*By Madison Alworth*
[George Takei](https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/25/george-takei-trump-immigration-rhetoric-bts-rs.cnn) is an outspoken critic of President Trump.
And now the actor is taking his gripes to a new, augmented level, with the app House of Cats. The app launched this week and allows users to interact with animated characters "Trumpy Cat," "Meowlania," and "Vladdy Putin," to name a few.
"I'm a political animal, feline inclined" said Takei in an interview with Cheddar Thursday. "We love cats and we all love politics and to put them together is the House of Cats with a Trumpy Cat."
The satirical Trump can be superimposed onto any surface. Users then instruct him to recite dialogue of their own choosing or even any of the president's real tweets. Users can also record and share videos of themselves in conversation with Trumpy Cat and his band of feline followers.
The app, available on Apple products and Google Play, costs $0.99. As of now, there are no plans to develop costlier, subscription-only content. Takei will donate a certain percent of the profits to Refugees International, a charity for displaced people.
"We are going to counter \[Trump's]\ hostility with support," Takei said.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/george-takei-launches-new-ar-mobile-game-house-of-cats)
Pete Davidson is heading to space. The “Saturday Night Live” star will be among the six passengers on the next launch of Jeff Bezos' space travel venture, Blue Origin.
Sketchers is yet another retailer to announce its entrance into the realm of the metaverse. The footwear company will be launching virtual clothing as well as an experiential store in Decentraland.
Cheddar catches up with Edwina Fitzmaurice, EY Chief Customer Success Officer, at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas to break down why artificial intelligence will not replace the jobs of humans, and why creatives are leading the way towards the metaverse.
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to grow, so do concerns over the impact it could have on the international space community, and more specifically, the International Space Station. Those concerns come after Dmitry Rogozin, the director of Russia's state space agency, posted several tweets over the last few weeks in which he threatened to 'destroy Russia's cooperation on the ISS.' Olympia LePoint, rocket scientist and author of 'Answers Unleashed II: The Science of Attracting What You Want,' joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
