While the White House and Senate races remain undetermined, Democrats have retained control in the House of Representatives. Among election night's winners was New York City Councilman, Ritchie Torres, who will represent the 15th district in the South Bronx.
The victory for Torres marks a historic moment for the United States Congress as he becomes the first openly gay Black representative to serve. His win also signifies a sea change in New York after fellow Democrat José Serrano, who held the seat for 30 years, decided not to run again.
"When he entered Congress in 1990, I was only 2 years old, and so yesterday's election in 2020 represents a passing of the torch. And I'm grateful to the voters of the South Bronx for giving the high honor of representing the next generation of leadership," Torres told Cheddar.
With his election, and the reelection of 'The Squad,' the growing diversity in Congress, according to the councilman, is a microcosm of a diverse society.
"More than 60 percent of the House Democratic Conference are women, people of color, LGBTQ, so the Democratic party in Congress [is] increasingly becoming a miniaturization of America, of multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. And that's a beautiful thing," he noted.
Putting People First
Torres' first priority as representative is to lobby for essential workers in the South Bronx, which was once one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, he said. The neighborhood, made up mostly of Black and Latino residents, saw almost twice the amount of hospitalizations and deaths compared to a more densely populated Manhattan.
"We have to put income in the pockets of struggling families because the road to recovery for our country will run through our families. It's their spending that will have the greatest impact in reviving the economy," he explained.
While cases continue to surge nationwide, the bare minimum, Torres said, that the federal government could do to help alleviate the financial burden many are experiencing is provide funds that would expand testing, contact tracing, and a stock of critical supplies.
But for New York in particular, Torres painted a more dire situation, and emphasized the urgent need for federal assistance in the Empire State.
"Economically we need to stabilize our local and state governments. There's never been a point in the history of our country where New York State government and New York City government and the public transit system were all caught in a fiscal death spiral," he said.
For Torres, the fight for such policies remains personal, as he expressed that having a first-hand understanding of how everyday Americans live places him in a unique position to fight for real, effective change.
"The greatest asset that I bring to public life is the wisdom of lived experience. I don't come from a political family. I don't come from privilege. I don't have fancy degrees but I know what it's like to grow up in poverty," Torres said. "Those lived experiences not only inform who I am, but are going to motivate much of what I do in Washington, DC."
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.
