new WP_Query not working in version 4.4

I have a php include on my homepage that contains a blog feed divided by categories. Its completely stopped working in version 4. How do i need to update my code to fit with wordpress version 4.4

The page is at maximadvisors.com on the home screen. under “Expert Advice for Global Investors. “

for the section is below:

date_default_timezone_set('America/Los_Angeles');
      $today = date('Ymd');

      $cats = array(
	'blog' => array(
          'category_name' => 'blog',
          'title' => 'From the Maxim Blog',
          'posts_per_page' => 8
        ),
	'events' => array(
          'category_name' => 'events',
          'title' => 'Events',
          'posts_per_page' => 2,
          'meta_key' => 'event_date',
          'meta_value' => $today,
          'meta_compare' => '>=',
          'orderby' => 'meta_value_num',
          'order' => 'ASC'
        ),
	'press' => array(
          'category_name' => 'press',
          'title' => 'Press',
          'posts_per_page' => 2,
          'meta_key' => 'event_date',
          'orderby' => 'meta_value_num',
          'order' => 'DESC'
        )
      );

      foreach ($cats as $args) {
        wp_reset_postdata();
        remove_all_filters('posts_orderby');
	echo '<div id="' . $args['category_name'] . '-entries" class="entries">';
	echo '<h2>' . $args['title'] . '</h2>';
	$the_query = new WP_Query( $args );
	while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) :
	  $the_query->the_post();
          $date = get_field('event_date');
          $loc  = get_field('event_location');
          if ($date || $loc) {
            echo '<div class="date-location">';
            if ($date) {
	      $date = DateTime::createFromFormat('Ymd', $date);
              echo '<span class="date">' . $date->format('F j, Y') . '</span>';
              if (get_field('event_location')) {
                echo '<span class="sep">|</span>';
              }
            }
            if ($loc) {
              echo '<span class="location">' . $loc . '</span>';
            }
            echo '</div>';
          }
	  echo '<div class="entry"><a href="' . get_permalink() . '" target="_parent">' . get_the_title() . '</a></div>';
	endwhile;
	echo '<div class="more-in-category"><a href="/category/' . $args['category_name'] . '" target="_parent">More +</a></div>';
	echo '</div>';
      }