After reports surfaced that T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach, both married, were involved in an affair; the GMA hosts were pulled off the air. ABC News President Kim Godwin said the salacious affair was an “internal and external distraction.” Additional reports have surfaced that Holmes had affairs with multiple women. Holmes and Robach have yet to make a public statement.

Brazilian soccer icon, Pelé, 80, is fighting colon cancer and was recently hospitalized due to a bout with COVID. Despite reports that he was near death, Pelé’s daughters confirmed on Dec. 5 their father is not in the ICU, not terminal, and receiving treatment at Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, according to CNN. But Brazil wasn’t lucky enough to advance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, losing to Croatia 4-2 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.

While Meghan Markle has been speaking out for years about the racism she endured once she joined the Royal Family and married Prince Harry, an ex-counterterrorism aide confirmed she received racist death threats. In a Dec. 5 interview with Britain's Channel 4 News, former head of counter terrorism for the Met Police Neil Basu said that the Duchess of Sussex received "disgusting and very real” threats. He also confirmed people had been prosecuted for the threats.

After a series of jaw-dropping gaffes for months, including seeming to not know he was running for the U.S. Senate race, former NFL player Herschel Walker lost the Georgia Senate race to incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who has now earned six more years in Congress. Walker, endorsed by Trump, lost by over 95,000 votes, The New York Times reports.

On Dec. 6, Jaylen Smith, 18, beat Nemi Matthews Sr., a street and sanitation superintendent, in a runoff election for mayor of Earle, Arkansas. Smith received 218 votes to Matthews’ 139. Smith said in a statement to CNN, “I didn’t run to make a name for myself. I ran because I wanted to help my community and move my community in the direction that it needed to be moved in.”

After ten months of being held in Russia on drug charges, WNBA superstar Brittney Griner was finally released on Dec. 8. President Joe Biden tweeted, “She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.” The U.S. traded Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, also known as the “Merchant of Death.” Griner arrived in the U.S. early Friday (Dec. 9), landing at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas. In an interview on MSNBC, White House spokesperson John Kirby described Griner being in “very good spirits” and in “good health.”

Wendy Williams’ son, Kevin Hunter, Jr., was reportedly evicted from his Miami apartment due to $70,000 in unpaid rent. Court docs say he hadn’t paid rent since March 2021 and was evicted in September 2022. Kevin Hunter, Jr. claimed his mother’s mental health issues prevented him from paying the rent. Wendy Williams has not publicly commented on the eviction, but after months of reports about her poor mental and physical condition, she looked healthy at her first public appearance at WBLS’s Circle of Sisters event two weeks ago in New York City.

Janis Hunter Gaye, the second wife of the late Motown legend Marvin Gaye, has passed away. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hunter Gaye passed away on Saturday (Dec. 2) at her Rhode Island home. Gaye wrote the song “Jan” about her and his iconic 1976 album “I Want You” was written in her honor. Her cause of death has not been disclosed. The pair married in 1977 and divorced in 1981. Gaye died in 1984 at 44 years old after being shot by his father in Los Angeles.

In September, Trevor Noah shocked fans when he announced he was leaving Comedy Central’s The Daily Show after seven years as host. Last night (Dec. 8), he signed off in an emotional goodbye and specifically thanked Black women, "Special shout out to Black women. I've often been credited with having these grand ideas. People say, 'Oh Trevor, you're so smart.' I'm like, 'Who do you think teaches me? Who do you think shaped me, nourished me and formed me?' From my mom, my grand[mom], my aunt, all these Black women in my life, but in America as well."