It’s been Immigration Week on Capitol Hill but now it’s time to move on. So what will drive headlines in the week ahead? Here’s a look at the Washington Week Ahead.
TECH HEARING: Leaders of major Silicon Valley companies like Facebook, Alphabet, and Twitter will be testifying in front of subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about how their platforms are handling misinformation and disinformation. Spoiler: not well, according to lawmakers. Expect officials on both sides to criticize the platforms. Democrats will likely focus on the role of Google, Facebook, and Twitter in the January 6 insurrection and misinformation generally while Republicans will attempt to get to the root of what they see as anti-conservative bias.
BIDEN SPEAKS: President Joe Biden will take center stage to answer questions from journalists for the first time in his presidency. Biden has received a lot of criticism for not taking questions up to this point. The White House has pointed to COVID-19 restrictions as a major reason why, but after four years of frequent access to the U.S. president, reporters are hoping for more comments directly from the Commander-in-Chief.
FOR THE PEOPLE: The Senate will take up H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” that passed the House of Representatives early in March. The comprehensive voting rights legislation would expand early voting, enact automatic voter registration and make Election Day a federal holiday. While the Senate is limited by the legislative filibuster, this will be the first time the bill will even be debated on that side of Capitol Hill.
INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK...NO, REALLY: It’s Infrastructure Week! No, really. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be testifying in front of the House Transportation Committee to sell Biden’s infrastructure plan. The $2 trillion plan would make major investments in green energy and renewable technology while also updating that nation’s crumbling roads and bridges. But, Republicans are not sold on the hefty price tag, especially right after another nearly $2 trillion bill passed out of Congress: the American Rescue Plan Act.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 13, 2022, with President Biden referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a genocide, a suspect has been identified in the Brooklyn subway shooting that injured 23 people, New York’s lieutenant governor has resigned due to bribery allegations, and more.
A shooter opened fire inside a busy subway car in New York on Tuesday creating chaos. Cheddar News speaks with Ralph Cilento, Professor of Police Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who gives tips on how to proceed in active shooter situations.
David Katz, a former federal agent with the Department of Justice, and currently founder, CEO, and owner of Global Security Group, joined Cheddar News to talk about the Tuesday mass shooting on a subway train in Brooklyn, N.Y. even as local authorities have so far stated it was not being investigated as a potential terrorist attack. "At this point between the commissioner of the NYPD and the governor of New York, they're almost saying, 'well, it's an active shooter incident.' Okay, but active shooter incidents can also be motivated by terrorism, so until we know motive, we can't make that conclusion at all," Katz said.
Catching you up with what you need to know on Apr 12, 2022, with Russia concentrating forces in eastern Ukraine, rising inflation, severe weather from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast, Philadelphia brings back its indoor mask mandate, PG&E pays $55 million for wildfire settlement, and more
President Joe Biden is visiting corn-rich Iowa to announce he’ll suspend a federal rule preventing the sale of higher ethanol blend gasoline in the summer.
The March consumer price index showed a 1.2 percent month-over-month increase and 8.5 percent increase from a year ago, which was the highest reading since 1981.
U.S. stocks saw a jump in the final hour of Thursday's session, and ultimately closed slightly higher for the day. Tim Pagliara, Chief Investment Officer of CapWealth, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "The markets have had to digest a lot of action from the federal reserve this quarter and it's affecting everything from mortgage rates to how they value stocks," he said.
Rukmani Bhatia, Senior Federal Affairs Manager at Giffords, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the importance of regulating ghost guns as a way to curb U.S. gun violence, which kills more than 40,000 Americans every year.
Gary Schlossberg, Global Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the dire situation caused by Russia's war on Ukraine, as the region is key for exporting grains and corn, and as the UN Food & Agriculture Organization says food prices rose to the highest levels ever in March.
