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November 23, 2025 Good morning. Today, a music reporter revisits the documentary that made him fall in love the Beatles, ahead of the film’s 30th-anniversary rerelease. The Beatles during an impromptu performance. Apple Corps Meet the Beatles, again By Ben Sisario I write about music and the music industry. In 1987, when I was a budding teenage rock snob, the checkout lane at my local supermarket was crowded with magazines commemorating the Beatles album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” still hyped after 20 years. If I didn’t groan, I at least rolled my eyes. To this Gen X kid, few things were less cool than the Beatles, the musical embodiment of the cultural dominance of my parents’ boomer generation. I preferred the Pixies, Nirvana and whatever else caught my eye on MTV’s “120 Minutes” (though Kurt Cobain’s adoration of John Lennon couldn’t be ignored). Now I am a Fab Four obsessive, consulting a shelf of Beatles-related reference books while I listen to boxed sets of outtakes. The turning point for me was “The Beatles Anthology,” an authorized documentary that was shown over three nights in November 1995. It returns to Disney+ this week, in an expanded and technologically sweetened form. Somehow, the film made the music fresh. Instead of the same hits heard endlessly on the radio, it offered alternate studio cuts, live versions and — a revelation that struck me the most — the hungry, pre-fame band bashing out Chuck Berry covers in leather suits. (“Live at the BBC,” an album with more stripped-down radio sessions from the early days, had given me a first taste when it came out the year before “Anthology.”) Then, as now, “Anthology” arrived with plenty of media hype. But its portrait of the band, captured with archival footage and interviews, humanized them in a way I had never seen before, with a seductive narrative about how the lads from Liverpool conquered the world, and how success had affected them as people. There are stunning moments. In one, the camera rides with the band through Manhattan as their car is mobbed by screaming teenage fans — as vivid a you-are-there documentary scene as anything now on Netflix. George Harrison, who by the 1990s was the most reluctant of the members to participate, has some of the most poignant quotes about the costs of megafame. “They gave their money and they gave their screams,” Harrison says of the band’s fans. “But the Beatles kind of gave their nervous systems, which is a much more difficult thing to give.” In retrospect, “Anthology” is also prime evidence for how the Beatles have closely tended their own history, tweaking it in each retelling. Most recently, the band has released a series of documentaries, including Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back,” an immersive look at the group’s fraught 1969 recording sessions; next up, expected in 2028, are four biopics — one for each Beatle — by the director Sam Mendes. Plenty of worthy artists have vanished from public consciousness after they stopped making music. But the Beatles remain with us, more than 50 years after their breakup, in part because fans and Apple Corps, the company the band founded, have mythologized them so effectively. The rereleased “Anthology” is great, yes, but it’s also a way to keep the money rolling in, and to lure in a new generation who might not have cared about the band otherwise. It worked pretty well on me. THE LATEST NEWS Politics Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, and his girlfriend. Kenny Holston/The New York Times The F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, has used SWAT teams to protect his girlfriend and frequently traveled on government jets. His heavy use of taxpayer-funded resources is drawing scrutiny inside the Trump administration. The Federalist Society helped President Trump pick judges during his first term. But now, after some of those judges failed to rule in his favor, the group is torn between its legal philosophy and the president’s demands. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s abrupt resignation stunned many in Washington. According to interviews with friends and associates, she had felt betrayed by Trump, disgusted with the Republican Party and terrified by death threats from apparent supporters of the president. Climate Global climate talks ended with a resolution that made no direct mention of fossil fuels, the main driver of global warming. The Trump administration moved to roll back more environmental laws and regulations, potentially affecting everything from the survival of rare whales to the health of the Hudson River. When a scientist tried decades ago to intentionally light the Amazon rainforest aflame, he arrived at a surprising conclusion: “Forests are pretty hard to burn down.” Much has changed since then. International The European Union’s decision to stop issuing Russian tourist visas that allow for multiple visits has provoked both alarm and outrage among Russians living in exile. The Israeli military conducted a wave of strikes in Gaza, killing at least 20 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, as Israel and Hamas pointed fingers at each other for violating a cease-fire. The police in Brazil arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro amid fears that he might escape house arrest to avoid serving a 27-year prison sentence. Many young Germans are quitting beer. The deepening cultural shift has created an epidemic of brewery closures. Other Big Stories Tatiana Schlossberg Steven Senne/Associated Press Tatiana Schlossberg, the 35-year-old daughter of Caroline Kennedy and a granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, revealed a terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay published on the anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination. (Read the essay in The New Yorker.) Many banks are scrambling to assess the fallout from a large-scale hack that could expose sensitive customer data. By tweaking its chatbot to appeal to more people, OpenAI inadvertently destabilized some of their minds. Now, the company has made its chatbot safer. Will that undermine its growth? Lemurs are primates known for their large eyes and fluffy tails. In their native Madagascar, the endangered animals face a growing threat: Some city-dwellers love to eat them. THE SUNDAY DEBATE Has sports betting ruined sports? Yes. Gambling has always been a threat to the integrity of sports leagues. “It would be wonderful if all sports betting could again be banned, but, failing that, at least ban prop betting,” The Washington Post’s Max Boot writes. No. Sports leagues and gambling companies are taking steps to keep games fair. Now gambling can take place out in the open, “where everyone’s kneecaps are safe even after the worst losses,” The Orange County Register’s Rafael Perez writes. FROM OPINION Let’s end the stigma: Audiobooks count as reading, Brian Bannon, a librarian, writes. The Epstein files should put the powerful on notice, just like the #MeToo movement did, Rachel Louise Snyder writes. And here is a column by Ross Douthat on Trump’s approval rating. The Times Sale: Our best rate for readers of The Morning. Save now with our best offer on unlimited news and analysis as part of the complete Times experience: $1/week for your first year. MORNING READS Shaboozey performing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in October. Sinna Nasseri for The New York Times F-150s over Lamborghinis: Shaboozey is a 30-year-old former rapper who got interested in country music after discovering a NASCAR jacket in a vintage shop. He’s now one of the genre’s big stars, navigating complex lines between what’s traditional and what’s new. Peek-a-boo: Saturn’s rings are still there. But an optical illusion involving the planet’s tilt makes it look like they’re about to disappear. Mariupol: More than three years after Russian troops captured the Ukrainian city, the Kremlin is pouring billions of dollars into remaking it. Rose Bowl: The stadium battle between Pasadena, Calif., and U.C.L.A. is about money, nostalgia and so much more. Your pick: The Morning’s most-clicked link yesterday was about how to win a white elephant gift exchange. Toy inventor: Burt Meyer created Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots in the 1960s and collaborated on the designs of classics like Mouse Trap, Toss Across and Mr. Machine. He died at 99. SPORTS College football: A University of Alabama at Birmingham football player stabbed two teammates, according to the school. Both victims are in stable condition. Golf: Trump chose Jack Nicklaus to lead the restoration of two golf courses at a military installation just outside Washington, D.C. BOOK(S) OF THE WEEK Omar El Akkad Karsten Moran for The New York Times By Elisabeth Egan “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother),” by Rabih Alameddine “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” by Omar El Akkad It’s awards season in the book world — not quite as star-studded as the Hollywood equivalent, but exciting nonetheless. On Wednesday night, at a black-tie event in downtown Manhattan, two very different examinations of the past and present Middle East landed National Book Awards. Alameddine’s comic novel about a 63-year-old high school teacher living with his mother took home the prize for fiction, and El Akkad’s brief, searing indictment of Western responses to the devastation in Gaza landed the prize for nonfiction. In his acceptance speech, El Akkad said, “It’s difficult to think in celebratory terms when I spent two years seeing what shrapnel does to a child’s body.” Alameddine — who thanked his psychiatrist and gastroenterologist — also spoke of the crisis in Gaza. He said, “Sometimes, as writers, we have to say: enough.” THE INTERVIEW John Green Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times By David Marchese This week’s subject for The Interview is John Green, whose beloved young adult novels, including the best-selling “The Fault in Our Stars,” and earnest YouTube videos have attracted a devoted audience of millions. There’s all sorts of evidence that social media and watching videos and living online is bad for young people. Do you have any ambivalence about participating in that ecosystem? Yeah, I made a video a while back called “Am I Cigarettes?” where I wondered if just by creating content on the social internet I might be a form of tobacco consumption. I do have a lot of ambivalence about it. Where did you land on that question? I came out of that video quite unsure as to whether I’m cigarettes. My brother then made a follow-up video where he was like, ‘We’re food, and there’s a lot of bad food, but hopefully we’re good food.’ I thought that was a good point. Abandoning the space is probably the wrong response. The rise of YouTube and social media has also resulted in a rise in young people wanting to be on YouTube and social media. Is there something that you, as a public figure, wish that teenagers understood about what it means to put yourself out there in that way? I understand the urge to have outside affirmation. That’s something we all have. And when we’re young, we have it perhaps most profoundly. I know that when I was a teenager, I wanted to be known and loved, and being famous on the internet feels like a wonderful shortcut to that. It feels like everyone knows you and everyone loves you. But in fact, no one knows you. There’s a lot to recommend making stuff online for people. I’m very grateful that I get to do it every week. I also think that the feeling that somehow being famous or achieving a million subscribers will fill the hole inside of you — it will not. There is no filling the hole inside of you with the internet. Well, I don’t want to say that. That’s not always true. What were you saying that felt dishonest? Just that I don’t know what it’s like to get famous when I’m 16, and it’s not my job to preach to them. Read more of the interview here. Or watch a longer version on YouTube. THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE The New York Times Read this week’s magazine. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Build some model rockets. Serious hobbyists can get them to fly as high as 4,500 feet. Use these kitchen gadgets and shortcuts to make your Thanksgiving prep a little easier. Listen to music by Anthony Braxton, the irreplaceable composer and performer. There has never been a better time to get curious about his vast output. MEAL PLAN Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Thanksgiving, the holidays, New Year’s — there’s a lot to eat this time of year, and we want to make it all delicious. In that spirit, Emily Weinstein picked 100 simple Thanksgiving side dish recipes for you to peruse as you’re planning the meal. Mashed potatoes? We’ve got them. Macaroni and cheese? Absolutely. But if you don’t want to eat Thanksgiving sides for dinner just yet, her Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter suggests some other great options to whip up this week, including a baked chicken recipe that would pair well with just about any of those sides. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was outwitting. Can you put eight historical events — including Mozart’s music and Nike’s swoosh — 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

THIS DAY IN HISTORY November 23 1936 First issue of “LIFE” is published On November 23, 1936, the first issue of the pictorial magazine LIFE is published, featuring a cover photo of the Fort Peck Dam’s spillway by Margaret Bourke-White. LIFE actually had its start earlier in the 20th century as a different kind of magazine: a weekly humor publication, not unlike... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1859 Legendary outlaw Billy the Kid is born Crime 1876 “Boss” Tweed delivered to authorities 1979 IRA member sentenced for Mountbatten’s assassination European History 1499 Flemish imposter executed in London World War II 1940 Romania becomes an Axis “power” 1942 Soviets encircle Germans at Stalingrad

Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire’s latest test as hospitals say 24 killed DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military on Saturday launched airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said five senior Hamas members were killed. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 24 people killed and another 54 wounded, including children. https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-535e21d36eea41fb9bba645ee7db014c? ps:What ceasefire? It seems like this has been going on for at least a couple weeks??

Remember Trump's 300% Tariffs on Foreign-Made Chips? Don't Hold Your Breath Trump suggested he'd impose the sky-high tariffs in August or September. But US officials are privately telling industry insiders not to expect them anytime soon, Reuters reports. https://www.pcmag.com/news/remember-trumps-300-tariffs-on-foreign-made-chips-dont-hold-your-breath?

💊 Stat du jour Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios Eli Lilly reached a market valuation of $1 trillion in trading yesterday, becoming the first health care company and only non-tech company other than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (counting Tesla as tech) in the trillion-dollar club. Since the launch of its flagship obesity drug, Zepbound, two years ago, Lilly's shares have risen more than 75%, Axios' Jeffrey Cane writes. Go deeper.

💰 Trump's tariff piggy bank Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios If you add up all of President Trump's plans for the tens of billions in tariff revenue the U.S. is collecting, the bucket of money has already dried up — and then some. Why it matters: Meaningful tariff revenue could improve the nation's fiscal outlook, creating a bright spot from the administration's trade policy, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports. 🔎 But Trump's promised debt reduction, deficit reduction, $2,000 dividend checks and farm bailouts with the money, among other things. All of it would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, if not trillions, more in total than is on track to be collected. Failure to follow through could result in political blowback in next year's midterm elections. ⚡ The latest: Trump said in a Truth Social post this month that "a dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone." The Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates the checks would cost $600 billion — twice as much as Trump's tariffs are estimated to raise on an annual basis. Keep reading.

👶 Screening babies Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images In vitro fertilization has exploded across America. The number of babies born through assisted reproductive technologies — most of them via IVF — jumped 45% from 2013 to 2022. A more recent part of the surge is elective IVF — still a small share of overall IVF cycles — in which people who could conceive naturally choose IVF to screen embryos for genetic traits linked to cancer risk, IQ, height and more, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum reports. Why it matters: It's becoming big business, with screening companies promising "generational health." But doctors warn the science behind embryo scoring for complex conditions is shaky — and could push would-be parents toward major medical and emotional decisions based on unproven data. Plus, elective IVF is reopening old debates about "designer babies," and the ethics of hand-picking certain traits for future children. 🔬 Catch up quick: Some types of genetic testing for embryos have been around for years. The newest type on offer, PGT-P, uses DNA databases from adults to estimate an embryo's genetic predisposition to conditions that aren't driven by just a single gene. It's an "emerging consumer phenomenon" for people who don't have fertility issues or known genetic risks to do "elective IVF for the purposes of having a healthier, taller [child], whatever 'best' is to them," says Kian Sadeghi, CEO of embryo genetic testing company Nucleus Genomics. Sadeghi's company screens not only for cancers and other health concerns, but for traits like height, IQ and male-pattern baldness. He said he'd understand if his own mother had chosen to implant an embryo projected to be taller than he is (5 feet, 6 inches). 🧬 Between the lines: The use of adult DNA data to make major decisions about embryo selection with PGT-P worries some doctors and bioethicists. "We just don't have a high enough correlation between genes and disease," says Ruth Lathi, an OB-GYN professor at Stanford's medical school.

Mamdani isn't requiring NYC students to 'learn Arabic numerals.' They already do You can't introduce something that has already been in use for centuries. Claim: New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is introducing Arabic numerals to schools in the city. Rating: False About this rating In mid-November 2025, a rumor spread on X that New York City's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani would be introducing "Arabic numerals" to schools in the city. One post from the account of the prediction market Polymarket stated: "BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani to require all New York elementary school students to learn Arabic numerals." https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mamdani-arabic-numerals-nyc-schools/? Digging into Mount Rushmore's troubled, bloody history The famed monument has a connection to the KKK as well as suppression of Native American people. For several years, online memes have claimed a racist and dark history attached to one of the most iconic U.S. monuments, Mount Rushmore. Its past came under scrutiny amid nationwide protests against the May 2020 killing of a Black man, George Floyd, while in the custody of a white police officer in Minneapolis. Protesters subsequently took down several Confederate monuments, with many looking closely at the mountain that was considered a symbol of American patriotism. https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/11/18/mount-rushmores-history/?

Inspecting claim Education Department stopped counting nursing, other programs as 'professional degrees' The department's proposal may impact how much money student loan borrowers can receive depending on the graduate degree they choose. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-professional-degrees-nursing/?

Breaking down claim renaming Defense Department would cost more than housing every homeless veteran The Department of Veterans Affairs' budget for homelessness programs was $3.2 billion in fiscal year 2025. https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/11/20/defense-department-renaming-cost-homeless-veterans/?

The obvious next step in the redistricting battle is to produce a map Show me the map! https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/obvious-next-step-redistricting-battle-produce-map?

Canaanite Folk Worship at Megiddo Ram-shaped vessel and ancient winepress found at Armageddon https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/canaanite-folk-worship-at-megiddo/? Was Jesus a Jew? Discovering the Jewish Jesus https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/was-jesus-a-jew/?

November 22, 2025 Good morning. Thanksgiving’s this coming week. How can we keep a busy holiday season from overwhelming us? María Jesús Contreras Pushing off By Melissa Kirsch We’re on the precipice of The Holidays now, again: where has the time gone, where has the year gone, where is my life going, etc. If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving, perhaps you’re already gone, reading this in the security line at an airport less crowded than you expected. Do you dare admit some optimism, that this trip could go off without incident? But this is just the beginning of your travels, of course. Who knows if the good luck and the good weather will hold — here’s hoping. The holiday season has its own engine, one that’s been gaining momentum since Halloween and will shift into ever higher gears as we hit the straightaway that leads to the year’s end. There’s an urgency that can feel both exciting and overwhelming. There’s a tension in all the stock holiday scenes: cheery and/or awkward gatherings, delicious and/or overcooked proteins, snowy and/or soggy backdrops. Not many days left, and so even in moments of abundance, there’s a scarcity underneath. How much of this is real, and how much of it is just our acceptance of the fiction that the end of the calendar year is a deadline by which certain things must be accomplished? Remember when marketers tried to scare you by announcing there were only so many “shopping days until Christmas” left? In the era of “buy it now” and same-day shipping, a shopping day seems quaint. Yes, vacation days and insurance deductibles must be exploited or lost, but otherwise, there’s a comfort in knowing the end of the year isn’t really a finish line in any meaningful way. An old friend wrote me a month or two ago suggesting coffee, asking for dates that worked this fall. I forgot to respond, and this week she followed up: “Frankly you could suggest Jan. dates — I get how time is compressing right now!” My immediate response was one of shame. I’d dropped the ball! And then that feeling of scarcity: Yes, time is compressing, and there’s not enough of it, and let me count exactly how many days are left in the year so I can really feel the squeeze. (After today, 40!) And then gratitude for the reminder: Some things can wait until January. Most things, really, can wait until January, and maybe they should. If your holiday season already feels too packed, here, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, then see what might be shifted. If you’re dreading that post-holiday lull when Christmas trees lie felled on the curb and you have no reason to wear your “fun” sweaters, then now’s the time to joyously, eagerly move what you can to next year. Your holiday to-dos and celebrations need to stay put (although, if your family is flexible, no one’s stopping you from moving them, too), but the optional stuff — the coffee dates and catch-ups, the movies and books you keep meaning to get to — won’t expire. Every first weekend of January, I go away with the same group of friends. It’s a tradition that feels defiant: In the severe landscape of the Northeastern winter, when December’s merrymaking is receding to memory, there’s a reprieve, a reminder that we don’t have to get all our fun in before the clock strikes midnight. THE LATEST NEWS Trump-Mamdani Meeting Eric Lee for The New York Times President Trump heaped praise on Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect, during his visit to the White House. “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump said. The meeting seemed to change Trump’s view of Mamdani, a democratic socialist whom he had previously described as a “lunatic.” After a reporter asked Mamdani about his calling Trump a “despot” on election night, Trump said, “I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting.” More Politics Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia announced she would resign from Congress in January. Greene, long one of Trump’s fiercest defenders, had recently drawn the president’s ire after breaking from him on a number of issues. The Supreme Court temporarily reinstated Texas’ new, Republican-friendly congressional map, which a lower court had blocked earlier in the week. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the C.D.C. to abandon its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism. A judge said prosecutors could fall back on local grand juries to approve serious charges when they failed to persuade a federal grand jury, sanctioning a recent such attempt by the Justice Department. International President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Wednesday. Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Ukraine’s president said his country’s relationship with the U.S. could be at a breaking point over a peace plan proposed by the White House that favors Russia. A Times investigation into the U.S. Navy’s positions in the Caribbean suggests that the Trump administration is more interested in pressuring the Venezuelan government than in fighting drug traffickers. Other Big Stories Eli Lilly, the maker of hugely popular weight loss drugs, has reached $1 trillion in value. It’s the first health care company to hit that milestone. A series of storms moving across the country could complicate Thanksgiving travel. Here’s a look at weather around the U.S. THE WEEK IN CULTURE Movies Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked: For Good.” Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures “Wicked: For Good” features two new songs that help Glinda and Elphaba grapple with the choices that change their destinies. Director Jon M. Chu insists the songs were added for plot development and not for a shot at an Oscar nomination. A new documentary featuring senior members of the government claims that the U.S. is hiding what it knows about U.F.O.s. The filmmaker screened it for House members this week. Music The British government is taking on ticket scalpers. New legislation backed by Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead would make it illegal to resell entertainment or sports tickets for more than face value. More than 30 years after finding two unsigned compositions for organ in a Belgian library, a Harvard researcher has announced that he knows who composed them: Johann Sebastian Bach. Theater This new version of “Oedipus” on Broadway casts Sophocles’s tragic king as a politician in an age where elected officials can get away with almost anything. A theater director in Switzerland recruited amateur actors that had anorexia. One of the performers called it empowering. But was it unethical? Opera The hero of San Francisco Opera’s latest world premiere isn’t a handsome prince, but an ancient monkey king who was hatched from a magic rock. Our reviewer had effusive praise for the production, which will be available on streaming services. Daniele Rustioni, the Metropolitan Opera’s new principal guest conductor, is only 42. But he has been called a “maestro of the old school,” following in the footsteps of Italian luminaries like Arturo Toscanini. More Culture One of the virtual reality rooms at the Netflix House. Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times Netflix opened its first permanent IRL location near Philadelphia. Its immersive exhibits include “Bridgerton” balls and a “Money Heist” escape room. Groups are declining grants from the National Endowment for the Arts rather than comply with the Trump administration’s anti-D.E.I. policies. The Louvre’s first female president is trying to hold on to her job following the October heist. A self-portrait by Frida Kahlo that shows her sleeping underneath a skeleton sold for $55 million at an auction at Sotheby’s, setting a record for the artist. Roblox, the online gaming platform that is enormously popular with kids, this week introduced a system to assess users’ ages by scanning their faces. (The company’s C.E.O. went on Hard Fork, The Times’s tech podcast, to talk about child safety.) The Times Sale: Our best rate for readers of The Morning. Save now with our best offer on unlimited news and analysis as part of the complete Times experience: $1/week for your first year. CULTURE CALENDAR 🎬 “Hamnet”: In 1596, William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, died at the age of 11. Little is known of him beyond those basic facts. But Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel bearing the boy’s name conjured an entire world around him and imagined the devastation that his death brought onto his family. Now Chloé Zhao, who won an Oscar for directing “Nomadland,” has adapted the story for the screen, with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley starring. When the film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, The Times’s Nicole Sperling described it as “a 10-hanky weepie.” Limited release on Friday; in theaters everywhere Dec. 5. For more: T Magazine interviewed Buckley, who described how she had connected with her character through dreams. RECIPE OF THE WEEK Yossy Arefi for The New York Times By Melissa Clark Pumpkin Soup This is a good weekend to keep things simple as far as dinner is concerned. Simmering up a pot of Lidey Heuck’s pumpkin soup is not only easy and satisfying, it will make good use of all the pumpkin purée that’s taken over the canned vegetable aisle at the supermarket. Creamy yet light, scented with curry powder and sweetened with a touch of maple syrup and apple cider, it’s a fragrant, warming kickoff to this hectic holiday week. REAL ESTATE Jamie McPartland and Peter Oviatt with their daughter, Oksana, and dog, Nino. Dan Cronin for The New York Times The Hunt: After wandering through a series of short-term rentals in France, Turkey and Morocco, a young family decided to settle in Portland. What did they choose for their forever home? Play our game. What you get for $900,000: An Eastlake Victorian in New Orleans, a Queen Anne Revival in Rapid City, S.D., and an American Foursquare in Minneapolis. A peek inside: The actor F. Murray Abraham opened up his home to the Times. Find out where he keeps his Oscar and what he got at Marlon Brando’s estate sale. LIVING The home of cacao: Brazil’s craft chocolatiers aren’t just making great sweets — they’re also preserving the Amazon. Top of your head: You’ve only got one scalp. No wonder people are seeking out pricey treatments to care for theirs. Put it away: New York City nightclubs are starting to ban phones on the dance floor. Said one reveler: “I’d rather live in the moment and feel the joy.” ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER How to win at white elephant Played right, a white elephant gift swap can be better than spiked punch at upping the humor and excitement of holiday gatherings. But it does require a clear code of conduct. First, before invitations go out, settle on a monetary limit. Then, to keep things fun, fair and relatively peaceful, decide how many times each gift can be stolen before it’s off limits. And determine whether the person who drew first gets to steal or unwrap a final gift at the end. Game aside, the true golden rule is something I stand by in all areas of my life: Bring a good gift. What that means will change depending on the guests, but here are a few of the most-stolen gifts from my own white elephant parties over the years. — Samantha Schoech For handpicked gift ideas and expert advice, sign up for the Gift newsletter from Wirecutter. GAME OF THE WEEK Gotham F.C. celebrating a goal in the semifinals. Kevin Kolczynski/Associated Press Gotham F.C. vs. Washington Spirit, N.W.S.L. final: “Underdog, my ass.” That was Jaedyn Shaw, a star of Gotham F.C., after her squad — the lowest seed in the playoffs — defeated top-seeded Kansas City in the first round. Gotham then took down last year’s champs, the Orlando Pride, thanks to a goal by Shaw in the game’s final moments. Now, in the championship, Gotham will face the Spirit. As The Athletic’s Emily Olsen writes in her preview of the match, the teams have a good rivalry cooking; over the N.W.S.L.’s 12 seasons, they have played against each other more than any other two teams. The Spirit, for their part, would benefit from an appearance by Trinity Rodman, one of the world’s best players, who has been recovering from a knee injury and played just a few minutes in the semifinal. Tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were grandpop and propaganda. 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. — Melissa 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 November 22 1963 President John F. Kennedy is assassinated John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated in 1963 while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was beside him, along with Texas Governor John... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1988 Stealth bomber unveiled Arts & Entertainment 1968 “Star Trek” airs the interracial kiss heard around the universe Colonial America 1718 Blackbeard killed off North Carolina Crime 2014 12-year-old Tamir Rice shot and killed by police European History 1990 Margaret Thatcher resigns 2005 Angela Merkel becomes Chancellor of Germany Inventions & Science 1900 First Mercedes goes for a test drive Sports 1986 Mike Tyson becomes the youngest heavyweight champ in history Vietnam War 1972 First B-52 shot down over North Vietnam

Colombian scientists recovered some of the first artifacts from a centuries-old Spanish shipwreck in the Caribbean, officials announced this week. The items—a cannon, three coins, and a porcelain cup—were retrieved from the San José galleon, whose exact location remains a state secret amid ongoing disputes over ownership of its vast trove, believed to be worth as much as $20B. The galleon sank in 1708 after a battle with an English fleet, taking gold, silver, and emeralds nearly 2,000 feet deep. The wreck lingered in the public imagination—appearing as a plot point in Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez’s 1985 "Love in the Time of Cholera"—until Colombia located it in 2015. Since then, Colombia, Spain, a US-based company, and Bolivia’s Qhara Qhara Indigenous group have laid competing claims to the treasure. Explore their positions here (w/audio). The deep-water expedition that recovered the newly announced object was authorized by Colombia last year. Officials say the mission is intended for research, not treasure seizure.

Number of children abducted in Nigerian school attack raised to more than 300 ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted by gunmen during an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Association of Nigeria said Saturday, updating an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren. https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-school-abductions-dc3eaa3f1b9d910211e4a2af959ee7a9?

Trump and Mamdani form an unlikely alliance at White House meeting Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, walked out of their meeting on Friday afternoon with an unlikely alliance, agreeing to work together on housing, food prices and cost-of-living concerns that have defined both their political appeals to working-class voters. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/21/donald-trump-zohran-mamdani-meeting? Trump and Mamdani's show The hype about a showdown was wrong. President Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani had a surprising bond when they met in the Oval Office yesterday: populist outsiders, lovers of the Big Apple, and two politicians who each want what the other has, Axios' Marc Caputo, Alex Isenstadt and Holly Otterbein write. They put on a show with head-turning congeniality. 💡 Why it matters: For a few minutes, Mamdani (whom Trump had called a communist) and Trump (whom Mamdani had called a fascist) gave a glimpse of how they might work together, or at least appear to. Mamdani, facing a city budget deficit, needs federal money and doesn't want Trump to send National Guard troops into New York City. Trump, reeling from bad polling on the economy, sought to co-opt some of the shine from the charismatic Mamdani's message on affordability. In a joint press appearance, the president zeroed in on affordability — an issue the mayor-elect relentlessly focused on in his odds-defying campaign, which bore some echoes to Trump's first run for president. "If I can get prices down, it's good for New York," Trump said. Mamdani pledged to work with the White House. 🗳️ "This is great for Democrats," says Joe Calvello, a progressive strategist close to Mamdani's team. GOP efforts to cast Mamdani as a too-far-left bogeyman could be tough in next year's elections, Calvello says, when "here's Trump joshing it up with him, tapping him on the shoulder, complimenting him." Cover: New York Post Friction point: Trump's praise of Mamdani may have undermined one of the president's closest GOP allies — New York Rep. Elise Stefanik. In her 2026 campaign for New York governor, Stefanik is portraying incumbent Kathy Hochul as a socialist in Mamdani's mold.

Cop30 delegates ‘far apart’ on phasing out fossil fuels and cutting carbon Climate crisis talks look likely to stretch well into the weekend in Brazil, with countries still far apart on the crucial issues of phasing out fossil fuels and cutting carbon. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/21/cop30-delegates-far-apart-on-phasing-out-fossil-fuels-and-cutting-carbon?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, former Trump loyalist, says she is resigning from Congress WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of President Donald Trump who faced his political retribution if she sought reelection, said Friday she is resigning from Congress in January. https://apnews.com/article/marjorie-taylor-green-congress-resigns-trump-maga-5f42d4893343babc8e87da1491a0de2b? 🏛️ MTG out Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is resigning from Congress after her messy split with President Trump, the Georgia Republican announced in a post yesterday evening. Why it matters: Greene was one of Trump's earliest allies. But she broke with Republicans over health care costs and foreign policy, and her relationship with Trump dissolved over her push to release the Epstein files, Axios' Kate Santaliz writes. Between the lines: Trump's political operation in recent days had been fielding interest from potential MTG challengers. One name mentioned in pro-Trump circles is Clayton Fuller, a northwest Georgia district attorney who ran unsuccessfully against Greene in 2020. Go deeper: Congress' crazy week ... Alex Isenstadt contributed.

Supreme Court blocks order that found Texas congressional map is likely racially biased WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas’ 2026 congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump likely discriminates on the basis of race. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-texas-redistricting-trump-republicans-discrimination-c1bbf88e2a1f7d49cda512b8ef165750?

Fear, Fact, and Fiction (John Moore / Getty)   View in browser Last week, Leonardo Williams, the mayor of Durham, North Carolina, received a call from the office of Governor Josh Stein. Stein’s office had heard that the Trump administration was going to launch an immigration-enforcement operation in Charlotte and possibly in Raleigh, but it didn’t have much more information. Over the weekend, Customs and Border Protection agents swarmed Charlotte, ultimately arresting about 370 people. But Williams didn’t hear anything about operations in Durham until Tuesday morning. He was in Washington, D.C., for meetings when someone sent him a video of what were apparently CBP officers in tactical gear and masks arresting three men behind a strip mall. He wasn’t the only one with no idea what was happening. “When I call my sheriff and my police chief and the governor’s office and I say, ‘What is going on?’ they say, ‘Mayor, we are trying to find out,’” he told me on Wednesday afternoon. In Durham, where I live, sightings of apparent CBP agents around Durham continued throughout Tuesday. Local officials said that four or five people were arrested by these agents, but the federal government has not released the names of those arrested or what charges they face. It hasn’t even made an official statement on the operation in Durham, and the Department of Homeland Security did not reply to my questions about the arrests or why CBP had targeted Durham. Keeping local officials in the dark seems to be part of the Trump administration’s plan. Local leaders in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have also said that the federal government did not inform them of its plans ahead of actions this summer and fall. Like them, the North Carolina governor and the mayors of Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh are all Democrats. In addition, all three cities are in counties whose sheriffs declined to participate in 287(g) programs, in which county jails voluntarily cooperate with ICE even when it doesn’t have warrants. (Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a law requiring cooperation.) Garry McFadden, the sheriff of Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County, told NPR last weekend that he believed that the administration’s actions there were payback. “When people say, ‘Why Charlotte?’ Well, because when we took 287(g) off the table, we were very vocal about protecting our citizens and residents here and stood at the door each time immigration came in,” he said. But even U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, voiced concern yesterday, demanding a “definitive list of people who were detained, how long they were detained, whether or not they were released,” and other information. The Department of Homeland Security has said that arrests in previous operations targeted serious criminals accused of felonies, but because federal officials aren’t providing any meaningful information, there is no way for local officials—or members of the public—to assess whether these actions are part of lawful immigration enforcement or not. The combination of little reliable information and widespread fear produced a vacuum in Durham. Hundreds of ordinary residents, eager to do something to resist raids but without clear ideas about how or where, organized themselves via group chats, where rumors flew quickly—some true, some false, some simply impossible to verify. Trying to understand things myself, I joined a Signal group where residents were sharing reports and discussing possible organizing responses. I noticed that several local elected officials were active in the group. Following a tip there about possible CBP activity at an apartment complex, I drove north from my house along a major thoroughfare studded with Latin American businesses carrying names such as Tenochtitlan, Pahuatlán, and Michoacan. My favorite taqueria was dark and closed; the gates around the parking lot at the normally bustling Latin grocery were locked. I received a text in Spanish from another supermarket, which had been the site of an ICE-raid hoax in January, saying that “due to the current situation,” it would accept orders on WhatsApp and provide free delivery. Many students stayed home from Durham public schools, which are roughly 35 percent Latino. The school district reported that one-fifth of students were absent on Tuesday. “I have lived in Durham all my life, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bertha Bradley, an activist known locally as Mama Cookie, said at a press conference of union leaders and clergy members on Wednesday morning. “People scared to leave their home. They’re scared to take the children to school.” When I got to the apartment complex, people on the scene said they’d seen a suspicious-looking black SUV enter, driven by a man whom no residents recognized. As we stood around, a car with three Hispanic men inside drove up and rolled down its window. Someone explained the situation, and the eyes of the man in the passenger seat grew big. He hurriedly told the driver to turn around and leave. I never did find out whether a federal agent was present. (When I called the apartment office, a manager said no.) But this confusion seemed to capture the frenzied feeling around the city. Did the men in the car have a close encounter, or were they scared away by a mere rumor? For activists, whether veteran organizers or people who had self-deployed, getting reliable information was both important and impossible. No better source than the rumor mill existed—local media couldn’t possibly track down reports and confirm them quickly enough—and social media allowed hearsay to spread widely, for better or worse. Every white van or black SUV with tinted windows set off alarm bells. As I crisscrossed the city, following new tips and recognizing some of the same faces from previous stops, I felt like I was chasing ghosts. CBP seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time, creating a sense of omnipresent menace that was presumably just what the agents wanted. Local officials also suggested, as they have in other locations where ICE or CBP has been active, that the Trump administration is attempting to provoke confrontations, either with officials or with ordinary people. “We follow the law. We remain peaceful. We do not allow ourselves to be provoked. We stand with our neighbors,” Governor Stein said in a statement last week. “If you see any inappropriate behavior, use your phones to record and notify local law enforcement, who will continue to keep our communities safe long after these federal agents leave.” (That did provoke the CBP commander Gregory Bovino, who was leading the Charlotte operation and who angrily posted on X, “You need to check yourself.”) Williams told me that local officials were “trying not to antagonize and poke the bear and give them what they want, which is a public government-on-government fight” and trying to reassure residents at the same time. Meanwhile, the residents were taking things into their own hands. When I dropped my children off at school on Wednesday morning, some 30 people were standing outside, a few with whistles to alert anyone if CBP arrived and others waving anti-ICE signs. But the Signal chat was no longer lighting up with spottings. That morning, ABC News reported that CBP was leaving the area and heading back to Charlotte, and yesterday, officials in Charlotte said CBP had informed them that they were leaving, though DHS denied that the operation was over. “I think the best way to describe it is: They came in, they made a splash, they terrorized, and they left,” Williams said. But even the agents’ apparent departure was marked by mixed messaging and confusion. All Durham officials and residents can do is wait and see if it’s really over. Related: Hundreds of thousands of anonymous deportees Fast times at Immigration and Customs Enforcement

🚁 Life from above Photo courtesy of Duke Health Drones are carrying defibrillators to North Carolina 911 callers in a Duke Health experiment, Axios Raleigh's Mary Helen Moore reports. 🫀 The idea is to help more people survive cardiac arrest. 💨 Drones can make it to callers faster than traditional first responders, the researchers say. The study — launched in the Forsyth County village of Clemmons — is a U.S. first, per Duke. ⛑️ Yes, but: The experiment depends on bystanders "bravely using" the defibrillators upon delivery, research co-lead Monique Starks told reporters. ps:My first thought was "So who's gonna use them??" Go deeper.

💉HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally ordered a change on the CDC's website promoting the widely debunked claim that vaccines may cause autism, he told the NY Times. Gift link.

📈 The market is just Nvidia now Data: Financial Modeling Prep. Chart: Axios Visuals Nvidia's powerhouse earnings weren't enough to pause a stock selloff late this week driven by AI worries, Axios' Madison Mills reports. Instead, it took hints of a December interest rate cut to support the market. 🫧 The big picture: Much of the market — and the economy — is leaning on Nvidia, and its new earnings report couldn't dispel fears of an AI bubble. 🎰 "It's a one-bet market, and that to me is risky," says Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower. ✂️ The latest: Stocks bounced back this morning after N.Y. Federal Reserve Bank president John Williams hinted at interest rate cuts next month. 📉 The S&P 500 closed up about 1%, while Nvidia shares fell around 1%. The bottom line: While Fed rate cuts can offer relief, questions about AI circular funding, valuations and spending are today's primary drivers on Wall Street. Go deeper.

Thanksgiving chill ahead Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios November weather could mess with some Thanksgiving travelers' plans next week — and you'll probably want to pack your winter coat. ☔️ The latest model runs call for periods of rain for much of the Eastern and Central U.S. over the course of the week, and in parts of the Northwest. Thunderstorms are also on the map in some areas. 🌨️ Some snow is possible on or just after Thanksgiving in Wisconsin, Michigan and parts of New York and New England. 🥶 Temperatures may be below average on Thanksgiving itself from the Dakotas down toward the Gulf, with a blast of frigid Arctic air moving eastward by late next week into the weekend. Graphic courtesy NOAA ✈️ Some of the potential storms could be problems for key airports, including those in Chicago and the New York metro. Any delays at major hubs there could reverberate through the system as the travel day goes on. With AAA predicting a record 81.8 million travelers this Thanksgiving holiday, any foul weather could be especially disruptive — whether you're driving or flying. ⌚️ The bottom line: Now's the time to check your local forecast and see if it's worth adjusting your plans.