Within the hallways of the U.S. Capitol, there is growing confidence by GOP Senators that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can whip his caucus to block a vote on witnesses Friday.
While returning to the chamber after a short break Thursday, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told Cheddar he's "feeling good" about tomorrow's expected vote.
Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters during the break that Republicans have the "momentum" to move to end the trial tomorrow without witnesses. "If we're able to say no [to witnesses] and go right to final judgment, we'd move in that direction and stay here until that work is decided and completed Friday evening. That's where all the momentum is now."
Still up for debate is what, exactly, happens, if the Republicans vote to end the debate on witnesses quickly.
Meanwhile, back in the chamber, lead impeachment manager Adam Schiff said witness depositions could be limited to just one week and said that the trial should not be rushed just because the State of the Union is Tuesday.
After the break, Senators asked two bipartisan questions, both of which were from senators who may still be undecided on the issue of whether to allow witnesses. First, Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) asked the defense team if the president would assure them that private citizens would not be directed to conduct foreign policy unless formally designated by the president and the State Department.
Murkowski and Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) submitted the second bipartisan question, asking if any action a president takes is inherently political and where the line is between permissible political actions and impeachable political actions.
In President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, there was only one bipartisan question asked, which Sen. Collins had signed onto at the time.
Democrats are focused on Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina and Ohio as part of a sweeping effort to flip the House in the midterm elections in November, says Meredith Kelly a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The legislature of the historically conservative state killed a bill that would have made almost 97 percent of abortions illegal. "I think if we put up a bill that says that Roe v Wade doesn't apply in South Carolina, there's not really a chance that a single court is going to let that bill go into effect," says Democratic State Senator Brad Hutto.
Kareem Burke, who founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z, produced two films at the Tribeca Film Festiva that he hopes will encourage a discussion of prison reform.
A recent investigation by the Washington Post found an additional 27 women who say the former CBS anchor sexually harassed them. And, in some cases, when these women raised concerns with managers their complaints weren't elevated, says Amy Brittain, the reporter who broke the story.
The House minority leader announced she would run for speaker again if Democrats win the November midterm elections. But some in her party worry that she has now become a "boogeyman for Republicans" and could turn into a liability for the Dems.
The asylum seekers from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala who reached the U.S./Mexico border this week, now face an uncertain future with many bureaucratic steps that could take months, if not years.
The nation's capital has complicated laws that make possession legal but don't allow selling marijuana. That has led to a rise in pop-up shops and events to provide access to the drug, said Lisa Scott, founder of edibles company Bud Appetit.
The big question that surrounds the Colorado Democrat as he nears the end of his final term is "will he or won't he?" But he tells Cheddar he just wants to stay focused on his current job and "finish strong."
The rapper's recent swing to the right has left many speculating about whether he's got the White House in his sights. "I could see him trying," said Brande Victorian, the managing editor of MadameNoire.
The former Microsoft CEO says that regulating how tech companies use data will provide a framework in which to work and actually enable growth. "When you're in a time of uncertainty, and you don't know what the rules are, that's when it's toughest to innovate," Ballmer tells Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
