Rep. Hanabusa: Hawaiians Are Worried About Trump and North Korea
Cheddar's J.D. Durkin catches up with Representative Colleen Hanabusa of Hawaii in Washington D.C. The Democratic congresswoman looks back at the president's trip to Asia, which started in her state of Hawaii. She says she was surprised at all the protests accompanying the president's visit, saying they're not something you see often in the state. She cites Hawaii's allegiance to native son Barack Obama as the reason her constituents are so passionately opposed to anything that could threaten his legacy.
Then we discuss the president's ongoing back-and-forth with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Congresswoman Hanabusa says she was amazed by the president's measured tone during his trip to Asia. Trump's rhetoric got more combative once he left the Korean Peninsula, and the representative says she's glad he waited to ramp things up before leaving the immediate area.
Finally, we tackle Congress' looming tax reform battle. Hanabusa says the main doubt she has about the GOP tax plan is that she's not sure how the country is going to pay for all of its proposals. She says she's "very concerned" thinking of her own constituents, many of them senior citizens to whom Medicare and Medicaid "mean a lot."
U.S. weekly jobless claims rose to 362,000 for the week ending September 25th, higher than the 335,000 economists had expected. This figure is also slightly higher than the 351,000 reported a week earlier. Louis Cordone, Senior Vice President of Data Strategy at AST joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of illegal campaign financing linked to his 2012 bid for reelection after $54 million was spent on fake invoices. Sarkozy was sentenced to one year in prison.
The Senate passed a stopgap funding bill that will finance the government through December 3. The bill now moves onto the House where it is expected to pass as well.
On Monday, the FBI unveiled a report showing a 30 percent increase in homicides in 2020. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello looks into the bureau's numbers that show a steep increase in gun violence amid the growing pandemic.