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:
TAIWAN BORN ACTOR GODFREY GAO DIES AT 35 AFTER COLLAPSING ON SET
Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor Godfrey Gao has died after collapsing on set while filming a variety show in China. The 35-year-old was a guest participant on Chase Me, a reality TV show that sees teams competing to win a race. The show’s producers said he fell and lost consciousness while running in a team event and died at hospital. In 2011, Gao was the first Asian male model to be signed to luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s ad campaign. He made his mark in Hollywood, appearing in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, an action film based on a popular series of novels. He also became a popular name in China after he starred in popular TV drama Remembering Lichuan. The Vancouver-raised Gao collapsed midway through filming on Wednesday.
[SOURCE: bbc.com]
AT&T AND VERIZON AGREE TO CHANGE THEIR ESIM PRACTICES
Two years ago, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether AT&T, Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) and the GSM Association (GSMA) worked together to limit eSIM technology. Today, The New York Times reports that the DOJ is closing the investigation and has found no evidence of wrongdoing. The DOJ was initially concerned that AT&T and Verizon attempted to lock devices on their networks even if the device had an eSIM. But the parties have agreed to change how they determine standards for eSIM, which will allow consumers to use eSIM to switch carriers, rather than having to insert a new SIM card. And as a result, the DOJ is dropping the investigation. This is a rather anticlimactic ending, but it’s good news for eSIM. The technology hasn’t met the kind of widespread adoption we had initially hoped for, but this change could give it a boost.
[SOURCE: engadget.com]
U.S. BIRTH RATE FALLS FOR 4TH YEAR IN A ROW
A final tally of babies born in the U.S. last year confirms that the birth rate fell again in 2018, reaching the lowest level in more than three decades. The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics finds there were 3,791,712 births registered in the U.S. in 2018, down 2 percent from 2017. A closer look at the data suggests that Americans are not having enough babies to sustain the population. The total fertility rate for 2018 was 1,729.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. (The fertility rate refers to how many children women have overall; birth rate refers to how many children women have in a single year.) But in order for the nation to reproduce its population and remain stable, the CDC says there would need to be 2,100 births per 1,000 women. That means each woman needs to have at least two babies to replace fathers and mothers, as well as account for extra deaths. The data also show that women are waiting longer to have children. Birth rates among women in their 20s and early 30s declined, but they started to increase slightly among women 35 to 44. The teen birth rate, for girls between the ages of 15 and 19, fell 7 percent, from 18.8 births per 1,000 women in 2017 to 17.4 births per 1,000 in 2018.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
ALICE COOPER, JOHNNY DEPP AND JOE PERRY’S HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES SUPERGROUP TO TOUR UK NEXT YEAR
Rock supergroup the Hollywood Vampires are coming to the UK next year for an autumn tour. They have also released a new, video for lates single ‘I Want My Now’, which you can watch below. The group, made up of Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Joe Perry will tour the UK in support of their latest album, ‘Rise’ and will be joined on tour by Primal Scream. The group will play Leeds, Glasgow, London and Birmingham next September and tickets for the gigs will go on sale this Friday, November 29. Speaking about the upcoming tour, Alice Copper said: “This show has something for everyone. I like to joke that The Vampires are the world’s most expensive bar band, but what a lot of people don’t realise is that this is a real rock band, not just some novelty. I wouldn’t keep doing it if it weren’t such a great band.
[SOURCE: nme.com]
AT LEAST 3 INJURED AFTER EXPLOSION ERUPTS AT TEXAS CHEMICAL REFINERY
At least three people were injured when a powerful explosion erupted at a petrochemical refinery in Texas early Wednesday morning, officials said. Video and images taken by people in the area and posted online show a massive fireball illuminating the dark sky over the TPC Group plant in Port Neches, Texas, about 15 miles southwest of Beaumont. The early morning explosion involved a processing unit, and emergency responders are still working to bring the fire under control, according to a press release from TPC Group. Three personnel on site — two employees and a contractor — sustained injuries in the blast and were hospitalized for treatment. All staff at the plant have since been evacuated and accounted for, according to TPC Group.
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com]
AUDI CUTS 7,500 JOBS TO FREE UP MONEY FOR ELECTRIC CARS
The German premium car brand announced Tuesday that it would cut 9,500 jobs by 2025, or roughly 10% of its global workforce. At the same time, it will create 2,000 jobs focused on electric mobility and other new technology. Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen, said the job cuts would be achieved through turnover and retirement. It guaranteed jobs for its remaining workers through 2029. The changes will free up €6 billion ($6.6 billion) over 10 years that Audi plans to invest in the cars of the future. The cuts are part of an agreement with worker representatives that allows two major Audi factories in Germany to be overhauled to make electric vehicles. Audi expects the plants in Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt, where its headquarters are located, to produce a combined 675,000 cars a year.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
FORMER DEUTSCHE BANK EXECUTIVE WHO OVERSAW TRUMP’S LOANS DIES BY SUICIDE
Thomas Bowers, identified as a former Deutsche Bank executive who signed off on controversial loans to President Donald Trump, died last week after apparently taking his own life at 55. According to Forensic News‘ Scott Stedman, “One source who has direct knowledge of the FBI’s investigation into Deutsche Bank said that federal investigators have asked about Bowers and documents he might have. Another source who has knowledge of Deutsche Bank’s internal structure said that Bowers would have been the gatekeeper for financial documents for the bank’s wealthiest customers.” The news of Bowers’s death was initially shared late Tuesday afternoon by New York Times reporter David Enrich. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s initial report attributes Bowers’s death to suicide by hanging. Bowers previously worked as Deutsche Bank’s head of their U.S. Private Wealth Management division.
[SOURCE: lawandcrime.com]
DISNEY’S CRINGE-WORTHY BABY YODA MERCH GOES ON SALE
Who could have guessed an adorable, big-eyed baby Star Wars alien would have generated a ton of demand for toys? Apparently not Disney, which today started to sell merchandise based on The Child from new Disney+ show The Mandalorian, commonly known as “Baby Yoda”. The shirts, bags, mugs, and phone cases all feel…forced, like Disney rushed to print them on CafePress. “The laziest merch ever” one TechCrunch staffer said. “If only there was 40 years of Star Wars Merchandise as a precedent. They would sell ten billion yoda beanie babies” quipped another. The lack of a plush doll, baby clothes, chew-safe rubber toys for tots and dogs, or original artwork indicate Disney was so busy getting its streaming service off the ground that it didn’t realize it already had a mascot. Yoda backpacks have been a hit for decades. Where’s the Yoda baby bjorn chest pack? The Mandalorian only hit screens and debuted the character two weeks ago, so it’s understandable that overly complicated merch isn’t available immediately. Otherwise toy production could have spoiled the little fella’s reveal. But Disney could at least offer pre-orders of better merch. The only reason not to is that it hopes hardcore fans will buy these lackluster products in the meantime, then shell out again for the good stuff.
[SOURCE: techcrunch.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.
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