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👋 Good morning! Happy Taco Tuesday. Is that still a thing? In today's edition: The NBA's missing stars crisis, #KingsTeamUSA, saying goodbye (maybe) to the Rose Bowl, Hall of Fame ballot, photo finish, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏈 49ers 20, Panthers 9: The Niners struggled early but ultimately got all the offense they needed from Christian McCaffrey, who had a big night (31 touches, 142 yards, TD) in his first game against his former team. ⚽️ San Diego advances: Top-seeded San Diego beat Minnesota, 1-0, to advance to the MLS Western Conference Finals, where Vancouver awaits. Heck of a season for the first-year expansion team. 🏀 Billups pleads not guilty: Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to the various charges stemming from his FBI arrest for illegal gambling. The Hall of Famer remains on unpaid, indefinite leave amid the ongoing investigation. 🏈 Burrow's back: Bengals QB Joe Burrow is expected to return on Thanksgiving night against the Ravens for his first game back since suffering a turf toe injury in Week 2. 🏀 AP polls: Purdue remains the top-ranked men's team in the latest AP poll ahead of Arizona and Houston. UConn was a near unanimous pick atop the women's poll ahead of South Carolina and UCLA.   🏀 DNP (INJURY) THE NBA'S MISSING STARS CRISIS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) NBA stars have missed an alarming number of games in recent years, but nothing compares to the carnage we've witnessed so far this season. Wild stat: Entering play last Friday, 21 of the league's 45 "star players" were injured. That group — defined as those who've been named to either an All-Star or All-NBA team in the last three seasons — has already missed over 200 games, doubling the total we saw at the same point two years ago, notes Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh. (Tom Haberstroh/Yahoo Sports) Who's missing? The self-explanatory yet nebulous term "star player" undersells just how much talent has been stuck on the bench through the season's first month. LeBron James (sciatica) missed the first 14 games before his debut last week, Anthony Davis (calf) has missed the last 14 games, Kawhi Leonard (ankle) just returned after missing 10 games, Joel Embiid (knee) has missed the last 10 games, Giannis Antetokounmpo (abductor) has missed the last four games, Victor Wembanyama (calf) has missed the last three. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton (all Achilles) are expected to miss most if not all of this season, Kyrie Irving (ACL) is out until at least January, Jalen Williams (wrist) has yet to make his season debut for the Thunder… and the list goes on and on. What's causing this? While not definitive, two factors appear to be fueling this surge in injuries: (1) increased specialization in youth sports and (2) a league obsessed with playing at a breakneck pace. Specialization: Young players hoping to get a leg up on the competition begin focusing solely on basketball too early, putting undue wear and tear on their underdeveloped bodies. Kids who play year-round between the ages of 7 and 19 could participate in more than 1,000 games, according to estimates. For reference, that's roughly the same number of games that 37-year-old Kevin Love has played in his NBA career. Pace: NBA teams are averaging 100.4 possessions per 48 minutes this season, which is the fastest pace since the 1980s. Players are literally running faster (4.43 mph on average) and farther (34.2 miles per game, combined for both teams) than has ever been tracked, and the condensed schedule from the NBA Cup isn't helping with recovery. What they're saying: "The most important point of all of this is the pace and space and how much more mileage players are covering," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who added that he doesn't think players get enough rest anymore. So should the NBA cut back the number of games? "I mean, the tricky part is everyone would have to agree to take less revenue," says Kerr. "Come on, that's not happening. We know that." What to watch: In response to this "missing stars" epidemic, the NBA has launched a biomechanics assessment program with the goal of reducing injuries moving forward. 500 players have already undergone some level of testing, with more to come as the season progresses.   ⚽️ KINGS LEAGUE EXCLUSIVE: AMERICA'S GOT (SOCCER) TALENT (Mairo Cinquetti/Quality Sport Images/Kings World Cup Nations) Kings League, the seven-a-side soccer competition created by FC Barcelona legend Gerard Piqué, is giving three Americans the opportunity of a lifetime. America's Got (Soccer) Talent: Launching today, the #KingsTeamUSA campaign is a nationwide talent search open to anyone. To enter, simply post a video of your best skills on Instagram or TikTok using the hashtag by Dec. 3. The top 20 clips will be reviewed on a livestream the next day, where three winners will be selected. The prize? Those winners will join Team USA at the 2026 Kings World Cup Nations this January in São Paulo, Brazil, playing alongside USMNT star Weston McKennie and popular Twitch streamers, Jynxzi and Castro1021. Teams in the creator-fueled tournament are led by global soccer icons like Neymar (Brazil), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) and James Rodríguez (Colombia). Last year's debut event in Turin, Italy, drew over 100 million live viewers. Team USA, led by Castro1021, reached the quarterfinals before losing to Morocco in a penalty shootout. How to enter: The submission window opens today. Post your video using #KingsTeamUSA for a shot at representing your country.   🏈 WAR OF THE ROSES END OF AN ERA? UCLA PLOTS ROSE BOWL EXIT UCLA signage outside the Rose Bowl ahead of Saturday's game. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) UCLA played its final home game of the season on Saturday — a blowout loss to Washington that may have also been the Bruins' Rose Bowl swan song. An aerial shot of the Rose Bowl before Saturday's game. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) End of an era? UCLA has played their home games at Pasadena's iconic cathedral since 1982, and according to their lease they're supposed to stay there until at least 2044. But school leaders have been secretly plotting an early exit, with plans to shift to SoFi Stadium next year — the modern, NFL-grade venue that's much closer to campus (12 miles vs. 26) and offers better financial upside with its volume of luxury suites and premium seating. Not going down without a fight: The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl sued UCLA last month for the potential move, arguing it could cost the city and its residents more than $1 billion in damages. But a Los Angeles County judge denied the bid to block the move. UCLA fan Ross Niederhaus sets up his tailgate. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) What they're saying: "I wish we knew whether or not this was the last time," Bruins fan Ross Niederhaus told the LA Times on Saturday as he set up the tailgate he's hosted since getting his driver's license in 2012. "Because if this was the last time for sure I could at least be saying my goodbyes. This is my favorite thing to do. My ashes are willed to be spread at the Rose Bowl." UCLA and Illinois play in the 1984 Rose Bowl. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Losing its heart and soul: While the Rose Bowl would still have plenty of other events like concerts and soccer games, without UCLA its football schedule could shrink to just the New Year's Day game and the "Turkey Tussle," an annual matchup between rival high school teams. What's next: UCLA is seeking arbitration to challenge the Rose Bowl's contractual claim that the school is wrongfully exploring options for a new home football venue. A hearing is scheduled for January 22.   ⚾️ CLASS OF 2026 HALL OF FAME: WHO'S ON THE BALLOT? (Baseball Hall of Fame) The ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 is here, featuring 27 players who'll find out early next year if they did enough to earn membership to the hallowed grounds of Cooperstown. Who's back? There are 15 holdovers from last year's Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, which saw three players get inducted (Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner) and 10 players fall off the ballot for failing to secure the requisite 5% of the vote. Of those 15 holdovers, Carlos Beltrán (70.3%) and Andruw Jones (66.2%) were the closest to earning the 75% needed for election. No one else topped 40%. Manny Ramírez is the only player entering his 10th and final year on the ballot. After getting just 34.3% of the vote last year, the PED-tainted slugger's chances of making it to Cooperstown are looking slim. Speaking of PED-tainted sluggers, Alex Rodriguez remains the biggest name on the ballot. Entering his fifth year, he has more time than Manny to drum up voter support, but he got just 37.1% last year after opening with 34.3% in 2021. The newcomers: A dozen players are debuting on the ballot. All 12 ended their careers playing in empty ballparks during 2020's COVID-shortened campaign, as The Athletic's Tyler Kepner reminds us in his annual salute to the newcomers ($). This year's group, to put it kindly, isn't the strongest crop we've ever seen. Cole Hamels is the best of the three pitchers, with 59 WAR, a 3.43 ERA and a World Series MVP to his name. Rick Porcello won a Cy Young, but also had a 4.40 ERA; Gio González had a 3.70 ERA and under 30 WAR. Lifelong Brewer Ryan Braun was the best of the nine position players, but his use of PEDs all but disqualifies him. Shin-Soo Choo is the most accomplished Korean player in MLB history, Daniel Murphy will always have his record six-game postseason HR streak and Howie Kendrick will forever be a Nationals legend for his World Series-winning HR off the foul pole. Edwin Encarnación's 424 home runs rank 54th all-time, Alex Gordon won eight Gold Gloves, Nick Markakis had the second-most hits of the 2010s, Matt Kemp won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers and Hunter Pence was a four-time All-Star with two World Series rings. What's next: BBWAA voters (there are usually around 400 of them) have until Dec. 31 to cast their vote, and the results will be announced on Jan. 20. In the meantime, unofficial but renowned Hall of Fame tracker Ryan Thibodaux will be keeping tabs on all publicly-shared ballots.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, NOV. 25 The Sixers' NBA Cup court during their group stage opener. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Cup, Group Stage The final week of group stage play in the in-season tournament kicks off with a doubleheader on NBC. First up is Magic at 76ers (8pm ET), followed by Clippers at Lakers (11pm) in the first of four games this season between the Hollywood neighbors. Where it stands: The 23 remaining group stage games will be played this week before the knockouts begin in December. The Raptors already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, while the other seven spots (five group winners and two wild cards) are still up for grabs. 🏀 Players Era Festival Day 2 of the stacked 18-team tournament features nine more games, headlined by No. 15 Iowa State vs. Creighton (2pm, truTV), No. 14 St. John's vs. Baylor (5pm, truTV), No. 3 Houston vs. No. 17 Tennessee (6pm, TNT), No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 21 Auburn (8:30pm, TNT) and No. 12 Gonzaga vs. Maryland (9:30pm, truTV). More to watch: 🏒 NHL: Stars at Oilers (9pm, ESPN+) … Dallas (second in the Central) and Edmonton (sixth in the Pacific) face off in the only NHL game of the night. 🏈 NCAAF: Bowling Green at UMass (4:30pm, ESPNU) … Since moving to FBS in 2012, UMass has been by far the worst team in the country. Tonight is their last chance to avoid a winless season (0-11). ⚽️ Champions League: Ajax vs. Benfica (12:45pm, CBSSN); Chelsea vs. Barcelona (3pm, Paramount+); Man City vs. Leverkusen (3pm, Paramount+) … Three of nine games to kick off Matchday 5.   🏀 REBRAND WNBA TRIVIA Evolution of the Mercury's logo. (Phoenix Mercury) The Phoenix Mercury, one of the four original WNBA franchises still playing in the league, unveiled a rebrand ahead of their 30th season. Question: Can you name the other three original WNBA teams that are still active? Hint: One has relocated (twice). Answer at the bottom.   📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH Zheng Yin of China during a Skeleton practice session ahead of the IBSF World Cup in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, which will also host the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Alex Pantling/Getty Images) Words cannot possibly describe how peaceful this photo makes me feel.   Trivia answer: New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks, Las Vegas Aces (formerly the Utah Starzz and San Antonio Stars/Silver Stars)

https://youtu.be/uEpt-8mBeaM

One of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre’s last survivors, Viola Ford Fletcher, dies at age 111 DALLAS (AP) — Viola Ford Fletcher, who as one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma spent her later years seeking justice for the deadly attack by a white mob on the thriving Black community where she lived as a child, has died. She was 111. https://apnews.com/article/viola-ford-fletcher-obituary-tulsa-race-massacre-09f47fd38380c36ab2911828ec7587c6?

3D-printed guns FBI Director Kash Patel gave to New Zealand officials were inspired by Nerf guns Inoperable pistols gifted by FBI Director Kash Patel to senior New Zealand security officials, who had to relinquish them for destruction because they were illegal to possess, were revolvers inspired by toy Nerf guns and popular among amateur 3D-printed weapons hobbyists, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. Read more. What to know: Pistols are tightly restricted under New Zealand law, requiring a permit beyond a standard gun license. Law enforcement agencies didn’t say whether the officials who met with Patel held such permits, but without them they couldn’t have legally kept the gifts. The AP first reported that Patel gifted plastic 3D-printed replica revolvers as part of display stands given to New Zealand’s police and spy chiefs, along with two cabinet ministers in July. Patel was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in the country. A spokesperson for him didn’t respond to a request for comment on Monday. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Lawmakers question legality of Border Patrol license plate reader program Justice Department renews bid to unseal Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury materials Judge seeks settlement in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ civil rights lawsuit

Russian attacks kill at least 7 in Ukraine while peace talks are underway Russia launched a wave of attacks on Kyiv overnight, with at least seven people killed in strikes that hit city buildings and energy infrastructure. A Ukrainian attack on southern Russia killed three people and damaged homes, authorities said. Read more. What to know: The large-scale attacks come during a renewed U.S. push to end the war that has raged for nearly four years and talks about a U.S.-brokered peace plan. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials for several hours in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, a U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press. The latest attacks followed peace-plan talks in Switzerland between U.S. and Ukraine representatives. Oleksandr Bevz, a delegate from the Ukrainian side, told the AP that the talks had been “very constructive” and the two sides were able to discuss most points. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Zelenskyy faces growing pressures in a crucial week Photos show aftermath of Russian deadly attacks on Kyiv

White House circulates a plan to extend Obamacare subsidies as Trump pledges health care fix The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. Read more. What to know: The draft plan suggests that President Donald Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan is final until Trump announces it. Even as the proposal remains in flux, the notion of extending any part of President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement is likely to rankle conservatives who have sought to repeal and replace the law for well over a decade. The subsidies were at the heart of the Democrats’ demands in the government shutdown fight that ended earlier this month. Most Democratic lawmakers had insisted on a straight extension of the tax credits, which expire at the end of the year as a condition of keeping the government open. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US labels Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles as a terror organization Trump administration plans to review refugees admitted under Biden, memo obtained by The AP says Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation shocked some in Georgia who say she could’ve won without Trump Trump administration plan to reduce access to some student loans angers nurses, health care groups BBC leaders grilled by lawmakers over its standards after Trump threatened to sue AP and Trump administration argue access case before federal appeals court; no ruling yet Trump signs executive order for AI project called Genesis Mission to boost scientific discoveries New survey finds rising pessimism among US Hispanics GOP investor James Fishback is entering the Florida governor’s race, challenging Trump’s pick Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry thanks Trump for pardon during sermon at Tulsa church Rights groups slam Trump administration for ending Myanmar deportation protection as civil war rages Drugs sneaked into Ohio prison soaked into the pages of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ WATCH: Melania Trump welcomes ‘beautiful’ Christmas tree to White House

November 25, 2025 By Sam Sifton Good morning. President Trump is facing some setbacks. Peace talks between American and Ukrainian officials ended in Geneva with a new, slimmer plan to end the war — one that Russia will likely veto. This morning, Russia bombarded Kyiv and killed at least six people. And a federal judge dismissed cases against James Comey and Letitia James, two foes Trump has been trying to punish using the Justice Department. We have more news below. But before we get to it, I’d like to look at the mental health crisis facing America’s children. Some parents, educators and health experts are wondering: Are schools part of the problem? High school students in Williston, N.D. Erin Schaff/The New York Times School daze The numbers are staggering. Nearly one in four 17-year-old boys in the United States has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the early 1980s, a diagnosis of autism was delivered to one child in 2,500. That figure is now one in 31. Almost 32 percent of adolescents have at some point been given a diagnosis of anxiety. More than one in 10 have experienced a major depressive disorder, my colleague Jia Lynn Yang reports. And the number of mental health conditions is expanding. A child might be tagged with oppositional defiance disorder or pathological avoidance disorder. “The track has become narrower and narrower, so a greater range of people don’t fit that track anymore,” an academic who studies children and education told Jia Lynn. “And the result is, we want to call it a disorder.” Why did this happen? A lot of reasons. Kids spend hours on screens, cutting into their sleep, exercise and socializing — activities that can ward off anxiety and depression. Mental health screenings have improved. And then there’s school itself: a cause of stress for many children and the very place that sends them toward a diagnosis. A slow transformation In 1950, less than half of American children attended kindergarten. Only about 50 percent graduated from high school. After-school hours were filled with play or work. “But as the country’s economy shifted from factories and farms to offices, being a student became a more serious matter,” Jia Lynn writes. “The outcome of your life could depend on it.” College became a reliable path to the middle class. Schools leaned into new standards of testing and put in place measures of accountability. The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 made it federal law. States rewarded schools for having high scores. They punished them for low ones. “Schools were treated more like publicly traded companies, with test scores as proxies for profits,” Jia Lynn writes. “Before long, schools had public ratings, so ubiquitous they now appear on real estate listings.” And there were clear incentives to diagnose students with psychiatric disorders: Treatment of one student, especially a disruptive one, could lead to higher test scores across the classroom. And in some states, the test scores of students with a diagnosis weren’t counted toward a school’s overall marks, nudging results higher as well. The metrics may have gotten many kids the support they needed. Either way, educational policymaking yielded a change: According to one analysis Jia Lynn found, the rate of A.D.H.D. among children ages 8 to 13 in low-income homes rose by half after the passage of No Child Left Behind. In San Luis, Ariz. Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times The effect on kids The pressures on students became extreme. In 2020, Yale researchers found that nearly 80 percent of high schoolers said they were stressed. And that stress has trickled down to younger and younger kids. Kindergartners learn best through play, not through the rote lessons in math and reading that began to enter classrooms. Preschoolers are not predisposed to sitting still. And yet as they, too, now face greater academic expectations, many are being expelled for misbehavior. Even the school day became more regimented, with fewer periods of recess — by 2016, only eight states had mandatory recess in elementary schools. Class schedules are packed. “You’ve got seven different homework assignments that you’ve got to remember each night,” one expert told Jia Lynn. “Think of the cognitive load of a sixth-grade boy. I challenge many adults to do this.” It’s a vicious cycle, where bad outcomes lead to worse outcomes. And Jia Lynn writes about that beautifully: By turning childhood into a thing that can be measured, adults have managed to impose their greatest fears of failure onto the youngest among us. Each child who strays from our standards becomes a potential medical mystery to be solved, with more tests to take, more metrics to assess. The only thing that seems to consistently evade the detectives is the world around that child — the one made by the grown-ups. Read more about schools and the rise of childhood mental health disorders here. Don’t miss the comments that accompany the article, especially from parents and teachers. Many boil down to something a recently retired teacher wrote: “A child’s school day is insane.” Now, let’s look at what else is happening in the world. THE LATEST NEWS Ukraine Negotiations The peace plan that American and Ukrainian officials negotiated avoided some contentious issues, including limits on the size of Kyiv’s military and the new national boundaries. Russia is likely to reject it. Trump had set a hard deadline for the plan to be approved by Thanksgiving. That deadline is now gone. Justice Department James Comey and Letitia James. Monica Jorge for The New York Times; James Estrin, via The New York Times A judge dismissed the Justice Department’s cases against James Comey and Letitia James, finding that the prosecutor Trump chose to bring the charges had not been legally appointed. The Trump administration is likely to appeal the judge’s ruling, and perhaps try to refile the charges. Many lawyers expect the issue to reach the Supreme Court. More Politics The Pentagon is investigating Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, after he and five other Democrats released a video reminding troops that they could refuse illegal orders Trump said he had accepted an invitation from China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to visit Beijing in April. International Along the Kenya-Tanzania border. Thomas Mukoya/Rueters In Kenya, some Masai people are demanding that the Ritz-Carlton tear down its new luxury safari camp, which costs about $3,500 a night. They claim that it blocks a corridor used by wildlife. The grisly killings of a husband and wife set off a new wave of sectarian unrest in Homs, Syria. France is trying to convince its citizens that they must be ready for war if Russia attacks. The new army chief said the country must accept the possible loss of its children, prompting a backlash. Health Hopes were high that Ozempic could help prevent brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s. A study found it didn’t. Researchers linked obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes temporary pauses in breathing during sleep, with Parkinson’s disease in a new study. Other Big Stories Viola Fletcher, who as a child witnessed the racist massacre that decimated an affluent Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla., in 1921, has died at 111. The one remaining survivor of the attack is also 111. Recycling car batteries is poisoning people. Automakers and their suppliers have known for almost three decades that recyclers were releasing lead into the air as they melted down old batteries, an investigation found. New York City officials are considering constructing tiny apartments to address the city’s housing shortage. Some may be as small as 100 square feet. ChatGPT drove some of its users into delusional spirals. In the video below, Kashmir Hill, a tech reporter, describes how the company has pulled back its bots — and how some users are unhappy about that. Click to watch. The New York Times OPINIONS Democrats have no coherent agenda on artificial intelligence. If they don’t come up with one soon, Republicans will speak with a single voice on this issue while Democrats stutter, David Byler writes. Here’s a column by Michelle Goldberg on the conflict with Venezuela. 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 Line dancers near Berlin, Germany. Lena Mucha for The New York Times Horses in the back: There’s a little make-believe, old-timey Texas town on the outskirts of Berlin, complete with sheriff’s office and saloon. Developers want to demolish it to build a data center. The village has been there for decades, but the German fascination with the American West goes back far longer, as Michael Kimmelman reminded me yesterday. The tall-tale, gun-twirling writing of Karl May (1842-1912) sparked the infatuation, he said. Virtually unknown in the United States, May is the most popular author in German history. Einstein was a fan. Besart Bilalli studying in London. Sam Bush for The New York Times The world’s hardest driving test: To drive a black cab in London, you first need to pass the Knowledge test — a comprehensive exam of some 25,000 streets in the city. Those who do have an unmatched understanding of the fastest routes through the winding, sometimes cobbled maze that is London. They can also make more money than Uber drivers. My colleague Isabella Kwai spent months following one father determined to make a better life for his kids as he studied for the test. “This is going to be my future,” Besart Bilalli said, adding, “It has to be done.” Read the full story. Your pick: The most-clicked story in The Morning yesterday was a list of the best electric toothbrushes. TODAY’S NUMBER $10 billion — That’s about how much money the Trump administration has committed so far to acquire ownership shares of private companies. The unusual practice shows no sign of slowing. SPORTS N.F.L.: The 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw two punches at the Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig after San Francisco’s 20-9 win on Monday night. Jennings said he was responding to an earlier hit from Moehrig. N.B.A.: The Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to involvement in rigged poker games, part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into gambling in professional sports. Business: Elle Duncan of ESPN is set to become the new face of Netflix’s sports coverage as the streaming service adds more live games to its platform. TURKEY MATH Evan Gorelick, a writer for The Morning, crunched the numbers on your Thanksgiving dinner. Was your turkey more expensive this year? Blame bird flu. When the virus appears, whole flocks must be culled to contain the disease. The current outbreak has affected more than 180 million U.S. farmed birds — turkeys included — since 2022. As a result, America’s turkey inventory has fallen to its lowest level in four decades. Fewer birds make for higher prices. Wholesale turkey prices have surged around 75 percent since October 2024. But retailers are trying to keep costs low by getting customers to buy lots of other things, too — potatoes, green beans, stuffing, pumpkin pie. So you may still be able to get a deal: Thousands of stores are offering free turkeys when customers make an additional purchase. Related: Trump’s steel tariffs have made canned goods, including cranberry sauce, more expensive. RECIPE OF THE DAY Yewande Komolafe’s shrimp tacos. Kelly Marshall for The New York Times I’m bound for South Florida and a Thanksgiving at the in-laws’. That means fresh Gulf shrimp for dinner in the run-up to Thursday’s bird. If you see any wild shrimp at your market tonight or tomorrow, join me: Yewande Komolafe’s recipe for shrimp tacos leads to a sweet and spicy dinner with elements both crisp and soft, excellent on top of warm corn tortillas, with swipes of guacamole. JIMMY CLIFF, 1944-2025 Jimmy Cliff performing in Le Castellet, France, in 1976. PL Gould/Images Press, via Getty Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican artist whose early album “The Harder They Come” helped popularize reggae around the world, has died. He was 81. “The Harder They Come” was the soundtrack for a 1972 movie of the same name. In it, Cliff played a struggling Jamaican musician who enters a life of crime. It was a cult favorite in the United States, running for years in midnight slots at theaters. (My parents wore out the record on the living-room turntable with “You Can Get It if You Really Want” blaring across the apartment for hours. Their dinner parties ran late.) In addition to the obituary, we have a playlist of Cliff’s essential songs. More on culture The New York Times Book Review has released its list of the 100 notable books of 2025. Nice to see Jonathan Mahler’s propulsive “The Gods of New York” on there. Want to find a title to read right away? We can help! Here is a cheat sheet for the list, broken into categories. “Stranger Things” returns to Netflix this week for its fifth and final season, after a three-year break. If you don’t have a spare 771 minutes to catch up on what happened in the last one, we’ve put together a primer full of details you need to remember. Late night hosts are loving the Trump-Mamdani bromance. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Erykah Badu Jason Nocito for The New York Times Watch Erykah Badu perform live in our newsroom. She had just been interviewed by the “Popcast” team. Stipulated: Erykah Badu is dead cool. Secure your front door with a smart deadbolt recommended by the low-key locksmiths at Wirecutter. Read a holiday romance novel. Sweet and spicy. Chances are, you’ll read another one after you’re done. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was rainbow. 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, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

🪩 1 for the road: New Times Square ball Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images There's a new ball in Times Square for New Year's Eve — the ninth and largest since the tradition started 118 years ago. The sphere is covered by 5,280 Waterford crystals and LED pucks, almost twice as many as its predecessor, and weighs over 12,300 pounds. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images The iconic ball will be "a year-round destination where, for a price, ticket holders will be able to go up to a viewing deck to see it up close," the N.Y. Times reports. Tickets will start at around $45 per person. For $295 per person, a guest can take one of the ball's crystals home and write a New Year's Eve message on confetti. More facts.

🛍️ ChatGPT rolls out shopping tool Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios OpenAI is giving ChatGPT a holiday upgrade with a new shopping research feature that scours product pages, reviews and prices ahead of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the year-end buying blitz, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes. Why it matters: Shoppers already turn to ChatGPT to find and compare products. But OpenAI says the new tool delivers deeper, more personalized buying advice than quick specs or price checks. Between the lines: OpenAI stresses that chats aren't shared with retailers, and results come from "high-quality, publicly available" sites — not ads. How it works.

🦃 Thanksgiving travel set to crush records Data: AAA. Chart: Axios Visuals Thanksgiving travel is expected to shatter multiple records this year, just weeks after a prolonged government shutdown significantly strained air travel, Axios' Josephine Walker and April Rubin write. AAA projects that 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 — up from just over 80 million last year. 73 million people, or 90% of Thanksgiving travelers, are expected to travel by car. ⏰ Go deeper: Best and worst times of day to hit road.

⚖️ Trump's DOJ purge backfires Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios The collapse of the Justice Department's cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James offers a stark lesson: Turning the DOJ into an instrument of political payback requires legal competence, not just loyalty. Why it matters: The dismissals are a big blow to President Trump's push to exact revenge on political enemies, Axios' Andrew Pantazi writes. The cases against Comey and James were thrown out yesterday after a series of self-inflicted legal and administrative blunders by the administration. A federal judge ruled that the prosecutor who brought them, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed — voiding every action she took, including the indictments themselves. The administration plans to appeal. 🎨 The big picture: The court order comes as the Justice Department faces a broader crisis — an estimated 5,500 career staff have left since January, according to Justice Connection, a group tracking departures. Over 200 others have been fired, according to the N.Y. Times. Keep reading.

🎧 Sneak peek: What it's like to be Speaker House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) uses a very personal interview on "The Katie Miller Podcast" to warn fellow Republicans that "the antisemitism stuff ought to be universally rejected and called out," and appeal to them to "put that aside." "I'm very insistent about that," Johnson told Katie Miller, a former Trump official, on an episode of her podcast posting at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. "We've got to love everybody, and certainly the Jewish people." Why it matters: Miller's podcast, which launched in August, has quickly become a favored destination for powerful newsmakers. A furious debate over Israel, antisemitism and hate speech has engulfed MAGA this fall. Miller asked the speaker — during a joint interview with his wife, Kelly, a pastoral counselor, taped last week in the Speaker's Ceremonial Office in the Capitol — if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a great world leader, and whether the Republican Party's schism over antisemitism is "overblown." "I wish we could put that aside. And I wish that everybody would acknowledge the importance of that relationship," Johnson says during the 51-minute interview. "There are lots of scripturally based, biblical reasons to support Israel." 🦾 Asked "which AI" he uses, the speaker replied: "I don't, actually. In fact, I don't even really use my phone much at all. I don't really have time for social media." "It's like I text and call. ... If I'm going to sit down and, like, write a speech or something, I mean, it has to be my own — personal." 📱 Behind the scenes: Johnson — who's second in line to the presidency, after the vice president — says the modern speakership, which includes "fundraising, the politics, the member management," means he's dealing with members 24-7, even "last Christmas, I'm taking calls from members with their drama." "Literally hundreds of calls and text messages in a day," he said. "The peril is, I don't know how important that was [that] I missed. And sometimes I'll find out a week or two later and, like: 'Oh my gosh, I didn't know.' Now, most people, if they can't reach me that way, then they'll call the team and [say], 'Go get him, he's got to hear this.' ... But, boy, I miss a lot of stuff, and I'm constantly apologizing to people."

🤖 OpenAI faces toughest challenger yet Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios The world's most popular chatbot, ChatGPT, faces new threats from its biggest competitor: Google Gemini, Megan Morrone writes in Axios AI+. Why it matters: Google was caught on its back foot when OpenAI released ChatGPT three years ago. With the release of — and rave reviews for — Gemini 3 Pro, the script has flipped. The big picture: Google's new Gemini 3 model is forcing a reckoning at OpenAI. CEO Sam Altman told staffers to brace for "rough vibes" and "temporary economic headwinds" as the company works to catch up, according to The Information. Tech history is full of toppled incumbents — Betamax, AltaVista, MySpace, Friendster — but the AI race moves at a far faster clip. Even before Gemini 3, OpenAI was already confronting declining engagement as content restrictions designed for user safety squeezed consumption, the AI newsletter Sources.news reported. 🔬 Zoom in: Analysts, users, and industry insiders say Gemini 3's superior benchmarks, integration into Google's ecosystem, and cost efficiencies are pressuring OpenAI, especially after GPT-5's underwhelming August release. After spending two hours using Gemini 3, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posted on X: "I'm not going back. The leap is insane — reasoning, speed, images, video … Everything is sharper and faster. It feels like the world just changed, again."

☎️ Scoop: Trump ready to talk with Maduro President Trump has told his advisers he's planning to speak directly with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, even as the U.S. designated the foreign leader as the head of a terrorist organization yesterday, administration officials tell Axios' Marc Caputo. Why it matters: Trump's decision is an important milestone in his gunboat diplomacy aimed at Venezuela — and could be a sign that U.S. missile strikes or direct military action on land are not imminent, those sources say. "Nobody is planning to go in and shoot him or snatch him — at this point. I wouldn't say never, but that's not the plan right now," said one official familiar with the discussions. "In the meantime, we're going to blow up boats shipping drugs. We're going to stop the drug trafficking." At least 83 people have been killed in 21 separate missile strikes on boats that allegedly were carrying drugs during the U.S. military action in the Caribbean known as "Operation Southern Spear." 🔭 Zoom in: Word of Trump's interest in a call, which doesn't have a set date, coincides with the State Department's decision yesterday to label an alleged drug cartel in Venezuela as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," which provides the U.S. more of a pretext to take military action in and around the South American nation. Also yesterday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Puerto Rico, where as many as 10,000 troops, sailors and pilots are stationed. Flashback: The Senate narrowly rejected a resolution to block Trump's military actions earlier this month.

The worst good-paying job Death threats and infighting are spurring a growing number of House Republicans to consider quitting Congress mid-term, Axios' Kate Santaliz and Andrew Solender write. Why it matters: The abrupt resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has rattled her colleagues. Some are questioning whether the job is still worth it when the work is drowned out by censures, violent threats and loyalty tests to President Trump. ⚠️ Threats against lawmakers have surged. After the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September, members say the atmosphere feels even more volatile. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told Axios the threats have been a factor in members' decision to leave. "It takes a toll on people," he said. Retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Greene both cited the uptick in political violence as part of their reasons for leaving Congress. 🏛️ State of play: 41 members have already announced they plan to call it quits at the end of their term, with more expected to follow. Most House lawmakers make $174,000 a year. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who is retiring in 2027, told Axios he was "so angry" at the Trump administration's proposed 28-point Russia-Ukraine peace plan last week that he "thought about" resigning early. But "in the end I have a commitment to our constituents to fulfill my term," Bacon said. Another House Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Axios that while they're not likely to resign, "the thought has crossed my mind": "I know I'm not the only one." 🔎 Zoom in: Since July, House members have spent only a handful of days in Washington. Earlier this month, they returned from a seven-week recess to a schedule dominated by punitive resolutions targeting their own colleagues. Rank-and-file members of both parties are relying on procedural workarounds, notably discharge petitions, to force votes on broadly popular bills. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would like to limit those workarounds, as Axios first reported. With a razor-thin majority (currently 219-213), a few defections can derail everything, making legislating more difficult. 🖼️ The big picture: MTG fumed yesterday that Congress has been "sidelined by Johnson under full obedience" to the White House. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) echoed Greene's sentiment, writing on X: "I can't blame her for leaving this institution that has betrayed the American people."

THIS DAY IN HISTORY November 25 1963 JFK buried at Arlington National Cemetery Three days after his assassination in Dallas, Texas, John F. Kennedy is laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was shot to death while riding in an open-car motorcade with his wife and Texas Governor John... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1986 Iran-Contra connection revealed 19th Century 1876 U.S. Army retaliates for the Little Bighorn defeat 21st Century 2000 First International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women American Revolution 1783 Last British soldiers leave New York Arts & Entertainment 1952 “The Mousetrap” opens in London Asian History 1970 Japanese author Yukio Mishima dies by suicide Crime 1959 The Birdman of Alcatraz asks a court to set him free Inventions & Science 1990 Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge sinks to the bottom of Lake Washington Natural Disasters & Environment 1950 “Storm of the century” hits eastern U.S. Women’s History 1960 Mirabal sisters assassinated by Trujillo regime

A 3-year-old boy appears to have fully recovered after receiving the first-ever gene therapy to treat Hunter syndrome earlier this year, researchers revealed yesterday. The rare, inherited disease affects roughly 2,000 people worldwide, with boys having a higher risk of carrying the disease. Children born with Hunter syndrome have a faulty gene that prevents them from producing the enzyme needed to break down complex sugar molecules. Without treatment, the molecules accumulate in their tissues and organs, leading to physical and mental decline in a process resembling dementia. Life expectancy is between 10 and 20 years. Standard treatment is a three-hour-per-week enzyme replacement therapy costing nearly $500K per year. While it can reduce organ problems, the therapy cannot slow mental decline. The latest treatment for the 3-year-old boy, however, involved removing his stem cells and replacing the gene before reinjecting the cells. Unlike prior treatments, the latest intervention can reach the brain, preventing mental decline. See more here.

The iPhone is the second highest selling product of all time, behind the Rubik's Cube. James

How many immigrants are in the United States ? About 50.2 million in 2024. This represents approximately 14.8% of the population, or about 1 in 7 residents in the United States. Immigrants are defined as foreign-born residents, which includes people who became US citizens, are authorized to come to the US (e.g., on work visas, student visas), or are undocumented residents. https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-immigrants-are-in-the-us/country/united-states/? What does the Department of Education (ED) do? The Department of Education (Education Department, ED) is a cabinet-level executive branch agency responsible for overseeing education policy and administering funding for programs and individuals. The department's functions include supporting state and local education systems, promoting educational equity for all students, and providing grants and loans to higher education institutions and students. It was established in 1980 after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was reorganized into separate entities. https://usafacts.org/explainers/what-does-the-us-government-do/agency/us-department-of-education/? One last fact The are the top 10 turkey-producing states. Minnesota leads the flock with an estimated 32 million raised so far this year. The states in gray have raised about 22.3 million turkeys combined.

⛰️ Parting shot! Photo: Rudy Piekarski Rudy Piekarski, a Finish Line reader, gets us in the holiday-week mood with this peaceful image from Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.

🥧 1 fun thing: Popular pies Data: Instacart (Calculated by comparing the order share from Nov. 22-28, 2024, of the most popular pies within each state, then selecting pies with shares that deviate most from the average.) Map: Sara Wise/Axios New Instacart data shows the most uniquely popular Thanksgiving pies by state, based on last year's orders. 🍓 Pumpkin pie is big out West, strawberry rhubarb and French silk are favorites in the Midwest, and cream pies are a hit in New England. The map doesn't show the most popular pies overall in each state. 📈 Instead, it shows the pies that are most popular in each state compared to the national average — uniquely popular, in other words. Have a slice.

🇨🇳 President Trump has accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping's invitation to visit Beijing in April — and he's invited Xi for a state visit to the U.S. later next year. Go deeper. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images 🎄First Lady Melania Trump received the official White House Christmas tree outside the North Portico today. The 25-foot concolor fir was grown at Korson's Tree Farms in Michigan, winner of a national contest. Read the story.

📱Foreign accounts exposed Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios A new feature on Elon Musk's X social media network revealed that some prominent U.S. accounts seem to be run from abroad, Axios' Avery Lotz reports. The locations were revealed by X's "About This Account" feature, which shows where users are based. 👾 The discovery is fueling concerns about inauthentic accounts and foreign influence campaigns. 💰 The behavior could also be motivated by X's revenue-sharing program for popular users. 🇳🇬 One account sharing pro-Trump content to over 50,000 followers appears to be located in Nigeria. 🇹🇭 Several accounts that claimed to be run by Trump-supporting women were actually based in Thailand. Go deeper.