The Evening: Fallout from Signal leak

Also, Ukraine and Russia agreed to stop fighting in the Black Sea.

View in browser|nytimes.com March 25, 2025 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Tuesday. A Senate hearing on the Signal chat leak A cease-fire deal for the Black Sea Plus, the hit series "Adolescence" President Trump at the White House today. Doug Mills/The New York Times Trump downplayed the leak of military plans President Trump told reporters today that the disclosure of internal national security deliberations on a commercial messaging app was a minor transgression. He characterized the extraordinary security breach as "just something that can happen." Trump also stood by his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, who had inadvertently added a journalist to a group chat with other members of the president's inner circle. In the chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others shared information on timing, targets and weapons systems to be used in an attack on Houthi militants in Yemen. Here's what to know about it. During a Senate hearing this morning, the nation's top two spy chiefs — who were both in the chat — acknowledged the sensitivity of information shared, but rejected responsibility. The administration claimed that nothing classified was shared; the journalist who was included in the chat said "they are wrong." Either way, disclosing even nonclassified national defense information in a nonsecure setting — like the app that was used, Signal — can still violate the 1917 Espionage Act. Senate Democrats at today's hearing expressed outrage: "This sloppiness, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies is entirely unacceptable," Michael Bennet of Colorado said. Hakeem Jeffries, who leads Democrats in the House, urged Trump to fire Hegseth. Most Republicans on Capitol Hill reacted with a collective shrug. "I don't think most Americans care one way or another," Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said. In related news, the leaked chat showed European leaders how the Trump administration talks about them behind closed doors. The port of Odessa, Ukraine, last week.  Oksana Parafeniuk for The New York Times Ukraine and Russia agreed to stop fighting in the Black Sea The Trump administration announced today that it had helped broker a maritime cease-fire, in which both Ukraine and Russia would halt fighting in the Black Sea. Both countries confirmed the agreement, a significant step in the three-year war, but still far short of the permanent truce that Trump has been pushing for. The deal, which came after three days of negotiations in Saudi Arabia, appeared to extract no major concessions from Russia, which started the war. The Kremlin said it would honor the maritime truce only after restrictions on Russian agricultural exports were removed — a demand the White House appeared to agree to, at least in part. In other news from Ukraine, a cheap drone punched a hole last month in Chernobyl's 40,000-ton shield — which had been intended to enclose the nuclear disaster site for a century. Frank Bisignano, Trump's pick to lead the Social Security Administration. Eric Lee/The New York Times The Social Security nominee vowed not to seek privatization Frank Bisignano, the Wall Street veteran being considered to lead the Social Security Administration, offered a "guarantee" at his Senate confirmation hearing today that he would not seek to privatize the program: "I've never thought about privatizing," he said. Bisignano's nomination appeared to have enough Republican support to advance through the committee. His role has come under tense scrutiny as Elon Musk has become fixated on finding fraud inside the agency, which provides retirement, survivor and disability payments to 73 million Americans each month. In other politics news: Vice President JD Vance said he would travel to Greenland this week, after planned U.S. visits prompted outrage from the island's leader. A judge ordered the Trump administration to halt its efforts to arrest and deport a Columbia student who had participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. In Aurora, Colo., residents are split over which poses a greater threat: undocumented immigrants, or Trump. Groups representing Columbia faculty members sued the Trump administration, arguing that the cancellation of $400 million in aid violates the Constitution. A hospital in West Texas. Desiree Rios for The New York Times A Kennedy-backed remedy left some measles patients sicker Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. Parents in the region have increasingly turned to unproven treatments to protect their children, many of whom are unvaccinated, against the virus. Local doctors say they have now treated a handful of children who were given so much vitamin A — which Kennedy has promoted as a near-miraculous cure for measles — that they showed signs of liver damage. For more: The government and the food industry are bending to Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. More top news Education: Financial and political crises have gripped colleges during the Trump administration. This fall, they're expecting the biggest freshman class ever. West Bank: Israeli police released Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian director of the Oscar-winning film "No Other Land." He was detained after witnesses said he had been assaulted by settlers. Sports: Track and field will introduce mandatory DNA sex testing for athletes entering female competitions. Texas: In the dysfunctional Maverick County court system, poor defendants accused of minor crimes are rarely provided lawyers, and some spend months in jail without being charged. Business: White-collar workers have seen a steeper rise in unemployment than other groups, as well as slower wage growth. Has the decline of knowledge work begun? Food: Physicists have figured out how to make foie gras without force-feeding birds. Space: Frozen fuel from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket left a glowing spiral in the sky across Europe. Here's what it looked like. Broadway: I wrote yesterday about "Othello," which stars Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, setting a box office record. George Clooney's new play just broke it. TIME TO UNWIND Yoko Ono in 1967. Watford/Mirrorpix, via Getty Images A look inside the world of Yoko Ono The writer David Sheff is out today with "Yoko" — a new biography of Yoko Ono, the artist and widow of the murdered rock star John Lennon. Ono has long been reviled as the woman who broke up the Beatles, and Sheff's book is the latest in a series of recent corrective works looking to reshape her legacy. What makes Sheff's contribution stand out, our critic Alexandra Jacobs writes, is that he is good friends with Ono. His portrait is sympathetic, but convincing: Ono, Sheff argues, is a survivor, a feminist, an avant-gardist, a political activist and a world-class sass. Erin Doherty, left, and Owen Cooper in "Adolescence." Ben Blackall/Netflix 'Adolescence' has people talking The new series "Adolescence," about a 13-year-old British boy suspected of killing a girl after being exposed to misogynist ideas, has for the last two weeks been Netflix's most-watched show in dozens of countries, including the U.S. It has also reignited debate about restricting children's access to smartphones. In Britain, where officials have warned of online harm gangs, lawmakers have used "Adolescence" to argue that the country should crack down on social media use among children. Graham Dickie/The New York Times Dinner table topics Sun, fun and networking: The teens of New York's elite spend spring break at a luxury resort in the Bahamas. We visited to see what it was like. Sartorial choices: An exhibition in France examines the art of dressing like an artist. Anti-comedy: A documentary shows how the comedian Andy Kaufman anticipated our reality-bent world. Ready for the morning: Researchers are trying to understand why some people don't get hangovers. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Susan Spungen for The New York Times Cook: Think cinnamon rolls can't get any better? Think again. Read: A new novel explores the undersea cables that connect the world. Plan: Up for a grueling but remarkable hike? Try the Cactus to Clouds ascent. Wear: Take inspiration from our fashion photographer's look of the week. Stimulate: We asked experts for tips on staying sharp as we age. Remember: It's probably time to clean your books. Here's how. Compete: Take our quiz to see how well you know classic works that inspired family movies. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. ONE LAST THING Amber Glenn's triple axel. Benjamin Rasmussen Not your average ice queen Amber Glenn is the top women's figure skater in the U.S. She has landed the supremely challenging triple axel in all her competitions this season, earning her an undefeated record and securing her the chance to become the first American woman to win a World Championship title in nearly 20 years. But Glenn is unlike her sport's typical stars. She is openly pansexual; she jumps like a pole vaulter; she models her hair off the pop star Kesha; she collects lightsabers and Magic: The Gathering cards. She is also 25 — an age when most of her peers have long since retired. Have an atypical evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew Philip Pacheco was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018