This year will see a historic number first-time female candidates seeking public office. Shay White is running to be the first African-American and first woman elected to Oklahoma's House District 77. She joins Cheddar to discuss her boundary-breaking campaign. White is a first-generation college graduate in her family, and grew up in poverty in Southern Louisiana.
White discusses why so many women are inspired to run for office this year. She puts things in the context of the second annual Women's March, and shares the story of when she first realized her political ambitions as a child. White describes the primary roadblocks standing in her way as she seeks higher office.
The candidate says that if she were a white man, people would be falling at her feet. She adds that, because of her race and gender, they're more inclined to classify her campaign as "cute." White discusses how she plans on changing the status quo, and what messages are resonating the most with voters. Voters will head to the polls in White's district this June.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
