By Mark Kennedy
Cher is obviously a superstar but even a superstar can be the opening act when it comes to Santa.
Organizers of this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have nabbed the Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy Award-winner for their 97th annual event. Cher will make her appearance just before the parade's end, signaled by the arrival of Santa’s sleigh, parade organizers said.
This year’s parade will feature 16 giant character balloons, 26 floats, 32 novelty and heritage inflatables, 12 marching bands, 700 clowns and eight performance groups.
It's a busy time for Cher, who is preparing to release a 25th-anniversary edition of her Grammy-winning album “Believe” and just dropped her first new album in five years, “Christmas.”
For the first time in its long history, the holiday tradition will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET, half an hour earlier than previous years, kicked off by multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-winner Jon Batiste.
There will be appearances by Bell Biv DeVoe, Brandy, Chicago, En Vogue, ENHYPEN, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, Jessie James Decker, Ashley Park with some Muppets from “Sesame Street,” Pentatonix, Paul Russell, Amanda Shaw and Alex Smith, and Manuel Turizo.
U.S. Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Jordan Chiles, U.S. track and field Paralympian Ezra Frech and U.S. Paralympic swimming gold medalist Jessica Long and Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke will also join the festivities.
Seven new balloon giants will join the lineup: “Beagle Scout Snoopy,” “Blue Cat & Chugs,” “Kung Fu Panda’s Po,” “Leo,” “Monkey D. Luffy,” “Pillsbury Doughboy” and “Uncle Dan.”
Broadway will be represented by performances from “& Juliet,” “Back to the Future: The Musical,” “How To Dance In Ohio,” “Shucked” and “Spamalot,” with an appearance by Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells of “Gutenberg! The Musical!"
Returning giant balloons include “Bluey,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “Paw Patrol,” “Ryan's World,” “Pikachu,” “Ronald McDonald,” "Stuart the Minion" and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer the marchers, floats, entertainers and marching bands. The parade has lately asked icons to be the last guest before Santa, with last year Mariah Carey fitting the bill.
A marching band from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the scene of one of the nation's worst school shootings, will represent Florida. Other marching bands this year will represent Alabama, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.
Floats include ones from brands like Lego, “Peanuts,” “Baby Shark,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Sesame Street.”
The parade airs on NBC and streams on Peacock. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker from “Today” will host and a Spanish language simulcast on Telemundo will be hosted by Carlos Adyan and Andrea Meza.
Police shootings have persisted in America for the last several decades but now personal video footage is holding officers accountable, says O'Donnell. The MSNBC host is re-publishing his book "Deadly Force" that chronicles the 1975 police shooting of an unarmed black man that was criticized as "basically a murder".
The president's consistent attacks on media outlets like CNN is "very, very good for business." But Trump has avoided directing his wrath at MSNBC since taking the White House, because the network "is much higher rated" and "he would prefer people to watch CNN," which features many pro-Trump speakers, says O'Donnell.
The MSNBC host explains what happened leading up to the moment when his co-worker, Rachel Maddow, broke down in tears on air while covering the border crisis. O'Donnell tells Cheddar that if he had to report the story on tender age shelters, he might have cried too.
The ticketing company plans to add an extra charge for movies that it thinks will be popular. Associate features editor for PCMag.com Rob Marvin joins Cheddar to explain this surge pricing announcement and how MoviePass squares up against the competition.
MTV, in a bid to ride the nostalgia TV wave, launched a new venture, MTV Studios, that will reboot Daria, the Real World, and Aeon Flux for streaming platforms. Bringing back old successful titles rather than launching brand new ones is a smarter, less risky way for media companies to stay relevant, says Jessica Derschowitz, senior digital news editor at Entertainment Weekly.
Tesla is making big cuts to its solar business. According to a Reuters report, the company will close 12 solar installation facilities across several states. Tesla bought SolarCity more than two years ago for $2.6 billion.
Chipotle is giving its menu a makeover. The company is experimenting with five new menu items at its test kitchen in New York, including quesadillas, nachos, and chocolate milkshakes. Chipotle plans to roll out these items nationwide in the coming months.
Brian Krzanich, the CEO of Intel, is resigning after an internal investigation found his relationship with another Intel employee violated the company's code of conduct. Bob Swan will step in as interim CEO while the company looks for a permanent CEO.
AT&T is launching a new streaming service aimed at winning back cord cutters. WatchTV is a skinny bundle which features around 30 basic channels. It will be free for new AT&T wireless subscribers, and will cost $14.99 per month as a standalne product.
Cheddar's Brad Smith sits down with Tristan 'Mack' Wilds and Chaley Rose, stars of the new movie 'Dinner for Two,' at the American Black Film Festival. The actors discuss what it was like filming a movie in just two weeks.
The recent crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border isn't that different from the injustices committed against the transgender community, says actress and transgender rights activist Angelica Ross. "We, as a country and as a global society, have lost touch with our humanity," she tells Cheddar.
Oxygen's new true-crime series "In Defense Of" takes a look at some of the most infamous criminal cases in U.S. history -- from the perspective of the defense attorneys who represented those who many found irredeemable.
The "Pride Portraits" photography project, which profiles LGBTQIA+ community members and allies all over the country, sprang out of the mass shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub and in two years has captured 3,000 images. "It is a wonderful way to celebrate who we are and give us humanization," says founder and photographer Eric Edward Schell.
