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.
Fact-checking President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden who sparred Thursday in their final presidential debate, hoping to sway undecided voters in the Nov. 3 election.
Key takeaways from the final 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden.
Non-profit, Equal Ground, is looking drive up Black voter turnout in Florida with a new initiative. Jasmine Burney-Clark, the Director of Equal Ground, joined Cheddar to discuss efforts to increase Black voter turnout.
According to the latest Cheddar/SurveyUSA poll, attitudes toward social media giants like Facebook and Twitter are largely mixed among Americans ahead of the 2020 election.
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans powered past a Democratic boycott Thursday to advance Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate, keeping President Donald Trump's pick on track for confirmation before Election Day.
A pilot study from New York University found that over the summer a quarter of NYC transit workers reported testing positive for the coronavirus and that 90 percent of them still had fears of contracting COVID-19 on the job.
Justice Department officials told The Associated Press that Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion.
Pope Francis endorsed gay civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for a feature-length documentary that made its premiere at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday.
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a vocal critic of big tech, said the antitrust lawsuit filed on Tuesday by the Department of Justice against Google has the potential to become the biggest strike against monopoly power since the Microsoft case settled in 2001.
Sarah Nelson, president of the Flight Attendants Association, joined Cheddar to discuss the airline industry's need for renewed stimulus. Nelson also talks about the impact layoffs and furloughs have had on airline workers.
