Supreme Court Rejects Last-Minute Bid to Block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Takeover

LL Cool J is bringing his star-studded Rock The Bells Festival to Forest Hills Stadium for an afternoon and evening featuring Hip-Hop icons from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s.Just a few of the stars joining the “Mama Said Knock You Out” rapper include The Roots, Run DMC, Queen Latifah, Ludacris and De La Soul.Method Man with Redman, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Salt-N-Pepa and Slick Rick are on the lineup too.All in all, over 20 major acts will take the stage at this year’s mega event.Given all the historic talent set to gather in Queens this weekend, last-minute tickets are surprisingly cheap.At the time of publication, we found some going for as low as $86 before fees on Vivid Seats.Lower-level tickets start at $187 before fees.$197 before fees is the cheapest price available for general admission floor passes.Want to jam out in Hip-Hop heaven this weekend?Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Rock The Bells.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best Rock The Bells ticket prices by section can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and include additional fees at checkout.)Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Showtime’s four-part docuseries on the Supreme Court, Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court, will premiere its first episode on September 22, amid a period of intense concern over the impact and integrity of the high court.

Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ is going out with a bang.From Aug. 3-9, the 12-time Grammy winner is performing six back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back gigs at Inglewood, CA’s SoFi Stadium to close out the U.S.

Foghat is still slow riding.The legendary classic rock band is hitting venues all over North America as part of their ‘Road Fever Tour’ from July this year up until February 2024.That includes a gig at Riverhead, NY’s Suffolk Theater on Sunday, Aug. 27.Best of all, tickets are available for all remaining concerts on the group’s tour calendar.Some are quite affordable too to see the “I Just Want To Make Love To You” rockets live.At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on Foghat tickets was $35 before fees on Vivid Seats.Want to pay your respects to one of hard rock’s greatest pioneers live?Here’s everything you need to know about Foghat’s ‘Road Fever Tour.’All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete calendar including all Foghat tour dates, venues and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

Organisers at the Bluedot festival have spoken of the 'heartbreaking decision' to suddenly cancel day tickets due to torrential downpours over the weekend.

Phish is coming to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for seven huge back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back concerts from July 28 through Aug. 5.Yes, Trey Anastasio’s beloved jam band is returning to MSG for yet another mini-residency.As of now, single and multi-day passes are available for the extended affair.At the time of publication, some single-day passes are going for as low as $52 before fees on Vivid Seats.Multi-day passes start at $161 before fees.$644 before fees is the cheapest price we could find on seven-day passes.Want to celebrate Phish all week long in the City That Never Sleeps or just go to a single show?Keep scrolling, Phishheads.We’ve got everything you need to know and more about Phish’s seven-night stint at MSG below.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best prices for upcoming single and multi-day Phish tickets for their Madison Square Garden shows can be found here:(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Microsoft and Activision Blizzard extended the deadline to close their $69 billion mega-deal by three months as the parties work to get approval from U.K. regulators. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard’s original merger agreement expired July 18, 2023. On Tuesday, the companies entered into an agreement waiving certain rights to terminate the merger if the transaction has not closed prior to Oct. 18, 2023. The agreement also includes amendments to Activision Blizzard’s commercial Xbox arrangements with Microsoft, valued at up to $250 million for each of fiscal years 2023 and 2024. The deal, announced in January 2022, has cleared most regulatory and legal challenges, including U.S. federal courts rejection of the FTC’s bid to block the deal and the Supreme Court’s rejection of a last-minute appeal to stop the deal by a group of gamers opposed to Microsoft’s takeover of Activision.

The only thing worse than a bad ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court is a bad ruling that sets up the prospect that the worst is yet to come.

Charlotte Dawson has said she could go into labour "at any minute" as she prepares for the arrival of her second child. The reality TV star appeared in her underwear showing off her blossoming bump as she pondered a last-minute pregnancy decision.

Drake started his tour at the Bulls’ home — and now we’re here.The beloved Canadian rapper is hitting the Big Apple for seven huge shows at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and New York City’s Madison Garden from July 17-26 as part of his ongoing ‘It’s All A Blur Tour.’And ticket prices to see the “Started From The Bottom” artist live aren’t exactly at “the bottom.”At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on tickets was $294 before fees on Vivid Seats for Drake’s Wednesday, July 26 gig.Other shows in the mini Brooklyn and Manhattan residencies start in the $300 to $350 range before fees.However, prices may drop as we get closer to the date of the event(s).Therefore, we recommend that you refresh this link all week to see if a deal pops up.As Drake said, there are “Dreams Money Can Buy.”Need to know more before committing to a Drake show in The City That Never Sleeps?Keep reading.We’ve got everything you need to know and more about the extended New York stop on the ‘It’s All A Blur Tour.’All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best upper-deck, lower-level and floor seat prices for Drake’s seven Brooklyn and New York City can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

Beyoncé has concerts at Nashville, TN’s Nissan Stadium on July 15, Louisville, KY’s L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium on July 17 and Minneapolis, MN’s Huntington Bank Stadium on July 20 as part of her ongoing ‘Renaissance Tour’ and some seats are shockingly cheap.At the time of publication, we found tickets going for $101 before fees on Vivid Seats for her Nashville concert.This is where things gets crazy though — there are $44 tickets available for her Louisville, KY gig.Don’t forget, this is Bey we’re talking about.Yes, the 32-time Grammy winner, owner of eight number one hits and one of the best-selling artists of all time.So, yes, these unbelievably low Beyoncé prices are truly a steal.Tickets start at $62 before fees for the Minneapolis show.Want to see Beyoncé live at one of these upcoming ‘Renaissance’ concerts for a reasonable amount?Here’s everything you need to know and more about her three upcoming one-off gigs in Nashville, Louisville and Minneapolis.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best prices on upper-deck, lower-level and floor seats for each of Bey’s shows from July 15-20 can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

attempted to prosecute a transgender woman who had entered and used a women’s restroom despite not having officially transitioned.The ministry said in a statement that it would examine the ruling closely and “take appropriate measures after consulting with the relevant ministries and agencies.” It also said it would continue to make efforts to respect the diversity of its staff.The ruling comes after a series of mostly pro-LGBTQ court rulings regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in the country, with courts finding, in the majority of the cases, that laws blocking same-sex nuptials are unconstitutional.Japan is currently the only G7 nation where same-sex marriage hasn’t been legalized. Japanese law is vague about the ability of same-sex couples to adopt, and the country also lacks nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals, permits conversion therapy, and does not recognize nonbinary genders, reports Reuters.On June 16, Japan enacted a law declaring that “unjust” discrimination is unacceptable, but doesn’t explicitly provide specific rights for LGBTQ people — in part due to opposition from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a right-wing political party that controls both chambers of the country’s National Diet, or national legislature.Despite the law being overly vague and not promising any specific rights, it still sparked a backlash from conservatives, who began campaigning for moves to protect women in multi-user, publicly-shared facilities.The plaintiff, whose name remains anonymous, celebrated the ruling.“All people should have the right to live their lives in society based on their own sexual identities,” she said in a statement.

A federal judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to stop Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, ruling that the government had not shown that the transaction would substantially lessen competition.

Microsoft has prevailed in the court case against its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, where it had to defend the impact it would have on competition in the video game industry.Video Games Chronicle spotted that today (July 11), the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction was not necessary. The FTC had asked for the injunction in order to let its in-house court discern the full effects that the acquisition would have on the consumer.“Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A federal court nixed the FTC’s request to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which could pave the way for the $69 billion deal to close as soon as this month. The U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Tuesday issued a ruling denying the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction in its case regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft has signaled it intends to close the takeover of Activision Blizzard — which would be the biggest ever in the gaming sector — by the July 18 deal termination date. In the ruling (available at this link), District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley cited in part Microsoft’s commitment to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years, on parity with Xbox, and that Microsoft inked an agreement with Nintendo to bring the game to Nintendo Switch. The judge found that “the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail” on its claim that the merger “may substantially lessen competition,” she wrote. “To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”

Instagram. “Some people have not gotten the irony I was expressing so I thought I’d be more explicit … The post referred to here was a satirical and symbolic take on where blatantly discriminatory Supreme Court decisions are taking us as a nation: into utter division and possibly far worse.”“The White Lotus” actor’s initial comments followed the U.S.

Michael Imperioli is reacting to the Supreme Court ruling that made it legal for a web designer to refuse to work with a same-sex couple.

Michael Imperioli is taking a stance against the recent Supreme Court ruling in the United States earlier this week.

J. Kim Murphy Michael Imperioli is among many actors in Hollywood speaking out against the Supreme Court, with the “Sopranos” star making a statement against the group’s ruling in favor of a Christian web designer who sought legal protection to discriminate against same-sex marriages due to her religious beliefs. Imperioli shared a screenshot of a news story about the ruling on Instagram, with the headline “Supreme Court protects web designer who won’t do gay wedding websites,” along with a caption railing against the decision. “I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘Goodfellas’ or any movie or TV show I’ve been in,” Imperioli wrote Saturday morning. “Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!”

LGBTQ advocates and allies are lamenting the Supreme Court’s recent decision in favor of a website designer who sought an exemption from her state’s nondiscrimination law to allow her to refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples.Despite one of the alleged requests for service from a gay couple allegedly being fabricated or submitted under false pretenses, as reported by The New Republic, the high court ultimately decided in favor of Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, LLC, finding that Colorado’s law infringes on her free speech rights.The court further found that, because Smith creates “custom” websites that contain “expressive content,” she should have been granted a “free speech” exemption to the Coloraod Anti-Discrimination Act allowing her to not only refuse service to same-sex couples, but to post a notice that she will refuse to create websites celebrating same-sex marriages.Many allies of the LGBTQ community noted that while the decision is not as broad as to overturn nullify laws prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination, it does create a massive carve-out for businesses providing “custom-made” goods or services, allowing them to discriminate against prospective customers — in this particular case, LGBTQ individuals, but potentially members of other groups in the future — on free speech grounds. “The Supreme Court just gave businesses a license to discriminate,” Ben Olinsky, the senior vice president of Structural Reform and Governance at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said in a statement.