Kevin Hart attends the 2023 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Biltmore Hotel on February 11, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
From satellite radio deals to a streaming platform lawsuit, here's what's trending in entertainment today.
Kevin Hart Gets More Sirius
Comedian Kevin Hart and satellite radio company Sirius/XM announced that their partnership would get an extension. Hart, along with his Hartbeat entertainment company, signed a multi-year deal that will keep the comedian's Laugh Out Loud Radio station operating. "You're looking at a relationship that has evolved, that is growing and going in the right direction," Hart said to the Associated Press. " I think this is one where the hard work has been put into the growth of the station and the platform is just paying off."
Award Shows & Hosts
Actor and daytime TV host Drew Barrymore is taking her emceeing skills to a stage over at MTV. She's been tapped to host the MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023 at the Barker Hangar in Los Angeles. Barrymore made the announcement during a segment on The Drew Barrymore Show when she appeared as the menacing M3GAN doll. The awards ceremony is slated for May 7.
Meanwhile, rockstar Lenny Kravitz will host the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2023. The 10th annual show is just weeks away from kicking off at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. "I'm thrilled to host and perform at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards to celebrate the best in music," Kravitz said in a statement. "As always, the show will feature some great surprises and unforgettable performances that music fans across the country won't want to miss." The show will get underway on March 27.
Making a Lawsuit
Remember the hit Netflix documentary Making a Murderer? Streaming in 2015, it told the story of Steven Avery's conviction and life sentence in the death of a 25-year-old online car marketplace photographer. The documentary explores the possibility that Avery was set up by local authorities, accusing them of planting evidence. A now-retired police sergeant who was involved in the case, Andrew Colborn, sued the streaming giant after saying he received "worldwide ridicule" over the series, but a federal judge has tossed the defamation filing stating that Colborn did not prove that the platform acted in malice.
President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" bill could mean cheaper electric bicycles and scooters as the nation attempts to shift away from gas-powered cars. Noa Banayan, the director of federal affairs at PeopleForBikes, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to provide some background on the E-Bike Act included in Biden's reconciliation bill that would provide tax credits for qualified purchases. "We want to make sure, from the bike industry's perspective, that this is a technology and a product that is available to the majority of Americans who want to lower their carbon footprint and get around town faster and do everything that they would normally do in a short car trip but by bike, because it's healthier, it's fast, it's efficient, you're not in traffic," she said.
It's being called the next big trend in crypto. A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, is an internet community of different types of groups and businesses. The purpose is to allow people to commit funds to a specific cause in a safe way. Now, one social platform is creating a do-it-yourself kit for those who want to step into the space. Upstream Collective just launched the beta mode of its platform with the goal of putting all facets of running a DAO in one place. Alex Taub, co-founder and CEO of Upstream, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Walmart and Zipline have teamed up to launch a drone delivery service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The service delivers products to customers within a 50-mile radius of the store. Liam O'Connor, COO of Zipline, joins Cheddar News to talk more about the partnership.
A NASA spacecraft that will deliberately crash into an asteroid is preparing to launch this week. The goal of the DART mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is to hit the smaller of the two asteroids, Dimorphos, with the spacecraft at about 15,000 miles per hour and see how the impact changes the asteroid’s trajectory. Joey Roulette, space reporter at The New York Times, joins Cheddar News to talk more about it.
After a pandemic pause where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was closed to the public, the annual tradition is returning to the streets of New York with some new, yet familiar, faces. In addition to 10 marching bands, dozens of floats, 30 heritage balloons, and five other newcomers, one creature from a galaxy far, far away is joining the festivities, courtesy of toy manufacturer Funko. Coming in at 41 feet tall, 29 feet long, and 37 feet wide, the Funko Pop!-inspired Grogu balloon, from "The Mandalorian," will make his debut this year. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
AAA is expecting 80% more airline passengers and almost 10% more road trips in the pandemic’s biggest holiday travel surge. Melanie Lieberman, senior travel editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News to detail what travelers are up against.
Protests across the country continued all weekend following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. A jury found the 18-year-old not guilty of all five felony charges. Rittenhouse was accused of killing two people and wounding another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. Jaha Howard, political strategist and civil rights advocate, joins Cheddar News to breakdown the verdict.
