The deadly attack on Congress at the Capitol is raising questions about the lapse in security over what was expected to be one of the most well-protected buildings in the nation. Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio - 17th District) called law enforcement's response to the mayhem a "complete embarrassment."
"We didn't have enough backup there, which, given Trump's rhetoric for the last four years, [and for] the last four, five weeks since the election precisely identifying January 6 as a date that, 'It's going to be wild,' he said, 'We need to go there,' and then whipping everybody up yesterday morning into a frenzy and then sending them down to the Capitol," Ryan told Cheddar. "All of those should have been indicators that we have been planning for the worst-case scenario."
Going forward, the congressman said, there needs to be a reassessment of security protocols at the Capitol.
Following a summer of massive demonstrations protesting the police killings of unarmed Black Americans that came bundled with heavily secured streets and swarms of law enforcement, obvious comparisons were being drawn to the chaos that ensued in Washington, DC.
"We also do have to recognize that some of these situations with Black Lives Matter were handled much more differently. The approach was much more aggressive versus the Trump mob," Ryan said.
"I don't think there's any question there's a lot more aggressive behavior around people of color but at the same time, there was an escalation, a slow escalation for what happened this summer versus something immediate here. But that, to me, that doesn't excuse anybody."
While the Ohio representative said he supported the removal of the House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, who resigned Thursday, and Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund for their handling of the breach, Ryan said the president also has to be held accountable for directing his supporters to incite violence and chaos. In fact, Ryan said the sentiment among most Democrats — and some Republicans — is growing.
As America waits for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be officially installed as president and vice president on January 20, the need to neutralize the president's power is more evident than ever following yesterday's events, according to Ryan.
"The next two weeks leading up to the inauguration will be very, very difficult, I think, if we allow him to stay there," he added.
Terrell Jermaine Starr, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and host of the Black Diplomats podcast joins Cheddar News to discuss Russia's attempt to invade Ukraine.
With an increasing number of teachers and staff calling out sick by the day, the state of Oklahoma is turning to an unusual solution. Republican Governor Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order that permits state employees to work as substitute teachers. Shaily Baranwal, founder and CEO of Elevate K-12, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the stance of the U.S. and its allies should Russia make any forays into Ukraine, a seeming response to President Biden's remarks that should Putin engage in something short of a full invasion, there might be some indecision among allied nations regarding what to do. Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the think tank Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar to discuss the difficulty faced by Blinken wrangling unity as tensions run high in the region. "There'll be a smaller incursion, and the president implied, there'll be a weaker response because our European allies have created this horrible situation where they are dependent on Moscow for their gas supply," Cohen explained.
During a nearly two-hour press conference on Wednesday, President Biden spoke on his accomplishments and challenges from the first year of his presidency, and what his administration hopes to accomplish in the coming year. However, his approval ratings are underwater as COVID remains a big concern for voters — as does inflation, noted Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of polling aggregator RealClearPolitics. "The public thinks [inflation] is priority number one, and the administration is concerned about it, they talk about it, but they're not spending enough time on it as far as the public is concerned," said Bevan.
The drama surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic continues after he was deported from Australia over the weekend due to the nation's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Djokovic was forced to leave the country on the eve of what was to be his first match in defense of his Australian Open title after three judges ruled in favor of his removal and revealed their reasoning for doing so. Adding to his woes, a law recently passed in France is putting his chances of defending his French Open title in jeopardy. The director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication, Jane McManus, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fallout.
As the midterm elections get ever closer, candidates have been getting creative with their campaigns to stick out and to connect with voters. Gary Chambers, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana, has definitely attracted attention with an advertisement featuring him smoking a blunt, making a point about the inequity of anti-cannabis laws. "We wanted to bring the seriousness of the moment," he said of the ad. "But we also wanted to make sure that people understand that there are 19 states that are legal right now but Black people and brown people are being over-incarcerated in mostly Southern and Midwestern states in America for cannabis possession."
If some members of Congress have their way, there might finally be a 'TLDR' on sites' terms of service, introduced by the terms-of-service labeling, design, and readability act – or TLDR for short. With this act, users will actually understand what they're agreeing to or the many ways in which their data is being used before pressing 'accept.' J.D. sat down with co-sponsor of the bill and Senator Bill Cassidy, to discuss.
President Joe Biden's first year in office is wrapping up. What has he achieved, and what else remains on the table while the Democrats have control of Washington? Amid an ongoing pandemic and rising inflation, Biden's approval rating is at an all-time low and his party is plagued by infighting. Will he be able to continue pushing key parts of his agenda? Paul Glastris, former Bill Clinton speechwriter & Editor-in-chief of 'Washington Monthly,' joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the president's achievements in his first year, where he's fallen short, and what he must do in order to get more of his agenda signed into law.
Tech giants Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple are faced with a bipartisan antitrust legislation effort underway in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The companies stand accused of promoting their own goods and services over smaller competitors on their platforms, holding too much monopolistic power via their app stores and services. Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a technology industry trade group, joined Cheddar to argue that the bills that are being debated currently could end up hurting consumers, rather than helping.
