Good Morning. Time to officially dive into the holiday spirit—no matter how you celebrate (or don’t). And hey, watching the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life is always a great way to get in the mood. Speaking of which, on this day in 1946, It’s a Wonderful Life premiered in New York. Directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore, this feel-good classic was shot during a summer heatwave in California. Yep, that snowy Bedford Falls? Filmed in the middle of a heatwave. Capra had to give the cast a day off to cool down, and if you look closely during the iconic "Merry Christmas" scene, you’ll see Jimmy Stewart sweating through the snow.

Now, let’s get to today’s stories:

• Climate bling: saving the planet with $175T in diamond dust

• SoftBank is buying shares of OpenAI employees

• Alabama woman received pig kidney transplant

• Nissan and Honda are considering a merger

• Google DeepMind just launched Veo 2

  and more…

The Dow barely broke its longest losing streak since 1974, rising just 0.04% on Thursday. A strong start had the index up over 460 points, but the momentum fizzled, leading to a weak finish. The S&P 500 dipped 0.09%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.10%, with most sectors in the S&P 500 ending the day lower. It seems the markets just couldn’t hold onto their early gains.

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Nissan and Honda Plot Mega Merger

Nissan and Honda are reportedly considering a big merger to keep up in the electric car race. If it happens, they’d become the world’s third-largest car group with 8 million sales a year. This comes as they try to catch up to Tesla and BYD, who are already dominating the EV market.

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OpenAI employees about to cash in—big time. OpenAI is letting its employees sell stock to SoftBank at $210 per share, a sweet deal considering the company’s recent surge to a $157 billion valuation. After a $6.6 billion fundraising round, employees who’ve been sitting on stock since OpenAI was worth $20 billion can cash in. SoftBank plans to buy up to $1.6 billion in stock, and while some may not sell their full $10 million worth, everyone is guaranteed a $2 million payout. 

Cash isn’t king anymore—investors are stocking up on stocks. Investors are so sure about stocks right now, they’ve ditched cash completely. Bank of America’s latest survey shows cash holdings are at an all-time low, with fund managers now 14% underweight in cash—something that hasn’t happened since 2001.

Fed cuts interest rates again. The Fed just dropped interest rates by another 25 basis points, bringing the benchmark rate to 4.25%–4.50%. That’s a full 1% cut since September, and it’s all about making borrowing cheaper. This drop means credit cards, loans, auto financing, and, eventually, mortgages should get a little more affordable. The Fed’s been cutting rates to boost the economy, especially with signs of a slowing job market and inflation cooling off. After dealing with sky-high inflation, it’s now down to 2.7%. 

ChatGPT Now Takes Phone Calls

OpenAI’s now letting you dial up ChatGPT at 1-800-CHATGPT or message it on WhatsApp. You get 15 minutes free each month—perfect for those moments when you need an AI friend while stuck in traffic. This comes as OpenAI recently hired its first chief marketing officer, meaning they’re about to spend big on ads to grow their user base. They’re also stepping up their game with a new search feature in ChatGPT, which could make it a serious contender against Google, Bing, and Perplexity.

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Alabama woman gets kidney from pig. After donating a kidney to her mom 25 years ago, an Alabama woman became the third person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney. This one’s got 10 gene edits to make sure it doesn’t get rejected. It’s a big deal for the future of organ transplants, especially with so many people on waiting lists. So, pig kidneys are officially a thing now. 

Google aims to outdo Sora in video generation. Google DeepMind just launched Veo 2, a new AI that could (maybe) beat OpenAI’s Sora at the video game—at least for a little while. Veo 2 can make 4K videos up to 2 minutes long, which is 4 times better resolution and 6 times longer than Sora’s clips. But don’t get too excited—right now, Veo 2’s only available in VideoFX, and the videos are capped at 720p and 8 seconds. So, yeah, it’s got potential, but it’s not exactly a game-changer yet.

Grammarly buys Coda. Grammarly just bought productivity startup Coda, and with the deal comes a new CEO—Coda’s Shishir Mehrotra. While the financials are hush-hush, the goal is clear: turn Grammarly into an "AI productivity platform" by adding Coda’s AI tools. 

Diamond dust to cool the planet. Scientists have come up with a brilliant idea to tackle climate change: sprinkle diamond dust into the sky. It could cool the planet by 1.8°F, but only if you’ve got $175 trillion lying around. Who needs actual climate policies when you can just chuck shiny rocks into the atmosphere?

2024’s gadgets: transparent laptops, medieval beat machines, and hiking pants. Dezeen design editor Jennifer Hahn’s top picks of 2024 gadgets are here, and they're... something. We’ve got a see-through laptop, a medieval-inspired beat machine, and hiking pants that give you a literal “boost”.

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36 Moments That Stuck With Us in 2024

From movie scenes to song lyrics, here are the 36 moments in 2024 that had everyone in culture talking.

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TikTok of the day: watch here

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