*By Hope King*
With a record number of women running for Congress in November, a "pink wave" could carry Democrats to a majority and has Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York feeling optimistic about a new era of progressive government.
"You’ll have a government that cares about everyone ー that wants people to thrive, to have happy communities, happy families. One that allows everyone to earn their full potential in the workplace,” Gillibrand said in an interview with Cheddar.
After her keynote speech Thursday at the BlogHer18 conference in New York, Gillibrand, one of the the state's two Democratic Senators, described what America might look like if more women were in political power: paid family leave, equal pay for equal work, affordable daycare, universal pre-k, job training, and resolution of college-loan debt.
"So many things I think a Democratic Congress can do given the chance," she said.
Based on the results from this week's primary elections in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington, the two major parties will field [at least 185 female candidates for the House](https://www.npr.org/2018/08/08/636675661/its-official-record-number-of-women-nominated-for-house-seats-in-2018) in November, according to the Center for Women and Politics and Rutgers University. That number could still rise with more primaries to come. There are also 13 women running for the Senate.
"I’m really hopeful," Gillibrand said. "These women who are running are passionate ー they’re on fire. They believe in what they’re doing, they’re taking risks, they’re fighting as hard as they can."
*For Hope King's full interview with Senator Gillibrand, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/senator-kirsten-gillibrand-speaks-out-on-midterms-trump-2020).*
From the end of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the beginning of a new zombie apocalypse, here's what's going on in entertainment.
One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
Classical music concerts have been popular since the age of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but you've probably never thought about attending one in a cemetery. Our own Chloe Aiello spoke with Andrew Ousley, founder of Death of Classical, to learn more about a concert series held in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
You may not know her name, but you've probably seen her face. Madhulika Sharma has graced Vogue India and ELLE Magazine and modeled for popular brands such as Reformation and Skims. Cheddar's own Hena Doba spoke with Sharma to discuss her globe-spanning modeling career, her education in fashion history, and working alongside Kim Kardashian.
The intimate, funny-sad musical “Kimberly Akimbo” nudged aside more splashier rivals on Sunday to win the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a night when Broadway flexed its muscle in the face of Hollywood writers’ strike and fully embraced trans-rights with history-making winners.
The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by different avatars on a huge screen above the altar, led the more than 300 people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.
New York's Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create a commission that would consider reparations for slavery.
New Orleans' Big Freedia, who many heard on Beyonce's new hit "Break My Soul," talks about upcoming business ventures and music projects, including a new show called Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV.
Cheddar's own Chloe Aiello tries out some unusual pickle flavors with Eddie Andre, head of brand at Grillo's Pickles.
