*By Carlo Versano*
With the clock ticking on a deadline for the FBI to wrap up its investigation into sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the Senators who asked for it still don't have an idea of what to expect.
"I don't yet know the scale and scope of the investigation," said. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a member of the judiciary committee who worked with Republican Sen. Jeff Flake in dramatic fashion on a compromise that led to the FBI reopening its background investigation.
Speaking to Cheddar, Coons said that regardless of the outcome of Kavanaugh's confirmation, the fact that the nomination wasn't voted on immediately following last week's emotional testimony would end up being a good thing for the country.
"I think my friend Jeff Flake did something really positive," Coons said. "He got us to hit the pause button for a week."
"It's got to help the country that we're trying to work for more shared facts," the Senator added.
Investigators are under extreme pressure from Republicans to deliver a report in time for a vote on Friday, a deadline Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has demanded. Sources told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin that a report is likely to be delivered to senators Thursday.
CNN reported late Tuesday that the FBI has actually widened the scope of its investigation, adding a specific party from Kavanaugh's calendar to its inquiry.
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) told Cheddar that, even if Kavanuagh is confirmed to the high court, the nominee has revealed himself to be so partisan that it will be difficult for the judge to impartially decide certain cases. King alluded to a portion of Kavanaugh's testimony in which he blamed the allegations against him on a Democratic witch hunt. The Senator called that moment "very disturbing."
"I don't see how he can sit on a case involving partisan gerrymandering, for example," King said.
Meanwhile, President Trump shed all his prior restraint on the topic of Kavanaugh's first accuser, Prof. Christine Blasey Ford. Days after saying he found her to be a "credible witness" and a "very fine woman, he mocked and questioned Ford's testimony at a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night to roaring applause from the audience. Earlier in the day, Trump also expressed concern that the #MeToo movement had made it "a very scary time for young men in America."
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a key swing vote in the Kavanaugh confirmation process, said on NBC's "Today" show he found Trump's comments "kind of appalling."
Adult film star Stormy Daniels has no proof to back up any of her claims, including the assertion that she was threatened to stay silent by President Trump's team. For that reason, she isn't a legal threat to the president, says former prosecutor Jonna Spilbor. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, sat down in an exclusive interview on "60 Minutes" Sunday.
Student-turned-activist David Hogg speaks with Cheddar's J.D. Durkin ahead of Saturday's March For Our Lives rallies. The event in Washington D.C. and around the world will push for action on gun reform. Hogg is a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting last month.
President Trump's proposed tariffs on Chinese imports and Facebook's privacy scandal both weighed down markets Thursday, said Daniel Ives, Chief Strategy Officer at GBH Insights. The Dow ended the day more than 700 points lower.
On Wednesday night, the Facebook CEO sat down with four media outlets to discuss the Cambridge Analytica scandal that has engulfed the company for the past week. While he hit the right tone and talking points, he didn't really address most users' concerns, says Ina Fried, Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios.
Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) told Cheddar he believes the Trump campaign was aware of the use of private data harvested off Facebook and is outraged the social media company sought to profit off the move. The company remains under fire amid a data scandal that unveiled private information of more than 50 million users to an analytics firm working for the Trump campaign.
The "Sex and the City" actress is positioning herself to the left of Gov. Andrew Cuomo on issues that New Yorkers feel strongly about, says Erin Delmore, Senior Political Correspondent at Bustle. Nixon declared her candidacy on Monday.
Federal regulators will try to find out whether the social media company knew what Cambridge Analytica was doing with data harvested off of its platform, says Jesse Byrnes, Associate Editor of The Hill. The agency launched a probe into the social media network on Tuesday after revelations the data firm used information about millions of Americans to help President Trump's campaign.
The fallout from Facebook's latest data scandal continues to intensify. The Weinstein Co. officially files for bankruptcy protection after many attempts to sell the company failed. Josh Sternberg, tech editor for AdWeek, joins us to discusses how Uber moves forward after one of its driverless cars killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. And Bri Bauer from Dairy Queen brings ice cream cones to the trading floor to celebrate the company's National Cone Day. On the first day of spring, Dairy Queen gives customers free vanilla ice cream cones.
The fallout from Facebook's latest data scandal continues to intensify. The Weinstein Co. officially files for bankruptcy protection after many attempts to sell the company failed.
"Content is king, and pipes are commodities." That, in a nutshell, is why the wireless giant wants to join forces with the content creator, explains Ben Gomes-Casseres, professor of International Business at Brandeis International Business School. The DoJ is seeking to block the merger, citing anti-trust issues, and the trial will kick off on Wednesday.
