*By Carlo Versano*
Google is "missing an opportunity" by not sending a top official to Capitol Hill next week to testify on election interference and censorship, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin on Wednesday.
Facebook and Twitter are both sending C-Suite executives ー COO Sheryl Sandberg and CEO Jack Dorsey, respectively ー to testify in front of both chambers on Sept. 5.
So far, Google has said it will only dispatch its general counsel, Kent Walker.
"We need policy makers, not simply their lawyers," Warner said.
The heads of the top social and web platforms will head to the Hill to answer questions about how they are combating misinformation campaigns from state actors like Russia and Iran ahead of the midterm elections. Additionally, they are expected to face pointed questions about censorship ー a topic that President Trump has been pushing, most recently on Wednesday afternoon when he told reporters, "I think they treat Republicans and conservatives very unfairly" and such handling "may not be legal."
That echoes the sentiment of several Trump tweets Tuesday which suggested that Google News technology suppressed conservative views. Economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the White House would look into the matter, but many questioned Trump's statements on their face.
"The president doesn't really understand how search algorithms work," Warner said, noting that content is ranked in searches as a result of computer calculations, not human action.
The last time officials from Facebook, Twitter, and Google testified together ー last November on the topic of Russian hacking ー the reaction from lawmakers was largely negative. Since then, each company has shown a more proactive approach to the policing of their platforms.
Warner said he hopes next week's hearings will be forward-looking. "We want to look at solution sets" for these complex problems, he said.
Victor Santos is what America is all about: Brazilian born, he came to the U.S. with his parents, graduated from Berkeley, worked at Google, and founded his own company to help "unbanked" people in the third world get access to basic banking infrastructure. But because of his status as a Dreamer, he could be deported.
Bettis, known as "The Bus" when he was an unstoppable running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, voiced support for the NFL player protests but also said he thought the league was "doing the right thing" in a tense situation.
The Vice President walks a fine line between unbreakable devotion to the president and keeping himself above the multiple scandals ensnaring the White House. Pete Eisner, co-author of "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence," said that's no coincidence.
Marc Molinaro, the Republican candidate running to replace Andrew Cuomo as New York's governor, said his first action items would be cleaning up Albany and lowering property taxes. Molinaro trails Cuomo by more than 20 points.
Obama will be a galvanizing force on the trail for Democrats but could also rally the more moderate GOP base against the sitting president, said Eric Boehm of Reason.com.
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The Congressman who represents Silicon Valley told Cheddar that the new legislation he's co-authored with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is intended to force massive, profitable companies like Amazon to help lift workers at the bottom of the economic ladder. Otherwise, he said, Uncle Sam ends up footing the bill.
Randal Hill, a former NFL wide receiver, is optimistic even in the face of the protest controversy that has divided America. He told Cheddar Big News that one of the best things about sports leagues is how they can heal national wounds.
Friday's strong employment report, showing an addition of 201,000 jobs in August and a 2.9 percent rise in wages, is a "tribute to Republican leadership," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, said in an interview on Cheddar.
Margaret Sullivan, media columnist at the Washington Post and former New York Times public editor, said that the anonymous op-ed that has roiled the Trump administration was not the most honorable way for a staff member to air grievances with the president.
