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Which college football coaches have the hottest seats at the midseason mark?

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Which college football coaches have the hottest seats at the midseason mark?

It’s the midpoint of the college football season and usually, the coaching carousel is spinning much faster. It’s spinning slower this year for a few reasons. First, the past two seasons had much more turnover than initially expected; second, this is the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, which is extending the potential waiting time on some search options.

Things could get active at the Group of 5 level soon, though. Here’s our midseason assessment after talking to numerous industry sources about the FBS coaching landscape.

AAC

Mike Houston, East Carolina: 3-3 record this season

Before getting the ECU job, Houston went 37-6 at James Madison and won an FCS national title. He led the Pirates to two bowl games in his first four seasons but went 2-10 last year. His team just got whupped by 31 at Charlotte, now a rival program, and has lost by far its best player, cornerback Shavon Revel, to a season-ending knee injury. ECU still has Army and Navy, both Top 25 teams, plus 5-1 North Texas left. Tulsa, FAU and Temple are all very winnable. Getting to six wins might buy him more time, but his team could use a few wins down the stretch. Temperature check: Warm.

Mike Bloomgren, Rice: 2-4

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This is a tough job. The former Stanford assistant got the Owls into a bowl game in his fifth year. Last season was his best: a 6-7  record that included snapping a seven-game losing streak to Houston. The Owls got off to a 1-4 start but just notched a nice, close win against UTSA for their first win against an FBS opponent. Getting bowl eligible looks doubtful, especially with only UAB seemingly looking like a likely win — and that one is on the road. Temperature check: A little warm.

Stan Drayton, Temple: 1-5

It’s been tough for Drayton to get much traction so far. The Owls are 2-16 in AAC play. The program wasn’t in great shape when Drayton took over for Rod Carey, whose teams only won two of his last 15 AAC games before he was fired. The Owls could really use a win at home against struggling Tulsa this weekend to get a little momentum going. Temperature check: Getting warmer.

Trent Dilfer, UAB: 1-5

The former NFL quarterback-turned-TV analyst had a lot of success building a powerhouse high school program in Nashville before getting the Blazers job over then-offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent, who not so coincidentally has done terrific in his debut season as the head man at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. That dynamic isn’t helping the situation for the first-time college coach. Vincent’s team blew out UAB 32-6 in early September. Dilfer went 4-8 last year and the Blazers are really struggling this year. Aside from a win over FCS Alcorn in the opener, this has been rough. They hung around against Arkansas and gave the Hogs a game, but the rest of the slate has been blowouts. They have home games against Tulsa, UConn and Rice. They need to win at least one of two of those to show some progress to quiet some of the critics since this was a fairly high-profile, outside-the-box hire. Temperature check: Getting hot.

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Dilfer was a splashy, leap-of-faith hire for UAB, but the Blazers have struggled so far under his tenure. Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty

ACC

Mack Brown, North Carolina: 3-4

The Tar Heels has been pretty good in Brown’s second stint with the program. In his second season back, they finished No. 18. The Tar Heels have won 17 games the past two seasons but it feels like the program has fallen off quite a bit this year. They’ve lost four in a row, including giving up 70 to JMU at home. The bright side: three of their remaining five opponents have losing records. Getting to six wins isn’t out of the question but there’s been increasing chatter that it might be time for a change from the 73-year-old Brown. Temperature check: Getting a lot warmer.

Big 12

Dave Aranda, Baylor: 2-4

The wild roller coaster ride that has been Aranda’s tenure in Waco, Texas has struggled to ramp back up. He went 2-7 in his first season and then, after overhauling his offensive staff, led Baylor to a 12-2 season, finishing No. 5. Since then, the Bears are 11-20. Baylor almost made a coaching change last winter but showed more patience with Aranda. There were more staff moves made that included Aranda taking over the defense this season. But after some good early signs, that side of the ball is struggling again. The issue has been that Aranda hasn’t recruited well enough or close to the level that Matt Rhule did. Aside from this weekend’s game at Texas Tech, none of the next five opponents have winning records. Temperature check: Hot.

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Khan: Can Dave Aranda come back from Baylor’s collapse at Colorado?

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Big Ten

Mike Locksley, Maryland: 3-3

A fast start has cooled quickly, with two double-digit losses including a dismal home showing where the Terrapins lost by 27 to a middling Northwestern team. Worse still, they’ll probably be underdogs in each of their last six games. A rebuilt O-line has struggled mightily, as has the secondary. Word out of College Park is that Locksley, who is so well-respected locally, has built up so much goodwill in his time there, especially having posted back-to-back eight-win seasons while in the much tougher side of the Big Ten and that’ll afford him a mulligan this year. In the previous 40 years, the Terps had only one stretch of three consecutive winning seasons until Locksley did it from 2021-2023. Temperature check: Lukewarm.

Ryan Walters, Purdue: 1-5

The former Colorado defensive back did outstanding work as Illinois’ defensive coordinator before getting this job. The Purdue offense sputtered in his debut season, managing 17 points or less six times in a 4-8 year. Walters fired OC Graham Harrell early this season and Purdue’s woes have continued. A 49-0 win over FCS Indiana State is the lone victory, but they did show signs of life, almost knocking off No. 23 Illinois on the road last weekend, 50-49, with freshman QB Ryan Browne in his first start. Four of their remaining six games are against top-16 teams.  The other two teams are .500 Northwestern and at Michigan. Can the Boilers notch at least one win to show some progress? Two years isn’t close to enough time, so I’d be very surprised if the Boilers made a move. After all, this is a program that hasn’t finished in the Top 25 once in the past 20 years and only had four winning seasons in the past 16 years. Temperature check: Getting a little warm.

Conference USA

Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech: 2-4

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He went 6-18 in his first two years. The Bulldogs lost their first three games against FBS teams this season. They hammered a bad MTSU team for their first FBS win of the season last week but weren’t able to build off of that. They lost in double-overtime to New Mexico State. Next up is another woeful team, UTEP. I thought 5-7 looked like where they were headed, but that was before losing to NMSU. Temperature check: Getting hotter.


I think Cumbie can buy himself another year with five wins. Photo: Jaylynn Nash / Imagn Images

MAC

Mike Neu, Ball State: 2-4

A former star QB for the Cardinals, Neu actually led Ball State to a Top 25 season in 2020, when the Cardinals finished No. 23. Neu followed that up with another bowl trip. They’ve tailed off some in the past two years and are off to a shaky start. They escaped with a two-point win against a hapless Kent State team on the road for their first FBS win. With the way their schedule sets up, getting more than three wins seems like a reach. He’s been the head coach for nine years and he’s the only one in school history that ever produced a Top 25 season, although Pete Lembo and Brady Hoke each did have double-digit win seasons. Still, this is a very tough place to win at. Temperature check: Warm.

Joe Moorhead, Akron: 1-6

One of the game’s better offensive minds has struggled to get any momentum here. He had back-to-back 2-10 seasons to start and looks like he might be headed to another one. Beyond Kent State, they won’t play another team with a losing record this season. Temperature check: Pretty warm.

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Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: 2-4

He’s coming off of his best season of his first five years, when the Falcons went 7-6. They are off to a slow start this fall but they’ve had three losses by a touchdown or less, including against two ranked teams on the road — Penn State and Texas A&M. I think they’re good enough to rally for six wins but even if they don’t, it’s hard to think they can expect better than what they’ve had from Loeffler. Temperature check: Sort of warm.

Kenni Burns, Kent State: 0-6

He took over for Sean Lewis, who left to become an OC at Colorado. Lewis led Kent State to its first bowl win and had two seven-win seasons at a place that’s only had three winning seasons since 1987. Burns, a former Minnesota running back coach, won one game in his first season, and is still looking for his first win this season. Losing to FCS St. Francis still stings. Can they knock off Akron in late November to get a win? I think it’s pretty poor form to hire someone and only give him two seasons, but if there is only one win or less in each of Burns’ first two years, it wouldn’t be surprising if the school got itchy. Temperature check: Getting warm.

Mountain West

Tim Skipper, Fresno State: 3-3

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A former Bulldogs middle linebacker, Skipper is a well-respected part of the Fresno family and stepped up after Jeff Tedford stepped down for health reasons. Fresno State got off to a 3-1 start before losing the past two games. The Bulldogs have a decent shot to become a bowl team. If Fresno can go on a big run in the second half of the season, maybe Skipper can keep this job. Temperature check: Warm.

Nate Dreiling, Utah State: 1-5

The 33-year-old interim is still looking for his first FBS win. They pounded FCS Robert Morris in the opener and were then blasted in their next five games. Temperature check: They’ll be starting over this winter.

SEC

Sam Pittman, Arkansas: 4-2

After going 4-8 last season, Pittman’s seat was hot coming into this year, but he might be coaching his way to another. The Razorbacks won at Auburn and have a nice win against Tennessee their last time out. They still have 1-5 Mississippi State ahead and 2-3 Louisiana Tech. They may also be capable of knocking off LSU with the Tigers coming off the comeback win against Ole Miss last week. Barring a collapse, I think he’ll earn more time, unless the school is convinced it has a big upgrade waiting in the wings. Temperature check: Hot but cooling off a bit.

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Billy Napier, Florida: 3-3

Florida doesn’t have a lot of patience with football coaches. The Gators fired Dan Mullen, who’d won 29 games in his first three seasons but got the axe after going 5-6. Jim McElwain won 19 games in his first two seasons and then went 3-4 and got fired. Will Muschamp got four years. Ron Zook didn’t even get three. Napier went 11-14 his first two years after an impressive run at Louisiana. This season has been a mixed bag. The Gators got pounded by Miami in the opener in The Swamp but the team is still battling for Napier. That’s been a big plus, in addition to the tricky timeline now with CFP candidates potentially in play.

There’s been a ton of dysfunction around the university, all the way up to the university president fleeing.

The good news: the Gators thumped Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., beat UCF by double-digits and almost upset Tennessee in Knoxville before losing in overtime. They have four top-20 opponents left, including two in the top five, vs. Georgia and at Texas. The only team with a losing record remaining is their road trip to 1-5 FSU. They just lost starting QB Graham Mertz for the rest of the season. Can true freshman DJ Lagway spark a strong second half to get Florida to 6-6? If they win this weekend against Kentucky, don’t rule it out. Temperature check: Toasty.

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GO DEEPER

Billy Napier beware: Florida has not historically been patient in rebuilds

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Sun Belt

Shawn Clark, Appalachian State: 2-4

The former App State offensive lineman is well thought of in the Mountaineer community and he has three seasons with at least nine wins in his first four years. This year has been messy. They’ve lost three in a row, all by double digits and by giving up a ton of points. Just getting to five wins (the game against Liberty was canceled last month) looks dicey. And Appalachian State is not used to losing. Temperature check: Getting warm.

Butch Jones, Arkansas State: 3-3

Under Jones, the Red Wolves have gone from two wins to three wins to six and bowl game last year. I think they should get bowl eligible again. Their next two games are against Southern Miss and Troy, both 1-5 teams. They also have two games against two-win teams, so 6-6 feels like the floor, with seven wins seemingly realistic.
Temperature check: A little warm.

Will Hall, Southern Miss: 1-5

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The son of a Mississippi high school legend, Hall, a very successful Division II coach, seemed like an excellent choice when he got this job four years ago. After a solid season season where the Golden Eagles went 7-6 and won a bowl game, they have backslid quite a bit. They went 3-9 last year and are really struggling now. All five losses have been by double-digits. They still have to go to JMU and Texas State. The final two games of the season are against two-win South Alabama and one-win Troy on the road. Temperature check: Very hot.

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Adam Davis, James Gilbert, Grant Halverson / Getty)

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Culture

Test Your Knowledge of French Novels Made Into Musicals and Movies

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Test Your Knowledge of French Novels Made Into Musicals and Movies

Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions and more. This week’s challenge is focused on globally popular French novels that went on to become big-screen adventures — and more. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and some of their filmed versions.

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Culture

Try to Match These Snarky Quotations to Their Novels and Stories

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Try to Match These Snarky Quotations to Their Novels and Stories

Welcome to Literary Quotable Quotes, a quiz that challenges you to match a book’s memorable lines with its title. This week’s installment is focused on bold observations made by characters from assorted novels and short stories. In the five multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to the books themselves if you want to get a copy and see that quotation in context.

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Culture

16 Mayors on What It’s Like to Run a U.S. City Now Under Trump

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16 Mayors on What It’s Like to Run a U.S. City Now Under Trump

It is no ordinary time to lead a city. Budgets are in flux. Divisions are deepening. Political violence and misinformation are growing concerns. And as President Trump aggressively pursues his agenda, national politics are becoming an inescapable reality in city halls.

The New York Times sat down last month with 16 mayors at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Tampa, Fla. We asked them many of the same questions. Their answers revealed deep, bipartisan uncertainty over federal funding and concerns about rising incivility. Mayors of some of the nation’s largest cities, including New York and Los Angeles, did not attend.

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Some Republican mayors spoke hopefully about this new Trump era. Many others, especially Democrats, who hold the majority of big-city mayoral jobs, voiced alarm about how the administration’s policies were playing out.

Here’s what we heard.

Across party lines, this one issue was a persistent concern.

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Americans have been telling their mayors that they are worried about everyday costs and struggling to afford a place to live.

With home prices rising and supply limited, several mayors said they were trying to build more units and meet demand. It was a challenge playing out in nearly every city, with young professionals struggling to buy their first houses and growing homeless populations straining city services.

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Mayors told us what else was keeping them up at night.

They described spending significant time outside the office worrying about local and national problems. As the mayor of Noblesville, Ind., put it: “My job is not nine to five. I’m mayor regardless of where I am.”

Some described the fear of receiving a phone call with news of another shooting. Others spoke about wanting to fix endemic issues like homelessness and drug addiction.

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Governing a city feels different under President Trump, most mayors said.

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Mayor Chris Jensen (R)

Noblesville, Ind.

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Mayor Donna Deegan (D)

Jacksonville, Fla.

Mayor Jerry Dyer (R)

Fresno, Calif.

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Mayor Regina Romero (D)

Tucson, Ariz.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan (D)

Albany, N.Y.

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Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D)

Alexandria, Va.

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Mayor Mattie Parker (R)

Fort Worth

With the Trump administration seeking to rapidly overhaul parts of the federal government, mayors from both parties described uncertainty over the fate of federal grants and other programs that Republicans in Washington have targeted.

Many Democrats said they had strong relationships with former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s staff members and had not yet built those same connections with Mr. Trump’s team. Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, whose city has been singled out for criticism by Mr. Trump, said that “the very basic fundamental rights of our democracy are under siege.”

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Some Republicans described optimism about working with the new president, and not all of them had seen major changes. Mayor D.C. Reeves of Pensacola, Fla., said that “it’s probably too early to say that there’s a distinct difference.” Mayor Acquanetta Warren of Fontana, Calif., said it was “not at all” different. “We work with anyone,” she said.

We also asked whether mayors had changed their routines because of political violence.

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Several mayors said they had taken additional steps to ensure their safety since the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband in June and other recent attacks. But political violence, many of them noted, was not new. Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson, a Democrat, pointed to the attempted assassination of Representative Gabby Giffords in her city in 2011.

And Mayor Indya Kincannon of Knoxville, a Democrat, said she had been inside a local church with her young daughters when a gunman opened fire in 2008, killing two people, in an attack linked to hatred of liberals and gay people. She remembered escaping with her daughters. “I picked them up and left as soon as the gunman was tackled,” she said.

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Mayor Todd Gloria (D)

San Diego

“It’s a difficult time for people in public office, and when we see the tragedy that just happened in Minnesota, you always have to wonder, you know, am I next?”

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portrait of Brandon Johnson

Mayor Brandon Johnson (D)

Chicago

“No. But what I can say is with the political violence that has been promulgating, there’s no place for it.”

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portrait of Alyia Gaskins

Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D)

Alexandria, Va.

“I have. I would say in light of recent violence, I’m much more aware of my surroundings and also those of my family.”

portrait of Kathy Sheehan

Mayor Kathy Sheehan (D)

Albany, N.Y.

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“For those of us who are elected officials, it is an uneasy time.”

portrait of Jerry Dyer

Mayor Jerry Dyer (R)

Fresno, Calif.

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“As a former police chief and spending 40 years in law enforcement, I’m keenly aware of the fact that there’s always a potential for a threat of violence against you, but it doesn’t mean that we’re always constantly aware of that threat. But I have become much more alert as of late in terms of my surroundings.”

portrait of Quentin Hart

Mayor Quentin Hart (D)

Waterloo, Iowa

“One of the things that we’ve done immediately was to take more precautions within City Hall.”

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Mayor Brett Smiley (D)

Providence, R.I.

“I haven’t made changes to how I interact with my community, but I will admit that my stress and anxiety level is up a little bit higher.”

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Mayor D.C. Reeves (R)

Pensacola, Fla.

“Nothing permanent yet, but I’m certainly watching it.”

Immigration enforcement is creating fear in many cities, too.

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Mayors from both parties called on the federal government to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws.

“You couldn’t talk to a mayor who doesn’t want immigration reform,” said Mayor Kathy Sheehan of Albany, a Democrat. “We want Washington to fix this.”

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But as the Trump administration works to increase deportations and remove legal status for some immigrants, mayors said that some in their cities were living in constant fear of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson (D)

Chicago

Mayor Acquanetta Warren (R)

Fontana, Calif.

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Mayor Brett Smiley (D)

Providence, R.I.

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Mayor D.C. Reeves (R)

Pensacola, Fla.

Mayor Quentin Hart (D)

Waterloo, Iowa

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Mayor Jerry Dyer (R)

Fresno, Calif.

Mayor Regina Romero (D)

Tucson, Ariz.

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Mayor Mattie Parker (R)

Fort Worth

Mayors also pointed to local programs that could be national models.

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portrait of Chris Jensen

Mayor Chris Jensen (R)

Noblesville, Ind.

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“I had a local therapist approach me and ask, ‘Hey, would you go on Facebook and do a live therapy session to talk about what it’s like to be a leader during Covid?’ Of course, my initial answer was, ‘Absolutely not, I don’t want to go share my emotions with my community.’”

“But I ended up relenting and doing it. It was one of the best things I ever did. It was literally an hourlong therapy session talking about my feelings, about being a leader during such an uncertain time. That project has morphed into, now, a monthly program called ‘Mental Health Monday.’”

He added: “We have now comforted a community and a city and shown that it’s OK to not be OK.”

portrait of Acquanetta Warren

Mayor Acquanetta Warren (R)

Fontana, Calif.

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“Right now, the biggest challenge in our city is homelessness. That’s what our public is looking to see us resolve, so we’re on steroids doing that. We just bought a hotel last year, which allows us to put people off the street in an environment where they can get major assistance to transform their lives.”

portrait of Regina Romero

Mayor Regina Romero (D)

Tucson, Ariz.

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“We’ve planted more than 150,000 trees in the last six years. We created a heat tree map where we take a look at the areas of our city that have less canopy. Because trees are a nature-based solution to heat and climate.”

portrait of Todd Gloria

Mayor Todd Gloria (D)

San Diego

“Last year, despite high interest rates and high inflation, we permitted about 8,800 new homes in my city, more than double what we’ve been doing historically. The reforms that we’re putting in place to make it possible to build more homes for less and to build them faster is working.”

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We wanted to know what policy change under Trump was having the biggest impact, too.

We spoke to the mayors before Congress passed Mr. Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill. They told us they had spent months bracing for severe cuts to federal funding for local programs, though many of their worst-case fears had not materialized at that point.

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Some described the pausing of grants while the Trump administration re-evaluated previously approved projects, leaving cities in limbo. In places where the local economy is highly dependent on international trade, mayors voiced concern about the uncertainty around tariffs.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson (D)

Chicago

Mayor Todd Gloria (D)

San Diego

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Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D)

Alexandria, Va.

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Mayor Brett Smiley (D)

Providence, R.I.

Mayor Chris Jensen (R)

Noblesville, Ind.

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Mayor D.C. Reeves (R)

Pensacola, Fla.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson (D)

Milwaukee

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And mayors told us what they had learned about the United States in the last year.

Both Republicans and Democrats said the depth of the country’s political divisions had become even more clear in recent months. Some Democrats said they were still processing Mr. Trump’s return to power and what it means for the country’s future.

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Mayor Todd Gloria (D)

San Diego

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Mayor Daniel Rickenmann (R)

Columbia, S.C.

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Mayor Regina Romero (D)

Tucson, Ariz.

Mayor Jerry Dyer (R)

Fresno, Calif.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson (D)

Chicago

Mayor D.C. Reeves (R)

Pensacola, Fla.

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Mayor Indya Kincannon (D)

Knoxville, Tenn.

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Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D)

Alexandria, Va.

We also asked some lighter questions, like which TV or streaming show they liked best.

Mayors also revealed their favorite after-work beverages.

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Many mayors were eager to plug local craft breweries. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann of Columbia gave a shout-out to the Kentucky distillery that he cofounded. Others preferred a particular soft drink.

We asked them to brag about their cities’ signature dishes, too.

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They boasted about a Friday night fish fry in Milwaukee, fish tacos in San Diego and Mexican food in Fresno and Fontana. Knoxville’s mayor suggested “meat and three,” the local term for meat and three side dishes, while Pensacola’s mayor highlighted his city’s seafood.

Two mayors shared different theories on hot dogs. And two Midwestern mayors boasted about their pork tenderloins.

Their bookshelves are also as varied as their cities.

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When asked about the best book they had read recently, mayors shared a range of fiction and nonfiction titles.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins of Alexandria said much of her reading time was spent with her young children, who enjoy “Little Blue Truck” and “Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.” The mayors of Fontana, Knoxville and San Diego all praised “Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.

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portrait of Jerry Dyer

Mayor Jerry Dyer (R)

Fresno, Calif.

“One Blood” by John M. Perkins

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Mayor Kathy Sheehan (D)

Albany, N.Y.

“A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles

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Mayor Donna Deegan (D)

Jacksonville, Fla.

“The Wisdom Pattern” by Richard Rohr

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Mayor D.C. Reeves (R)

Pensacola, Fla.

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“A Land Remembered” by Patrick D. Smith. “It’s a novel, but it’s kind of on the history of Florida.”

portrait of Brandon Johnson

Mayor Brandon Johnson (D)

Chicago

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“Locking Up Our Own” by James Forman Jr. “I recommend that people across America take a look at it, particularly at a time in which the carceral state is something that’s being enacted, especially by this federal government.”

portrait of Daniel Rickenmann

Mayor Daniel Rickenmann (R)

Columbia, S.C.

“Rockets’ Red Glare” by William Webster and Dick Lochte

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portrait of Quentin Hart

Mayor Quentin Hart (D)

Waterloo, Iowa

“The 1619 Project” by Nikole Hannah-Jones, who is from Waterloo. Also “Anesa, No Skola Today” by Anesa Kajtazovic, a children’s book about growing up during the Bosnian War.

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portrait of Chris Jensen

Mayor Chris Jensen (R)

Noblesville, Ind.

“The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson. “It’s all about big prayers, big bold ideas.”

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Mayor Brett Smiley (D)

Providence, R.I.

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“A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. “Probably the saddest book I’ve ever read, but it was really, really, really well written and wonderful.”

portrait of Regina Romero

Mayor Regina Romero (D)

Tucson, Ariz.

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“The Teenage Brain” by Dr. Frances E. Jensen. “That really has helped me understand my teenagers and why they do the things they do.”

portrait of Mattie Parker

Mayor Mattie Parker (R)

Fort Worth

“On Leadership” by Tony Blair. “It’s incredibly thought provoking as a leader. I probably should have read it at the beginning of my administration, but I’ve learned quite a bit.”

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portrait of Cavalier Johnson

Mayor Cavalier Johnson (D)

Milwaukee

I’m reading it right now: ‘A Promised Land’ by Barack Obama. I’m a little behind because I’m mayor and I’ve got three kids, but I’m making up for it now.”

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Finally, we wanted to know what gave mayors hope for the United States.

Across party lines, mayors spoke about frightening political divisions, seemingly intractable problems and serious fears about the future. But most also voiced optimism about the country, drawing hope from America’s history and especially from the people they meet in their own cities.

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