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.
Unprecedented pressure from the coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of roughly 35 percent of food pantries in New York City, just as the number of residents facing food insecurity has surged by about 800,000 to two million.
To restaurants and bars struggling to stay open for food delivery and pick-up, the ability to add high-margin cocktails and mixed drinks to the check has provided a crucial revenue stream.
Nokomis Fairbanks started tattooing professionally three years ago and recently set up shop at Oracle Tattoo Guild in Lexington, Kentucky. Today, she has no idea when she will be able to pick up her needle again.
Wall Street rallied for its biggest gain in a week as investors find more reasons to hope that the worst of the economic plunge due to the coronavirus pandemic may have passed.
The Justice Department says it's dropping its criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman and Trump donor, has been tapped to replace outgoing Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan, an Obama appointee.
The Trump administration has shelved a set of detailed documents created by the nation’s top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places during the still-raging pandemic.
Stocks climbed in early trading on Wall Street Thursday as reports suggested that even though the economy is still suffering severely, the pace of pain may be decelerating.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed course on plans to wind down his COVID-19 task force, attempting to balance his enthusiasm for “reopening” the country with rising infection rates in parts of the nation.
A late-day slide left stocks mostly lower after a wobbly day of trading, but major technology companies managed to hold on to their gains.
