Members phkrause Posted 15 minutes ago Author Members Posted 15 minutes ago November 7, 2026 Good morning. Susie Wiles is out as White House chief of staff. Stephen Miller is in. We’ll catch you up on that and all the latest news below. But first: As the days get shorter, resist the urge to hibernate. María Jesús Contreras Hunkering down By Melissa Kirsch Despite this week’s unseasonably warm weather, turning the clocks back is like shifting into winter gear. The sun peaces out at 4:45 p.m. as if saying, You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here. And go home we do, helpless to disobey the darkness. Why are we eating dinner at 6 p.m.? Why this sudden urge to make soup? Where are my slippers? The urge comes on strong to hibernate, to melt into layers of fleece and quilts. Here comes the cozy season — what will we watch and read, what about a hot cider or a hot buttered rum or something, anything, steaming in a mug? Warmblooded animals hibernate. Their body temperatures, heart rates, metabolism, all drop. Posted up in the burrow or the cave or the hollow tree — winter quarters known as the hibernaculum — they stay unconscious for weeks or months. It’s a tempting model, but I’ve come to be skeptical of it for humans. Hibernating feels like comfort for those of us who see cold and dark as things to endure. But hibernation is missing an essential energy. Hunker too long and it can tip over into lethargy, detachment, a seasonal case of the blues. If we want to indulge in the pleasure of indoor coziness without totally going to sleep, we might take inspiration from the wintertime behavior of coldblooded animals. Where woodchucks and bats hibernate, reptiles and amphibians brumate. Brumation also involves bodily functions’ slowing down to conserve energy. But brumating animals don’t go totally unconscious: A lizard might emerge on warm days to bask in the sun. A snake might have a drink of water. “The most important distinction between brumation and hibernation is awareness,” is how a website that sells enclosures for reptiles explains it. “A hibernating animal is in a deep, continuous sleep and generally doesn’t wake until the season changes. A brumating reptile remains somewhat aware and responsive to their surroundings.” What does it look like to remain aware and responsive as fall seeps into winter? It’s questioning the cues: Do I feel like staying in because it’s restorative, or am I shutting down early just because the sun did? It’s continuing to participate in the splendor of the world even if it’s icy outside. If you have a tendency to go dark in the colder months, might I suggest acting a little more reptilian this year? We might slow down when winter comes, we might feel most comfortable in our own tree hollows, but we remain aware — aware of the way our energy and appetites shift as the light does; aware of the world inside and outside our hibernacula; aware that this winter, like all winters, is still a season of our lives that we don’t want to miss. I’ll be on vacation for the next two Saturdays. See you after Thanksgiving. (I can’t believe it either.) TRUMP’S NEW CHIEF OF STAFF Doug Mills/The New York Times; Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times Days after the Republican rout in the midterm elections, President Trump ousted his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and replaced her with Stephen Miller, his policy adviser and architect of his controversial immigration crackdown. Miller had been pitching himself for the job for weeks, saying he would advocate winding down the war in Iran. There had been signs Wiles was on shaky ground with the president. He cut her out of some decisions, like picking a television pundit as his press secretary (which turned out to be a disaster). He also blamed her for Tuesday’s losses. On Friday, Trump told reporters that Wiles had done a “great job” but that “sometimes in life you have to make moves.” Wiles, one of the most powerful figures in Trump’s orbit for years, is the latest in a wave of powerful women to leave his administration. THE LATEST NEWS Midterm Elections Scott Colom meeting with content creators in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday. Rory Doyle for The New York Times Scott Colom, the Democratic Senate nominee in Mississippi, held a slim but growing lead as the ballot counting continued. Young voters, alienated by Trump’s policies and an older generation of politicians, powered many of the Democratic victories this year. Prediction markets tout their accuracy. Did they pick the right midterm winners? After Texas flipped blue, Houston’s mayor told the city’s police officers to limit their cooperation with ICE. Voters in four states chose to bar transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams. The U.S. attorney who helped oversee Trump’s retribution campaign has resigned, adding to a list of abrupt departures from the Justice Department since Election Day. Around the World Saudi-led forces bombed a home in northern Yemen, killing nine family members, five of them children, their relatives said. A Tanzania court sentenced the country’s main opposition leader to four years in prison. Human rights groups say the case is part of a pattern of repression. What was once a popular nightclub in Haiti is now a makeshift shelter for families fleeing gang violence. Click to watch. The New York Times Other Big Stories Employers in the United States added 165,000 jobs in October, and the overall unemployment rate fell. (Is A.I. boosting the job market?) The Cornell faculty senate passed a resolution of no confidence in the school’s administration, urging change in how the university handles sexual assault. The U.S. experienced the largest drop in homelessness last year since an annual count began nearly two decades ago. Tesla will stop making Cybertrucks. GAME OF THE WEEK Brendan Mullin/Imagn Images, via Imagn Images via Reuters Connect College football rivalry: Can Michigan State football find its way out of its deepest hole ever? The Spartans are rocking an embarrassing 2-6 record. In their home conference, where the team has played its worst stretch of football in almost 75 years, it’s 0-5. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Michigan State faces off against its rival, the University of Michigan Wolverines, who are 5-3 (2-3 in their conference). There will be a parallel competition on the sidelines that scientific researchers are calling “The Piss Off.” For a project across both campuses, researchers will collect urine from tailgaters, pasteurize it and isolate nutrients for use in fertilizer pellets. So fans should feel free to have another beer! — Evan Gorelick THE WEEK IN CULTURE Film and TV A24 Close-up shots of Elizabeth Holmes, Nathan Fielder and Billy Evans give “You Can See Everything” its signature look. Our film critic asks: What do their faces say? Jordan Firstman, known as an Instagram troublemaker, becomes a sentimental filmmaker with his debut feature, “Club Kid.” The Canadian sketch show “SCTV,” whose archives are now available on Netflix, featured a murderer’s row of comedians like John Candy and Catherine O’Hara. Our critic explains what made it so funny. Music Sometimes, Dominic Fike sounds like Weezer, or like John Mayer and Jack Johnson. Other times, he raps. Is the mess part of his appeal? Listen to his interview on “Popcast.” The composer John Luther Adams, long attracted to extreme environments, left the U.S. for inspiration in the arid heart of Australia. More Culture “The Nutcracker” has entered virtual reality: Audience members in Detroit watched the ballet on a borderless, 87-foot-diameter LED dome. The Booker Prize will be announced on Monday. See the nominated novels, and vote for your favorite. Lucien Smith, the young artist who skyrocketed to fame before his death this year, died from an accidental drug overdose, the New York City medical examiner’s office said. Morning readers, don’t miss The Midterms Sale on election coverage and more. What effect will the results have on the country? And on you? Stay informed with our best offer on The Times in full. Subscribe now. RECIPE OF THE WEEK Armando Rafael for The New York Times By Melissa Clark Crispy Tofu Tacos Alexa Weibel’s deeply spiced crispy tofu tacos are a masterpiece — fragrant and savory, with heft and crunch. The tofu crumbles are versatile, too. You can skip the tacos and spoon them over rice or sprinkle them onto salads. The key is to really let the grated tofu bits roast until the sizzle is audible. That’s when you know the crunch will be, too. REAL ESTATE Lauren Lancaster for The New York Times The Hunt: She loved her Brooklyn apartment, but there wasn’t much nature nearby. What did she find for $500,000 in the Catskills? What you get for $1.5 million around Cuernavaca, Mexico: A four-bedroom in Palmira, a contemporary home in Chapultepec or a Mexican colonial in Acapantzingo. Calculator: How old will I be before I own a home? Source: U.S. Census Bureau. The New York Times LIVING A skier last winter at Mount Bachelor in Bend, Ore. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Snowfall effect: A super El Niño is here. What does that mean for skiing? First-lady-worthy: Whom did Rama Duwaji, Zohran Mamdani’s wife, DM for a haircut? Never left: Long after the pandemic, people are still using weekend and seasonal homes year-round. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER Order your Thanksgiving turkey in the mail Yes, you can outsource your holiday bird. My advice, in fact, is that you do. A good smoked turkey — we found several in our taste-testing — can be a delightfully tender and wonderfully juicy centerpiece. All of the Rockwellian vibes, close to zero work. You’re not babysitting a bird all day, which frees up more time to go all out on sides and desserts. Because it arrives fully cooked, this turkey won’t hog oven space, nor require you to maneuver around a raw bird brining in the fridge. Maybe best of all, it gives you scrumptious, smoky leftovers for gumbo, my family’s favorite tradition. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time for shipping, plus an additional day or two to let it thaw. Another shortcut? One of these actually good store-bought pie crusts. — Abigail Bailey NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were linocut and locution. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Crossplay, 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 News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
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