Publicis, Omnicom say major clients welcome merger

PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executives of Publicis and Omnicom said they had spoken to major clients about their planned merger and did not anticipate major problems with big advertisers defecting to rivals in the transition period.

Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said the reaction to the merger from all the company's major clients had been "extremely positive".

Competing sector executives and analysts expect that the Publicis Omnicom merger could spur some big customers to switch agencies to avoid conflicts.

Holding companies such as Omnicom and Publicis own networks of agencies and PR firms within the larger group. They're designed to work independently so that competing clients - Pepsi and Coca-Cola for example - are placed in separate networks to avoid conflict.

"We're going to work extremely hard to resolve any client conflict issues with creative solutions," said John Wren, the Omnicom CEO.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Leila Abboud)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/publicis-omnicom-merge-create-advertising-giant-011208362.html

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Coalition supports union call for pay rise for childcare workers

Early childhood educators with a Certificate III are paid $19.07 while workers with similar qualifications in other areas of work are paid almost $30 per hour. Photograph: Photofusion Picture Library/Al/Alamy

A bid by the United Voice union to increase early childcare workers' pay by about a third has won support from the Coalition, while the Labor party is still considering it.

United Voice lodged a complaint with Fair Work Australia on Monday for the average childcare worker's wage to be increased by $10 per hour from $19.07, arguing workers are being underpaid because it is an area traditionally seen as "women's work".

Early childhood educators with a Certificate III are paid $19.07 while workers with similar qualifications in other areas of work are paid almost $30 per hour.

United Voice has applied for an Equal Remuneration Order with FWA which would cover about 68,000 childcare employees.

National president of United Voice, Michael Crosby, said the rate of pay being applied for took into account educational levels and professional skills and was about closing the gender pay gap.

"Educators' work has historically been underpaid because it has been viewed as 'women's work', drawing on skills that were traditionally unpaid as they were performed in the home.

"Today, childcare is professionalised and its quality is assessed in accordance with high standards," he said.

"Educators deserve a professional wage for the professional work they do.

"It is not in children's interests for this gross underpayment of educators to continue."

The Coalition's spokesperson for childcare and early childhood learning, Sussan Ley, said Labor's changes to childcare policy ? including a pay rise for some workers and requirement of certain skills ? meant the workers deserved to be paid more.

"The Coalition has said from day one, the pay issue for childcare workers should be put to the Fair Work Commission," she said.

"When you ask carers and early learning educators to take on extra responsibility, quality and skills improvement which Labor has done, it's not unreasonable the industry might then ask to be paid appropriately in recognition."

The union said the $300m Early Years Quality Fund was a step in the right direction and called for bipartisan support on it but Ley said it had divided the workforce.

"Now that United Voice has finally decided to approach this issue through the front door and not by some dodgy backdoor deal, we'll watch the outcome with great interest," she said.

A spokeswoman for the education minister, Bill Shorten, said the government would consider the FWA application.

"Labor is committed to closing the gender pay gap and improving the economic security of Australian women," she said.

"That is why this Labor government removed barriers to equal pay claims under federal workplace relations law, which made possible the first ever successful equal pay claim in the federal workplace relations system."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/15/coalition-union-childcare-workers-pay

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Halle Berry marries Olivier Martinez in France

Celebs

Ree Hines TODAY contributor

18 hours ago

Kevin Winter / Getty Images file

Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez.

Never say never! After swearing off matrimony six years ago, actress Halle Berry said "I do" once again on Saturday.

On Sunday, Berry's rep confirmed that she married French actor Olivier Martinez at the Chateau des Conde in Vallery, France.

Two got engaged in 2012. The marriage marks the third time down the aisle for Berry, who wed baseball player David Justice in 1993 (divorced in 1997) and married singer-songwriter Eric Benet in 2001 (divorced in 2005). This is the first marriage for Martinez.

Berry also has a child with former partner Gabriel Aubry. She's currently pregnant with her second child -- her first with Martinez.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/halle-berry-marries-olivier-martinez-6C10630915

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Foodies show up at California State Fair

SACRAMENTO, CA - High calorie counts are not enough to keep people away from fair food.

The California State Fair is all about fun, but it's also about food for many.

"Oh yeah! Every year we come for the food, every year," Jerry Meza said. "We've been coming for 12 years!"

Funnel cakes, footlongs and French fries put a smile on foodies' faces, both big and small.

"I'm starting off with the ceviche, then I'm going to build my way up to the heavy cholesterol and fried things," said a man from San Diego.

Although California restaurants are required to post health information on their menus, food vendors in places like the state fair are not.

"Our menu labeling laws that went into affect a few years ago were for our fixed-facility chain restaurants and they did not affect the temporary booths such as these," Sacramento County Supervising Environmental Specialist Zarha Ruiz said.

Some of the calorie counts, according to Web MD:

• Fried candy bars - 444 calories
• Funnel cakes - 760 calories
• Giant turkey legs - 1,136 calories

There are some healthy food options at the state fair, but you just have to keep your eyes open.

Fair goers can opt for grilled veggies instead of fried in some places or keep off some fatty condiments.

No matter what you choose to eat at the fair, experts said it's all about enjoying everything in moderation.

Source: http://sacramento.news10.net/news/events/177373-foodies-show-california-state-fair

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Bus crashes into Mass. house; driver among 7 hurt

AUBURN, Mass. (AP) ? A regional transit bus crashed into a house in the central Massachusetts town of Auburn, injuring seven people, a fire official said Monday.

Fire Capt. Eric Otterson said the driver of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority Bus, who was trapped for more than an hour after the 5 p.m. crash, was seriously hurt. He was taken to a hospital.

Otterson said three children and an adult were inside the Swanson Road house when the bus knocked it off its foundation by 7 to 10 feet, and had minor cuts and scrapes. He said two bus passengers had moderate scrapes. They were taken to hospitals for treatment and evaluation.

Chris Erickson, 32, who lives in the house with his wife and their three sons ages 14, 11 and 6, told The Associated Press he was at work when the bus struck their kitchen. He said two of the boys were in the nearby living room.

"They were pretty shook up," Erickson said, but weren't seriously hurt, and the family's pets weren't injured. "I just hope we can get the photo albums and the clothes out that we need."

Police Chief Andrew Sluckis told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette the driver may have had a medical episode or a problem with the brakes. Sluckis said the bus was headed toward a local shopping mall when it suddenly ran off the street, cut across a yard and hit the house.

John Carney, general manager of WRTA Transit Services, told the newspaper the driver was fairly new, but had extensive bus driving experience.

Thomas Mosley, who lives across the street, said he heard a loud bump and went to help. He said it appeared the bus had run across the lawn of a nearby dentist's office before plowing through the Ericksons' lawn and a hedge into their house. The bus landed upright.

Erickson's father, Lenny Erickson, 64, owns the house his father built it in 1949. He said he's relieved his family members weren't seriously hurt, but is saddened by the damage to the home where he grew up with his parents and two brothers.

The bus was removed from the white Cape Cod style house Monday night after the structure was shored up.

"That's the old homestead, and now they are saying they will have to tear it down," Lenny Erickson said. "It was a great place to grow up."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bus-crashes-mass-house-driver-among-7-hurt-005052840.html

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'Monsters' beats zombies, Superman at box office

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Turns out zombies and Superman are no match for monsters.

Disney's "Monsters University" is the weekend box-office winner, according to studio estimates released Sunday. The animated family film, which reunites stars Billy Crystal and John Goodman and their characters from the 2001 hit "Monsters, Inc.," debuted in first place with $82 million, beating out swarming zombies in "World War Z" and Superman himself in "Man of Steel."

"The diversity of this weekend is part of what makes this business so great," said Dave Hollis, Disney's head of distribution. "It's a really extraordinary weekend for the industry."

Especially for "Monsters University," Pixar's 14th consecutive film to open in first place. Such expectations of excellence put a "healthy pressure" on filmmakers, Hollis said: "To deliver that kind of quality consistently is a differentiator in the marketplace."

Still, the film exceeded studio expectations with its domestic totals, he said.

Paramount's Brad Pitt zombie romp overcame critical advance publicity to open in second place with $66 million. Media reports months ahead of the film's opening chronicled its problems, including a revamped ending that delayed its release.

Rewrites and reshoots sent the film over budget. It ended up reportedly costing more than $200 million to make, but early reviews were positive.

"What 'World War Z' proves is that all the negative backstory that can be thrown at a movie doesn't matter if the movie's good," said Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "I don't think the audience cares one lick if they had to reshoot the ending if they like the ending and like the movie."

The success of the film means it could be a franchise in the making. Paramount's president of domestic distribution, Don Harris, called the opening "spectacular."

"It's the biggest live-action original opening since 'Avatar,'" he said. "(It's) Brad Pitt's biggest opening ever, and in terms of Paramount's recent history, it ranks behind 'Iron Man' and 'Transformers' as the third largest potential franchise opening in the history of the company."

Warner Bros. "Man of Steel" was third at the box office, adding another $41.2 million to its coffers and bringing its domestic ticket sales over $210 million in just the second week of release.

The Sony comedy "This Is the End," which stars Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill as versions of themselves trapped in a mansion during the apocalypse, finished in fourth place.

Summit Entertainment's magic-heist thriller "Now You See Me" held onto fifth place in its fourth week in theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.

1. "Monsters University," $82 million ($54.5 million international).

2. "World War Z," $66 million ($45.8 million international).

3. "Man of Steel," $41.2 million ($89 million international).

4. "This Is the End," $13 million.

5. "Now You See Me," $7.87 million ($6.6 million international).

6. "Fast & Furious 6," $4.7 million ($11.2 million international).

7. "The Internship," $3.43 million ($3.2 million international).

8. "The Purge," $3.41 million ($1.1 million international).

9. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $3 million ($4.9 million international).

10. "Iron Man 3," $2.2 million ($400,000 international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Man of Steel," $89 million.

2. "Monsters University," $54.5 million.

3. "World War Z," $45.8 million.

4. "After Earth," $13.4 million.

5. "Fast & Furious 6," $11.2 million.

6. "The Hangover Part III," $8.6 million.

7. "Now You See Me," $6.6 million.

8. "Despicable Me 2," $6.4 million.

9. "The Great Gatsby," $5.5 million.

10. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $4.9 million.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monsters-beats-zombies-superman-box-office-162250234.html

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Apple has released beta 2 of iOS 7 for developers.

Apple has released beta 2 of iOS 7 for developers. There doesn't seem to be anything specific or new other than bug fixes and improvements. Download at your leisure. [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/like-clockwork-apple-has-released-beta-2-of-ios-7-for-559863719

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