The number of COVID-19 cases is hitting a record high all across the U.S., suggesting the second coronavirus wave is underway. President-elect Joe Biden said fighting the pandemic will be his top order of business, but with his inauguration more than two months away, there is concern the fight against the virus could be insurmountable by then.
Among those vying for immediate action to be taken is Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District), who worked as a doctor before he was elected to Congress.
"We all know the outcome of this presidential election. I would hope the career scientists and others at the FDA, at the CDC, would start working with the Biden administration. And you're seeing some of that messaging change a little bit, but Donald Trump's unpredictable," Bera told Cheddar.
It's not just Americans' health at stake; it is also the health of the U.S. economy Bera is concerned about. Last week 709,000 Americans applied for first-time unemployment benefits. While that number better than expected, jobless claims are still exceedingly high across the U.S., a sign that relief for Americans should remain a priority, Bera said.
"I don't think we can wait until January 20th. I think we've got to get something done in this Congress, in the lame-duck session," he continued.
Getting the Vaccine Out
The California congressman suggested that the Biden administration will provide a "180-degrees difference" when it comes to strategizing the country's way out of the pandemic and will be led by science. Still, he believes there will be difficulty in distributing a vaccine once it becomes widely available.
"This is going to be a major logistical lift here in terms of how you get that out there, particularly if it is the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine because of the cold storage issues. They have to be kept at very cold temperatures," he explained.
When it comes to distributing the vaccine, Bera said workers on the frontlines of the pandemic, those at high risk of infection, and people in the hardest-hit communities should be tended to first.
With the holidays just weeks away, the pandemic is only expected to worsen and until a vaccine is ready, Bera said Americans must do their part and move responsibly.
"Everyone really should take the caution, wear a mask, avoid big gatherings, particularly big indoor gatherings," he said.
The government should also prepare the public for a vaccine, if and when it becomes available. "Between now and when that vaccine's available, let's have positive messaging and reassure the public that the science is going to drive when that vaccine is ready," he said
As President Biden travels to Europe this week amid Russia's ongoing invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former Bush administration State Department official David Tafuri, joined Cheddar News to discuss the president's stop in Brussels, Belgium, to coordinate with NATO leaders efforts to dissuade Russian President Putin's war. "The maintenance of sanctions and increasingly ratcheting up the sanctions is what he thinks will cause a country like Russia to back off," Tafuri said of Biden. "And so he's committed to that strategy."
John Logan, Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the growing unionization push by employees at Starbucks and Amazon, and the wider implications of employee organization at these big companies.
Cheddar's Arielle Hixson sat down with five Black women making history as part of the Biden administration's communications team. Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary; Khanya Brann, the chief of staff to Kate Bedingfield; Amanda Finney, the chief of staff to Jen Psaki; Erica Loewe, the director of African American media; and Rykia Dorsey, the senior regional communications director, shared their stories.
President Biden has embarked on a crucial trip to meet with allies in Belgium and Poland to discuss new sanctions on Russia as it continues to wage war on Ukraine. The president will seek to address the growing humanitarian crisis out of Ukraine, demonstrate a united Western front against Russia, and reassure Ukraine that it has support from the U.S. Joel Rubin, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State & President of the Washington Strategy Group, breaks down what to expect from the President's crucial visit to Europe.
Catching you up on what you need to know Mar 24, 2022, with NATO meeting updates, Ukraine retaking suburbs around Kyiv, the spread of omicron subvariant BA.2 in China, Google Pay launching a third-party billing option, and a 16-year-old is suspected of being the Lapsus$ mastermind behind hacks of Microsoft and others.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in 52 years as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and an ongoing virus pandemic.
Alicia Garza joined Cheddar News to talk about the Black Futures Lab where serves as founder and principal. The non-profit organization seeks to develop grassroots power in the Black community with projects like the Black Census, which takes into account the granular experiences of the demographic. "What we know about Black folks and the reason that we decided to focus on black communities again, it's because we're being left out and left behind their stories being told about us without our input and without our shaping," she said. "If we want a robust democracy in this country, we have to change that equation." Garza also touched on issues around voter suppression and the midterm elections.
Sean O'Hara, President of Pacer ETF's, explains why investors who were down after Jerome Powell's remarks on inflation Monday were more optimistic on Tuesday as the major indexes ended the day near session highs.
