: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., U.S. 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate speaks to the media and supporters outside a polling location at Canfield Center on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 in Dearborn Heights, MI. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont spoke at length about the need to defeat Donald Trump and discussed his campaign today after falling behind in another set of Democratic primaries on Tuesday but did not announce his intention to drop out of the contest.
While he cited that he appeared to be losing the race on the issue of electability, Sanders also stated that he felt his campaign was winning the ideological debate. He then directed several questions and challenges on healthcare, climate change, and mass incarceration to his rival former Vice President Joe Biden leading up to the Sunday debate in Arizona.
Biden, the only other remaining candidate aside from Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (far removed in the delegate count) took what looks to be a commanding lead in delegates following victories in Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, and Idaho, while Sanders won the North Dakota caucus.
The results from the primary in Washington state still show Biden and Sanders nack-in-neck with 67 percent of precincts reporting as of this report.
Sanders, the social democrat who carried the banner, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, of what was considered the "progressive" side of the Democratic party, showed signs of leading the race early on among a still-large group of candidates. After a close race with former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa for its caucus delegates, Sanders racked up wins in New Hampshire and Nevada.
But things would change after Biden garnered a dramatic and lopsided victory in South Carolina's primary. From there, other members of the "moderate" wing of the party, Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, dropped out, both endorsing Biden before Super Tuesday.
The Super Tuesday primary day featured the largest share of delegates to date, and while Sanders pulled off a victory in the largest prize of California, and wins in Colorado, Utah, and his own Vermont, Biden's momentum grabbed the lion's share of delegates throughout the Southeast, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.
The primary will conclude with the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 13 to 16.
2021 saw markets continue to be impacted by the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic -most recently in the form of the Omicron variant- in addition to the global supply chain shortage, and increased inflation. But it wasn't all bad news, as crypto soared throughout the year, and meme stocks continued to have a moment. With the year coming to a close, investors are keeping an eye out to see if they should expect more of the same in the new year. Chris Vecchio, Senior Analyst, at DailyFX tells us what market trends to be on the watch for in 2022.
Matt Hayden, vice president of govtech solutions at Exiger and a former assistant secretary of cyber at Department of Homeland Security, joined Cheddar to discuss the surprise phone call initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Joe Biden, ahead of January security talks about the rising tensions over Ukraine. "We're hoping to hear that we're able to talk about the aggression and the leadup of the Ukrainian militarization," Hayden said. "But we're also looking to hear is how the Kremlin leveraged their talking points to try to test their negotiation stance with the United States leading into this January 10th meeting."
The No Surprises Act begins implementation on January 1, 2022. The legislation is meant to curb the practice of unexpected billing for care from providers the patient was unaware were out-of-network from their insurance. Patricia Kelmar, director of health care campaigns for U.S. PIRG joined Cheddar to describe the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars charged to unsuspecting patients and how things will change under the new law. "If we are picking an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital, we should not see those added costs from anesthesiologists, radiologists, scrub-in surgeons," she said. "The other area it protects you is in air ambulances — not ground ambulances, unfortunately — but the helicopters or the airplanes you might need to transport you in an emergency situation."
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladmir Putin are expected to have another conversation surrounding escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar's Ken Buffa to discuss the ongoing tensions and why Putin's request for a conversation with Biden comes now. "This is very serious. This is the worst security crisis we had since the collapse of the Soviet Union," Cohen told Cheddar.
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, but two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - ended the session with a new record. Akshata Bailkeri, Equity Analyst at Bruderman Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is a consensus for robust consumer spreading in 2022, especially as the Omicron variant is proving to be milder than other COVID-19 strains.
