Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.
Rescuers work to evacuate flooded areas of WashingtonAn unusually potent atmospheric river system has dumped waves of intense rain across western Washington State, inundating towns in the area with record flooding and causing potentially tens of millions of dollars in damage. Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes, and officials have warned that the region’s levees and dams would remain at risk for several days. National Guardsmen went door to door today in Burlington, Wash., encouraging people to seek higher ground and helping people evacuate. A Coast Guard video captured a dramatic helicopter rescue in Sumas, Wash., on the border with Canada. Floodwaters there rose as high as 15 feet, trapping four people on the second floor of their home. A rescue swimmer and two Coast Guard helicopters got them out. See more photos and videos from the flooding. So far, officials have not reported any injuries or deaths from the storm. However, it could take days or weeks to assess the full extent of the damage. And another storm is expected to arrive as soon as Sunday.
T.S.A. is now giving passenger data to immigration agentsThe T.S.A. is providing the names of all travelers passing through U.S. airports to immigration officials in an effort to detain those with deportation orders. The new program was revealed today by my colleague Hamed Aleaziz. Documents obtained by The Times show that the collaboration between T.S.A. and ICE led to the arrest of Any Lucía López Belloza, a college student picked up at a Boston airport on Nov. 20 and deported to Honduras two days later. The T.S.A. previously did not get involved in domestic criminal or immigration matters, according to a former agency official. But the push to ramp up enforcement is pervasive inside the Department of Homeland Security, which houses both ICE and the T.S.A. Under the partnership, which began in March, T.S.A. provides a list multiple times a week to ICE of travelers who will be coming through airports. In other Trump administration news:
Ukrainians are focused more on blackouts than U.S. peace planTrump began his second term promising to end the war in Ukraine quickly. Now, nearly a year later, officials in Ukraine have sent a new peace proposal to Washington — pushing back against Trump’s insistence that Ukraine give up land it controls to secure peace. Russia is unlikely to agree to the plan. In Ukraine, many people have reacted with a shrug. They understand why their leaders want to appease the Americans, but they believe the U.S. has sided with Russia and that Russia has no interest in a deal. Instead, most Ukrainians are more focused on how to live through regularly scheduled blackouts as Russian forces bombard the electrical system.
Teens are reading fewer whole books — even in English classIn American high schools, the era of books seems to be fading. Reading scores are at historic lows, and both teachers and researchers report that teenagers are being assigned to read few books from cover to cover. Thousands of educators, parents and students responded to a Times survey on the topic. Some complained about the effect of technology and social media. But more teachers pointed toward the curriculums they were asked to use, which focus largely on short stories and excerpts. More top news
The art world moved forward in 2025Some of the art world’s most visible advances this year were physical: The opening of the Studio Museum’s great new location in Harlem and the Met’s wonderfully redesigned Rockefeller Wing. But that wasn’t all that excited our critic Holland Cotter in his best-of-2025 list. Holland also highlighted the sweeping Jack Whitten exhibit at MoMA and a show at the Zimmerli Art Museum organized by the artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith — who died in January just days before the opening — that mixes the work of high-profile Indigenous artists with less visible ones. Check out his full list.
Is SantaCon naughty or nice?Tomorrow is SantaCon — the annual tradition in which a raucous group of Santas floods the streets of New York City, hopping from bar to bar all day long. For some attendees, it’s a jolly good time. For many others, it’s the worst day of the year. Seth Porges considered himself among the haters before he started making a documentary about the event. His film, which premiered this fall, reflected his new view: that SantaCon was “a Frankenstein story,” which began with good intentions but turned into something that couldn’t be controlled. For more: We asked people for their best (and worst) SantaCon stories. Read them here.
Dinner table topics
Cook: Try this cake and you’ll understand the Dubai chocolate craze. Watch: The director of the new “Knives Out” movie narrated a key scene from the film. Read: Lauren Rothery’s “Television” was one of our Book Review’s top picks of the week. Listen: Here are five great classical music albums to check out. Gaze: The Geminids meteor shower will peak this weekend. Test yourself: Take this week’s news quiz. Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. |
