United States

• Taiwan will invest $250 billion in U.S. chipmaking under new trade deal - The U.S. and Taiwan have reached a trade agreement to build chips and chip factories on American soil, the Department of Commerce announced on Thursday.
• Oil falls more than 4% as traders see Trump backing away from Iran strike threats - Concerns about a U.S. strike on Iran had been mounting after Trump vowed to take action against the regime’s crackdown on widespread protests in the country.
• Venezuela Strongman and Maduro Ally, Diosdado Cabello, Faces an Uneasy Transition - Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, is accused by U.S. prosecutors of drug trafficking and is linked to repression at home, yet remains a powerful figure.
• Automakers like Ford and GM are jumping into a whole new business where Tesla is a serious player - Automakers Ford and GM are trying to figure out what to do with battery factories now that EV sales are falling way short of forecasts
• Nobel Committee Takes Heat at Home as Machado Courts Trump in D.C. - The Venezuelan opposition leader’s attempts to share her award with the U.S. president have shaken some Norwegians’ faith in their signature soft-power tool.
• NATO nations deploy to Greenland after tense White House talks - The joint NATO exercise comes shortly after tense talks between officials representing the U.S., Denmark and Greenland.
• European chip stocks surge after TSMC posts record fourth-quarter profit; ASML pops 7% - European stocks open broadly higher Thursday as traders digest the latest geopolitical news around Greenland and Iran.
• U.S. freezes new immigrant visas for 75 countries: See the full list - The U.S. said Wednesday it will pause issuing immigrant visas to citizens of 75 countries over concerns that they may use public assistance in the future.
• James Luckey-Lange Among Americans Freed in Venezuela - James Luckey-Lange, 28, was released this week with several other U.S. citizens from the country’s notorious prison system after going missing in December, his family said.
• Elon Musk's xAI probed by California DOJ over Grok's deepfake explicit images - Musk's Grok AI chatbot faces investigations from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland, Australia, the UK and France as well.