Good morning. President Trump is expected to meet Volodymyr Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago today to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine. It’s been a year since a deadly plane crash in South Korea, but victims’ families are still waiting for answers. And Brigitte Bardot has died. We’ll have more news below. But first, the host of our Cooking newsletter offers a few ideas for New Year’s Day breakfasts that you can prep ahead of time.
Head start
If your New Year’s Eve is frenetic, a whirlwind lasting way past bedtime, the morning after should be anything but. You want the year’s first breakfast — well, let’s say brunch — to be special yet calm, and preferably cooked by someone operating on a full night’s sleep and no hangover. If such a person is not readily available, however, the next best thing would be to do most of the work ahead while it’s still 2025. The editors at New York Times Cooking have saved you the difficult first step by collecting 25 make-ahead breakfast dishes that are festive enough for a holiday, but can (mostly) be prepared the day before, so they’re easy to serve up the next morning as you wait for the caffeine to kick in.
Anyone craving the decadent trifecta of fat, salt and melted cheese will adore this buttery breakfast casserole. The move here is to use croissants, whose flaky layers readily absorb the savory mix of eggs, sausage and Gruyère that they bake in. Crisp on top, soft in the center, delicious all over. Equally indulgent, but meatless, is Sarah Copeland’s crustless egg and cheese quiche, a wobbly, custardy mix of mushrooms and Cheddar or Comté that can be popped in the oven while the coffee brews. For breakfast pastry lovers, you can’t beat blueberry muffins, especially if they’re as light and cakey as the ones in this recipe from the (now closed) Jordan Marsh department store that Marian Burros adapted years ago. It’s a keeper. Or maybe your resolutions involve eating more thoughtfully and healthfully, in which case there’s Ifrah Ahmed’s matcha overnight oats, a delightful mash-up of a bowl of oatmeal and a matcha latte. You can make this as potent as you like; add the full teaspoon of matcha powder for a verdant dish with a strong punch of green tea, or use less for something more delicate. Then serve it dolloped with yogurt and covered with berries and mango for pops of color and tanginess.
Happy kids mean happy parents, especially when said parents are recovering from a long night. To satisfy early-rising little ones, bake up a batch of homemade Pop-Tarts, which are sure to delight sweet tooths of all ages. Margaux Laskey’s recipe calls for making your own cream cheese pastry and a quick berry jam, but feel free to substitute store-bought pie dough and your favorite jarred fruit preserves. Or go rogue on the filling, substituting chocolate-hazelnut spread or peanut butter and jelly. You can make these up to a week ahead and then warm them up in the toaster oven just before serving. For a breakfast that doubles as a dessert, Sheela Prakash’s Earl Grey cardamom crumb cake is moist, just sweet enough and covered with nubby, spice-filled streusel that gets gloriously crisp after baking. If none of these seem quite right, we have 20 other ideas for you here. So go ahead, stay out late and then sleep in knowing that whenever you do make it out of bed, a good breakfast will be waiting for you. It’s the least 2025 can do for 2026.
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It’s a perennial question around this time of year: Should you be wishing people a “Merry Christmas” or a “Happy Holidays”? Merry Christmas: Wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” isn’t about agreeing with a theology but about recognizing their cultural identity and strengthening relationships. “‘Happy Holidays,’ by contrast, often feels transactional, avoiding engagement instead of encouraging it,” Eli Federman writes for Fox News. Happy Holidays: The greeting is an appreciation of our country’s religious diversity. “My season’s greeting isn’t a political statement, nor — in keeping with the spirit of the season — should it be,” The Los Angeles Times’s Jackie Calmes writes.
Steven Rattner offers 10 charts to show the impact of Trump’s first year back in the White House. Celebrities spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery and injections to try to stay beautiful and young. Resist the urge to join them, Marisa Meltzer writes. Here is a column by Nicholas Kristof on the bright side of a bad year. The Times Sale starts now: Our best rate for readers of The Morning. Save now with our best offer on unlimited news and analysis as part of the complete Times experience: $1/week for your first year.
Vows: Murray Hill knows how to put on a show. This one doubled as a wedding. ‘She was pouncing on me’: His wife started taking testosterone. It changed their marriage. Hard Fork: Tech leaders said A.I. would help cure diseases and fix the planet. But where is all of the A.I.-driven scientific progress? Your pick: The Morning’s most-clicked link yesterday was about the year’s surprise hit novels. Sears’s demise: There are only five stores left in the country. The end looks near for this once-mighty American retailer. Helping the homeless: A program that tackles the root causes of homelessness for some New Yorkers has a promising track record, but can involve months in a psychiatric ward.
The French actress Brigitte Bardot became a world-famous sex symbol with the 1956 film “And God Created Woman.” In the 1950s and ’60s, she was a megastar, hounded by paparazzi and a frequent topic of discussion among France’s intellectual set. She announced her retirement from films in 1973 and devoted her life to animal rights and welfare. In her later years, she often attracted attention for her contentious political views, which many saw as racist. She died at 91. Read her full obituary.
N.F.L.: The Houston Texans clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Eligibility: The< |
