Sen. Gillibrand: 'Pink Wave' Can Carry Democrats in November
*By Hope King*
With a record number of women running for Congress in November, a "pink wave" could carry Democrats to a majority and has Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York feeling optimistic about a new era of progressive government.
"You’ll have a government that cares about everyone ー that wants people to thrive, to have happy communities, happy families. One that allows everyone to earn their full potential in the workplace,” Gillibrand said in an interview with Cheddar.
After her keynote speech Thursday at the BlogHer18 conference in New York, Gillibrand, one of the the state's two Democratic Senators, described what America might look like if more women were in political power: paid family leave, equal pay for equal work, affordable daycare, universal pre-k, job training, and resolution of college-loan debt.
"So many things I think a Democratic Congress can do given the chance," she said.
Based on the results from this week's primary elections in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington, the two major parties will field [at least 185 female candidates for the House](https://www.npr.org/2018/08/08/636675661/its-official-record-number-of-women-nominated-for-house-seats-in-2018) in November, according to the Center for Women and Politics and Rutgers University. That number could still rise with more primaries to come. There are also 13 women running for the Senate.
"I’m really hopeful," Gillibrand said. "These women who are running are passionate ー they’re on fire. They believe in what they’re doing, they’re taking risks, they’re fighting as hard as they can."
*For Hope King's full interview with Senator Gillibrand, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/senator-kirsten-gillibrand-speaks-out-on-midterms-trump-2020).*
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
BTS’ hit single “Butter” tops the zeitgeist again, bumping back up to number one on Billboard’s Hot Trending Chart. The chart tracks what songs people are talking about rather than what they're listening to.
The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever "national blood crisis" in the United States. Since COVID hit the U.S. in March 2020, blood donations have declined by 10 percent. American Red Cross Medical Director, Dr. Baia Lasky joined Cheddar News to discuss the country facing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Dr. Lasky noted that as much as 40 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood but only about 4 percent do so. "This is going to be ongoing," she said. "This is not an acute shortage. We really do need the commitment of people to come out and donate and donate again." Appointments to donate can be made by using the Red Cross Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
On this episode of ChedHER: Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE breaks down how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses; AYO Foods Co-Founder discusses how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of; Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer at Chase Auto talks her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry, and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Renée Horne, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Chase Auto, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Perteet Spencer, Co-Founder of AYO Foods, joins ChedHER to discuss how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of.
Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of period apparel company Ruby Love and Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience bootstrapping her company to $10 million, and how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses.
