With the Democratic National Convention set to kick off next week, former Vice President Joe Biden will announce his running mate in the coming days, Paige Hill, surrogate communications director for the campaign, told Cheddar.
"There are a number of diverse, dynamic, incredibly highly qualified women in this process and we will be lucky to announce very soon who will be joining us," she said.
Biden committed to selecting a woman as his running mate back in March and his shortlist reportedly includes Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
When it comes to defending Biden's pick against impending attacks from the Trump administration, Hill said the campaign's focus will be to remind voters of the future VP's "hard work."
"Whoever she is, we are going to support her and make it clear she has worked very hard to get to where she is," Hill explained.
While Milwaukee was set to be the home of this year's convention, the coronavirus pandemic has forced the nominating ceremony online. Hill said the campaign is taking the move in stride and is excited about Biden's chance to reach voters who otherwise might "not have felt part of a party convention before."
"You won't need a floor pass to experience the biggest moments up close," she noted. "We are going to reach folks where they are, talking about the issue they most care about right now."
Biden is expected to accept the nomination for president from his home state of Delaware.
As the DNC is set to take off a week before the RNC, Hill said the focus isn't on worrying about Republicans replicating their virtual conference, it's about rallying behind the person they believe will lead the U.S. out of a grim state.
"A convention of hope and leadership and for a leader that will unite us on day one," she stated.
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.
