As the three-day government shutdown comes to a close, politicians are still placing blame and deflecting responsibility. CBN's Jenna Browder joins Cheddar to discuss what the next few weeks hold in store as immigration negotiations resume. The Senate reached a compromise that will keep the government funded through February 8th.
Dueling hashtags emerged on Twitter in the aftermath of the government shutdown. Browder discusses #SchumerShutdown vs. #TrumpShutdown, and what the phenomenon says about political branding in the era of social media. The debate on social media was strong enough to even overshadow the NFL Playoffs.
Finally, Browder speaks to why the Stormy Daniels scandal isn't picking up steam in the national consciousness. The Christian Broadcasting Network correspondent speaks to whether the controversy will hurt Trump's support among evangelicals.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
