These are the headlines you Need 2 Know. * **Facebook:** Facebook reportedly gave companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Spotify more access to user data than the company had disclosed. According to a New York Times investigation, Netflix and Spotify were given access to users’ personal messages, and Microsoft’s Bing search engine was given access to users’ friends without consent. The Times says the deals benefited over 150 companies. Read five takeaways from the report [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/us/politics/facebook-data-sharing-deals.html?action=click&module=inline&pgtype=Article). * **Criminal Justice Reform:** The Senate passed the most sweeping criminal justice reform bill in a generation with widespread, bipartisan support. The ‘First Step Act’ will allow judges more leeway in federal sentencing guidelines for non-violent offenders, reduce overcrowding in federal prisons and save taxpayer money. President Trump has said he supports the bill, and the House is expected to pass it and send to Trump for signing. Read more [here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-overwhelmingly-backs-overhaul-of-criminal-justice-system/2018/12/18/89efffb6-02e7-11e9-9122-82e98f91ee6f_story.html?utm_term=.8c944dc79766). * **Flynn Sentencing:** The highest-ranking official charged in the special counsel investigation will need to wait another few months to find out his fate. In a dramatic hearing, a judge agreed to delay the sentencing of Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, so that he can continue to cooperate with prosecutors. The judge will re-assess the case in March. Read more [here](https://www.apnews.com/15b30b10dbef4813a462ab7164f344e2). * **Trump Charity:** The embattled Trump Foundation, the nonprofit arm of President Trump’s company, will shut itself down as part of a lawsuit by the N.Y. attorney general alleging he and his family used it for personal and political benefit. The charity must part ways with its three remaining assets: two large portraits of Trump and a $12,000 signed Tim Tebow helmet. Read more [here](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/12/18/tim-tebow-autographed-helmet-donald-trump-foundation/2359249002/). * **Gun Control:** The White House unveiled a new federal regulation that will ban bump stocks, which gained notoriety after the Las Vegas gunman used them to modify the weapons he used to kill 58 people last October. Gun owners will have 90 days to destroy or turn in their bump stocks. Read more [here](https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/bump-stocks-ban/index.html). * **School Safety:** The Trump Administration’s school safety report stayed largely away from gun policies, though it backed the controversial recommendation that some school personnel be armed. It rolls back an Obama-era policy that aimed to ensure minority students were not unfairly disciplined. Read more [here](https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-schools-20181218-story.html). * **Dangerous Waves:** The National Weather Service has been warning people along California’s coast to stay away from the water because of dangerous waves. Despite the warning of waves that “will be capable of sweeping people into the frigid and turbulent ocean water,” surfers took advantage of the enormous swells. See them [here](https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2018/12/18/see-california-surfers-brave-death-high-surf/2352135002/). * **Glitter Bomb:** A former NASA engineer spent months concocting a ‘glitter bomb’ to foil package thieves ー or so-called porch pirates. Mark Rober, now a YouTube star, was annoyed that packages were getting stolen from outside his home, and decided to do something to deter the thieves ーand so, the ‘glitter bomb’ (made with glitter and fart spray) was born. Watch [here](http://fortune.com/2018/12/18/nasa-engineer-glitter-bomb-porch-piracy/). * **Penny Marshall:** Penny Marshall, who shot to fame as Laverne of Laverne & Shirley and went on to a successful directing career, died at 75. Marshall directed "A League of Their Own" and "Big," which became the first female-directed movie to gross more than $100 million. Marshall died of complications from diabetes. Read more [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/obituaries/penny-marshall-dead.html). * **Richest Celebrities:** Forbes has released its annual list of the richest celebrities. At the top is George Lucas, worth $5.4 billion, followed by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. See the list [here](https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2018/12/18/americas-wealthiest-celebrities-2018-george-lucas-leads-with-5-4-billion-net-worth/#5801aee81d8e). * **Pixar Treat:** Pixar’s most recent short film, “Bao,” is available for free on YouTube for one week to celebrate its Oscar shortlisting. Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYaRZ4TNfus). Cheddar's Hena Doba gets into the latest. Subscribe to the Need 2 Know newsletter [here](https://theneed2know.com).
