After taking two years away from gymnastics, Olympic gold- and silver-medalist Laurie Hernandez says she’s now preparing for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“It was time I needed, mentally and physically, away from gymnastics to figure out who I was outside of gymnastics. But I loved it so much I ended up coming back,” Hernandez told Cheddar.
In her years off, she won season 23 of Dancing with the Stars, and published two books.
“Training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is something I very much still have my eyes set on. And it’s something that I’m really looking forward to. And then hopefully — and willingly — acting.”
While competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Hernandez attracted a loyal fan base, both as an individual and as part of the American women’s gymnastics team, nicknamed the ‘Final Five.’
In Brazil, the U.S. won gold for the team gymnastics event. Hernandez also won silver on the balance beam.
“Mentally, now I have this expectation and this set bar,” she says.
Hernandez is currently promoting a campaign with the eye care company Alcon.
Heila Technologies, a startup that develops hardware and software to integrate renewables and batteries on a microgrid, is helping to power the first clean energy microgrid for Auto Mercado, a top supermarket chain in Costa Rica. The plant will reduce 20 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Heila Technologies CEO Francisco Morocz joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Bitcoin had a tough last few days. In just a 24-hour period spanning early Friday morning to early Saturday morning, bitcoin's price went from about $57,000 to $47,000. Patrick McCconlogue, CEO of Overline, joins Cheddar News discuss bitcoin's plunge.
The leading gaming organization and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves just raised $60 million in new funding closing its Series C. This new round of funding has raised the valuation of the organization to about $460 million. John Robinson, president and COO of 100 Thieves, joins Cheddar News to talk about what's next for the company.
The Quorum and Cultique released a new study where moviegoers weighed in on their attitudes on going to the theater right now. Linda Ong, founder of Cultique, and David Herrin, founder and CEO of The Quorum, join Cheddar News to discuss what moviegoers need in order to head back to theaters.
Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is gearing up for a sequel following its earlier this year topping the domestic box office to date. Destin Daniel Cretton will return to write and direct while also taking on additional projects in a multi-year deal.
Online platform Assemble is looking to provide career instruction and inspiration to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) of all age groups for access to industries they might not have been privy to prior. Actor, activist, and one of Assemble's three co-founders, Jesse Williams, and CEO Cortney Woodruff joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to discuss the Assemble mission and what people can expect from the program. "There's a lot of jobs that folks don't know even exist in the first place, and what we know is that there are incredible innovators at the peak of their field that are Black and brown – in every single field," Williams noted.
Cheddar breaks down the challenges of plastic recycling and what one company is doing to help offset the negative environmental impact of single-use plastics.
Sarah Dandashy, Travel Expert, Ask a Concierge, joins Cheddar News to explain why the best gift you can give this holiday season is the gift of travel.