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:
CHINA FRANTICALLY SHUTS DOWN STOCK MARKET TO PREVENT CORONAVIRUS SELLOFF
The move comes as the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak grows in size and severity with many fearing it may lead to a global recession. The Chinese government may be trying to delay panic selling until it can get the massive outbreak under control. But this strategy is unlikely to work because of the sheer impact the virus is already having on the nation’s economy. Investors can expect to see a large correction in the Chinese indices when (and if) trading resumes next Monday. The impact of this crisis is sure to bleed into American markets and may trigger a stock market correction.
[SOURCE: ccn.com]
BORIS JOHNSON DEFIES DONALD TRUMP BY GIVING HUAWEI ACCESS TO UK 5G NETWORK
Despite huge pressure from Donald Trump to ban the company amid spying fears, the British government’s National Security Council decided Tuesday to give it limited access to the new hi-tech infrastructure. In an effort to contain a row with the White House, the UK has come up with a compromise where Huawei will have a 35% cap on its market share in the new technology. Washington has repeatedly warned that the Beijing-based firm poses a security risk and any access to Britain’s 5G would put in jeopardy U.S.-UK intelligence sharing — and possibly any post-Brexit trade deal. But Britain’s most senior intelligence officials believe that they can manage any risk posed by Huawei, which has played a role in the UK’s 3G and 4G networks for more than a decade.
[SOURCE: huffpost.com]
TRUMP ANNOUNCES MIDDLE EAST PLAN OFFERING ‘TRANSITION’ TO TWO-STATE SOLUTION
President Donald Trump announced what he called a detailed plan for Middle East peace that provides a “win-win” solution to make Israel and the region safer, but the hurdles to the proposal quickly emerged as Palestinians and some Arab nations signaled their opposition. At a White House event Tuesday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said his plan offered a “contiguous” territory for a Palestinian state once key conditions are met, including the “rejection of terrorism.” The proposal opens a transition to a two-state solution that leaves Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital,” Trump said to applause from an audience with casino magnate and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson in the front row.
[SOURCE: bloomberg.com]
WEWORK KILLING KEGS AT NORTH AMERICAN LOCATIONS
By the end of February, the taps will all be phased out, the spokesperson said. Business Insider first reported the change Monday morning. The beer and wine taps are expected to be replaced with nonalcoholic options, rather than removed. The decision came as a result of new WeWork Chairman Marcelo Claure’s go-forward plan for the business, and was prompted by a member survey, not as a cost-cutting move, a WeWork source said. Booze will still be served at WeWork happy hours and other events, the source added. Alcohol was once a pillar of WeWork’s identity, from bottomless-drink member parties to CEO Adam Neumann’s infamous penchant for shots of tequila. But the company was sued in 2018 by a former executive who said she was sexually assaulted twice at WeWork events, which she claimed “center around partying and reflect the frat-boy culture that starts at the top.” That litigation is still ongoing and is in the discovery phase, according to New York State court records.
[SOURCE: bisnow.com]
WOMAN DIES IN AUSTRALIA DAY LAMINGTON-EATING CONTEST
The woman, aged 60, is reported to have had a seizure during the event at a hotel in Hervey Bay, Queensland, to mark Australia Day on Sunday. Contestants had earlier been filmed speed-eating the lamingtons, a traditional sponge cake covered in chocolate and desiccated coconut. She was given CPR at the scene and taken to hospital but later died. Witnesses said the woman had crammed one of the cakes into her mouth when she appeared to get into difficulties. Footage has emerged showing other patrons of the pub cheering on the eaters, who have glasses of water next to them, before the accident.
[SOURCE: bbc.com]
BOB SHANE, THE LAST ORIGINAL MEMBER OF KINGSTON TRIO FOLK GROUP, DIES AT 85
The Phoenix resident, who retired in 2004 but performed occasionally until 2016, died of complications arising from pneumonia just days before his 86th birthday on Feb. 1, his wife, Bobbie Childress, tells USA TODAY. Shane, Dave Guard and Nick Reynolds, who formed the musical group in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1950s, led a revival of the folk-music format with a series of chart-topping albums. At one point, the group had four albums simultaneously in the Top 10. The Kingston Trio won a Grammy for its chart-topping hit “Tom Dooley” at the first ceremony for the music awards in 1959, but it was for Country & Western Performance, because there was no folk category. At the next Grammys ceremony, the group won in the newly created folk category.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
BEN & JERRY’S JUST LAUNCHED A BRAND NEW KIND OF VEGAN ICE CREAM
Fresh off the release of its Netflix & Chill flavor, Ben & Jerry’s made the obvious yet genius move to test out sunflower butter as the dairy-free and nut-free ice cream base to solve all our problems (well, almost, credit scores are still an issue). As someone with nut allergies, I eat sunflower butter – an incredible peanut butter substitute – almost every day and at first, I was sure I’d taste nothing but sunflower butter. But thanks to a classic array of fillings and flavors, that is not the case. Because it doesn’t actually have cream, Ben & Jerry’s calls its new invention “non-dairy frozen dessert,” of which there are now three flavors. The Crème Brûlée is a burnt caramel base with brown sugar cookies and salted caramel swirls. Then, the Mint Chocolate Cookie is the nut-free and vegan version of a classic that boasts chocolate sandwich cookie chunks in a minty base. And third, “Milk” & Cookies features a vanilla base, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate sandwich cookies, and chocolate cookie swirls. Like any good Ben & Jerry’s pint, each of these is a texture party that will have you digging for your favorite bits and chunks, only to realize you’re in the throes of a sugar rush.
[SOURCE: refinery29.com]
CNN DON LEMON PANEL FACES INTENSE BACKLASH FOR MOCKING TRUMP SUPPORTERS AS ILLITERATE ‘CREDULOUS RUBES’
The panel, which originally aired on Saturday night during special live coverage of the impeachment trial, featured CNN anchor Don Lemon, New York Times columnist and CNN contributor Wajahat Ali, and ex-GOP strategist Rick Wilson discussing the heated exchange Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had with an NPR reporter, where he allegedly challenged the journalist to point out Ukraine on a blank map. Wilson used the topic to mock President Trump as well as his supporters. As Lemon began crying with tears of laughter, Wilson went on to depict what he thought a typical Trump supporter sounded like. The CNN anchor almost lost his breath from laughing, wiping tears from his eyes with a tissue.
[SOURCE: foxnews.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 the past day.
A full weeks’ data (from Friday to Friday) is compiled, weighed, and sorted to produce the content for the Weekly Wrap-Up 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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