These are the headlines you Need 2 Know. * **Hush Money: Cohen:** President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and tax evasion. The judge said Cohen had committed “a smorgasbord of criminal conduct,” while an emotional Cohen apologized and said he felt it was his “duty to cover up [Trump’s] dirty deeds.” Read more [here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/michael-cohen-scheduled-to-be-sentenced-for-crimes-committed-while-working-for-trump/2018/12/11/57226ff2-fcbf-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html?utm_term=.4c57c659c759). * **Hush Money: Enquirer:** The publisher of the National Enquirer is cooperating with federal investigators who are looking into the payments Cohen made to silence a woman who said she had an affair with the president. The Enquirer admits it coordinated the payment with Trump’s campaign after denying it for two years. Read more [here](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/12/national-enquirers-deal-imperil-trump-1061792). * **May Survives:** UK Prime Minister Theresa May will keep her job after a no-confidence vote failed to deliver the numbers needed to topple her government. May still faces an uphill battle to get the votes she needs for her Brexit plan to pass, as well as the concessions she needs from the EU to make it work. Read more [here](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2018/dec/13/theresa-may-heads-to-brexit-talks-in-brussels-after-seeing-off-vote-politics-live). * **Pelosi Cuts Deal:** Rep. Nancy Pelosi struck a deal with a group of House Democrats that had vowed to vote against her for speaker next month, all but assuring she will be elected. Pelosi agreed to serve a single term, calling herself “a bridge to the next generation of leaders.” Read more [here](https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676293936/nancy-pelosi-cuts-deal-with-democratic-rebels-to-ensure-return-to-speakership). * **Apple in Austin:** Apple is spending $1 billion to build an expanded office in Austin, Texas, where it will add as many as 15,000 new employees. That will make Apple the largest private employer in the city. The company is also planning to open new offices and add jobs in Seattle, San Diego, Culver City among other locations. Read more [here](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/13/apple-to-invest-1-billion-in-new-austin-campus.html). * **Pics of the Year:** Reuters has released its 100 "Pictures of the Year" for 2018. The images include a bride posing during a total lunar eclipse in Brazil (picture 17), Serena Williams yelling at an umpire (picture 39) and a young girl flanked by reindeer in Mongolia (picture 47). See the photos [here](https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/pictures-of-the-year-2018-idUSRTS27NNG). * **Top Google Searches:** The top Google search for 2018 was The World Cup ー both in the U.S. and the world. Included in the top ten of worldwide Google searches, released by the company, were Avicii, Kate Spade, and Stan Lee. Meghan Markle is number six on the global list ー the only living person found in the top ten. Read more [here](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/googles-top-searches-of-2018-dead-celebrities-world-cup-and-meghan-markle). * **Deadliest Drug:** Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America for the first time, replacing heroin as the drug most involved in overdoses. According to the CDC, the lethal synthetic opioid was responsible for 18,000 deaths in 2016. Read more [here](https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/12/health/drugs-overdose-fentanyl-study/index.html). * **Ellen:** Ellen DeGeneres is considering whether to retire from her long-running talk show, according to the New York Times. While DeGeneres just extended her contract until the summer of 2020, she was close to declining ー amid conflicting advice. Her brother encourages her to stay with the show; her wife, Portia de Rossi thinks “there are other things she could tackle.” Read more [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/arts/television/ellen-degeneres.html). * **SAG Noms:** A Star is Born, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Ozarklead the SAG nominees ー in the movie and TV categories, respectively ー each with four. BlacKkKlansman and The Favourite had three noms apiece. The awards air on January 27. See full list of nominees [here](https://www.sagawards.org/media/news/releases/nominations-announced-25th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards%C2%AE). And find all the snubs [here](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/snubs-2019-sag-nominations-1168591). * **Classifieds:** In need of a job? Queen Elizabeth is hiring. HRH is searching for a housekeeping assistant at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The palace is looking for someone who pays “attention to detail.” The benefits package includes 33 holidays, pension and the best perk ー a live-in option. See the ad [here](https://theroyalhousehold.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/mobile-0/appcentre-1/brand-3/user-546379/xf-9630fccb23db/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/4/opp/1928-Housekeeping-Assistant/en-GB). Cheddar's Hena Doba gets into the latest. Subscribe to the Need 2 Know newsletter [here](https://theneed2know.com).

Share:
More In Politics
As the Fed Sets a Taper Date, Consumers Hope for a Decrease in Inflation
The Federal Reserve finally announced its taper plan on Wednesday saying that it planned to scale back on bond purchases as growth slows, and would not rush to raise interest rates. Ross Mayfield, Investment Strategy Analyst at Baird spoke on whether or not a decrease in inflation could be in the country’s future amidst comments made by Fed chairman Jerome Powell. Baird also broke down ADP jobs numbers ahead of the Labor Department's October jobs report.
Democrats' Election Day Woes
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
World Leaders Pledge Climate Actions at COP26
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting. Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
Supreme Court Hears Cases on Abortion and Gun Rights
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
Cheddar Changemakers: Conservation Conservatives
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change. Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root. Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Portland Mayor Wheeler on Increasing City's Police Budget, Revamping Public Safety
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
Why Tech Firms Like Yahoo, Fortnite Continue to Exit China
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
Load More