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:
MORE THAN 10,000 CAMELS IN AUSTRALIA TO BE SHOT BECAUSE THEY DRINK TOO MUCH WATER
The shooters will begin the cull on Wednesday following an order from Aboriginal leaders in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands. Locals have complained that the animals have been entering communities and wreaking havoc as they look for any available water source, including taps and tanks. The animals are also being culled over concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, as they emit methane equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide per year, the paper reported.
[SOURCE: independent.co.uk]
A 93-YEAR-OLD MAN ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO KILL AN APARTMENT WORKER OVER A DISPUTE ABOUT WATER DAMAGE
Robert Thomas has been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, discharging a firearm within a structure, burglary with a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, according to records from the Clark County Detention Center. A defense attorney for Thomas said in court on Friday that the incident was likely due to mental issues given his age, according to CNN affiliate KVVU.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
EX-‘BACHELOR’ CONTESTANT JADE ROPER-TOLBERT ACCUSED OF COLLUDING WITH HUSBAND TO WIN $1M DAILY FANTASY PRIZE
After the victory gained attention, daily fantasy users noticed Roper-Tolbert and Tolbert each submitted the maximum 150 entries allowed into the “Millionaire Maker” contest at $20 per entry. That’s fine and within the Draft Kings rules. What’s not allowed is collusion between two players to build lineups. Out of the 300 combined entries, 298 of them were unique, according to ESPN, a sign pointing to coordination between the married couple.
[SOURCE: yahoo.com]
IRAN LAUNCHES MISSILES AT US MILITARY FACILITIES IN IRAQ: US OFFICIAL
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps swiftly took credit, and one Iranian politician tweeted his nation’s flag — an apparent swipe at President Donald Trump who tweeted the American flag after the U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Later, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted, “Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched.”
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com]
YUM BRANDS TO BUY HABIT BURGER GRILL
Yum said it had struck a deal to buy the California-based parent of Habit Burger Grill for $14 a share, or about $375 million. Habit’s shares closed Friday at $10.51, giving it a valuation of around $275 million. The companies said they expect the deal to close by early this summer.
[SOURCE: wsj.com]
FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER BOLTON SAYS HE IS NOW WILLING TO TESTIFY IN THE SENATE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL IF SUBPOENAED
In a statement posted Monday, Bolton wrote, “I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify.” The decision marks a significant, and potentially dramatic, development in the impeachment process that House Democrats set in motion just two weeks after Bolton left the White House on contentious terms with the president. It’s also a reversal for Bolton, who previously said he would only testify before Congress if he is subpoenaed and a judge ordered him to defy the White House by appearing.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
JETBLUE MOVES TO BECOME FIRST CARBON-NEUTRAL U.S. AIRLINE
JetBlue declined to disclose the cost of the offset program but said it won’t increase airfares as a result. The airline produces about 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year and is working on a plan to compensate for international flights, said Sophia Mendelsohn, JetBlue’s head of sustainability.
[SOURCE: latimes.com]
PIER 1 IMPORTS TO CLOSE AS MANY 450 STORES
Pier 1 named Robert Riesbeck, a restructuring expert, as its CEO in November. On Monday, he said the store closings will better align the company with the “current operating environment” and refocus it as an “omni-channel retailer.” The store closings follow a financial quarter in which the company’s sales tumbled 13% from a year ago. That resulted in a loss of $59 million in its fiscal third quarter, which ended in November.
[SOURCE: cbsnews.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.
