US government shutdown looms

House Speaker Mike Johnson's future hangs in the balance.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas The US House of Representatives rejected a Trump-backed bill that would have extended government funding. The clock is now ticking for a disruptive shutdown. Today, we also look at Ukraine's vast war data trove to train AI models and Europe's dream of developing its own EV batteries. Plus, each country that Reuters covered in 2024, captured in just one image. The Daily Briefing is taking a break for the holidays. We are back on Jan. 2 – but keep an eye out for a special edition on Dec. 31. Today's Top News   Government could partly shut down on Saturday without action. REUTERS/Loren Elliott United States A spending bill backed by Donald Trump failed in the House of Representatives as dozens of Republicans defied the president-elect, leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown. Here is a guide to what would stay open and what would shut down. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson's future hangs in the balance as he scrambles for a funding deal. On today's Reuters World News podcast, Correspondent Bo Erickson explains how this vote lays bare fault lines in the Republican party.  Middle East Top diplomats from the Biden administration are in Damascus to meet new Syrian authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a State Department spokesperson said. It is the first in-person and official meeting between Washington and Syria's de-facto new rulers. Nine Palestinian Americans sued the US government, alleging that it had failed to rescue them or members of their families who were trapped in Gaza where Israel's war has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to cement his goals. In other news As the future of warfare pivots towards AI, we have a piece looking at how Ukraine is sitting on a valuable resource: millions of hours of footage from drones which can be used to train AI models to make decisions on the battlefield. Follow the latest on the war here. Indian militant groups that took refuge in Myanmar and fought in its civil war have been streaming back across the border to Manipur state this year, security officers said, inflaming the bitter 19-month ethnic conflict there with weapons and battle-hardened cadres. Residents of a Mayotte neighborhood damaged by Cyclone Chido heckled French President Emmanuel Macron when he toured it today, complaining that food and water had not reached them nearly a week after the storm hit the archipelago. Business & Markets   Northvolt's financial collapse has not entirely crushed Europe's dream of developing its own electric vehicle batteries but fulfilling it is likely to require Chinese cash and expertise, according to interviews with a dozen executives, investors and analysts. As the threat of US tariffs forces countries to diversify their options for exports, Brazil expects the South American trade bloc Mercosur to speed up more free trade negotiations after clinching a deal with the European Union, diplomats say. Swiss lawmakers called for stricter oversight of the financial sector after investigating the collapse of Credit Suisse, casting an unflattering light on authorities while pinning the blame on the bank's implosion primarily on its managers. A workers' union representing over 10,000 baristas at Starbucks said its members will strike at stores in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle for five days starting today, citing unresolved issues over wages, staffing and schedules. As Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly expand sales of their popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs, cheaper copies of their patented remedies are winning approval from some regulators overseas, posing a threat to the pharma giants' prices and market share. The Week Ahead   The US government will enter its first partial shutdown in six years if lawmakers in Congress fail to reach a deal to extend funding. The UN human rights office will send a small team of human rights officers to Syria for the first time in years. Turkey's central bank is expected to start a cycle of rate cuts after eight months of steady policy, according to a Reuters poll. The Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft launched in 2018 to journey closer to the sun than any other human-made object, makes its closest dive through the sun's upper atmosphere. One country, one picture, one year   Smoke from a fire rising into the air as trees burn amongst vegetation in the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, in Brazil. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino Reuters sent out some 1.6 million pictures to the world in 2024, covering news and daily life, tragedies and comedies, chaos and customs. Here is each country that we covered this year, captured in just one image. See our photo gallery And Finally... Gisele Pelicot, the victim of a mass rape orchestrated by her then-husband, after the verdict in the trial at the courthouse in Avignon, France. REUTERS/Manon Cruz From a trial which shook France to the SantaCon celebration in New York, we bring you some of our top photography this week. See our photo gallery Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. 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