Need 2 Know: Pelosi Elected House Speaker, Troops Sent to Border
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
* **Pelosi Elected:** Rep. Nancy Pelosi was elected speaker of the House, as expected, as the new Congress was sworn in. Democrats quickly passed measures to reopen the government without funding the border wall, which the Senate is unlikely to even take up. That means the shutdown will continue without an end in sight. Read more [here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/house-democrats-prepare-vote-to-reopen-government-as-cracks-appear-in-gop-opposition/2019/01/03/24151490-0f96-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?utm_term=.28dce1c0b340).
* **Troops to Border:** Troops are being sent to the Southern border in order to construct or upgrade fencing that’s already in place, as negotiations over the border wall remain at an impasse. The construction and deployment would be paid for by the Pentagon out of its current budget. The troops will also provide medical care to migrant families regularly arriving from Central America. Read more [here](https://www.npr.org/2019/01/03/681971323/troops-to-be-deployed-to-border-to-build-160-miles-of-fencing).
* **Spy Games:** An American citizen detained in Russia has been formally charged with espionage. Paul Whelan was detained a week ago and has been held without bail in an infamous Russian prison on charges of spying, though his family maintains that he was in Moscow to attend a wedding. Read more [here](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/us/russia-paul-whelan-espionage-charge/index.html).
* **Travel Advisory:** The State Department is warning Americans traveling to China that they may not be allowed to return home. According to the advisory, U.S. citizens are at an increased risk of being subject to “exit bans” and arbitrarily enforced local laws as a form of harassment. Dual citizens and those of Chinese heritage are at particular risk. Read more [here](https://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-travel-advisory-2019-1).
* **TSA Dogs:** The head of the TSA wants to expand its canine program and officials have determined that floppy-eared dogs like Labrador retrievers are a better fit than pointy-eared dogs like German shepherds. Floppy-eared dogs apparently have a more calming effect on passengers. Read more [here](https://abcnews.go.com/beta-story-container/Politics/tsa-thinks-floppy-eared-working-dogs-airport-welcoming/story?id=60141736).
* **Apple Woes:** The Dow plunged 660 points after Apple’s surprise announcement that its sales had slowed. Apple shares tumbled 10 percent. The iPhone maker has lost $430 billion in market cap since its peak, more than the entire value of Facebook. Read more [here](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/apple-shock-sends-markets-tumbling).
* **Historic Run Over:** UConn’s historic win streak is over. Baylor women beat the No. 1 Huskies, 68-57, handing them their first regular-season loss in 126 games, or more than four years. Read more [here](https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/hc-sp-uconn-vs-baylor-201931-20190104-4isoc2yiprehvgw4nzxlha6mum-story.html).
* **Kevin & Ellen:** In an interview to air today on Ellen, Kevin Hart says he is "evaluating" his decision to walk away from the Oscar hosting gig. DeGeneres says she personally lobbied Academy members to invite Hart back, and they are considering. The ceremony will be broadcast on Feb. 24, and is still without a host. Read more [here](https://variety.com/2019/film/news/kevin-hart-oscars-ellen-1203099143/).
* **Spotted:** Former President Barack Obama on the Billboard charts, thanks to a collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda in a Hamilton remix. Obama made it to number 22 on the “Hot R&B Songs” for the song One Last Time (44 Remix). Read more [here](https://ew.com/music/2019/01/03/obama-billboard-chart-lin-manuel-miranda-hamilton-remix/?utm_source=twitter.com).
* **Leftovers:** The Louvre had more than 10 million visitors last year — more than any museum ever has — and Jay-Z and Beyonce’s music video for “Apesh*t” set at the famous museum is credited with boosting the number of visitors. Read more [here](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-tourism-louvre/beyonce-and-jay-z-help-paris-louvre-to-record-number-of-visitors-idUSKCN1OX1B3).
Cheddar's Hena Doba gets into the latest.
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Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are now planning to amend the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the 'Stock' Act. This 2012 law governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks and amending it would close a loophole, eliminating the trading of individual stocks by members of congress. Pelosi has consistently opposed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and congressional staff...so what's changed? Kedric Payne, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
