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."
Toby Fricker, the chief of communications for UNICEF, joined Cheddar News to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues, displacing at least five million refugees from their home country. "The situation for children is horrific when you have to leave your home. I mean, that's traumatic for any child anywhere, but being forced to run for your life literally is really horrific to think about that," he said.
Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard University, joined Cheddar News to talk about the legal underpinnings of the ruling to lift the federal travel mask mandate. "Judge Mizelle decided that she would issue a nationwide injunction, which she and other conservatives have criticized in the past," he said. "That didn't stop her from doing it this time. She did it by just wiping away the CDC's rule, and she did it, have to say, in an opinion that was, well, I'll be honest, really stupid."
Marijuana legalization has spread across the country in recent years, and the number of Americans in support of legalization is at an all-time high. Andrew Bowden, CEO of the premium cannabis brand Item 9 Labs, joined Cheddar to break down the inner workings of the industry and how the industry can grow from here.
After a nationwide mask mandate for travel was struck down by a federal judge, Dr. Sampson Davis, an ER physician and bestselling author, joined Cheddar News to talk about the ramifications. "We are at a place where we are going to have to wait and see, unfortunately," he said. "The good news is that we're coming off a celebration of spring break, Easter, Passover, and we'll see what happens. But right now I'm not seeing a spike and people come into the hospital are truly sick. However, I'm still seeing people test positive for COVID."
Chris Vecchio, senior strategist at DailyFX, says the James Bullard and the Fed's bark may be louder than its bite when it comes to potential rate hikes in May. Investors brushed off any causes for concerns during Tuesday's session, which led to stocks ending the day sharply higher.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 19, 2022, with a federal judge voiding mask mandates on public transportation, updates from the Russia and Ukraine war, Mac Miller’s drug dealer sentenced for involvement in the rapper's death, and more.
A federal judge’s decision to strike down a national mask mandate was met with cheers on some airplanes but also concern about whether it’s really time to end the order sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
