From MTV's hottest artists to Barbie in the Middle East, here's what's happening in entertainment.
'23 VMAs
With just over a month to go before the 2023 MTV Music Video Awards, the network has released this year's nominees.
Taylor Swift leads all artists with eight nominations, including major categories like Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. SZA checked in with six nods, while a slew of other artists are tied at 5 nominations each.
The ongoing Hollywood writer's strike will likely impact the show, as it has other award shows this year. That means showrunners will have to get creative when selecting a host and creating segments to keep the show interesting.
The ceremony is set for September 12 at Newark, N.J.'s Prudential Center.
Travis Tour
Fresh off the release of his fourth solo studio album, UTOPIA, Travis Scott is set to hit the road.
Scott took to Instagram to confirm the news and announce U.S. and European dates will be publicized soon.
The tour will be Scott's first since Astroworld, which was marred by crowd crush in Houston that left 10 people dead and dozens others injured. Litigation around the deadly festival is ongoing and just as recently as two days ago, it was revealed that Scott settled with a third family who lost their 14-year-old son in the melee.
The announcement also comes days after a slated show at the Pyramids of Giza was cancelled by Egypt's Musicians Syndicate which cited Scott's image as going against its societal values.
The wild success of the Barbie movie won't be escaping the Middle East after all.
The film is set to debut in theaters this weekend after a three-week delay. It was set to go live two days before the rest of the world on July 19, however critics in the region wanted to censor parts of the movie that did not align with their societal values.
For example, there were concerns in the United Arab Emirates over LGBTQ+-related dialogue, according to Variety. Barbie isn't the first movie to face this type of reaction. This year, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was not released in Saudi Arabia or the UAE, presumably because of a "Protect Trans Lives" flag that appeared in a scene of the movie.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Fast-casual restaurant chain Sweetgreen is rolling out its first salad subscription service called sweetpass as it looks to customers tackling new year weight loss and health goals. Members will receive up to 30 percent off of purchases.
Washington DC and the surrounding areas saw a record breaking snow storm Monday as a strong storm system works its way across the eastern U.S. The extreme weather event caused extensive damage in the greater Washington area, leaving thousands in the region without power. Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist, AccuWeather, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the fierce storm.
Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights on Monday over severe weather and crew shortages. The cancellations come on one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season, and is a continuation of the industry-wide disruption that started before Christmas. Thomas Pallini, Aviation Reporter for Insider joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
Millions of Americans with young children have relied on the child tax credit since the federal government began issuing checks in July 2021. The last round of payments was sent out just before the Christmas holiday — at the same time as the omicron variant surged. Leah Hamilton, associate professor of social work at Appalachian State University, joined Cheddar to discuss what the end to the tax credit means as the U.S. sees the end of many relief programs and its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic. "It'll become harder for families to meet their basic needs, increasing national childhood poverty rates and the proportion of families who have difficulty putting food on the table, maintaining stable housing, and paying their bills," Hamilton said. She also pointed to research that the credit as a long-term investment in children offsets claims that it contributes to macroeconomic impacts like inflation.
Several Silicon Valley insiders are being accused of contorting a 1990s-era tax break to avoid taxes on millions of dollars of investment profits. The tax break is known as the qualified small business stock exemption, and it allows early investors in certain companies to avoid half of the taxes on up to $10 million in capital gains. A piece recently published in the New York Times says venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz replicated the tax exemption by giving shares of companies to friends and family, who would otherwise face a 23.8% capital gains bill. The CEO of Roblox is also accused of replicating the tax break for his family members at least 12 times. Although the loophole known as 'stacking' is considered to be legal, the Times piece implies that the exemption has been manipulated for the ultra-wealthy to become more wealthy. Greycroft co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Alan Patricof joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
There is a new player in the mobile app stock trading space.
Zingeroo recently announced a funding round of $8.5 million. The company says it aims to bring 'friendly competition' to stock trading, by literally breaking trading down into daily and weekly competitions between friends. Zingeroo also says it hopes its new approach can make trading more accessible, educational, and social than ever before. Zingeroo co-founder and CEO Zoe Barry joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more.
