Good morning. President Trump signed into law new powers to screen and restrict U.S. investment in Chinese technology firms, marking the most significant effort yet to police how American capital flows into businesses that bolster Beijing’s military and surveillance state.

• Why the move was made: Lawmakers in both parties have grown increasingly concerned that U.S. money and expertise are accelerating China’s advances in cutting-edge technologies.
   
• The details: The outbound-investment provisions, part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, cites entities in China and other countries of concern—including Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela and Russia—that develop “dual-use” technologies with both commercial and military applications. Lawmakers argue that curtailing U.S. investment in those areas is critical to American national-security and foreign-policy interests.
   
• Bipartisan support: The NDAA was passed by the House last week and the Senate on Wednesday, both by large bipartisan majorities.
   
• Background: The legislation cements a Biden administration executive order in 2023 that initiated the first U.S. attempt to screen outbound capital. But where the White House acted under emergency authorities, Congress is now codifying and expanding those powers—to monitor, and in some cases block, U.S. financing of Chinese work on emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced semiconductors.

Also see: China’s Tencent Is Accessing Banned Nvidia Chips Through the Cloud

Shein averts ban in France over childlike sex dolls, weapons.

Shein scored a win Friday after a Paris court rejected a request from the French government to suspend the e-commerce giant’s platform over the sale of childlike sex dolls and other contentious products.

The decision: On Friday, a Paris court said that a complete shutdown of Shein’s platform in France would be a disproportionate measure and an unjustified infringement of the company’s freedom to conduct business. It cited Shein’s responsiveness in temporarily suspending third-party vendors on its marketplace and the removal of illicit listings.

Background: The government of President Emmanuel Macron has been at loggerheads with Shein for weeks after French authorities said they had found illicit products being sold on the platform. The government subsequently requested judges to suspend Shein’s platform for at least three months.

New York signs AI safety bill into law, ignoring Trump executive order.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed into law a new bill aimed at regulating artificial intelligence companies and requiring them to write, publish and follow safety plans. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, any company with more than $500 million in revenue that develops a large AI system will have to publish and follow protocols aimed at preventing critical harm from the AI models and report any serious breaches or else face fines.

The signing of the bill, known as the Responsible AI Safety and Education, or Raise, Act, comes a week after President Trump signed an executive order that aims to block states from regulating AI.

• Tesla won its fight over a record-breaking pay package for Chief Executive Elon Musk that was approved by shareholders in 2018, ending the yearslong legal battle over his compensation that grew in value to total $139 billion.
   
• The salary of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s chair would fall 52% while other board members would see a 42% drop under the auditing watchdog’s budget plan for next year, following greater scrutiny of pay from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
   
• The administrator winding down what remains of Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs has sued Jump Trading, alleging that the high-speed trading giant unlawfully profited from and contributed to the crypto empire’s collapse.
   
• Risk Journal reports that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has removed an amendment to a 2020 consent order against Citigroup, moving the bank one step closer to resolving longstanding regulatory issues.
   
• The U.S. announced sanctions against 29 additional Iranian “shadow fleet” vessels that export Iran’s petroleum in violation of U.S. sanctions on the country.
   
• New U.K. sanctions announced Thursday target Russia’s energy sector and military supply chains, Risk Journal reports, and include four oil companies with combined revenues exceeding $20 billion.
   
• ANZ Group will pay the largest combined penalties ever secured by Australia’s corporate regulator, over risk failures and widespread misconduct including in the handling of a US$9.26 billion government bond sale.
   
• Coinbase is suing three states over their efforts to regulate prediction markets, wasting no time joining the legal battle after expanding into the booming space.

U.S. seizes second oil tanker near Venezuela.

The U.S. boarded a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Saturday that had been docked in Venezuela, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ramping up its pressure on the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

More pressure. It was the second such action by the U.S. in recent weeks and it came after President Trump announced last Tuesday that he was ordering a “total and complete blockade” against oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela that are under U.S. sanctions.

• U.S. Coast Guard Chasing Another Tanker Involved in Shipping Venezuela Oil
• U.S. Oil Blockade of Venezuela Pushes Cuba Toward Collapse

How tariffs are changing up Costco’s shelves.

Costco shelves have a bit more health and beauty products and fewer Christmas trees and toys this holiday season. The big retailer hasn’t made wholesale changes and plenty of festive fare is still on offer, but it has selectively adjusted its product lineup in an effort to keep prices low for consumers while it navigates tariffs that have hit some holiday goods.

“There are certain items that we just felt like, if we continued to sell them with the impact we’d have seen on tariffs, the value would not have been there for the member,” said Costco Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip. “But we still have plenty of Christmas trees, just a smaller range of them.”

• Consumer Sentiment Rose in December but Remains Dim, Michigan Survey Suggests

• The European Union pushed back its own deadline to sign off on a long-awaited free trade deal with Latin American countries as EU leaders convened in Brussels to hash out a plan to finance Ukraine’s war effort for the next two years.
   
• European leaders trying to help Ukraine stand up against Russia blinked. When the leaders failed early Friday in their bid to use Russian assets to fund Kyiv’s war effort, they displayed once again a split that has riven Ukraine’s backers since Russia invaded almost four years ago, over how boldly they are willing to confront Moscow.
   
• Vladimir Putin used his annual end-of-year question and answer session to rally the Russian people behind continuing the war in Ukraine while setting out Moscow’s red lines in President Trump’s peace process.
   
• The heavy U.S. strikes against Islamic State positions highlight the difficulty in fully suppressing a foe that was declared militarily defeated half a decade ago.
   
• SpaceX’s Starship explosion in January posed a greater danger to air travel than previously known, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
   
• Some U.S. air-traffic controllers are moving to Australia, drawn by what they say is a less stressful work environment.
   
• Beachside luxury resorts. High-speed rail. AI-optimized smart grids. Welcome to “Project Sunrise,” the Trump administration’s pitch to foreign governments and investors to turn Gaza’s rubble into a futuristic coastal destination.

• A top Justice Department official said Sunday that the agency temporarily removed some newly public Jeffrey Epstein files to address complaints from victims about the agency’s failure to redact their images or information.
   
• Before Charlie Kirk was fatally shot, he was readying for JD Vance to become the next president of the United States. Now, Erika Kirk is determined to make that happen.
   
• A Russian general was killed when a bomb fitted to the underside of his vehicle exploded early Monday, Russia’s investigative committee said, an attack that Moscow said could have been planned by Ukraine.
   
• Kremlin fueled the rise as a U.S. envoy of Trump’s friend Steve Witkoff with a prisoner release, sidelining career diplomats.
   
• Chevron is betting it is in prime position to unlock some of the world’s richest oil reserves.
   
• New York City’s top financial officer, who just launched a bid for Congress, says climate initiatives are essential for the city—and a good economic bet.