On the updated version of Hot off the Wire (posted Dec. 22 at 6:44 a.m. CT):

• Dangerous cold and snow are in the forecast for large chunks of the nation as travelers head out for the holidays.
• Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington to thank Americans for helping to fund the war against Russia. In a speech to Congress, he said the money is “not charity” but an “investment” in global security and democracy. Zelenskyy met earlier in the day with President Joe Biden in the White House.
• An 800-page report set to be released by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of voter fraud.
• Stores are relying on last-minute holiday shoppers with only days to go until Christmas.
• Thousands of migrants are gathered along the U.S. border with Mexico, camping outside or packing into shelters while awaiting a Supreme Court decision on whether and when to lift pandemic-era restrictions that prevented many from seeking asylum.
• In sports, pro football said goodbye to a beloved Hall of Famer, the Bucks and Nets got big home victories, there was a major upset in college basketball card, and a pair of NHL losing streaks ended.

On the original version of Hot off the Wire (posted Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. CT):

• The Biden administration says it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The administration is rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits with President Joe Biden.
• Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris has died. He was 72. Harris' heads-up thinking authored the “Immaculate Reception.” Harris ran for 12,120 yards and won four Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s.
• The American consumer’s confidence rebounded this month, even as the Fed continues to raise interest rates and many economists fear an oncoming recession.
• Thousands of ambulance workers in Britain are staging a one-day strike, with unions and the government swapping accusations of blame for putting lives at risk.
• Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown will not face charges stemming from a domestic incident in Tampa, Florida.
• The Biden administration says it will release doses of prescription flu medicine from the Strategic National Stockpile to states as flu-sickened patients continue to flock to hospitals and doctors' offices around the country.
• Sen. Patrick Leahy is wrapping up a 48-year career representing Vermont. The longest-serving Senate Democrat tells The Associated Press that he’s leaving with a mixture of resignation and resolve.

—The Associated Press