I went to Texas to write about the sudden end of one of America's most successful experiments: the six decades of welcoming India's most educated and ambitious citizens. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/o...

“I asked [Mamdani] and some of his advisers if there were cities that had pulled this off that New York could emulate, places that had managed to meaningfully lower the cost of living. None sprang to mind. Talk to policy experts, and they find the prospect laughable”

Incredible quote from a band leader who is out $40,000 after cancelling two Kennedy Center gigs scheduled for April: “It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating”

The most requested song by women at piano bars is “Pink Pony Club.” The most requested by men? “Ignition (Remix)" by R. Kelly. “The R&B slow jam from 2002 actually gets requested more since the singer’s 2021 conviction for sex trafficking. Women have stopped requesting it almost entirely.”

“No one, except maybe kids too young to remember the 20th century, mistook Stranger Things for being original. But it did feel fresh.”

"Let people enjoy things" isn't the populist cri de coeur some people seem to think it is. It's giving everyone who gets rich making entertainment products for mass consumption cover to cater to the lowest common denominator. At least make them put some effort into taking your hard-earned money!

“A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition dating back more than 20 years, has been canceled.” Musician Chuck Redd told the AP he called it off when he saw saw Trump’s name added to the building.

The Department of Justice has declared the Epstein letter to Nassar is “FAKE,” citing three discrepancies

"But in seeking to defend the department, Mr. Blanche publicly contradicted the president. 'Mr. Siebert wasn’t fired because he refused to bring cases,' Mr. Blanche said. 'He resigned.' In September, Mr. Trump had angrily declared on social media: 'He didn’t quit, I fired him!'"

Trump just now on boat strikes and plans to move to land: "We saved 25,000 lives every single time we knocked out a boat...We're going to have the same success, and even quicker...on land...we're doing a great job and we enjoy doing it."

John Brennan, the former CIA director, is trying to keep the Trump DOJ from steering its "grand conspiracy" investigation into Trump's political foes to Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed Trump's classified documents case. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/u...

How a Federal Vaccine Safety Database Became a Magnet for Misinformation time.com/7341350/what...

"Staffers in the Heritage Foundation’s economic, legal, and data centers resigned over the weekend to join a conservative advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence"

“Weiss told colleagues this weekend the piece…could not run without an on-the-record comment from a Trump admin official” “Alfonsi wrote that she and her colleagues on the story had sought comments and interviews from the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the State Department.”

AP: “At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.”

Re-upping this recent excellent piece on how Epstein survivors’ lobbied Washington through World Without Exploitation. WWE’s director today: “The Department of Justice’s release of Epstein-related files on December 19 was a step backward for transparency and accountability”

imagine having an actual evil twin

Elise Stefanik Tried Everything to Please Trump. He Still Jilted Her. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...

HUGE NEWS from the new Epstein files: Records show that Maria Farmer, who worked for Epstein, filed a "child pornography" report to the FBI in 1996. The FBI has never before acknowledged that complaint. The case went nowhere, and mass abuse followed. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...

AI could never create an image this…this!

Incredible story. A Democrat on the Indiana city council went viral for a video explaining that the guy who looks like him showing up at GOP events was his MAGA twin brother. It wasn't a joke. TIME spoke to both Nick and Nathan Roberts about their relationship time.com/7341364/twin...

WaPo: “Indian H-1B visa holders who traveled back to India this month to renew their American work permits are now stranded far from home after their appointments were abruptly canceled by U.S. consular offices and rescheduled for months later” per three immigration lawyers

I met Barack Obama in 2007 at a small event when his run for president was just starting. He asked me what I was working on. I said, a book about the 5 1967 Best Picture nominees. He said, quickly, "So...Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, In the Heat of the Night..." >

Holy crap chart from Gallup

Incredible story. A Democrat on the Indiana city council went viral for a video explaining that the guy who looks like him showing up at GOP events was his MAGA twin brother. It wasn't a joke. TIME spoke to both Nick and Nathan Roberts about their relationship time.com/7341364/twin...

Politico: "The Trump administration is asking U.S. oil companies if they’re interested in returning to Venezuela once leader Nicolás Maduro is gone...And so far, the answer is a hard 'no.'”

"'Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess and I’m fixing it,' Trump said in what often seemed to be a naked plea for his base to stick with him. If it were a late-night selfie, friends might have criticized it as too thirsty." time.com/7341493/trum...

After almost 19 years, @politico.com's newspaper comes to an end with tomorrow's edition. I've been at the helm of the newspaper for over a decade, and it's been an opportunity unlike anything I would've gotten to do at another organization. I'll miss the newspaper, but I'm not going anywhere.

“The president’s approval and disapproval numbers have flipped since his inaugural survey, from 41% disapproving to 41% approving, and 49% approving to 50% disapproving.” emersoncollegepolling.com/december-202...

Scooplet: The White House wanted tonight's prime time address to double as a PowerPoint presentation. Trump's comms team shared a set of slides with the major TV networks shortly before the speech. But only one, Fox News, opted to show them on screen. Here's the backstory...

"'Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess and I’m fixing it,' Trump said in what often seemed to be a naked plea for his base to stick with him. If it were a late-night selfie, friends might have criticized it as too thirsty." time.com/7341493/trum...

“Coverage of the Academy Awards will be available to YouTube TV subscribers in the U.S. and available for free on YouTube for viewers around the world.” www.cnbc.com/2025/12/17/y...

A Democrat is running in every state and federal race on the Texas ballot next year. The Texas Democratic Party says its the first time in modern state history that either party has fielded a full slate of candidates. www.texastribune.org/2025/12/17/t...

“Reiner had a great ear for what was funny, but an equally sterling gift for knowing how a line could pierce straight to the heart” — @szacharek.bsky.social time.com/7340905/rob-...

If dietary supplement labels include health claims, they are required to add the following: “This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” RFK Jr.’s regime wants the statement removed.

“For far too long, the survivors were kept siloed, sidelined, and silenced. And when they came together, they broke the silence collectively .. [and] .. cracked open the public conversation" Among themselves, they developed an informal rallying cry: Alone I'm fearful, but together we are feared.

NEW: Maria Corina Machado drifted on a skiff in the Caribbean for almost three hours after its GPS fell overboard on rough seas and a backup failed. She didn’t meet the extraction team at a designated pickup point, setting off a scramble to find her. Inside "Operation Golden Dynamite"

Speaking of Jeffrey Epstein...

In September, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein met on a rooftop in downtown Washington. Some were meeting each other for the first time. They had gathered to make posters for a rally at the Capitol, but something more meaningful unfolded. Can not recommend this story enough: time.com/7340275/jeff...

Before she leaves Congress next month, Marjorie Taylor Greene “has been working behind the scenes to gauge whether there’s support for a motion to vacate the chair…nine Republicans are needed to trigger such a vote”

New: How the victims of Jeffrey Epstein beat Washington at its own game and found each other time.com/7340275/jeff...

"Trump advisors have been preparing options for what to do if Maduro steps down or is ousted. Those include ways to support the opposition in setting up a transitional government and how to ensure Venezuela’s oil fields and infrastructure are kept safe" time.com/7340252/vene...

New: Trump advisors are preparing options for if Maduro steps down or is ousted, including supporting a transitional government and securing oil fields. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is strongly backing Trump's military campaign. time.com/7340252/vene...

“Multiple studies have found that AI data centers…stand to add millions of metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. In an interview with TIME, Energy Secretary Chris Wright downplayed the environmental impacts. AI is the ‘No. 1 scientific priority of the Trump Administration,’ Wright says.”

Latest on South Carolina measles outbreak: "Of the 111 measles cases recorded in that area...105 involved people who were unvaccinated while three involved those who were partially vaccinated...At least 254 people had been placed in quarantine as of Tuesday"

A reporter asked three AI models to analyze Trump’s latest Truth Social rant. All reached similar conclusions www.mediaite.com/politics/tru...

My hot take: Washington Post holiday cookie list > New York Times holiday cookie list www.washingtonpost.com/food/interac...

For (depressing) context, the population of Miami is over 400,000

Community health centers were created to be medical safety nets for people who struggle to afford primary care. But we found that several are suing patients and garnishing their paychecks – which experts say contradicts their mission. www.propublica.org/article/fede...

“Even the most Trump-ian lawmakers are starting to have their doubts, as they complain that Johnson has stifled their voices and shrunk the chamber’s power in the process” time.com/7339409/mike...