The Evening: Signs of Trouble for Trump’s Spending Cuts

Plus, celebrating “Chrismukkah.”

When Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy helped topple a spending bill in Congress, bringing the government to the brink of a shutdown, they demonstrated the clout that they will have as the leaders of a new waste-cutting effort.

But the funding bill that lawmakers ultimately approved failed to reflect spending restraint, underscoring the limits facing the effort, known as the Department of Government Efficiency. The federal government has become increasingly sprawling and Congress more fractious, making it difficult to put a dent in a national debt that has topped $36 trillion.

As Donald Trump prepares to take office in under a month, budget experts see little hope that his plan will shift the nation’s fiscal trajectory. Trump has pledged to preserve entitlement programs, and Republicans are loath to slash military spending. That leaves little space to scale back the biggest drivers of the debt.

Even as lawmakers talk about spending cuts and deficit reduction, they are preparing an expansion of the 2017 tax cuts that could cost the nation more than $4 trillion over a decade.

American Airlines briefly grounded all U.S. flights

On one of the busiest travel days of the year, American Airlines grounded all its flights in the U.S. this morning for about an hour. American said a vendor technology issue had affected systems needed to release flights.

While relatively brief, the ground stop could result in heavy delays in the coming days. Tens of millions of people fly from mid-December to shortly after New Year’s Day, and a travel record is expected to be set this year. The airline issued a waiver allowing people flying through some airports to reschedule their flights through Thursday.

Activists were ousted from Michigan’s student government

The president of the University of Michigan’s student assembly was impeached and removed from her post last night after a turbulent nine months in office. The move followed the vice president’s removal last month.

They had run a campaign built on a staunch pro-Palestinian platform: to block financing for campus groups until the university agreed to divest from companies that were seen as profiting from the Israel-Hamas war. Like many campus protest movements, the student government takeover made little headway. Many on campus saw the activists’ efforts as a futile quest that blocked money meant to help students in need.

The fastest spacecraft headed for the sun

Today, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will try the closest approach to the sun ever, slipping well into a stellar region that has never been explored. While surfing across the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere, Parker will surpass the blistering speed of 430,000 miles per hour, breaking its own record for the fastest object made by humans.

More top news

• Iran: The incoming Trump administration is debating how to approach Tehran: with an openness to negotiations or with an attack on its nuclear program.
• Netherlands: Five people were found guilty of public violence or incitement of public violence in relation to attacks targeting Israelis in Amsterdam last month.
• Middle East: Israel said it had shot down a missile fired by Houthi militants in Yemen after Israel’s defense minister threatened to “behead” the Houthi leadership.
• Russia: A court sentenced Eugene Spector, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years in prison for espionage.
• New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered that 13 corrections officers and a prison nurse be fired after the fatal beating of an inmate this month.
• Starbucks: Baristas at more than 300 stores joined a five-day strike set to end on Tuesday.
• Sports: A 26-year-old Olympic snowboarder, Sophie Hediger, died in an avalanche in Switzerland.

TIME TO UNWIND

A mash-up of Christmas and Hanukkah

When my colleague Dan Saltzstein was growing up, there was no Christmas tree, no ornaments, no goose or fruitcake. Like many Jews, his Christmas meant going to the movies and eating Chinese food.

But that changed when he married Nancy, a Catholic who, while nonpracticing, celebrates Christmas. He decorated his first Christmas tree with her and tonight, after the presents have been opened, they’ll be lighting the menorah.

This year, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah fall on the same day. For some, celebrating both means “the best blend of the two.” Here’s how some families are celebrating “Chrismukkah.”

Also: Will you get snow this year? Check our White Christmas map.

Your Christmas watch list

Tonight, the dulcet tones of Andrea Bocelli could fill your home during the special “Christmas with Andrea Bocelli and Friends.” Tomorrow, Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro from “Dancing with the Stars” are hosting the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade, with performances from Elton John and John Legend.

The Kansas City Chiefs are facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, but if football isn’t your thing you can always stream a holiday classic. Check out these recommendations for what to watch.

Or, with the help of NORAD’s radar systems, you could watch Santa as he makes his rounds.

Your holiday traditions

We asked readers about the traditions they are most looking forward to this year. We’re featuring their responses this week.

Every year, we bake Christmas cookies with my mom using a recipe that her grandmother cut out of a magazine in the ’50s. We still have the original cutout, though it is very brittle! This year, to surprise my mom, I made each of us a cutting board with an image from the magazine of the original recipe for the butter cookies. My daughter is the fifth generation to participate in this very special tradition. — Lindsey Walters, Mishawaka, Ind.

Tell us about your New Year’s resolutions: As we wrap up 2024, we’re asking readers about their most successful resolutions, the ones that changed their lives for the better. To share your thoughts, fill out this form.

Dinner table topics

• Elon Musk’s town: The SpaceX C.E.O. is trying to make his own company town in coastal South Texas. He hopes to call it Starbase.
• Dog hair sweater: Some knitters know what to do with those tufts Fido leaves around the house, thanks to a book on the quirky craft.

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Bake: These marvelously chewy chocolate chip cookies are in our best holiday recipes collection.

Read: In “Finding Flaco,” two photographers memorialize Manhattan’s celebrity owl.

Travel: From Austria to Montana, we found five cozy winter getaways.

Guess: Do you know the words that were popular in 2024? Play our quiz.

Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.

ONE LAST THING

How’s Santa doing in the polls?

Believe it or not, there’s a long tradition of Santa Claus polls. The Times ran one in 1985 and, over the years, belief has held quite steady, even if some parents now wonder if joy will turn to trauma for their children when the truth comes out.

Americans don’t just believe in Santa. They approve of his performance. In a 2020 poll, 73 percent of respondents gave him a positive rating.

Have a magical evening. And if you’re celebrating tonight, Merry Christmas.

We’re off tomorrow. Matthew will be back on Thursday. — Justin

Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor today.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.