*By Conor White and Kate Gill*
After Senator John McCain died from cancer this past weekend, many in Washington are at a loss, said Washington Examiner columnist Phil Wegmann.
"Senators are looking around and thinking, 'This is a huge void we have to fill,'" Wegmann said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
Since the Republican Senator's death, support for his principled, bipartisan approach has been near-universal. And Wegmann doesn't think McCain's passing will stop him from shaping policy, if only symbolically.
"One thing that I think he will be remembered for is the way he pushed back on the current route of the Republican party," Wegmann said.
"That continues today even in his death, as you see Donald Trump in the White House refusing to lower the flags at the presidential residence to half-mast, and I think that is very emblematic of the back and forth between these two men."
Trump also incited backlash for reportedly refusing to call McCain a hero in his official statement about the Senator's death ー though a release drafted by his team included that sentiment. McCain was held captive during the Vietnam War while serving in the U.S. Navy, and during the presidential campaign in 2015, Trump infamously dismissed the incident, saying, "He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured." Trump finally reversed his stance in a new statement Monday evening, writing, “Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country.”
Now the question of the Arizona Senator's seat remains. It's unclear, Wegmann said, if the state's Governor Anthony Ducey will stay the McCain course of bipartisanship or appoint a staunch conservative.
"Should Ducey appoint someone who is more in the pro-President Trump mold, someone who is going to be a loyal foot soldier?" Wegmann asked. "Or is he going to try and find someone with the same sort of 'Maverick' sensibilities that McCain was famous for?"
McCain was among few Republicans willing to criticize Trump. His absence may mean less opposition for Trump in the Senate, Wegmann said.
"Think about all the conservative all-stars of the past ー guys like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee ー even they're hesitant to call out the president, so I think there's going to be a lot less criticism of the president from his right flank coming out of the Senate."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/examining-john-mccains-legacy).
This June marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous 1997 "Bite Fight”, the iconic boxing rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when Tyson shockingly bit a piece of his opponent’s ear off. As a macabre tribute to the incident, the boxing legend’s line of cannabis products, Tyson 2.0, has released “Mike Bites", edibles in the shape of an ear complete with a bite mark. Tyson, the chief brand officer and co-founder, along with CEO Adam Wilks joined Cheddar News to talk about the unique gummies. "I just think this is just me owning what I did. I'm owning my responsibility. I've done that. That was pretty bad at the time, but I turned it over to make it pretty good," the former heavyweight champion said.
Donna Letier, CEO and Co-Founder of Gardenuity, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how gardening can improve your wellbeing, and why businesses are using this as a way to keep employees happy.
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer and former Olympian Nancy Kerrigan spoke to Cheddar News about joining Ice Dreams, a national skating tour that connects legends of the sport with its next generation. Kerrigan spoke of the lessons she learned from the sport and how grateful she is for the opportunity to give something back. “I mean skating has taught me some of the greatest things in in my life," she said. "You know, you fall down, things get hard, but you get back up and you keep on trying. And if you're performing and doing something you love, I think you would actually do even better.”
Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports on the activations for the streaming wars between HBO Max, Prime Video, Disney+, and Paramount+ from South by Southwest 2022 — and returns with a souvenir.
The White House launches covid.gov, Meta is spreading rumors about TikTok, and Disney's got the hottest Easter drink - for adults only. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Thursday, March 31, 2022.
After two years of living in the pandemic, people are gearing up to travel for their summer vacations in 2022. Leigh Barnes, the chief customer officer for adventure tours company Intrepid Travel, joined Cheddar News to talk about the year’s top travel destinations and tips on how to prepare. Regarding COVID restrictions, Barnes discussed needing to do your own research to make sure you should be hitting a destination at all. "I think that the last thing is, making sure that where you're going is, the communities want you there. Because I think one of the things that we're seeing from possibly a Western lens is vaccine equity," he said. "We've got high vaccine rates across a lot of the Western nations. They may not have that same COVID normal that we're experiencing. So you've got to look for places that do want tourists to come in or ways that we can support vaccine equity."
If you have a minute, Protégé thinks it might be enough to get your talent noticed by stars and industry movers like DJ Khaled. Jackson Jhin, co-founder and CEO of the platform, talked to Cheddar about how the services might better democratize access to performing arts like music and acting. "You have 60 seconds to send a video to the best experts in each industry and send it to people who otherwise would have been inaccessible," he noted. For a wide-ranging fee, applicants can submit their work to garner feedback from folks like Jason Alexander or Scooter Braun — with a money-back guarantee, according to Jhin.
Jason Nichols, senior lecturer at the University of Maryland's African American Studies Department, joins Cheddar News to discuss the racial implications of Will Smith's slap at the Academy Awards.
