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.
Anesthesiologist and newest cast member on 'The Real Housewives of Miami,' Dr. Nicole Martin, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest season returning to Peacock.
The World Inequality Lab just released its inequality report, which looks at wealth and income inequality, gender inequality, and carbon emission inequality around the world. It is also the first global assessment of wealth and income inequality since the start of the pandemic. Matthew Post-Fisher, a coordinator with the World Inequality Lab and a research fellow at Harvard Kennedy school joins Cheddar News to discuss the findings.
Instagram Chief Executive Adam Mosseri is set to testify before Congress for the first time. Mosseri’s appearance follows reports that showed Facebook and Instagram are aware of the harms their apps and services cause, including to teen mental health. Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech joins Cheddar News to preview the hearing.
Actor Hosea Chanchez joined Cheddar Wellness to discuss reprising his role in the Paramount+ reboot of the hit series "The Game '' and about the importance of mental wellness for Black men, identifying similarities between himself and the character he plays, Malik Wright. He noted that the role allowed him to submerge himself in the culture of athletes and let him explore and depict subjects that often go undiscussed in the Black community to draw attention to their relevance.
According to an Indeed survey, 77% of job seekers say work happiness is important when considering a future employer. Misty Gaither, Senior Director, Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, Indeed, joins Cheddar Wellness to discuss the importance of overall workplace happiness and how employees and employers can work towards that goal.
Michael Steinhardt, 81, has surrendered 180 stolen artifacts from 11 different countries worth $70 million. The former hedge fund manager has also received a lifetime ban from the antiquities market.
The U.S. has seen several retailers across the country forced to close their brick-and-mortar stores amid the rise of e-commerce over the past few years. However, we are in the midst of a brick-and-mortar boom, with retailers expected to open more stores this year than they close, for the first time since 2017, according to an analysis of more than 900 chains by IHL Group, a research and advisory company. At the same time, the e-commerce businesses of retailers have become more dependent on physical stores to fulfill orders, especially during the holiday shopping season. Lionesque Group CEO Melissa Gonzalez joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Heila Technologies, a startup that develops hardware and software to integrate renewables and batteries on a microgrid, is helping to power the first clean energy microgrid for Auto Mercado, a top supermarket chain in Costa Rica. The plant will reduce 20 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Heila Technologies CEO Francisco Morocz joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
