Wake Up with Cheddar Day is officially underway and to help celebrate it: custom, bite-size cupcakes from Baked by Melissa.
Melissa Ben-Ishay, founder and owner of Baked by Melissa, presented her baked treats on the show and said the Cheddar logo inspired the colorful dessert design.
"I took a look at the logo and I needed the cupcakes to be colorful," Ben-Ishay said. "We complimented them with sprinkles and colored icing to give you a really big pop of pink and orange just like your brand."
The New York-based cupcake company is known for its signature petite treats, and Ben-Ishay said she intentionally made them tiny so cupcake lovers would not feel guilty about eating a variety of them. "Making them just a 'bite' allowed me to try every flavor without feeling bad about it," she said.
Baked by Melissa has 14 locations and an online shop that can ship the cupcakes around the country.
"At Baked by Melissa, we get to make people happy with our best-in-class product," Ben-Ishay said. "We have the single best gift that you can give," Ben-Ishay said.
Carl Tobias, professor of law at the University of Richmond, joins Cheddar News to talk about how Johnson & Johnson funded experiments on mostly Black men comparing the effects of talc and asbestos on their skin.
Amazon unveiled its new mobile app called Amp as a direct competitor to Clubhouse, allowing people to host live radio shows. Although it is still in beta, users can join the waitlist from the iOS store.
President Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports to the U.S. in response to its invasion of Ukraine, a move he warned could lead to an even greater surge in gas prices. The ban is prompting a conversation about the current oil production levels in the U.S. and whether or not the industry can ramp up production to soften the blow to American families at the gas pump. Clark Williams-Derry, Energy Finance Analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, breaks down the state of the U.S. oil industry and how the ban might impact production levels here at home.
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are the latest American food brands to have halted business operations in Russia after having faced scrutiny and criticism for originally failing to do so amid the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As Russia intensifies its war on Ukraine, President Biden announced a ban on oil imported from the aggressor nation. Critics of Russia have said this would be the best way to force Putin to pull back, but curbs on Russian oil exports are expected to send already skyrocketing oil and gas prices even higher, further impacting consumers, businesses, financial markets, and the global economy. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "It's certainly going to increase pricing, but it is the right thing to do," she said. "The industry itself has already pulled out of the significant portion of its operations in Russia."
As airlines recover from COVID-19 and the industry becomes more competitive than ever, low-fare carrier Breeze Airlines is offering 35 new routes and reduced prices for its first-class experiences. CEO David Neeleman joined Cheddar News to talk about the rollout of services amid plenty of headwinds including high fuel costs. "We can limit a lot of costs because we're a technology company that happens to fly airplanes," he noted.
Despite women as a whole being among the groups most impacted by pandemic job losses, homesharing platform Airbnb reported that women hosts brought in $12 billion in revenue last year. Catherine Powell, Airbnb's global head of hosting, joined Cheddar News to discuss how women hosting has become a huge asset for the company. "Last year 21 percent more women joined the platform than men," she said. "So they are joining the platform. They are being successful. They're more super hosts, and they're doing incredibly well."
