Government shutdown, Putin, the $10 holiday shopping and Hollywood’s pivot
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Today, Congress fails to pass a federal spending bill. They have till midnight to avoid a government shutdown. Vladimir Putin's signaling he's open to peace talks on Ukraine, but also warning of missile duels with the West. And how Hollywood's pivoting to reconnect with blue-collar and conservative Americans.

It's Friday, December 20th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oakes in Liverpool. And I'm Christopher Waljasper in Chicago.

Congress has, for the second time this week, failed to pass a federal spending bill that would stave off a government shutdown ahead of the holidays. President-elect Donald Trump nixed the first bipartisan deal, setting the stage for a partial shutdown beginning at midnight tonight. TSA agents at airports around the U.S. and Border Patrol agents are just some of the federal workers who might suddenly be without a paycheck.

Our political correspondent, Beau Erickson, was at the Capitol. So one new element in this second round plan was to raise the debt limit for two additional years. And this was an ask by President-elect Trump. However, it was raising that debt limit threshold that ultimately sank the bill for many conservatives. That is something that they could not put their name behind.

And ultimately, what does this tell us about President-elect Trump's relationship with Congress and his own party members? I think this is proving already to be a wild card here for the second Trump administration. What we will be watching for is whether more Republicans fall in line with President-elect Donald Trump's plans.

for funding the government because he did weigh in and said if Republicans are not supporting these plans, then he thinks that they should be primaried in the next election against them. But as we saw the votes last night on the floor, there were more Republicans who went against their own party than even some of the most outspoken members were predicting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's ready to compromise on Ukraine in possible talks with US President-elect Donald Trump.

Speaking at an hours-long press conference with journalists and citizen callers, Putin spoke of missile duels with the United States, a meeting with Trump, as well as Syria's ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, and inflation overheating Russia's economy. Reporter Jonathan Landay is in Washington covering Putin's remarks.

Mr. Putin said while he was ready to compromise in possible talks with President-elect Donald Trump and had no conditions for starting talks with Ukrainian authorities, he made clear, at least for now, that those authorities do not include Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he says has not been re-elected to another term. Now, what he leaves unsaid, at least in these comments, are...

whether or not he is dropping the conditions that he has long had for such talks. And those conditions include Ukraine surrendering to Russia what's left of the territories that Russia is occupying. He also says Ukraine cannot join NATO and must remain neutral.

So Putin's comments were varied, right? At one point he sounded maybe ready to negotiate. The next he was talking about a missile duel with the U.S. Is there any sort of tactic to Putin's rhetoric? The fact is that he painted the war in Ukraine as a success. And yet, according to U.S. and British officials, Russia

Russia has lost, in casualties and dead, more than a half million men. Moreover, we are approaching the third anniversary of this war, and it shows no signs of abating at this point. The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson has been arraigned on federal charges of murder and stalking. Luigi Mangione also faces state charges of murder and terrorism in New York.

Federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty for the federal murder charge, a punishment that's been abolished in New York state for decades. Top officials from the Biden administration are in Damascus today to meet new Syrian authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Hasham. That's according to the State Department and marks the first official meeting between Washington and Syria's de facto new rulers.

A Georgia appeals court has disqualified Fulton County DA Fannie Willis from the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump. In a two-to-one ruling, the appeals court in Atlanta found that a romantic relationship between Willis and a former top deputy, Nathan Wade, created a, quote, significant appearance of impropriety. Any idea of the price tag for some of the more sought-after toys or gifts this holiday season?

Surprisingly, it's $10 or less. Target and Walmart are stocking shelves with more toys and gifts like Barbie dolls and Old Spice Holla Dude's body wash, hoping to reel in cost-conscious shoppers.

Jessica DiNapoli has been looking into the strategy. Consumers are very worn out from years of inflation, which hurts lower income people the most. People are cash strapped and having to pay more for basics. Data shows that people earning less than 50 grand a year are increasing their spending by only a little bit from last year. And

Their spending has lagged behind middle and upper income people. So retailers who are already facing a lackluster holiday season need lower income consumers to come in and shop. So why is $10 the magical price point? A expert explained to me that $10 basically has psychological power. It's low enough to...

that you can buy something new at $10. And if it doesn't work out, it's not going to break your bank. And if you've got toys on the brain right now with all this holiday shopping, listen to this week's episode of Econ World, where Carmel Crimmins hears about how America's toy makers are preparing for Trump 2.0. It's out now wherever you get your podcasts, and there's a link in the pod description.

As we look ahead to the new year, Hollywood is preparing a shift in the type of films and TV series that'll hit the big screens or streaming next year. And as our entertainment reporter Don Chmielewski has been reporting, producers are looking into some well-trod genres, hoping for box office wins.

So Hollywood has looked at the success of Western-focused series like Yellowstone, which actually attracted nearly four times the audience of a series like Succession. And they looked at it as perhaps signaling the audience's desire for a different type of story that sees people outspoken.

outside of coastal America. And another note that the industry observed was the surprising commercial success of a film called Sound of Freedom, which was a 2023 thriller based on the story of a homeland security agent who rescues kids from sex trafficking. It was a movie that really caught on with conservative audiences and those in the religious community. So the studio saw this as signaling an interest in a kind of content that they weren't providing.

Now, it feels notable that we're seeing this shift in programming right after the 2024 presidential election.

Does this coincide with what we're seeing politically? Yeah, Hollywood executives are sort of flinching when I suggest that perhaps this is in reaction to the election. Rather, they see it as a validation of a programming strategy, that there are parts of this country that are interested in different types of storytelling. They want to see themselves reflected.

in the same way that Hollywood reflects other populations in its storytelling. There are others within the creative community who worry that perhaps certain types of stories will no longer be told.

One executive shared an email in which a project was deemed too political. Another showrunner was in the process of closing a deal for a series that had a diverse cast. And the day after election, the project was canceled. Now, it could well have been a coincidence of timing, but that is not how this showrunner interpreted what transpired. Today's Recommended Read is actually a Recommended Listen.

This weekend's special episode of Reuters World News is all about the weight loss drugs that have gained in popularity in recent years. Our healthcare reporters share what they've learned, how the drugs are covered, and the impact of these new treatments on society. And that special episode will be out tomorrow. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app.

Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. And we'll be back on Monday with our daily headline show.