Jamaal Bowman speaks to attendees during his primary-night party Tuesday, June. 23, 2020, in New York. Bowman was running against Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., in the primary. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
In New York's June primary, Jamaal Bowman, an educator from the NYC suburbs running an unabashedly progressive insurgent campaign appeared to topple Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term incumbent, for the Democratic nomination in the state's 16th Congressional district, though Engel is now suing to challenge the validity of mail-in ballots.
Bowman told Cheddar on Thursday that he's "not worried at all" about the suit, noting that as more absentee ballots are counted, his vote count is actually widening and the delta is now about 13,000 votes.
"We want every vote to be counted as well," Bowman said. "We're very comfortable with where we are."
As Bowman seems likely to be heading to Congress — NY-16 is about as blue a district as there is and the Democratic nominee is expected to coast to victory in November — he says it's critical that the U.S. pandemic response takes a less "top-down" approach when it comes to vexing problems like whether or not to open schools in the fall.
Bowman, a middle school principal by vocation, said: "We are not ready to open schools, because we have not brought the full resources of the federal government to bear." He called on officials to get serious about "innovative" ways to safely reopen, from prioritizing alternative spaces for learning to redesigned ventilation systems in school buildings. But right now, there are "too many unanswered questions" to safely reopen, he said.
The presumptive nominee also said he'd give President Trump a grade of "less than zero" for his response to the racial unrest and protests that have gripped the nation since the death of George Floyd.
"President Trump is a racist. He is a fascist. And he wants to maintain an order of white supremacy," Bowman stated.
Catching you up with what you need to know on Apr 1, 2022, with Ukrainians hoping to flee the besieged city of Mariupol with a ceasefire is in place, President Biden orders the release of oil from U.S.reserves, LGBT activists suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the "Don't Say Gay" Law, U.S. passports offering an "x" option for gender, and more.
America’s employers extended a streak of robust hiring in March, adding 431,000 jobs in a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a still-destructive pandemic and the highest inflation in 40 years.
Progress for the LGBTQ community was made last week when Andi Mudryk, a long-time disability advocate, became the first openly transgender person appointed to the bench in California. Chris Johnson, White House reporter for the Washington Blade, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
President Biden proposed a new billionaire’s tax, that would subject the richest Americans to a minimum tax rate of 20 percent. The White House says billionaires pay an average tax rate of just eight percent, much lower than the national average of 22 percent. Cheddar News speaks with ProPublica’s Paul Kiel who explains how the regulation would work.
The most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency is also the least eco-friendly - data shows that Bitcoin mining generates the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire country of Thailand. According to nonprofit Fair Planet, 96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions come from Bitcoin mining every year. Now, a consortium of climate activist groups is calling on the Bitcoin industry to cut its energy use by making changes to its software code. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Imani Gandy, senior editor for law and policy at Rewire News Group, and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Ketanji Brown Jackson's upcoming confirmation hearings, and the politics surrounding several Republican attack lines against her in the lead-up.
Susannah Wellford, founder and CEO of Running Start, joins Cheddar News to discuss getting more women involved in politics. Running Start helps provide women and girls the tools they need to get involved in politics, and to see a future where they can become political leaders.
Congressional candidate Melanie D'Arrigo came on Cheddar Politics to talk about her campaign for the Democratic nomination in New York's Third Congressional district. The progressive activist ran in the 2020 primary against incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. The seat is open this time, as Suozzi seeks the New York Governorship.
Reecie Colbert, founder of Black Women Views Media, breaks down the roles of race and partisanship in the Senate hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She also discusses the importance of standing up for Black women in the public sphere.
