Monday, June 20, 2016

Jinger Duggar and Soccer Player Jeremy Vuolo Are Officially Courting: "We Are Very Excited to Begin This Journey ...


Jeremy Vuolo | What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

06/20/2016 AT 12:00 PM EDT

There"s an exciting new Duggar announcement!

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that Jinger Duggar, 22, and professional soccer player Jeremy Vuolo, 28, are officially courting and their courtship will be a big part of the new season of Counting On when it returns to TLC later this summer.

Of their courtship the Duggar-approved way of dating that has couples getting to know each other as a preparation for marriage Jinger tells PEOPLE she met Vuolo last May.

The two then "had the opportunity to go on a missions trip together," she says.

Adds Jinger, "It was there that I really saw his heart and really admired his character."

Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo

Julia Myers / TLC

"I was initially friends with Ben Seewald and Jessa [(Duggar) Seewald], and it was through them that I got to meet Jinger," Vuolo tells PEOPLE. "We are very excited to begin this journey together."RELATED VIDEO: The Duggar Brothers Get Protective Over a Potential Courtship for Joy-Anna: He Has to "Be a Perfect Guy" Vuolo, who graduated from Syracuse University, previously played for Major League Soccer club the New York Red Bulls before stepping away from the game to pursue ministry. He later signed with the San Antonio Scorpions in the North American Soccer League in 2013.

Indeed, Vuolo has long been friends with Jinger"s sister Jessa, 23, and her husband Ben, 21, and has regularly appeared in videos shared by Jessa via her YouTube channel.

For more on the Duggar family, check out their website and catch Counting On when it returns to TLC this summer.

Source: http://www.people.com/article/jinger-duggar-courting-professional-soccer-player-jeremy-cuovo

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Songkick Ratchets Up Live Nation, Ticketmaster Lawsuit


Ticketmaster issues free ticket vouchers

On the same day that Bandcamp announced it"s partnership with Ticketmaster, concert discovery rival Songkick was escalating its legal battle with the ticketing giant. In a new a filing, Songkick is seeking an immediate preliminary injunction against Ticketmaster.

A legal dispute over fan club "presales" has taken a twist after ticketing platform Songkick filed a legal motion accusing Live Nation of retaliating against Songkick for their anti-trust lawsuit.

Last year, Songkick filed a lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, accusing it of engaging in anti-competitive behavior by pressuring touring artists and concert venues to not work with Songkick`s service. Songkick"s suit centered on the sale of presale tickets, which Ticketmaster requires to be priced at least equal to those on general sale on Ticketmaster"s platform.

Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, Songkick has filed a new motion in the case, alleging that Ticketmaster has retaliated, by demanding that Songkick pay the company as if Ticketmaster had conducted the presales for Songkick"s clients.

According to the WSJ, the motion alleges that a senior Ticketmaster executive admitted that the company made these demands and escalated their anticompetitive conduct in this way due to Songkick"s lawsuit. "This retaliation, if not enjoined, will drive Songkick out of the artist presale ticketing business in the U.S., the motion said.

In a statement Live Nation provided to the WSJ, the company noted that the right to ticket artist presales is explicitly within the scope of its exclusive rights and that it is not obligated to relinquish this right, though it does share up to 8% of tickets with artists as an accommodation.

via Celebrity Access

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Source: http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2016/03/songkick-ratchets-up-live-nation-ticketmaster-lawsuit.html

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Easing "Brexit" fears stoke global stock rally


Why Brexit? #3 [Reality Calls]

Global stocks surged on Monday as a new poll suggested the UK may remain in the EU, but one analyst warned of a volatile pound currency ahead. Video provided by TheStreet Newslook

In this June 13, 2016 photo, traders Richrd Deviccaro, left, and Frederick Reimer work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)(Photo: Richard Drew, AP)

Stocks jumpedMonday on Wall Street, building ona massiverallythat began abroad, as investors reacted to fresh polls that showthe"Remain" campis gaining momentum inthe"Brexit" vote, a shift in sentiment that boosts oddsand raised hopes that Britain will stay in the European Union.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been up 271 points early, closed up 130 points, or 0.7%, at 17,805.The broader Standard & Poor"s 500 stock index gained 0.6%and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8%.

The new polls have boosted investment sentiment, whichis shifting away from the risk aversion that marked last week"s trading, when investors fearing a UKvote thisThursdayto leave the EU sold assets thatwould be hurt most by the uncertainty and economic downside of aBrexit, such as stocks, commodities, and the British pound and banks.

But fresh poll results released this weekendthat show voters that want to stay in the EU are gaining momentum and edging into the lead versusthe "Leave" camphasraised hopes among investors that a Brexit is less likely.Two polls conducted for theMail on Sundaysaid 45% of the respondents wanted to stay in the 28-member EU, and 42% wanted to leave. ASunday Timessurvey conducted Thursday and Friday said 44% wanted to remain, and 43% wanted to leave.

"Brexit momentum is turning to "stay" in the final days of the campaign," and that is prompting investors to reverse the bearish bets theyhad put in place last week when risks of a Brexit were higher,Daniel Clifton, ananalyst at Strategas Research Partners whospecializes in politics and policy, told clients.

Markets are rallying on the hopes that a Brexit won"t happen. In Europe, theFTSE 100 index in London soared 3.0%, wiping out its 1.5% drop from last week. The British pound, which has been getting hammered recently, rallied more than 2%.Similarly, the DAX in Germany jumped 3.4% and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 3.5%. The global rally began in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 jumped 2.3%.

Still, Clifton warnedthat the Brexit vote is still too close too call andif traders now betting on Britain staying in the EU get surprised Thursday with a vote to leave, risk will come back into markets in a hurry. A Brexit is feared by markets as it is likely to cause a spike inuncertainty and is seen hurting the U.K. economy and other economies around the world.

"After last weeks re-pricing of a higher risk that Brexit could actually happen, many of the financial indicators we look at are reversing this morning to reflect the change in sentiment that Brexit is less likely to occur," Clifton said."If this trend continues through the week and we get a surprise vote in the other direction on Thursday, the market will not be priced in for the change in outcome. Although the momentum has really shifted, we would note that the vote is still close and there are many undecided voters."

The Brexit vote will likely be the main financial market event this week until the winner ofThursday"s vote is revealed, Gina Martin Adams, equity strategist at Wells Fargo Securities, notes.

"Stocks are likely to remain volatile as the "Brexit"vote takes placethis week," Adams says."The potential damage to risk tolerance with a "Leave"vote is the bigger and less quantifiable risk to stocks, particularly as such a vote willkeep markets in limbo waiting for a UKgovernment response to the vote. Conversely, a relief rally from a "Stay"vote should help U.S. cyclical stocks (or those that benefit from a stronger economy)play a bit ofcatch up to defensive (stocks).

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/28JdqtT

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2016/06/20/stocks-dow-monday/86130556/

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Seattle 8-year-old inspires Father"s Day cards for Orlando victims" families


How To Fold An Origami Shirt (Father"s Day Card)

Updated: Jun 17, 2016 - 6:37 PM

When a Seattle father was talking to his daughter about the tragic nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, she asked him a heart-wrenching question.

She said, Do the fathers still get a Fathers Day card? And I said, Absolutely, Daniel Bacons told KIRO 7 News in downtown Seattle.

Heartwarming acts across the country have unfolded since 49 people were killed when a gunman open fire in the Pulse nightclub.Bacons and his 8-year-old daughter have joined in the nations response to the massacre by showing positive energy and support.

So I came into work this morning, and got 49 cards, and wrote all their names on ... (them), and had the city get involved in signing ... (them), Bacons said. Just to get their emotions out [and] share the love.

They made 49 Fathers Day cards and posted them to the sidewalk near Westlake Park so that passersby could leave their thoughts.

More than 300 people signed the cards.

{YYYY} c*x Media Group.

Source: http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattle-8-year-old-inspires-fathers-day-cards-for-orlando-victims-families/349289463

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WWE TV Ratings No Longer Reflect Popularity


Who does Dean Ambrose credit for helping him win the WWE World Heavyweight Title?: June 19, 2016

WWE"s (NYSE:WWE) falling television ratings suggest the company"s popularity is also declining, but Google Trends, house show attendance and merchandise revenue show otherwise.

There was a strong relationship between Google interest in WWE and WWE Raw TV ratings up until about 2013, when Google interest started to bow in the opposite direction of declining ratings.

When we take WWE Raw"s Live+SD TV ratings and average them by month, then standardize them like Google Trends metrics (by standardizing the highest instance as 100), then we see an interesting picture.

We see the correlation between the two data sets from 2008 to present is 0.2689, indicating a weak relationship between Raw"s TV ratings and Google interest in WWE across that time. (By the way, the correlation result for this and the other examples discussed later are exactly the same if we take the original non-standardized TV ratings dataset; standardizing the TV ratings data set to a standard of 100 changes nothing.)

If we look at just January 2008 through December 2013, though, the relationship is strong. For those years, Google interest and Raw TV ratings correlated well.

But if you look at the relationship after that point, you can see that the two data sets went in opposite directions.

What happened? The first thing you can point to is the launch of the WWE Network on February 24, 2014. But if you look at the graph at the top of this page again, you can see the correlation peaked and began disintegrating about in the middle of 2012, well before the launch of the WWE Network. Subscribing to the WWE Network, while it does give you access to thousands of hours of WWE content, it doesn"t give viewers access to episodes of Raw (or Smackdown) until 30 days after they originally air.

It"s plausible that the slight increase we see in WWE on Google is due to the product"s increasing presence throughout the internet and social media. It"s also plausible that a genuine decrease in popularity is masked by an increase in such activity. As I"ll discuss later, though, other metrics don"t corroborate a decline in popularity over recent years.

The graph for WWE"s Google Trends itself looks like this:

Click to enlarge

Source: Google Trends

That"s worldwide interest. If you look at interest just in the U.S., it"s very similar.

But what is the Google Trend metric? "Measuring search interest in topics is a beta feature which quickly provides accurate measurements of overall search interest," according to Google. When you measure interest in a search topic (such as WWE), Google"s algorithms "count many different search queries that may relate to the same topic". So when you select "WWE - professional wrestling company", Google is not just counting the search string "WWE" but lots of other strings that are related. It"s also important to understand the value Google Trends reveals isn"t an absolute unit; it"s a relative value, with the highest instance of interest standardized as 100, and all other instances compared to that standard.

Are Google Trends a reliable indicator of WWE"s popularity? Let"s look at Google Trends data for two similar businesses: Total Nonstop Action and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Click to enlargeSource: Google Trends

TNA is another pro wrestling company. Its decline in popularity and financial health is consistent with the Google Trends graph above.

TNA has been on cable TV with national exposure since 2005. Most of the time since 2005, it has been the number-two pro wrestling company in the country, albeit a very distant number-two to WWE. TNA was broadcast on Spike from 2005 to 2014. The peak in Google interest shown on the graph above coincides with January 4, 2010, when TNA loaded up their program in a move to Monday night to go head-to-head with Raw, scoring their highest TV rating ever, in a short-lived attempt to recreate the Monday Night Wars. After losing their deal with Spike, TNA moved to the lower profile Destination America for all of 2015 until that relationship was ended as well and it ended up on PopTV beginning 2016: a deal that provides them with no rights fees, only ad revenue. While ratings declined, the company"s financial welfare has reportedly declined as well. There are regular reports of talent and production crew members not being paid on time. Just recently, their live pay-per-view broadcast and television tapings had to be saved from cancellation by last-minute financial backing.

Click to enlarge

Source: Google Trends

UFC is the most popular mixed martial arts promotion in the world. UFC 196 in March of this year scored 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, nearly the highest in the company"s history. UFC President Dana White said it was the most successful event the organization ever promoted. That event coincides with the spike seen on the graph above for that time period. If the show only did 1.5 million buys, though, it"s interesting that UFC 100, which drew 1.6 million in July 2010, only drew 62% as much interest on Google.

What about other WWE metrics?

A decline in live event attendance in addition to TV ratings would be a more worrying sign for WWE"s popularity. But attendance over the last several years has been stable.

WWE reported in their Key Performance Indicators a 6,100 average for North American attendance for 2016 Q1, which is right on par with the norm.

2016 Q2 results will probably be released in early August. House show attendance sourced from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for Q2 through June 11, shows attendance for those non-televised events is at a low point, with an average of 3,779 attendees per show.

John Cena is WWE"s lone proven difference-maker, among those who regularly work house shows. He"s been off of all house shows so far this year due to injury. He"s scheduled to return to regular touring beginning June 29. Investors should watch to see if WWE indeed reports a low North American live attendance average for Q2, which I would expect. And if WWE does so, investors should watch for whether there"s a recovery in Q3 and Q4 with Cena back on tour. If live attendance does not recover, that would point to a genuine decline in popularity, and other key areas of their business might suffer.

However, as the chart above shows, the decline in TV ratings over the long-term does not yet coincide with any long-term decline in either house show attendance or live attendance overall, which has fluctuated but remained stable. Nor does the decline in Raw"s ratings coincide with a decline in attendance for Raw tapings themselves, which have gone up slightly in the last few years -- again, as sourced from the Observer:

2014 WWE Raw attendance average: 9,5712015 WWE Raw attendance average: 9,6772016 WWE Raw attendance average (through June 13): 10,304

Merchandise revenue, if anything, has increased thanks to more online sales (all filed by the company under "WWEShop", whether they occur on WWEShop.com, Amazon or elsewhere).

In light of the fact that Google searches are up, house show attendance is flat, Raw attendance is slightly up, and merchandise revenue is up, I don"t believe WWE is declining in popularity. TV ratings are the only key metric in a genuine decline; reasons for that will be discussed further below.

In all this evidence, though, there is room for an argument that WWE has become more of a niche product over the last several years. It"s possible Google searches are up because the same number of people or fewer people are just searching WWE-related topics more often. It"s possible that merchandise revenue is up, not because more unique customers are buying, but because customers are buying more units and/or more expensive items. House show attendance being flat, but attendance to the more prestigious Raw events being slightly up is consistent with a fan base that is becoming more ardent. Developments like the WWE Network and the success of the NXT brand, which both appeal strongly to the most ardent fans, are clues as well. Investors should watch whether this pattern grows more over time.

All that said, WWE is in a quandary in regards to its lucrative TV rights fees and declining ratings. Television rights fees are the company"s largest revenue source. Because of that, TV ratings are still important.

To say, though, that WWE"s declining ratings are just an example of declines throughout television is skirting the issue. There are a number of critical subtleties:

  • Live sports ratings for the NFL, NBA and MLB, as well as mixed martial arts promotions, UFC and Bellator, are all stable if not strong in recent years. True, ratings for scripted programming are largely down. I think WWE is a hybrid of both live sports and scripted programming, so if all other things are equal, the "all ratings are down" effect should be afflicting them less so than other scripted entertainment and more so than other live sports.

  • Some think cord-cutting is affecting WWE"s ratings. But the ratings shouldn"t be affected by cord-cutting, because the ratings metric takes into account the percentage of households the channel is available in that view the program, so that homes that no longer have access to cable channels like the USA Network (the home of Raw and Smackdown) aren"t part of the equation.

  • Click to enlargeSource: Chris Harrington

  • Raw"s move from a two- to three-hour format in 2012 is indeed taking a toll. The anecdotal as well as the quantitative evidence suggests viewers are exhausted by the longer program. The third hour of Raw is the least viewed of the three almost every week.

  • Some say WWE"s strong push of digital and social media (e.g., the WWE Network, clips on YouTube and Facebook of everything that happens on Raw and Smackdown, next day VOD of Raw and Smackdown on Hulu, etc.) is cannibalizing the older media: television. I considered this a few weeks ago. Cannibalization of that kind must be happening to some degree, but it"s hard to say to what extent.

  • Last, but most importantly, WWE hasn"t created a difference-making star in over ten years: John Cena being the last one. Roman Reigns is the company"s new hope, but he"s been rejected by at least a portion of the fans, and has yet to show he makes a positive difference to any of the company"s known business metrics. The emergence of a new difference-making star to the level of past stars like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or The Rock, would blow all of these other caveats away; star power would override the winds of changing media and ratings would rise. The company"s inability to create stars in the last ten years has been its greatest shortcoming; until it remedies that problem WWE will always fall short of its true potential.

  • The Google Trends graphs in this article show ratings completely stopped correlating to Google searches certainly by early 2015. From there, ratings continued to decline, but Google interest didn"t. In fact, Google interest has gone up while ratings have gone down. The conclusion to draw from this is that ratings are no longer a reliable indicator of product interest. Of course, if genuine interest in WWE dramatically increased, we would see a renewed correlation between Google Trends and ratings.

    "Ratings don"t matter" is the wrong conclusion to draw. From week-to-week, big changes in ratings still mean something in regards to interest within a small window, but over longer periods of time, they don"t. It would also be wrong to say that because ratings are down 10% from last year, there"s now 10% less interest in the WWE product. But most crucial, ratings do matter to TV partners who rely on WWE to sell ads and improve their rankings among other networks.

    What will the future hold for the company"s TV rights fees -- 35% of all revenue in 2015 -- if ratings continue to slide? The next deal with major partners like NBCUniversal will likely happen around 2018: providing a few more years for ratings to sink further, or for WWE to cultivate a true star.

    Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

    I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

    Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3983054-wwe-tv-ratings-longer-reflect-popularity

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    The reporter who accused Corey Lewandowski of assault just burned him over getting fired by Donald Trump


    Donald Trump Fires Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski, Co-Hosts Discuss

    Pet owners that buried their cats and dogs in the now-defunct Delaware SPCA cemetery in Stanton have been instructed that they need to remove headstones and exhume remains by the end of the month as the sale of the property is negotiated.

    "This is going to be a heartbreaking nightmare," one pet owner told USA Today.

    The Delaware SPCA closed its doors on Friday, and according to a Facebook post made last month, it is consolidating its services and resources by moving to Sussex County leading to confusion over the fate of its half-century-old cemetery. Despite another Facebook post instructing pet owners to exhume and relocate their pet"s bodies, at least one person was chased away when she went to collect the remains of her childhood poodle and grandmother"s Boston bulldog. "I don"t know what the plan is. Nobody knows anything," Linda Cohan of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, said.

    Pet cemeteries are not regulated by Delaware because animal remains are considered "solid waste." Some evidence indicates that at one point a human owner"s ashes were buried alongside her pet in the cemetery, although Delaware SPCA attorney Geoffrey R. Johnson called such claims "absurd."

    Some owners" contracts guarantee "continued use and upkeep of the grade site for the period of twenty-five years," so the Delaware SPCA has said that customers can "collect a refund on their contract if they so desire. Any gravestones not collected at the time of sale of the property will be collected and a memorial will be created in Georgetown." According to the Delaware SPCA, the last pet was buried on the grounds over a decade ago.

    But Patti Flinn, who laid her Cocker Spaniel to rest in the cemetery in 1991, says she will fight because her contract indicates the plot"s term limit is "perpetual care." "Unbelievable[The reason] you to to a pet cemetery is you always have a place to go back to," Flinn said. Jeva Lange

    Source: http://theweek.com/speedreads/631261/reporter-who-accused-corey-lewandowski-assault-just-burned-over-getting-fired-by-donald-trump

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    10 last-minute Father"s Day gift ideas


    DIY Father"s Day GIFT IDEAS!

    The countdown is on. Father"s Day is Sunday. Do you know what you are getting your dad? We"re here to help wtih 10 easy last minute ideas.

    Go to bat for dad

    1. Is your dad a baseball fan? If so, your shopping is easy peasy just get him a pair or more of tickets. Click here for Cubs, or here for the White Sox.

    Get dad in the swim

    2. If your dad is more of a water guy, Chicago in the summeer is the perfect destination with a flood of choices. You can rent a kayak on the river (or lake); rent an electric boat from Chicago Electric Boats that seats up to 12; take a water taxi to Chinatown or go on a lunch or dinner cruise from Navy Pier.

    Get dad high

    3. There are many places to get high in Chicago with our many skyscrapers. The obvious, Hancock Observatory 360 or Willis Skydeck. If you"ve already been there, done that, how about checking out one of the Chicago Architectural Foundation tours.

    Taking a gamble on Father"s Day

    4. Take Dad to Arlington Park Race Track. Enjoy live racing plus family activities including a petting zoo, pony rides and more. Post time, 1 p.m. 220 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, 847 385 7500.

    Build a better relationship with your dad

    5. There"s tons of fun for all ages at the Brick by Brick exhibition at Chicago"s Museum of Science and Industry. It"s LEGO"s on steroids with some of the most impressive architectural masterpieces and engineering wonders of the world created by LEGO Certified Professional Adam Reed Tucker. Not only can you check out Tucker"s creations but you have an opportunity to make your own LEGO masterpieces.

    Where: Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore DriveWhen: Now through February 2017Tickets: The exhibition requires an additional, timed-entry ticket ($9 for adults and $7 for kids ages 3-11) or included in Explorer ticket packages. Click here or call 773-684-1414.

    Take Dad for a spin

    6. The new Ferris Wheel is up and running at Navy Pier. The state-of-the-art wheel is bigger and better than the old one plus it"s climate controlled so even if the temperature is in the 90"s, as predicted for Sunday, dad can keep his cool and enjoy the views in air conditioned comfort. Tickets, $15 can be purchased at the Pier or online.

    Feed dad

    Even if your dad isn"t the brunch type, here are some manly ideas along with a little food for thought for Father"s Day cooking and dining.

    7. All dads who dine at any of Shaw"s locations will receive a $25 Shaw"s Crab House gift certificate for future use.

    8. Sweeten your dad"s day with Firecakes donuts. On June 18 and 19 Firecakes is offering a special Father"s Day donut double stacked with Valhrona chocolate icing and peppered candied bacon ($15). Or catch the Firecakes truck, or better yet, book the truck for a private celebration. (2453 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657, (773) 666-5277 68 W. Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654, (312) 329-6500).

    9. Cook up the perfect gift for the dad who likes to grill at the Weber Grill. All locations are offering a 2-day Brisket Bootcamp and a Steaks Hands-on Grilling Class in June, perfect for dads who like to grill.

    10. Michael Jordan"s Steak House is offering the first 23 dads who order Michael Jordans steak of choice, the Prime Delmonico, their own specially engraved steak knife to memorialize their meal. For reservations, call (312) 321 8823

    Subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email

    If you would like to keep in touch with what"s happening in Chicago, like us on Facebook or subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email. To subscribe, type your email address in the box below and click the "create subscription" button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

    Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/show-me-chicago/2016/06/fathers-day-gifts-10-last-minute-ideas/

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