President Trump struck a more positive tone in his first ever State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night, but did he succeed in uniting a divided Washington? Cheddar's J.D. Durkin and Baker Machado break down all the biggest moments from the president's speech.
The economy took center stage in President Trumps's speech Tuesday night. He took the opportunity to highlight newly-enacted tax reform, one of his most visible accomplishments since taking office. Trump pointed to Apple's recent decision to invest in the U.S. as an example of tax reform's success.
President Trump also laid out his immigration plan and called on Congress to pass legislation. His plan includes protection for Dreamers as well as funding to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. This elicited boos from Democratic lawmakers who have been vocal critics of the border wall.
Erin Delmore, senior political correspondent at Bustle, also joined us to give her take on the president's speech. Even though Trump's last year in office has been divisive, his State of the Union address struck a unifying tone. But Delmore says it remains to be seen whether Trump's message won over skeptical voters.
David Levine, elections integrity fellow with Alliance for Securing Democracy, joins Cheddar News to discuss Politico's bombshell finding revealing the RNC's plan to contest the elections.
A survey by the BMO Real Financial Progress Index found that 25 percent of Americans are pulling back on retirement contributions to offset the cost of inflation. This comes as market volatility reduced retirement savings with the S&P 500 shedding more than 12 percent this year alone.
As abortion rights take center stage in courts around the country, so do discussions about reproductive health. Signs and social media posts say things like "protect women's rights" and "her body, her choice," leaving others who need and receive abortions completely out of the picture. The potential end to Roe v. Wade would impact far more people and facilities than you may think. Cheddar News' Baker Machado breaks it all down.
Arkansas is planning to reshape itself by putting a strong emphasis on technology through computer science in the classroom. Governor Asa Hutchinson joined Cheddar News Buffa to discuss the state's efforts to promote itself as a future tech hub. “It gives young people such a huge opportunity for success," he noted. The term-limited governor also touched on the issue of gun ownership, offering up the idea of possibly raising the age limit to obtain rifles like the AR-15 to 21 instead of 18 as it currently stands.
The dating app Bumble has sponsored bills and pushed lawmakers to criminalize the online practice of sending unsolicited nudes or “cyberflashing." Payton Iheme, Bumble's head of public policy for the Americas, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the app was going after the harassing behavior beyond its own platform. "Now, while we went to work internally in the company, and we created something called private detector to automatically blur those images so the user can decide if they want to see them, there's nothing for the rest of the internet," she said. "And so that's why we went to work with these laws."
Constituent service platform Indigov recently raised $25 million in a Series B funding round. Indigov bills itself as a constituent relationship management tool that helps elected officials improve the way they organize, respond to, and engage those they serve. The startup's services are being used by federal, state, and local governments across the country, including the U.S. House of Representatives. Alex Kouts, founder & CEO of Indigov, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
