12/18

• Twitter banned the act of including links of other social media profiles in users’ bios and sending tweets to redirect to accounts on other social media platforms.

12/19

• Elon Musk posted a poll on Twitter asking voters if he should step down as CEO. The results indicated that 58% of respondents favor his resignation.
• The House Jan. 6 committee voted to refer four criminal charges, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and “incite,” “assist,” or “aid and comfort” an insurrection, to the Department of Justice for former President Trump.
• Nearly 200 countries signed an agreement at the biodiversity COP15 to protect 30% of Earth’s land and oceans in order to reverse the current extinction crisis.
• Amber Heard settled her defamation lawsuit with Johnny Depp. 
• 5 people were killed in a shooting at a condominium near Toronto. Afterwards, the gunman was killed in an “interaction” with police officers.
• Chief Justice Robert’s temporarily paused the end of Title 42 (see 12/17).
• New York District 3 Congressman-elect George Santos was accused of faking his biography.

12/20

• College education was banned for women in Afghanistan.
• Elon Musk announced that he will step down as Twitter’s CEO once he finds a replacement for the role (see 12/19).
• 2 people died in a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in coastal Northern California.
• The House Ways and Means Committee voted to release former President Trump’s tax returns, also finding that the IRS delayed auditing his tax returns despite the policy of auditing all presidents.

12/21

• According to tax documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee, former President Trump reported negative income in 4 of the 6 years from 2015-2020 and little or no income-tax liability for several years of $750 or less in 3 of the 6 years (see 12/20).
• More than 400 Texas National Guard personnel blocked dozens of migrants at the border in El Paso with rifles and 1,000 yards of razor wire.
• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy addressed President Biden and U.S. Congress and pleaded for continued U.S. military aid throughout the winter.
• Sam Bankman-Fried was transferred to U.S. custody (see 12/13).
• The Alameda county Board of Supervisors was the first in the U.S. to pass the Fair Chance Law, which bans criminal background checks for housing.
• Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to criminal charges, facing up to 50 and 110 years in prison, respectively.

12/22

• The Senate passed a $1.7 trillion government funding bill in a 68-29 vote.
• Sam Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bail (see 12/21).
• The House of Representatives passed a bill that would require the IRS to audit presidents’ tax returns and to make the audit reports public (see 12/20).

12/23

• At least 16 people have died as a result of the massive winter storm traveling across the U.S.
• 3 people were killed and 3 were wounded following a shooting at a Kurdish cultural center and a hairdressing salon in Paris. Authorities said that the shooting may have been racially motivated.
• Rapper Tory Lanez was found guilty of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, possession of a concealed, unregistered firearm, and negligent discharge of a firearm in the shooting of rapper Megan Thee Stallion.

12/24

• 3 buses full of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Harris’ residence in Washington D.C. from Texas, which was orchestrated by Texas Governor Abbott.
• An Arizona judge rejected Republican candidate Kari Lake’s election lawsuit to overturn her defeat and confirmed Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ victory.