementary school civics lessons at the door as you tackle this best-selling companion to Ken Burns’s PBS series about the Revolutionary War. It turns out, Washington’s crossing of the Delaware happened a bit differently than many of us learned it; he wasn’t “standing up in the ice-filled river in the middle of a winter storm at night,” Ward and Burns write. Nor did anyone on Bunker Hill yell, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”; the battle wasn’t even on Bunker Hill. With the help of maps, paintings, meticulous research and essays from six well-known historians, Ward and Burns shed new light on our country’s complicated and bloody origin story. “We can’t avoid the American Revolution,” our reviewer wrote, “so we might as well face it squarely.” Related: Looking for a gift for a reader? Here are a few recent releases to consider. THE INTERVIEW Kristen Stewart Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times By David Marchese This week’s subject for The Interview is the actor Kristen Stewart, whose feature-film directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” which is in select theaters now, raises questions about womanhood, sexuality, excess and the stories we choose to tell about ourselves. I was watching another interview you did recently, and at the end, the interviewer asked you for a cultural recommendation that you would give for Hollywood, and you mentioned a film by Barbara Hammer called “Multiple Orgasm.” For people who aren’t familiar with that work, can you explain what it is? It’s an impressionistic, experimental short film by a woman who’s just astoundingly prolific. I saw that movie and was so shocked, because there’s a sequence in my film that is very similar. You buried the lede. The film is close-up images of a woman masturbating, interspersed with images of natural scenery. It’s relating the female body to organic material that feels very Georgia O’Keeffe. The fact that you recommended that film, combined with the sexual forthrightness of “The Chronology of Water,” and then last year you made “Love Lies Bleeding,” which had so much to do with queer eroticism — all these in conjunction made me wonder if there are things you’ve realized about sex that you’ve wanted to explore in your work recently. I love watching things that don’t feel performative, that feel inhabited and instinctive, instead of: Oh, I’m thinking about this from the outside. How does this look? That’s often how women have sex. You want to perform and display that you’re into it and good at it — maybe if you can perform that, then it can be true. There’s a slower, more undulating experience that can happen as you get older that I would like to start seeing in art. I think that my movie emulates the more pleasantly frustrating, longer experience of a success story, which is potentially also related to climax: You plateau into contentment after a lot of false victories and false starts, and then you achieve something that feels self-earned, even if accompanied. I’ve seen a lot of sex scenes that are titillating and exterior. I never again want to stand in a room and watch two people [expletive]. That’s our whole lives. It’s nice to get an odd angle of it. Read more of the interview here. Or watch a longer version on YouTube. THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Photo illustration by Justin Metz Click above to read this week’s magazine. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Quit caffeine, if you dare. There’s never been a better time to try. Add some vintage touches to your home. See what one designer did. Reconsider wallpaper. New technology allows printing that can mimic three-dimensional scenes. MEAL PLAN Ghazalle Badiozamani for The New York Times We’re in the lull of early December, the time before Holiday Party Season really heats up, when you can still have a bowl of soup for dinner, affix yourself to the couch and then get a good night’s sleep. Emily Weinstein’s Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter suggests a plush red lentil soup made with coconut milk and curry powder, plus more options. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were autocracy and carryout. Can you put eight historical events — including the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the pirate Blackbeard and “E.T.” — in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. 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, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day - Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day It is important for all of us to take a moment and remember the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor - a defining moment in history. The Pearl Harbor "surprise" helped shape a generation of National defense policy and was not forgotten by those who had lived through the war. Monuments were created on the battle sites and around the country Veteran reunion groups met regularly to keep the memory alive. Brief History - "Day that shall live in Infamy" -Under the greatest secrecy, Japanese Vice Admiral Nagumo took his ships to sea on the 26th of November 1941, as a result of Japan's pressing need for secure flanks during their planned offensive into Southeast Asia and the East Indies. -Before dawn on the 7th of December, a carefully planned attack wave of over 180 aircraft, including torpedo planes, high-level bombers, dive bombers and fighters, was launched in the darkness and flew off to the south. When the first group had taken off, a second attack wave of similar size, but with more dive bombers and no torpedo planes, was brought up from the carriers' hangar decks and sent off into the emerging morning light. -Dive bombers attacked airfields at about 7:55 AM, destroying many aircraft. This attack prompted the dispatch of the famous message "Air raid, Pearl Harbor -- this is no drill", the outside World's first indication that war had come to the Pacific. -Within a few moments, torpedo planes attacked from east and west, with one of the latter torpedoing the USS Helena at 1010 dock. Others, from the same direction, hit USS Utah and USS Raleigh, off the western side of Ford Island. -Within a short time, five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2,400 Americans were dead. -The United States Navy's battleship force was removed as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. As a result, America was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant. VetFriends.com salutes and supports all of you, our U.S. Veterans, active & reserve military. We thank you for your service to our country. VetFriends would also like to take a moment to reflect and honor the many brave men and women who have sacrificed the ultimate for our country. The memory of the "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination for Americans to fight on against all opposed to World peace. VetFriends.com is honored to support and assist all U.S. Veterans and military personnel. Join us today and everyday in keeping the memory of Pearl Harbor alive.   Pearl Harbor Tribute Photos: 1941 - PFC Jensen A picture of my father on the USS Pennsylvania late November 1944. My father was on board in dry dock Pearl Harbor 12-7-41. Marines   1942 - Navy USS Wasp - My father who was on the Nevada at Pearl Harbor is returning to the Wasp after meeting my Mom in San Francisco. His nickname was Slim.   1944 - Dec 25, 1944 Nancy, France This is only picture I have of my Dad in WWII, 3514 ORD M.A.M.   1944 - B17 Crew, 15th AF, 97th Bomb Group, 340th Squadron Air Force   1981 - Pearl Harbor - C co. 1st. BN. 3rd Marines   2011 - Hand on Pearl Harbor This is all what I was in the Navy for.   Thanks again & may your day be filled with Pride, Honor, Remembrance & Tradition. Cpl. Andrews & Your Friends at VetFriends.com Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard Connecting People, Reuniting Thousands... VetFriends Customer Support#: 1-800-975-1618 To ensure delivery of special VetFriends.com e-newsletters, please add newsletter@vetfriends.com to your email address book or safe list. You can reply to support@vetfriends.com.Thank You Veteran & Military Brothers & Sisters!

THIS DAY IN HISTORY December 07 1941 Pearl Harbor bombed On December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious […]... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1805 Lewis and Clark temporarily settle in Fort Clatsop 1970s 1975 Indonesia invades East Timor Arts & Entertainment 2001 “Ocean’s Eleven” remake opens in theaters Civil War 1862 Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas Crime 1982 First execution by lethal injection 1993 Shooter opens fire on Long Island Railroad train 1996 A first-time offender ends up on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List Early U.S. 1787 Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the Constitution Natural Disasters & Environment 1988 Earthquakes wreak havoc in Armenia Sports 1989 Sugar Ray Leonard fights Roberto Duran for the third and final time U.S. Presidents 1941 FDR reacts to news of Pearl Harbor bombing

December 6, 2025 Good morning. I’m off this week, so my colleague Emily Weinstein is filling in to tell you about the return of NYT Cooking’s holiday cookie extravaganza. —Melissa Kirsch Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth. Sweet season By Emily Weinstein I’m the editor in chief of New York Times Cooking and Food. I’ve always had a sweet tooth; I have memories of stirring heaps of extra powder into my chocolate milk when I was a child, until it was lumpy and stunningly sugary. But my love of desserts didn’t actually extend to making them, even as I got older. I found baking in particular to be a frustrating and messy exercise, and unsatisfying too — after the haphazard measuring and beating, with my counters a crime scene of spilled cocoa powder and splattered egg, the recipe rudely wouldn’t turn out right. (Even back then I understood the problem wasn’t the recipe. It was the baker.) At one point, I told Dorie Greenspan, the cookbook author and queen of home baking, that I found baking to be more difficult than cooking. No, she said, sage and kind, baking is easier than cooking! In baking, you just have to follow the directions. In that spirit — and in honor of Cookie Week, New York Times Cooking’s annual holiday baking spree, with seven new recipes and videos to match — I have some directions and advice for you. Try them and I promise that you’ll be happier in the kitchen. These days, I bake a lot, and I’ve found a kind of bliss in the process, and the same childhood euphoria that comes from that first sweet bite (or in the case of that chocolate milk, the first sweet sip). Read the recipe all the way through before you start baking. I know this is boring, an assignment in English class when you’re ready for recess. Do it so you’re not caught off guard when, for instance, a recipe calls for you to chill the dough for three hours, but the party starts in 20 minutes. Measure and prepare all your ingredients first. This is also a little dull. But once you start moving through the recipe, you’ll find how amazing it is to have everything you need at hand so you can glide through the steps, no pausing to frantically search for the salt. And, if your cookie recipe calls for room temperature butter (many do), take it out of the fridge to soften as soon as you’ve decided to bake. Cookie dough generally freezes well; make extra. Freeze the dough in individual portions if you want to be able to bake a single cookie on a whim. (You can easily double recipes using our new scaling feature. You’ll need to be in the Cooking app on Android or iOS; click on the little icon at the top right of the ingredients list.) It’s better to underbake than to overbake. You can’t unbake a cookie any more than you can unsalt a soup. So take the pan out of the oven when the cookies look just done; they’ll firm up as they cool. (And if you take them out of the oven and they’re still raw, just put them back in for a minute.) Really, follow the directions, especially if you’re making a recipe for the first time. If the recipe says to leave two inches between the cookies on the baking sheet, do it. If it says not to move the baked cookies until they are completely cool, listen. And now, the cookies. Here are three from this year’s delicious batch. Mint chocolate cool Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth. My favorite ice cream flavor, reborn as a cookie. Eric Kim’s recipe is easy to make and has such a fun and striking appearance, with its green angles and chocolate curls. You don’t even need an electric mixer, though it’s helpful to have an offset spatula to spread the melted white chocolate (tinted green with food coloring) that coats the shortbread base. If you don’t have an offset spatula, a regular rubber one or even the back of a spoon works fine. Coffee and spice Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth. Melissa Clark funnels the signature flavors of Vietnamese coffee — espresso and condensed milk — into the hypnotic swirls of a marbled brownie. I learned something new from this recipe, which is that the neatest way to cut brownies once you’ve baked them is to chill them in the pan for at least an hour, flip the whole slab out upside down, and then slice them that way. Ginger, lime and a bit of a buzz Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth. Dan Pelosi’s Dark ’n’ Stormy Cookies have dark rum in the dough and the glaze, inspired as they are by the cocktail made with ginger beer, rum and a bright slash of lime. This is a festive cookie for an excellent party (but maybe not one for the school volleyball team’s bake sale). THE LATEST NEWS In the Courts The Supreme Court agreed to review the constitutionality of President Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship. A judge ruled last week that Lindsey Halligan, a federal prosecutor appointed by Trump, was in the job illegally. But she has still not left her post. A federal judge in Florida approved the release of grand jury documents from an investigation of Jeffrey Epstein nearly two decades ago. Trump Administration A federal vaccine committee voted to end the longstanding recommendation that all newborns be immunized against hepatitis B. A video of the U.S. military’s Sept. 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean shows the survivors waving overhead, according to people who saw it. Some interpreted it as an attempt to surrender. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, awarded Trump with a new peace prize after its leader had publicly lobbied for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Other Big Stories Vanity Fair will not renew its contract with the journalist Olivia Nuzzi, extricating itself from the controversy over her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The E.U. fined X, Elon Musk’s social media company, $140 million for violating a law that regulates digital content. The New York Times sued Perplexity, an A.I. start-up, claiming that Perplexity repeatedly used its copyrighted work without permission. THE WEEK IN CULTURE Frank Gehry Frank Gehry at his studio in Los Angeles in 2021. Erik Carter for The New York Times Frank Gehry, a titan of architecture who designed some of the world’s most recognizable buildings, died at 96. Many of Gehry’s projects, including the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, are regarded as masterpieces. See 12 projects that show the scope of his work. Netflix-Warner Bros. Deal Netflix announced it would acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business for $83 billion. The deal, which includes TV and film studios as well as HBO Max (but not CNN), would give Netflix even more leverage over Hollywood — and a greater presence in theatrical releases. Film and TV Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) in “Zootopia 2.” Disney/Disney, via Associated Press The animated couple from “Zootopia” has its own fandom, some of which hails from the furry community. The love runs deep. The race for this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture has five sure bets. What about the other slots? Theater At least six stage productions this year have a homophobic slur in their titles — sometimes to shock or provoke, but also to reclaim the word. Does that make it OK? The authorities in Japan said Jeremy O. Harris, the Tony-nominated playwright and actor, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle illegal drugs. More Culture Gellért Bath Stephen Hiltner/The New York Times In Budapest, political disputes and aging infrastructure have led to cascading problems at some of the city’s beloved baths. Brasses roared with punitive force; strings attacked notes as if lashing them. The Pittsburgh Symphony, playing at Carnegie Hall, sounds exactly how an orchestra should sound, writes David Allen. A new $40 million exhibit at the National Archives, opening nine months after Trump fired the chief archivist, uses technology to explore the items in its vaults. Morning readers: Save on the complete Times experience. Experience all of The Times, all in one subscription — all with this introductory offer. You’ll gain unlimited access to news and analysis, plus games, recipes, product reviews and more. CULTURE CALENDAR 📺 “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix): The third installment in this whodunit series, featuring Daniel Craig’s drawling detective Benoit Blanc, hits the streaming service on Friday. The mystery this time concerns “a very 2025 case” our critic Alissa Wilkinson writes: a murder in a church with a charismatic preacher who has been radicalizing his flock against the evils of modernity. And while the film takes on some big ideas around religion, Alissa writes, it does so with “a remarkably light, affectionately irreverent touch.” Read our review. RECIPE OF THE WEEK Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. By Melissa Clark Kharra masala fish (fish with onions and tomatoes) If a fragrant seafood dish seems like just the thing for this cold December weekend, make Zainab Shah’s speedy kharra masala fish. She starts by seasoning tomatoes and onions with whole spices — coriander, cumin, mustard seed and dried chiles. Then she adds fillets of white fish (any kind you like), letting them steam and absorb all the rich flavors. A garnish of fresh ginger, green chiles and cilantro gives it all a pungent freshness. Serve with rice, roti or by itself for a saucy, savory meal. REAL ESTATE Jeff Allyn, left, and David Barenholtz. Philip Cheung for The New York Times The Hunt: A pair of business consultants looked for a low-maintenance place near Palm Springs, Calif., to spend the winters. Which home did they choose? Play our game. What you get for $975,000 in Missouri, Florida and New Mexico: a Tudor Revival near a university; a bungalow in West Palm Beach; and an adobe farmhouse close to art galleries and skiing. Not-so-smart home: A fight over who can control the garage has opened up a wider debate about consumer rights. T MAGAZINE Drawing by Chris Ware Read this weekend’s issue of T, The Times’s style magazine. LIVING Ah, Paris: Visiting the City of Light for the first time and feeling a bit overwhelmed? Our guide will help make sure you hit the highlights and leave time for serendipitous discovery. Life of the party: If you want to have people over for the holidays but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, try these three-ingredient appetizers. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER Limited space? Add some mirrors. Typically, to create spaciousness, we have to take things away: objects, clutter, walls. But adding a mirror is an often-overlooked way to make a space feel bigger. Any of Wirecutter’s favorite mirrors can help facilitate this optical illusion — with some strategic placement, that is. Tight hallway or entryway? Try hanging your mirror on a wall across from a light source so the glow reflects into the rest of the room. Or try two instead of one: Mirrors placed on opposite walls can create a sense of infinity. And consider height. A tall mirror can have the effect of raising your ceilings. — Ivy Elrod GAME OF THE WEEK Indiana’s quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. Doug Mcschooler/Associated Press No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana, Big Ten championship: Is this the most important college football game of the year? Is it basically pointless? Might it be both? Why it matters: For powerhouse Ohio State, an undefeated season is just another year. For Indiana, it’s once-in-a-lifetime. Before Coach Curt Cignetti arrived and performed something of a college football miracle, Indiana had more losses in its history than any other program. The Hoosiers have never played in a Big Ten championship game, and they haven’t beaten Ohio State since the 1980s. Why it doesn’t: There was a time when this game — between two undefeated, major conference teams — would decide who plays for a national championship. But no longer. These days, college football greatness is determined by a 12-team playoff, and both of these teams are comfortably in that field. The winner today will get a first-round bye. The loser might, too. Tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on Fox NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were ambiance and ambience. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. 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, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

THIS DAY IN HISTORY December 06 1884 Washington Monument completed On December 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers place a nine-inch aluminum pyramid inscribed with “Laus Deo,” meaning praise (be) to God, atop a tower of white marble, completing the construction of an impressive monument to the city’s namesake and the nation’s first president, George Washington.... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT Arts & Entertainment 1933 “Ulysses” is ruled not obscene 1969 Murder at the Altamont Festival brings the 1960s to a violent end Civil War 1865 13th Amendment ratified European History 1921 Irish Free State declared Natural Disasters & Environment 1907 The Monongah coal mine disaster Sports 1961 Ernie Davis becomes first Black player to win Heisman Trophy World War I 1917 The Great Halifax Explosion World War II 1941 FDR to Japanese emperor: “Prevent further death and destruction”

The Blame Game (Patrick Smith / Getty)   View in browser President Donald Trump has promised not only that America will be “great again” but also that it will be “healthy again,” “wealthy again,” “beautiful again,” and—crucially—“affordable again.” Now, as the country faces persistent inflation, a housing crisis, and rising prices on consumer goods, he claims that affordability is nothing more than a “con job,” an opportunistic buzzword leveraged by a rival party. “The word affordability is a Democrat scam,” he said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Incoming presidents don’t get to pick the economy they inherit, but they can only credibly blame their predecessors for so long. In a Fox News poll last month, almost twice as many respondents said that Trump, not Joe Biden, is responsible for current economic conditions. Per new polling from Politico, 46 percent of Americans say the cost of living in the United States is the worst they can remember it being, and 46 percent think Trump is to blame for those high costs. The trend isn’t entirely new; voters have blamed Trump for the economy throughout the year. As frustration persists, the president is pointing fingers at the Democrats, but he can’t dispute the data. Americans now face both a weakening dollar and stagnant income levels. Trump’s surprise implementation of punitive tariffs this summer ended up making all sorts of goods, including clothing and beef, more expensive. Meanwhile, millions have left the country (voluntarily or not) amid the administration’s crackdown on immigration, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s estimates. This exodus, combined with a reduction in newcomers, has the potential to harm local economies. Trump has tried conflicting strategies to deal with voter frustration. He has a tendency to invoke the previous administration when things go wrong—at the start of his term, he said Biden’s name an average of six times a day, often to fault him for the economy or immigration issues. But during a recent meeting with New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, the president appeared to check his impulse to vilify Dems, beaming over Mamdani’s proposals to fix the cost-of-living crisis. “Some of his ideas really are the same ideas I have,” Trump said: “The new word is affordability.” About a week later, he dubbed himself the “AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT” on Truth Social. But again, that only lasted so long: Affordability actually “doesn’t mean anything to anybody,” he said on Tuesday. Next week, he’ll pivot once more as he sets off on a national tour to assuage voters’ concerns about the economy and inflation. Sentiments about a president’s approach to the economy usually carry over to the incumbent party—and at the moment, Trump’s relative unpopularity is Democrats’ gain. The party has jumped at the chance to pummel Trump on affordability, which proved to be a winning issue in recent elections: The cost-of-living rhetoric that catapulted Mamdani to victory in New York City also helped two other Democrats win important races last month. The political scientist Lynn Vavreck told me yesterday that when Trump downplays the issue, he risks repeating some of what led to George H. W. Bush’s downfall in 1992: Bush lost that election to Bill Clinton in large part because his optimism about the economy failed to connect with voters’ reality. Biden suffered from a similar disconnect—and the same problem is creeping up on Trump ahead of the midterms. Approval ratings for a president’s first year in a new term often benefit from what the economic historian Robert J. Gordon calls the “honeymoon effect”—a bump that isn’t neatly explained by anything other than voters’ inclination to give leaders time to warm up. But by the time midterm season rolls around, voters tend to be less forgiving. Ten months into Trump’s presidency, the polling is starting to track a similar pattern: His approval ratings started at 47 percent and have since slipped to 36 percent (thanks to more than just affordability). Trump has been known to bounce back. But if the honeymoon is ending, that’s one thing he can’t blame Biden for. Related: Derek Thompson on the affordability curse Trump doesn’t understand inflation, James Surowiecki argues.

🚨 Republicans turn on legal immigrants In Congress, the GOP's immigration crackdown increasingly includes more scrutiny of people who have already navigated the lengthy legal process. The big picture: After two National Guard personnel were shot last week in D.C., the Trump administration has paused asylum, vowed to expand its travel bans to more than 30 countries and called for a review of green card holders from 19 countries. The suspected assailant arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan under a Biden-era parole program and was granted asylum this year. Another Afghan national was arrested this week on suspicion of making a bomb threat online. Driving the news: Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) introduced legislation on Monday banning dual citizenship — forcing immigrants to choose just one citizenship. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) announced a new bill on Wednesday that, among other restrictions, would allow the Homeland Security secretary to strip citizenship from immigrants if they join riots or violent protests. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has been pushing his "PAUSE Act," which would freeze all legal immigration and end automatic birthright citizenship. Zoom out: Online, MAGA influencers and candidates have been promoting their own aggressive anti-immigration wish lists — from shutting down the refugee program to mass denaturalization, as Axios' Tal Axelrod reported. President Trump on Sunday said he would "absolutely" denaturalize certain Americans if he could. Multiple Senate Republicans were not ready to weigh in on such an idea, citing unfamiliarity with the legal arguments. What's next: The Supreme Court announced today it will take up a case on Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship. If the justices agree with the president, the court could overrule a constitutional right it has previously upheld, Axios' April Rubin reports. — Stef Kight

⚡️ GOP's health care mess Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson are both considering votes on GOP health care priorities next week — if they can figure out what those priorities are. Why it matters: Democrats are unified in their demand for a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced subsidies, which expire Dec. 31. Republicans are still divided and debating their counteroffers. Johnson hopes to reveal a House GOP health care package early next week, though some sources are skeptical that will happen. Thune has promised Democrats a vote on their health care bill next week. But his conference is still in the idea stage on their counters, which are more likely to come as amendment or unanimous consent votes rather than a single broader GOP package. Between the lines: Don't expect any health care package to pass next week. The real question is whether the voting exercise in the Senate and maybe the House fuels ongoing bipartisan dealmaking — or hampers it. Zoom in: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is circulating a plan that would extend the expiring subsidies — but with a $200,000 income cap and no zero-dollar premium packages, Semafor's Burgess Everett reports. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told us he hopes a GOP package will include moving the expiring subsidies into health care savings accounts and adding his bipartisan bill requiring more price transparency. Republicans are also again eyeing changes known as cost-sharing reductions, aimed at lowering premiums, but that could cut subsidies for some enrollees. Multiple senators described the conversations as broad and fluid, with no real consensus this week on any single GOP package. And Hyde protections continue to be a sore spot, with some Republicans demanding increased assurances that subsidies aren't used for abortions. In the House, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has been holding "listening sessions" with committee leaders and rank-and-file Republicans for weeks to find a consensus GOP plan. A bipartisan group of 35 centrist lawmakers, led by Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) unveiled a two-year extension of the ACA subsidies yesterday, but it doesn't have buy-in from leadership. "We're going to come up with something that I think even people like Jen would support," Scalise said yesterday. House GOP leaders have also discussed proposals that would not extend the enhanced subsidies but instead expand association health plans, in which employers band together to purchase health coverage for workers. House Democrats, meanwhile, filed a discharge petition for a clean three-year extension — the same approach Senate Democrats say they'll put on the floor next week. No Republicans have signed on, and few seem willing to do so. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is also floating a plan that mirrors a White House proposal that was postponed after conservative pushback. Reality check: A sizable bloc of Republicans in both chambers remains ideologically opposed to extending the subsidies in any form. Getting a plan with only GOP buy-in through the House looks nearly impossible — if Johnson omits an extension of the ACA subsidies, he'd lose vulnerable Republicans who are fighting to extend them. And even if House GOP leadership opted to bring up a bipartisan bill under suspension, they'd still need to find 80 willing Republicans. It will also take time for leadership to familiarize members with the proposal. The bottom line: With only 10 session days to go, it looks increasingly likely the health care fight will continue into next year. — Stef Kight, Kate Santaliz and Hans Nichols

Frank Gehry, Titan of Architecture, Is Dead at 96 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/arts/design/frank-gehry-dead.html?