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  • Monica Lewinsky Steps Back Into Public Spotlight To Fight Cyberbullying

    Returning back to the limelight is Monica Lewinsky, the ex-White House intern who had a sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton. Lewinsky has been slowly reemerging in the public eye by writing and delivering speeches, and she has even joined social media by making an official Twitter account on Monday, October 20.

    After one day of making the account @MonicaLewinsky, Lewinsky had more than 64,000 followers, evidence that people are interested to hear what she has to say. On Monday, Lewinsky spoke about cyber bullying at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia. Lewinsky has vowed to advocate on behalf of those whose lives were damaged by online attacks. She said she was inspired to take up the cause because of Tyler Clementi, the teen who committed suicide after he was caught on video having sex with another man. In an essay in Vanity Fair, Lewinsky wrote, “I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I’ve decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past.”

    Critics, however, have subjected Lewinsky to the same type of cyberbullying that she is fighting against. Besides trolls tweeting about details such as her weight problem and supposed promiscuity, articles such as a CNN opinion piece criticizing her timing on the Clementi issue and how Lewinsky’s return to the spotlight coincided with Hilary Clinton’s campaign for 2016 have spread on the Internet.

    — BluePrint El-Shabazz (@TheBluePrintSD) October 23, 2014

    — Jill (@ItsJustJill) October 23, 2014

    — Keating Thomas (@keatingthomas) October 20, 2014

    Lewinsky did refer to her affair with President Clinton in her speech on Monday, saying, “I fell in love with my boss in a 22-year-old sort of way.” As Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is centering on family, advancing policy ideas that will strengthen families through tough economic times, voters may see Lewinsky as a reminder of the chinks in the Clinton armor and a polarizing time in American politics.

  • Renée Zellweger Doesn’t Let Friends Fight Alone

    Renée Zellweger Doesn’t Let Friends Fight Alone

    Nanci Ryder, founder of bicoastal BWR Public Relations and talent publicist, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, in August, while the entire country was completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

    “Unless they find a cure, it’s terminal,” Ryder told her close friend and client Renee Zellweger. “They haven’t told me that I’m terminal, but the disease is. Eventually. Look, there is Stephen Hawking, and I hear stories about people who have had it for 10 years. You don’t know. But if you look it up on the Internet, it says ‘progressive and terminal.’ So you fight. That’s it.”

    Luckily, Nanci does not have to fight alone. Along with Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon, Emmy Rossum, and Katharine McPhee attended Sunday’s Walk to Defeat ALS in Los Angeles wearing “Team Nanci” t-shirts.

    “We just talked for hours and cried and talked, and after all of the crying, we said, “What are we going to do? How are we going to help?’ “Witherspoon said of Ryder’s diagnosis. “And she said, ‘I am going to change the way that people see this disease. I am going to fight, and I am going to raise awareness and money and people are going to know what ALS is – and we’re going to eradicate this horrible disease.’”

    “This is just another new chapter in our friendship,” Zellweger added. “It’s been a long friendship, and this isn’t the first major change or challenge that she’s faced that we’ve shared.”

  • Katy Perry And Diplo Secretly Dating?

    Katy Perry has a new boyfriend, Diplo, and while several sources claim that the two are a couple, neither of them are ready to talk about it and are keeping their relationship a secret, or at least trying to.

    In the past Katy has never tried to hide her boyfriends or keep quiet about her relationships, but she has learned the hard way that public relationships are more prone to rumors and drama than those that are kept secret.

    “She’s keeping this one undercover because she’s learned her lesson. She’s in control, but he likes that. He knows she’s in charge and respects her. She keeps tabs on him… but she trusts him and that’s the most important thing to her,” a source explained to E! News.

    So far the couple has done a pretty good job of hiding things and while there have been rumors about their relationship for a while now, the two have actually been dating since April.

    Katy has even introduced Diplo to her family members and the source claims that they all get along great.

    “Her family likes him a lot. You can see how comfortable she feels with him already because the whole crew hangs with him already and they approve. It’s important that everyone gets along with him because makes her crazy life easier,” the source added.

    Although Katy and Diplo think they are keeping their relationship a secret, it seems like the world is already pretty aware of it. They have been spotted together on several occasions and several tabloids and other publications have shared photos of the two singers.

    Neither Katy nor Diplo has shared photos on their social media pages and probably won’t until they are ready to go public with their relationship.

  • Lil Boosie Talks Race Relations, Drugs And Prison

    Lil’ Boosie hasn’t been very vocal since his highly publicized release from prison back in March.

    However, he recently opened up about several controversial issues when he stopped by NiteCap for an intricate discussion with Peter Bailey. Race relations, drugs and prison were dominant points during the interview, reports BET.

    During their discussion about race relations the 31-year-old rapper openly shared his opinion of the African-American community. He personally feels African American is the “worst race in the world.”

    The “Better Believe It” rapper also explained why he feels that way. “I just feel like African-American is the worst race in the world because first of all we kill each other,” explained Boosie.

    “People always talking all this racist stuff but the white man ain’t waiting in your bushes with a chopper [gun], the white man ain’t tryna take rims off your car. we doing this to each other. So how can you say ‘F’ the white man?’” he said.

    “He ain’t doing nothing but – when you get in trouble – doing his job. He ain’t doing nothing wrong.”

    Bailey then moved on to the topic of drugs. He asked the Superbad rapper if he felt the system was intentionally structured so African Americans would “destroy” themselves. He revealed that’s exactly how he feels.

    “You don’t see Italians selling keys or dime rocks on they block so they people can get strung out … but we got a picture of Scarface, John Gotti, we got all these pictures. But, they know we gon’ kill our race.”

    He also slammed the rappers who tend to glorify prison in their music to promote their image. He definitely made it clear that there’s nothing “cool” about being behind bars.

    “They hear ‘Free Boosie’ and see me come home after what I came home in and a lot of people glorified it, and that’s the total wrong thing to do,” he said.

  • Fall Cruises Offer Alternative To Land Tours

    Fall cruises for foliage in the northeast are growing more and more popular each year.

    The foliage is like no other place in the nation, and more people are paying to cruise the rivers and oceans to peep leaves instead of braving the crowded roads and inns on land.

    A fall cruise is a great way to relax and enjoy the show without some of the headaches that go along with a tour on land.

    Generally, departure points include Boston, New York, Cape Liberty, and Baltimore. Fall cruises then head north to Quebec City or Montreal, making stops in places like Bar Harbor, Maine, Newport, Rhode Island, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

    Such a beautiful show in the fall!

    People from all over the country and the world travel to enjoy fall cruises along the eastern seaboard.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hSrOlg_E30

    Jean Mallory of White Travel in West Hartford, Conn. said, “These cruises draw people from across the country.”

    She continued, “People living in the Northeast like them because they can drive to departure points without having to fly somewhere. People living outside of the Northeast come because you just don’t see foliage like this anywhere else and cruising is such a great way to experience it.”

    The fall cruise itineraries offer a very different experience than your general Caribbean or island cruise. Erik Elvejord, director of public relations for Holland America Lines, explains,

    “These cruises offer a very diverse mix of ports. Quebec has a very European feel, Halifax is very British, Prince Edward Island is so quaint, so Anne of Green Gables. Passengers get a European experience without leaving North America.”

    Fall cruises are becoming so popular that many major cruise lines, like Royal Caribbean and Holland America, now offer a fall cruise itinerary.

    Is a fall cruise on your bucket list?

  • Pandora Jewelry Partners With MLB Host Heidi Watney

    Professional baseball host, Heidi Watney, just found an unlikely partner, Pandora Jewelry. According to a press release, the partnership will include everything from event sponsorships to social media shout outs. Watney is expected to be a firm endorser of the jewelry line.

    Top on her list of merchandise to promote may be Pandora’s new Major League Baseball collection, which happens to include charms featuring all 30 teams of the MLB. “Our consumers have responded positively to the launch of the MLB collection, and we are looking forward to continuing to reach sports enthusiasts with our partnership with Heidi,” Public Relations Director Keshia Holland said. “Heidi makes a perfect fit for the Pandora brand with her approachable personality and on-trend style.”

    This kind of partnership is not unique. Other celebrities under Pandora’s wing include actresses, musicians, athletes, and stylists such as Alyson Hannigan, Kellie Pickler, Gracie Gold, and Cristina Ehrlich. “I am a passionate sports-lover, and when Pandora released their MLB collection, it provided the perfect opportunity for us to join together,” Watney explained. “With an endless amount of charms and opportunities for customization, Pandora jewelry allows women everywhere to tell their stories and support their favorite teams in their own unique ways.”

    Some of the Pandora jewelry line was featured in the MLB’s fashion week. According to the official MLB website, the Royals Sterling Silver Charm and Leather Bracelet “was on the left wrist of one of the models at the Fields of Fashion show”.

    Pandora jewelry is very popular around Valentine’s Day. Last year, it was considered a top Valentine’s Day gift.

  • Kate Hudson Reveals How To Make Long-Distance Relationships Last

    Kate Hudson is in love!

    The Bride Wars actress is engaged to the man of her dreams Matt Bellamy. But, just like any other relationship, they too have obstacles they’re faced with. Sometimes distance can be a minor complication due to their hectic work schedules.

    However, the 35-year-old actress has developed the perfect formula to make things a bit easier.

    According to Yahoo! News, Hudson recently chatted with Woman’s Health magazine where she shared a little advice about long-distance relationships. She revealed she refuses to spend more than two weeks apart from the Muse front-man.

    “We are not that long distance. And we both travel for work. How I make it work is we try not to spend too much time apart,” Hudson told the publication.

    “We try not to spend more than two weeks apart. When you have kids it kind of goes without saying. You don’t want to be away from your kids for more than two weeks. And we travel together… We are lucky to not have to do the real long distance thing.”

    Although there are times when they do have to endure the strain of long-distance, she admitted she’s lucky it’s never for an extended amount of time.

    “To me I think when women who have children are fighting overseas, that’s long distance. And that’s very challenging. I really honor those families that do that.”

    Hudson also opened up about how she and Bellamy spend quality time together when they aren’t apart. “We do our date nights. And we are lucky to be able to have the ability to take time with each other and make sure we have that time with each other,” she said. “So date nights for us are all over. From a movie, to dinner, to just not leaving our bed, to concerts. We like our dates.”

    Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy began dating in 2010. The two became engaged in April 2011. They also have a three-year-old son together.

  • Jay Z and Beyonce May Have Pulled ‘A Jedi Mind Trick’ On Us

    Matthew Knowles, father and former manager of Beyonce, recently revealed his theory that the divorce rumors of the singer and her rapper husband Jay Z were “a Jedi mind trick.” Knowles claims that the rumors were orchestrated to drive sales up for the couple’s joint On The Run world tour.

    As a guest on The Roula & Ryan Show on 104.1 KRBE in Houston, Knowles was asked by host Roula Christie how to deal in public relations with controversies such as the elevator incident between Solange Knowles and Jay Z or the divorce rumors surrounding his daughter and her husband. The elder Knowles replied, “I know—because we’ve done this, from experience—there’s a tour going on. So you have to sometimes ignite that tour. It’s called a Jedi mind trick. And the Jedi mind trick fools you a lot of times.”

    One of the hosts then asked Knowles if it could be true that Beyonce, her sister and Jay Z staged and leaked the video of their fight in the elevator at an after-party of the Met Ball in New York. “All I know is the Jedi mind trick. Everybody’s talking about it. Ticket sales went up. Solange’s album sales went up 200 percent,” Knowles replied.

    TMZ reported that Knowles had also tried to spark rumors about a Destiny’s Child reunion during the interview, since he claimed to still be their manager. However, he has not managed Beyonce’s career for years, although he said that he and his daughter talk every Sunday. “She’s still the humble, generous person that she’s always been,” he said.

    Knowles’ interview happened days after Beyonce performed at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 24, where she was presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award by her husband Jay Z. He was carrying their daughter, Blue Ivy, when he joined Beyonce onstage and called her the “greatest living entertainer”. Beyonce kissed both Jay Z and Blue Ivy and called her husband “my beloved” in her acceptance speech.

  • Jason Aldean Addresses the Haters of His Relationship With Brittany Kerr

    It all started innocently enough.

    On Aug. 10, country singer Jason Aldean posted a cute photo of himself with his mistress turned girlfriend, Brittany Kerr, and their new bulldog, Manny. The photo was accompanied by the caption: “A little surprise for my girl @brittanylkerr tonight. Her favorite pooch @manny_the_frenchie came to my show in Chi-Town tonite. #loveubaby #surprise.”

    However, some fans didn’t seem to appreciate the post, presumably because they still harbor resentment for Aldean cheating on his wife with the former American Idol contestant. Many of his 500,000 Instagram followers wrote some angry comments on the post.

    A frustrated Aldean posted a follow-up photo Aug. 11 to address the haters, with the caption: “So sick of people judging me and @brittanylkerr over things they know nothing about. I have made mistakes but I am a better person because of it, and wouldn’t change a thing. Im happier than i have ever been, so thank u to all the people who support us. We are happy and life goes on. It’s time to move on people. #aldeanarmy #oldnews #timetomoveon.”

    Aldean, 37, filed for divorce from wife Jessica Ussery in 2013. It wasn’t until April 2014 that Aldean and Kerr finally went public together at the CMT Music Awards.


    Kerr posted her own photo of the threesome with the caption, “Tonight!!! One of the best nights of my life! I met @manny_the_frenchie such a sweet little nugget #bestboyfriendintheworld #animallove #chunky #butt.”

    She received a lot of hate-comments, as well.

    At the time of the scandal, Aldean issued a public apology for “screwing up” with the Idol singer.

    “The truth is that I screwed up. I had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar,” he said. “I’m not perfect, and I’m sorry for disappointing you guys.”

    Aldean and Ussery have two daughters together, Keely, 10, and Kendyl, 5. The high school sweethearts were married in 2001.

    Image via Brittany Kerr, Instagram

  • Katy Perry On Relationships: Dating Non-Famous Guys, And Love Lessons Learned

    Katy Perry has definitely had her fair share of highly publicized relationships.

    The Prism singer, who was briefly married to comedian-actor Russell Brand, also dated John Mayer. Several media outlets have also linked the “Roar” singer to Josh Groban and her longtime friend actor Robert Pattinson.

    Although most of the her public relationships haven’t been fairy tales, she admits she doesn’t believe non-famous guys are for her either. During an interview with Rolling Stone, the 29-year-old singer shared her perspective of love and relationships.

    Perry also explained the benefits of being in a relationship with someone who understands the ins and outs of the entertainment industry as opposed to someone who doesn’t.

    “I’ve done that before,” she said. “It’s not that they have to be famous, although there’s a level of understanding when they’re in the same business, you know?”

    She went on to share a few examples of the understanding she would probably with a significant other in the entertainment industry.

    “They understand what it means when you’re tired from a show or the tour’s exhausting you or if an interview went wrong—they know all the ins and outs, so you can just walk in to the house with a certain face and they understand, you know? Rather than, like, having to explain everything and that takes two, three hours.”

    Perry also delved a little deeper into the discussion when she touched on some of the personal lessons she’s learned through marriage and divorce. “Now I know—first and foremost, self-love, and then give love away,” she explained. “Back then it was mostly just me giving love away with no self-love. I went through my ‘return of Saturn,’ is what they call it.”

    The Teenage Dream singer even gave her opinion of fame. Surprisingly, she has absolutely no desire for it and actually feels it’s “disgusting.”

    “Fame is, I think, disgusting,” she shares. “And it’s really hard to separate your public life from your personal life. I only ever just wanted to make music and be on stage and play, and offer up my perception of how I view the world, through the songs that I write. But then there’s a lot of different things that come with it, and I call them trade-offs.”

    Image via Katy Perry, Facebook

  • Lindsay Lohan Tries To Redeem Herself After Unflattering Side Boob Photo

    Controversial actress Lindsay Lohan has been closely watched in recent years by fans and rumor mongers alike waiting to document her next move. Lohan has seen career highs and lows punctuated with public relations faux pas after faux pas, but this time she’s got her social media game together.

    After netizens reacted to the unflattering side boob she unwittingly projected in pictures of herself at Ibiza last week, Lohan posted several pictures of her bikini body on Instagram in an attempt to recover her image, showing her detractors that she’s still got what it takes to keep people looking in her direction.

    On Friday, Lohan posted a photo of herself in her hotel room wearing a simple long, white gown, showing her side boob as it should look and erasing the image burned into people’s minds by the photo of her in a neon swimsuit posted days before. This new photo of her showing a hint of her lovely figure was captioned with the words, “The mind replays what the heart can’t delete.”

    She then followed the post on Instagram with pictures she took during her vacation in Ibiza. A picture of Lohan posing in front of a mirror wearing a colorful bikini and sporting a bellybutton ring shows off her figure. She later posted more pictures of herself that day while hanging out with friends. In one, she’s wearing a bikini top and mirrored aviator shades while flanked by two guy friends, posted with the caption, “Be happy and healthy. It’s possible.” In another, she’s in the water with other friends, waving their hands in the air, with the caption, “Happiness is key. Live. Laugh. Love.” The photos hint that a happier, lighter Lindsay Lohan is still hitting the beaches with a knockout body.

    Image via lindsaylohan, Instagram

  • Yelp Becomes Profitable For First Time Since Going Public

    Yelp just released its Q2 earnings report with revenue of $88.8 million, up 61% year-over-year. Net income was $2.7 million, or $0.04 per share, compared to a net loss of $(0.9) million, or $(0.01) per share in the same quarter last year.

    That last part is the real news.

    CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said, “We delivered great results this quarter. Our consistent focus and strong execution across all areas of our business have driven our growth quarter after quarter. We also became profitable for the first time as a public company. While this is an important milestone, we still have a large local opportunity ahead of us.”

    Yelp went public two years ago.

    Cumulative reviews grew 44% year-over-year to 61 million while average unique monthly visitors grew 27% to 138 million. Average monthly mobile unique visitors grew 51% to 68 million. Active local business accounts grew 55% to 79.9 thousand.

    On the earnings call, Stoppelman said consumer experience is the company’s top priority. Consumers are increasingly engaged with businesses on Yelp, he said. He’s been “delighted” by the high quality videos so far from the new video feature. More than 40% of new reviews have been from mobile.

    Consumers have sent about a hundred thousand messages to businesses since the messaging feature launched. Thousands of restaurants are using Yelp Reservations.

    In June, Japan led all international countries in iOS app downloads.

    Stoppelman is proud of everything Yelp has accomplished in its first ten years (they’re celebrating the company’s tenth birthday).

    80 thousand paying local business accounts – company notes that salesforce has quotas, and they’re happy where they’re at. More salespeople are calling into more markets. SeatMe is a small number of this.

    Asked about Google’s impact on Yelp, Stoppelman noted that Yelp has seen an uptick (in traffic presumably) as a result of a recent Google algorithmic change (presumably the local search update as discussed here). He also noted that changes Google makes day to day don’t have much of an impact.

    A “decent amount” of advertisers are using the call-to-action feature, but they won’t release any specific numbers.

    Here’s the release in its entirety:

    SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects consumers with great local businesses, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

    • Net revenue was $88.8 million in the second quarter of 2014, reflecting 61% growth from the second quarter of 2013
    • Cumulative reviews grew 44% year over year to approximately 61 million
    • Average monthly unique visitors grew 27% year over year to approximately 138 million* and average monthly mobile unique visitors grew 51% year over year to approximately 68 million**
    • Active local business accounts grew 55% year over year to approximately 79.9 thousand

    Net income in the second quarter of 2014 was $2.7 million, or $0.04 per share, compared to a net loss of $(0.9) million, or$(0.01) per share, in the second quarter of 2013.  Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2014 was $17.2 million, compared to $7.8 million for the second quarter of 2013.

    “We delivered great results this quarter,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s chief executive officer.  “Our consistent focus and strong execution across all areas of our business have driven our growth quarter after quarter.  We also became profitable for the first time as a public company.  While this is an important milestone, we still have a large local opportunity ahead of us.”

    “We achieved revenue growth of 61% year over year, driven by acceleration across all of our cohorts and strong results in our key operating metrics,” added Rob Krolik, Yelp’s chief financial officer.  “We also saw considerable leverage in the model with more than a 120% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared to last year.  Given our strong performance and large addressable market, we plan to continue to invest in the business.”

    Net revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2014 was $165.2 million, an increase of 63% compared to $101.2 million in the same period last year.  Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2014 was $0.1 million, or $0.00 per share, compared to a net loss of $(5.7) million, or $(0.09) per share, in the comparable period in 2013.  Adjusted EBITDA for the first six months of this year was approximately $25.8 million compared to $11.0 million for the first six months of last year.

    Business Highlights

    • Community engagement:  Yelp continues to engage its community and consumers on mobile.  Yelp extended private messaging for its community from the desktop to its mobile platforms and, in July, rolled out the ability to post video clips to business listings.  In the second quarter, Yelp had approximately 68 million** mobile unique visitors on a monthly average basis and approximately 40% of new reviews were contributed through mobile devices.
    • Closing the loop with businesses:  In June, Yelp launched the Message the Business feature, which enables consumers to directly contact businesses on Yelp with questions.  Yelp also launched Yelp Reservations for restaurants to easily and quickly set up free online reservations, providing another way for businesses to see the valuable leads Yelp delivers.
    • Geographic expansion:  Yelp is now in a total of 27 countries.  In the second quarter, Yelp launched in Japan andArgentina and also opened a new European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

    Business Outlook

    As of today, Yelp is providing its outlook for the third quarter of 2014 and raising its outlook for revenue and adjusted EBITDA for full year 2014.

    • For the third quarter of 2014, net revenue is expected to be in the range of $98 million to $99 million, representing growth of approximately 61% compared to the third quarter of 2013.  Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $18 million to $19 million.  Stock-based compensation is expected to be in the range of $12 million to $13 million, and depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately 4-5% of revenue.
    • For the full year of 2014, net revenue is expected to be in the range of $372 million to $375 million, representing growth of approximately 60% compared to the full year of 2013.  Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $67 million to $69 million.  Stock-based compensation is expected to be in the range of $45 million to $47 million, and depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately 4-5% of revenue.

    Quarterly Conference Call

    To access the call, please dial 1 (800) 708-4539, or outside the U.S. 1 (847) 619-6396, with Passcode 37666042, at least five minutes prior to the 1:30 p.m. PT start time.  A live webcast of the call will also be available at http://www.yelp-ir.com under the Events & Presentations menu.  An audio replay will be available between 4:00 p.m. PT July 30, 2014 and 11:59 p.m. PT Aug 13, 2014 by calling 1 (888) 843-7419 or 1 (630) 652-3042, with Passcode 3766 6042.  The replay will also be available on the Company’s website at http://www.yelp-ir.com.

    About Yelp

    Yelp Inc. (http://www.yelp.com) connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across 27 countries. Yelp had a monthly average of approximately 138 million unique visitors in the second quarter of 2014*. By the end of the same quarter, Yelpers had written approximately 61 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Approximately 68 million unique visitors visited Yelp via their mobile device on a monthly average basis during the second quarter of 2014**.

    * Source: “Users” as measured by Google Analytics

    ** Average monthly mobile unique visitors based on the number of unique visitors accessing Yelp via mobile web and unique devices accessing the app on a monthly average basis over a given three-month period.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    This press release includes information relating to Adjusted EBITDA, which the Securities and Exchange Commission has defined as a “non-GAAP financial measures.” Adjusted EBITDA has been included in this press release because it is a key measure used by the Company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate core operating performance and trends, to prepare and approve its annual budget and to develop short- and long-term operational plans. The presentation of this financial information, which is not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”).

    Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

    • although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;
    • adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, the Company’s working capital needs;
    • adjusted EBITDA does not consider the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation;
    • adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to us;
    • adjusted EBITDA does not take into account restructuring and integration costs associated with our acquisition of Qype; and
    • other companies, including those in the Company’s industry, may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

    Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including various cash flow metrics, net income (loss) and the Company’s other GAAP results. Additionally, the Company has not reconciled its adjusted EBITDA outlook for the third quarter and full year 2014 to its net income (loss) outlook because it does not provide an outlook for other income (expense) and provision for income taxes, which are reconciling items between net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA. As items that impact net income (loss) are out of the Company’s control and cannot be reasonably predicted, the Company is unable to provide such an outlook. Accordingly, reconciliation to net income (loss) outlook for the third quarter and full year 2014 is not available without unreasonable effort.  For a reconciliation of historical non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures, see “Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA” included in this press release.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the future performance of Yelp and its consolidated subsidiaries that are based on the Company’s current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected financial results for the third quarter and full year 2014, the future growth in Company revenue and continued investing by the Company in its future growth, the Company’s ability to expand geographically and build Yelp communities internationally and expand its markets and presence in existing markets, the Company’s ability to capture the large local opportunity and closing the loop with local businesses. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company’s short operating history in an evolving industry; the Company’s ability to generate sufficient revenue to maintain profitability, particularly in light of its significant ongoing sales and marketing expenses; the Company’s ability to successfully manage acquisitions of new businesses, solutions or technologies, including Qype and SeatMe, and to integrate those businesses, solutions or technologies; the Company’s reliance on traffic to its website from search engines likeGoogle and Bing; the Company’s ability to generate and maintain sufficient high quality content from its users; maintaining a strong brand and managing negative publicity that may arise; maintaining and expanding the Company’s base of advertisers; changes in political, business and economic conditions, including any European or general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect ecommerce growth; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;  the Company’s ability to deal with the increasingly competitive local search environment; the Company’s need and ability to manage other regulatory, tax and litigation risks as its services are offered in more jurisdictions and applicable laws become more restrictive; the competitive and regulatory environment while the Company continues to expand geographically and introduce new products and as new laws and regulations related to Internet companies come into effect; the Company’s ability to timely upgrade and develop its systems, infrastructure and customer service capabilities. The forward-looking statements in this release do not include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.

    More information about factors that could affect the Company’s operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q at http://www.yelp-ir.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Yelp assumes no obligation to update such statements. The results we report in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2014 could differ from the preliminary results we have announced in this press release.

    Media Contact Information
    Yelp Press Office
    Vince Sollitto
    (415) 230-6506
    press@yelp.com

    Investor Relations Contact Information
    Yelp Investor Relations
    Wendy Lim
    (415) 568-3240
    ir@yelp.com

     

    Yelp Inc.
    Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (In thousands)
    (Unaudited)
    June 30, December 31,
    2014 2013
    Assets
    Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 290,386 $        389,764
    Short-term marketable securities 60,429 –
    Accounts receivable, net 25,450 21,317
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets 7,960 5,752
    Total current assets 384,225 416,833
    Long-term marketable securities 61,704 –
    Property, equipment and software, net 37,462 30,666
    Goodwill 59,271 59,690
    Intangibles, net 3,996 5,235
    Restricted cash 3,684 3,247
    Other assets 2,814 306
    Total assets $ 553,156 $        515,977
    Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
    Current liabilities:
    Accounts payable $     1,680 $            3,364
    Accrued liabilities 21,621 19,004
    Deferred revenue 2,186 2,621
    Total current liabilities 25,487 24,989
    Long-term liabilities 6,424 4,505
    Total liabilities 31,911 29,494
    Commitments and contingencies
    Stockholders’ equity
    Common stock – –
    Additional paid-in capital 588,829 553,753
    Accumulated other comprehensive  income 2,764 3,186
    Accumulated deficit (70,348) (70,456)
    Total stockholders’ equity 521,245 486,483
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $  553,156 $         515,977

     

     

    Yelp Inc.
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (In thousands, except per share amounts)
    (Unaudited)
    Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
    June 30, June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    Net revenue $ 88,787 $ 55,023 $ 165,194 $ 101,156
    Cost and expenses
    Cost of revenue (1) 5,845 4,018 10,922 7,358
    Sales and marketing (1) 47,798 30,803 92,919 58,997
    Product development (1) 14,726 7,997 28,708 15,233
    General and administrative (1) 13,257 10,148 26,427 18,912
    Depreciation and amortization 4,034 2,637 7,695 5,115
    Restructuring and integration (1) – – – 675
    Total cost and expenses 85,660 55,603 166,671 106,290
    Income (Loss) from operations 3,127 (580) (1,477) (5,134)
    Other income (expense), net (15) (66) (17) (267)
    Loss before provision for income taxes 3,112 (646) (1,494) (5,401)
    Benefit (Provision) for income taxes (369) (232) 1,602 (276)
    Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders $   2,743 $    (878) $        108 $   (5,677)
    Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:
    Basic $     0.04 $   (0.01) $       0.00 $     (0.09)
    Diluted $     0.04 $   (0.01) $       0.00 $     (0.09)
    Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:
    Basic 77,714 64,576 71,444 64,163
    Diluted 77,056 64,576 76,903 64,163
    (1) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:
    Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
    June 30, June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    Cost of revenue $      119 $      105 $        269 $        177
    Sales and marketing 3,728 2,282 7,125 4,270
    Research and development 3,456 1,040 6,498 1,856
    General and administrative 2,780 2,286 5,647 4,015
    Restructuring and integration – – – 555
    Total stock-based compensation $ 10,083 $   5,713 $   19,539 $   10,873

     

     

    Yelp Inc.
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (In thousands)
    (Unaudited)
    Six Months Ended
    June 30,
    2014 2013
    Operating activities
    Net income (loss) $       108 $ (5,677)
     Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net
     cash provided by operating activities:
    Depreciation and amortization 7,695 5,115
    Provision for doubtful accounts 2,581 1,301
    Stock-based compensation 19,539 10,873
    Loss on disposal of assets and web-site development costs (5) 94
    Excess tax benefit from share-based award activity (460) –
    Premium amortization, net, on securities held to maturity 93 –
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
    Accounts receivable (6,716) (4,404)
    Prepaid expenses and other assets (5,980) (2,318)
    Accounts payable and accrued expenses 3,567 215
    Deferred revenue (433) (85)
    Net cash provided by operating activities 19,989 5,114
    Investing activities
    Purchases of property, equipment and software (7,212) (4,966)
    Capitalized website and software development costs (4,327) (2,139)
    Change in restricted cash (397) (1,768)
    Goodwill measurement period adjustment – 1,153
    Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 14 –
    Purchase of investment securities held to maturity (122,226) –
    Cash used in investing activities (134,148) (7,720)
    Financing activities
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock 10,841 4,604
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock for Employee Stock Purchase Plan 4,087 –
    Excess tax benefit from share-based award activity 460 –
    Repurchase of common stock (642) (193)
    Net cash provided by financing activities 14,746 4,411
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 35 (134)
    Net increase in cash and cash equivalents (99,378) 1,671
    Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 389,764 95,124
    Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 290,386 $ 96,795

     

     

    Yelp Inc.
    Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA
    (In thousands)
    (Unaudited)
    Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
    June 30, June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    Net income (loss) $   2,743 $  (878) $      108 $ (5,677)
    (Benefit) Provision for income taxes 369 232 (1,602) 276
    Other expense, net 15 66 17 267
    Depreciation and amortization 4,034 2,637 7,695 5,115
    Stock-based compensation 10,083 5,713 19,539 10,318
    Restructuring and integration – – – 675
    Adjusted EBITDA $ 17,244 $ 7,770 $ 25,757 $ 10,974

    Image via Yelp

  • Christina Milian Hooked Up With Lil Wayne? Or Is This Just A Publicity Stunt?

    So, has Christina Milian hooked up with Lil Wayne? Or is this all part of a publicity stunt? Time will tell for sure, but here is what we know so far:

    Within the month after Christina moved out of the home she shared with ex-fiance, Jas Prince, Christina was seen in the company of Lil Wayne at several events.  This in itself shouldn’t cause much stir since Christina is signed under Wayne’s Young Money label, and the two are working on releasing her long overdue awaited fourth album together.

    Except, Christina and Lil Wayne kept each other cozy company at the BET Awards afterparty where they were also photographed leaving together. This has rekindled old rumors about their relationship being more than just work. There is even a suggestion that Lil Wayne may be among the reasons for the Christina–Jas break up.

    Last Wednesday, the pair was seen holding hands at the ESPY Awards which got TMZ curious. They asked Christina point blank if she was dating Lil Wayne. The former The Voice social media correspondent responded by saying it was all business and that they “…make music together.”

    She did, however, hint that it is not impossible for them to hook up. When she was further prompted to answer if she would ever date a manager or producer, she responded, “You never know..”

    On the other hand, there are reports that say there really is nothing going on between the two. This is apparently all a gimmick to get Christina in the news prior to the release of her new album. Lil Wayne is said to have employed this same trick when Young Money was about to release a Nicki Minaj album a few years back. Besides, he is still supposed to be engaged to Dhea Sodano.

    Again, time will tell. The only thing that is certain is they got people talking.

    ‘Video Model’: Christina Milian ft. Lil Wayne (explicit)

    Image via YouTube

  • Programmatic Advertising is Heavily Impacting Online Media, says Steve Danson

    Programmatic Advertising is Heavily Impacting Online Media, says Steve Danson

    Commissioned News Story (Source: Keyword Digital)

    Programmatic advertising is still in its early days, but many industry insiders already agree that it’s going to be huge. It’s just getting off to a slightly slow start because many people are still struggling to understand just what it entails. This is mostly because so many descriptions and definitions have been flying around the Internet in recent months.

    So what is programmatic advertising exactly, and why are people so confused by it? Ultimately, it just means automated ad buying. This encompasses various ad technologies, including – but not limited to – real-time bidding.

    Steve Danson, Montreal advertising entrepreneur and President at Keyword Digital, expects programmatic advertising to take the future of online advertising to the next level. Since 1999, Danson has worked directly in the areas of pay-per-click, search targeted, display, and mobile advertising. He has started many successful businesses and pioneered full segments of the industry, in both PPC search and shopper targeted online advertising.

    “Programmatic advertising has become a major segment of the industry,” Danson says. “As with many technological advancements, ad exchanges remove the buyer’s need to interact with the person directly. An ad exchange provides these elements by allowing publishers on the supply side and advertisers on the demand side to opt in and connect directly through supply and demand side platforms. This significantly reduces the human factor.”

    As he continues, “Programmatic advertising brings this to a new level by utilizing the basic advantages of an ad exchange while providing advanced features that incorporate elements such as retargeting. It allows advertisers and agencies to spend significantly less time coordinating their buys to reach their targeted user, while considering many factors at the same time through complex algorithms. ”

    These complex algorithms, Danson explains, cross-reference mass amounts of data that allow buyers to target a very specific user at the price they are willing to pay, and automatically bid on that user’s ad impression in real time. This occurs across a vast number of publishers directly through a demand side platform.

    “All direct buyers and agencies may be quickly adapting to programmatic advertising,” he adds. “However, we may also see a shift, whereby major buyers move from public to private exchanges. As an example, [British multinational advertising and public relations company] WPP, through their GroupM media buying division, has built their own exchange that allows publishers of their choice to opt in to their proprietary private exchange. This is because ad exchanges may limit their ability to decrease misplaced media. There has been a growing concern in the industry that some ads that they are charged for through exchanges may not have been seen by the end user. When the largest worldwide agency conglomerate facilitates a move like this, it says something about the possible direction buyers will gravitate to in the future.”

    There have been a number of high profile programmatic advertising announcements made this year by the Internet giants, as well.

    AOL launched its One platform, for instance. Meanwhile, Google started letting marketers conduct real-time bidding on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange right from the Google Cloud Platform. Twitter made a big deal with Omnicom to integrate its programmatic network, Accuen, with Twitter’s MoPub Exchange. Facebook made a similar deal with Publicis.

    Clearly, a lot of people and companies expect big things from programmatic advertising, but it currently only accounts for an estimated 20% of the digital ad market in the U.S. As mentioned, the problem seems to lie in a general lack of understanding what it’s all about.

    According to a survey from the Association of National Advertisers, as reported by AdAge, only 26% of marketers said they knew what programmatic buying was, and have actually used it, with the rest of the respondents either not knowing anything about it or not knowing enough about it to use it.

    Similarly, the Wall Street Journal found that only 23% of CMOs understood programmatic buying enough to use it, while 12% were not aware of what it was.

    “Although programmatic advertising is in the early phases of acceptance, we will continue to see a rapid acceleration of its adaptation by the industry”, predicts Steve Danson. Programmatic removes friction from the buying process and frees up more company resources, which allows humans to spend their valuable time doing something more constructive than worrying about campaign elements that can be handled just as well – or better – by machines.

    Image via ThinkStock

  • Olivia Munn, Aaron Rodgers Happy In Relationship

    Olivia Munn, Aaron Rodgers Happy In Relationship

    Olivia Munn and Aaron Rodgers seem to live a pretty private life. Although Munn is a well-known actress and Rodgers is a top NFL quarterback, they prefer to keep their personal lives out of the spotlight.

    The two have been dating for a while now, but they tried to keep their relationship a secret as long as they could.

    Rodgers recently opened up about the relationship in an interview saying,

    “For one, I’m real happy in my relationship, and I understand what comes with it. And two, the last couple years I’ve learned a lot about perspective and what’s important. And, that you cannot, when you’ve had success individually and collectively as a team and you are highlighted for the things you’ve done on the field and off the field, you cannot hide from the spotlight. You have to learn to embrace it.”

    Rodgers also talked about how dating an actress has caused him to be more in the spotlight than ever.

    “I need to be living my life,” Rodgers said. “And I’m going to continue living my life and enjoy my public life and enjoy my relationships and not worry too much about that other stuff because it’s like in football – there’s some things you just cannot control, and that’s one of them.”

    Munn is best known for her role in The Newsroom. Although she may be getting all the attention now, that will change this fall when Rodgers goes back out on the field.

    Did you know that Munn and Rodgers were dating and what do you think of their relationship?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart: Relationship Over

    Jennifer Lopez and her boy toy Casper Smart have parted ways. Sources say the relationship has actually been over for about two months, although the two only admitted to that publicly in recent days. They were together for about three years.

    The age difference between Casper Smart and Jennifer Lopez long made fans and the media question the validity of their romance. After a year, however, the back up dancer and the superstar seemed perfectly settled into a domestic and at times very sexy romantic routine.

    Jenny from the Block performed in her old neighborhood on Wednesday in the Bronx, providing her old friends and neighbors with a free 90-minute show that met everyone’s long-awaited expectations. It was the first time the singer, dancer, and actress had returned to her old neighborhood to perform. Casper Smart was conspicuously absent at JLo’s homecoming, fueling recent rumors that the two had in fact split up.

    Despite their reported split of a couple of months ago it seems they made nice for the cameras so that word didn’t escape before their official announcement. The two walked the red carpet together for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 18th and they walked hand-in-hand following the taping of the American Idol finale on the 20th. Rumors flew last week about Smart’s involvement with transsexual bikini model Sofie Vissa after Vissa claimed she and Casper exchanged racy photos via text messages. Smart denied the claims.

    “Casper does not know this person, has never met this person, has never seen this person and most importantly never has communicated with this person via direct message or in any other manner,” a source for Lopez’s ex said.

    Prior to her relationship with Casper Smart, who is 18 years younger than Jennifer Lopez, the singer was married to singer Marc Anthony. The two are parents to 6-year-old twins Max and Emme.

    Is anyone really surprised about this split that was officially announced on Friday? Yes, Casper Smart likely loves Jennifer Lopez and her children “dearly” as one source reports, but she is 18 years his senior and it’s not often that relationships like that–especially those playing out in the media spotlight–succeed.

    Kudos to both of them for keeping things amicable and for trying to keep any messiness–if it did in fact exist–to themselves.

    Now that Jennifer Lopez is once again a single woman, who might her next love interest be?

    Image via Twitter

  • Jenna Ushkowitz and Michael Trevino End Their 3-Year Relationship

    Glee and The Vampire Diaries’ fans can finally unite with disappointment, because Jenna Ushkowitz and Michael Trevino have broken up.

    In 2011, Ushkowitz and Trevino’s relationship became public when they walked the SAG awards’ red carpet together. During a 2011 interview on, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, he asked her “if she has a thing for werewolves,” a clear reference to Trevino’s character Tyler Lockwood who was a werewolf-vampire hybrid (now a human) on The Vampire Diaries. Ushkowitz didn’t reveal any details on their romance; she simply told Seacrest that they were “very close.”

    Since then, Ushkowitz and Trevino remained private about their relationship. However, she occasionally posted pictures of the couple on her Instagram.

    The couple also did a photo-shoot in 2011, with photographer Tyler Shields, which highlighted their passion for one another. Emma Roberts was also included in the shoot.

    Trevino showed his support for Ushkowitz by promoting her various projects, including her book Choosing Glee, via tweets.

    On May 19, while attending The Normal Heart premiere, a videographer  asked Ushkowitz if she was still dating Trevino. She responded: “No, we’re not together anymore. She also signed autographs during that interaction. The videographer apologized for bringing it up, but then Ushkowitz said, “That’s okay, no worries,” with a smile. Finally she added, “We’re wonderful.”

    US Weekly reports that an insider said their relationship ended a while ago. But in January, Ushkowitz posted an old red carpet photo of the couple with the caption, “Happy birthday to my best friend, the one who has taught me how to laugh and love more and more everyday. Congrats on another year around the sun.”

    In April, rumors surfaced that Trevino was dating his The Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev. The rumors started after Dobrev posted a picture of them bowling.


    Nothing about the picture suggested they were a pair, but fans and gossip sites quickly jumped to that conclusion. Now with Trevino and Ushkowitz’s breakup confirmed, rumors of his romance with Dobrev may intensify, though they’ll likely prove false.

    Image via Jenna Ushkowitz, Instagram

  • Kris Jenner Dishes About Khloe Kardashian’s Relationship With Rapper French Montana

    Kris Jenner is finally speaking out about her daughter Khloe Kardashian’s relationship with rapper French Montana.

    Several media outlets have reported that the Keeping Up With the Kardashians matriarch wasn’t too pleased with her daughter’s new suitor.

    As a matter of fact, numerous reports have stated that she didn’t even have a desire to meet the Excuse My French rapper.

    However, the allegations are far from true. She has met him, and she no problems with him. Over the past two weeks, she has actually made it clear that she’s quite fond of the 29-year-old Morocco native.

    On Wednesday, May 7, the 58-year-old reality TV star shared a picture of herself with French Montana via Facebook.

    The two look rather happy to be in each other’s company. No hard feelings or signs of contempt are evident. “I love you papi @frenchmontana #nobunight,” she captioned.

    I love you papi @frenchmontana #nobunight

    The famous "momager" also put her sentiments into words when she spoke openly about the two during a brief interview with E! News. She briefly discussed her daughter Kim Kardashian's upcoming, highly-publicized wedding to rapper Kanye West. Then, she went on to address Khloe's relationship with French. Although she was relatively evasive with the details of their alleged budding romance, she did say that they were "good friends," and made no mention any form of disapproval toward the "Pop That" rapper.
    “They’re friends. He’s a good friend. They’re hanging out,” Jenner said of her daughter, Khloe. She explained that Khloe's has been focused on personal growth, since her big split from her estranged husband, NBA star Lamar Odom. “She’s working out and trying to take care of herself and working on herself a bit. I think that’s good for all of us,” Jenner explained. Looks like French Montana is the latest close friend to the Kardashian clan!
    Image via Kris Jenner, Facebook Image via Kris Jenner, Facebook Image via Kris Jenner, Facebook

  • Donald Sterling Claims He Isn’t Racist, Questions Magic Johnson’s Integrity

    Guess what? Despite being caught on tape telling his girlfriend not to bring any black people to his games, disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling insists that he is not a racist. Instead, Sterling says he was “baited” into making the remarks.

    “You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want,” Sterling said during his racist rant that was caught on tape last month. “The little I ask you is not to promote it on that…and not to bring them to my games.”

    That might sound a tad racist to the average person, but during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Donald Sterling says those comments don’t reflect how he really feels about black people and offered up an apology.

    “I’m not a racist,” Sterling said. “I made a terrible, terrible mistake. And I’m here with you today to apologize and to ask for forgiveness for all the people that I’ve hurt.”

    Even though Sterling apologized, he doesn’t accept full responsibility for his comments as he maintains that he was baited into making them. When Cooper asked Sterling if he was set up, the disgraced owner said, “Well yes, I was baited. I mean, that’s not the way I talk. I don’t talk about people for one thing, ever. I talk about ideas and other things. I don’t talk about people.”

    By not talking about people, Sterling is referring to the part of the rant where he complained about Stiviano’s public relationship with Magic Johnson. “Admire him, bring him here, feed him, f**k him, but don’t put [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me,” Sterling said.

    After making the apology–and saying that he doesn’t talk about people–Sterling launched into an attack on Johnson and questioned the former NBA star’s integrity. “What has he done? Can you tell me? Big Magic Johnson, what has he done?” Sterling asked. “He’s got AIDS. Did he do any business, did he help anybody in South LA?”

    “What kind of a guy goes to every city, has sex with every girl, then he catches HIV?” Sterling continued. “Is that someone we want to respect and tell our kids about? I think he should be ashamed of himself. I think he should go into the background. But what does he do for the black people? He doesn’t do anything.”

    Johnson, who previously tweeted that he was happy about Sterling being banned from the NBA, didn’t have much to say about being slammed in the Anderson Cooper interview.

    According to CNN, Sterling was wrong about Johnson not doing anything. In addition to raising HIV awareness, Magic Johnson started a foundation that has raised $20 million for charity.

    In the meantime, while Donald Sterling is recovering from another embarrassing rant (and hopefully disappearing into the background as he says Johnson should do), his wife Shelly Sterling is fighting to keep her 50 percent stake in the Clippers. “I don’t know why I should be punished for what his actions were,” Shelly said. Check out more of what Shelly has to say about the situation below.

    Image via YouTube

  • Pussy Riot Urges Congress to Crack Down on Russia

    Russian punk band Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were on Capitol Hill Tuesday lobbying for further sanctions against Russia, citing human rights violations they had witnessed first-hand under President Vladimir Putin’s administration.

    In a private meeting, the two activists requested that senators on the Foreign Relations Committee crack down even harder against Russia, and that Congress add 16 additional names to the list of Russian human rights violators who currently face sanctions, including the Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev.

    Speaking through a translator, Tolokonnikova commented, “These sanctions allow a huge number of people to talk about the human rights violations as a result.” Tolokonnikova added, “Putin is not leading Russia to stability, but to complete instability and chaos. Silence is the most dangerous thing for a political prisoner.”

    Alekhina and Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March, 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.

    Here is a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:

    Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was in attendance at the Tuesday meeting, and commented that further U.S. sanctions against Russia would foster an economic blow that would create a “domino effect,” which would in turn encourage Russians to stand up to human rights offenders. “People will start to care much more about the fact the they, like these two brave women standing next to us, have lost their ability to grieve their government,” Murphy said.

    Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were freed from prison due to an amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups viewed as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. During an appearance on NBC’s Today Show, Matt Lauer asked the activists if they thought Vladimir Putin had ordered their release to display his “softer side” to the world.

    Tolokonnikova replied, “When we got released, we didn’t have any illusions at all that Putin’s regime became more liberal.”

    A wearisome looking Pussy Riot also attended a few parties associated with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend:

    Image via YouTube

  • Tennessee Policeman Fired After Choking Student

    A Knoxville, Tennessee police officer was dismissed by the Knox County Sheriff after photos surfaced of the patrolman strangling a University of Tennessee student during an arrest near the site of a large party. The officer, 47-year-old Frank Phillips, choked 21-year-old Jarod Dotson while two other officers handcuffed him, until the student fell to his knees.

    Dotson did not appear to be displaying any sign of resistance, and Phillips proceeded to slap him in his head a couple of times before walking off. Knox County Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones said in a statement posted on the Knox County Sheriff’s Department website (which is down at the time of this writing), “In my 34 years of law enforcement experience, excessive force has never been tolerated. After an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, I believe excessive force was used in this incident.”

    Jones added, “This incident provides a perfect example of why we are in the process of purchasing officer-worn body cameras (video and audio recordings) so incidents like this will be fully documented.” The party near where the arrest occurred was attended by roughly 800 drunken coeds, some of which were throwing beer bottles at police officers.

    Dotson was charged with public intoxication and resisting, and was released from custody after posting a $500 bail. Phillips, a police officer since 1992, was immediately dismissed after the photos surfaced, and the case has been handed to the Knox County Attorney General’s Office to determine if any charges should be filed.

    Police brutality, or the wanton use of excessive force by a police officer, is prevalent in the United States, with 26,556 citizen complaints made in 2002. Though, of those cases filed, only about 2000 were substantiated. Still, the New York City Police Department recently suffered a public relations fiasco with the Twitter #myNYPD debacle.

    Here are some notable Tweets from the scandal.

    Image via YouTube