*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)
Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its budget-priced iPhone that’s capable of connecting to ultrafast 5G wireless networks, an upgrade that has been available on the company’s upscale models for more than a year.
For Fadia Kader, the global head of strategic and media partnerships at social audio app Clubhouse, it's about pushing culture forward and connecting people with the biggest and brightest stars in music and entertainment.
Lie detectors don't work. In fact, the science behind them has been increasingly scrutinized since their inception. But they’re still being used in high-stakes scenarios with real consequences.
So, if lie detectors don’t actually work, why do we still use them?
Country music fans watching the Academy of Country Music Awards tonight will be doing so in a different way than years past. The ceremony will not be broadcast on network TV and will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. This will be the first time a major awards show will be live-streamed exclusively on a subscription video-on-demand platform. Shelly Kramer, co-founder and lead analyst of Futurum Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis is doing more than just sending the price of oil skyrocketing — it's also impacting the electric vehicle sector thanks to rising prices of key metals and materials necessary for battery and EV production. How can the relatively new industry steel itself as prices rise and consumers potentially lose what little interest they had in making the switch to an electric car? John Loehr, managing director of AlixPartners Automotive and Industrial Practice, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
Atomic bills itself as an investing API that allows fintechs and banks to easily integrate investing into their products by bringing the power of investing to everyone, with no account minimums. In November, the company announced its launch along with a $25 million Series A funding round. David Dindi, co-founder and CEO of Atomic, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
