These are the top maybe-not headlines from the past 84-hours presented by The Conversation Project from raw engagement data from our social media to the headlines posted over the past weekend.
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The 8 topics that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:
SNAPCHAT CAMEO BRINGS DEEPFAKE TOOL TO SOCIAL MEDIA APP
SnapChat will soon be adding a feature that basically allows you deepfake yourself into a video or GIF for fun. The feature was first spotted by Snapchat users in France who received a test version of the tool over the weekend. The latest addition to the app is called Cameo, Snapchat confirmed to TechCrunch on Sunday. Based on screen captures posted by people on Twitter, Cameo uses your selfie to plaster your face on a digitized body. The feature has a similar look and application to Bitmoji, except more realistic. According to TechCrunch, Cameo will be embedded in the Bitmoji button once the new feature is live in the U.S.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
NO. 1 LSU GETS OKLAHOMA; OHIO STATE TO PLAY CLEMSON IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
For the first time since 2015, four Power 5 conference champions have been selected for the College Football Playoff. No. 1 LSU will face No. 4 Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, and No. 2 Ohio State will play No. 3 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, as decided by the CFP selection committee Sunday. Both semifinal games will take place Dec. 28. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be held Jan. 13 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
[SOURCE: espn.com]
SINGER KYLIE RAE HARRIS WAS IMPAIRED BEFORE DEATH
Texas country singer Kylie Rae Harris was legally impaired by alcohol and was driving 95 mph (153 mph) when she and another driver were killed in a three-vehicle crash on a rural highway on Sept. 4, a northern New Mexico sheriff said Thursday. Toxicology testing showed Harris had a blood-alcohol level of .28 percent, which is over three times the legal limit for impaired driving, Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said in a statement Thursday. On-board computer data also indicated that Harris was driving 102 mph (164 mph) before the crash, Holgrefe said. The other driver killed in the wreck, 16-year-old Taos High School student Maria Elena Cruz, had no alcohol in her system, the sheriff said. Holgreg previously said investigators believed Harris was impaired and that speed was another factor in the crash. Investigators believed Harris clipped the back of another vehicle, sending her into oncoming traffic and a head-on collision with an SUV driven by Cruz, Holgrefe said. The driver of the third vehicle was not seriously injured.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED AFTER POSTING VIDEOS ONLINE OF MASS SHOOTING PRACTICE
A San Diego County man is in police custody after posting graphic videos on YouTube where he appeared to be practicing a mass shooting, police said. Steven Homoki, 30, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of possession of an assault weapon, possession of a high capacity magazine and child endangerment, San Diego police said in a statement Friday. Authorities received a tip about Homoki, of Spring Valley, California, on Monday, concerning videos he posted online. The tipster reportedly said Homoki had “gone off the deep end” and said he had a “plan” in place, according to NBC San Diego. In the videos, Homoki is seen in a San Diego hotel room with several guns, magazines and bullets. The video, obtained by NBC San Diego, appears to shows Homoki loading the guns, crawling on a bullet-strewn floor, loading guns and pointing the weapons at pedestrians out the window.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
CONGRESS REACHES DEAL OFFERING FAMILY LEAVE, CREATING SPACE FORCE
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress have come to a tentative bipartisan agreement that would give federal employees 12 weeks of paid family leave and establish the “Space Force” as a new addition to the U.S. military, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The deal was made as part of negotiations for the defense authorization bill, which could come up for a vote as early as next week, the source said. The deal is only tentative and could change before becoming law. The agreement, if passed, would mark one of the biggest deals President Donald Trump has cut with Congress while also checking off what has become a key priority for his administration ahead of the 2020 election: establishing a “Space Force” under the Air Force – something that would be attached to Trump’s legacy in the White House. Democrats have long sought to provide additional benefits to the government’s 2.1 million workers, and paid family leave for new parents became a key issue pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Historically, paid family leave is something conservatives have not supported.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
FACEBOOK SELLS OFF OCULUS MEDIUM TO ADOBE
Facebook is selling Oculus Medium — a 3D virtual reality sculpting tool for creatives — to Adobe. The team was an expensive effort for Oculus and its sale signifies a broader rethinking within Facebook in what virtual reality projects they tackle in-house. It’s clear that Oculus pumped an awful lot of money into Medium over the years and the sale probably isn’t great for the Oculus Medium team, if only because there is now a proper price tag attached to the effort that will be looming for the fairly niche software. Terms of the deal weren’t shared so who knows what kind of deal Adobe got. What is nice is that Facebook went to the trouble of properly spinning out Medium. When Facebook shut down Oculus Story Studio, the company quietly laid off its employees. Medium is well-liked by a small community and it makes plenty of sense at Adobe where first-party integration with other products will undoubtedly make it better software. It’s nice to see it live on. The sale of Medium after the purchase of Beat Saber-maker Beat Games really encapsulates the VR content strategy of Oculus at the moment. Non-gaming creative tools aren’t getting new investment, cinematic VR content isn’t being prioritized, and Facebook is preparing to buy more game studios with the goal of scaling their titles. For a division that has been talking only about the distant future for years, it’s a pragmatic strategy that probably signifies broader contentment with how things are looking on the hardware front.
[SOURCE: techcrunch.com]
2 DEAD INCLUDING SUSPECT IN SHOOTING AT PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, NAVAL BASE, POLICE SAY
Four people are dead including the suspect after an active shooting incident at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida, police said. The shooter was identified as Mohammed Alshamrani, a Saudi national and member of the country’s air force who was in the U.S. for flight training, law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told ABC News. Investigators are trying to determine whether the shooting was terror-related, the officials said. Authorities responded to reports of a shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola at 6:51 a.m. on Friday, officials said. ATF and FBI also responded to the scene. The shooting took place at one of the classroom buildings on the base, officials said. Officers with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene and fatally shot the suspect after exchanging gunfire. Three people, including the shooter, were pronounced dead on scene, police said. One victim was taken to the hospital and died from injuries. Eight others injured in the shooting were transported to Baptist Hospital, police said. The condition of those victims has not been released.
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com]
MICHAEL VICK PRO BOWL CAPTAIN: PETITION SIGNED FOR EX-QB’S REMOVAL
On Nov. 26, the NFL announced that Pro Football Hall of Famers Terrell Davis, Darrell Green and Bruce Smith, and Michael Vick would serve as 2020 Pro Bowl Legends captains, acting as “mentors” for the players while leading a specific team’s offense or defense. But in the wake of the announcement, a woman named Joanna Lind started a petition on change.org, calling on the league to strip Vick of the role. As of Friday evening, more than 220,000 people have signed it. Vick served 18 months in federal prison in 2007 after being found guilty for running a “cruel and inhumane” dogfighting ring and later lying about it. He was suspended by the league and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Following his release from prison, the former Falcons quarterback returned to the NFL playing for the Eagles, Jets and Steelers before retiring in 2017. The 2020 NFL Pro Bowl will take place on Jan. 26 in Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET.
[SOURCE: si.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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