*By Madison Alworth*
The actress Yara Shahidi, star of the ABC shows "Black-ish" and "Grown-ish," is taking up a new cause to help young people work toward the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Shahidi joined "Little x Little," a public awareness campaign to rally members of Generation Z to take actions that will make a difference ー recycling, saving water, pitching in to clean up communities.
"For me and my family we've been looking for new ways to invest in our community," said Shahidi. "And of course I have my [Eighteen x 18](https://www.eighteenx18.com/) initiative as well."
That initiative, in conjunction with the social news site [NowThis] (https://nowthisnews.com), aims to get 18 year-olds registered to vote before the midterm elections in November. Shahidi, who turned 18 in February, will take over the NowThis social accounts for an online voter awareness drive.
"It's about voter education," said Shahidi. "Often times, a child is viewed as the anomaly if they are engaged in politics. So what we wanted to do with Eighteen x 18 and in particular with our partnership with NowThis, was to make news digestible. To make the topics that we're already rallying for and calling our senators about digestible in a way that it translates to policy change."
Before the midterms elections, Shahidi will start her freshman year at Harvard.
"I'm really excited for the absurd small classes I get to take," she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yara-shahidis-new-leading-role).
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Xiaohua Yang, professor of international business and director of the China Business Studies Initiative at the University of San Francisco, joins Cheddar News to talk about the history of Lunar New Year.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Across the country, states are working to redraw their congressional lines in what is often known as gerrymandering. These news lines are expected to determine the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans within the next decade. Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, Michael Li, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
AT&T announced earlier today it is spinning off its media properties in WarnerMedia in a merger with Discovery in a $43 billion deal.Scott Rostan, founder and CEO at Training The Street, joined Cheddar to talk about what the unwinding of the telecom giant's Time Warner media properties means for investors. "I think the investor sentiment is they're digesting the new information, and they're looking into the dividend, especially the reduction of the dividend," said Rostan, noting the transaction allows AT&T to focus on its core telecommunications business.
A 2021 report from UK Research and Innovation found that the shipping industry makes up at least 2.5 percent of the world's total CO2 emissions. It's a problem that energy solutions company, Leclanché, is trying to solve. Founded in 1909, the company has been developing and producing batteries for more than 100 years. Today, Leclanché's lithium-ion battery is used to electrify not just ships, but also railroad locomotives, trucks, and specialty vehicles. Cheddar News spoke with Pierre Blanc, chief technology and industrial officer of Leclanché, to discuss.
