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Sign of Weakening Economy Under Trump: US Consumer Delinquencies Jump to Highest in Almost a Decade (Bloomberg)
Delinquency rates on loans ranging from mortgages to credit cards rose to 4.8% of all outstanding US household debt in the fourth quarter, the highest level since 2017, driven by higher defaults among low-income and young borrowers.
While the overall share of loans in some stage of default is near pre-pandemic averages, the rise in delinquencies among the lowest earners adds to evidence of an increasingly bifurcated economy, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released Tuesday showed.
Consumer Pullback: US Retail Sales Unexpectedly Stalled to Close Holiday Season (Bloomberg)
US retail sales unexpectedly stalled in December, suggesting consumers provided less firepower for the economy as the year drew to a close.
The disappointing figures indicate the burst of activity at the start of the holiday-shopping season proved to be short-lived. Households remain frustrated over a high cost of living and worried about the job market.
FBI Breakthrough: Masked Person Came to Nancy Guthrie’s Doorstep Before Disappearance, Videos Show (New York Times)
New images and videos released on Tuesday showed a masked, armed person at Nancy Guthrie’s doorstep on the night she was abducted, the first significant break in the search for the 84-year-old mother of the “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.
The black-and-white footage released by the F.B.I. and Pima County Sheriff’s Department depicts a person wearing a ski mask, gloves, a backpack and what appears to be a holstered handgun outside of Ms. Guthrie’s home, just north of Tucson. Investigators said the person was armed.
A man was detained during a traffic stop by investigators looking into the disappearance of Guthrie, but has been released this morning after questioning.
The videos are the strongest pieces of evidence yet that might help identify a suspect in the abduction of Guthrie, as the search enters its eleventh day.
Watch the video footage here.
Tragedy in Canada: Shootings at School and Home in British Columbia Leave 10 Dead Including Suspect (Associated Press)
A shooting at a school in the remote town of Tumbler Ridge in northern British Columbia left seven people dead, while two more were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said Tuesday. A woman believed by police to be the shooter was also found dead, apparently from a self-inflicted wound.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people are injured, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Burning Bridges: Trump Threatens to Block Opening of New Bridge to Canada (New York Times)
President Trump threatened to block the opening of a new bridge between the United States and Canada if Canadian officials did not address a long and growing list of grievances, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Trump said that he would “not allow”
the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, scheduled to open early this year for traffic between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.”
North American Uncertainty: Trump Privately Weighs Quitting USMCA Trade Pact He Negotiated (Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump is privately musing about exiting the North American trade pact, people familiar with the matter said, injecting further uncertainty about the deal’s future into pivotal renegotiations involving the US, Canada and Mexico.
Elections Watch: Republicans Are Pushing to Drastically Change the Way Americans Cast Ballots (Washington Post)
As President Trump calls for sweeping changes to election law — including saying that Republicans should “take over the voting” — Republicans in Congress are planning to vote this week on the SAVE America Act, which would make massive changes to how Americans vote ahead of November’s midterms.
Trump and Republicans say this would make voters feel more confident there’s no fraud in federal elections.
But there’s no evidence of widespread election fraud. There is evidence, say some nonpartisan elections experts, that this bill could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters by requiring new voters to provide documents that tens of millions of US citizens lack immediate access to.
Power Struggle: Europe’s Resentment Grows Over Trump’s Newest Provocations (Politico)
Bad feelings across Europe have only deepened as President Trump and other administration officials have, in ways large and small, continued to poke politicians and entire populations in the proverbial eye.
The provocations come as European officials prepare
for the Munich Security Conference this weekend where key topics will include the transatlantic relationship and whether the continent can stand on its own without Washington’s help.
On
the Warfront: Russia Nears Capture of Key Ukrainian Towns After Year of Grinding Assaults (New York Times)
Russia appears poised to complete the capture of three strategic areas in the coming weeks or months, according to military experts and independent battlefield monitors.
Capturing all three areas — the town of Huliaipole in the southeast and the cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad,
about 60 miles northeast — would give Russia an urban foothold to base troops and organize logistics for future offensives, as well as new leverage in U.S.-mediated peace talks.
Fragile Diplomacy: New Iran Deal Distant Prospect as US Talks Drag, Airstrikes Loom (Bloomberg)
The US and Iran each struck a positive tone about the start of diplomatic talks, though analysts remain skeptical that the engagement will be enough to head off US airstrikes.
Over the weekend, Iran continued its crackdown
on dissidents, risking Trump’s ire after he held back on strikes due to Iranian assurances that it would halt protester executions. On Monday, the US warned American vessels to steer clear of Iranian waters, spooking oil markets and renewing the prospect of conflict.
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Bidding War: Paramount Sweetens Warner Bros. Bid Terms to Woo Investors (Bloomberg)
Paramount Skydance Corp. made enhancements to its hostile offer for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., addressing some of the company’s concerns in an effort to thwart a rival deal with Netflix Inc.
Paramount said in a statement on Tuesday it will cover the $2.8 billion termination fee that Warner Bros. will have to pay to Netflix if it ends the already agreed-upon deal with the streaming giant. It will also backstop a Warner Bros. debt refinancing and pay $1.5 billion in fees associated with that, if necessary.
Filling the Gap: New York Joins WHO Network After Trump Pulls US from UN Agency (Axios)
New York has joined the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network following President Trump's decision
to withdraw the U.S. from the UN's global health agency, per a Tuesday announcement from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
New York is the third state to join
the global health organization's network dedicated to monitoring and responding to disease outbreaks, following Illinois and California.
Olympic Watch: Day 4 Brings Surprise Podiums and Must-Watch Matchups, With Figure Skating and Hockey Taking Center Stage Today (New York Times - The Athletic)
Day 4 of the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics delivered nine gold medals and several momentum-shifting performances as competition intensified across the Games. Sweden and Norway each claimed two golds, while the United States continued to stack podium finishes across disciplines.
In mixed doubles curling, Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa edged the US duo of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin 6–5 for gold, with the Americans taking silver — a historic result that made Thiesse the first US woman to medal in Olympic curling.
Alpine skiing produced a surprise in the women’s combined, where Americans Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan stunned favorites Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson to capture bronze.
The US added silver medals from Alex Hall in men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle and Ben Ogden in cross-country skiing — the country’s first podium finish in the event in 50 years — while Ashley Farquharson earned bronze in luge. Elsewhere, Slovenia won gold in the mixed team ski jumping event, and Germany’s Julia Taubitz topped the podium in women’s luge singles.
Off the podium, the US women’s hockey team dominated rival Canada with a decisive 5–0 win to finish the preliminary round undefeated and secure the top spot in Group A.
In figure skating, American Ilia Malinin delivered a statement performance in the men’s singles short program, scoring a commanding 108.16 to take the lead ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa.
Here are the current medal counts, as of today at 6 AM ET:
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