On this day, Dec. 22
1941 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington for a wartime conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1944 During the World War II Battle of the Bulge, U.S. Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe rejected a German demand for surrender, writing “Nuts!” in his official reply.
1984 New York City resident Bernhard Goetz shot and wounded four young Black men on a Manhattan subway, alleging they were about to rob him.
1989 Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu, the last of Eastern Europe’s hard-line Communist rulers, was toppled from power in a popular uprising.
1990 Lech Walesa took the oath of office as Poland’s first popularly elected president.
1992 A Libyan Boeing 727 jetliner crashed after a midair collision with a MiG fighter, killing all 157 aboard the jetliner, and both crew members of the fighter jet.
2001 Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but was subdued by flight attendants and fellow passengers. (Reid is serving a life sentence in federal prison.)
2010 President Barack Obama signed a law allowing gays for the first time in history to serve openly in America’s military, repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
2020 President Donald Trump unexpectedly released two videos, one falsely declaring that he had won the election in a “landslide,” and the other urging lawmakers to increase direct payments for most individuals to $2,000 in a COVID relief package, a move opposed by most Republicans.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Hector Elizondo, 87. Former World Bank Group President Paul Wolfowitz, 80. Baseball Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, 79. Former ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, 78. Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey, 75. Golfer Jan Stephenson, 72. Rapper Luther “Luke” Campbell, 63. Actor Ralph Fiennes, 61. Actor Lauralee Bell, 55. Country singer Lori McKenna, 55. Actor Dina Meyer, 55. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas,, 53. Actor Heather Donahue, 50. Actor Chris Carmack, 43. Actor Harry Ford, 41. R&B singer Jordin Sparks, 34. Pop singer Meghan Trainor, 30.