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.
GLAAD CEO and president, Sarah Kate Ellis, on the need for more LGBTQ support amid the groundbreaking SCOTUS decision upholding workplace civil rights law for LGBTQ Americans.
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that the drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are unlikely to be effective in treating the coronavirus.
Driven by a rare urgency, Senate Republicans are poised to unveil an extensive package of policing changes that includes new restrictions on police chokeholds and other practices.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
In its semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress, the central bank said that the COVID-19 outbreak was causing “tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a sweeping package of police accountability measures that received new backing following protests of George Floyd's killing.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined Cheddar to discuss the details of the investigation into the price-fixing of generic drugs.
What exactly "defund" means in practice varies depending on who you're asking, but the broader goal is simple: funnel money away from law enforcement into other public programs.
The problem of homelessness continues to get worse in Los Angeles County. The number of homeless people counted over the past year jumped nearly 13% to more than 66,000 and officials fear another spike due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
As Twitter waded into controversy for taking steps to fight misinformation and controversial remarks from perhaps its most famous tweeter, President Donald Trump, Facebook has taken the opposite tack, but with no less backlash.
