The Evening: A deal to avoid a shutdown

January 29, 2026

	By Matthew Cullen

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

Democrats strike a deal with Trump
A study finds that aging is hereditary
Plus, what is house burping?

Charles Schumer at a lectern in a hall at the U.S. Capitol taking questions from reporters.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at the U.S. Capitol yesterday. Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Democrats reach a deal with the White House

Senate Democrats struck a deal with President Trump and Republicans this afternoon that could avert an imminent government shutdown and allow more time to negotiate restrictions on Trump’s immigration crackdown. The agreement could fall apart, however, if any single senator objects.

As this newsletter arrived in your inbox, congressional leaders were polling their members to see if they would support such a deal. The shutdown deadline is midnight tomorrow. Follow here for the latest updates.

The deal would allow the Senate to pass five bipartisan spending bills to fund a large portion of the government, as well as a separate measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks. During that time, lawmakers would discuss ways to rein in ICE agents, as Democrats have demanded. As of now, it is unclear how quickly such a plan could get through both the Senate and the House.

In other news from Washington:

After his first cabinet meeting of the year, Trump acknowledged closing his eyes during the one last month because “it got pretty boring.”
We’re tracking all 600-plus lawsuits against Trump’s policies. Here are some takeaways.

Tom Homan at a lectern in front of an American flag and a Department of Homeland Security flag.

Tom Homan at a news conference in Minneapolis today. Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

ICE leader in Minn. says improvements should be made

Tom Homan, whom Trump sent to lead ICE operations in the Minneapolis area, conceded today that the federal crackdown on immigrants there has been flawed. “Certain improvements could and should be made,” he said, later adding: “President Trump wants this fixed, and I’m going to fix it.”

Homan said that the federal government could “draw down” the number of agents in the area, if local officials allow the Trump administration access to local jails; policies regarding cooperation with immigration enforcement inside Minnesota jails vary from county to county.

In Homan’s first three days on the ground, there have been few signs of major changes. Here’s the latest.

In related news:

A Bush-appointed judge who once clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia has become an unlikely critic of Trump’s tactics in Minnesota. He said yesterday that ICE had violated nearly 100 court orders.
The man accused of squirting Representative Ilhan Omar with apple cider vinegar and water at a town hall in Minneapolis was charged with assault.
“No sleep” protests have targeted ICE agents at Minnesota hotels, leaving the owners, often immigrants themselves, caught in the middle.
Charles Tillman left the N.F.L. and joined the F.B.I. The immigration raids prompted him to resign.

Footage of men assembling desktop gaming PCs.

Loren Elliott for The New York Times

The A.I. boom could push up the price of your next computer

Artificial intelligence can write your emails, sing you songs and help you apply to colleges. But the innovations come with costs. For one, A.I. companies are buying up computer chips en masse. One estimate suggested that A.I.’s insatiable demand for memory chips would raise the price of a typical PC by $119, or 23 percent, between last fall and this fall.

Two elderly twins smile and hold hands and pose in front of a white background.

Mildred MacIsaac, left, and Agnes Buckley participated in the Long Life Family Study in 2016, when Mildred was 100 and Agnes was 103. Jason Grow

Genes may determine longevity, no matter your health choices

Researchers used data from thousands of twins, who share identical genes, to conclude that aging is mostly hereditary. You can lengthen it a bit, the new study suggests: One of the researchers calculated that healthy or unhealthy habits can add or subtract five years or so from a life expectancy.

But if your genetic potential is to live to be 80, for example, it is unlikely that anything you do will push your age at death up to 100. See how they came to that conclusion.

More top news

Weather: A major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, powerful winds, large waves and coastal flooding to parts of the East Coast this weekend.
Economy: The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $56.8 billion in November, rising 95 percent from the previous month.
New York: Federal prosecutors said a man impersonating an F.B.I. agent and carrying a pizza cutter tried to break Luigi Mangione out of federal jail.
Politics: Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota formally announced her campaign for governor with a four-minute video.
Education: Harvard University has been trying to cut back how many A grades professors give. Now, 53 percent of grades are A’s, down from 60 percent.
U.S.: According to counts reported to the government but not yet released under Trump, homelessness appears to have fallen during the last year of the Biden administration.
Deportations: The plight of Cuban men designated for deportation from the United States and now stranded at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, illustrates the inefficiencies and expense of the ICE operation.
Food: A proposed class-action lawsuit claims Costco was misleading customers and engaging in false advertising when its $5 rotisserie chicken was labeled preservative free.
Heat: Some cold-weather states are making it cheaper to run heat pumps during the winter.

THE EVENING QUIZ

This question comes from a recent edition of the newsletter. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link is free.)

Since 2023, only one new Broadway musical has become profitable. Which is it?

TIME TO UNWIND

A photo illustration of two black-and-white photos of singers with green, red, yellow and blue semicircles radiating out from them.

Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photos: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for ABA; Erika Santelices/Reuters

Are you ready for the Grammys?

The 2026 Grammy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, and big names with diverse ideas about pop are contenders for the top categories. There’s Kendrick Lamar, who is still on top of the world after winning big last year. There’s Lady Gaga, whose latest album proved she’s still got it. And there’s Bad Bunny, who our critic Jon Caramanica believes is in for a good year.

“It would be a real capstone moment for someone who, over the last 10 years, has shown a new path to global stardom that didn’t rely on any of the old models,” Jon said. To hear who he thinks should win at the Grammys, listen to the latest episode of “Popcast.”

Footage of silhouetted puppets on a screen with a band playing, and of a large rhinoceros puppet.

Alexander Coggin for The New York Times

Chicago has a vibrant puppet scene

When I think of puppets, I think of goofy children’s characters like Lamb Chop or the Muppets. But the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is a reminder that the art form is far broader.

The festival, which is mainly for adults, featured miniature puppets in “The Matchbox Shows”; eerily realistic child puppets in “A Doll’s House”; intricate paper puppets in “The 4th Witch”; and a hulking, majestic puppet rhinoceros in “Rhynoceron.” Check them out.

The figure skater Maxim Naumov kneels on the ice in a spotlight with his hand to his face.

Maxim Naumov after a performance in Washington, D.C., last year. Jason Andrew for The New York Times

Dinner table topics

Chasing a dream: Maxim Naumov’s parents died in a plane crash over Washington, D.C., last year. Next week, he’ll skate at the Olympics.
Sci-fi from 2001: Before today’s debate over A.I. in movies, an “actress” generated by computer graphics was considered an “It Girl.”
Do I look old?: How you wear your scarf could be revealing your age.