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.
The difference between the wild valuations and stock moves in the nascent pot industry and those of the turn-of-the-century dot-com stocks (Pets.com, anyone?) is that cannabis "is a market that actually exists," said financier Terry Taouss of cannabis financing company Tidal Royalty.
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Rohan Oza, co-founder and managing partner of CAVU Venture Partners and judge on ABC's "Shark Tank", has a pair of simple rules for when entrepreneurs pitch him: are they cool, and do their products work?
Naz Aletaha, head of esports partnerships for Riot Games, said that the "priceless" experiences with new global sponsor Mastercard will start with the world championships in October, offering premium content and behind the scenes access to the biggest event for esports lovers.
Jose Antonio Vargas rose to prominence when he wrote an essay for the New York Times in 2011 essentially outing himself as an undocumented immigrant. Since then, he's crisscrossed the country, advocating on behalf of immigrants. With a new memoir, "Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen," Vargas points out immigration is a "humanitarian crisis" that long predates Donald Trump.
Andrew Jenks, the host of the popular "What Really Happened?" podcast, is a pro at telling stories that can hold listeners' attention while they do other things, like drive or clean. It's a tricky task and is the difference between a podcast that holds your attention and one that you turn off, Jenks said.
Raymond Wong, senior tech correspondent at Mashable, shares his thoughts on Apple's new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.
Shares of Tilray, the Canadian cannabis company, popped 50 percent Wednesday after the DEA cleared the way for its cannabis imports as part of a clinical trial. Those trials are the backbone of Tilray's strategy, said Bethany Gomez, director of research at Brightfield Group. As more countries permit medical marijuana research, Tilray is putting itself in pole position.
Tilray, the Canadian cannabis company swiftly becoming one of the most talked-about stocks of the year, was up as much as 50 percent on Wednesday morning, leading a continued bull run in pot stocks and putting its market cap above established companies like Macy's and Viacom.
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