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.
Rapper, songwriter, and record producer Warren G respects contemporary rappers like Kendrick Lamar. But he still prefers the 90s. It was 'the Golden Age,' he tells Cheddar, because rappers tackled social issues in their music, not just partying.
Nearly 150 victims of Larry Nassar's sexual misconduct stood on stage Wednesday during the ESPY Awards to accept the Arthur Ashe prize for courage. Josh Hill, Senior Editor at FanSided, explains that their visibility will raise general awareness for sexual abuse, far beyond the arena of sports.
The "I Hart Food" host explains that content creators should not be afraid to evolve ー especially as platforms change. From YouTube to the Food Network, Hart has learned to shift her content to consumer trends and the rise of the 'foodie' movement.
The FX dance-musical series with an 80s New York backdrop was renewed for a second season. Actor Dyllon Burnside says now is the ideal moment for a series addressing LGBTQ issues. "It's just the pushback we need against some of the hateful things that we've seen happening with policy," he tells Cheddar.
The pro wrestler and his wife's new reality show, "Miz and Mrs," debuts on USA July 24. The Miz tells Cheddar that if he had to fight a tech titan, he'd pick Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "My recycling bin is out the roof. I need like three different recycling bins all filled with Amazon boxes because [Maryse] loves Amazon Prime."
The tech VC condemned Elon Musk's recent behavior, including calling one of the rescue workers on the Thai soccer team mission a "pedo," in an open letter. But Munster did note that Musk's apology via Twitter was a "big deal." "Elon Musk doesn't apologize, so I think this is significant," he tells Cheddar. "I think it is a sign that he's willing to change."
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
* **Damage Control at the White House:** President Trump will meet with his cabinet today after widespread criticism of his comments spread following Monday's joint meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To appease his base,Trump declared yesterday that he simply misspoke during the presser--but some critics find that hard to believe.
* **Manafort Goes to Court:** The case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is moving forward--despite a denial of his team's request for a change of location. Manafort's team asked for the trial to be moved from Alexandria to Roanoke, believing that Alexandria's more liberal base would be less forgiving and attract more press.
* **University Doctor Under Fire:** A former Ohio State University doctor is accused of molesting student athletes after complaints surfaced from several ex-wrestlers--one of whom condemned is Congressman Jim Jordan for ignoring the allegations.
* **Vacancies at Comic-Con:** The 2018 Comic-Con kicks of in San Diego tonight. But some of the usual attendees will be missing: network HBO, the Avengers, X-Men and Deadpool will be among the absent guests.
* **American League Still Number One:** The American league clung to its title as reigning champ after it defeated the National League for the sixth straight year during last night's MLB All-Star game.
Cheddar Big News' Hena Doba gives us the details.
The 'Thinking Face' emoji best describes 2018 and the 'Exploding Head' is the best new emoji this year. The winners of Emojipedia's annual awards, selected by popular vote in an online survey, were announced on Cheddar on World Emoji Day.
