Senators began submitting questions as the next phase of President Trump's impeachment trial opened Wednesday. Officials will have 16 hours over two days to ask questions that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will read aloud from index cards. Impeachment managers and the president's defense team will then have the chance to answer.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), on behalf of herself and colleagues Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), asked a question about how, if the president had mixed public and private motives for withholding aid to Ukraine, should the Senate consider that fact?
Patrick Philbin, one of the president's defense attorneys, said a mixed-motive does not matter as the charge is not impeachable. He said the House's case rests upon proving the that president's request for investigations was solely for personal reasons and once there is a "legitimate public interest," the managers' case "fails."
Though GOP leadership is still trying to whip enough Senators to block witnesses, public sentiment seems to be shifting. A new Quinnipiac University poll yesterday found 75 percent of registered voters say witnesses should be allowed to testify, including 49 percent of Republicans.
"I don't think we should [feel pressure to hear witnesses], I think we should get this over with," Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C. 11th District) told Cheddar just before the start of today's session.
As questions roll in, it appears Senators are looking to clarify conflicting stories that have been argued back and forth. Both sides can be seen whispering and passing notes while scrambling to come up with quick answers.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif. 28th District), leading the House Managers, clarified to Senators that the House did ask John Bolton to testify, but were refused. "When we subpoenaed Dr. Kupperman, he sued us, took us to court. When we raised a subpoena with John Bolton's counsel, the answer was ‘You serve us with a subpoena and we'll sue you too,’" Schiff said. Charles Kupperman was a former national security advisor to the president and Bolton's deputy.
After scrutiny over the negative impact on the mental health of children, social media apps have begun adding stricter limitations to parental controls. Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focusing on recommendations for entertainment platforms, joined Cheddar News to talk about the changes, why they might not be enough, and what parents can do to help. "It's almost that the companies — whether they're Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, or whatever — have to start the process from the beginning of designing the product," he said. "They have to be much more clear about age verification so that a 12-year-old and 11-year-old can't get on there." Steyer also pushed for federal legislation to reign in the issue.
As Big Tech companies from the U.S. like Google and Apple managed to build market dominance overseas, the European Union has decided to curb what it sees as monopolistic growth. Greg Martin, the co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, joined Cheddar News to talk about how the impact of the antitrust regulations being adopted. "I think there's a lot of great outcomes here, but those will be far down the road [because] I do think there's some interoperability things that need to be worked out technologically," he said. "But it's going to be really good ultimately for the consumer in my opinion."
Tenicka Boyd is a digital creator making content that reflects her two passions: activism and style. The TikTok star joined Cheddar News to talk about her platform and new looks this Spring. Boyd admitted that at first she wanted to remain anonymous on the social media platform before finding her passion. "I just joined TikTok hoping that no one would find me, and I started creating colorful content," she said. "I didn't know that you could monetize this and really do it full time, and I just followed my passion because I realized that you can have multiple different lives and do multiple different things."
Catching you up on what you need to know on March 25, 2022, with Ukrainian forces retaking Kyiv, 300 deaths reported from the bombing of a theater used as a shelter in Mariupol, U.S. regulators ditch a climate review of natural gas projects, the 94th Academy Awards, and more.
North Korea says it test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, who vowed to continue expanding his nuclear arsenal while preparing for a “long-standing confrontation” with the United States.
Ukrainian authorities in the besieged ruins of Mariupol say that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.
Survivors of the Parkland School Shooting along with activists from March For Our Lives set up on the National Mall on Thursday. Their demonstration displayed 1,100 bodybags that spelled out the phrase “Thoughts and Prayers” to remind lawmakers that condolences are not enough and to push for action on guns. Each bag represented 150 lives lost due to gun violence. Trevon Bosley, a board member of March For Our Lives, joined Cheddar News to discuss the organization's return to Washington, DC. "The main thing bringing us back is that we have not seen anything being done on the national level for gun violence.” Bosley said. “We’re not seeing anything changed, and we’re not seeing lives being saved”
UK's prince William and his wife were met by protesters during their visit to Jamaica. Cheddar News speaks with political strategist Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who explains why the country's path to independence is relevant to Americans.
