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Top stories today:
- Trump signs spending bill ending record 43-day shutdown
- GPT-5.1 Instant, Thinking launched by OpenAI
- Apple launches Digital ID to keep passports on iPhone
- Valve unveils Steam Frame VR headset, coming in 2026 for <$999
- Microsoft unveils Atlanta AI āsuper factoryā
0. Data and calendar
All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).
All times are ET.
Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing todayās newsletter (beware of hallucinations):
1. Trump signs spending bill ending record 43-day shutdown after economic hit
The House voted 222-209 to pass the interim funding bill, with 6 Democrats joining the Republicans:
Thu.: federal workers are expected back on the job.
It could take days or even weeks for the federal bureaucracy to restart and clear the backlog after being shut down since Oct. 1.
Jan. 30: the interim spending package funds most of the government through then.
The spending bill does not extend expiring Affordable Care Act (formerly Obamacare) premium subsidies.
The BLS is expected to publish a calendar in the coming days with updated release dates for delayed economic data.
The shutdown is expected to reduce real GDP growth in Q4 by 1.5 percentage points, the CBO projected
50%+ of the loss may be recouped in early 2026 as federal programs resume and employees receive back pay, the CBO said.
Air travel returning to normal could still take days.
42M low-income Americans on SNAP may also face delays in receiving benefits.
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3. GPT-5.1 Instant, Thinking launched by OpenAI with no apparent intelligence improvement
OpenAI is touting that GPT-5.1 is more token-efficient and adapts its thinking time more precisely to the question than GPT-5:
GPT-5.1 Thinking responses are also cleaner, with fewer jargons and undefined terms, OpenAI said.
GPT-5.1 Instant uses adaptive reasoning to decide when to think before responding.
Warmer by default and more conversational than GPT-5.
Over the next few days, ChatGPT Pro, Plus, Go, and Business users will get GPT-5.1 with free and logged-out users to follow.
