Around some Democratic circles, Mitch McConnell's GOP-controlled Senate has become known as a "Graveyard," where bills go to die. Despite Republican stonewalling on some of the Democratic-controlled Houses's legislative priorities in the 116th Congress - like the For The People Act or the Equality Act - House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn stays focused on his district and uplifting communities disadvantaged by the technological changes of the 21st Century.
"We have to make America's greatness accessible and affordable," Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told Cheddar.
<i>Democratic Speaker of the House from California Nancy Pelosi speaks about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. / Photo Credit: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock</i>
For Clyburn, improving American communities starts with the basics. He wants to make healthcare and housing more affordable and has a specific plan to build up broadband infrastructure in rural areas.
"Healthcare is number one," Clyburn said. "I represent a state that refused to expand Medicaid, which is a significant block of delivering healthcare to low-income people in my state."
As 2020 presidential candidates debate how to reinvent affordable, and perhaps even universal, healthcare coverage in America, Clyburn wants to start smaller, focusing on communities.
Clyburn spoke about his plan to expand "telemedicine" - broadband healthcare access to rural areas.
"We are not going to be able to save these rural hospitals to effectively deliver healthcare to rural communities unless we have, what I call, telemedicine," he said.
Although every school in the country is required to have high-speed internet access, poor internet access at the home can impact a child's ability to get homework done.
"Broadband in these communities is just a top priority," Clyburn said, stressing its importance to healthcare and education. "So many young people [are] going to parking lots of fast food places and other places to do their homework because they do not have internet available to them in their communities."
Yet before Clyburn can get to his policy agenda, he will host his "World Famous Fish Fry" in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday. The event, which occurs every four years and had become a necessary campaign stop for any presidential hopeful, will be attended by 22 of the 23 Democratic candidates.
"This is to give them a beyond-ordinary opportunity to rub shoulders, to maybe dance to the 'Electric Slide,' for someone who could very [well] end being President of the United States," Clyburn said. "That is what happened when Bill Clinton came to the Fish Fry, when Barack Obama came to the Fish Fry, and hopefully one of these 22 people who are gonna be here tomorrow will end up President of the United States."
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
