The U.S. Seeks to Increase Denaturalizations

Also, New York will allow the terminally ill to end their lives. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

In an aggressive new phase of President Trump’s crackdown on immigrants, his administration is planning to ramp up its efforts to strip more foreign-born Americans of their citizenship.

My colleague Hamed Aleaziz obtained new internal guidance that described the plans to the field offices of the agency that oversees the immigration system. The guidance demands that the agency identify 100 to 200 denaturalization cases per month that could be referred to the Justice Department. If the cases are successful, it would represent a significant escalation: Since 2017, just over 120 total denaturalization cases had been filed.

Under federal law, the 26 million or so naturalized Americans can only be denaturalized if they committed fraud while applying for citizenship, or in a few other narrow circumstances. Denaturalization cases must go through a challenging federal court process, but activists warn that such a campaign could sweep up people who make honest mistakes on their citizenship paperwork.

In other Trump administration news:

• The president is expected to address the nation tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. The White House has not provided details other than to say that Trump will discuss his accomplishments this year. We will have live coverage.
• The administration said it would dismantle one of the world’s leading Earth science research institutions.
• An appeals court allowed National Guard troops to remain in Washington, D.C., for now.
• Dan Bongino, the No. 2 official at the F.B.I., said he would step down, ending his brief but tumultuous stint at the bureau.

Venezuela’s Navy escorted ships after U.S. threatened a blockade

Venezuela’s Navy began escorting ships carrying petroleum products from port last night, shortly after Trump said that the U.S. would blockade sanctioned oil tankers that do business with the country. The Venezuelan government was said to have ordered the escort in response to Trump’s threat.

The move escalated the risk of a military confrontation with the U.S. However, the ships did not appear on a current list of U.S.-sanctioned ships, making it unclear whether they could be subject to Trump’s blockade.

A group of Republicans forced a vote on Obamacare subsidies

Four politically vulnerable House Republicans rebelled against their party’s leadership today and teamed up with Democrats to force a vote on a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of the month.

The vote will not come until January — after the subsidies have expired and premiums for health care have spiked. The bill would also face long odds in the Senate, where Republicans blocked a similar extension last week.

In other news from Congress: The Senate gave final approval to a $900 billion defense policy bill, which provides a pay raise for troops and has some measures to reassert congressional oversight.

New York will allow the terminally ill to end their lives

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today that she would sign a bill that would allow terminally ill New Yorkers to end their lives. The law will apply to adults who have incurable, irreversible illnesses and who have been given six months or less to live, and each patient will need the sign-off of three doctors.

Twelve states, Washington, D.C., and several European countries have passed similar laws, over the objections of religious leaders and some disability rights advocates. Hochul, who is Catholic, cited her faith and the death of her mother from A.L.S. as reasons she made the decision. “I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be,” she wrote.

More top news

• Reiners: Nick Reiner made his first court appearance today in the murder of his parents. His siblings, Jake and Romy, released a statement.
• Business: Warner Bros. Discovery urged shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid by Paramount, saying that Larry and David Ellison had “consistently misled” them.
• Manhunt: Four days after a gunman opened fire at Brown University, he remains at large. It’s unusual for a school shooter to evade the authorities for this long.
• NASA: On his second nomination, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, was confirmed to lead the agency, which had been without a permanent leader for 11 months.
• Politics: Dark-money groups supporting Kamala Harris and Trump raised almost $900 million last year from donors whose identities remain secret.
• Australia: ISIS is too weakened to seize territory, experts told The Times, but the Bondi Beach shooting is evidence that the group’s propaganda can still cause violence.
• Indonesia: Bali’s resorts and clubs sit on mass graves from the anti-communist purges of the 1960s.
• Health: More young, child-free women are pursuing sterilization. Here’s why.
• China: In 1989, Gen. Xu Qinxian defied orders to crush the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Video of his secret trial has leaked on YouTube.

TIME TO UNWIND

The lives they lived

At the end of every year, The New York Times Magazine devotes an issue to remembering the artists, innovators and thinkers who died over the past year.

This year’s edition explores the remarkable lives of Jane Goodall, Marcia Marcus, George Foreman and many more icons. I recommend reading through each one.

For more: These are some of the beloved objects left behind by those we lost in 2025.

The hardest spelling bee word of 2025 came from this puzzle

The Times publishes a new Spelling Bee puzzle every day. In total, players have found nearly 6,000 distinct words so far in 2025. The easiest word of the year, according to our analysis of millions of games played, was jack.

The most challenging word came from the puzzle pictured above. Can you guess what it might have been? The answer is at the bottom of the newsletter. (Hint: It’s defined as a thin skin or a film.)

Dinner table topics

• Part station, part museum: At Rome’s new subway stops, you can peruse ancient relics while waiting to catch a train.
• Behind the scenes: Will the Oscars make room for “difficult" women?
• From Opinion: 600 readers told us about the best gift they’d ever received. These are the top 13.

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Cook: This comforting skillet chicken is reminiscent of a rich French onion soup.

Listen: Our writer explained why this Ravel piece might be the most magical four minutes in music.

Watch: These were the 25 most notable movies of 2025, according to our critics, reporters and editors. (Fill out your own ballot.)

Plan: Our Frugal Traveler columnist explored Hawaii’s Big Island on a budget.

Test yourself: Take our quiz to see how well you know Jane Austen 250 years after her birth.

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

ONE LAST THING

London’s biggest new musical sensation is 4 feet tall

He is a bear named Paddington, and he has been beloved in Britain since he was introduced in children’s books in the 1950s. Now, the marmalade-sandwich-devouring animal has captured audiences’ hearts once again, as the star of “Paddington: The Musical” at London’s Savoy Theater.

Theatergoers say the bear seems magical. The effect is made possible by dividing up the bear’s performance. One actor plays Paddington onstage in a bear suit (she prepared for the sweaty task by sitting in a sauna fully clothed), while another voices him offstage and controls his facial movements remotely.

Have a charming evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

Philip Pacheco was our photo editor.

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

Answer: The most difficult Spelling Bee word of 2025 was pellicle.

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