Everything You Need to Know About Times Square's New Year's Eve Ball
The New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square is one of the holiday's most cherished traditions, and this year might be its best one yet. Fiskars Living's Tom Brennan joins Cheddar to reveal what makes this year's Waterford New Year's Eve Ball so special. The master artisan explains the painstaking process of creating the iconic scene as the clock strikes midnight.
Brennan reveals why Waterford chose "Gift of Serenity" as this year's theme. He says it represents the spirit of balance and composure heading into the new year. The ball features 288 new crystals that make up the pattern representing the theme.
Finally, Brennan shows off some of the other ways that Waterford is celebrating the holidays. The crystal company is using the New Year's ball as inspiration for some new products including champagne flutes. He says it's a creative way to bring the spirit of the Times Square celebration into your own home.
Guitarist Ian Neville and Martin Shore, director of 'Take Me to the River: New Orleans,' join Cheddar News to discuss their new film and the importance of New Orleans music.
Fresh off of ringing the opening bell on the Nasdaq on the marijuana holiday, 4/20, Yoko Miyashita, CEO of cannabis website Leafly, joined Cheddar News to discuss the future of cannabis in the U.S. and the growth of her company going forward. "I think this is a new a new high, pardon the pun, but really elevating 4/20 from what used to be sort of an insider cultural moment to something that we're recognizing across the industry, really memorials the impact that this industry has," she said.
Model, actor, and deaf activist Nyle DiMarco, along with interpreter Greyson Van Pelt, joined Cheddar News to talk about his new book "Deaf Utopia" and deaf representation in Hollywood. DiMarco gave a glimpse into what his book focuses on. "I've always felt like audiences think that they know me well, but there are so many other stories that really make me who I am. And I'm excited to share those," he said. DiMarco also hoped he was able to capture in its pages the centuries of oppression that have been faced by the deaf community.
Marijuana legalization has spread across the country in recent years, and the number of Americans in support of legalization is at an all-time high. Andrew Bowden, CEO of the premium cannabis brand Item 9 Labs, joined Cheddar to break down the inner workings of the industry and how the industry can grow from here.
Home builder confidence has fallen to a seven-month low as surging mortgage rates and supply chain issues boost housing costs. At the same time, demand for homes is strong, with homebuilding unexpectedly rising in March, despite rising mortgage rates. But, as the Fed raises interest rates, some analysts are pointing to signs of cooling in the housing market. Tim Rood, Managing Director of SitusAMC, breaks down the latest data and what it signals about the housing market.
While rising wages might be positively impacting workers, inflation continues to rear its ugly head. Will pay increases be able to keep up with the costs of living? Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com, joined Cheddar News to talk about how the American worker is contending with inflation. "I'm a little skeptical whether wages are going to keep that pace that some are fearful about," he said. "We don't have a historical record that makes that case, and we think about how through the last economic recovery that we had before the pandemic really began to take hold in March and April of 2020 wage growth was really sort of the last part of that chapter."
