*By Christian Smith*
In 1991, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) was among the seven female Democratic congresswomen who convinced Senate Democrats to allow Anita Hill to testify about her sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
And now, given Prof. Christine Blasey Ford's searing testimony on Thursday, Lowey thinks Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
"You have to look at the whole person, and from what I hear from Dr. Ford, I would not want to see Judge Kavanaugh on the highest court of the land," she said.
To Lowey, the Court is sacred ー and its justices should follow suit in their personal conduct, not just in their careers.
"We know that an appointment to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States of America, is more than intelligence and an Ivy League school. His credibility, and his character, has to be evaluated," she said.
In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, Ford answered questions for over three hours about her claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when the two were in high school ー accusations that Lowey said seem credible.
"She seemed, certainly to me, to present an honest, honest perspective," Lowey said.
Her convictions about Ford aside, Lowey noted that the accusations against Kavanaugh should still be investigated thoroughly by the proper authorities.
"We should take our time, and he should be subject to an FBI investigation," Rep. Lowey said. She acknowledged, though, that Kavanaugh should still get a confirmation vote.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congresswoman-nita-lowey-d-ny-calls-on-senate-to-allow-fbi-investigation-of-kavanaugh-accusers-claims).
Harley Rouda says he was a Republican and an independent before he sought to oust Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in Orange County, Calif., and win back control of Congress for Democrats. "There are a lot of people out there who would like to see this seat flipped," says Rouda, including many Republicans.
President Trump has proposed rolling back his predecessor's fuel efficiency standards. The move is effectively
an attack on states like California that set their own standards, says Dan Becker, director at Safe Climate Campaign.
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is stepping down after 12 years with the company. She helped push the soda giant into exploring healthier food and beverage options in light of changing preferences. Longtime Pepsi veteran Ramon Laguarta will replace Nooyi.
Disney, Fox, Snap, Dropbox, and others report earnings this week as earnings season winds down. Kristen Scholer and Nora Ali discuss what to expect from these quarterly results.
The trade war between the U.S. and China escalated even further after Chinese state media called out President Trump specifically, accusing him of extortion. Andrew Egger, reporter at The Weekly Standard, joins Cheddar to discuss.
The tech giants' decisions to block content by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones may encourage other platforms to crackdown on his incendiary rhetoric, says Mashable's Heather Dockray. "The claims he's making have always been dangerous," Dockray says. "But they seem particularly paranoid as of late."
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that the unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 3.9 percent and 157,000 new jobs were added in July. But while average hourly earnings rose 2.7 percent, Bankrate's Mark Hamrick points out that when inflation's factored in, workers are taking home less than a percent more in earnings.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
Congressional candidate and former NFL linebacker Colin Allred says he received former President Barack Obama's endorsement in his bid to unseat the Republican incumbent Pete Sessions because he has run an inclusive campaign worthy of the Obama brand.
Mark Kaufman, science reporter at Mashable, discusses President Trump's surprising pick to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, atmospheric scientist Kelvin Droegemeier.
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday.
