Timeline Log 004: Sep - Dec [2008]

1, 2008, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the two last remaining independent investment banks on Wall Street, become bank holding companies as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.

September 22, 2008, Season 2 Premiere of The Big Bang Theory

September 22, 2008, Season 3 Premiere of Heroes

September 23, 2008, Series Premiere of The Mentalist

September 23, 2008, Season 6 Premiere of NCIS

September 23, 2008, The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva is shut down until the northern spring while engineers probe magnet failures.
September 23, 2008, President of the United States George W. Bush addresses the nation on prime time television to discuss the crisis and the Paulson plan. He warns that the United States faces a "long and painful recession" if the package is not passed.
September 23, 2008, Senator John McCain, the Republican Party nominee in the presidential election, postpones campaigning and seeks deferral of a presidential debate so that he can return to Washington D.C. to discuss the subprime mortgage crisis and the Paulson Plan.
September 23, 2008, President Bush invites Senator McCain, Senator Barack Obama the Democratic Party and leaders of the United States Congress to a meeting at the White House tomorrow to discuss the crisis.

September 24, 2008, Series Premiere of Knight Rider

September 24, 2008, Series Premiere of Gary Unmarried

  September 24, 2008, Season 2 Premiere of Lipstick Jungle

September 25, 2008, Season 4 Premiere of Criminal Minds
September 25, 2008, Season 5 Premiere of Grey's Anatomy

September 25, 2008, In the largest bank failure in U.S. history, Washington Mutual is placed into receivership by the Office of Thrift Supervision. As receiver, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation sells the bank's accounts and operations to JPMorgan Chase.
September 25, 2008, House passes $25-billion loan package for auto industry.
September 25, 2008, An effigy of Barack Obama is found hanging from a tree at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.
September 25, 2008, Jobless claims in the United States rise to a seven year high while orders for durable goods fall to their lowest level in 18 months, underscoring the weakness of the United States economy.
September 25, 2008, Home sales in the United States during August 2008 fall to a 17-year low.
September 26, 2008, Release of Eagle Eye

September 26, 2008, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama take part in the first of the United States presidential election debates.
September 26, 2008, A Ukrainian vessel carrying 30 T-72 tanks is captured by pirates 200 miles off Somalian coast. Russia sends its military ship to combat piracy in Somalia.
September 27, 2008, Government officials announce plans to nationalize British bank Bradford & Bingley in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis.

September 28, 2008, Season 5 Premiere of Desperate Housewives

September 28, 2008, Season 3 Premiere of  Brothers and Sisters

 
September 28, 2008, SpaceX Falcon 1 becomes the world's first privately developed space launch vehicle successfully to make orbit.
September 28, 2008, British bank Bradford & Bingley is to be purchased by the Treasury and Financial Services Authority.
September 28, 2008, Belgian bank Fortis NV is partly nationalised as part of an 11.4 billion euro rescue package funded by the Governments of Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
September 29, 2008, The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is rejected by the U.S. House of Representatives.
September 29, 2008, The German government and private banks inject 35 billion Euros into the struggling Hypo Real Estate, a bank that is heavily involved in the real estate business. The bank had been struggling because its Irish subsidy Depfa Bank had suffered massive losses during the subprime mortgage crisis. The HRE is the first company from the DAX that had to be rescued by the government in recent memory.
September 29, 2008, Brazil's stock market had its worst one-day plunge in almost a decade, the São Paulo Stock Exchange sank 9.36% to 46,028.06 points, its steepest drop since 1999.
September 29, 2008, Russian RTS falls 7,1%, MICEX 5,5%, as investors sell off assets on emerging markets on concerns that the U.S. government's bailout plan will not be enough to stem the financial crisis caused by the U.S. housing bubble.
September 29, 2008, Citigroup acquires the banking operations of Wachovia, the troubled Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. Under the agreement, Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses on a $312 billion pool of loans, while the U.S. Government will take losses beyond that.
September 29, 2008, The Government of Iceland takes control of the country's number three bank, the struggling Glitnir Bank.
September 29, 2008, The British Government confirm that the mortgage and loans components of Bradford & Bingley will be nationalized, whilst the company's savings operations will be sold to the Spanish banking group, Grupo Santander. (BBC News) The financial crisis around Europe deepened with the nationalization of Fortis and a cash infusion from the Benelux states amounting to €11.2 billion.
September 29, 2008, The Dow Jones stock market index records its largest-ever one-day fall of 777 points.
September 29, 2008, The convention establishing CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed in 1954.

October

is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name (from the Latin "octo" meaning "eight") when January and February were added. When the calendar was originally created by the Romans, the year began in March (in honor of the God of War, Mars) this meant that instead of October being the 10th month of the year it was originally the 8th month of the year.

October is commonly associated with the season of autumn in the Northern hemisphere and spring in the Southern hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

October 1, 2008, Release of Religilous

October 1, 2008, Season 2 Premiere of Private Practice

October 1, 2008, The National Transportation Safety Board reports that a Metrolink engineer sent a text message 22 seconds before the Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles, California, that killed 25 people.
October 2, 2008, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden have their only scheduled debate for the vice presidency of the United States.

October 3, 2008, Release of Beverly Hills Chihuahua.



October 3, 2008, Release of Blindness.

October 3, 2008, Series Premiere of The Ex List

October 3, 2008, The House voted 263-171 to enact the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 into law.
October 3, 2008, United States government announces sale of billions of dollars of arms to Taiwan to keep a balance with China's massive arms buildup aimed at Taiwan.
October 3, 2008, Russia's foreign minister calls for international action to halt piracy in Somalia.
October 3, 2008, A jury convicts retired American football player O.J. Simpson of armed robbery and kidnapping, 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles.

October 5, 2008, Series Premiere of Valentine

 

October 5, 2008, Series Premiere of Easy Money

October 6, 2008, The NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its second of three flybys of Mercury, decreasing the velocity for orbital insertion on March 18, 2011.Which launched August 3, 2004 a day before the messenger of hopes birthday. The contrived acronym MESSENGER was chosen because Mercury was the messenger of the gods according to Roman mythology.
October 6, 2008, The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls below 10,000 points for the first time since October 29, 2004.
October 6, 2008, Significant losses are marked on stock exchanges world-wide: São Paulo Stock Exchange suspended trading after a 15 percent drop in its benchmark index.
October 6, 2008, The UK's leading share index, the FTSE 100 closes down 391.1 points (7.85%), the largest single day points fall since it was launched in 1984. The French CAC 40 also recorded a record drop of 9.04%, whilst Germany's DAX finished down 7.09%.
October 6, 2008, Trading is suspended on Russia's leading stock exchanges after shares plunged nearly 20 percent amid a backdrop of falling oil prices and fears over the global economy.
October 7, 2008, Russia agrees to provide Iceland with a four-billion-euro loan.
October 7, 2008, Russia agrees to provide Iceland with emergency loans of 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion).
October 7, 2008, Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority takes control of troubled Landsbanki Bank.
October 7, 2008, The Reserve Bank of Australia reduces interest rates by 100 basis points to 6.0 per cent to combat the effect of the subprime mortgage crisis.
October 7, 2008, The United States Federal Reserve announces plans to buy billions of dollars of short-term commercial paper to restore liquidity to the money market.
October 7, 2008, The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke warns that the crisis will weaken the United States economy well into 2009 and expressed a willingness to cut interest rates.
October 7, 2008, The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 500 points following Bernanke's comments.
October 7, 2008, President Dmitry Medvedev announces an extra 950 billion roubles ($36.4 billion) of new emergency credit for banks at a Kremlin meeting.

October 8, 2008, A bank rescue package totaling some £500 billion (approximately $850 billion) was announced by the British Government.
October 8, 2008, The United States Federal Reserve Board cuts interest rates by half a percentage point to 1.5% as part of coordinated activity with the European Central Bank and other central banks.
October 9, 2008, Following a major banking and financial crisis in Iceland, the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority takes control of three largest banks in the country: Kaupthing, Bank Landsbanki and Glitnir.
October 9, 2008, Head of International Monetary Fund says the US Financial Crises threatens to send the world into a recession. IMF releases World Economic Outlook report with gloomy projections for the global financial system.
October 9, 2008, Global financial crisis: The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 679 points, or 7.3%, and plunges below 8,600 for the first time since May 21, 2003.

October 9, 2008, Series Premiere of Life on Mars.

October 9, 2008, Series Premiere of The Eleventh Hour

October 9, 2008, Series Premiere of Testees

October 9, 2008, Series Premiere of Kath and Kin

October 10, 2008, Release of City of Ember.



October 10, 2008, An Alaskan legislative committee finds that the Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her authority in terminating the Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan.
October 10, 2008, The Australian Stock Exchange suffers its greatest fall since the crash of 1987.
October 10, 2008, The Dow Jones finished down 128 points, after twice reaching down 700 points and below 8000 points.
October 10, 2008, The United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson says that the Bush administration will proceed with plans to buy stocks in United States financial institutions.
October 10, 2008, Group of Seven finance ministers who met in Washington with IMF chief and World Bank president announce a plan to combat the crisis including the use of "all available tools" to support key institutions and prevent their failure.
October 11, 2008, United States President George W. Bush commits to collaborative action with G7 finance ministers.
October 11, 2008, The International Monetary Fund warns of a global meltdown and offers to lend to countries if needed.
October 11, 2008, The U.S. State Department removes North Korea from its list of sponsors of terrorism.
October 11, 2008, European Union monitors in Georgia confirm that Russia has met the withdrawal deadline.
October 12, 2008, The Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd announces that the Government of Australia will guarantee all deposits in all Australian banks for three years as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.
October 12, 2008, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates will also guarantee all bank deposits in their banks.
October 12, 2008, Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, a nun from Kerala, becomes India's first female saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

October 13, 2008, Series Premiere of My Own Worst Enemy

 
October 13, 2008, The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 936 points, or 11.1%, the biggest one-day point gain in history.
October 13, 2008, The U.S. Federal Reserve approves the merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia after Citigroup withdraws the legal case in a New York federal court to put a hold on the merger.

October 14, 2008, Season 2 Premiere of Eli Stone

 
October 14, 2008, United States President George W. Bush announces new measures to attack the current economic crisis including plans for the U.S. government to buy stakes in major banks.
October 15, 2008, The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 733 points, or 7.87%, the second largest one-day point loss ever.
October 15, 2008, Hurricane Omar strengthens to a Category 3 hurricane as it nears the United States and United States Virgin Islands.
October 15, 2008, Retail sales in the United States decline by 1.2% in September 2008, a third successive month in decline and the sharpest decline in three years, further evidence that the United States economy is in a recession.
October 15, 2008, The International Maritime Bureau claims that pirates have hijacked a bulk carrier with 21 crew members in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.
October 16, 2008, The United States consumer price index remains unchanged during September as falling costs for clothes, gasoline and new cars helped to offset rising food and medical prices.
October 16, 2008, Industrial production in the United States falls by 2.8% due to the impact of hurricanes, a strike at Boeing and the credit crunch.
October 16, 2008, The Parliament of Germany passes a 500 billion euro ($673.8 billion) bank bailout.
October 16, 2008, The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper states that Canada and the European Union support an international summit on the crisis before the end of the year.
October 16, 2008, Release of W.



October 17, 2008, Series Premiere of Crash

October 17, 2008, Series Premiere of Crusoe

October 17, 2008, The United Nations General Assembly elects Turkey, Austria, Japan, Uganda, and Mexico to two-year terms on the Security Council.

October 18, 2008, NASA launches Interstellar Boundary Explorer satellite that will study the edge of solar system.
October 18, 2008, United States President George W. Bush meets with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to discuss a proposal for a summit of world leaders to discuss the current economic crisis.

 October 20, 2008,Series Premiere of Rita Rocks

October 21, 2008, The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is officially inaugurated. It is a collaboration of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.
October 22, 2008, The Indian Space Research Organization successfully launches Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft on a lunar exploration mission.
October 22, 2008, Western donors pledge US$4.5 billion toward the rebuilding of Georgia, which suffered from damage inflicted during short war with Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia in August.
October 24, 2008, Government heads of 45 countries from Asia and Europe meet in Beijing as the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting convenes with financial crisis topping the agenda.
October 24, 2008, Release of Saw V



October 27, 2008, Series Premiere of Dead Set

October 27, 2008, The Washington, D.C. Metro announces it will randomly search "backpacks, gym bags and any other containers that riders carry with them onto the bus and rail system" during periods of increased threat.
October 27, 2008, Nine major US banks will receive a $US123 billion capital injection from the federal government, says a Treasury Department official.
October 28, 2008, The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 889.35 points, 10.88%, and brings the total above 9,000 points in the market's 2nd best day ever.
October 29, 2008, Hungary's currency and stock markets rise on the news that it would receive an international economic bailout package worth $25 billion from the IMF, European Union and World Bank.
October 29, 2008, Northwest Airlines merges into Delta Air Lines, making Delta the world's largest airline company.
October 29, 2008, The United States Treasury Department spends US$125 billion of its $700 billion bailout fund on nine banks, some of whom had argued that they did not need the money.
October 29, 2008, India's Viswanathan Anand retains the World Chess Championship title in Bonn, Germany, by defeating Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik.

October 31 , 2008, Release of Quantum solace



Quantum of Solace is the 22nd James Bond film by EON Productions, released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2008 and in North America on 14 November. The direct sequel to the 2006 film Casino Royale, it is directed by Marc Forster, and features Daniel Craig's second performance as James Bond. In the film, Bond battles Dominic Green, a member of the Quantum organisation posing as an environmentalist, who intends to stage a coup d'état in Bolivia to take control of its water supply. Bond seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd, and is assisted by Camille Montes, who has her own vengeance issues.

November

is the 11th month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. November retained its name (from the Latin novem meaning "nine") when January and February were added to the Roman calendar.

November 2, 2008, Lewis Hamilton wins the 2008 Formula One Drivers' Championship, beating Felipe Massa by one point to become the youngest and first black Formula One World Champion in history.
November 4, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama II became the President-elect after defeating Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the general election.



November 5, 2008, Release of Black Ice album by AC/DC



November 5, 2008, Hurricane Paloma Forms
November 5, 2008, California Proposition 8, a referendum that amended the State Constitution, passes and defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, thus ending same-sex marriage in California.
November 7, 2008, Unemployment in the United States reaches its highest rate in 14 years
November 9, 2008, The Latvian government effectively nationalizes the country's second-largest bank, Parex, acquiring a controlling 51% stake for the symbolic sum of just two lati.
November, 10, 2008, The Phoenix Lander silent; Mars mission over, NASA says.
November, 10, 2008, Bush Meets with Obama.
November, 10, 2008, The Renegade Is Loose. We Repeat, the Renegade Is Loose. Mr. Obama will be known as "Renegade". Michelle, a woman of many talents, will be referred to as "Renaissance." Malia Obama's name will be "Radiance," while little sister Sasha's will be "Rosebud." And what of the Bidens? We were hoping the Secret Service would stick to the "R" theme and dub Joe "Rogaine." Alas, his name will be "Celtic." His wife Jill will be "Capri." A bit boring, but hey, nobody asked us for our opinion.

November, 10, 2008, The United States government announces a second bailout of American International Group; the total value of the new plan, roughly US$150 billion, represents the largest government support package extended to a private company in US history.
November, 10, 2008, American retail chain Circuit City files for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
November, 10, 2008, Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority announces that it is revoking the banking license of the struggling Carnegie Investment Bank.
November, 10, 2008, Stocks gain worldwide after China announces a stimulus package involving US$586 billion to finance programs in 10 major domestic areas in the next two years.

November, 11, 2008, Release of T-Pain album Three Rings



November 11, 2008, Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans/Poppy Day. 
 November 11, 2008, Opening of Carnival season in Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries. Carnival is mostly associated with Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox Christians; Protestant areas usually do not have carnival celebrations or have modified traditions.
November, 11, 2008, Egypt: 4,300-year-old pyramid discovered in Memphis.The pyramid is the 118th discovered so far in Egypt.
November, 11, 2008, Magic Mushrooms are banned in Netherlands.
November, 11, 2008, Will Smith's Karate Kid Ready for Remake. Will 2k remakes K2 on 11:11 (K/K).
November, 11, 2008, A 22-year-old college dropout from Denmark won the World Series of Poker and its $9.15 million prize.
November 13, 2008, Josef Fritzl is charged with murder, rape and enslavement after allegedly sexually abusing and incarcerating his daughter in the cellar of his home, where one of the children she was forced to bear died due to lack of medical attention
November 14, 2008, The Eurozone enters its first recession as the combined gross domestic product of the 15 members dropped 0.2% in the second and third quarters of 2008
November 15, 2008, The Fools/Jester open Wall Street



November 15, 2008, The G20 meets in Washington, D.C. to discuss responses to the current economic crisis
November 15, 2008, STS-126 Launches, the Space Shuttle Endeavour will use the MPLM Leonardo to deliver experiment and storage racks to the International Space Station



November 17, 2008, Citigroup will lay off 53,000 workers by early 2009 for a total of approximately 75,000
November 17, 2008, The Japanese economy posts consecutive second-quarter contraction for the first time since 2001, officially putting the country in a recession
November 17, 2008, On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures contracts fall by 3.7% to close at $54.95 per barrel, their lowest level in 22 months
November 17, 2008, The Russian Trading System stock exchange is suspended after its nine indexes fall by more than 5%. It could remain closed for rest of the session
November 17, 2008, MV Sirius Star, a Saudi oil tanker, is captured off Eyl by Somali pirates. This is the largest vessel to-date to be hijacked near the Horn of Africa region
November 18, 2008, Central European stocks drop to a three-week low on expectations of slowing economic growth. Poland forecasts economic growth to drop to 2.3% in 2009 from 5.4% in 2008 and the Warsaw Stock Exchange's WIG 20 index falls 3.5% in two hours. Bulgaria's Sofia Stock Exchange is at a 5-year low. Both Bulgaria and Romania may need International Monetary Fund loans to repay $100 billion of external debt
November 18, 2008, Trading remains suspended at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange for another two days or until the Federal Financial Markets Service instructs otherwise
November 19, 2008, The International Monetary Fund approves a $2.1 billion rescue package for Iceland following the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis
November 19, 2008, The Indian Navy frigate INS Tabar, destroys a pirate ship and forces the abandonment of another pirate vessel off the coast of Somalia
November 19, 2008, A Hong Kong cargo ship carrying 36,000 tons of wheat and 25 crew members is hijacked near Yemen's coast in the Gulf of Aden
November 19, 2008, A Thai fishing ship with 16 crew members is hijacked off the coast of the Horn of Africa
November 19, 2008, New Zealand and Australian researchers identify a new species of penguin, the Waitaha penguin, which lived in New Zealand until its extinction 500 years ago
November 20, 2008, International Space Station celebrates 10 year anniversary
November 21, 2008, Release of movie Bolt

November 21, 2008, The U.S. National Intelligence Council predicts a major decline in U.S. economic, military, and political dominance over the next two decades
November 21, 2008, Malaysia bans the practice of yoga by Muslims
November 21, 2008, Atlantis Hotel opens in Dubai on Palm Island



November 22, 2008, The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's annual summit opens in Lima, Peru, amid an ongoing economic crisis that is expected to lead discussions
November 23, 2008, Scientists led by the University of Calgary are searching for the remains of a meteorite that is believed to have struck northern Canada in Edmonton, around the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, overnight
November 24, 2008, United States President-elect Barack Obama announces his Treasury team, which includes Timothy F. Geithner as Secretary, Lawrence Summers as president of the National Economic Council, and Christina Romer as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
November 24, 2008, United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlines plans to raise the income tax rate for the first time since 1975
November 24, 2008, Citigroup receives US$32 billion from the United States Emergency Economic Stabilization Act
November 24, 2008, The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's annual summit ends in Lima, Peru, amid an ongoing economic crisis with a declaration of commitment with free markets and an openness of the economy, refrainment from raising trade barriers in goods and services over the next 12 months, the regulation and supervision of financial systems, and the ensuring of corporate social responsibility
November 25, 2008, Reports indicate that President elect Barack Obama has decided to keep Robert Gates as the United States Secretary of Defense and Marine General James L. Jones as National Security Adviser
November 24, 2008, The U.S. Federal Reserve announces a new US$800 billion "stimulus" package in which it will buy debt and mortgage-backed securities and make loans to holders of consumer debt
November 24, 2008, BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, withdraws a $66 billion bid for the Rio Tinto Group due to the global financial crisis
November 24, 2008, Truman Show Syndrome delusion: Sufferers convinced they are on reality TV
November 26, 2008, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama announces that he will create a new "economic recovery board," headed by Paul Volcker, designed to provide "fresh perspective" on the current economic issues
November 26, 2008, At least 80 people are dead and over 250 wounded in coordinated terrorist strikes across Mumbai, India
November 27, 2008, Russia and Brazil call for the first BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) summit of major emerging market countries in Russia to respond to the financial crisis in 2009
November 28, 2008, Black Friday: As the Christmas shopping season begins in the United States, two are shot at a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert, California, (The area was first known as the Old MacDonald Ranch, but the name changed to Palm Village in the 1920s when date palms(The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a palm in the genus Phoenix, extensively cultivated for its edible fruit.) were planted.) and a Wal-Mart employee is crushed in a stampede after shoppers broke down a front door in Valley Stream, New York.

December

is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.
In Latin, decem means "ten". December was also the tenth month in the Roman calendar until a monthless winter period was divided between January and February.
December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

December 1, 2008, United States Officially announces Recession
December 1, 2008, United States President-elect Barack Obama announces his national security team to his transition advisory board, among them being Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who was nominated Secretary of State
December 2, 2008, The Government Accountability Office releases a report that claims that the oversight of the Troubled Assets Relief Program requires additional actions to ensure "integrity, accountability, and transparency"
December 2, 2008, The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts interest rates by 100 basis points to 4.25%
December 5, 2008, O. J. Simpson is sentenced to 15-33 years in prison with eligibility for parole after 9 years for kidnapping and robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas, Nevada, casino
December 5, 2008, NASA delays the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory by two years because of lengthening delays and lingering technical issues.
December 6, 2008, United States President-elect Barack Obama nominates General Eric Shinseki to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs
December 6, 2008, India arrests two men accused of providing mobile phone cards to the gunmen in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks

December 7, 2008, Series Premiere of Leverage

 
December 7, 2008, The German Federal Archives has provided Wikipedia with 100,000 historical images that cover periods such as the Weimar Republic, the colonial era, the Third Reich, and post-reunification
December 7, 2008, Arizona Cardinals wins it 1st division title, while reaching the playoffs for the 1st time since 1985
December 8, 2008, Standard & Poor's becomes the first credit rating agency to downgrade Russia since 1999, while data showed that the Central Bank spent US$30 billion in currency market interventions in November 2008
December 8, 2008, A United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet crashes into the University City neighborhood of San Diego, California, two miles from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, killing four people
December 8, 2008, The Tribune Company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
December 8, 2008, In a Guantanamo Bay Naval Base military commission, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants announce their intentions to plead guilty to charges relating to the September 11, 2001, attacks
December 9, 2008, Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at his Chicago home, amidst allegations of corruption and pay-to-play regarding the replacement for United States President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate
December 9, 2008, Sony Corporation announces plans to cut 8,000 jobs and close 10% of its manufacturing plants
December 9, 2008, United Nations-mediated peace talks commence in Nairobi, Kenya, between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the National Congress for the Defence of the People
December 10, 2008, Automotive industry crisis of 2008: The White House and U.S. Congress agree on a proposal for a US$15 billion bailout package for three major US automakers.
December 10, 2008, Global food price crisis: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 963 million people are suffering from prolonged food deficiency around the world
December 10, 2008, The Rio Tinto Group announces plans to cut 14,000 jobs worldwide.
December 10, 2008, Observations detail Milky Way's big black hole: Black hole at center of galaxy weighs as much as 4 million suns
December 10, 2008, Scientists say they have found evidence for water vapour and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the extrasolar planet HD 189733 b
December 12, 2008, Release of The Day the Earth Stood Still



December 12, 2008, Russian Deputy Economics Minister Andrei Klepach claims that Russia may face at least two quarters of economic decline in the future
December 12, 2008, A proposed $14 billion bailout of U.S. automakers fails in the U.S. Senate, raising the specter of an industry collapse that sent Asian markets reeling and sparked fears it could deepen the recession
December 12, 2008, Switzerland becomes the 25th European country to join the Schengen Agreement, whereby cross-border passport checks will be abolished
December 12, 2008, The United Nations Security Council finds that Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are using child soldiers to fight a proxy war
December 13, 2008, Leaders from China, Japan, and South Korea meet on the island of Kyūshū to discuss a response to the financial crisis
December 14, 2008, Al-Baghdadia TV journalist Muntadhar al Zaidi is subdued after throwing both his shoes at United States President George W. Bush during his farewell speech in Iraq.
December 15, 2008, The Electoral college meets in 51 locations officially to elect the 44th President, Barack Obama, and the 47th Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden



December 16, 2008, The United States consumer price index fell in November by 1.9% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department reports, the biggest decline since the nadir of the Great Depression in January 1932
December 16, 2008, Construction permits for single-family homes fell in October by 12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 412,000, marking a 27-year low, the U.S. Commerce Department reports
December 16, 2008, The Illinois House of Representatives votes unanimously to begin an impeachment inquiry against Governor Rod Blagojevich for corruption
December 16, 2008, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations signs a charter to make itself a legal entity
December 17, 2008, Ruins of an entire ancient city belonging to the Wari culture are discovered in northern Peru
December 17, 2008, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani announces his resignation because of chaos over the treatment of Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Al-Baghdadia TV journalist who threw his shoes at United States President George W. Bush
December 17, 2008, A U.S. State Department panel recommends that Blackwater Worldwide should be dropped as the main private security contractor for American diplomats in Iraq
December 17, 2008, The United Nations passes a resolution authorizing foreign countries to conduct military raids on land or by sea in pursuit of Somali pirates
December 18, 2008, India successfully test-fires supersonic cruise missile BrahMos for the first time from a mobile universal vertical launcher fitted on a naval warship in the Bay of Bengal
December 19, 2008, Release of Seven Pounds



December 19, 2008, Release of Yes Man



December 19, 2008, Republican Party Representative Ray LaHood of Illinois is nominated as the next Secretary of Transportation
December 19, 2008, Democratic Party Representative Hilda Solis of California is nominated as the next Secretary of Labor
December 19, 2008, Venture capitalist Karen Mills is chosen to head the Small Business Administration
December 19, 2008, Former Mayor of Dallas, Texas, Ronald Kirk is selected for the position of Trade Representative
December 19, 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush's administration files a trade case to the World Trade Organization against the People's Republic of China over the alleged use of export subsidies to promote Chinese-made goods
December 19, 2008, Rangzieb Ahmed, the highest-ranked al-Qaeda operative in the United Kingdom, becomes the first person convicted of the charge of directing terrorism
December 19, 2008, President Bush announces a $17.4 billion emergency bailout of the automobile industry to protect General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy during the current automotive crisis. The plan is conditional on the companies' reorganization by March 31, 2009, to show that they can return to viability
December 19, 2008, Internet and telephone transmissions between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia are seriously disrupted. The FLAG, SEA-ME-WE 3, and SEA-ME-WE 4 submarine communications cables are believed to have been cut for the second time this year
December 19, 2008, Three resignations ensue when Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean Fitzpatrick admits to concealing a total of €87 million in loans
December 20, 2008, Three submarine communications cables break, disrupting Internet and telephone transmissions in the Middle East and Asia
December 21, 2008, Winter Solstice

December 21, 2008, China's People's Liberation Army Navy deploys three warships (two destroyers and one replenishment oiler) to the Gulf of Aden to join the Combined Task Force 150 in fighting Somali piracy
December 21, 2008, Continental Airlines Flight 1404 skids off the runway at Denver International Airport, injuring 38 of the 110 passengers on board
December 21, 2008, Canada announces a US$3.3 billion bailout for its troubled automotive industry.
December 21, 2008, The Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotels in Mumbai reopen less than a month after the November terrorist attacks
December 22, 2008, Nine human heads and decapitated bodies, believed to belong to eight soldiers and one high-ranking former police officer, are found in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico.
December 22, 2008, Automobile dealers in Mexico demand a US$3 billion bailout package during the automotive crisis
December 22, 2008, The United States and Mexico pledge $1.4 billion for the Mérida Initiative, a security cooperation for combating drug trade, transnational crime, and money laundering
December 22, 2008, Toyota Motor Corporation, the world’s largest automaker, forecasts its first operating loss in 70 years, due to the automotive crisis
December 23, 2008, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh denies reports of possible war with Pakistan over the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai
December 23, 2008, The world's fifteen leading gas-producing countries sign the charter of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, making it a formal organization
December 24, 2008, The National Diet of Japan approves a record budget of ¥88.55 trillion (US$980 billion) in response to the global economic downturn
December 25, 2008, Release of The Spirit



December 25, 2008, Release of Valkyrie



December 25, 2008, Israel moves closer to an invasion of Gaza after a Palestinian militant attack
December 25, 2008, Maruti Suzuki, India's largest automobile manufacturer, declares it has not achieved the growth planned for 2008 and may cut production amidst global crisis
December 26, 2008, Pakistan deploys between five and twenty thousand additional troops along its border with India
December 27, 2008, The Gävle goat, a large Swedish yule goat, is torched by vandals for the 23rd time since its construction in 1966
December 27, 2008, On the eve of its centenary, Woolworths Group begins closing its stores in the United Kingdom
December 27, 2008, Israel launches Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 271 people and wounding at least 800
December 27, 2008, One person is killed and at least six others wounded when rockets fired from the Gaza Strip strike Netivot and Eshkol Regional Council, Israel
December 28, 2008, Operation Cast Lead
December 28, 2008, The Israel Defense Forces continue airstrikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as the number of Palestinian casualties approaches 300
December 28, 2008, The United States vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at stopping Israeli airstrikes against Gaza. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Kingdom, European Union, Russia, and France all call for a ceasefire
December 30, 2008, Gaza death toll from Israeli offensive exceeds 375 - All Out War
December 30, 2008, Bristol Palin gives birth to a Son
December 30, 2008, Fed bails out GMAC with $6 billion
December 30, 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appoints former Democratic Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to President-elect Barack Obama's vacated United States Senate seat. Democratic Senate leaders and Secretary of State Jesse White say they will not accept the appointment
December 31, 2008, Israel rejects a proposed stoppage of Operation Cast Lead that would also have ceased rocket attacks from Hamas so humanitarian aid could be delivered to affected areas in the Gaza Strip
December 31, 2008, One of the world's biggest accumulations of dinosaur fossils is found near Zhucheng, China