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:
DRUGMAKERS FROM PFIZER TO GSK TO HIKE U.S. PRICES ON OVER 200 DRUGS
Nearly all of the price increases will be below 10%, and around half of them are in the range of 4 to 6%, said 3 Axis co-founder Eric Pachman. The median price increase is around 5%, he said. More price increases are expected to be announced later this week, which could affect the median and range.
[SOURCE: reuters.com]
100K ORTHODOX JEWS GATHERING FOR CELEBRATION AT METLIFE STADIUM UNDER HEAVY SECURITY
The celebration comes three weeks after the mass shooting at a Kosher market in Jersey City and five days after the mass stabbing at a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, just across the New Jersey border. Wednesday’s event is for Jews across New Jersey and around the world who have spent the last 7 1/2 years rigorously studying the Talmud, the book that guides Jewish life and law.
[SOURCE: nj.com]
ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU SAYS WILL SEEK PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION IN CORRUPTION CASES
Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust over allegations he granted state favors worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israeli media barons in return for gifts and favorable coverage. He denies any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a witch hunt by the media and left to oust a popular right-wing leader.
[SOURCE: reuters.com]
SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK SINGER, JAZZ TRUMPETER AND ACTOR JACK SHELDON DEAD AT 88
In addition to singing his memorable Schoolhouse Rock characters into kids’s hearts (and memories) in the 1970s, Sheldon also played the standalone animated character of Louie the Lightning Bug in a series of 1980s PSAs, cautioning kids in his gravelly, soulful trademark voice — “You gotta stay away from power lines!” The character made a comeback in 2001, with Sheldon recording new voiceovers for Louie over the original animations.
[SOURCE: syfy.com]
TEXAS MAN’S CONFESSION TO KILLING PREGNANT SISTER IS CAUGHT ON DOORBELL CAMERA, POLICE SAY
An arrest affidavit alleges that Egwuagu was seen on doorbell camera video holding a knife as he left the home after the killing. It says the video recorded him telling a church member who had come to check on Ebichi: “I killed Jennifer.”
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
THIS WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO CUT HER HAIR SINCE SHE WAS 5 AND NOW LOOKS LIKE A REAL-LIFE RAPUNZEL AT 34 Y.O.
Alena has been growing her hair since she was 5 years old, after being encouraged by her mother. “From an early age, my mother instilled a love for long hair,” she told Bored Panda. She hasn’t cut her hair in almost 30 years, and despite her hair outgrowing her height of 5′6″ (1.68 meters) she doesn’t even think about cutting it.
[SOURCE: boredpanda.com]
NEW YEAR’S EVE SEES WAVE OF GUN VIOLENCE ACROSS NATION
The wave of shootings across the nation concludes a year that saw more mass killings than any other year dating back to at least the 1970s, according to a database compiled by the Associated Press, USA TODAY and Northeastern University. More than 210 people died in mass killing in 2019, defined as when four or more people are killed. In all, there were 41 mass killings, including 33 mass shootings in locations such as El Paso and Odessa, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Jersey City, New Jersey.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
ILLINOIS BECOMES 11TH STATE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA
Dispensaries were allowed to begin selling cannabis at 6 a.m., but there was a delay in some sales due to a problem with the state database that will track all marijuana sales. Illinois residents may possess up to 30 grams of the dried flower, five grams of cannabis concentrate and 500 milligrams of THC in edibles, while nonresidents may possess only half as much.
[SOURCE: thehill.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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