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Holiday-thin calendars did not stop big moves from landing across Washington, markets, and the war in Europe.

A landmark chipmaking deal reshaped the U.S. industrial playbook, a revised peace framework sharpened the next phase of Ukraine diplomacy, and the Supreme Court stepped into a fight over domestic military power.

You’ll also see quick hits on Latin American politics, jobless claims, vaccines, and the Christmas box office.

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A new Intel equity deal put the U.S. government in the unusual position of owning close to 10% of a major chipmaker. Fresh cash, new partnerships, and layoffs have already reshaped Intel’s near-term roadmap.

Policy now sits inside the balance sheet, with national-security goals tied to factory execution and customer wins. Market confidence can shift faster than fabs can, so the outcome could influence how Washington funds strategic industries next.

A newly released 20-point proposal signaled Ukraine and the U.S. are aligning on a tighter framework for negotiations. Security guarantees, governance mechanics, and reconstruction financing moved to the center of the draft.

Territory and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain unresolved, keeping the hardest issues on the table. Momentum matters because election-year politics and battlefield realities can narrow the window for any diplomatic package.

A rare high-level check on executive power arrived when a Supreme Court action kept an injunction in place blocking a National Guard deployment tied to protests near Chicago. Lower-court rulings found the legal threshold for federalizing troops was not met.

Domestic use of military forces has become a front-line constitutional test with spillover effects in multiple cities. Future rulings could redefine how quickly presidents can move from law enforcement to uniformed force at home.

Ankara hosted Hamas talks focused on moving a ceasefire framework into its next stage as humanitarian needs and enforcement claims collide. Regional diplomacy is tightening because each delay raises the risk of renewed violence and wider spillover.

A U.S. message urging parties to accept Honduras’ vote outcome follows fraud allegations and logistical disruptions. Central America matters for U.S. border policy because political instability often accelerates migration pressure.

A New Year’s message to Kim Jong Un, carried by North Korean state media, underscores an active Moscow–Pyongyang channel. Sanctions enforcement and security planning in Asia get harder when coordination deepens across isolated states.

New filings dipped in the latest weekly claims report while more people stayed on benefits. That split picture matters because sustained continuing claims can signal slower job finding even when headline layoffs look contained.

A Bristol facility blast triggered a mass rescue that pulled more than 100 residents from smoke and debris. Safety questions will sharpen fast if investigators tie the cause to infrastructure failures or unresolved gas-leak warnings.

A Christmas draw produced one of the richest U.S. jackpots after weeks without a winner. Lottery-fueled spending spikes matter for state revenues and consumer behavior, even as odds remain vanishingly small.

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Japan’s new forecast and stimulus push in Japan outlook highlighted how trade policy assumptions shape budgets. U.S. businesses feel the downstream effects through exchange rates, component costs, and overseas demand.

A broader global snapshot showed metals touching records alongside equity gains. Strong gold prices can signal both optimism about rate cuts and lingering unease about geopolitics.

A holiday-shortened close pushed major benchmarks higher as U.S. stocks set fresh marks. Light volume can exaggerate moves, leaving price signals noisy heading into year-end rebalancing.

A widening CDC-linked outbreak sickened dozens across many states and sent more than a dozen people to hospitals. Traceback work will determine which harvest areas and distributors face recalls.

A medical-policy angle landed in a climate-and-migration analysis focused on health risks for migrant children across the Americas. Research linking climate shocks to pediatric health burdens can shape U.S. border planning, hospital preparedness, and disaster policy.

New findings in a brain-activity study suggest prescription stimulants improve performance by boosting alertness and task engagement. Fresh evidence could influence how clinicians talk about benefits and side effects for families weighing treatment.

A full-day lineup arrives with five showcase games spanning contenders and new rivalries. Big-stage matchups can shift award narratives and trade chatter before the season’s midpoint.

A late swap set up Josh Johnson starting for the Commanders on Christmas Day. Quarterback volatility can swing playoff odds fast, especially with injuries piling up late in the season.

Las Vegas moved key players to season-ending injured reserve in a roster update. Hard injury decisions late in the year often foreshadow offseason strategy at coach, quarterback, and cap positions.

A fresh year-end studio tally put Disney over a major global benchmark. Franchise economics matter because budgets, release calendars, and streaming strategies often follow holiday performance.

A new film leans into the cruelty of adolescent hierarchies in bullying thriller. Stories about youth culture matter because they shape how audiences talk about parenting, schools, and mental health.

A newly approved antibody aims at a specific immune pathway after Yartemlea’s green light for TA-TMA. For hospitals, real-world outcomes will determine how fast the drug becomes standard in transplant units.

Wall Street closed at record highs as a holiday-thinned session pushed indexes into the year-end “Santa rally” window, extending optimism around growth and easing financial conditions after a record close. Momentum has been powered by a familiar mix: resilient consumer demand, better-than-feared inflation prints, and the belief that the next phase of rate cuts will keep the discount rate low enough to justify premium valuations.

Attention is already shifting to 2026, with strategists arguing that the single biggest variable is whether AI capex turns into broad-based earnings growth rather than a narrow megacap story, as outlined in the 2026 outlook. Concentration risk matters because a small leadership group can pull indexes higher even while large parts of the market lag, leaving performance vulnerable if one theme disappoints.

Rate expectations sit at the center of that vulnerability, since high-multiple growth stocks depend more on the path of real yields than on today’s headlines, making every inflation and labor report a potential reset button after the holiday glow. Thin liquidity around year-end can amplify that sensitivity, so a modest data surprise can trigger outsized moves before new capital returns in January.

What to watch next is less about one datapoint and more about alignment: corporate guidance that supports spending plans, evidence that productivity gains are spreading beyond AI builders, and a Fed path that stays credible without stoking renewed inflation fears. January’s earnings season and early-year macro releases will test whether the rally is durable or simply seasonal, with the market’s “good news” bar rising as records pile up.

A Christmas draw turned an Arkansas ticket into a historic $1.8 billion win.

Southern California faced evacuation orders as mudslides and flash floods threatened holiday travel routes.

A salmonella probe urged diners to think twice about raw shells as the CDC tracked an oyster-linked outbreak.

Thanks for reading Five Minute Daily, and keep an eye out for fast-moving updates as holiday schedules thin out. Share this edition and subscribe at Five Minute Daily to get tomorrow’s briefing.

—The Five Minute Daily Team