While the White House and Senate races remain undetermined, Democrats have retained control in the House of Representatives. Among election night's winners was New York City Councilman, Ritchie Torres, who will represent the 15th district in the South Bronx.
The victory for Torres marks a historic moment for the United States Congress as he becomes the first openly gay Black representative to serve. His win also signifies a sea change in New York after fellow Democrat José Serrano, who held the seat for 30 years, decided not to run again.
"When he entered Congress in 1990, I was only 2 years old, and so yesterday's election in 2020 represents a passing of the torch. And I'm grateful to the voters of the South Bronx for giving the high honor of representing the next generation of leadership," Torres told Cheddar.
With his election, and the reelection of 'The Squad,' the growing diversity in Congress, according to the councilman, is a microcosm of a diverse society.
"More than 60 percent of the House Democratic Conference are women, people of color, LGBTQ, so the Democratic party in Congress [is] increasingly becoming a miniaturization of America, of multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. And that's a beautiful thing," he noted.
Putting People First
Torres' first priority as representative is to lobby for essential workers in the South Bronx, which was once one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, he said. The neighborhood, made up mostly of Black and Latino residents, saw almost twice the amount of hospitalizations and deaths compared to a more densely populated Manhattan.
"We have to put income in the pockets of struggling families because the road to recovery for our country will run through our families. It's their spending that will have the greatest impact in reviving the economy," he explained.
While cases continue to surge nationwide, the bare minimum, Torres said, that the federal government could do to help alleviate the financial burden many are experiencing is provide funds that would expand testing, contact tracing, and a stock of critical supplies.
But for New York in particular, Torres painted a more dire situation, and emphasized the urgent need for federal assistance in the Empire State.
"Economically we need to stabilize our local and state governments. There's never been a point in the history of our country where New York State government and New York City government and the public transit system were all caught in a fiscal death spiral," he said.
For Torres, the fight for such policies remains personal, as he expressed that having a first-hand understanding of how everyday Americans live places him in a unique position to fight for real, effective change.
"The greatest asset that I bring to public life is the wisdom of lived experience. I don't come from a political family. I don't come from privilege. I don't have fancy degrees but I know what it's like to grow up in poverty," Torres said. "Those lived experiences not only inform who I am, but are going to motivate much of what I do in Washington, DC."
Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahama Attorney General who sued the agency he was leading, resigned on Thursday after facing a series of accusations of ethical violations. "The Senate confirmed Deputy at EPA, Andrew Wheeler, will on Monday assume duties as the acting Administrator of the EPA," Trump announced in a tweet.
The United States and China are poised to hit goods that cross their respective borders with heavy tariffs. But a trade war would likely hurt the American companies that President Trump is trying to protect and undermine the value of U.S. debt globally, says Sara Hsu, economist and associate professor at SUNY-New Paltz.
Two judges, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett, are widely projected to be the front runners in the race to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy's seat in the Supreme Court. But USA Today's David Jackson tells Cheddar he believes there might be a third candidate on the president's radar -- "a Michigan-based appeals court judge named Raymond Kethledge." All three candidates are expected to support overturning Roe v. Wade.
Business Insider reported that Tesla's CEO Elon Musk asked engineers to halt putting Model 3 vehicles through a standard brake and roll alignment test before leaving the factory floor.
The federal investigation into Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal is expanding. AT&T raising prices on DirecTV Now by $5 a month. Trump’s shortlist for replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy's seat on the Supreme Court.
Seven complaints so far have been filed against the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, but it may be years until a ruling comes down. “Even if they do eventually come to a conclusion, Trump might just say, ‘Well, that’s it. That’s the end of the U.S.’s membership in the WTO,’” Megan Cassella, trade reporter at Politico, tells Cheddar.
Russia's shocking win over Spain in the Round of 16 got the team one step closer to its first ever World Cup championship. But while there's still a lot of game left to be played, The Banter's Jeffrey Marcus says, regardless of the outcome, President Vladimir Putin has already achieved his goal.
The Air Force Veteran is running in Texas's 31st Congressional District to unseat Rep. John Carter, who has served in the position since 2003. Her campaign ad, which features the door of the helicopter she was piloting when shot down in Afghanistan, has gone viral with more than 2.5 million views.
U.S. markets reversed early losses Monday, the first trading day of the third quarter, despite concerns over trade policies. Over the weekend, tariffs from Canada kicked in, and the U.S.'s largest business group criticized the Trump administration for moves it says could spark a global trade war.
The Republican Senator from Maine has said she won't support a Supreme Court pick who explicitly says they want to overturn Roe v. Wade. But to really have an impact on the issue, says Mother Jones's Ben Dreyfuss, she should demand a guarantee that the nominee will maintain abortion rights.
A new California data privacy bill will require companies that store personal information to disclose what types of data they collect. The law also gives users the opportunity to opt out. "There's a certain point where this has maybe gone too far," Dave White, a former national counterterrorism center officer, tells Cheddar about companies collecting data.
