Parkland, Fla., students calling for stricter gun laws will be heard at the polls, according to one Florida congresswoman.
“People are going to be hard-pressed running for office this year [if they] are not for real solutions that include making sure that we get weapons of war out of the hands of civilians,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).
“Voters need to make sure that...if we can’t get these kinds of laws passed to protect our people, then we need to elect people across this country who will.”
The Valentine’s Day attack has led to a wave of activism from students both in Parkland and across the nation. Some right-leaning politicians have softened their stance, expressing support for stronger background checks, banning “bump stocks”, and increasing the legal age limit for purchasing a gun.
But Wasserman Schultz says words are not enough. She vows that she and her Democratic colleagues will “hold the Republican majority’s feet to the fire.”
While the GOP does currently hold an advantage in both houses of Congress, some pundits believe that Democrats could regain a lead in this year’s midterms in November.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congresswoman-debbie-wasserman-schultz-d-fl-talks-gun-reform-and-2018).
Stock indexes ended a wobbly day with modest gains Thursday, while the biggest increases went to Amazon, Netflix and other companies poised to do the best during the coronavirus crunch.
The government’s paycheck protection loan program for small businesses is on hold. The Small Business Administration has announced that it reached the $349 billion lending limit for the program.
New York state will extend its stay-at-home restrictions at least through May 15. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that transmission rates still need to be tamed as he prolonged the restrictions that have left most New Yorkers housebound.
Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street after the government reported that 5.2 million more people filed for unemployment benefits last week, which was not quite as many as had been feared.
Another 5.2 million people filed for unemployment in the week ending April 11, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report released Thursday morning.
President Donald Trump says he’s prepared to announce new guidelines allowing some states to quickly ease up on on social distancing. At same time, though, business leaders are telling Trump they need more coronavirus testing and personal protective equipment before people can safely go back to work.
The IRS announced on March 21 that the federal income tax filing deadline has been pushed to July 15, 2020, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Selling swept Wall Street after a dismal lineup of reports made clear how historic the coronavirus crunch has been for the economy. Markets are already bracing for what’s forecast to be the worst downturn since the Great Depression, but Wednesday’s data was even more dispiriting than expected.
John Stanton, co-founder of the Save Journalism Project, told Cheddar that the widespread cost-cutting and layoffs will have a long-term impact on the health of journalism.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday told Cheddar that he is officially endorsing former vice president Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for the presidency.
