The Morning: What keeps us going

Plus, government spending, Syria and a slang quiz.

View in browser|nytimes.com December 25, 2024 Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. Today, we're turning the newsletter over to our colleagues on the Times Opinion team. We're also covering government spending, Syria and a slang quiz. Stephan Dybus The keepers By New York Times Opinion By the end of the year, many of us feel exhausted by the news. So we asked the staff members of Times Opinion to share how they escaped it all this year. These are the habits we started, the ones we quit, the culture that brought comfort and the internet memes that made us laugh so hard that we momentarily achieved a state of Zen. This is what we'll carry with us as we turn the page to 2025. We're highlighting a few in today's newsletter. Read the rest here. Phone a friend My oldest friend and I do synchronized viewing of each new episode of the show "Shrinking" (which follows a rogue therapist and his patients) and text commentary and our fave quotes back and forth. We definitely want our own Derek. (IYKYK.) —Michelle Cottle, writer Night-night at the museum If my mind is too busy to sleep at night, I turn on the Met's YouTube art lectures — the longer the better. The videos' tone is soothing, and the content helps me connect with something beautiful and interesting from another time or place. Once my mind is immersed in, say, Greek vase paintings, I'm out like a light. —Jessia Ma, deputy editor of design Stephan Dybus You are getting very sleepy I have learned to relax the tiny muscles around my eyes. I visualize the muscles and gently tell them to let go, one by one. They do! And then I feel a deep calm. It's a great way to go back to sleep at night. —Peter Coy, writer Wake and bake This year, as ever, I found distraction and refuge in the stalwart comforts of "The Great British Baking Show." It won't be lost on future cultural historians that a decade of unceasing global tumult coincided with the sturdy popularity of a TV series about a bunch of collegial normies in a tent in the English countryside, seemingly far from society, being nice to one another and baking pies. —Adam Sternbergh, culture editor This ain't Texas Nobody needs this recommendation — Beyoncé's album "Cowboy Carter" — but it has become my go-to, regardless of my mood. I start humming some tracks before they even begin. I look forward to the reformulations of classics like Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and the Beatles' "Blackbird" and the nods throughout to greats like Linda Martell and Patsy Cline. What makes me smile every time is the quiet confidence Willie Nelson exudes (and, behind the scenes, Beyoncé herself) in his interludes. "And go to the good place your mind likes to wander off to," he counsels. "And if you don't want to go, go find yourself a jukebox." —Kathleen Kingsbury, Opinion editor Stephan Dybus Record scratch Amid the slop of artificial intelligence, there are diamonds: deepfake audio recordings of presidents singing karaoke. Donald Trump croons. Joe Biden joins in on a second verse. Frank Sinatra and Queen. Mariachi and musicals. The Carpenters — Karen and Richard and Sabrina. For just a moment in the algorithmic feed, politics are harmonious. —Rollin Hu, researcher Impromptu hangs Like many middle-aged people, my schedule is both packed and unpredictable. I used to think the best way to see friends was by making explicit time for them days or weeks in advance. But inevitably something gets in the way — a sick kid, an extra work deadline — and that long-awaited hang gets canceled. I have had way more luck randomly texting my local pals with an hour's notice. —Jessica Grose, writer Scratch and sniff I love perfumes, but when I'm on Fragrantica — the online home of aroma lovers — I have little interest in smelling or purchasing most of what I'm reading about. The pleasure comes entirely from reading attempt after attempt at accomplishing the impossible: conveying scent through words alone. —Meher Ahmad, editor Everyday ecstasy Simon Critchley's new book, "Mysticism," has been on my night table for months. He is the rare philosopher who doesn't flinch at religious experience. And this book does something miraculous: It saves the baby of mysticism from the discarded bath water of institutional religion. It reminds us that our attention matters, that even in our fractured digital age ecstasy is possible. That's not religious hokum. It's practical, and most of us need reminders of it every day. —Peter Catapano, editor THE LATEST NEWS Trump Transition Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to cut billions from the budget, but it won't be easy. Read what history shows about attempts to shrink the government. The 2012 Obama-Romney race looks with hindsight like the end of an era. American politics hasn't been the same since Trump first won the Republican nomination, Nate Cohn writes. In his second term, Trump will confront a more vulnerable but determined Iran. With Trump pledging mass deportations, officials across the country are debating the extent to which they should cooperate with immigration agents. At least 11 companies and trade associations that had promised to suspend or reconsider political donations after Jan. 6 contributed to Trump's inauguration fund, The Wall Street Journal reports. Middle East In Tyre, southern Lebanon.  This Christmas, an ancient Christian community in southern Lebanon, rattled by months of Israeli bombardment, is mourning its dead. Hundreds protested in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus, Syria's capital, after footage circulated of the burning of a Christmas tree. The demonstrators chanted against sectarian strife. For years, American troops supported militias in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. The effort backfired as people came to see the groups, and the U.S. by extension, as a source of torment. More International News In Oaxaca, Mexico. Luis Antonio Rojas for The New York Times. Every December, the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca celebrates its rich history with a radish-carving competition. A plane carrying 62 passengers and five crew members crashed in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh authorities said that at least 29 people survived. Dozens were feared dead. A Russian court sentenced a U.S. citizen to 15 years in a high-security prison for espionage, state media outlets reported. Protesters and the police have clashed in Mozambique in unrest over a disputed election. At least 21 people have died since Monday, officials said. A destructive cyclone on Mayotte, a French archipelago off Africa's eastern coast, has exposed local resentment toward undocumented immigrants. Armed men fired on reporters gathered for the reopening of Haiti's largest public hospital, killing at least three people. Other Big Stories On the outskirts of Damascus. Hussein Malla/Associated Press Bethlehem to Buenos Aires: See images of communities around the world celebrating the Christmas season. American Airlines briefly grounded all its flights in the U.S. on Christmas Eve after a technology issue. Delays persisted throughout the day. California warned people to stay away from many beaches because of unusually powerful surf. In New Jersey, many people reported mysterious hovering objects dotting the night skies. It may have been a communal fever dream. A 26-year-old Olympic snowboarder, Sophie Hediger, died in an avalanche in Switzerland. A federal judge struck down parts of an Arkansas law that included prison sentences for providing books "harmful" to minors. Hanukkah starts tonight. Opinions "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens endures in our culture because we still root for our own redemption, Roger Rosenblatt argues. The actress Blake Lively has been subject to hate online. The attacks against her don't describe the person I know and worked with, Nicholas Kristof writes. Here is a column by Thomas Friedman on diplomacy with China. Ends soon: Our best rate on unlimited access for Morning readers. Save now with our best offer on unlimited news and analysis as part of the complete Times experience: $1/week for your first year. MORNING READS In Parker, Colo. Daniel Brenner for The New York Times Sugar and carbs: The golden age of American bakeries is upon us. See the best in the country. Tiffany: Read how some of France's crown jewels ended up in New Jersey. Quiz: Test your knowledge of the slang that evolved in 2024. Last minute: Booking a trip? Here's where to go this winter. Lives Lived: As director of ABC No Rio, a fiercely independent cultural center on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Steven Englander led the battle to halt its eviction. He later raised money to build it a new home. Englander died at 63. SPORTS N.F.L.: Week 17 games begin today, with two contests on Netflix. Here are all the scenarios to monitor. N.B.A.: The league's prized five-game Christmas slate tips off at noon with a matchup between the Spurs and the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. M.L.B.: Try Tyler Kepner's 50-question baseball trivia extravaganza. ARTS AND IDEAS The New York Times If you get a break this week, between the family, food and celebrations, pick up a good book. The Times editors share some of their favorites from 2024: "Briefly Perfectly Human," about a death doula. "How to Say Babylon," about coming-of-age in a Rastafarian family. "Health and Safety," about New York's underground rave scene. More on culture In Rome. Massimo Berruti for The New York Times Next year, millions of Christian pilgrims will visit Rome for the Catholic Jubilee. See five of the quieter churches in the eternal city. The actor Justin Baldoni's former publicist has filed a lawsuit. She alleges a conspiracy to harm her and steal her clients, in connection with an effort to tarnish Blake Lively. A scrappy new publisher landed 25 books on the best-seller list in a year. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. Bake a French toast casserole for your holiday morning. Nourish your skin with the best Korean beauty products. Open the best tinned fish. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was outfoxed. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, unsubscribe. 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