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.
Amazon put out a statement refuting Bernie Sander's position that its workers were underpaid and overworked. Brian Heater, a hardware editor at TechCrunch, thinks the nearly $1 trillion company can withstand it.
Amy Nelson, founder of the Riveter, tries to imagine a scenario in which a female CEO would be praised for crying in an interview.
After criticism from the French tennis federation that her much-loved "catsuit" was disrespectful to the sport, Serena Williams took the court at the U.S. Open in a tutu -- and blew open a conversation long-asked in offices everywhere: just what is "work appropriate attire"? Vanessa Friedman, fashion critic for the New York Times, said it's about time.
Enrique Fernández-Toledo, Director of the Puerto Rico Initiative at the Center for American Progress, explained why an accurate death toll from Hurricane Maria took so long to be announced.
Anand Giridharadas, author of "Winners Take All" and a former reporter for the New York Times, believes that the United States' encouragement and support of charitable giving has disenfranchised the working class.
Katie Fox, assistant director for the National Preparedness Directorate at FEMA, joined Cheddar to offer specific ways Americans should prepare for disasters, even if they don't live in hurricane zones.
Natural disasters affected 15 percent of the U.S. population in 2017, often in places unaccustomed to dealing with nature's fury.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Cheddar he thinks it's a mistake for Google to send only its lawyer to next week's Congressional hearings. He also said Pres. Trump's comments about Google don't make sense.
We break down what primary election results in Flordia and Arizona mean for the upcoming midterm elections. President Trump steps up his criticism of Google and other big tech companies. Amazon is reportedly planning to a launch a free, ad-supported video streaming app. And we sit down with Ash Cash to get his take on why Kanye West might actually have some worthwhile career advice.
Republican Bob Hugin told Cheddar he's challenging Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey for his seat, because he was morally offended by the corruption charges against the current Senator -- Menendez's trial ended in a hung jury. Down by as much as 17 points early in the race, Hugin is now polling within 6 points of his opponent.
