History was made in several races during the 2017 off-year elections, with minorities, first-timers, and other under-represented candidates winning their campaigns. But it was no easy feat. Some hopefuls were hit with racial epithets and discriminatory advertisements before they won.
And for them, victory sent a clear message: our state is not a state of hate.
At least this was Virginia’s delegate-elect Elizabeth Guzman’s reaction. She and Hala Ayala this year became the first two Latinas ever elected to the state's House of Delegates. In an interview with Cheddar on Tuesday, Guzman said that many Republicans were mimicking the anti-immigration rhetoric exhibited by President Donald Trump. In her case, her opponent accused her of wanting to protect criminals.
“I think it was a huge response from Virginia to Washington, D.C., and also to Richmond, and Prince William County,” she said about winning. “We are not a state of hate. We are a state that is diverse, and we are proud of our diversity.”
Guzman, who began campaigning in October 2016, says her children were a motivating factor for her run for office. The public administrator and social worker was already heavily involved in her community. As a delegate, she hopes to encourage Latin children to feel represented and hopes more people with her background run for office in the future.
Frank Zaccanelli, a former owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, says the NFL's decision to adopt a new policy on the national anthem without consulting the NFL Players Association was, "one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."
Tea Party Republicans and President Trump ran campaigns on a platform of being the Washington outsiders needed to save the country. Now the Democrats will have their own opportunity in the 2018 midterms.
Mark Zuckerberg Testifies Before EU Parliament
The Democratic Congressman from Texas says state and local officials should do more to limit the places people can carry guns, not introduce more guns into schools. "Like so many other teachers, they didn't sign up to be soldiers or police officers," says Castro.
European lawmakers aggressively questioned Facebook's CEO on Tuesday, indicating they may consider further restricting the social media company's unchecked growth and regulating its business practices.
Align Technology, which makes Invisalign orthodontics, opened its first manufacturing plant in China in 2017 and expects to have a "good, contained business" there by the end of the year, despite a wider reassessment of U.S.-China trade relations, says Joe Hogan, the CEO of Align Technology.
The streaming platform will give the former president and first lady a global platform to focus on issues important to them. But they need to be mindful of making that content available to communities that don't have access to high-speed internet or Netflix, says Alexander Heffner, the host of "The Open Mind" on PBS.
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.
