As Americans anxiously await the final results of the election, all eyes are on six states that are still tallying up mail-in ballots. Arizona, a state that both the Associated Press and Fox News called Tuesday in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden, is still facing pressure from residents and the president who have questioned the validity of the counting process.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the state's priority right now is to be as transparent with the counting process as possible and to protect poll workers.
A group of Trump supporters gathered at the Maricopa County election center to protest overnight. Demonstrations have sparked nationwide as Americans have split, with some demanding states count all ballots and others calling for them to stop the process.
"These folks have been working hard around the clock to get their job done, which is counting all the ballots, and so, these protesters are really a distraction. They are calling for the county to count all the ballots and that's exactly what we're doing," Hobbs told Cheddar.
"Our tabulation process is really transparent. There's observers allowed in, although I think they, maybe, sent those people home yesterday out of concerns for safety; but there's cameras in every tabulation center," Hobbs explained. "Anyone can go to any of our counties' election websites, look for that link, and watch it from wherever they are to see that process as it happens."
Today, voters can expect a significant update in tallied ballots around 7 p.m. MST, Hobbs said, as Maricopa County becomes the focal point of the state's race. With about 450,000 ballots remaining, the count in Arizona is expected to wrap up some time this weekend.
But as The Trump administration continues to follow through on a promise to contest the election process in court, Hobbs said that based on the president's failed lawsuit in states like Georgia, the president should want counting to continue in the state given that the margin between the candidates is so narrow.
With Biden leading by just under 70,000 votes, the once red state is slowly experiencing a shift — one that Hobbs said has been years in the making.
"We've seen shifting demographics for the last 10 years in our state and there's been pushes from a lot of organizations, party-related progressive groups or otherwise, to really engage those new folks to Arizona, those changing demographic folks, and those changing demographics to be engaged, to register to vote and to vote, and it's been 10 years of doing that," the secretary noted.
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are now planning to amend the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the 'Stock' Act. This 2012 law governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks and amending it would close a loophole, eliminating the trading of individual stocks by members of congress. Pelosi has consistently opposed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and congressional staff...so what's changed? Kedric Payne, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
