As the U.S. honors Hispanic Heritage Month, some members of Congress are speaking out against President Donald Trump's treatment of Latinos in America.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas, 20th District), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, released a statement on the ongoing challenges the community is currently facing.
"For almost four years, Latino communities from Puerto Rico to the U.S.-Mexico border have been under assault from a hostile and xenophobic administration that has separated families, abandoned those in need, and spread fear and hate," Castro said.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz,.7th District), first vice-chair of the caucus, echoed Castro's sentiments Tuesday on Cheddar, criticizing the president's response to hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico and his treatment of DACA recipients.
One of the most pressing issues in the U.S. is the coronavirus pandemic, which Castro noted hurts the Hispanic community especially.
"The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately harmed the health and financial security of many Latino families," Castro wrote. "With disproportionately high rates of infections, hospitalizations, and death, as well as the highest rate of workers unable to work remotely, COVID-19 has been a catastrophe for the Latino community."
Gallego criticized Trump's "irresponsible actions as a leader" amid the pandemic.
"Latinos have disproportionately, above any other demographic, paid the price because of COVID-19," Gallego said. "Because at the end of the day a lot of our people end up being essential workers of this country, and we couldn't social distance."
The CDC released new numbers Friday showing nearly half of all coronavirus-related deaths in people younger than 21 have been Hispanic.
"At the end of the day because we're a younger demographic to begin with, and we're also a middle-class and working-class demographic, we did not have the capability to shelter in place," Gallego said. "Plus the fact that many of us were uninsured to begin with or were underinsured and weren't able to take care of some of the underlying conditions that really give us as a community morbidities that made us more vulnerable to the coronavirus."
Bioscience and genetic engineering company, Colossal, raised $60 million in a Series A funding round. Colossal is focused on developing new technologies and genetic tools to restore extinct species, and protect critically endangered species. One of the startup's long-term goals is to resurrect the woolly mammoth, and return it back to the arctic. Colossal also says it is developing technology that expands beyond animals, and has the potential to advance human health. Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
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A Peacock streaming show about a '90s one-hit-wonder girl group getting another chance at musical success, "Girls5Eva" drops its second season on the platform on May 5. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo sat down with creator Meredith Scardino and actor Paula Pell from South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, to talk about what fans can expect from the series in Season 2. "They're going to create their first studio album, which is really exciting," Scardino said. "So we're going to follow that journey as they as they get back in the studio."
Cheddar News senior reporter Michelle Castillo was joined by the cast of 'Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls' during South by Southwest 2022. They talk all about the new series, which premieres March 25 on Prime Video.
