Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY): America Has Become 'a Spectacle for the Rest of the World'
President Trump is in hot water after reportedly calling Haiti, El Salvador, and some African Countries "shitholes" in a closed-door immigration meeting with members of Congress. The President denies he used this language, but Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was in the room during the meeting and says he heard President Trump speak those words.
Congressman Adriano Espaillat represents the 13th district of New York and urges Republican leaders to condemn the president's remarks. He believes President Trump's actions are embarrassing to all Americans, no matter the party affiliation. The Congressman says he is unfortunately not surprised to hear the President would make such remarks.
"This is not a Republican problem, nor Democratic or Independent problem," the Congressman said. "This is an American issue to have the executive of our great nation speaking those terms. It's totally unacceptable."
Rep. Espaillat says immigration progress on Capitol Hill is slowed by the President's comments, despite agreement that "Dreamers" here under the Obama Era DACA policy should be protected.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
Markets opened slightly higher to kick off the final trading week of the year as investors continue to watch the Omicron variant in the U.S. Sean O'Hara, President, Pacer ETFs joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what drove early market activity.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.
Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe joined Cheddar to discuss the troubling issues surrounding player Peng Shuai who appeared potentially to have been silenced following her social media post accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Shuai's subsequent disappearance, reappearance, and apparent retraction of the accusation in an interview only added to worries. "When this happened, all of us in the tennis community were very concerned. And, by the way, another thing Peng said in this interview was that she doesn't speak very good English," McEnroe noted. "Well I can assure you, she speaks darn good English, 'cause I spoke to her on many occasions over the last 15 years."
Universities like UCLA, Yale, and Duke have announced they're implementing remote learning amid the COVID omicron variant surge, despite President Biden recommending that K-12 schools should continue in-person education. Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at American Progress, joined Cheddar to break down what institutions of higher education might be considering differently. "I think some universities are allowing periods of a bit of a respite to allow students to get testing and make sure when they do return back to campus that they're healthy," he noted.
The S&P closed at a record at the major markets ended Thursday's session higher for a third straight day. Adam Coons, Portfolio Manager at Winthrop Capital Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses what has investors feeling jolly before Christmas, and gifts investors with winning buying opportunities entering 2022.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates for large companies and health care workers on January 7, 2022. The mandates will remain in place until then.