As the House prepares to vote on a resolution today that would limit the president's ability to engage with Iran under the 1973 War Powers Act, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said there was "plenty of precedence" to support President Trump's authorization of a drone strike on January 3 that killed top Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
On Wednesday, Grassley's Republican colleagues Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blasted the president's long-awaited and delayed briefing on the killing.
"Don't get hung up on whether or not we had a proper briefing, which I think we did have a very proper briefing," Grassley told Cheddar Thursday. "Don't get that mixed up with the legality of what happened."
Lee called the briefing, which came five days after the airstrike was carried out, "probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years I've served in the United States Senate." He said senators were told they could not dissent or debate, lest division within the government sends a signal of weakness to the Iranians.
He said briefers were asked repeatedly, "What, if anything, would trigger the need for the administration to come back to Congress" for a declaration of war or authorization of military force, to which one of the briefers indicated, essentially, "I'm sure we could think of something."
Grassley said when President Barack Obama had ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden, senators were also not told of the plan prior to the move, though bin Laden was considered an enemy combatant whereas Soleimani was a member of a state government. The Trump administration has said it ordered the strike because Soleimani was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," but has continued to refrain from explaining the intelligence, despite repeated criticism from lawmakers.
In a press conference Thursday, the president focused on Soleimani's violent history, calling him a "monster" who was the "big roadside bomb guy," though Soleimani was a top official in Iran. Other targeted killings carried out by the United States, like that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, have struck at extremist leaders without state affiliations.
Many lawmakers argue the president needed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) from Congress before the strike. On Thursday, Trump seemed to offer some additional information, saying "We did this because they were looking to blow up our embassy. We also did it for reasons that were very obvious." President Trump also said he had just approved new sanctions with details forthcoming.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the dispute over AUMF and the strike against Soleimani during her regular weekly press conference on Thursday.
"The argument would be made that, putting the shoe on the other foot, if the United States had a high-level, maybe second most important person in the country, assassinated, wherever, the U.S. might consider that an assault on our country and the Iranians might as well, even though this took place at the Iraqi airport," she said. "It's foggy."
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.
