A Major Effort to Ease the Migrant Crisis

After months of calls for action from fellow Democrats, President Biden late last night announced that the U.S. would grant work permits and offer temporary protection to nearly half a million Venezuelans who had already entered the U.S.

Venezuelans received the temporary protected status, known as T.P.S., for 18 months because U.S. officials determined that conditions in their home country prevent them from a safe return. The program does not provide a permanent path to legal residence, but has been used by presidents in both parties to grant humanitarian protections to migrants fleeing wars, natural disasters and other violence.

The move is “really significant,” my colleague Nicholas Fandos told me, because the American immigration system has become so backlogged with asylum requests that tens of thousands of Venezuelans have been left in limbo. The move will have no greater impact than in New York City, which Nick called the “epicenter of the migrant crisis,” and where thousands of immigrants will soon be eligible to begin legally applying for work and eventually move out of taxpayer-funded shelters.

Democratic leaders broadly praised the move, but some experts warned that it was, at most, a temporary solution to an immigration system that lawmakers in both parties agree is broken.

“Some people describe it as a Band Aid,” Nick said. “But the more particular concern is that it creates an incentive for more people in Venezuela to come.”

Allies of Biden recognize that such a “pull” factor may prove real. The temporary protected status applies to those who have entered the country since March 2021 and were on American soil by July 31 of this year. Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, warned that anyone who arrived after that would be “removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay.”

Rupert Murdoch is retiring

Rupert Murdoch, who 70 years ago began building a global media empire that would become the most politically influential media empire on the planet, is retiring from the Fox and News Corporation boards, the companies said. The move makes his son Lachlan the sole executive in charge of the two companies.

Murdoch, 92, will continue to offer counsel in an emeritus status. Until recently, he had shown no intention of stepping down or even slowing down — including after he named Lachlan as the operating heir to his business empire in 2019, when he sold his vast entertainment holdings to the Walt Disney Company.

Dive deep: Here’s how Murdoch’s influence helped remake the world.

Biden hosted Zelensky at the White House

President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House to meet with President Biden, his latest stop in a delicate political mission to Washington that also included visits to Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. Biden has been working to shore up support in Congress for an additional $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine at a time when some Republican lawmakers are growing skeptical of Kyiv’s slow-moving counteroffensive.

“If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war,” Zelensky said in a meeting with at least 50 senators, as recounted by the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer.

In Ukraine, a wave of Russian missile attacks across the country damaged energy infrastructure, causing outages in several regions.

Right-wing rebels foil McCarthy’s plan, again

A small faction of right-wing House Republicans blocked a Pentagon funding bill today for the second time this week, dealing another stunning rebuke to Speaker Kevin McCarthy. If the intraparty disunity continues, it threatens to lead to a government shutdown in just nine days.

It is still not clear whether McCarthy will shift his strategy and attempt to pass the required spending legislation alongside some Democrats — a move that could threaten his speakership.

The Booker Prize shortlist

A panel of judges named the six books that are finalists to receive this year’s Booker Prize — one of most high-profile and coveted awards in literature. All six gesture at “the unease of our moment,” one judge said.

The list includes Paul Murray’s “The Bee Sting,” a tragicomedy about a family on the brink of financial ruin; Jonathan Escoffery’s “If I Survive You,” which explores a Jamaican-American’s struggle with identity; and Chetna Maroo’s “Western Lane,” about a squash prodigy coping with grief. See the full list.

What it’s like to be 13

My colleague Jessica Bennet spent the last year following three 13-year-old girls in an attempt to get a snapshot of modern teenage life. She found that their days were often heavily influenced by both the joys and perils of social media — a way to connect with friends, but also a source of frustration. “It’s not as easy as it used to be,” one girl said. “Cause you can’t escape social media unless you delete the apps.”

Attending an Indian wedding, as a tourist

Indian weddings have long attracted attention because of their grand depiction in Bollywood films or celebrity Instagram posts. Now a company called Join My Wedding is encouraging tourists to buy a ticket and check one out for themselves.

Some critics say that selling the experience exploits one of the most celebrated — and sacred — aspects of Indian culture. Others argue that it has resulted in a meaningful cultural exchange. For Diksha Manocha, who recently opened her marriage ceremony to tourists in the city of Jaipur, seeing strangers embrace her culture made the day more memorable.

“When I met them, they were full of joy and happiness,” she said.

Have a celebratory evening.