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Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. President Trump threatened to close the southern border and cut off aid to countries in Central America if Congress refuses to fund a wall.

The president’s threats came on the seventh day of a partial shutdown that has affected up to 800,000 government workers. Congress is not scheduled to take up the debate until after the new year. “We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall,” Mr. Trump tweeted. Above, at the border near Tijuana, Mexico.

In another tweet, he reiterated his threat to cut off aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, countries he claimed “are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money.”

But Democrats stood firm against Mr. Trump’s demand for $5 billion to pay for a border wall, according to a spokesman for Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and the incoming House speaker.

“Democrats are united against the President’s immoral, ineffective and expensive wall, the wall that he specifically promised that Mexico would pay for,” he said.

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2. The E.P.A. proposed new rules for assessing pollution that would make it easier for power plants to release more mercury and other toxic substances.

The new rules would roll back limits on coal plant emissions of mercury and other pollutants that have been linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses. Scientists have said mercury pollution from power plants has declined more than 80 percent nationwide since restrictions went into effect in 2011. Above, a power plant in Sydney, Mont.

The plan could change the way regulations are written in the future by disregarding the health benefits of reducing pollution.

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3. “Broken promises — that’s all you get from the school.”

At Wolf Point High School in eastern Montana, and across the U.S., a fragmented education system is failing Native Americans.

In a collaboration with ProPublica, Times journalists examined a wealth of rarely tapped data to document their plight.

Native students post some of the worst academic outcomes of any demographic group, exacerbated by decades of discrimination, according to federal reports. In public schools, white students are twice as likely as Native students to take at least one advanced placement course, and Native students are more than twice as likely to be suspended, according to our analysis. Above, in Wolf Point.

Native students also score lower than nearly all other demographic groups on national tests, and only 72 percent of Native students graduate, the lowest of any demographic group.

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4. The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria could trigger a scramble between Turkey, the Kurds, the Syrian government, Russia and Iran for control of the country’s east, our Middle East correspondent writes.

Syria’s Kurdish militia has called on President Bashar al-Assad’s government to send forces to protect it against a possible attack by Turkey. That is the first sign of shifting political alliances in eastern Syria since President Trump announced that he would withdraw American troops. Above, Turkish-backed fighters near Manbij, Syria.

At issue is the region in the country’s north and east that the U.S., in partnership with local Kurdish-led militias, took from the Islamic State. That put about one-quarter of Syria’s territory under the control of those militias, supported by about 2,000 American soldiers.

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5. In a chaotic year of natural disasters, mass shootings and political upheaval, our correspondents shared the stories of people across the U.S.

Some of our subjects sought news media attention; others wound up in the spotlight’s glare unwittingly, because of a tragedy, natural disaster or other news event.

Meet 18 memorable people who left an impression on our reporters in 2018.

Separately, our Sports staff has a list, too: Six athletes who transformed their sport.

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6. Tesla is scrambling to sell cars before the end of the year.

Demand for the company’s electric cars could weaken next month, when a $7,500 federal tax credit is cut in half for buyers of Tesla’s luxury models.

The phaseout may not influence current buyers of the company’s vehicles, above, which start at nearly $50,000. But it could hurt Tesla’s ability to reach a broader market.

Separately, the company appointed Larry Ellison, founder of the software giant Oracle, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, a senior executive at Walgreens Boots Alliance, to its board of directors, fulfilling a key provision of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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7. One economic indicator in China: underwear.

By almost any measure, the Chinese economy is slowing. The country’s stock market has lost a quarter of its value this year, and Xi Jinping, its top leader, is navigating a protracted trade war with the U.S.

But a tabloid controlled by the Communist Party found encouragement in an uptick in sales of boxers and briefs in Liaoning Province, above, an industrial region that epitomizes many of the country’s economic problems.

Cheered by the prospect of a brighter future, the article argued, Liaoning men are upgrading a part of their wardrobe that most of their friends and family will never see. Economists remain skeptical. “The only relevant context here,” one told us, “is that China’s economy is slowing markedly and official media have been ordered to smear the pig with lipstick.”

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8. New Yorkers were mostly unruffled after the night sky suddenly turned electric blue.

It wasn’t aliens, terrorists or Russian hackers, officials said. The strange effect, above, visible across the city on Thursday night, was due to an electrical transformer explosion in Queens.

The bizarre illumination was sparked by an “electric arc flash” tied to faulty equipment at a Con Edison substation, a spokesman said.

Electricity outages caused by the incident were resolved by Friday morning.

But more than a few “Ghostbusters” references, “Transformers” jokes and mentions of superpowers were circulating about the phenomenon that came to be known as Astoria Borealis.

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9. We uncovered the secrets of the Confetti Crew.

More than a million revelers are expected in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and all of them can expect to be covered in bits of the 3,000 pounds of confetti that will begin to flutter 20 seconds before midnight.

So who makes it happen?

Planning starts a year ahead, we found, when volunteers are named to a Confetti Crew. Sometime after Christmas, they deliver truckloads of confetti in unmarked 45-pound boxes to Times Square buildings.

Volunteers undergo rigorous training in confetti dispersal. If they do it correctly, an organizer told us, their arms should be sore by the end of the night: “It’s a very violent act.”

Separately, we chatted with the master artisan who maintains the Times Square ball. And if you’ll be spending New Year’s Eve at home, we have suggestions for the best tools for making cocktails.

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10. Finally, it’s the fourth day of Christmas.

When it’s time to let go of the tree, our science team has suggestions for environmentally friendly disposal. Cut trees don’t have to go into a landfill; they can become compost, an erosion barrier or even food for goats.

Have a bountiful weekend.

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