With former President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial set to begin next week, Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich. 14th. District) said she wants Americans to understand just how real the threat against the government and its elected officials was on the day of the Capitol insurrection.
"I'm from Detroit. I'm a strong Black woman. I understand survival. But to have the police come in, lock the doors, and tell us to seek shelter, then to tell us to put on gas masks, and then to hear this mob just banging on the door and yelling, and I'm sitting there going 'Oh my god, am I going to die today?'" she told Cheddar.
The congresswoman recalled the day of the attack as the building was overrun right before she was set to defend Michigan's electoral votes for President Joe Biden. For Lawrence, not only was living through the experience life-changing but seeing the aftermath on television reinforced her stance on holding Trump accountable.
"If we had not been exited out of that room and they were able to bust through those doors, what was the plan? And people died that day, and so to say, 'Just look over this. Let it go. [Trump's] gone.' No," Lawrence said.
"We have on record a President of the United States assembling and directing an army of people against our government. That is unacceptable and accountability must be had."
It's a similar sentiment among Democrats on the Hill: deal with the insurrectionists and get COVID relief to Americans. However, for Lawrence, she's taking initiatives a bit further in asking to address "disparities in health care," particularly when it comes to Black and brown people.
Now that Biden has assumed his role in the White House, Lawrence said she is confident that the issues around inequality in health outcomes will get handled. While Democrats have said they would like a bipartisan agreement on relief efforts, Lawrence noted that the party will not wait for Republicans to get on board.
"I know they talk about the collaboration and working together, but we're in a crisis," she said. "We will get relief to the people, and we are not going to be held hostage and not respond to the cry from the communities to get this country back on track."
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
Tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. According to NATO and U.S. officials, Russian troops are still being built up despite Moscow's claims of de-escalation. However, Ukraine does not believe the troops are enough to mount an invasion. The government in Kyiv has also reported several cyber attacks against its defense agencies and banks which is the largest attack in the country's history. Foreign Affairs Reporter based in Ukrain, Terrell Starr, joined Cheddar to discuss more
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
The Federal Reserve minutes from its January meeting are indicating it's sticking to an interest rate hike in March, but what does the report coupled with ongoing inflation mean for investors going forward? Scott Brown, a market strategist at LPL Financial, joined Cheddar News to break down the minutes and talk about how investors might navigate the rest of the year. "it seems like the market is kind of inclined to trade off these headlines, really, through the first half of the year," he said. "And then, oh, don't forget, we've got midterm elections, which always tend to add a little bit of volatility in the second half of the year." Brown noted that the path forward for stock investors in 2022 would be "rockier" than last year.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
The Chinese government brought the sitcom "Friends" back to its streaming services. However, it had instances of LGBTQ+ references left out, after the series had been banned on Chinese streaming platforms for years.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a national public order emergency as a 'last resort' to restore order after protests have significantly disrupted daily life and impacted the local economy since the protests began. It is the first time in 50 years a Canadian government has taken this type of action. Myah Ward, breaking news reporter at Politico, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Almost a decade after facing a parent's worst nightmare, the families of the young students killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting reached a settlement with gun manufacturer Remington, makers of the Bushmaster AR-15 used in the crime. David Pucino, deputy chief counsel, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence joined Cheddar News to discuss the families' case and how its strategy brought about the legal settlement. "They built a really great case showing the way that Bushmaster developed its advertising to drive sales using those toxic messages.
