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.
China, the world's largest auto market, announced it will cut taxes on imported cars from 25 percent to 15 percent in its latest attempt to appease Washington. But most global car makers don't pay that added tariff because they've set up manufacturing plants in China. Cheddar's Kristen Scholer and Tim Stenovec look into the details.
The Dow crossed 25,000 points on Monday for the first time in two months and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ were also up as two of the world's largest economies appeared to back away from a full-blown trade war.
The Vermont Senator's 2016 campaign manager says Sanders hasn't made up his mind one way or the other. "At the end of the day, it comes down to who is going to be the strongest candidate to beat Trump," Jeff Weaver tells Cheddar's J.D. Durkin.
The South African-born host of "The Daily Show" says President Trump's behavior reminds him of strongmen, dictators, and corrupt leaders from Africa or the Middle East.
Stocks kick off the week with a rally after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the prospect of a trade war was "on hold" following an agreement to suspend tariff threats. Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils details of the souped-up Model 3. President Trump is going after the FBI. Fortnite is launching on Android phones this summer.
There are meaningful gun reform bills that never make it to the floor of the House because Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is standing in the way, says Rep. Green, a Democrat representing Texas's 9th District. A shooter opened fire at a high school in Santa Fe, Tex., on Friday, killing at least 10 people. The incident is reigniting the national gun reform debate that emerged after the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., three months ago.
A school shooting in Santa Fe, Tex., on Friday left at least 10 people dead and 10 more wounded. The fact that students around the country "know that this is a possibility, and the fear that they carry with them every day when they walk into their school" is horrifying, says Becca DeFelice, San Antonio volunteer leader with Moms Demand Action. The Texas shooting comes just three months after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead and reignited the national debate on gun control.
The Senate's confirmation of Gina Haspel as director of the Central Intelligence Agency comes at a time when President Trump faces several national security concerns.
A gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School on Friday, killing 10 people, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. He identified the alleged gunman as 17 year-old student at the school 35 miles southeast of Houston.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) says the racist rant by a New York lawyer that went viral is a reflection of the "toxic rhetoric" coming from the White House. The Congressman filed a formal complaint against the attorney on Thursday.
