Coronavirus has hit Capitol Hill, as the first members of Congress have tested positive for the virus.
Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced diagnoses late Wednesday. Diaz-Balart’s office said he had developed symptoms Saturday evening and was notified Wednesday of a positive test. Both had voted on the House floor as recently as Saturday morning, to pass the coronavirus relief bill.
Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah (Left), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. (Right)
At least five other members of Congress are quarantining because they had contact with the lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Scalise, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House.
Some lawmakers had been pushing for ways to vote remotely, particularly since congressional members are disproportionately in higher-risk categories for coronavirus complications. Forty-eight senators are over the age of 65, the age at which some states have recommended individuals to stay inside their homes.
Senator Dick Durban (D-Ill.) has said “it’s time for the Senate to wake up to the 21st century and make sure we’re using technology that allows us to communicate with each other without any danger or risk to public health.”
Minh-Thu Pham, co-founder of New American Voices, joins Cheddar News to discuss the organization and why new citizens are key to defending U.S. democracy.
Joel Willett, a former CIA operative, joins Cheddar News to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin officially launching a "special military operation" in Ukraine
Ursula Perano, politics reporter at the Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the wave of 30 House Democrats retiring or not seeking re-election in November.
Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the high court's latest ruling in an Alabama gerrymandering case that could end up further chipping away at the Voting Rights Act.
GLAAD, the media watchdog for the LGBTQ community, released its “Where We Are on TV” report last week, with updated data on the entertainment industry. Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer for the non-profit organization, joined Cheddar News to talk about the progress that has been made on media representation and what's at stake in the process of humanizing queer people in popular culture as a recent backlash in legislative trends demonstrated. "We just saw the news yesterday in Texas, a move from Governor Abbott that would try to pull trans youth away from their parents for receiving gender-affirming care," Ferraro said. "And television and entertainment can be a frontline to preventing such anti-LGBTQ legislation from moving forward."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun. Explosions and sirens were reported across the country early Thursday morning, as Russia launched a wide-ranging attack with shelling, tanks, and missile strikes. Lauren Baer, former State Department Senior Adviser and current Managing Partner at Arena, joined Cheddar to provide the latest update on the crisis.
A six-year battle over equal pay has finally come to an end-- as U.S. Soccer and The United States Women's Soccer Team have agreed to settle their lawsuit. Under the terms of the deal, the athletes will receive $24 million from U.S. Soccer, and a pledge from the federation to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. Lily Roberts, Managing Director of the Poverty to Prosperity Team at the Center for American Progress joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has hit back against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany, and declaring that America will stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
