*By Conor White*
President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal makes it more difficult for the United States to negotiate a new understanding with Tehran, or any deal with other foreign governments, said Laura Secor, a journalist and author who has written extensively on Iran.
"The message not only is the United States is walking away from an agreement limiting the nuclear program in Iran, but that the United States is willing to walk away from its commitments negotiated under previous administrations" Secor said in an interview Wednesday with Cheddar.
Despite the White House's expressed confidence a better deal could be struck, Secor, author of "Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran," said she doesn't see a way forward for another agreement with Iran.
"The Trump administration has not unveiled any Plan B here," she said. "There was talk they would get a bigger, better deal, but the idea that you would have a country whose commitment you have just abrogated agree to make a bigger, deeper, longer commitment to you, is delusional."
America's European allies, including France, which is a party to the Iran deal, have insisted the deal can survive even without the United States and have encouraged Iran to continue in good faith.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/fallout-from-president-trumps-iran-decision).
Matt Hayden, vice president of govtech solutions at Exiger and a former assistant secretary of cyber at Department of Homeland Security, joined Cheddar to discuss the surprise phone call initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Joe Biden, ahead of January security talks about the rising tensions over Ukraine. "We're hoping to hear that we're able to talk about the aggression and the leadup of the Ukrainian militarization," Hayden said. "But we're also looking to hear is how the Kremlin leveraged their talking points to try to test their negotiation stance with the United States leading into this January 10th meeting."
The No Surprises Act begins implementation on January 1, 2022. The legislation is meant to curb the practice of unexpected billing for care from providers the patient was unaware were out-of-network from their insurance. Patricia Kelmar, director of health care campaigns for U.S. PIRG joined Cheddar to describe the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars charged to unsuspecting patients and how things will change under the new law. "If we are picking an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital, we should not see those added costs from anesthesiologists, radiologists, scrub-in surgeons," she said. "The other area it protects you is in air ambulances — not ground ambulances, unfortunately — but the helicopters or the airplanes you might need to transport you in an emergency situation."
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladmir Putin are expected to have another conversation surrounding escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar's Ken Buffa to discuss the ongoing tensions and why Putin's request for a conversation with Biden comes now. "This is very serious. This is the worst security crisis we had since the collapse of the Soviet Union," Cohen told Cheddar.
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, but two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - ended the session with a new record. Akshata Bailkeri, Equity Analyst at Bruderman Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is a consensus for robust consumer spreading in 2022, especially as the Omicron variant is proving to be milder than other COVID-19 strains.
John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the retail giant is acting in accordance to President Biden's new law banning goods from China's Xinjiang region. Quelch also elaborates on the importance of China in Walmart's overall strategy.
