Monday, Dec. 24

· After its worst week in a decade, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped an additional 650 points, which President Donald Trump blamed on Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell, his nominee for the post, which he told the New York Times was one of the worst choices he has ever made.

· Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered North Korea to pay the parents of Otto Warmbier more than $500 million in damages for the torture and death of U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017 shortly after being released from a North Korea prison.

· An 8-year-old Guatemalan child detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection died at a hospital in New Mexico at 11:48 p.m., the second migrant child to die in government custody in December.

Tuesday, Dec. 25

· After record-setting stock market losses on Christmas Eve and a tweet storm by the president, a former senior Republican Treasury Department official spoke to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and told him that Trump’s tweets and “dysfunctional” governing style were causing stock indexes to plummet.

Wednesday, Dec. 26

· Trump greeted U.S. troops on an unannounced trip to Iraq, where he defended his decision to withdraw forces from neighboring Syria and declared that the Islamic State is “very nearly defeated” while making his first visit to a conflict zone as commander in chief.

· In speaking to the troops, Trump falsely told them they had not gotten a raise in more than 10 years and that he had given them a 10 percent raise. The truth is that the military pay raise under Trump was 2.6 percent and the troops have received a pay raise every year for decades.

· Driven by reports of a strong holiday shopping season, the U.S. stock market rebounded after being almost moving into bear market territory. However investors still express concern about the Federal Reserve’s recent announcement that it will continue to raise interest rates in 2019.

· Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said that agency will increase medical screenings of children in its custody after an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy in detention died late Christmas Eve.

Thursday, Dec. 27

· Both the House and the Senate closed without addressing funding for the government, ensuring that the partial government shutdown, in its sixth day with 350,000 furloughed federal workers, will last into the new year.

· The New York Times reported that 78 Obama-era environmental regulations have been blocked, delayed or targeted for repeal since Trump took office.

Friday, Dec. 28

· In a series of tweets, Trump vowed to close the entire U.S.-Mexico border and halt aid to several Latin American countries unless Democrats agree to his demand for billions in wall funding.

· Funding for the Federal Trade Commission ran out midday, suspending, among other things, that agency’s probe into Facebook’s conduct. The investigation originally was to review whether Facebook’s handling of user data violated a 2011 consent order with the FTC to settle charges that Facebook deceived consumers.

· Incoming House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Democrats will not seat a North Carolina Republican next week when the new Congress convenes, after North Carolina dissolved its elections board without certifying the results of the November election.

Saturday, Dec. 29

· Trump spent much of the day denouncing Democrats on Twitter, including blaming them for the deaths of two children in detention this month: “Any deaths of children or others at the border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally.”

Sunday, Dec. 30

No news to report.