Keeping up with national politics this year hasn’t been easy. Even amid a government shutdown, so much is happening in Washington, at such a rapid clip and such a high pitch, that a browser of The New York Times’ homepage could be forgiven for giving up and clicking straight through to Spelling Bee. But what if keeping up is your job? What if you are, say, a comedy writer tasked with translating the week’s headlines into fodder for a 90-minute live variety show? Saturday Night Live seems to have found its solution: Dump it all into the cold open.

This week’s news cycle encompassed a seeming rebuke of Donald Trump at the ballot box, massive flight cancellations three weeks before Thanksgiving, and the expiration of food-stamp benefits nationwide. And then on Thursday, after most of the sho

See Full Page