Chinese Lunar Exploration Program China National Space Administration's robotic lander Chang'e 4 successfully lands at the Von Kármán lunar crater on the far side of the Moon.
Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi Iran's health minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi resigns in protest against a medical budget. His resignation was accepted by President Hassan Rouhani.
Texas City A man shoots three children to death and wounds a woman in Texas City, Texas, United States. The suspect has not been apprehended.
Prosecutor General of Russia The Prosecutor General of Russia Yury Chaika says that France today extradited Alexei Viktorovich Kuznetsov, Алексей Викторович, a former Finance Minister of the Moscow Region who is accused of fraud and embezzlement amounting to 14 billion Russian rubles (US$200 million).
Chinese China executes serial killer Gao Chengyong, who murdered eleven girls and women between 1988 and 2002.
The wall along the Mexico–U.S. border The Department of Homeland Security requests more American troops be deployed to the Mexico-United States border in order to add 160 miles of concertina wire alongside existing border fencing.
President Afghan President Ashraf Ghani demands clarification after U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that the Soviet Union was "right to be there", referring to the 1979–1989 Soviet–Afghan War.
Somalia Somalia expels Nicholas Haysom, the most senior United Nations diplomat in the country, after accusing him of "acting like the country's ruler".
14th Street Tunnel shutdown New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that a complete shutdown of the 14th Street Tunnel in New York City, proposed to allow for subway repairs caused by damage from Hurricane Sandy, has been halted. Cuomo says that engineers will use a new technology from Europe to make critical repairs to the tunnel without having to close it entirely. The complete shutdown would have closed the tunnel, which is used by nearly 225,000 people each weekday, for an expected 15 months.
Interstate 75 Seven people are killed after a crash and diesel fuel spill sparked a massive fire on Interstate 75 in Gainesville, Florida, United States.
Dutch Coast Guard The Dutch Coast Guard says 270 containers fell off "MSC Zoe" in heavy seas near the German island of Borkum and floated towards the Netherlands. Treasure hunters revel on the West Frisian islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. Three containers containing hazardous materials are still missing and ships are warned for floating containers.
European migrant crisis The mayor of Naples offers to berth a NGO-operated ship with 32 migrants who were rescued on 22 December in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Libya.
2018 Magnitogorsk building collapse The death toll of an explosion caused by a gas leak that devastated a block of flats in Magnitogorsk, Russia, rises to 39. Rescuers end their search efforts at the collapse site as there are no more missing people.
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 660 points following a warning from Apple on weak demand and trade relations between the United States and China.
Corporate acquisitions and mergers Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb proposes the takeover of cancer drug company Celgene for US$95 billion, including debt, the biggest biopharma deal ever.
Syrian civil war The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian state media say that a U.S.-led coalition aerial attack killed 11 civilians in Deir ez-Zor Governorate.