Greetings! Happy National Buffet Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

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🇲🇽 Mexico’s quake cuts off Sheinbaum as sirens blare. President Claudia Sheinbaum paused her first 2026 briefing when the seismic alert sounded. Mexico’s seismology agency measured magnitude 6.5 near San Marcos, Guerrero, close to Acapulco. Governor Evelyn Salgado said a 50-year-old woman died when her home collapsed. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said another person died after a medical emergency during evacuation. Civil defense reported landslides and more than 500 aftershocks rippled across the region. Doctor and human-rights defender José Raymundo Díaz Taboada said the rumble hit before his phone alert.

🇯🇵 Japan’s pacifist posture bends toward a bigger arsenal. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet backed a record ¥9T ($58B) defense budget and aims for 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) spending by March. For decades, Japan hovered near 1% of GDP while relying on about 50,000 American troops. A 2022 security strategy under former prime minister Fumio Kishida endorsed long-range strike-back missiles. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called the shift “dangerous.” Former Cabinet Legislative Bureau chief Masahiro Sakata called it “the death of Article 9.” Tokyo calls it deterrence; neighbors hear a new drumbeat.

🩻 Trump details October screening after scan confusion. President Donald Trump said he had a computed tomography (CT) scan, not a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam. He told The Wall Street Journal he regrets the test because it fed rumors. The White House said the screening was done at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Trump said it focused on his heart and abdomen during an October visit. His physician, Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, wrote that the scan was preventive for a man his age. In Washington, medicine is personal, but disclosure is political.

📈 Wall Street opens 2026 with gains, jitters, and tech gravity. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index (S&P 500) rose 13 points, about two-tenths of a percent, to 6,858. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 319 points, while the Nasdaq composite barely dipped. Nvidia Corporation ($NVDA) climbed about 1% as the artificial intelligence trade stayed hot. Microsoft ($MSFT) fell 2%, and Tesla ($TSLA) also slipped. Foreign markets looked steadier, with record closes in Britain and South Korea. It was a small day, but it kept the big story intact: tech still sets the tempo.

🏒 American Olympic hockey leans on its Four Nations core. The national governing body announced a roster heavy with National Hockey League (NHL) stars from the 4 Nations Face-Off. General manager Bill Guerin said chemistry matters more than hype. Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller return after helping win the world championship, the first since 1933. Defenseman Seth Jones joins after the Florida Panthers’ second straight Stanley Cup run. Forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Adam Fox were the notable absences. Guerin said leaving out Fox was not payback for Connor McDavid’s overtime winner.

⚡ Tesla loses top electric-vehicle crown on 2025 sales. Tesla ($TSLA) said it delivered 1,640,000 vehicles in 2025, down 9%. China’s Build Your Dreams (BYD) (1211HK) sold 2,260,000, taking the top spot, as chief executive Elon Musk has faced backlash over his controversial politics and tougher overseas competition. A $7,500 electric-vehicle credit phased out by the Trump administration ended in September. Fourth-quarter sales were 418,227, missing a reduced 440K analyst target. Tesla stock fell 2.6% Friday, proof that the market can love the dream and punish the quarter.

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