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."
The former Massachusetts governor, who joined the board of cannabis producer Acreage Holdings last week along with former House Speaker John Boehner, told Cheddar that once you can do research on cannabis, "the arguments against it are going to be increasingly slim."
Talking to the iconic Supreme Court Justice, who is revered in both the legal system and pop culture, is as intimidating as you would expect, say the two directors of a documentary about Ginsburg. The documentary releases on May 4.
The lawyer representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels says it is an "outrage" that President Trump attacked his client on Twitter. "I'm not going to tolerate it," Avenatti told Cheddar Thursday.
Large swaths of Puerto Rico lost power Wednesday, the second major service interruption in less than two weeks. That makes efforts to recover from Hurricane Maria even harder, says Kelly Macias, a staff writer at the Daily Kos. Thousands of people on the island have been in the dark since the storm hit in September.
In light of Facebook's data scandal, other tech companies should give users a cut of the money they made off of their information, says Brittany Kaiser, a former director of business development at data company Cambridge Analytica.
Brittany Kaiser, a former executive at the company that gained access to data on millions of Facebook users, said that the estimate of 87 million people affected is far less than the reality.
The Fox News primetime host remains unscathed even after multiple controversies, including the revelation on Monday that he sought legal advice from President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. "He pretty much plays by his own rules," says Michael Calderone, Politico's senior media reporter.
The back and forth between UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and President Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow over sanctions on Russia just reflects a major difference of opinion within the White House and "that she's a little more hawkish on issues in terms of foreign policy," says Jon Miller, CRTV's White House correspondent.
Nearly half the films debuting this year were directed by women, says Pete Torres, the festival's COO. Promoting women in the film industry "always has been part of our mission," he told Cheddar Wednesday.
Cohen has a hand in many of President Trump's dealings, from the Stormy Daniels case to potential business in Russia, says political consultant Rick Wilson. That could all be used to either flip him against Trump or put him behind bars.
