Zephyr Teachout: New York Politics Is on the Verge Of Big Change
*By Christian Smith*
Zephyr Teachout isn't scared of bringing cases against Donald Trump. And if elected New York Attorney General this fall, she'll be "pretty damn aggressive" in handling the President and his organization.
"New York Attorney General is the single most important legal office in the country for taking on Donald Trump's business interests and his foundation interests," Teachout said Monday during an interview on Cheddar.
Teachout is one of four candidates for the Democratic nomination for New York Attorney General. Her campaign is focused on filtering out corruption in New York politicsーwhich she traces, in part, back to the state's real estate industry and the Trump Organization.
Teachout was a member of the team of lawyers who brought the first emoluments lawsuit against Donald Trump just three days after he was elected president in 2016. The lawsuit alleged that Trump violated the U.S. Constitution by accepting money from foreign governments while in federal office. The lawsuit, still pending, is under appeal within the Southern District of New York.
Before announcing her candidacy for Attorney General, Teachout was the treasurer of Cynthia Nixon's gubernatorial campaign. She left her position to run for office when former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned amid accusations of physical abuse by [four women](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/four-women-accuse-new-yorks-attorney-general-of-physical-abuse).
Teachout is no stranger to New York state elections: she challenged Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 governor's race, earning 34 percent of the vote. The campaign put Teachout's name on the map in New York state politicsーattention she hopes will yield electoral success when voters head to the polls for the primaries.
Primary elections for New York's state and local races take place Tuesday, September 13.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-zephyr-teachout-plans-to-take-on-corruption-if-elected-new-york-attorney-general)
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.
Markets opened slightly higher to kick off the final trading week of the year as investors continue to watch the Omicron variant in the U.S. Sean O'Hara, President, Pacer ETFs joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what drove early market activity.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.
Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe joined Cheddar to discuss the troubling issues surrounding player Peng Shuai who appeared potentially to have been silenced following her social media post accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Shuai's subsequent disappearance, reappearance, and apparent retraction of the accusation in an interview only added to worries. "When this happened, all of us in the tennis community were very concerned. And, by the way, another thing Peng said in this interview was that she doesn't speak very good English," McEnroe noted. "Well I can assure you, she speaks darn good English, 'cause I spoke to her on many occasions over the last 15 years."
Universities like UCLA, Yale, and Duke have announced they're implementing remote learning amid the COVID omicron variant surge, despite President Biden recommending that K-12 schools should continue in-person education. Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at American Progress, joined Cheddar to break down what institutions of higher education might be considering differently. "I think some universities are allowing periods of a bit of a respite to allow students to get testing and make sure when they do return back to campus that they're healthy," he noted.
The S&P closed at a record at the major markets ended Thursday's session higher for a third straight day. Adam Coons, Portfolio Manager at Winthrop Capital Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses what has investors feeling jolly before Christmas, and gifts investors with winning buying opportunities entering 2022.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates for large companies and health care workers on January 7, 2022. The mandates will remain in place until then.
