Santa Claus is coming to town — and he's down with the digital age.
The big picture: The old Santa model consisted of a long line of tiny tots waiting for a camera, a chair and a photo op. The mall Santa still exists, but the modern Saint Nick also meets families where they are.
Here are the titles headlining Peacock, Netflix and Hulu for Christmas week.
What we're watching: A star-studded spy series and new seasons of "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch" and "The Wonderfully Weird World Of Gumball."
Just a few years ago, Santa Claus literally couldn't come to town: Headlines warned of too few St. Nick lookalikes available to make appearances at malls, stores, office parties and private gatherings.
Recent anecdotes suggest that demand for Santas has become more Grinch-like, mirroring what's happening for temporary workers broadly.
Why it matters: Not even a Christmas season icon can dodge the labor market's woes.
The big picture: Many retailers are operating with reduced hours on Christmas Eve and will be closed on Christmas Day, including Walmart, Best Buy and Macy's. Store and curbside pickup hours can vary by location.
Last-minute holiday shoppers will find fewer options Wednesday, as most grocery stores shorten hours on Christmas Eve and some close earlier than usual.
Why it matters: Christmas Eve is one of the busiest grocery shopping days of the year — and also one of the most limited.
The Trump administration will begin to garnish wages from student loan borrowers who are in default next month, the Department of Education confirmed on Tuesday.
The big picture: The stepped-up collection effort follows several moves this year that will make things more difficult for holders of student loans.
Driving the news: The Department of Education has said for months now that it will begin to forcibly seize pay from borrowers, and it's set to begin the week of Jan. 7.
The department will start to notify about 1,000 defaulted borrowers of plans to withhold some of their wages, a spokesperson told Axios in a statement.
Notices will increase "in scale on a month-to-month basis," the department said.
What they're saying: "This Administration's decision to garnish wages from defaulted student loan borrowers is cruel, unnecessary and irresponsible," Persis Yu, deputy executive director of the advocacy group Protect Borrowers, said in a statement.
State of play: After a five-year penalty pause, the 5.3 million borrowers in default could now see their wages garnished if they don't resume payments.
All student loan collections activities "are required under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and conducted only after student and parent borrowers have been provided sufficient notice and opportunity to repay their loans," the department said.
Yes, but: TheConsumer Credit Protection Act limits how much of a worker's pay can be garnished at a time.
For "ordinary garnishments" — those not for support, bankruptcy or any state or federal tax — "the weekly amount may not exceed the lesser of two figures: 25% of the employee's disposable earnings, or the amount by which an employee's disposable earnings are greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage," per the Department of Labor.
By the numbers: Credit reporting agency TransUnion reported in September that 29% of borrowers — or 5.4 million people — were delinquent on their loans in June, meaning that they had not made a payment in at least 90 days.
That's down slightly from a record high of 31% in April.
About42.7 million borrowers owe more than $1.6 trillion in federal student debt, according to the Department of Education.
What we're watching: The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law in July, cuts the number of repayment plan choices that federal student loan borrowers have down to two from five.
The law phases out the SAVE plan, which 8 million loan holders were enrolled in as of October 2024, per the Brookings Institution.
Most stores and restaurants go dark on Christmas Day, leaving only a slim lineup for essentials, meals and caffeine fixes.
Why it matters: Last-minute shoppers and those looking to dine out will have few options for forgotten Christmas cookie ingredients, medication or a place to eat — and hours can vary widely by location.
Hot, hot, hot: That might be the most succinct way to describe the U.S. economy in the third quarter.
Why it matters: Economic activity expanded at a blistering 4.3% annualized pace in the July-through-September quarter, even better than the already-strong growth analysts had penciled in.
The U.S. economy expanded at a4.3% annualized pace in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report Tuesday that had been delayed by the government shutdown.
Why it matters: Despite consumers' low marks on the Trump economy, growth is booming, helped by stronger consumer spending and AI investment.
Gold and silver prices, which have been on fire all year, surged Monday to record highs.
Why it matters: The rallies in gold and silver, and in other precious metals, are seen in large part as an investor response to ongoing global tensions, including the recent pressure the U.S. is putting on Venezuela.
How do you pick the winners among the AI tech stocks? One school of thought is that you want companies with strong ties to OpenAI.
The big picture: For investors, this is a risk/reward scenario with little in the way of precedent. If OpenAI succeeds with its AI ambitions, riches could rain down upon its tech company partners.
Waymo is facing mounting questions about why its robotaxis stopped operating and blocked traffic during a chaotic weekend power outage in San Francisco that knocked out traffic signals and cellular networks.
Why it matters: Malfunctioning traffic lights should be a routine problem for self-driving cars, but the incident exposed the potential safety risks when robotaxis lose contact with their remote human overlords.
In a natural disaster, like an earthquake, flood or fire, hundreds of frozen robotaxis could block emergency responders, putting lives at risk.
The window for last-minute Christmas shopping is narrowing — both in stores and online.
The big picture: Christmas Eve brings reduced hours for most retailers, followed by full store closings on Christmas Day for many of the nation's largest chains, including Walmart, Best Buy and Macy's.
