U.S. Army veteran and local Ohio lawmaker Lee Wong caught the attention of the world when he disrobed in the middle of an on-camera meeting and made an emotional plea to anyone questioning his patriotism.
In the days after eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, were killed at Atlanta-area spas, Wong decided to address anti-Asian discrimination by sharing his own experiences. The West Chester Township Board of Trustees chairman lifted his shirt during the session to display scars he received while serving in the Army.
"Here is my proof. This was sustained through my service in the U.S. military. Now is this patriot enough?" he asked attendees.
Looking back, Wong told Cheddar he had no idea he would go as far as lifting his shirt during the session, but it made a huge impact.
"I think they got my message," he said. "The response has been overwhelming. I have a stack of emails here [I am] still going through. It's unbelievable. People, good people, all over the world responded."
Wong said local officials have to be more sensitive. In particular, Wong said that it was "alarming" that Cherokee County Sheriff's Captain Jay Baker would describe the Atlanta shooter as having "a bad day."
"We've got eight people just killed, and how can you be so insensitive when it comes to Asian Americans?" he said. Wong added that when local officials make excuses for criminals, particularly ones that are accused of committing mass murder, it minimizes the plight of a victimized group.
"We are all human beings, all Americans, hard-working, law-abiding citizens, and [Asian Americans] need to be protected," he said.
With the White House announcing plans to establish an equity task force aimed at ending xenophobia against Asian Americans, Wong expressed the need for the federal government to do more when it comes to protecting disenfranchised groups. He said one of the things the government can do is be explicitly clear in its definition of hate crimes.
In the U.S. prosecuting hate crimes has proved to be difficult because there is an elevated burden to show that a crime was committed because of a particular bias. Wong said the definition of a hate crime as it currently stands is "very narrow."
He also noted that the responsibility to protect Asians doesn't solely fall on law enforcement, and he called on everyday Americans to "step up and speak up when necessary," and referenced the now-fired doormen in New York City who watched an elderly Asian woman get violently attacked and initially failed to help.
"Just do the right thing. [People] need to step in and stop this violence instead of close the door, let someone get kicked and beat up right in front of them. No one stopped him. That is troubling," he said.
John Bencich, CEO of Achieve Life Sciences, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
