With Congress in recess for the month of August and the president on vacation in Bedminster, very little has been done to address gun reform two weeks after mass shootings took the lives of 31 people in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
"The inactivity of the president, and [Senate Majority] Leader McConnell, is literally killing Americans," New York Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney told Cheddar Monday. "It is outrageous."
Maloney is a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, H.R. 8, that passed the House in February, but has not made any movement in the Senate.
"I would say if guns made us safer, we would be the safest nation on earth," Maloney said.
"Unlike many problems that we don't have an answer for, such as what's the cure for cancer, we know what to do to get guns off the street and other countries have done it," she added.
In various press gaggles and rallies since the shootings, Trump has flip-flopped on the topic of gun control. In the week after the two mass killings, the president issued his support for a background check bill. Nevertheless, last Sunday, Trump told reporters, "But just remember, we already have a lot of background checks."
The president has also pointed early and often to mental illness as a factor in the rise of gun-related deaths in America, a common talking point among gun rights advocates. On his way back to Washington Sunday, he told reporters, "I don't want people to forget that this is a mental health problem. I don't want them to forget that, because it is. It's a mental health problem."
Maloney weighed in on the president's spin: "The President says he wants to make sure that [gun buyers are] not mentally ill. Well, the one way to find out is background checks."
"I support the Second Amendment," Maloney later, saying that "assault weapons, weapons of war that are just designed to kill the most people quickly, they shouldn't be allowed to be sold. They should be banned."
On Monday, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) became the first Republican in the House to support H.R.1296 — the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 — of which Maloney is also a co-sponsor.
"They are weapons of mass slaughter," King said, adding, "I don't see any need for them in everyday society.
Dave Levinthal, deputy Washington Bureau chief at Insider, joins Cheddar News to discuss Gallup's new survey that reveals more Americans leaned Republican by the end of 2021.
L’Oréal is doubling down on its investment in tech. The French beauty giant unveiled two new high-tech products ahead of CES 2022, aimed at simplifying the hair coloring process. Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oréal Technology Incubator, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the company's innovations for hair coloring, including the Colorsonic application device and the Coloright AI diagnostic tool.
After meeting by chance in an airport, legendary actor Bill Murray and world-renowned cellist Jan Vogler joined forces to put out an album of poetry and music, go on a European concert tour, and release a feature documentary. Murray and Vogler joined Cheddar to dish about the experiences taking their “New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization" on the road and filming the documentary that followed the pair, along with Mira Wang on violin and Vanessa Perez on piano, at their final show in Greece. "When this opportunity to play with Jan and Mira and Vanessa came along, I thought, well how bad can I be with these people behind me," Murray self-deprecatingly noted about his own musical talents.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals: Director of Programs at Alpine Ascents breaks down how to mentally and physically prepare for climbing Mount Everest; American Himalayan Foundation's Vice President discusses Sherpa culture and ethos, and why they are so critical to the climb; A look at Curiosity Stream's 'History by the Numbers.'
All around the world, speed limits are placed on public roads to promote car safety and save lives. In that same world, car manufacturers have continued to look for ways to build faster and faster cars. Despite the dangers of speeding, many drivers are guilty of pushing the pedal from time to time. With cars being such a prevalent culture in everyday life, especially in the US, it’s worth wondering what it would take for car companies to once and for all settle the argument of safety versus freedom.
A recent study by MSI uncovers a vast racial divide in influencer marketing. The research found a 35% racial pay gap between white and black influencers. This gap is extremely wider than the gap in other industries such as education, business, and finance. The research also suggests that brands and agencies have the power to close this gap. Tiffany Hardin, founder and CEO of Gild Creative Group, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Student loan collection company Navient agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in debt and paid more than $140 million in other penalties to settle a lawsuit over abusive lending practices. Josh Shapiro, the attorney general of Pennsylvania who led negotiations in the settlement, joined Cheddar to go over the details of the company's predatory lending. "What Navient would do is charge [borrowers] these exorbitantly high rates, even though they knew people couldn't pay them or they would likely default on them," he explained.
Retail platform operator and delivery company, Foxtrot,
raised $100 million in a Series C round led by D1 Capital Partners. Foxtrot bills itself as the modern convenience store that combines what it calls in-store curated discovery with 30-minute delivery and 5-minute pickup. Since launching first as a digital-only delivery service, the company has since grown into a popular local retailer, opening 16 brick and mortar locations across Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, DC. Foxtrot co-founder and CEO Michael LaVitola joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
