With critics' groups across the country starting to hand out their awards, the Oscar race is officially on. Cinemablend's Sean O'Connell joins us to handicap the major categories. With no clear frontrunner, it's anyone's guess which movie is going to break out before the big night.
In the Best Picture category, it's looking like things are boiling down to a showdown between "The Post" and "Lady Bird." O'Connell weighs the pros and cons of each, noting that he thinks the Steven Spielberg political drama is the best movie of the year. We also consider whether "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" could be the franchise's first Best Picture nominee since the 1977 original, "A New Hope."
Then, we tackle the contenders duking it out in the acting categories. Meryl Streep is looking to win her fourth Oscar for her leading role in "The Post." If anyone can stop her, O'Connell says it will likely be "Lady Bird's" Saoirse Ronan or "I, Tonya's" Margot Robbie. As for the actors, "Darkest Hour's" Gary Oldman is pulling ahead as the one to beat for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.
Two new wildfires broke out in Southern California's Ventura County on Monday, as firefighters strained their resources to contain the three blazes already rampaging across the state. In Northern California, the Camp Fire is now the deadliest in the state's history, with at least 31 dead.
If you put together the sales generated from Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon's Prime Day in the U.S., it still would be less than the sales from Sunday's Singles Day shopping holiday in China.
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Four years ago, Aziz “Hax$” Al-Yami was one of the best Super Smash Bros. Melee players in the world. But after suffering what he said felt like “an explosion” in his left wrist, Hax’s once-impressive tournament performances were marred by serious physical pain. So he found his own solution: a different type of controller. Hax talked to Cheddar Sports about his life-changing design.
Astronaut Scott Kelly saw the sun rise and set about 32 times each day during the 520 total days he spent in outer space. He also spent considerable time looking at Planet Earth. Naturally, it changed his perspective ー in the most literal sense. Kelly shares that new perspective through images in his latest book, "Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut's Photographs from a Year in Space."
The internet can be a toxic place ー but it doesn't have to be, according to Deepak Chopra. The bestselling author and new age advocate is helping to build a healthier internet through a new Amazon Alexa skill that delivers his daily "intentions." The skill is a result of a partnership with A.I.-provider LivePerson's innovation lab, LivePerson Studios.
Addyi, the female-libido-boosting drug that was approved in 2015, is getting a re-launch of sorts. Cindy Eckert, the CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals and founder of The Pink Ceiling, an incubator for female-led startups, explained to Cheddar the difference between the "mechanics" of an ED pill and a female arousal pill.
Photo-editing app VSCO has already hit 2 million paid subscribers after crossing the 1 million subscribers threshold just in the first quarter of 2018. “It’s really a testament to how consumer-driven we are,” VSCO CEO Joel Flory told Cheddar. VSCO charges $20 per year for its subscription, and the business is now operating at break-even, Flory said.
Hallie Huggins was a platoon leader in Afghanistan, where she learned the skills she now uses as executive at JPMorgan Chase. Huggins told Cheddar about her work for the non-profit "Carry the Load," which honors military members and their families and provides resources to those who are transitioning back into civilian life.
Luxury chocolatier Godiva is dedicated to female equity in its workforce. More than 75 percent of the workforce and 45 percent of director and managerial positions are held by women. Caki Halprin, head of North American marketing and innovation at Godiva, told Cheddar about Godiva's history in female empowerment and about efforts within the food industry to push back against gender inequality."There are definitely more male restaurant owners, more male leaders in the restaurant industry, although predominantly the majority of employees within the restaurant industry are female. So we do need to make that shift," Halprin said.
