Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Doctor RJ, rfall, JML9999 and Man Oh Man. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
From Entertainment Weekly: George R.R. Martin explains why there's violence against women on 'Game of Thrones'
EW spoke to author George R.R. Martin to get his perspective on the female characters’ storylines in his bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Keep in mind the HBO series is sometimes slammed for including scenes that Martin did not write (such as the recent rape of Sansa Stark, which happened to a minor character in Martin’s A Dance with Dragons), but likewise there are ways in which the show has made its female characters arguably more likeable (such as Sansa’s character in general), or gave them empowering new sequences (such as Brienne fighting The Hound). In general, the show and books operate from a similar creative perspective in terms of how they portray life in Westeros and Essos. Martin begins with a familiar explanation—that his saga is based on his longtime fascination with medieval Europe—but he also includes a response to those who say that since Westeros isn’t a real place, that our own history should not be used as a basis for his story.
Here’s Martin:
“The books reflect a patriarchal society based on the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were not a time of sexual egalitarianism. It was very classist, dividing people into three classes. And they had strong ideas about the roles of women. One of the charges against Joan of Arc that got her burned at the stake was that she wore men’s clothing—that was not a small thing. There were, of course, some strong and competent women. It still doesn’t change the nature of the society. And if you look at the books, my heroes and viewpoint characters are all misfits. They’re outliers. They don’t fit the roles society has for them. They’re ‘cripples, bastards, and broken things‘—a dwarf, a fat guy who can’t fight, a bastard, and women who don’t fit comfortably into the roles society has for them (though there are also those who do—like Sansa and Catelyn).
“Now there are people who will say to that, ‘Well, he’s not writing history, he’s writing fantasy—he put in dragons, he should have made an egalitarian society.’ Just because you put in dragons doesn’t mean you can put in anything you want. If pigs could fly, then that’s your book. But that doesn’t mean you also want people walking on their hands instead of their feet. If you’re going to do [a fantasy element], it’s best to only do one of them, or a few. I wanted my books to be strongly grounded in history and to show what medieval society was like, and I was also reacting to a lot of fantasy fiction. Most stories depict what I call the ‘Disneyland Middle Ages’—there are princes and princesses and knights in shining armor, but they didn’t want to show what those societies meant and how they functioned.
“I have millions of women readers who love the books, who come up to me and tell me they love the female characters. Some love Arya, some love Dany, some love Sansa, some love Brienne, some love Cersei—there’s thousands of women who love Cersei despite her obvious flaws. It’s a complicated argument. To be non-sexist, does that mean you need to portray an egalitarian society? That’s not in our history; it’s something for science fiction. And 21st century America isn’t egalitarian, either. There are still barriers against women. It’s better than what it was. It’s not Mad Men any more, which was in my lifetime.
From the
New York Times:
Shooting of Boston Terror Suspect Highlights Concerns Over Reach of ISIS
Investigators had been watching Usaamah Abdullah Rahim long enough to know about his avid interest in Islamic State militants, but when they overheard him talking on a cellphone about beheading Massachusetts police officers, they moved in, leading to a confrontation Tuesday morning outside a pharmacy here that left Mr. Rahim dead, and once again raised alarms about the influence of foreign extremists on homegrown radicals.
The shooting occurred in the fairly quiet neighborhood of Roslindale on a routine weekday morning, when officials said an F.B.I. agent and a Boston police officer fired on Mr. Rahim after he threatened them with a knife. The shooting quickly and suddenly revealed what officials described as a lengthy terrorism investigation, with several law enforcement agencies looking into a suspected murder plot that involved at least two other people, including a relative of Mr. Rahim’s who was charged Wednesday with conspiracy.
Here in a city that had just finished with the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was sentenced to death a few weeks ago for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, the incident prompted another round of outrage and scrutiny. Coming just a month after two Muslim men with ties to the Islamic State were shot and killed while trying to attack an anti-Islamic gathering in Garland, Tex., the case has also renewed concerns in Washington about the long reach of the Islamic State and other radical groups that have seized on Internet recruitment.
From the
Washington Post:
‘One of our children made really bad choices,’ Duggars tell Fox News
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said Wednesday that there was nothing that could have prepared them for the trauma of learning years ago that their oldest son, Josh, had “improperly touched some of our daughters.”
“He said he was just curious about girls and he had gone in and just basically touched them over their clothes while they were sleeping. They didn’t even know he had done it,” Jim Bob Duggar told Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, in the family’s first interview since the allegations became public.
The parents confirmed to Kelly that their son – who had previously apologized for unspecified “wrongdoing” years ago as a teenager – had molested multiple young girls. According to Jim Bob and Michelle, the victims included four of their daughters, along with a family babysitter.
From
El Pais:
Six-year-old diagnosed with first case of diphtheria in Spain since 1986
A six-year-old child who lives in the Catalan city of Olot (Girona) has been admitted to hospital with the first recorded case of diphtheria in Spain since 1986.
Catalan health authorities have confirmed that the little boy had not been immunized against the infectious disease, despite the free vaccination programs offered by Spanish public health services.
According to information obtained by EL PAÍS, he had not been vaccinated given that his parents are against the practice.
The child, who was initially taken into his local hospital and quickly transferred to Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron center, is currently in the intensive care unit.
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Flight attendant who denied soda can to Muslim will no longer serve United customers
The flight attendant who refused to give a Muslim an unopened can of soda because she said it could be used "as a weapon" will receive additional sensitivity training before returning to her position, but will not serve United Airlines customers in the future, her employer said.
The dispute arose Friday after Tahera Ahmad, a Muslim American chaplain at Northwestern University, claimed she was told she couldn’t have the unopened can of Diet Coke she requested because passengers “may use it as a weapon” on the plane.
When the man sitting next to her received an unopened can of beer, Ahmad said she protested. A fellow passenger then allegedly yelled, “You Muslim, you need to shut the … up,” and said that “You know you would use it as a weapon.”
From
CNN:
Democrats blast unions' pressure tactics on trade
Lawmakers' frustration spilled out in a closed-door meeting with pro-trade Democrats and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday.
"We've always known the history of trade debates and local politics can be pretty tough. This time is no different," said Rep. Ron Kind, the Wisconsin Democrat who organized the meeting.
"I just hope that they are not losing the forest to the tree here," Kind told CNN, noting "a lot of issues affect the causes that labor stands for, and Democrats, by and large, are extremely supportive of that. To isolate this one issue and make that the end-all, be-all, I think, is a bad strategy."
While labor's threats have thrown the fate of a key trade bill into doubt, some Democrats say they could backfire.
Richmond, who did not attend Wednesday's meeting said he was "leaning no" on the bill -- but the more he hears about labor groups' tactics, the more inclined he is to support Obama.
"I'm watching them do it, and it bothers me," Richmond said.
From
The Guardian:
Back from the dead: US officials to ask secret court to revive NSA surveillance
The Obama administration intends to use part of a law banning the bulk collection of US phone records to temporarily restart the bulk collection of US phone records.
US officials confirmed to the Guardian that in the coming days they will ask a secret surveillance court to revive the program – deemed illegal by a federal appeals court – all in the name of “transitioning” the domestic surveillance effort to the telephone companies that generate the so-called “call detail records” the government seeks to access.
The unconventional and unexpected legal circumstance depends on a section of the USA Freedom Act, which Obama signed into law on Tuesday, that provides a six-month grace period to prepare the surveillance and legal bureaucracies for a world in which the National Security Agency is no longer the repository of bulk US phone metadata.
During that time, the act’s ban on bulk collection will not yet take effect.
From
Al Jazeera:
Chuck Blazer admits taking bribes, says other FIFA execs guilty too
Former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer told a U.S. federal judge that he and others on the governing body's ruling panel agreed to receive bribes in the votes for the hosts of the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
Prosecutors unsealed a 40-page transcript Wednesday of the hearing in U.S. District Court on Nov. 25, 2013, when Blazer pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges.
Blazer, in admitting 10 counts of illegal conduct, told the court of his conduct surrounding the vote, which made South Africa the first nation in Africa to host soccer's premier event.
"Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup," Blazer told U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie.
Blazer was the No. 2 official at CONCACAF, soccer's North American governing body, from 1990 to 2011 and served on FIFA's executive committee from 1997 to 2013. South Africa defeated Morocco 14-10 in the host vote.
From
Rolling Stone:
Wisconsin Abortion Bill Would Allow Men to Sue for Emotional Distress
A Wisconsin bill that would unconstitutionally ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy includes language stating that men can sue abortion providers for "emotional and psychological distress," The Huffington Post reports.
If Assembly Bill 237 becomes law, a man who impregnates a woman will be able to sue an abortion doctor for damages – "including damages for personal injury and emotional and psychological distress" – for performing or attempting to perform an abortion on that woman after 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless the pregnancy is the result of sexual assault or incest.
Women who receive abortions can also sue their doctors under the bill.
Though the legislation's language is making waves, it is not unique to the Wisconsin bill. As The Huffington Post reports, citing Guttmacher Institute data, "6 of the 11 states that currently ban abortion at 20 weeks postfertilization -- Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma -- have similar language tucked into their respective laws that allow the parents to sue a doctor who performs an abortion after that point."
From
Vice News:
Stopping HIV? The Truvada Revolution
A drug called Truvada is the first FDA-approved means of preventing HIV infection. If an HIV-negative person takes the pill every day, he or she is nearly 99 percent protected from contracting the virus. Controversy continues to surround the broad uptake of Truvada, but the landscape of safer sex and HIV prevention changes fundamentally from this point forward—particularly within the gay male community, the population hit hardest by HIV in America. In this episode of VICE Reports, VICE explores the future of the Truvada and its revolutionary impact on ending HIV/AIDS.
From
Reuters:
Ukraine forces, separatists fight first serious battles in months
Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday fought their first serious battles in months and Ukraine's defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted.
The Ukrainian military said the Russian-backed rebels had tried to advance using tanks and up to 1,000 fighters west of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in the most significant escalation of the conflict in about three months and in defiance of a ceasefire deal.
Estimates of casualties varied.
The separatists, who denied their forces had launched an assault, said 15 people had been killed when government troops fired artillery into rebel-held territory near the city.
A Ukrainian presidential spokesman, Yuri Biryukov, on his Facebook page put total casualties at 7 p.m. (1600 gmt) at two dead and 30 injured, while regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said three civilians had been killed.
In Moscow, the Kremlin immediately took the side of the separatists, accusing the Ukrainian armed forces of carrying out provocative actions.
From
BBC News:
Russians looking for the exit
If Russia is alarming its neighbours with its actions in Ukraine and its anti-Western rhetoric, many of its own people are also uncomfortable with the prevailing atmosphere of bellicose nationalism. Some are preparing to leave, discovers the BBC's Caroline Wyatt, a former Moscow correspondent - and some have already left.
Moscow is at its loveliest in May, when the usually forbidding expanse of Red Square is bathed in sunshine, and the delicate scent of lilac fills the air around the crazy ice-cream spirals of St Basil's Cathedral. Tourists from across the Russian Federation take smiling family photographs in front of the church built to mark Ivan the Terrible's military conquests.
The rocket launchers and martial might on display to celebrate Victory Day in Europe have all gone. And instead of marching bands, the ethereal sounds of an Orthodox church choir fill the square, and visitors stop to listen. The only reminder that all is not quite as sunny as it seems is the shrine of flowers on the bridge, the fresh summer bunches left with handwritten notes - in memory of the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, shot dead on this same spot just a few months ago.
From
The Daily Beast:
Killed by Her Back Alley Butt Implants
To hear Kelly Mayhew’s loving family and friends tell it, the stunning 34-year-old never needed anything to make her more perfect than she already was.
“Very beautiful. Very,” was a former beau’s tender description.
But the young woman was always fretting about plumping up her backside. “She would say to me, ‘I want things to fit right,’” said Mayhew’s ex-boyfriend, remembering one of many moments when Mayhew’s self-doubt got the better of her and she could see nothing but flaws. “I would talk to her, but she continued to say her clothes don’t fit the way her body was shaped.” ... Mayhew had made the seven-hour drive to Far Rockaway, New York, from her hometown of Suitland, Maryland, in order to get an even better behind and ultimately save bundles of cash. A legit butt lift can run to more than $4,500.
With her mom as her traveling companion, the 34-year-old platform producer at BET in Washington, D.C., thought she would be safe Saturday. That, however, soon turned out to be a miscalculation when she met with an unidentified doc who had over time turned a dank basement inside a two-family A-frame home on Dickens Street into a makeshift operating room.
From
Buzzfeed:
Texas Executes Its Oldest Death Row Inmate For Killing 4 People
Lester Bower, who has maintained his innocence in the 1983 murders of four men, was executed Wednesday after spending more than 30 years on death row.
Bower was executed Wednesday evening by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:36 pm CT, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said. He was the oldest inmate to be put to death in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982. “Much has been written about this case, not all of it has been the truth,” Bower said in a statement before being put to death.
“But the time is over and now it is time to move on. I want to thank my attorneys for all that they have done. They have afforded me the last quarter of a century. I would like to thank my wife, my daughters, family and friends for unwavering support, and all of the letters and well wishes over the years. Now it is time to pass on. I have fought the good fight, I held the faith. I am not going to say goodbye, I will simply say until we meet again. I love you very, very much. Thank you Warden.”
From
The Atlantic:
All Your Clothes Are Made With Exploited Labor
In the more than 40 years since its founding as a clothing company, Patagonia has become a symbol of well-heeled outdoor adventure. But the apparel and sporting company, which sells everything from fleece jackets to smoked salmon, thinks of itself as more than just a retail company. Patagonia is an accredited and founding member of the Fair Labor Association; its website is as much an educational tool about environmental and social responsibility—filled with information on issues such as preservation of land in Chile, labeling GMO products, and responsible sourcing—as it is an online store. In a note launching the company’s food division, Patagonia Provisions, company founder Yvon Chouinard restated the brand’s central ethos: “We aim to make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and perhaps most important, inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.”
And yet, despite these aspirations, four years ago internal audits turned up multiple instances of human trafficking, forced labor, and exploitation in Patagonia’s supply chain, according to Cara Chacon, the company’s director of social and environmental responsibility, and Thuy Nguyen, the manager of supply chain social responsibility and special programs.
The audits examined not Patagonia’s first-tier suppliers—the factories that cut, sew, and assemble Patagonia’s products—but the mills that take raw materials and produce the fabrics and other parts that later become jackets, backpacks, and so on for the world’s adventuring class. About one-quarter of those mills are based in Taiwan, and the majority were found to have instances of trafficking and exploitation.
From
/Film:
Warner Bros. Exec Talks DC Movie Strategy Including Multiple Screenwriters and Tone
The Internet has made a sport of questioning how Warner Bros. is handling their DC properties. First fans scoffed at Man of Steel. Next they hated Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman. Many felt a Batman v Superman movie was a rush. Ditto for Justice League. Then there was Jared Leto’s Joker make-up, the loss of Michelle MacLaren as Wonder Woman director and the fact they’re using multiple screenwriters to figure out many of these movies. It’s like Superhero Movie Whack-A-Mole, there’s always something to hit.
So it’s nice for one of the people responsible for those decisions to finally get his say. That would be the head of film production at Warner Bros., Greg Silverman. He, along with marketing president Sue Kroll and CEO Kevin Tsujihara are the three people most directly responsible for green lighting movies at Warner Bros. In a new interview, Silverman explained the strategy of having multiple screenwriters tackle some of the DC movies, how their DC movies will attempt to be different from Marvel’s and more ... First up, THR asked how Warner Bros. plans to differentiate DC from Marvel:
We have a great strategy for the DC films, which is to take these beloved characters and put them in the hands of master filmmakers and make sure they all coordinate with each other. You’ll see the difference when you see Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League and all the things that we are working on.
Next, they asked if the dark nature of the Batman v Superman trailer would be “a trademark of a DC superhero film in the post-Dark Knight era?”
There is intensity and a seriousness of purpose to some of these characters. The filmmakers who are tackling these properties are making great movies about superheroes; they aren’t making superhero movies. And when you are trying to make a good movie, you tackle interesting philosophies and character development. There’s also humor, which is an important part.
From
Salon:
Inside Brian Wilson’s room: The famed Beach Boy opens up about mental illness, medication, manipulation and the movie about his life
“So this is gonna take like, 10 minutes, right?”
That’s the opening salvo from Wilson. He’s just lumbered into his upstairs music room where I’ve been waiting, a comfortable space with a grand piano, tall windows and a table choked with awards. There’s the Beach Boys’ sole Grammy, for 2012’s Best Historical Album, “The Smile Sessions.” It’s kept well dusted. There are still-crated gold records on the floor leaning against the wall, stacked next to a portrait of brother Carl Wilson, sun setting on the sea behind his head, who died of cancer in 1998.
Brian’s a big guy. Former high school jock. At 72, he’s put on a few pounds, has had some back issues, but he still has the firm handshake of a man born in a time when firm handshakes mattered. He eases into a deep leather chair and looks at me with his trademark, penetrating Wilson Vision as he slowly, silently sinks lower, awaiting an answer.
“Yeah, ten minutes. Or longer. Maybe longer,” I say. “What have you got to do today?”
“Gonna get a haircut.”
From
The Arizona Republic:
You can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. But even the most skillful attorney can't get one to indict a 33-year-old yoga teacher of drunkenly performing oral sex on a 15-year-old boy at a Bar Mitzvah party
The attorney for a 33-year old yoga instructor accused of having oral sex with a 15-year-old boy at a Bar Mitzvah earlier this year said he believes his client was drugged while at the party.
Scottsdale police arrested Lindsey Ann Radomski in March on suspicion of 21 felonies, including sexual conduct with a minor, sexual abuse and indecent exposure after they alleged she had a sexual encounter with seven underage boys.
A grand jury recently declined to indict Radomski and the case was returned to Scottsdale police, according to Sgt. Ben Hoster, a Scottsdale police spokesman.
Radomski told police she did not remember the alleged incident, according to court documents.
From
Slate:
Say Hello to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, and Farewell to the “Colbeard"
There’s been a tragic lack of Stephen Colbert on TV since the last episode of The Colbert Report aired in December—but not for much longer. As Colbert prepares to take over on Sept. 8, he released this promotional video in which he slowly parts ways with a healthy crop of facial hair. “I adopted a beard that I found on the highway,” he explains before shaving it off piece by piece.
As Colbert trims his beard into various formations, including the “Un-Hitler” and “Half-Wolverine,” a grotesque pile of chin fur collects on the hot dog he’d been eating. But don’t worry, the montage of beard memories at the end, set against a charmingly repurposed version of “Camptown Races,” is wholesome enough to make up for it.
From
The Hollywood Reporter:
Now, It's Personal: The Epic, Inside Drama Behind the New Hollywood Agency Wars
On the afternoon of May 11, top CAA agents Richard Lovett and Kevin Huvane headed to the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on a mission to make the best of a bad situation. Smaller rival UTA had just jolted the powerful, seemingly invulnerable firm headquartered in the Century City building infamously nicknamed the Death Star, pulling off a dramatic raid of its comedy division, taking 12 agents and their major clients, including Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms. But one key player — arguably the most valuable — still was in play, and Lovett and Huvane prepared a pitch that could help CAA signal that it still reigned when it comes to the all-important matter of representing big movie stars.
That day, Melissa McCarthy, 44, was winding up press interviews for her upcoming movie Spy. The importance to CAA of keeping her was obvious: An established star of television and film, McCarthy also has a potentially gigantic franchise in her future with the Paul Feig reboot of Ghostbusters. In her suite that day, Huvane, 56, and Lovett, 54, made this argument: If McCarthy sees herself not just as a comedian but as a star who enjoyed her more serious role in St. Vincent with Bill Murray and wants more of the same — and sources say she does — then CAA is the place to be. Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock are clients who have Oscars, and CAA represents many of the major directors with whom McCarthy might like to work. And they added that none of the defectors — led by Jason Heyman, former head of CAA's comedy department — had experience with major female stars.
Having given it their best shot, Lovett and Huvane were followed by a team from UTA, including Heyman and fellow agent-defectors Martin Lesak and Gregory McKnight. Their pitch to McCarthy: They really understood her and had been deeply involved in her career since 2010, after she started on Mike & Molly on CBS and just after the first test screening for Bridesmaids (sources say she was paid only $65,000). She had been in eight movies since then, including Identity Thief and The Heat.
From
Variety:
Caitlyn Jenner Signs With CAA
Caitlyn Jenner has signed with CAA, which will work with Jenner to create a platform for her activism in bringing awareness to the transgender community.
CAA will rep her in its Speakers division, identifying opportunities for her to share her transgender experience and channel the attention from her transition into opportunities to address LGBT issues. In addition, the CAA Foundation will provide strategic counsel in helping Jenner spread her message.
Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, made her debut as a woman on the cover of Vanity Fair on Monday.
She has an eight-part TV series, “I Am Cait,” premiering on E! on July 26 at 9 p.m., which follows Jenner’s life after her transition from male to female.
It was also recently announced that Jenner, a gold medal Olympian, will be the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at next month’s ESPYs.
From
MSNBC:
Cameron Crowe apologizes for casting Emma Stone as Asian character in ‘Aloha’
Director Cameron Crowe has made a formal apology to filmgoers who took offense at his controversial casting of Emma Stone as an Asian-American in his new Hawaii-set film “Aloha.”
The decision to cast Stone as Allison Ng, who is described in the film as a quarter Asian and a quarter Hawaiian, was met with widespread criticism and accusations of “white-washing” from cultural commenters and organizations like the Media Action Network for Asian Americans. The film’s cast is predominately white, even though the majority of Hawaii’s population consists of minorities. Crowe penned an essay Wednesday for his blog The Uncool acknowledging that, while the Ng character was supposed to look “nothing like” what her ancestry would suggest, he understands why the casting was considered “odd or misguided” by some.
“Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng,” Crowe wrote, who is best known for his romantic comedies “Say Anything” and “Jerry Maguire.” “I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heartfelt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.”
From
Billboard:
Wiz Khalifa's 'See You Again' Replaces Taylor Swift at No. 1 on Hot 100
After a one-week break, Wiz Khalifa's Furious 7 soundtrack hit "See You Again," featuring Charlie Puth, returns to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, rebounding 2-1. The song takes back the top spot from Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood," featuring Kendrick Lamar, after it rocketed 53-1 last week, spurred by strong sales and streaming gains following the premiere of its star-studded video to kick off the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) May 17.
"Again," released on Atlantic Records and promoted to radio by Roadrunner Promotions, tallies a seventh week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, powered by its second week atop the Radio Songs chart (168 million in all-format audience, up 9 percent, according to Nielsen Music) and its eighth week in charge of Streaming Songs (20.7 million U.S. streams, down 9 percent). It holds at No. 2 on Digital Songs (172,000, down 19 percent, in the week ending May 31), which it led for seven weeks.
Despite its overall 7 percent decrease in activity, "Again" reclaims the Hot 100's summit, as "Blood" (1-2) dips by 29 percent. The drop of "Blood" isn't surprising: it soared last week following a full week of activity after its BBMAs video launch. Following the initial buzz, the track leads Digital Songs for second week, but with a 37 percent loss to 241,000. On Streaming Songs, it falls 3-4 (12 million, down 34 percent).
From
Cosmo:
This Guy's Terrible McDonald's Proposal Fail Might Be the Most Cringe-Worthy of All Time
Nothing says true love more than a Crispy Chicken Deluxe meal.
Actually, there are plenty of things that say "I want to marry you and grow old with you" way better than that. If it's real, this video (which may or may not be a marketing stunt for McDonald's or something) is probably one of the worst surprise proposals in history.
This is how Joseph Ann described what went into this proposal.
I met my girlfriend 2 years ago in LA. I've never been good at planning in advance which is why we wound up ending our first date at this exact McDonalds. She joked for months about how 10 years down the road I would probably propose to her in a chicken nugget box so I thought she would love when I surprised her this way. She didn't love it like the way I thought she would. We agreed to wait longer until it's time to get engaged.