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Developing now, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018

Trump says shutdown continues as long as Dems reject border wall

U.S. Customs and Border Protection orders medical checks on all migrant children in custody after a Guatemalan boy, 8, dies

Holiday retail sales are strongest in years, with U.S. consumers spending $850 billion

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THE LEAD STORY – TRUMP’S MESSAGE TO DEMOCRATS: SHUTDOWN WILL LAST ‘UNTIL WE HAVE A WALL’: Speaking from the Oval Office on Christmas Day, President Trump revealed he will be going to the U.S.-Mexico border for a “groundbreaking” ceremony for a portion of the wall being built in Texas. And he warned Democrats that the nation’s partial government shutdown won’t end until funding is secured for the full barrier.

“While we’re fighting over funding, we’re also building, and it’s my hope to have this done, completed, all 500 to 550 miles, to have it either renovated or brand new by Election Day,” he said. - Reported by Greg Norman

MEDICAL CHECKS ORDERED AFTER MIGRANT BOY’S DEATH: U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it will conduct medical checks on every child in its custody following the death of an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy -- the second immigrant child in the agency's care to die this month.

The child’s death came during an ongoing dispute over border security and with a partial government shutdown underway over President Trump's request for border wall funding.

The boy, identified as Felipe Gomez Alonzo, died shortly after midnight at the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, N.M. The cause of death was unknown; he had received treatment at the hospital starting on Christmas Eve. - Reported by Greg Norman

In a Christmas tweet, Ocasio-Cortez says Jesus was a ‘refugee’

Mexican hitmen allegedly film themselves gunning down 4 police officers

CONSUMERS SPENT BIG THIS HOLIDAY SEASON: The stock market’s recent downturn and the partial government shutdown apparently didn’t faze consumers this holiday season: Holiday sales increased for U.S. retailers at the best pace in six years, according to early data.

Total U.S. retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose 5.1 percent between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 from a year earlier, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks both online and in-store spending with all forms of payment. - Reported by Ken Martin

THE SOUNDBITE

SOLDIER’S YOUNG SON GETS HIS WISH - "His jaw just dropped when he finally realized it was me walking into the gym." – U.S. Army Pvt. Timothy Zeller of New Jersey, describing the scene at the school of his son, Abel, who had written to Santa Claus, asking for his dad to come home for Christmas. WATCH

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STAY TUNED

On FOX News:

FOX & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Guests include Morgan Ortagus, national security analyst; Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Hitha Herzog, retail watcher; and Dan Geltrude, accountant.



The Story with Martha McCallum, 7 p.m. ET: Jessica Tarlov, Democratic strategist; Howard Kurtz, “Media Buzz” host; Ed Rendell, former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania; and Jason Riley of the Manhattan Institute and a Wall Street Journal columnist.



Tucker Carlson Tonight, 8 p.m. ET: Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law professor emeritus and author of “The Case Against Impeaching Trump.”

On FOX Business:

Mornings with Maria at 6 a.m. ET: Ed Goeas, former senior adviser to presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Scott Walker and Tarrance Group president and CEO and pollster; Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and House Appropriations Committee member; John Hofmeister, former Shell Oil president; and Ted Oakley, Oxbow Advisers managing partner.

Varney & Co. at 9 a.m. ET: Nelson Balido, Border and Commerce Security Council president; Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.; and Thomas Homan, former acting director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Cavuto: Coast to Coast at Noon ET: Steve Sadove, former CEO and chairman, Saks Inc.

After the Bell with Melissa Francis and Connell McShane, 4 p.m. ET: Dan Mitchell, Center for Freedom and Prosperity co-founder; Robert Charles, former assistant secretary of state and retired U.S. Navy officer.

On FOX News Radio:

The FOX News Rundown podcast: The federal government lays the groundwork to have a central command to fight in space. FOX News’ Lucas Tomlinson and Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, weigh in on what this could mean moving forward. FOX’s Jessica Rosenthal looks back on one of her favorite interviews of the year with Bill Browder, a man wanted by the Russian government. Plus, commentary by Dr. Marc Siegel.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Mary Walter hosts. Guests include Allen West, talking about Syria, Mattis, the partial government shutdown and the border wall; and Brett Decker, about how President Trump can fund the border wall without an OK from Congress.

Want the FOX News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.

#TheFlashback

2004: An earthquake in the Indian Ocean causes a massive tsunami that results in more than 200,000 deaths in 14 countries.

1996: Child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, 6, is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colo., home. The crime remains unsolved.

1991: The parliament of the Soviet Union formally votes the nation out of existence after 74 years.

1776: George Washington and the Continental Army win a major Revolutionary War victory at Trenton, N.J., after crossing the Delaware River from Pennsylvania.

FOX News First is compiled by FOX News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Thursday morning!