Monday, Dec. 23

á           Sen. Chuck Schumer requested more documents and emails from the White House after emails released on Friday, Dec. 20, revealed that President Donald Trump ordered the Office of Budget and Management to withhold military aid to Ukraine just 90 minutes after his phone call demanding Òa favorÓ from Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky.

á           Lawyers for the House Judiciary Committee said a second impeachment could become necessary if the House discovers new evidence that Trump attempted to obstruct investigations into his conduct.

á           United States Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote was recalled after he criticized Zambian authorities for sentencing a gay couple to jail for 15 years for engaging in a sexual relationship.

á           China announced it will cut import tariffs for frozen pork, pharmaceuticals and some high-tech components starting from Jan. 1, a move that comes as Beijing and Washington are trying to complete a phase-one trade deal.

Tuesday, Dec. 24

á           It was revealed that multibillionaire Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg used prison labor, through third-party vendor ProCom, to make campaign phone calls. Bloomberg issued a statement saying his campaign cut ties with the contractor, claiming that his staff was unaware of the arrangement until a reporter asked about it.

á           The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper is weighing proposals for a major reduction — or even a complete pullout — of American forces from West Africa as the first phase of reviewing global deployments that could reshuffle thousands of troops around the world.

Wednesday, Dec. 25

á           The ICO hopes all readers had a Merry Christmas. There was no news to report.

Thursday, Dec. 26

á           The Federal Aviation Administration proposed installing tracking devices on all but the smallest drones to allow the federal government the ability to track them while in use in U.S. airspace.

Friday, Dec. 27

á           Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened tighter restrictions on entry for U.S. citizens and outright banned Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Patrick Leahy from visiting the Philippines due to their efforts to deny entry into the U.S. to any Philippine officials involved in the incarceration of Sen. Leila de Limo, who was arrested in 2017 for drug offenses after she led an investigation into mass killings during DuterteÕs anti-drug crackdown.

á           Trump retweeted a post that revealed the name of the alleged whistleblower who filed the complaint that led to TrumpÕs impeachment by the House of Representatives, and suggested the whistleblower committed perjury.

Saturday, Dec. 28

á           No news to report.

Sunday, Dec. 29

á           John Lewis, civil rights leader and democratic House representative from Georgia, announced he has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He said he plans to continue to work while seeking treatment.

á           In retaliation for a rocket attack that killed an American contractor on Friday, the United States military bombed five targets, including weapons storage facilities and command posts, in Iraq and Syria controlled by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed paramilitary group.