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.
Suraj Patel, a former Obama campaign staffer, is trying to boost voter turnout in New York's 12th District by collaborating with coffee carts, taking workout classes with voters, and engaging with people on the streets. He's running to unseat 25-year incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary next week.
The president on Monday said the U.S. "will not be a migrant camp," responding to concern over families being separated at the southern border. Trump also blamed the situation on the Democrats because he realizes that the emotional images of children at processing centers are "unspinably bad right now," says Republican strategist Rick Wilson.
Google is investing $550 million in Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com. Now, JD.com products will be featured on Google's shopping service. JD.com is China's second largest e-commerce company, just behind Alibaba.
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested on Monday in Germany. Authorities detained him for fear that he would interfere with the ongoing investigation into Volkswagen over its emissions testing scandal. Volkswagen is the parent company of Audi.
Pressure is mounting on President Trump to end the zero-tolerance immigration policy that's separating children and parents at the border. Mike Allen, executive editor at Axios, weighs in on the controversy.
Both Republicans and Democrats, including two first ladies, are calling on the president to put an end to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' 'zero tolerance' border policy of separating parents and children for unlawfully crossing the border.
A federal judge sent the former Trump campaign chairman to jail on Friday for tampering with witnesses in his upcoming trials. This decision further strains the relationship between the White House and the Justice Department, as the administration considers suspending special counsel Robert Mueller and using presidential pardons. Cheddar's J.D. Durkin gets into the details.
President Trump announced on Friday a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of Chinese exports, punishing the country for "theft of intellectual property and technology." China vowed to retaliate in equal measure, escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies, despite months of negotiations to resolve trade disputes.
The former FBI director "chose to deviate" from established procedures and tainted the impartial reputation of the agency and the Justice Department, the department's Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a scathing report of how Comey handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails. Cheddar's J.D. Durkin looks into the details.
Big-time media mergers have renewed a policy debate in Washington over concentrating too much corporate control in a few powerful hands, said Axios tech reporter David McCabe.
The Republican reiterated his cautious approach to legalization, despite momentum for more liberalization in a state with some of the most tolerant cannabis laws in the country.
President Trump's statement that the U.S. is suspending joint military exercises with South Korea as Kim Jong-un considers how to dismantle his nuclear arsenal may cause some anxiety among America's allies, says Martyn Williams, editor of NorthKoreaTech.org.
