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.
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A new report from ProPublica and the Washington Post found that Facebook Groups played a major role in the spread of misinformation linked to the January 6 insurrection with more than 650,000 posts claiming that Joe Biden's election victory was illegitimate.
Millions of Americans with young children have relied on the child tax credit since the federal government began issuing checks in July 2021. The last round of payments was sent out just before the Christmas holiday — at the same time as the omicron variant surged. Leah Hamilton, associate professor of social work at Appalachian State University, joined Cheddar to discuss what the end to the tax credit means as the U.S. sees the end of many relief programs and its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic. "It'll become harder for families to meet their basic needs, increasing national childhood poverty rates and the proportion of families who have difficulty putting food on the table, maintaining stable housing, and paying their bills," Hamilton said. She also pointed to research that the credit as a long-term investment in children offsets claims that it contributes to macroeconomic impacts like inflation.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the week-end, just days after he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The call comes as Washington prepares to meet with Moscow on January 10, as tensions mount over Russia's military build up near its border with Ukraine. Cheddar News speaks with Mustafa Tameez, a former advisor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, about the issue.
Several Silicon Valley insiders are being accused of contorting a 1990s-era tax break to avoid taxes on millions of dollars of investment profits. The tax break is known as the qualified small business stock exemption, and it allows early investors in certain companies to avoid half of the taxes on up to $10 million in capital gains. A piece recently published in the New York Times says venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz replicated the tax exemption by giving shares of companies to friends and family, who would otherwise face a 23.8% capital gains bill. The CEO of Roblox is also accused of replicating the tax break for his family members at least 12 times. Although the loophole known as 'stacking' is considered to be legal, the Times piece implies that the exemption has been manipulated for the ultra-wealthy to become more wealthy. Greycroft co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Alan Patricof joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Chris Sommerfeldt, City Hall reporter for the New York Daily News, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses both the wins and losses of Bill de Blasio's eight years as New York City Mayor.
The push to regulate the gig worker economy is gaining steam as the share of workers who participate in freelancing through businesses like Uber and Lyft have also exponentially grown during the pandemic. Employment attorney Mark Kluger, founding partner at Kluger Healey, LLC, joined Cheddar to break down how the battle to reclassify gig workers will continue in the new year, and why the issue continues to generate conflict. "More and more workers are using gig work as their primary source of income and as a result of that they are not like employees in the sense that they don't have benefits like health insurance," Kluger noted.
2021 saw markets continue to be impacted by the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic -most recently in the form of the Omicron variant- in addition to the global supply chain shortage, and increased inflation. But it wasn't all bad news, as crypto soared throughout the year, and meme stocks continued to have a moment. With the year coming to a close, investors are keeping an eye out to see if they should expect more of the same in the new year. Chris Vecchio, Senior Analyst, at DailyFX tells us what market trends to be on the watch for in 2022.
