The Evening: U.N. Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza plan

November 17, 2025

	By Matthew Cullen

Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.

Trump wins Security Council support
Scientists track butterfly migration
Plus, it’s a big week in the art market

Two men in business suits standing in an ornate room, smiling.

Michael Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., with Israel’s ambassador, Danny Danon. Dave Sanders for The New York Times

The U.N. Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza plan

President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza was enshrined in international law today when the United Nations Security Council voted today to approve a U.S. resolution. Thirteen countries backed the American plan. Russia and China had raised objections but chose to abstain instead of vetoing it, apparently swayed by support from several Arab and Muslim nations.

The vote — a major diplomatic victory for the Trump administration — offered international support for Trump’s 20-point plan to move past a cease-fire and rebuild Gaza. The U.S. resolution called for an International Stabilization Force to enter, demilitarize and govern Gaza.

It also envisions a “Board of Peace” to oversee Gaza at least until the end of 2027 and says that the enclave would be managed day-to-day by a “technocratic, apolitical committee of competent Palestinians from the Strip.” Trump said this evening that he would lead the board and that the other members would be announced in the coming weeks.

At dusk, a person walks on a gravel road past an SUV connected to a trailer with two small rescue boats.

A FEMA staging area in Kerrville, Texas in July. Loren Elliott for The New York Times

FEMA is in limbo

David Richardson, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, resigned today after six months on the job. The next leader of FEMA, Karen Evans, lacks experience in emergency management, which is a legal requirement to lead the agency.

The moves highlighted a fact that has worried FEMA employees for months: The agency’s future is unclear. Trump suggested earlier this year that he wanted to eliminate the agency, and Richardson’s predecessor was pushed out a day after arguing that FEMA was vital. More recently, the president has indicated that he wants the agency to be overhauled to shift more responsibility for disaster response to the states.

Already, about a third of FEMA’s work force — roughly 2,000 employees — have left since Trump took office. And Evans, who is set to take over the agency on Dec. 1, has played a central role in the Trump administration’s efforts to cut costs there. In the coming weeks, the administration is expected to release a report on its plans for FEMA.

For more: The deadly July 4 floods in Texas were the biggest test of the agency during Richardson’s tenure. New videos, data and reporting offer the most detailed account of what happened.

A white egret flies low over a marsh filled with green and yellow grasses.

A great egret on Johns Island in South Carolina. Madeline Gray for The New York Times

The U.S. plans to reduce protections for wetlands

The Trump administration announced a plan to significantly restrict the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit pollution in wetlands, rivers and other bodies of water. The proposal would strip protections from bodies of water that are not “relatively permanent,” potentially affecting as much as 85 percent of wetlands nationwide.

In other Trump administration news:

After campaigning to block such a move, Trump reversed course and urged House Republicans to vote to release files about the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A day before Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is set to meet with Trump at the White House, the president said he would sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom.
A judge said the case against James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, could be in serious trouble because of apparent misconduct by the inexperienced prosecutor handpicked by Trump.
The Times interviewed 60 attorneys to learn how the Justice Department has unraveled under Trump.
The administration escalated its pressure campaign against Venezuela, though Trump left open the possibility of negotiations.

An animated GIF of a butterfly on a stick.

Hannah Beier for The New York Times

See how monarch butterflies migrate across the continent

For the first time, scientists were able to actively follow individual monarch butterflies on their astonishing annual migration from the U.S. and Canada down to their winter colonies in Mexico. The journeys stretched thousands of miles, showcasing monarchs’ impressive navigational and flying abilities.

The researchers were able to track the butterflies thanks to a tiny new solar-powered radio tag that weighs just 60 milligrams. It could provide crucial insights into the poorly understood life cycles of butterflies, bees and other flying insects.

More top news

A.I.: Jeff Bezos launched an artificial intelligence start-up called Project Prometheus, for which he will serve as co-chief executive, with $6.2 billion in funding.
Tech: E.U. lawmakers are moving to scale back and simplify the bloc’s aggressive, landmark rules for artificial intelligence and data privacy.
Europe: Ukraine is running low on cash. If an E.U. plan to use frozen Russian assets falls through, there’s not a good Plan B.
Trade: The U.S. accused 13 Italian pasta makers of selling their products at artificially low prices and threatened them with tariffs of over 90 percent.
Heist: One of the men accused of stealing jewels from the Louvre was once a star of the city’s urban dirt bike subculture.
New York: A teenage girl told an officer that her adoptive father had been raping her. The officer didn’t believe her, and the abuse continued.
Cryptocurrency: Illicit funds have flowed onto crypto exchanges, scammers have used crypto A.T.M.s to manipulate victims and big traders have been targeted for kidnapping.
Sports: Two weeks ago, Marshawn Kneeland scored his first N.F.L. touchdown. Two days later, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a police chase.
Art: The Costume Institute, relegated to the Met’s basement except for its annual blockbuster exhibition, will get a new ground-floor gallery that will pair artworks with fashion.

TIME TO UNWIND

An animated GIF of different footage of people looking at artworks and entering an art auction.

OK McCausland for The New York Times

It’s a big week for the art market

After years of declining sales and increasing costs, art sellers insist that things are finally turning around. The stock market has held up, recent art fairs have done well and several big-ticket items were put up for sale this fall.

This week’s marquee auctions will be a big test — starting this evening with a burnt orange abstraction by Mark Rothko that is expected to sell for around $50 million. See the other auctions that we’re watching this week.

This illustration is a finely detailed black-and-white portrait of Seamus Heaney glancing down; the portrait shows only the right side of his face, with the left side fading into nothingness.

Deanne Cheuk

A 1,200-page poetry book that’s not a page too long

Seamus Heaney was a master craftsman, with a remarkable capacity to see human doings in many ways at once. His genius is on full display in “The Poems of Seamus Heaney,” which combines his published catalog with an impressive collection of previously unpublished work.

It’s a giant book for a giant of poetry. “Doorstops, after all,” writes the poet Robert Pinksy, “are used to keep doors open.”

An animated GIF of a reporter video, quickly cutting between the reporter standing outside different bodegas.

The New York Times

Dinner table topics

City essential: In the 1920s, a wave of Spanish-speaking immigrants bought delis from earlier immigrants, and the New York bodega emerged. In a video, Anna Kodé explains their history.
An existential thriller: Oliver Laxe’s “Sirat” is perhaps the year’s least describable and most terrifying film.
At the theater: Just a few chimes can send an audience to their seats.
Milk and butter: Is full-fat dairy healthier?

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

A slice of tiramisú with layers of apple and mascarpone, coated in caramel.

Andrew Bui for The New York Times

Cook: This playful take on tiramisù ditches espresso for apple cider and caramel.

Watch: Here are five great theater performances you can stream at home.

Read: “At Midnight Comes the Cry” is a heart-stopping mystery.

Store: Here’s how to keep potatoes fresher longer.

Wear: Suits are back in style.

Remember: It’s probably time to