House Republicans, with the approval of President Donald Trump, released a controversial GOP intelligence memo that alleges FBI surveillance abuses against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. J.D. Durkin brings Cheddar a first look.
Netflix and Amazon left Sundance without buying a single movie this year. The two studios are prioritizing in-house productions instead, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been focusing on more crowd-pleasing productions instead of smaller indie movies.
Grammys president Neil Portnow facing calls to resign following comments he made arguing that female artists need to "step up" to achieve more equality in the music industry. Over a dozen women music executives signed a letter calling his actions "spectacularly wrong." Portnow has since walked back his comments, calling his choice of words regrettable. Only one woman one a major award at last Sunday's Grammys.
The Biden Administration has officially extended a ban on a Trump-era policy that prohibits traveling with a U.S. passport to North Korea. The extension is expected to last until August 2022. The ban was initially enforced after the death of Otto Warmbier, who entered a vegetative state while in North Korean custody. Advocates against the ban argue that it has caused crippling impacts on Korean Americans who have not been able to reunite with their families back home. Senior Fellow at The Foundation For Defense of Democracies Anthony Ruggiero joined Cheddar's News Wrap to discuss more.
There has been a series of violent attacks in Afghanistan in the past week as U.S. troops withdrawal deadline approaches. The evacuation effort is winding down with 1,200 people evacuated in the last 24 hours, compared to last week's 24-hour span high of 21,000, and it is reported that there are around 250 people still waiting to be airlifted.
Dan Lamothe, national security reporter at The Washington Post, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more on what is going to happen when all evacuation and withdrawal missions are completed.
Futures pointed to a slightly higher open on the heels of Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying the central bank is on track to taper its asset purchases later this year. Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist at Vested joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
