Democratic presidential candidates are pouncing on President Donald Trump's hard-line border stance a day after a devastating image went viral, showing a father and young daughter who appeared to have drowned in the Rio Grande which flows between the U.S. and Mexico.
Julián Castro, former HUD Secretary under the Obama administration and 2020 presidential hopeful, said the image was "heartbreaking."
"It's heartbreaking because you know what they were looking for was a better life in this country," Castro told Cheddar hours before he was set to take the stage at the first Democratic debate in Miami, Florida.
The photo, shot by Julia Le Duc of the Associated Press, shows Andrés Manuel Lopez Óbrador laying dead with his 23-month-old daughter Valeria.
"I hate it," President Trump told reporters prior to departing the White House Wednesday en route to Japan for the G20 Summit.
The deaths come as the Trump administration faces new criticism for returning more than 100 migrant children to a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas that was reported to be unsanitary.
At an event in the White House on Tuesday, President Trump told reporters he is "very concerned" about the situation with detainee facilities, but claimed, "They're much better than they were under President Obama."
On Wednesday, the Senate approved bipartisan legislation which would provide $4.6 billion in aid for the migrant crisis at the border. The bill is similar to a package the House approved on Tuesday. Now the two chambers will have to work together to approve a bill which they can send to the president before the Independence Day recess.
Nevertheless, Castro says the deaths of Óscar, and his daughter, Valeria, were avoidable.
"This is preventable, and my immigration plan would end metering, and prevent situations like this," Castro said.
Castro, the only Latino running for president, has received praise for his comprehensive immigration proposal released in early April. The plan explicitly states it would end "metering" - a policy that limits the number of asylum seekers per day - as well as provide a path to naturalization for people without authorization.
"The family separations that we see today are made possible by the fact that you criminalize somebody being undocumented in this country, and I don't believe that that's the way to go," Castro added.
He referred to his proposal as a new Marshall Plan, explaining that it would guarantee safety for individuals in Central America so they do not feel the need to come to the United States in the first place.
On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is the clear frontrunner on Wednesday's debate stage, submitted a statement to HuffPost, that supported Castro's plan to make "illegal entry" a civil offense rather a federal misdemeanor.
Warren said, "We should not be criminalizing mamas and babies trying to flee violence at home or trying to build a better future."
Castro is clear as to what is a driving force behind his immigration plan: saving lives.
"We need to immediately stop denying the ability of people trying to make their asylum claim so that tragedies like the one that we saw, that happened to Óscar and Valeria, don't happen again," Castro later said.
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.
