These are the headlines you Need 2 Know. * **Shutdown Proposals:** The Senate is expected to vote on two dueling proposals that would end the government shutdown. The Republican bill would give President Trump the full amount he has requested for the border wall, while the Democratic bill would open the government for a few weeks while negotiations continue. Either bill would need 60 votes to pass, which is far from certain. Read more [here](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/politics/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-government-shutdown-congress/index.html). * **Transgender Military Ban:** The Supreme Court has ruled that President Trump’s plan to ban most transgender people from the military can go forward, while challenges to the policy play out in court. This policy reverses an Obama administration decision to allow transgender people to serve. Read more [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/politics/transgender-ban-military-supreme-court.html). * **Jersey Drones:** Drone sightings led to a ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport last night. Two flights reported seeing a drone about 3,500 feet above Teterboro, New Jersey. For a brief period, planes flying into Newark couldn’t land. Read more [here](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/newark-airport-disrupted-drone-sightings-190123064449205.html). * **Covington Catholic:** The high-school student at the center of the viral video that sparked a national firestorm and appeared to show him in a confrontation with a Native American elder on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial said in an interview airing this morning on "Today" that he was not “disrespectful” toward the man, and only wishes that he walked away. The White House has reportedly reached out to the students involved in the video. Read more [here](https://www.today.com/news/nick-sandmann-encounter-native-american-elder-nathan-phillips-i-respect-t147217). * **Teacher Strike:** The teachers’ strike in Los Angeles is over, and teachers return to classrooms today, after early numbers show a “vast supermajority” have voted to approve a deal. The union won its major demands: smaller class sizes, more support staff, and a 6 percent pay raise. Read more [here](https://www.npr.org/2019/01/22/687374562/a-deal-in-the-la-teachers-strike-now-union-members-to-vote). * **Davos:** The IMF downgraded its global growth forecast, sending the Dow down 300 points and serving as an ominous warning to the millionaires and billionaires gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum. The meeting of the world’s political and business elite was already overshadowed by the absence of U.S., U.K., and French leaders, who have stayed home to deal with their own issues of political gridlock. Read more [here](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-elite-at-davos-may-have-just-destroyed-the-2019-stock-market-rally-231117790.html). * **Cooperstown:** Mariano Rivera, the former Yankees closer, became the first player in the history of baseball to be unanimously voted into the Hall of Fame. Mo will be joined at the induction ceremony by Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, and Edgar Martinez. Read more [here](https://www.mlb.com/news/mariano-rivera-elected-to-hall-of-fame/c-302995428). * **Weed-Free Bowl:** CBS has rejected a Super Bowl commercial calling for the legalization of medical marijuana. The ad sought to “create an advocacy campaign for constituents who are being lost in the dialogue” according to Acreage Holdings, a cannabis company. Read more [here](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/super-bowl-advertisement-touting-medical-marijuana-nixed-by-cbs). * **Oscar Nominees:** "Roma" and "The Favourite" are tied for most Oscar nominations, with 10 apiece. Fan favorite "A Star is Born" is up for Best Picture, with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper also nominated in the acting categories. The unhosted ceremony airs on ABC February 24. See the list [here](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/oscar-nominations-2019-complete-list-nominees-1172407). * **Oscar Snubs:** While Bradley Cooper got the nod for best actor, he wasn’t nominated as director for "A Star is Born." Barry Jenkins was left out as director of "If Beale Street Could Talk," and no actors from "Black Panther" were nominated, nor was its director. There were some surprise nominees, too. See a list [here](https://variety.com/2019/film/news/oscar-nominations-the-15-biggest-snubs-and-surprises-1203113968/). * **Oscar History:** Netflix finally got its first Best Picture nomination with "Roma." "Black Panther" became the first superhero film to be nominated for the top prize and Spike Lee received his first director nomination for "BlacKkKlansman." Read more [here](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/oscar-nominations-netflix-makes-history-with-roma). * **Chris Brown Update:** Rapper Chris Brown was released from custody in while prosecutors investigation an allegation that he raped a woman in a Paris hotel. Brown denied the charges in an Instagram post, writing “THIS IS SO (DISRESPECTFUL) AND IS AGAINST MY CHARACTER AND MORALS!!!!!” Read more [here](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-brown-rape-allegations-paris-france-police-confirm-today-2019-01-22/). * **Bacon Hour:** In honor of the new bacon additions to the McDonald’s menu, customers can get their hands on some free bacon: On January 29, from 4-5 p.m. (local time), you can get a free side of bacon with anything you order on the menu. Read more [here](https://www.businessinsider.com.au/mcdonalds-gives-away-free-bacon-2019-1). Cheddar's Hena Doba gets into the latest. Subscribe to the Need 2 Know newsletter [here](https://theneed2know.com).

Share:
More In Politics
'American Insurrection' Documentary Updated With New Info a Year After January 6 Attacks
As the U.S. comes up on the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection.,A.C. Thompson, investigative reporter at ProPublica, joined Cheddar's Baker Machado to discuss updates to American Insurrection by FRONTLINE, ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program. The documentary investigates the attack on the Capitol touched off by the lie that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump but with new information gleaned since the event including interviews with lawmakers and law enforcement and the evolution of groups like the Boogaloo Boys and the Proud Boys behind the attack. "In some ways those groups that were kind of the vanguard of January 6 are maybe no longer relevant because their message is everywhere," he said.
End of Child Tax Credit Could Mean Slide Back Into Increasing Child Poverty
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.
President Biden Speaks with Ukrainian President Ahead of Russia Meeting
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.
NYT Piece Claims Silicon Valley Investors and Founders Contorted Legal Tax Break to Avoid Taxes on Investment Profits
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.
This Year In Trivia
Hena Doba and Azia Celestino recap some of the biggest stories of the year, and learn a thing or two while they're at it. It's This Year in Trivia!
Looking Ahead to Regulating Uber, Lyft, and the Gig Economy in 2022
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.
Load More