Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) delivers a campaign update at the Hotel Vermont on March 11, 2020 in Burlington, Vermont. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders delivered an address on the coronavirus outbreak, rounding out three perspectives from the current president and the two Democratic challengers to his presidency.
Sanders, who trails former Vice President Joe Biden in the delegate race to the nomination, used his speech to contrast with his rivals. He called for the Trump administration to declare a national emergency and appoint an "emergency bipartisan authority of experts" to determine the next steps in the crisis.
Like Biden earlier, Sanders criticized the White House response, calling the administration incompetent and point out that its "incompetence and recklessness have threatened the lives of many, many people in this country."
Sanders and Biden both mentioned the lack of intensive care units and ventilators, an issue raised by health officials but one that the administration has not touched upon. The senator called for mobilizing retired medical professionals and medical students to increase medical care. He implored the nation to protect doctors, medical professionals, and nurses with proper instructions and personal protective equipment both because their safety is important and because "if they go down, then our capacity to respond to this crisis is diminished."
"Our country is at a severe disadvantage," Sanders said, "because we do not guarantee healthcare to people as a right."
During the speech, news came in that France's Emmanuel Macron called coronavirus the worst health crisis in a century, ordered changes to businesses and education and, echoing the very words Sanders was delivering across the Atlantic Ocean, said France will massively increase hospital capacity to deal with the novel coronavirus.
Both Democratic hopefuls today pleaded for an expansion of current practices. Biden called for mobile testing centers and Sanders for an expansion of community health centers.
Sanders also listed proposals to support people from low-income neighborhoods and working-class families, including calling for providing healthcare to immigrants regardless of immigration status, emergency funding for paid medical and family leave and a moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and utility shutoffs.
Repeatedly, health officials and, now, the Democratic hopefuls, have said a choice between a paycheck and staying home when sick will expedite the spread of a virus in need of slowing down so as not to overwhelm America's health system likely to be overwhelmed in the coming weeks.
"Here is the bottom line and that bottom line is that in the midst of this unprecedented moment, we need to listen to the scientists, to the researchers, to the medical folks — not the politicians," he said of the spread of the virus as "on the scale of major war."
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill held its first primetime hearing on Thursday. Cheddar News speaks with legal analyst Tracy Pearson, who breaks down the biggest takeaways.
Fuel and oil prices have risen almost 17 percent since May, making the national gas prices reach nearly $5 a gallon. Andrew Lipow from consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates joined Cheddar News to discuss the future of gas prices. "The biggest issue on the oil market is really events that are beyond our control, which is what is happening over in Europe," he said, regarding the ongoing Russia Ukraine war. Lipow also said he predicted gas prices to hit $5.05 and that he's focused on the Biden administration's overtures in repairing a relationship with Saudi Arabia.
March For Our Lives will be returning this weekend to Washington, DC, in the wake of the recent mass shooting seen throughout the country. Marchers include Yolanda Renee King, the only granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. She joined Cheddar News to discuss the importance of the march and activism in general. "I just think that it's so important to have these rallies because we need to demand to our leaders and politicians that they pass legislation and that and we actually need to see action," she said.
Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow, directors of 'The Big Payback,' join Cheddar News to discuss their new film, 'The Big Payback.' It premieres Saturday, June 11 at the Tribeca Festival.
President Biden proposed a new rule that would add 500,000 chargers for electric vehicles nationwide. The proposal comes amid the rapid shift to EVs with dozens of automakers announcing plans for all-electric fleets within the next decade. But with the new surge will the U.S. have the proper infrastructure to keep up? Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy.com joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. "I really think the idea of standardization is a big deal. Standardization certainly makes it much better for everybody to be able to get a charge when they need one," he said.
The House select committee investigating the January 6th riots on Capitol Hill is opening its landmark series of public hearings. Cheddar News speaks with Mike Sozan, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who explains how to follow the hearings and what to expect.
Claudia Rosenbaum, freelance reporter for Vanity Fair, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the race for Los Angeles mayor.
Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer, forced a runoff with the longtime Democratic Rep. Karen Bass, who had been the favorite in the race until an ad blitz from Caruso leaning on the city's issues with crime and homelessness.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
