House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeated a phrase throughout her update this morning on the latest federal response to the coronavirus: "Testing, testing, testing."
The speaker said testing is "so very important, to take inventory, to understand the epidemiological spread of the virus, and also to meet the needs of the people affected."
She confirmed that Democrats and Republicans are working closely to pass a bill today that would provide additional protections, and free testing, following an $8.3 billion aid package last week. "No one will say I can't afford it," she said.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act would ensure free coronavirus testing, paid emergency sick leave, expanded unemployment insurance, increased protections for health care workers on the frontline, and food security initiative for children while schools are closed.
The bill is currently being debated in the House, but the clock is ticking as lawmakers consider whether they should leave the capital out of an abundance of caution.
When asked if House Democrats would stick around if a deal was not made within the next two days, Pelosi insisted lawmakers would get it done.
"We don't need 48 hours. We need to make a decision to help families now," she said.
"If people have to stay home, we have to stay home, but we don't want people to panic," Pelosi added but held off from outlining further plans to address the virus.
"We're here to pass a bill. When we pass a bill, we'll make a judgment about what comes next," she said.
As an addendum to her update on the coronavirus response, the speaker chimed in on the Democratic primary race.
"In case you were going to ask, no, I don't think Bernie Sanders should get out of the race. I'm a grassroots person. I'm chair of the California Democratic Party. I know the enthusiasm of supporters of candidates, and they want to see it play out."
John Carreyrou, the Wall Street Journal investigative reporter who first exposed the fraud at blood-testing company Theranos, said the former CEO of the once high-flying start-up had a chance to minimize the pain years ago, but instead used what money the company had to hide the truth.
The activist, diversity consultant, and author is unsure if tech executives like Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey are equipped to fix platforms that they in part helped create and which, at least in the case of Twitter, might be fundamentally broken.
Well, that happened.
Far-right conspiracy theorist and verbal bomb-thrower Alex Jones crashed both the Senate and House hearings on big tech Wednesday, commandeering media attention and at one point nearly getting into an altercation with Sen. Marco Rubio.
Jones told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin that he was there to "face my accusers." Jones, who founded the conspiracy site InfoWars, was booted off Facebook and YouTube for peddling hate speech, though he remains active on Twitter.
Daniel Lippman, co-author of the Politico Playbook, said that the Democrats have done a good job of making Brett Kavanaugh look extreme through a day-and-a-half of hearings. But whether it will matter when it comes to the confirmation vote is another matter entirely.
Scooby Axson, a writer and producer for Sports Illustrated and an Army veteran, said that Pres. Trump is using Nike's Colin Kaepernick ad to stoke anger in his base.
Wednesday is a busy day on Capitol Hill. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are testifying before the Senate as questions grow over foreign influence and fake news. Plus, Brett Kavanaugh returns to Capitol Hill to face questions from lawmakers in day two of his confirmation hearings. And we sit down with Tiffany Pham, CEO and founder of the website Mogul, to discuss how women can succeed in business.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh returned to Capitol Hill for his second day of confirmation hearings Wednesday. Judd Legum, editor-in-chief of popular.info, has some suggestions for what the Democrats need to ask him.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg are testifying in front of the Senate. Dana Wollman, acting Editor-in-Chief of Engadget, tells Cheddar what these executives have to say to satisfy both lawmakers and investors.
Brand consultant Allen Adamson said the companies that don't speak up in the age of social media, are doomed to become irrelevant. That's the bet Nike is making with its new campaign.
