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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jun 16, 2014
June 16, 2014
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Bid'ness is Bid'ness:
Thumbtack.com --a site that matches freelancers and small businesses to people with projects to complete-- surveyed thousands of entrepreneurs across the country about the best places in the country to do business.
Texas, Utah and Idaho were ranked highest among current small business owners, especially due to professional licensing requirements and ease of tax filing. Kentucky is improving its climate for doing business as well and is gaining on the top three. Rhode Island and California were ranked "most unfriendly" to small business owners.
The Thumbtack survey also finds women more likely than men to believe their state was small business-friendly. (Kaye)Royalty Report:
Ride, Pippa, ride! KATE MIDDLETON's hot little sister, 30-year-old PIPPA MIDDLETON, is in the process of riding across the U.S. this week.
Pippa and her little brother, 27-year-old JAMES, are part of an eight-person team from Great Britain in the middle of a three-thousand mile, 12-state Race Across America charity bicycle race from the East Coast to the West Coast.
The race began Saturday in Oceanside, CA, and is scheduled to end in Annapolis, MD. Pippa's team has nine days to cross the country. Then, after the Race Across America is over, Pippa's auctioning off her bike on eBay. Then, it's off to Istanbul, Turkey, to compete in the four-mile Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, swimming from Europe to Asia, on behalf of her charity.Rounding up the usual suspects:
Florida seems to be experiencing a shellfish shoplifting epidemic.
Back in April, there were reports of Florida State quarterback JAMEIS WINSTON being accused of shoplifting crab legs from a Publix grocery store. This time, a 30-year-old Orange City woman is charged with trying to smuggle seven lobster tails out of a Publix by stuffing them down her pants. Police say NICHOLE REED "entered the store with the intent to steal food" and planned "to trade the lobster tails to a friend" in exchange for Chinese buffet. Police say Reed may have also been trying to swap the shellfish for prescription painkillers. (Still)Broadcast, cable and video news:
New, two-year deal for MATT LAUER will keep him on the "Today" show. The deal was announced Friday morning on "Today."
The Hollywood Reporter says the new deal will take Matt into his 20th year on the show, where he started as a news reader before becoming the fill-in for BRYANT GUMBEL. Nobody's talking about how much money Matt will make for the new contract, but word is his last one paid him between $20-25 million a year.Grace notes:
"WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC will release his 13th album on July 15th. That's right, the guy's made 13 albums! The follow up to 2011's "Alpocalypse" doesn't have a title yet, and we don't know what songs he takes on, but, he did ambush IGGY AZALEA last week at a radio station concert to ask if he could do a parody of her hit, "Fancy." She said yes. And, comedian PATTON OSWALT Tweeted that Al makes fun of a band he's (quote), "worshiped" since the 90's, and that it's (quote), "beautiful." (Marino)
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