Need 2 Know: Second Migrant Child Dies, Bizarre Kevin Spacey Video
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
* **Shutdown: Day 5:** Hundreds of thousands of government workers are either working without pay or on an unplanned vacation as the partial shutdown over border wall funding continues. On Christmas, President Trump showed no signs of compromising, saying “it’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country … But other than that I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas.” Read more [here](https://www.npr.org/2018/12/26/680121969/shutdown-continues-as-president-and-democrats-remain-at-odds-over-funding-for-wa).
* **HIV Exposure:** More than 3700 patients at a New Jersey surgery center were potentially exposed to HIV and hepatitis B and C. The state’s health department attributes the possible exposure at HealthPlus Surgery Center in Saddle River to “lapses in infection control” and sterilization. No infections have been reported. Read more [here](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-3-000-patients-new-jersey-surgery-center-possibly-exposed-n951791).
* **Death at the Border:** An eight-year-old Guatemalan boy died in U.S. custody at the border, the second migrant child to die under the care of Customs & Border Protection officials in a month. The boy’s cause of death has not been released. Read more [here](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-child-dies-in-border-patrol-custody-today-2018-12-25/).
* **Kevin Spacey:** On the same day it was announced that Kevin Spacey is being charged with felony sexual assault, the actor posted a video on YouTube, titled “Let’s Be Frank,” speaking in the voice of the House of Cards character he played, Frank Underwood. The bizarre video has millions of views. Read more [here](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kevin-spacey-video-racks-up-45-million-views-1171616).
* **Thai Medical Marijuana:** Thailand has approved the use of medical marijuana, thus becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to do so. The region has some of the most draconian drug laws in the world. Read more [here](https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/25/health/thailand-medical-marijuana-bn/index.html).
* **Meltdown:** The Dow dropped 653 points on Christmas Eve, breaking the 1918 record for worst Christmas Eve performance. Stocks went into a tailspin after Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin put out a statement intended to calm markets that instead spooked investors. Read more [here](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/dow-plunges-650-points-on-christmas-eve-amid-d-c-chaos).
* **LeBron Injured:** LeBron James will get an MRI today for a groin injury he suffered during the Lakers’ Christmas win over the Warriors. James left the game in the third quarter, saying he “felt a pop” after he lunged for a loose ball. Read more [here](https://sports.yahoo.com/lebron-james-exits-lakers-christmas-game-apparent-groin-injury-025219028.html?guccounter=1).
* **Ya Gotta Believe:** The seven-year-old South Carolina girl who spoke with President Trump by phone on Christmas Eve says she still believes in Santa, despite Trump telling her that “at 7, that’s marginal.” Collman Lloyd says she didn’t know what “marginal” meant, but is sure that Santa exists after she got the American Girl doll she asked for. Read more [here](https://people.com/politics/child-trump-questioned-santa-shocked-by-call/).
* **Spotted:** The Bush family, including sisters Jenna and Barbara, and former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura, celebrating their first Christmas without former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush. See the pic [here](https://www.instagram.com/p/BryxIbSBWYr/).
* **Miley Married?:** Social media users have been buzzing that Miley Cyrus may have gotten married to Liam Hemsworth ー though the stars haven’t confirmed the vows took place. The speculation began after a friend posted a photo that shows Cyrus in a white dress cutting a cake. Read more [here](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/miley-cyrus-liam-hemsworth-married_us_5c20ef0ae4b0407e907d6a9c).
Cheddar's Hena Doba gets into the latest.
Subscribe to the Need 2 Know newsletter [here](https://theneed2know.com).
Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning his comeback. According to the Wall Street Journal, the former New York governor and his aides are considering how to make his first public appearance since he abruptly resigned last August amid sexual harassment allegations. Jake Lahut, politics reporter for Insider, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Cuomo's potential return to politics.
The pressure is on for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson - after his closest aides handed in their resignations this week.
It comes after a report found that 16 parties had taken place at Downing Street while Covid lockdown protocols were in place in the region. Ari Aramesh, Attorney & National Security/Foreign Policy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has ordered about 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia refuses to back off its pressure on Ukraine. The deployments to Poland, Germany, and Romania are a show of support to NATO allies concerned about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is in addition to the 8,500 troops put on high alert. David Tafuri, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former State Department official, joined Cheddar to discuss what this move means for U.S.-Russia relations.
After tennis player Peng Shuai made an explicit sexual assault allegation toward a former Chinese government official, she disappeared from the public eye. Her recent reappearance with the IOC alongside a Chinese Olympic committee official raised eyebrows and renewed concerns for her safety. Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Peng Shuai's retraction and the various human rights controversies swirling at the Beijing games. "It's clear that the IOC was working with Beijing to make sure that she did not express herself freely," Chang said. "So really this is the IOC being complicit in these mechanisms of control over Peng."
The opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics has kicked off at the Beijing national stadium. 150,000 spectators are in attendance for the games inside the 'closed loop' system separating Olympic personnel from the public. Cheddar News spoke with Brian Cazenueve, Sports Illustrated contributor, to share the highlights you may have missed and much more.
The Biden Administration is set to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from foreign-owned apps, mainly Tiktok. This comes after the White House opted not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. Under these new rules, federal oversight would be expanded to explicitly include apps that could be used by foreign adversaries to steal or otherwise obtain data. Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Although this week's weather is predicted to be less severe than the 2021 storm, Texans are preparing for the worst - stocking up on supplies and emptying shelves in grocery stores, once again. Some Texans still have not recovered from last year's tragedy, and are heading into the next few weeks with anxiety for what's to come. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Houston-based energy workforce & technology council, joins Cheddar News to discuss if the Texas grid will fail again.
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
After two NYPD officers were killed with an illegal gun, President Biden made a trip to New York City to speak on the issue of gun violence fed by the "iron pipeline" of illegal firearms that make their way from the South to the Big Apple. Kris Brown, the president of the gun violence prevention organization Brady United, joined Cheddar to discuss what this visit from the president could mean for the future of gun laws in America. "He's asked Congress to pass things like expanding the Brady background check system, but with the filibuster a barrier to so much action right now in the Congress, he's looking at solutions that involve funding at the federal level and really involve enforcement."
