From Aquaman on 'Shark Week' to a movie pricing fail, here's what's happening in entertainment.
AquaMomoa
Aquaman star Jason Momoa has a huge task at hand (Ed. note: fin) this week as Shark Week gets underway.
He's been tapped to take up hosting duties for Discovery's week-long extravaganza and it really is familiar territory for the actor. Being on screen is no big deal but he also has an affinity for the water that he said made taking the job an easy decision.
"My heart is in the ocean," Momoa told the Associated Press. "Doing 'Shark Week' is a no-brainer."
Momoa also revealed that before he turned to acting, he had a dream to become a marine biologist. Viewers will have tons of time to catch him on the small screen with more than 20 hours of new programming, which is slated to get underway on July 23.
Also, in Aquaman news, ahead of the sequel's release in December, Ben Affleck's scheduled cameo in the project has been axed. Affleck apparently reprised his role as Bruce Wayne and Batman, but an overhaul of the project has seen those scene snipped, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Yesterday, we told you about a newly-served search warrant in Henderson, Nevada related to the investigation into the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Now there is more information about what law enforcement officials were up to during the search. The home was linked to the uncle of a man who police long-suspected had some involvement in the shooting.
The Associated Press revealed that police went to a home linked to Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who apparently is a self-described gangster. His nephew, Orlando Anderson, was a known rival of Shakur and was a person of interest. Anderson died in 1998 in Compton, California in a gang shooting.
Among the items confiscated were cell phones, computers, documents related to a documentary, a Vibe magazine featuring Shakur and several .40 caliber bullets.
All Seats Same Price
Earlier this year AMC Theaters unveiled a plan to implement "Sightline" seating, which would charge customers based on their seat location in a theater. But the chain is walking back that plan.
Premium seats, which were located in the middle of each theater, would cost slightly more than others. "Cheap seats," according to AMC, would have been located at the very front rows. The plan received backlash on social media almost immediately.
The company apparently came to the decision to rollback sightline seating after running pilot program in various locations. "To ensure AMC's ticket prices remain competitive, the Sightline at AMC pilot program will come to an end at participating locations in the coming weeks, and the initiative will not rollout nationwide," AMC said in a press release.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon are just a few of the nominees announced for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 induction. Results of the voting will be released in May, however, the ceremony date has yet to be announced.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of HereAfter AI discusses how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed; Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover' explains how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Humboldt Current.'
According to the Federal Reserve, the investment gap between Black and white Americans has remained substantial, with only 34 percent of Black households joining in on the historic rise in the markets. Stacey Tisdale, the first Black woman to have reported from the NYSE and the CEO and president of Mind Money Media Inc., said that the data might not be as disheartening as it seems. "I think that number is very deceiving. That Federal Reserve study is actually from 2019, and it's very important that we all look beneath that number and look beneath the surface because there is nothing short of an investing revolution going on in the Black community," Tisdale said.
James Vlahos, Co-Founder and CEO of HereAfter AI, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed.
Ava Rathenberg, Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover,' joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community.
An award-winning performance by the LSU Tiger Girls dance team is going viral on TikTok, but like many other viral tiktoks, this one had a larger story to tell. The story goes back to 2021 when for the first time in 22 years, the LSU dance team was informed it could not compete at Universal Dance Association Nationals. The team made their anticipated return to UDA Nationals this year with a performance that delivered a strong and clear message to their university. The LSU Tiger Girls walked away from the competition with their first national championship title in 12 years, redemption against the university that held them back, and of course- millions of new fans and friends on TikTok.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL over racial discrimination, exposing a long-running problem the NFL has had with diversity in its top coaching and management positions. Eric Mitchell, the president and CEO of public relations and communications company LifeFlip Media, joined Cheddar News to delve into the scandal rocking the pro football world just before the Super Bowl. "There is a problem. If you look at who owns teams in the NFL, it's right, it's a good old boys club, it's a bunch of old white guys," he said. "So, it's exposing something that's been around for ages and now that we're sitting in 2022 has come up."
This April, Madison Square Garden will be hosting the first-ever women's boxing match to headline at the arena in its 140 years of history in boxing. Undisputed lightweight champion, Katie Taylor, and seven-division champion, Amanda Serrano, will go head-to-head for a career-high guaranteed seven-figure purse for both of them. The pair joined Cheddar News to talk about the upcoming "fight of their lives." "I mean, this is the first step I believe," said Serrano. "Unheard of, two women headlining the Garden, we get in the biggest paydays of our career, I hope it continues to break down barriers."
