The Evening: Justices block Chicago deployment

December 23, 2025

	By Matthew Cullen

Good evening. This newsletter is taking the rest of the week off. I hope you all have a chance to relax and refresh.

But first, here’s the latest news at the end of Tuesday.

The Supreme Court rules against Trump
Economic growth looked strong
Plus, where aprons go to retire

Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

Justices block National Guard deployment in Chicago

The Supreme Court said this afternoon that President Trump cannot, for now, deploy National Guard troops in Chicago over the objections of Illinois officials. The decision, while temporary, casts doubt on the legal viability of similar deployments in other cities.

Trump sent hundreds of Guard troops to Chicago in October to assist with a crackdown on crime and immigration, but their deployment was put on hold after the state of Illinois contested its legality. Now, in a three-page unsigned ruling, the court said that the administration had failed to show why the president should have broad discretion to deploy the state-based military force.

It was a rare departure from recent cases, in which the court’s conservative majority has sided with Trump in tests of presidential power. Three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — dissented.

In other Trump administration news:

The administration said it would soon begin to garnish the wages of some federal student loan borrowers who are in default.
The administration delayed its tariffs on Chinese semiconductors until 2027.
Stephen Miller, one of the president’s top advisers, said that immigrants bring problems that extend for generations. The data shows otherwise.
Did DOGE really cut government spending? A Times analysis found that its biggest claims were largely incorrect, and that its many smaller cuts added up to few savings.

Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Economic growth surged through summer

Economists have warned for months that the president’s tariffs could put a damper on the nation’s pocketbooks. But a new report shows that the levies have not dissuaded Americans from spending.

According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy accelerated to a healthy 4.3 percent annual rate between July and September. The data shows that the economy remained on solid footing, despite negative consumer sentiment, a softening job market and the gloomy expectations of some experts.

Mastercard, meanwhile, reported that holiday spending was up this year.

Image released by the House Oversight Committee Democrats

Thousands more Epstein files revealed

The Justice Department released nearly 30,000 pages of new material on Monday night related to investigations involving the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The new batch of documents contained hundreds of references to Trump, who was once a friend of Epstein’s, but who has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with his crimes.

A team of Times reporters is sifting through the files, providing real-time updates and analysis of their findings.

Here are a few highlights so far:

The release included a 2020 email from a federal prosecutor who was surprised by the number of times Trump’s name appeared on the flight logs for Epstein’s private jet.
Epstein had named a rotating cast of prominent figures to serve as executors of his estate.
Federal agents had a list of Epstein’s potential “co-conspirators,” whom they were trying to contact in 2019.

A water tower stamped with a red “OU” near a brick campus building at the University of Oklahoma.

Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman, via Reuters

A university instructor is fired for failing an essay on gender

The University of Oklahoma has fired a graduate student instructor over her decision to give a zero to a paper that cited the Bible and argued that “the lie that there are multiple genders” is “demonic.”

The incident provoked a debate over academic freedom. The instructor said the paper had not met the requirements of the assignment, and that it was “offensive.” The undergraduate who wrote it filed a religious discrimination complaint.

Conservative activists took up the paper-writer’s cause. The school said that it had determined that the instructor “was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper.”

Read the essay that sparked the controversy.

More top news

Weather: Unseasonably warm temperatures are expected across the U.S. Check to see if you’re in for a white Christmas this year.
Ben Sasse: The 53-year-old former senator and former president of the University of Florida said he has terminal pancreatic cancer, writing on X that he was “gonna die.”
Media: Several veteran correspondents are criticizing Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor, for abruptly pulling a “60 Minutes” segment. Now, the segment is on the internet.
War: Russia bombed Ukraine hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the latest U.S.-backed peace plan looked “quite solid.”
Education: The N.A.A.C.P. is trying to prove in court that a Virginia school board had racist intent when it reinstated the names of schools honoring Confederate generals.
Britain: The actor Russell Brand was charged with two additional counts of rape and sexual assault for encounters said to have occurred between 1999 and 2005.
Energy: Both the Pentagon and A.I. giants need China’s batteries, badly.
New York City: In the final days of Eric Adams’s term as mayor, we looked back on his complicated legacy and assessed his record on seven key issues.
Candy: Despite sanctions, Russian Snickers bars have showed up in London shops.
Good Dogs: New Jersey presented awards to more than two dozen bomb-sniffing dogs for helping keep last month’s elections safe.

TIME TO UNWIND

Two men in dark clothes hold each other.

“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams, left, and Connor Storrie. Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times

A hockey romance has become an unexpected HBO hit

One of the most popular shows on HBO Max right now is “Heated Rivalry,” a drama about a secret, hot-and-heavy romance between two male professional hockey players. The show arrived in the U.S. last month with hardly any hype. But now, fans pack bars each Friday for live viewing parties.

Other content to watch over the holidays:

Kate Winslet’s directorial debut, “Goodbye June,” a family drama set at Christmastime and written by her son, arrives on Netflix tomorrow.
Our critic picked 10 of the best animated shows and movies of the year.

The New York Times

Do you know about aura farming?

The English language is always changing, whether we like it or not. This year, a number of new, amusing and often absurd slang terms entered the vernacular, thanks in large part to the youngest generations.

Take our quiz and find out how well you’ve kept up — and what you may be missing out on.

The New York Times

Dinner table topics

Magnetic compass: Scientists are performing brain surgery on butterflies to study their impressive migratory abilities.
Living in 215 square feet: These Milan designers found a way to make it work.
Family dynamics: Research suggests that many parents do, in fact, have favorite children.

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Lobster mac and cheese. David Malosh for The New York Times

Cook: Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, this week is a great time to make a big, festive meal. Consider glazed ham, mushroom Wellington or