The Evening: Shutdown nears an end

November 10, 2025

	By Matthew Cullen

Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.

Congress moves to end the shutdown
Syria’s president visits the White House
Plus, “Flesh” wins the Booker Prize

Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

The shutdown is set to end, and many Democrats are angry

The longest government shutdown in American history is likely to end this week, as Congress moves closer to passing a funding bill.

Senate Republicans are pushing for a vote tonight to fund most federal agencies through January. The shutdown would come to a close once that bill also passes the House and receives a signature from President Trump, which could happen by the middle of the week.

The 40-day logjam finally broke last night when eight senators in the Democratic caucus split with the party to strike a deal with Republicans. Their plan would reverse federal layoffs and ensure retroactive pay for furloughed workers, but it did not include Democrats’ central demand — the extension of Obamacare subsidies that are slated to expire at the end of the year.

In response, Democrats from nearly every ideological corner rebuked the reopening plan, which left them all but powerless in negotiations over health tax credits and other issues. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, described the deal as inadequate; Bernie Sanders called it a “policy and political disaster”; and even Stefany Shaheen, a congressional candidate whose mother was one of the Democrats who defected, criticized the plan.

For more:

Flight troubles could continue until the shutdown officially ends.
The bill to reopen the government would allow senators to sue when federal investigators search their phone records without notifying them.

President Ahmed al-Shara waves and is followed by an entourage of men.

Ahmed al-Shara at the White House today. Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Trump met with Syria’s leader

The president hosted an Oval Office meeting today with President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria, making him the first Syrian leader to be welcomed into the White House. Al-Shara has been drumming up international investment to aid his country’s recovery from a civil war, and Trump extended a sanctions waver on Syria.

The meeting was the latest turn in the extraordinary transformation of al-Shara, who was once designated as a terrorist by the U.S. with a $10 million bounty on his head. My colleague Roger Cohen traveled to Syria to trace al-Shara’s unlikely path.

In other Trump administration news:

In a largely symbolic move, the president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and others who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
A felon who was freed by Trump was sentenced again after being accused of a range of criminal conduct.
White House officials discussed naming the Washington Commanders’ new stadium after Trump.

A person waving an L.G.B.T.Q. pride flag outside the Supreme Court.

Outside the Supreme Court in June 2015. Doug Mills/The New York Times

The Supreme Court declined a challenge to same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court announced this morning that it had rejected a request to consider overturning its landmark 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage. That means that fewer than four justices voted to hear the case brought by a Kentucky county clerk who had refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

In related news:

The justices also said that they would hear a challenge to a Mississippi law that could upend mail-in ballot rules in many states before the midterms.
The court’s conservative majority seemed skeptical that a Rastafarian man could sue prison guards for shaving his dreadlocks.

A field of solar panels reflects late-afternoon sunlight with a row of wind turbines in the distance.

A solar farm in southern India. The country can now meet half of its electricity demand with wind, solar and hydropower. Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times

Global climate politics is shifting

Under Trump’s leadership, the U.S. has backed away from its efforts to rein in climate change. No American officials are attending the annual U.N. climate summit for the first time in 30 years. And European countries, too, have struggled to realize their green ambitions.

In that vacuum, China has emerged as the new renewable energy superpower. It is shaping some of the world’s fastest-growing economies by exporting cheap technology like solar panels and electric vehicles.

More top news

Military: Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said that two U.S. strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed six people.
Media: Two top BBC executives quit after a former adviser said that the broadcaster had misleadingly edited a speech by Trump that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump threatened to sue for $1 billion.
Gambling: M.L.B. put a $200 cap on wagers for individual pitches after two Cleveland pitchers were charged with rigging bets.
Intelligence: F.B.I. director Kash Patel is said to have made a promise at a secret meeting to M15, the U.K. intelligence service, and then to have broken it — adding to concerns from allies about his reliability.
Texas: A lawsuit accused Camp Mystic, where two counselors and 25 campers died during July 4 floods, of gross negligence.
Middle East: Kenyan women who had babies out of wedlock while working in Saudi Arabia are banished to the edges of society and cannot leave the country.
Health: The F.D.A. will remove the black box warning from hormone replacement products containing estrogen.
South Korea: This year, the country surpassed the U.S. to become the second-largest cosmetics exporter after France. Now one of its biggest brands is coming to America.
California: Valentino Luchin, an acclaimed chef, robbed a Bay Area bank and served six months in jail. He blended back into the restaurant scene, until he robbed three more banks.

TIME TO UNWIND

David Szalay, in a dark suit, holds his book “Flesh” at the Booker Prize awards ceremony.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

A rags-to-riches tale wins the Booker Prize

David Szalay’s “Flesh” won this year’s Booker Prize, beating five other shortlisted titles, including the odds-on favorite, “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.”

Szalay’s novel tells the story of Istvan, a lonely Hungarian teenager who makes an unexpected rise to the height of British society. Roddy Doyle, the chair of this year’s judging panel, called it a “singular” and “extraordinary” work. “It’s just not like any other book,” he said.

An illustration with four circles: one of socks with burrs on them, one with a claw swinging outward and smashing a shell, one with three upward arrows in dark blue water on a dark blue background, one with a fish leaping.

Illustration by Álvaro Bernis

Nature is full of inspiration

For centuries, inventors have tried to harness the power of evolution by studying the ingenious traits of plants and animals. Scientists call it bioinspiration.

For example, the knobs on whale flippers, which help them swim in tight circles, helped engineers come up with ideas for better wind turbine blades, ceiling fans and truck mirrors. Our science columnist Carl Zimmer highlighted more examples where bioinspiration came in handy.

A person in a navy jacket and jeans sits on an armchair, looking forward. Behind them, a dark shelving unit displays books and a large picture of pigeons.

Alicia Vera for The New York Times

Dinner table topics

Millennial Baroness: Leonie von Ungern-Sternberg is trying to demystify what life as a modern noble is really like.
Behind the scenes: Movement directors are often the secret ingredient to convincing physicality onscreen or down a runway.
The Divo of Juárez: Before Bad Bunny, the world had Juan Gabriel — who still draws huge crowds years after his death.
Home branding: Does your house need a name?

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

A cooking pan holding eight chicken thighs covered in a golden orange sauce and herbs.

Christopher Testani for The New York Times

Cook: This version of butter chicken is wildly luxurious.

Watch: “Sincerely Saul” is one of our favorite horror movie picks this month.

Read: “The Insider” is a well-reported look at Malcolm Cowley, who helped remake the U.S. literary canon.

Travel: These floating hotels will rock you to sleep.