*By Christian Smith*
Midterm races in Georgia represent a test of Democrats' strategy to win back states from President Trump in 2020 and counter his conservative populism with their own unabashedly progressive appeal.
"When you talk to Democratic strategists, Georgia really is right at the top of that list," said Eric Boehm, a reporter at Reason. "Democrats are looking at Georgia as one of those places where they can make inroads against that electoral map that President Donald Trump won."
On Tuesday, Stacey Abrams won Georgia's Democratic primary for governor, becoming the first black woman to be nominated for governor by a major political party. With more than 75 percent of the vote, Abrams, a former statehouse leader, defeated another former state rep in the Battle of the Staceys ー Stacey Evans.
Abrams will face the winner of a Republican runoff between Georgia's Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp scheduled for July 24.
During her primary campaign, Abrams signaled she would not water down her progressive message in an attempt to court white conservatives away from Republicans. She has said she would raise the minimum wage, use Affordable Care Act funding to expand Medicaid, and do away with cash bail. The success or failure of her strategy could change the way Democrats approach Trump voters in 2020.
The midterm battles may have grown more difficult for Democrats recently. For the first time in the midterm election cycle, American voters are more likely to vote for the Republican candidate in their district than the Democrat according to a new [Reuters poll](http://polling.reuters.com/#!response/TM1212Y17/type/smallest/filters/PD1:1/dates/20180101-20180517/collapsed/true).
If elected, the 44-year-old Abrams would become the first black woman elected governor in the United States, and only the third black governor elected by popular vote after Douglas Wilder in Virginia in 1990, and Massachusetts's Deval Patrick in 2007.
Pinckney Pinchback became governor of Louisiana in 1872 after serving as lieutenant governor, and David Paterson was elevated from lieutenant governor in New York in 2008, but neither was elected governor.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/southern-democrats-nominate-historic-group-of-women-in-primaries).
Beginning in November, fully vaccinated international travelers will be able to enter the United States after months of travel restrictions. People under the age of 18 and those from countries without easy access to vaccines will not be required to be vaccinated but all travelers will need to show negative COVID test results before entering.
Apple could soon face a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit after intensifying its probe into the tech giant, according to a report. The added scrutiny comes after the tech giant had already faced questioning in Washington and concluded an antitrust case brought by Epic Games.
Last week, shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp skyrocketed after following Former Present Trump's announcement that he would be partnering with the company as part of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC. Christian Munafo, Chief Investment Officer of Liberty Street Advisors and portfolio Manager of the Private Shares Fund broke down the latest, including whether or not Wall Street is currently experiencing a SPAC boom.
Jill and Carlo cover the news out of Facebook's latest earnings, Tesla's monumental day, Dave Chappelle addresses controversy and the tragedy of the climate emergency.
Stocks began the week on a high note, with two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - each closing at a record high. Brian Levitt, Global Market Strategist at Invesco, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why the conditions were in place for a jump during the session and provides insight on inflation concerns in the United States.
The price of Bitcoin hit a new all-time high last week following the Wall Street debut of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Todd Cipperman, Founding Principal for Cipperman Compliance Services, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why ProShares' ETF got off to a hot start while Valkyrie's Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which debuted just days later, did not.
Rishi Bharwani, the director of partnerships and policy for nonprofit Accountable Tech, joined Cheddar to discuss the hot button topic of regulatory oversight of social media giant Facebook. Bharwani discussed the bipartisan pieces of legislation already making their way through Congress and said the body should pass stronger data privacy laws, ban surveillance advertising, and require meaningful accountability and transparency from the company. "Now I think we've reached a boiling point where congressional action is needed and inaction is no longer acceptable," he said. Bharwani also called for a concurrent investigation into Mark Zuckerberg's company.
The United Nations COP26 climate talks are scheduled for October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Heads of state will be joined by private sector leaders to once again discuss the shrinking window of time left to take action against global temperature rise. Barbara Humpton, CEO of focused technology company Siemens U.S., is also attending and spoke to Cheddar about what she hopes to see during the conference for both the public and private spheres. "What we are really urging is that there are large commitments made in Glasgow and that we really commit to this next decade of action," she said.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire News Group and co-host of the Rewire News Group podcast, 'Boom! Lawyered,' joins Cheddar News to discuss the Supreme Court decision to hear Texas abortion ban cases on Monday, November first and the complicated timeline of legal challenges up to this point.
