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.
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The 8 topics that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:
SARA LEE TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN ITS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT AFTER AN ‘SNL’ SKETCH PUT IT ON BLAST
Between Jon Hamm’s surprise appearance during the impeachment inquiry-themed cold open and guest host Harry Styles’s discovery of the Popeyes chicken sandwich craze, this weekend’s Saturday Night Live managed to pack in a few good laughs. Though the real star of the show — both during and especially after it aired — was the “Sara Lee” sketch co-written by staff writer Julio Torres and newcomer Bowen Yang. Not only was the sketch itself fantastic, but it also proved so troublesome for the company that they had to temporarily shut down their Instagram account. In the sketch, Styles played Sara Lee’s social media manager during a meeting in which it’s revealed he’s been accidentally using the company’s official Instagram to post racy comments on everything from a Nick Jonas picture to a random user’s post. The whole thing is a hilarious deep dive into contemporary social media culture, both its private and professional aspects, but Sara Lee’s response is what really made it tick. As Vulture noted, Yang took to Twitter to comment about the sketch and its literal effect on the company. Though as Sara Lee later revealed in an official statement to Advocate, they weren’t actually deleting SNL fans comments on their Instagram. They had simply disabled or hidden many of the comments in order to figure out precisely what Torres and Yang’s silly sketch had wrought.
[SOURCE: uproxx.com]
NEW BELGIUM BREWING, COLORADO’S LARGEST CRAFT BREWERY, ANNOUNCES SALE TO INTERNATIONAL BEER CONGLOMERATE
In the third major blow to the Colorado beer industry in the last two months, New Belgium Brewing on Tuesday announced that the employee-owned company is selling to Australian-based Lion Little World Beverages. New Belgium is currently the largest craft brewery in Colorado and the fourth-largest in the U.S., behind Yuengling, Boston Beer and Sierra Nevada, according to the Brewers Association. The Fort Collins-based brewery’s cash sale, for an undisclosed amount, is expected to finalize by the end of the year, pending approval by employee stock owners. More than 300 of New Belgium’s employee-owners will receive more than $100,000 in retirement money through the deal, “with some receiving significantly greater amounts,” New Belgium founder Kim Jordan wrote in a letter on Tuesday. According to New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer, the brewery employs nearly 700 people between Fort Collins, Denver and Asheville, N.C. — where a second New Belgium brewery opened in 2016 — and across the country on its sales team. None of those employees — nor any of the company’s taprooms or breweries in Fort Collins, Denver and Asheville — will be affected by the sale, Fechheimer said. He and his “leadership team” will stay in their positions as well.
[SOURCE: denverpost.com]
CRAIG MCLACHLAN ACCUSED OF UNNECESSARILY KISSING CO-STAR’S BODY MORE THAN 20 TIMES LIVE ONSTAGE
Australian actor Craig McLachlan is facing multiple charges after a co-star alleged he unnecessarily kissed her neck, stomach and buttocks more than 20 times during a live stage performance of “The Rocky Horror Show.” Details of allegations corroborated by three other women against the former star of long-running soap operas “Neighbours” and “Home and Away” were heard Monday in the Melbourne Magistrates Court. The hearing is expected to last three weeks. Per the women’s accounts, the actor was supposed to merely simulate a sex act out of view of the audience for the scene, but allegedly took advantage of the situation and touched his co-star for real. McLachlan, 54, is facing multiple charges, including counts of indecent assault, one of attempted indecent assault and others of assault, involving the four complainants who worked with him in a production of the hit musical in 2014. He won Australian theater’s prestigious Helpmann Award for best actor for the role. He denies the accusations by the four women, whose names cannot be published.
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
CALIFORNIA TO STOP BUYING FROM AUTOMAKERS THAT BACKED TRUMP IN EMISSIONS BATTLE
The California Department of General Services issued a statement Friday saying the state plans to end purchases from automakers that have not committed to following California’s tailpipe emission regulations, including General Motors, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler, by January. General Motors, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler have taken the president’s side as he loosens Obama-era restrictions on tailpipe emissions and takes steps to prevent California from having its own regulations. The state bought $58.6 million worth of vehicles from General Motors, $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler and $10.6 million from Toyota between 2016 and 2018, according to Reuters. California buys between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles a year, The New York Times reported. California will now obtain vehicles from Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW, the four automakers that have committed to following the state’s regulations, according to the Times.
[SOURCE: thehill.com]
HORSE RACING’S MAJOR PLAYERS FORM SAFETY COALITION
A group of horse racing organizations has announced the formation of a coalition to promote enhanced safety protections and work together to develop new reforms in a sport roiled by a series of equine deaths. The Thoroughbred Safety Coalition introduced Tuesday includes Churchill Downs Inc., the New York Racing Association and The Stronach Group, along with Breeders’ Cup Ltd., Del Mar and Keeneland racetracks. Together they represent over 85% of major racing in the U.S. The coalition will adopt best practices and set stricter guidelines for allowable medications, enact standards for whip use, encourage greater transparency and tracking of veterinarian exam records, and commit to the creation of new positions to implement and enforce these reforms. Currently, rules and regulations vary among the 38 racing states, and the sport lacks a so-called league office to oversee it. Bill Thomason, president and CEO of Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, said there is no single solution, but the group is committed to “finding the right answers, wherever that may lead us.”
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
ISIS REBUILDS IN SYRIA AFTER TURKISH INCURSION AND U.S. DRAWDOWN, PENTAGON WATCHDOG SAYS
The Islamic State militant group used the drawdown of U.S. troops from Syria and the Turkish incursion to regroup and strengthen its abilities to plan terror attacks abroad — and will likely rebound from the death of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a new internal report from the Defense Department’s watchdog says. The report from the Pentagon’s inspector general identified the Oct. 9 Turkish move into Syria — three days after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as the tipping point. The invasion affected the U.S. mission against ISIS, the U.S. relationship with its chief military ally in the fight against ISIS — the Syrian Democratic Forces — and control of territory in northeastern Syria. The departure of U.S. forces from areas of northeastern Syria, which followed the Turkish incursion, then created a void which Syrian regime forces and Russian forces filled, and gave ISIS more freedom to rebuild, according to the report. In addition to Turkish forces, Russian and Syrian regime troops entered northeastern Syria in October. All three forces are unlikely to prioritize fighting ISIS, the report said. The largely Kurdish Syrian Defense Forces have pledged to continue operations against ISIS, but were attacked by Turkish forces. It was “unclear how many of the roughly 100,000 SDF forces were still conducting counter-ISIS operations in northeastern Syria” at the time of the report’s publication. The report also stated that the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a late-October raid conducted by U.S. special operations forces in Syria was a “significant blow” to the terror group, but would likely have little effect on its ability to rebuild. The Turkish incursion was also followed by the escape of between 100 and 200 prisoners from ISIS detention camps in northeastern Syria. The detention camps, which hold approximately 10,000 ISIS prisoners, are run by the SDF, but funded entirely by U.S. and coalition support.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
BARBADOS SUFFERS SECOND DAY OF MAJOR POWER OUTAGES
Barbados was hit by serious power outages for a second day on Tuesday, forcing schools and some businesses to close and hitting water supplies on the island. The Barbados Light & Power Company (BL&P), a subsidiary of Canada’s Emera Inc., suffered an engine failure early on Monday that knocked out power to much of the island. Even though service was restored to most homes by midnight, power supply was interrupted again on Tuesday morning. The loss of electricity as the island enters its peak tourist season under the winter sun meant that schools were closed and Barbadians across extended areas had to cope with low water pressure, discolored water, or dry taps. Prime Minister Mia Mottley called the outage “unacceptable and embarrassing” and expressed dismay at how the country could have lost “all of its generating capacity” at once. Mottley planned to meet with the chairman of BL&P during the course of the day to address the problem, which has compelled hotels and resorts in affected areas to rely on their own supply. Apart from when tropical storms cause damage, Barbados rarely experiences such severe power outages.
[SOURCE: news.yahoo.com]
DISNEY+ FANS WITHOUT ANSWERS AFTER THOUSANDS HACKED
Since Disney+ went live, attackers have stolen thousands of customers’ accounts and put them up for sale on the dark web, according to a report. People waited on telephone and online chat lines for hours, and many still say that Disney has yet to sort their problems. But the firm says it does not believe its systems have been compromised. “Disney takes the privacy and security of our users’ data very seriously and there is no indication of a security breach on Disney+,” a spokesman said. The statement indicates that members’ details have been stolen by other means. That could involve spyware on users’ devices or the re-use of login details stolen from elsewhere. Disney’s answer to Netflix, Disney+ is an online platform where fans can view its movies, short films and TV shows, including the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. Ten million people signed up in its first week. Disney+ has not yet launched in the UK, but is available in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.
[SOURCE: bbc.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.
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