- Donald Trump [1] has named Kellyanne Conway the official counselor to the president [2]. The stern strategist and pollster took over Trump's campaign team in August. Trump's victory made her the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign in the United States. In her new position, Conway will be the highest-ranking woman in the White House.
- A prominent police organization is asking Walmart to recall [3] a line of Black Lives Matter merchandise [4] from its online store. The Fraternal Order of Police specifically asked Walmart to remove the t-shirts and sweatshirts that say "Bulletproof" and "Black Lives Matter," but so far, Walmart has only agreed to take down the shirts that say "Bulletproof."
- North Carolina legislators still can't agree on the state's controversial "bathroom bill [5]." Under the order of Republican Governor Pat McCrory, the legislators recently met to repeal the bill [6], which targets transgender and gender-nonconforming people. But after meeting for more than nine hours, the group still couldn't decide on which parts of the bill to repeal. The bathroom bill will remain in place until a consensus is reached.
- Spain's annual Christmas lottery reached a whopping $2.4 billion [7]. The highly anticipated lottery is referred to as "El Gordo," or "The Fat One," and each ticket costs $21. This year, there were 1,650 winning tickets, with each winner receiving $418,000 before taxes. Surprisingly, a sole ticket vendor was responsible for selling all of the winning tickets.
- Winter storm Europa is expected to sweep through [8] western states and the Plains over Christmas weekend. The storm will deliver rain and snowfall to Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho on Friday. Europa will then move toward the central US, bringing with it sleet and freezing rain on Saturday and Sunday. Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, right?