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.
Rebecca Walser, President of Walser Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she discusses the factors behind Monday's surge on Wall Street and explains why investors will likely experience volatility in the market throughout the month of December.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello joined "Closing Bell" to break down the progress of the SAFE Banking Act in Congress as cannabis businesses operators struggle to find financial institutions that will service them. Banks face steep federal penalties, including the risk of losing a bank charter, if found to be servicing marijuana businesses even if their state has legalized operations. Aiello reported that while there was some bipartisan support for the measure in the Senate, the bill faces some opposition from conservatives with "longstanding concerns" about cannabis and progressives who prefer a more comprehensive approach to reform.
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri is slated to testify this week in front of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee after a Wall Street Journal report that found the Meta-owned social media platform is negatively impacting the mental wellness of teen girls.
Chinese regulators are reportedly behind China-based ride-hailing company DiDi exiting from the New York Stock Exchange, just days after listing earlier this year. The regulators stated prior that DiDi had not received the necessary clearances to list in the states. Gordon Chang, Asian affairs expert, joined Cheddar to break down what the delisting says about the relationship between nations. "This really strikes me as an attempt to really to force a decoupling of China and the U.S. in the financial markets," Chang said.
U.S. Futures were pointing to a higher open to round out the week despite a miss on the November Jobs Report, which showed slower job growth than expected-- and as the omicron variant continues to spread across the country. Patrick Healey, Founder & President at Caliber Financial Partners joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Just days after the detection of the Omicron variant, the World Health Organization has agreed to start the process of establishing a global pandemic treaty or accord. Amy Maxmen, senior reporter for Nature, and Dr. Samuel Scarpino, managing director for the Rockefeller Foundation's Pandemic Prevention Institute, joined Cheddar to discuss this effort and what lessons can be learned from the many COVID-19 failures as the world prepares for future pandemics.
It's a mixed bag for the November jobs report. Hiring slowed last month as employers only added 210,000 jobs, massively missing the estimate of 550,000. But there was one bright spot: the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, with the number of unemployed people dropping to 6.9 million. Both of those numbers are considerably down from their highs at the end of the 2020 recession. Heather Boushey, a member of President Biden's Council of Economic Advisers, joined Cheddar to discuss the report and the state of the country's ongoing economic recovery.