QUOTE OF THE DAY

'You are not being honest with us or the American people because you know the truth would disqualify you from getting the job.'

Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) questioning the motives behind the vague responses of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, during Hegseth's contentious confirmation hearing

THE EXPLAINER

Getty Images, Shutterstock merge to combat AI

Anyone looking to snag an image online probably checks two major websites first: Getty Images and Shutterstock. But the two companies are competitors no longer, as they announced last week that they were merging in a $3.7 billion deal, pending regulatory approval.

Even more notable, though, might be the merger's timing. Image licensing platforms like Getty and Shutterstock face significant competition from artificial intelligence photo generators. With the world's rapid advancements around AI, the new company is altering its strategy to counter this push.

Why is the deal happening?
The combined company will allow for "greater investment in innovative content creation, expanded event coverage, and customer-facing technologies and capabilities such as search, 3D imagery and generative AI," Getty said in a statement. The company will continue to use the Getty Images name and branding. It's also hoping for savings of $150 million to $200 million via expenditures in the first three years of the merger.

Together, the companies will create a massive photo-sharing brand. Getty "provides wire service photography and video to news outlets and businesses globally," while Shutterstock "touts a stock image library of 450 million photos," said The Hollywood Reporter.

What challenges will the new company face?
The impetus for the deal seems to be the rapid advancement of AI-generated imagery. This "latest development signals a strategic response to evolving market dynamics," said Forbes. While Getty and Shutterstock offer their own AI image generators, there has been a rapid "emergence of generative AI technologies" from other companies, allowing users to go elsewhere for images.

The "rapid emergence of AI into the mainstream has ushered in a new era of visuals," said The Wall Street Journal, one in which stock photo websites could take a back seat. Photos "depicting unique renderings that once required high levels of effort are now done in an instant, opening the door to so-called deepfakes and concerns from creators about copyright protections."

Getty is "betting that the combination will help them cut costs and grow their business by unlocking more revenue opportunities" even as AI "poses a threat to the industry," said Reuters. Antitrust concerns will also haunt the merger, as the Trump administration is not expected to usher in much change to the "tough scrutiny that has come to define" federal antitrust regulators in recent years.

Statistic of the day

7,800: The number of soldiers being brought to Washington, D.C., for Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, according to the National Guard. About 25,000 police officers will also be on hand. The last inauguration, days after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, had more than 25,000 soldiers protecting the city.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Stefanik is poised to take aim at the UN for Trump

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to the U.N. is a combative five-term Republican congresswoman and rising star in the MAGA movement. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) recently denounced the U.N. as a corrupt "den of antisemitism" and is expected to be a vocal defender of Israel, while staking out an adversarial position for the U.S. in line with longstanding GOP critiques of the organization.

Moderate goes MAGA
Stefanik's 2014 victory in the race for New York's 21st congressional district made her the youngest woman elected to Congress in U.S. history. During her campaign, she received "considerable support from the GOP establishment," which saw her as an "appealing figure for the party," said CBS News.

Early on, Stefanik was publicly known as a moderate. That changed when she played a leading role in the House proceedings for Trump's 2019 impeachment. Her fiery performances defending Trump and attacking witnesses "quickly elevated her profile," said NPR.

Her embrace of Trump, especially as he peddled conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election, "puzzled former allies and mentors," said Time. Eventually, stories about her transformation into a Trump ally and what she perceived as sexist coverage created a "tight knot of resentment" against Democrats and the media, said The Washington Post.

In 2021, Stefanik was elected as the House GOP conference chair and is now the fourth-ranking Republican in the House. A frequent critic of President Joe Biden, Stefanik spent years "positioning herself" as one of Trump's "most trusted allies," said The Associated Press.

Reform agenda
Stefanik would "bring relatively little diplomatic or foreign policy experience" to the U.N. role, said The New York Times. She's expected to pursue cuts to U.S. funding of the organization and work to defund the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which supports Palestinian refugees.

Stefanik's nomination could "redefine America's relationship with some of its longest allies," said The New Republic. The selection of someone who shares Trump's hardline stances in backing Israel "appears to be a clear win for hardline hawks," said the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

Good day ☄️

… for astronomy lovers. For the first time in 160,000 years, a rare comet could be visible in skies worldwide over the next few days. The future brightness of a comet is "notoriously hard" to predict, said NASA, but Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) could be bright enough to be seen by the naked eye. It's expected to reach "peak perihelion," when it's closest to our star, tonight.

Bad day ☕

… for Starbucks lingerers. The coffee company is rolling back a policy in its North American stores that allows people to hang out in their cafés or use the restroom without purchasing anything. The rule change is part of CEO Brian Niccol's strategy to "lure back customers, boost sagging sales and improve worker relations," said CNN.

Puzzles

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The Week recommends

Want your resolutions to stick? Here's help.

It's typical for people to abandon their New Year's resolutions, with most leaving them behind within months. But that does not mean it's impossible to stick to them. Doing so requires flexibility, alongside a few other tips for when your motivation slips.

Be realistic and start small
It's "quite daunting to say that you want to lose 50 pounds and, thus, will never eat dessert again," psychologist Lynn Bufka said to The Associated Press. It may be more helpful to decide "you are only going to have dessert on the weekends and for special occasions." Once you begin knocking out those smaller goals, the "bigger one might not seem so daunting."

Involve your community to hold you accountable
"Feel free to include family and friends in your resolution," psychiatrist Julian Lagoy said to Real Simple. You should offer to listen to their goals as well, Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist and the author of "Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess," said to the outlet.

Stay in tune with yourself
At its core, keeping your resolutions "isn't about willpower or accountability partners," Maha Abouelenein, the author of "7 Rules of Self-Reliance," said at Forbes. It's about "trusting yourself." You should also consider if January is a natural start date for change. It makes "no sense at all" to pin resolutions to the beginning of the calendar year, said Tamara Russell, of the British Psychological Society, to the AP. Spring, a season of renewal, might be a better option for some.

Poll watch

Over half of all adults (54%) say the gap between the rich and the poor is a "very big problem" in their country, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The poll of 41,000 people in 36 countries also found that 60% think rich people having political influence contributes to this inequality.

INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'Hegseth is dangerous but not for the reasons you think'
Ben Rhodes at The New York Times
Pete Hegseth is "unqualified to run a nuclear-armed organization with a budget approaching a trillion dollars," but "that's the point," says Ben Rhodes. Donald Trump "doesn't want someone to effectively manage the Pentagon; he wants to disrupt it." Hegseth's "hostility to constraints on American behavior overlaps with Mr. Trump's recent foreign policy pronouncements." It "would be wrong to discount the possibility of a transformation of our military, just as it's wrong to understate the depth of resentment."

'Cutting airplane contrails is an easy climate win'
Mike Berners-Lee at the Financial Times
Reducing contrails is the "closest thing we have to a silver bullet to dramatically reduce the climate impact of aviation," says Mike Berners-Lee, and there's a "cost-effective way to tackle them." We "would need to reroute less than 2% of flights to halve their impact — that's a huge reduction for very little effort." With flights "over North America, Europe and the north Atlantic accounting for more than half of global contrail impact, the U.S. seriously needs to catch up."

'The short shelf life of corporate DEI'
Ilan Kapoor at Al Jazeera
The "ostensible reason for this business change of heart" on DEI is that it's "now 'outdated,'" but there's a "notable business logic behind it," says Ilan Kapoor. The "timing of the announcement by a series of major corporations is revealing of their calculation that DEI is no longer beneficial to their brands." The "often tokenistic inclusion of minorities under the guise of 'equity' provides the illusion of creating greater equality. But it doesn't and hasn't."

WORD OF THE DAY

Phos-Chek

A hot-pink powdered fire suppressant dropped by planes to keep the wildfires in Los Angeles County from spreading. It's made of 80% water, 14% fertilizer-type salts, and 6% coloring agents and corrosion inhibitors, according to its maker, Perimeter.

What's Musk's agenda with Europe's far-right politics?