Shay White is looking to make history in Oklahoma, becoming the first woman -- and the first African-American -- to hold a seat in the state legislature.
She hopes she can use her relatability to her advantage.
“The biggest unifying factor is that I am a voter from my district,” White told Cheddar in an interview. “I live here, I shop here, I worship here, and I contribute here.”
Like her potential constituents, White says, “sometimes I have to make a tough decision [of whether] I buy gasoline or groceries.” She says she wants to provide a voice to working families in her area.
White is one of many women jumping into the electoral fray since 2016’s presidential elections. Nearly 400 are reportedly running for the U.S. House of Representatives this year -- the most in U.S. history -- and 22 are non-incumbent black women.
But White’s campaign has nothing to do with that movement. She told Cheddar she’s wanted to run since age 12.
The twenty-six-year-old elementary school mental health provider has a prevalent presence in her community. Besides being a woman’s rights supporter, the District 77 candidate holds a leadership position within Together Oklahoma, a grassroots education and advocacy group.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-womens-march-to-elected-office).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2019.
There's a dearth of research to back up the abundance of miraculous health claims tied to CBD ー but that won't stop celebrities from endorsing it. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a component of cannabis or hemp with little to no psychotropic effects. It is purported to have an array of applications to treat everything from epilepsy to anxiety, pain, depression, and sleeplessness. When Congress and President Trump signed the latest version of the Farm Bill into effect, they also legalized hemp, and thereby CBD derived from hemp.
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are reportedly considering a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort in March to resume trade talks. But whether or not any major developments will result is a toss-up, former State Department Senior Advisor Christian Whiton told Cheddar.
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat representing Illinois' 5th district ー who worked as a criminal defense attorney before his election to Congress ー said he's focused on the president's finances and foreign investments, like the Trump Tower Moscow project, and how that may have influenced the Trump campaign in 2016.
New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer is owning his status as one of the so-called "job killers" trying to chase Amazon out of Queens. "We should fight for jobs, but we should fight for jobs on our terms, consistent with our values," said Van Bramer, who represents New York's 26th district, which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, and Woodside.
Sen. Kamala Harris, weeks into her campaign for president, not only acknowledged that she has smoked pot, but said she isn't opposed to federal legalization of marijuana. "I think it gives a lot of people joy and we need more joy," Harris said, laughing, during an interview on the influential hip-hop radio show The Breakfast Club Monday morning.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Feb. 11, 2019.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Amazon is reportedly having second thoughts about setting up in New York, after growing backlash from local politicians. "They haven't changed their mind, but they are thinking of at least holding open the possibility that they might pull out and basically put the jobs somewhere else," Robert McCartney, senior regional correspondent at The Washington Post, told Cheddar Friday.
Gavin de Becker has been operating in elite, high-profile circles for nearly four decades, but very few knew his name before Jeff Bezos mentioned it on Thursday in his explosive allegations that a tabloid publisher attempted to blackmail him over explicit photos. De Becker, Bezos' longtime private security consigliere, has a star-studded pedigree that spans 40 years.
