Good morning. Sam is away. President Trump said while hosting Volodymyr Zelensky that a deal to end the war in Ukraine was “maybe very close.” But a proposal appeared unfinished, as Russia rejected several items. Trump also said the United States had knocked out “a big facility” in Venezuela, an apparent reference to a drug trafficking site. If true, it would be the first known attack on Venezuelan land since Trump’s military campaign there began. We’ll get to the news below. But first, we look at our year of visual journalism.
Visual journalism
When President Trump’s supporters started saying they’d like to see his head carved into Mount Rushmore, we wondered: Could it work? Times reporters stitched together more than 120 photos taken at the South Dakota memorial, added a three-dimensional model of Trump’s head, analyzed the local stone and looked back at the challenges overcome by its original sculptor. Click to see what we found. At The Times, we look for visual ways to tell big news stories. This year, my colleagues built 3-D models of houses, mapped nuclear sites, tracked butterfly populations and offered much more to help readers explore patterns and personalize the news for themselves. Here are some standouts from the year.
It’s hard to imagine an American home without Chinese products. Many essentials are imported almost exclusively from China — and with new tariffs, prices are rising. We analyzed import data to show where Americans may see product shortages, fewer choices and price increases.
This is my favorite in a series about digging into art. We invite you to gaze at this painting, uninterrupted, for 10 minutes. Can you do it? If you want to do it again, sign up for new challenge notifications on the first Monday of every month.
To stop the spread of a pathogen like measles (which returned in force this year), you don’t have to vaccinate everyone. How many people are enough? We simulated an outbreak of a hypothetical disease, about as contagious as the flu. (A lot less contagious than measles.) You can experiment with vaccination rates among a population to see how they affect the spread of disease.
Why was it so difficult to know how much damage U.S. strikes did to the underground Fordo nuclear site in June? For the same reason it was so hard to hit in the first place. It’s buried deep underground and the United States has limited intelligence about what’s down there, though an assessment in the aftermath described it as badly damaged. But a look at the local geology, the facility’s structure and the American bomb offers some clues.
In 2022, when Russia tried to take over Ukraine, the two sides’ tank divisions looked much as they did during the Cold War. Now, to thwart drone attacks, the machines roll across the battlefield covered in nets and spikes, dangling chains and unwieldy cages. Have a look at these disguises.
A stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway needs replacing before it falls down. Times reporters captured video of the undersides of one section of the highway to understand its current state. You can see hundreds of steel mesh sheets, including at deteriorated joints, holding the concrete in place. Detailed visualizations show what a proposed replacement might look like.
The contiguous United States lost 22 percent of its butterflies in two decades. Check which ones you can expect to find where you live — and which species are thriving or suffering.
It wasn’t clear what two helicopter pilots noticed before they crashed into a commercial jet above the Potomac River on Jan. 29. So reporters built a 3-D model to recreate what may have been in the aviators’ field of vision minutes before the accident. The analysis is based on audio recordings, flight path data and video footage.
The Times asked survivors of the Los Angeles fires in January about their dealings with their home insurance — and received over 500 responses. A majority of people whose homes were still standing said their insurance companies had declined to pay for testing for toxic substances. But scientists have found that even those who are far from the flames can be harmed. We visualized the dangers inside one home. Related: Insurers are pushing families back into homes contaminated by smoke from wildfires, a New York Times investigation found. Tests revealed the presence of carcinogens and neurotoxins.
The 12 signs in Western astrology were originally based on the constellations behind the sun, from our perspective on Earth. That was 2,000 years ago. Now the planet’s position has changed relative to the sun. Enter your birthday to see if the sign you thought was yours is truly accurate. For many, it won’t be. Check out all our best visual journalism here.
War in Ukraine
Politics
International
Other Big Stories
Under the Trump administration, Harvard’s new campus orthodoxy is even more stifling than the old, Alex Bronzini-Vender writes. To those of you resolving to clean house in the new year: Whatever you do, keep your old books, Roger Rosenblatt writes. 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.
Trending: Mirror Palais has become the go-to brand for Generation Z party girls. Engagements: Read about some of the best marriage proposals from this year. Your pick: The most-clicked story yesterday was about breakfasts you can make ahead. Metropolitan Diary: Readers picked their favorite entries of 2025. Soul singer: Don Bryant spent much of his career as a songwriter for his wife, Ann Peebles. At 75, he finally got his break as a solo act. He died at 83.
11,000— That’s how many square feet of living space are in Gracie Mansion, where New York City mayors have lived for generations. Zohran Mamdani will give up his 800-square-foot rent-stabilized apartment to live there. He may get a cold reception from the conservative Upper East Side neighborhood.
N.B.A.: Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 55 points, tying a single-game record for the Los Angeles Clippers and paving the way for the team’s fourth straight win. Motorsports: Two people were hospitalized after large fire started at a home owned by the NASCAR star Denny Hamlin.
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