*By Madison Alworth*
[George Takei](https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/25/george-takei-trump-immigration-rhetoric-bts-rs.cnn) is an outspoken critic of President Trump.
And now the actor is taking his gripes to a new, augmented level, with the app House of Cats. The app launched this week and allows users to interact with animated characters "Trumpy Cat," "Meowlania," and "Vladdy Putin," to name a few.
"I'm a political animal, feline inclined" said Takei in an interview with Cheddar Thursday. "We love cats and we all love politics and to put them together is the House of Cats with a Trumpy Cat."
The satirical Trump can be superimposed onto any surface. Users then instruct him to recite dialogue of their own choosing or even any of the president's real tweets. Users can also record and share videos of themselves in conversation with Trumpy Cat and his band of feline followers.
The app, available on Apple products and Google Play, costs $0.99. As of now, there are no plans to develop costlier, subscription-only content. Takei will donate a certain percent of the profits to Refugees International, a charity for displaced people.
"We are going to counter \[Trump's]\ hostility with support," Takei said.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/george-takei-launches-new-ar-mobile-game-house-of-cats)
a new study by The Buy Safe America Coalition shows retail theft has ballooned to over $68 billion per year. Most of these thefts are the result of something called organized retail crime. Those stolen goods are resold to unsuspecting consumers, often on popular online marketplaces like Facebook marketplace, eBay, OfferUp, and letgo. Mike Combs, Director of Organized Retail Crime Investigations at The Home Depot, joined Cheddar to discuss organized retail crime, how to identify it, and what can be done to stop it.
Online broker TradeStation Group has landed on Wall Street. The company went public via SPAC deal, valuing the combined venture at $1.4 billion. John Bartleman , President & CEO TradeStation Group, Inc. joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Samsung is getting a major shake-up. In its biggest reshuffle since 2017, the South Korean company is merging its mobile and consumer electronics divisions and replacing its three CEOs with two new leaders. The move is seen as an effort to simplify its structure and focus more on the semiconductor business. Paulina Likos, investing reporter for U.S. News & World Report, explains why Samsung is merging these two units now, and its potential priorities moving forward.
Sarah E. Needleman, reporter at The Wall Street Journal joins Cheddar News to discuss the recent AWS outage and if the internet is too dependent on Amazon.
Following bombshell reports about Instagram's toxic impacts on the mental health of teens and children, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, was summoned to capitol hill to answer questions. Today's hearing was part of a series of six hearings on protecting children online. Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A packed Thursday pod: Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments in the Ghislaine Maxwell, Jussie Smollett and Elizabeth Holmes trials. Plus, Dems are losing the Hispanic vote, Boris Johnson in trouble again, and is it possible that Adele has peaked?
