Some Florida polling places couldn't open as poll workers didn't arrive because of fears over the potentially deadly virus. The Palm Beach County elections department said many workers failed to show up in at least five locations. The county had 800 volunteers back out as of Monday, with just 100 new volunteers offering to take their place. (Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)
Only three of the four scheduled primaries will take place today, and each of those states has confirmed multiple cases of the novel coronavirus.
Millions of voters in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois have already cast ballots for the 441 Democratic pledged delegates up for grabs in today and those who haven't are expected to head to the polls. Today's vote is the first held as in the nation since the coronavirus changed life in the U.S. There is concern about turnout, particularly after the Trump Administration yesterday advised avoiding groups of more than 10 people.
According to the Associated Press, the Palm Beach County elections department in Florida said workers were no shows in at least five polling sites after 800 volunteers had already backed out on Monday due to virus fears.
Ohio, originally scheduled to vote today, called off its primary late last night after the health director declared an emergency. A judge had denied a last-minute request to delay the primary, but Republican Gov. Mike DeWine later said the Health Department Director Amy Acton could "order the polls closed as a health emergency," which she inevitably did.
The 12 hours of back and forth in Ohio that led, finally, to a delay in voting, was so chaotic a local paper reminded voters that "Today is NOT really Election Day."
In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker told reporters the Illinois primary would move forward as planned with extra precautions in place to clean machines and offer hand sanitizers. Illinois had seen increased early voting numbers in Chicago and Cook County.
Government officials are imploring citizens to take advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seriously (which advised canceling events of more than 50 people) but also encouraging voters to head to the polls — safely.
Votes today are moving forward, but with a few changes. To encourage safe voting, polling sites in Florida, Illinois, and Arizona senior centers had been moved to separate at-risk elderly voters from the general population. Arizona recommended that voters cast mail ballots or drop off a vote-by-mail ballot at polling centers and Illinois will allow all nursing home residents in Chicago and Cook County to vote-by-mail.
Ohio is the fourth state to move its primary, joining Louisiana, Kentucky, and Georgia in postponing primaries.
Arizona is one of a few states believed to be competitive in the general election. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders had campaigned there before the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., and each candidate's response to the outbreak could potentially help voters see how they would respond to a crisis. Biden is ahead of Sanders in polling in all three states.
After scrutiny over the negative impact on the mental health of children, social media apps have begun adding stricter limitations to parental controls. Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focusing on recommendations for entertainment platforms, joined Cheddar News to talk about the changes, why they might not be enough, and what parents can do to help. "It's almost that the companies — whether they're Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, or whatever — have to start the process from the beginning of designing the product," he said. "They have to be much more clear about age verification so that a 12-year-old and 11-year-old can't get on there." Steyer also pushed for federal legislation to reign in the issue.
As Big Tech companies from the U.S. like Google and Apple managed to build market dominance overseas, the European Union has decided to curb what it sees as monopolistic growth. Greg Martin, the co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, joined Cheddar News to talk about how the impact of the antitrust regulations being adopted. "I think there's a lot of great outcomes here, but those will be far down the road [because] I do think there's some interoperability things that need to be worked out technologically," he said. "But it's going to be really good ultimately for the consumer in my opinion."
Tenicka Boyd is a digital creator making content that reflects her two passions: activism and style. The TikTok star joined Cheddar News to talk about her platform and new looks this Spring. Boyd admitted that at first she wanted to remain anonymous on the social media platform before finding her passion. "I just joined TikTok hoping that no one would find me, and I started creating colorful content," she said. "I didn't know that you could monetize this and really do it full time, and I just followed my passion because I realized that you can have multiple different lives and do multiple different things."
Catching you up on what you need to know on March 25, 2022, with Ukrainian forces retaking Kyiv, 300 deaths reported from the bombing of a theater used as a shelter in Mariupol, U.S. regulators ditch a climate review of natural gas projects, the 94th Academy Awards, and more.
North Korea says it test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, who vowed to continue expanding his nuclear arsenal while preparing for a “long-standing confrontation” with the United States.
Ukrainian authorities in the besieged ruins of Mariupol say that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.
Survivors of the Parkland School Shooting along with activists from March For Our Lives set up on the National Mall on Thursday. Their demonstration displayed 1,100 bodybags that spelled out the phrase “Thoughts and Prayers” to remind lawmakers that condolences are not enough and to push for action on guns. Each bag represented 150 lives lost due to gun violence. Trevon Bosley, a board member of March For Our Lives, joined Cheddar News to discuss the organization's return to Washington, DC. "The main thing bringing us back is that we have not seen anything being done on the national level for gun violence.” Bosley said. “We’re not seeing anything changed, and we’re not seeing lives being saved”
UK's prince William and his wife were met by protesters during their visit to Jamaica. Cheddar News speaks with political strategist Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who explains why the country's path to independence is relevant to Americans.
