These are the top maybe-not headlines from the past 36-hours presented by The Conversation Project from raw engagement data from our social media to the headlines posted over the past day.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE EMAIL NEWSLETTER | BECOME A SUPPORTER ON PATREON
The 8 topics that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:
GOV. MATT BEVIN REFUSES TO CONCEDE KENTUCKY RACE, EVEN AFTER SECRETARY OF STATE CALLS IT FOR DEMOCRAT ANDY BESHEAR
Bevin, citing “irregularities” in the voting process, has decided not to step down until a recount. At press time, Bevin’s opponent, Andy Beshear, has 49.2 percent (711,955 votes) to 48.9 percent for Bevin. A Libertarian candidate, John Hicks, received 28,475 votes, or 2.0 percent of the vote. There are three options to election irregularities in Kentucky: a recanvass, a recount, and an election contest. All candidates have until a week after the election to file a recanvassing request with the Secretary of State. According to Fox news, “If a recanvassing happens, the county election boards will recheck each machine and report the figure back to the county clerk.” Members of both parties are allowed to present during recanvassing procedures. For a recount, the challenging candidate needs to file with the Franklin County Circuit Court by November 13 to request a recount. The challenger fronts the cost of the recount, and a Kentucky judge will be appointed to manage the recount procedure. It is their job to recount the ballots both digital and paper, and come to their own conclusion. While the judge’s decision would be final, an appeal might be placed with either the Kentucky Court of Appeals or the Kentucky Supreme Court. The final option would be a election contest. This would also require a filing by November 13. The move requires specific judicial movement, and the filing must have merit on legal grounds, such as proven corrupt practices during the voting process.
[SOURCE: newsweek.com]
FCC APPROVES T-MOBILE/SPRINT MERGER DESPITE SERIOUS CONCERNS
Those opposed say the merger defies common sense, creating a triumvirate of mobile giants that will “divide up the market, increase prices, and compete only for the most lucrative customers.” The two mobile companies have been attempting to merge for years, ostensibly in order to compete with the considerably larger AT&T and Verizon. (Disclosure: TechCrunch is owned by Verizon Media, but this does not affect our coverage in the slightest.) Previous attempts at deals were blocked more or less on the grounds that while a consolidated market might make the new T-Mobile/Sprint entity more competitive, it would be a net negative for consumers, who would have less choice than ever. The announcement of a $60 million FTC settlement over anti-consumer business practices by AT&T when they had the leverage to carry them out is a timely reminder of the general temperament of mobile carriers.
[SOURCE: techcrunch.com]
KANSAS CITY VOTERS APPROVE PLAN TO REMOVE MARTIN LUTHER KING’S NAME FROM STREET
The decisive vote comes less than a year after the City Council had voted to change the street’s name to honor the civil rights leader. The Associated Press reports unofficial results from Election Day found the proposal to remove King’s name garnered nearly 70 percent of the vote, compared to just more than 30 percent of voters wanting to keep his name on the boulevard. The proposal made its way onto the ballot after several Kansas City residents pushed to restore the street’s original name, The Paseo. The residents collected 2,857 signatures in April to put the measure before voters, well surpassing the 1,700 needed. Supporters of the proposal say the City Council pushed for changing the street’s name without following proper procedures and ignored The Paseo’s historic value in the process. Supporters of renaming the street after King had accused opponents of the name change of being racist, the AP noted, setting up Tuesday’s showdown at the polls. The 10-mile stretch of the boulevard runs north to south through a largely black area of the city.
[SOURCE: thehill.com]
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, GIRLS WON ALL FIVE TOP PRIZES AT THE BROADCOM MASTERS STEM COMPETITION
When the winners were announced at this year’s Broadcom MASTERS Competition, America’s premiere science and engineering competition for middle school students, the stage looked a little different than previous years — for the first time ever, all of the top prize winners were girls! 14-year-old Alaina Gassler won the top award, the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, while 14-year-olds Rachel Bergey, Sidor Clare, Alexis MacAvoy, and Lauren Ejiaga each took home $10,000 prizes. “With so many challenges in our world, Alaina and her fellow Broadcom MASTERS finalists make me optimistic,” says Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Society for Science & the Public, which runs the competition, and Publisher of Science News. “I am proud to lead an organization that is inspiring so many young people, especially girls, to continue to innovate.” The Broadcom MASTERS — which stands for Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars — was founded in 2011 and aims to encourage middle school students to see how their personal passions can lead to career pathways in STEM. The competition is open to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades; science fairs affiliated with the Society for Science & the Public nominate the top 10% of their participants, who then apply for the chance to join the national competition. This year, there was a pool of 2,348 applicants; 30 finalists were chosen, including 18 girls and 12 boys — the first time the finalists have been majority female as well.
[SOURCE: amightygirl.com]
SCIENTISTS DISCOVER FIRST NEW HIV STRAIN IN NEARLY TWO DECADES
The strain is a part of the Group M version of HIV-1, the same family of virus subtypes to blame for the global HIV pandemic, according to Abbott Laboratories, which conducted the research along with the University of Missouri, Kansas City. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. HIV has several different subtypes or strains, and like other viruses, it has the ability to change and mutate over time. This is the first new Group M HIV strain identified since guidelines for classifying subtypes were established in 2000. It is important to know what strains of the virus are circulating to ensure that tests used to detect the disease are effective. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said current treatments for HIV are effective against this strain and others. However, identifying a new strain provides a more complete map of how HIV evolves.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
AIR FORCE AIRMAN MISSING AFTER FALL INTO GULF OF MEXICO FROM C-130 AIRCRAFT
The fall happened during a parachute-jump training exercise out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., according to Air Force Times. U.S. Coast Guard personnel were assisting the Air Force as a search for the airman got underway in water about a mile and a half south of Santa Rosa Island, Fla., along the Florida Panhandle, WKRG-TV of Mobile, Ala., reported. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was also assisting in the operation, the station reported. The Coast Guard said the airman, identified only as a staff sergeant, dropped about 1,500 feet into the water and his parachute deployed, WEAR-TV of Pensacola, Fla., reported. Crew members aboard the C-130 initially saw the airman treading water but lost sight of him while making a turn in an effort to pick him up, the report said. Responding crews were adjusting their search area based on currents in the area, Coast Guard Petty Officer Kamil Zdankowski told the Northwest Florida Daily News.
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
TEEN ‘JEOPARDY!’ CHAMP DONATES $10,000 TO CANCER RESEARCH IN HONOR OF ALEX TREBEK
2019 “Jeopardy!” Teen Tournament champion Avi, who won $100,000 during his time in the tournament this summer, is donating $10,000 to cancer research just in time for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute tweeted a video Friday of the college freshman talking about his donation. “I was inspired to give by Alex Trebek,” Gupta says in the clip. “It was a dream come true earlier this year to finally join him on the ‘Jeopardy!’ stage … and I’m honored to be able to make this donation to the Knight Cancer Institute to support him and the millions of other people suffering from pancreatic cancer across the world.”
[SOURCE: msn.com]
MEXICAN CARTEL MASSACRE: SUSPECT WITH 2 HOSTAGES, ASSAULT RIFLES, BULLETPROOF SUV ARRESTED IN BORDER TOWN
A suspect was arrested near the Arizona border with Mexico in connection with the deaths of nine U.S. citizens – six children and three women – Monday who were living in a Mormon community about 70 miles south of Douglas, Ariz., investigators said early Wednesday. The victims’ convoy came under fire during the day in an ambush by gunmen believed to be affiliated with a drug cartel in Mexico. The Agency for Criminal Investigation said in a statement on Facebook the suspect was found in the town of Agua Prieta, right across the border from Douglas, Arizona. The suspect was holding two hostages who were bound and gagged inside a vehicle. Investigators found four assault rifles and a bulletproof SUV. Officials have said that the gunmen may have mistaken the group’s large SUVs for those of a rival gang amid a vicious turf war.
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
Eight Things To Talk About uses the raw engagement data from the social media engagement from The Conversation Project to generate the top-ranking headlines over the course of a weekend.
A full weeks’ data (from Friday to Friday) is compiled, weighed, and sorted to produce the content for the Wrap-Up Show with J Cleveland Payne, published every Saturday as a podcast available at ThisIsTheConversation.com or wherever your favorite podcasts are found.
To ‘participate’ in the rankings of the headlines for this newsletter or the podcast, follow the Conversation Project on social media and engage with the posts to give them more ‘votes.’ The Conversation Project can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Connect with us directly by emailing us at theconversationinbox@gmail.com or by simply visiting thisistheconversation.com.
