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.
The Trump administration imposed visa restrictions Tuesday on five Europeans the State Department accused of leading "efforts to coerce American platforms to censor" or "suppress" U.S. viewpoints they oppose.
The big picture: Among those now barred from entering the U.S. is former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, whom under secretary of state for public diplomacy Sarah Rogers on X called "a mastermind of the Digital Services Act," which imposes requirements on social media platforms, including content moderation.
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.
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.
Medicare in January will begin AI-powered pre-treatment reviews for select health services in a major policy change that's aimed at rooting out unnecessary care — but alarming providers.
Why it matters: While the change covers only 17 treatments or procedures in a handful of states, it marks a major shift for a program that's historically required very little prior authorization.
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.
