Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
Trump frees former president of HondurasAfter President Trump’s official pardon last night, Juan Orlando Hernández was released from a federal prison in West Virginia. Hernández, who led the Central American country from 2014 to 2022, had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for flooding the U.S. with cocaine. In a four-page letter to Trump, Hernández cast himself as a victim of “political persecution” by the Biden administration. “I have found strength from you, Sir,” he wrote. A White House official said Trump had not seen the letter before promising the pardon on Friday. The move seems out of sync with Trump’s aggressive rhetoric and actions regarding drugs, particularly his lethal attacks on ships in the Caribbean and his monthslong campaign against President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. Hernández’s co-conspirator, Amilcar Alexander Ardon Soriano, was sentenced to time served after testifying against Hernández last year; the Trump administration deported Soriano in April. Now, his fate is unclear. “If I were Alex, and I were sitting in a Honduran jail,” Soriano’s lawyer said, “the last thing I would want to hear is Juan Orlando is coming home when I was the one who put him in jail for 45 years.” Related:
C.D.C. advisers expected to recommend vaccine changesThe Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel handpicked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears poised to make consequential changes to the childhood vaccination schedule this week. They are likely to decide that a vaccine to prevent hepatitis B — a highly contagious disease that can severely damage the liver — should no longer be administered routinely at birth and perhaps not be offered to children at all. The committee members may also question the safety of ingredients in many vaccines. Their decisions are not legally binding, but they have profound implications for whether insurance programs cover the vaccines.
ICE plans to target Somali immigrantsThe Trump administration is set to crack down on hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, according to an official with knowledge of the operation and documents obtained by The Times. The plan calls for the deployment of “strike teams” made up of ICE officers, agents and other federal officials. Roughly 100 of them have been brought in from around the country. The move comes as Trump has used increasingly inflammatory language to attack Somalis living in the U.S. since the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. At a cabinet meeting today, Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage.” He also used the word to describe Representative Ilhan Omar, who came to the U.S. from Somalia as a refugee in 1995 and whose district includes much of Minneapolis.
Billionaire couple to give 25 million kids $250 eachMichael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, announced that they would deposit $250 into individual investment accounts for 25 million children across the U.S. The $6.25 billion pledge is one of the largest philanthropic gifts ever to go directly to Americans. The money expands the number of children who will receive investment accounts, known as “Trump accounts,” created by this year’s tax bill, that give $1,000 to babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. The Dells’ gift extends to children up to 10 years old, though it limits eligibility to ZIP codes where the median household income is below $150,000. Analysis: DealBook looked at what the Dells’ donation means for philanthropy. The DealBook summit is tomorrow; follow our live coverage of Andrew Ross Sorkin interviewing Scott Bessent, Erika Kirk, Halle Berry and many more. Sign up here to get the DealBook newsletter delivered to your inbox. Related: For the fourth year in a row, Elon Musk’s foundation failed to give away the minimum amount required by law, and most of its donations went to charities tied to Musk. More top news
Giving Tuesday: The New York Times Communities Fund supports nonprofit organizations during the Christmas season. This year, the fund is working with seven education groups. Click here to donate.
The best books of 2025The envelope, please: Our expert readers have chosen the 10 Best Books of 2025. They transport us to the battlefields of World War I and contemporary Swedish dance clubs; they immerse us in the housing crisis and a historic Black church.
A cure for fat cats?Okava Pharmaceuticals is set to announce that it has officially begun a pilot study that it calls MEOW-1, short for “ManagEment of Over Weight cats.” Dozens of cats will receive a GLP-1 drug of the sort that many people use for weight loss. Recent estimates suggest that roughly 60 percent of the nation’s cats and dogs are obese — cats are particularly susceptible to diabetes — and emphasizing diet and exercise hasn’t helped. Dinner table topics
Bake: It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Cookie Week at New York Times Cooking. Watch: Binge-watch all of “Mad Men” on HBO Max. Listen: Invented by accident in the 1920s, the theremin, a beguiling electronic instrument, is hard to master. Cook: Whether you’re party-planning or gift-giving, these are the year’s best cookbooks. Travel: Going to Italy? Try one of these cooking classes. Discern: Wirecutter investigated whether new Coach bags are as good as vintage ones. Brew: Five podcasts to help you savor coffee. Play: Today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. For more, find all our games here. |
