Man Arrested in South Florida in Mail Bomb Attempts
*By Carlo Versano*
Federal authorities have arrested Cesar Sayoc, Jr., a 56-year-old Florida resident, in connection with a dozen packages containing likely explosives sent to prominent figures and institutions around the U.S. over the past week.
Sayoc lives in Aventura and has a criminal record, according to the Broward County Sheriff.
President Trump, speaking at a summit for young black Republicans, commended law enforcement for the arrest and called the mail bombing attempts "terrorizing acts."
"We must never allow political violence to take root in America," Trump said. "I'm committed to doing everything in my power as president to stop it and stop it now."
Chopper video from Miami local news stations showed police outside an auto-parts store in Plantation, Fla. FBI agents covered a white van with a tarp before loading it onto a flatbed truck.
Two additional suspicious packages sent to prominent Democrats were intercepted earlier Friday, only hours before the manhunt appeared to close in on a suspect for the attempted mail bombings now being described as a domestic terrorism.
Reporting from the distribution center where investigators are focused in Opa-Locka, Fla., Cheddar's J.D. Durkin said the escalation of political violence is expected to play a role in key midterm races such as in Florida's 26th district, where Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell urged Republican leaders to denounce what she called "acts of terrorism."
The FBI confirmed Friday morning that authorities intercepted a package addressed to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) that was similar in appearance to the pipe-bomb parcels sent this week to other prominent Democrats. Moments later, CNN reported a package addressed to James Clapper, the former director of National Intelligence under President Obama, was found at a postal facility in Manhattan, N.Y. That package was addressed to Clapper care of CNN's New York office ー much like the device sent to CNN's mailroom was addressed to John Brennan, a former director of the CIA.
Speaking to Durkin from Miami-Dade County, Mucarsel-Powell, who is running neck-and-neck with incumbent Rep. Carlos Curbelo, said, "This is a very important time for us to unite regardless of party."
On Thursday night, Homeland Security Sec. Kristjen Nielsen said in an interview that authorities had zeroed in on Florida as a region of interest in the manhunt. At least some of the packages were reportedly processed at the sprawling mail sorting facility in Opa-Locka, about 10 miles north of Miami.
While all the packages sent this week were intended for people or entities that are high-profile critics of President Trump, authorities have not yet said definitively that they have determined a motive.
Earlier Friday, Trump continued to attack CNN in tweets and lamented that the "'Bomb' stuff" ー an attempted domestic terror attack on his political critics ー has slowed the momentum of Republicans going into the election.
After scrutiny over the negative impact on the mental health of children, social media apps have begun adding stricter limitations to parental controls. Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focusing on recommendations for entertainment platforms, joined Cheddar News to talk about the changes, why they might not be enough, and what parents can do to help. "It's almost that the companies — whether they're Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, or whatever — have to start the process from the beginning of designing the product," he said. "They have to be much more clear about age verification so that a 12-year-old and 11-year-old can't get on there." Steyer also pushed for federal legislation to reign in the issue.
As Big Tech companies from the U.S. like Google and Apple managed to build market dominance overseas, the European Union has decided to curb what it sees as monopolistic growth. Greg Martin, the co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, joined Cheddar News to talk about how the impact of the antitrust regulations being adopted. "I think there's a lot of great outcomes here, but those will be far down the road [because] I do think there's some interoperability things that need to be worked out technologically," he said. "But it's going to be really good ultimately for the consumer in my opinion."
Tenicka Boyd is a digital creator making content that reflects her two passions: activism and style. The TikTok star joined Cheddar News to talk about her platform and new looks this Spring. Boyd admitted that at first she wanted to remain anonymous on the social media platform before finding her passion. "I just joined TikTok hoping that no one would find me, and I started creating colorful content," she said. "I didn't know that you could monetize this and really do it full time, and I just followed my passion because I realized that you can have multiple different lives and do multiple different things."
Catching you up on what you need to know on March 25, 2022, with Ukrainian forces retaking Kyiv, 300 deaths reported from the bombing of a theater used as a shelter in Mariupol, U.S. regulators ditch a climate review of natural gas projects, the 94th Academy Awards, and more.
North Korea says it test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, who vowed to continue expanding his nuclear arsenal while preparing for a “long-standing confrontation” with the United States.
Ukrainian authorities in the besieged ruins of Mariupol say that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.
Survivors of the Parkland School Shooting along with activists from March For Our Lives set up on the National Mall on Thursday. Their demonstration displayed 1,100 bodybags that spelled out the phrase “Thoughts and Prayers” to remind lawmakers that condolences are not enough and to push for action on guns. Each bag represented 150 lives lost due to gun violence. Trevon Bosley, a board member of March For Our Lives, joined Cheddar News to discuss the organization's return to Washington, DC. "The main thing bringing us back is that we have not seen anything being done on the national level for gun violence.” Bosley said. “We’re not seeing anything changed, and we’re not seeing lives being saved”
UK's prince William and his wife were met by protesters during their visit to Jamaica. Cheddar News speaks with political strategist Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who explains why the country's path to independence is relevant to Americans.
