On the heels of President Trump's speech at the RNC from the White House, thousands descended on the capital today to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington.
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said that in the midst of social unrest and senseless violence, the march is about emphasizing the importance of voting in this year's presidential election.
"We want to make sure that we use this moment to pause, to re-energize, to focus on marching to the polls in November," Johnson told Cheddar.
While many are expected to show up to the march in-person, organizers are also taking the event online for those unable to attend or who prefer to stay away from crowds amid the pandemic.
Meanwhile, as President Trump continues to wage a war against the mail-in voting process, Johnson and the NAACP are looking for the government to restore the "stripped" Voting Rights Act.
"In order for this democracy to truly work, we must allow access to the ballot box and unfortunately, we have reduced the administration of elections to a partisan consideration," Johnson said.
As the issue of policing in America hangs in the backdrop of the march's mission, Johnson said it is an issue that has to be addressed. When it comes to policies regarding policing, there has to be a process for accountability, he continued, stating that it's imperative other services receive the funding needed so that police are not required to serve functions for which they are not trained.
"We have to take a serious look at the budget of police to make sure we're not asking officers to serve the role of mental health providers; to serve the role of anything else other than policing," Johnson said.
For Johnson, it's all about leveling the playing field and making policing in the U.S. uniform across the country.
"Some of the wealthiest communities across this country see a really robust preventive program in place. Low income areas and areas where African Americans are being patrolled — we don't have enough preventive measures so things will not escalate as we've seen over the recent few months," he explained.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine raging on, millions have turned to TikTok to stay up-to-date on the latest developments and get a first-hand look. The social media platform has been so prominent that the war has been dubbed "the first TikTok war" by many publications — and even the White House has taken notice. The Biden administration held a virtual briefing with 30 social media creators to discuss their role in communicating to their followers by countering what it deems as being misinformation. Ellie Zeiler, an 18-year-old TikTok star who attended the briefing, joined Cheddar to talk about the conference and her responsibilities as a social media creator. "How could you not be a little nervous or scared when you're getting your information and media all from this app? But also then you think back to, I guess, when media was changing between newspapers and TV, and I'm sure people were nervous about that too," she said. "So the fact is, is that people do really look to Tiktok and social media for their news."
U.S. markets closed the day at session lows as the Dow marked its fifth straight week of losses. Investors continue to weigh inflation and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and growing economic risk factors. George Seay, CEO of Annandale Capital, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks ended Thursday's session lower as new CPI data show inflation continues to rise and the Russia-Ukraine war continues. Philip Palumbo, founder, CEO, & Chief Investment Officer of Palumbo Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
It's been an eventful past few weeks for the WNBA. One of the league's top players, Brittney Griner, remains in Russian custody after being detained at an airport last month. The league is also dealing with a scandal after fining a team for providing charter flights to their players. Emily Caron, sports business reporter for Sportico, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
School nutrition experts warn that millions of children could go hungry as soon as this summer, after Congress excluded waivers that would extend universal lunch for children in school from the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill. Cheddar News speaks with Jessica Gould, chair of the public policy and legislation committee at the School Nutrition Association, about the issue.
The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage has been impacting everything from the purchase of cars to smartphones. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves spoke with Cheddar about the Biden administration's efforts to combat the issue and if the current crisis in Ukraine will have any impact on the global supply chain problems for semiconductors. "We're working very closely with all of our partners and allies around the globe, just as we have on the export controls and sanctions that we've applied to Russia to deal with that needless aggression," he said. "We're also working with them on the challenges of raw materials for a range of industries, including the semiconductor industry. We believe that we are going to be able to meet the demand for the for the near term."
Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves spoke to Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo about the ongoing semiconductor shortages and the push from the Biden administration to cover the supply chain problem as well as look ahead to future-proofing it.
President Maxx Fenning and Vice President CJ Walden of PRISM, a Florida non-profit providing resources for LGBTQ youth, joined Cheddar News to discuss the negative repercussions of a Florida bill banning discussions of sexuality and gender identity in some classrooms.
