10 things you need to know today: December 26, 2018

1. Trump says shutdown won't end until he gets money for wall

President Trump spent Christmas Day at the White House, lobbying lawmakers for money to build a wall on the Mexican border. He said, without evidence, that federal workers who have to work without pay through the holidays are proud to make the sacrifice for border security. Trump offered no timetable for ending the partial government shutdown. "I can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it," Trump said. He said drugs were flowing over the border, Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes were imperiling the economy, and Democrats were threatening partisan investigations. "It's a disgrace, what's happening in our country," Trump said. "But other than that, I wish everybody a very merry Christmas."

The New York Times CNN

2. 2nd migrant child dies in U.S. custody

An 8-year-old Guatemalan boy died in federal government custody minutes before Christmas morning in Alamogordo, New Mexico. U.S. Border Patrol agents detaining the child and his father noticed the boy was ill Monday and took him to a hospital. Doctors prescribed amoxicillin and Ibuprofen for a cold and fever. The boy was brought back hours later with nausea and vomiting, and died near midnight on Christmas Eve. Guatemalan authorities identified the boy as Felipe Gómez Alonzo. His death follows that of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin, who died of dehydration and shock in Border Patrol custody on Dec. 8 and was buried in her Guatemalan village Monday. The Border Patrol's El Paso sector, where both children died, has ordered medical assessments of all 700 children in its custody.

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The Washington Post The Associated Press

3. Indonesia tsunami death toll rises above 420

The death toll from the tsunami that struck Indonesia last weekend rose to more than 420 people as rescuers struggled against heavy rains and blocked roads to find survivors and recover bodies. At least 128 people remained missing on Christmas Day, as holiday celebrations were replaced with mourning and prayers for victims. More than 1,400 people were injured when the six-foot wave hit the islands of Java and Sumatra without warning on Saturday evening after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted. Riefian Fajarsyah, the only surviving member of the Indonesian pop group Seventeen, buried his socialite wife Tuesday, a day after the funerals of his three bandmates. They were all swept out to sea when the wave hit their stage during a beach-side performance.

The Washington Post Reuters

4. North and South Korea launch project to reconnect rail, road links

North and South Korea on Wednesday held a groundbreaking ceremony on a project to reconnect rail and road links that have been cut off since the Korean War in the early 1950s. Officials from both countries gathered at the Panmun Station in Kaesong, North Korea, and posed under a Seoul to Pyongyang sign. The two Koreas agreed in October to start reconnecting railways and roads as they work to improve relations. Construction will have to wait, however. Materials and investment for the project are banned under United Nations and U.S. sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. "There's a lot of things to do before we actually start construction," South Korean Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee said before the ceremony.

Reuters

5. Stock futures gain after record Christmas Eve plunge

U.S. stock futures rose early Wednesday, struggling to rebound after heavy Christmas Eve losses. All three of the main U.S. indexes were up by about 0.6 percent before the bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was coming off a 2.9 percent plunge that broke the 1918 record for the worst Christmas Eve performance. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped by 2.7 percent in a shortened trading day before the Christmas holiday, and the Nasdaq lost 2.2 percent. U.S. stocks are on track to post their worst year since 2008 during the Great Recession, and they are headed for their worst December since 1931, during the Great Depression. President Trump blames the market dive on the Federal Reserve's four interest rate hikes this year.

MarketWatch NPR

6. Iranian president says U.S. sanctions will hurt but not break Tehran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday said as he presented a $47 billion state budget that U.S. sanctions would hurt the country's economic growth but not bend the government's will. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the multilateral nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions against Tehran, clamping down on its vital oil exports. "America's goal is to bring Iran's Islamic system to its knees ... and it will fail in this, but sanctions will no doubt affect people's lives," Rouhani told parliament in a speech carried live on state television. Rouhani said state employees and retirees would get a 20 percent pay increase next year, and that the budget also included subsidies for food and medicine, and other spending increases to help low-income households.

Reuters

7. Pope Francis calls for 'fraternity' in Christmas address

Pope Francis called for people around the world to recommit to the idea that all humans are part of an extended holy family despite the rise of nationalist movements in many places. "My wish for a happy Christmas is a wish for fraternity," Francis, 82, said from a balcony above St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. "Our differences, then, are not a detriment or a danger; they are a source of richness." Francis, a longtime defender of migrants, called for this spirit to heal areas of conflict, including Yemen, Syria, and parts of Africa, where "millions of persons are refugees or displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance and food security."

The New York Times

8. Japan announces resumption of commercial whaling, with new limits

Japan said Wednesday that it is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission and will resume commercial whaling next summer, but tempered the news by committing to cease its whale hunting in the Antarctic and the northwest Pacific Ocean. Resuming commercial whaling in Japan's territorial waters and 200-mile economic zone is "in line with Japan's basic policy of promoting sustainable use of aquatic living resources based on scientific evidence," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. When the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in the 1980s, Japan switched to what it calls research whaling. Critics called it thinly veiled commercial whaling, since thousands of tons of whale meat is sold in Japanese markets each year, mostly to older Japanese consumers.

The Associated Press

9. ISIS claims responsibility for deadly attack on Libyan foreign ministry

The Islamic State on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a suicide-bomb attack on Libya's foreign ministry in Tripoli. The Islamist extremist group said that three of its members carried out the Tuesday attack, which killed at least three people and injured about 21 more. Foreign Minister Tahar Siala said one of the dead was a senior diplomat, Ibrahim al-Shaibi. The attack started when a car bomb exploded near the ministry. Security forces then rushed to the scene. A suicide bomber then blew himself up inside the ministry, on the second floor. Another attacker died when a suitcase he was carrying exploded. An unarmed suspected third attacker wearing a bulletproof vest was killed by security forces.

France24 Reuters

10. Aquaman continues to dominate the box office on Christmas

Aquaman continued to lead the holiday box office through Christmas Eve, adding $11.2 million to its dominant weekend performance and bringing its global total above $500 million. The blockbuster's domestic total was expected to stand near $100 million once Christmas Day ticket sales are tallied. The DC superhero movie, starring Jason Momoa, easily beat out Mary Poppins Returns and Transformers prequel Bumblebee over the weekend in its debut. On Christmas Day, the box office champion ran into fresh competition from newcomers Vice and Holmes and Watson.

The Hollywood Reporter Deadline