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.
After years of spreading incendiary conspiracy theories, the right-wing gadfly Alex Jones was kicked off Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Spotify because recent lawsuits highlight the "real-life harm" of his rhetoric, says Axios media reporter Sara Fischer, and the tech platforms have established a new standard for acceptable speech online.
Andy Swift, executive editor for TVLine, explains to Cheddar that 'peak TV' has evolved into 'panic TV.' And, Swift says, networks and streaming platforms are revisiting the old standbys to guarantee success in a market over-saturated with new content.
President Trump has proposed rolling back his predecessor's fuel efficiency standards. The move is effectively
an attack on states like California that set their own standards, says Dan Becker, director at Safe Climate Campaign.
Norwich University is offering students Income Share Agreements, the opportunity for reduced tuition in exchange for a share of their future paychecks. Daphne E. Larkin, Director of Media Relations & Community Affairs at Norwich University, describes the advantages of an ISA and tells Cheddar which students are eligible for this financing.
The tech giants' decisions to block content by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones may encourage other platforms to crackdown on his incendiary rhetoric, says Mashable's Heather Dockray. "The claims he's making have always been dangerous," Dockray says. "But they seem particularly paranoid as of late."
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Josh Ostrovsky, the Instagram influencer known as The Fat Jewish says social media entrepreneurs should stop posting photos of their açaí bowls and make real products instead. He and his Swish Beverage co-founder David Oliver Cohen say there are too many influencers peddling brands and creating nothing but noise.
Zest Labs CEO Peter Mehring says his company is suing Walmart for $2 billion for allegedly stealing its fresh-food technology. The Silicon Valley start-up worked for years with the retail behemoth to develop ways to keep produce fresh for shipping before Walmart unveiled its own eerily similar solution.
Ripa Rashid, co-president of the Center for Talent Innovation, says that CBS's decision to keep Les Moonves as CEO after six women alleged he sexual harassed them could hurt the network's internal culture as much as its public reputation.
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