Seven presidential hopefuls will gather this evening at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for the sixth Democratic debate, and a senior advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders told Cheddar he does not expect Donald Trump's impeachment to change the rhetoric of the field tonight.
"I think there will be a question about it because it's so fresh and we're coming off the heels of this big day that happened in Washington, DC, but people here at this debate, especially Senator Bernie Sanders are going to stay focused on his core issues… We're going to talk about the brick and mortar issues that have propelled Bernie Sanders to the top in the California polls," Chuck Rocha said.
Sanders surged in a California poll last week. California, which votes on Super Tuesday, promises almost 500 delegates, yielding influence over the presidential primary's ultimate result. In 2016, Sanders trailed in California to Hillary Clinton, who later claimed the Democratic nomination.
California's decision to move its primary up for the 2020 race this year from June to March makes its outcome even more significant. The Golden State has a more diverse population than Iowa and New Hampshire, which vote in February, and will have the largest number of delegates at next summer's Democratic convention.
Rocha thinks the Vermont senator's appeal to young, diverse voters will help propel him to the nomination. "We have such huge support among young people of color," he said. Only one non-white candidate, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, will be on the stage tonight and recent Quinnipiac polls put Yang fourth in the demographic group under 35, which Sanders leads.
"It's time for the working families of this country to have a voice… that's what we stand for and that's what Senator Sanders will continue to stand for," Rocha said.
Experts warn that social media is a root cause of mental health issues among many young adults. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who co-wrote a letter to TikTok demanding why its algorithms promote toxic content, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that an estimated one million people have fled from Ukraine since Russia invaded. Christopher Boian, senior communications officer at UNHCR, joined Cheddar News to report on the current refugee crisis and what the world might expect if conditions continue to worsen. "We have planning figures that forecast as many as four million people could be forced to flee Ukraine," he said. "But that very much depends on how the conflict underway in that country at the moment unfolds in the days and possibly weeks ahead."
Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), corn-based ethanol has been mixed into gasoline sold at pumps in the U.S. since 2005, when a policy was enacted aimed at reducing emissions. Corn-based ethanol had been thought to be a relatively greener energy source compared to other biofuels, but now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports it may be actually worse for the climate than straight gasoline. Tyler Lark, an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Sustainability, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell and discussed the pushback against the study. "Essentially when you need to produce more corn to meet the demand for use as ethanol as fuel, farmers respond and they switch more crops like soybeans and wheat into corn," Lark said. "They also bring more land into production, so things that used to be pasture grassland, and both those activities are associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions."
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday announced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs and others in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Christian Blauvelt, executive managing editor at IndieWire, joins Cheddar News to discuss the growing number of studios pulling content from Russia over Ukraine invasion.
Russian forces are battling for control of a crucial energy-producing city in Ukraine’s south and gaining ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea.
In the past few years, Betthany Frankel has made a major name for herself as a philanthropist after founding the
BStrong initiative, which has provided relief to people impacted by natural disasters as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, BStrong is shifting its focus to Ukraine, raising millions of dollars in donations for those impacted by Russia's invasion. Bethenny Frankel, the founder of BStrong, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bryan Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Blue Zone Wealth Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on the volatility we've seen in the markets this week fueled by rising oil prices and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
