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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 10, 2014
October 10, 2014
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Off the beaten path:
Move over Google Street View and make way for Google Camel View.
Google is in the Middle East where they've equipped a 10-year-old camel named RAFFIA with a street-view camera. They're using the animal to collect panoramic photographs of the desert in Abu Dhabi. It's the first time the company has used an animal to capture images. Google says it's the "most authentic" way of capturing the images. (Still)Big Money, Big Problems:
You never think about how product endorsements can affect stars, but here's one case: San Francisco 49ers quarterback COLIN KAEPERNICK was fined $10-thousand dollars by the NFL after he wore a pair of pink Beats headphones around his neck after his team beat the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. That's because the NFL endorses Bose headphones, while Colin has a deal with Beats.
The pink headphones could have been for Breast Cancer Awareness Month --or maybe not.
Because Colin was part of a big TV campaign for Beats last season, so he's practically a spokesperson for the company. Now, did Colin know about this new rule that prevents any NFL player from wearing anything but Bose headphones? The deal went down last week, but was only announced to the public last Sunday morning. Or, did Beats founder Dr. DRE just tell Colin that he'd pick up the fines, so just keep wearing the headphones? Colin's not saying. (Marino)I'm a Poll Man:
A majority of Americans support banning all flights to the U.S. from countries experiencing an Ebola outbreak. That's according to an online poll done for NBC News by SurveyMonkey and then weighted for age, race, sex, education and region to match U.S. Census data.
Fifty-eight-percent of Americans want a ban on incoming flights from West African countries hardest hit by the virus, such as Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Twenty-percent of respondents opposed a travel ban, and the rest said they didn't know.
NBC says the survey was conducted a day before the first person diagnosed with Ebola inside the U.S. died Wednesday. (Pacelli)Fashion Emergency:
Supermodel NAOMI CAMPBELL plans to use her supermodeling superpowers to fight the Ebola epidemic... with fashion shows. (Ooooh... I bet the Ebola is so scared now!) Yes, in a move that falls somewhere on the spectrum between "well-intentioned self-serving publicity stunt" and "where were you six months ago? self-serving publicity stunt," the British fashion figure has announced a plan to stage charity fashion shows that will help raise funds to fight the disease. Naomi plans to hold the shows in February during New York and London's fashion weeks. Naomi told the New York Post's Page Six her reason for the charity fashion shows is simple: "I'm scared." She said she wants to help victims and inform her peers about the disease because "people don't have a clear idea about what Ebola is."
Grace notes:
KATY PERRY will be the halftime show at the Super Bowl. The New York Post's Page Six gossip column says the deal is being put together now. Katy was all over ESPN's College Game Day last Saturday, hanging out at the Ole Miss game and giving her picks for the week. But, she also said (quote), "I'm not the kind of girl who would pay to play the Super Bowl." That's all about the NFL's plan to make halftime performers pick up their own expenses, and pay for the privilege of doing the show. Katy has also worked with Pepsi, the halftime show sponsor. They helped her promote her movie, "Part Of Me." Plus, Katy has more hits than last year's entertainment, BRUNO MARS, and can bring a family-friendly pop show to the game, which is something the NFL really needs right now. (Marino)
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