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:
SPOTIFY IS BUYING BILL SIMMONS’S THE RINGER
Spotify intends to hire Simmons and all of his approximately 90 employees. Most of those employees work on The Ringer’s website, which covers sports and culture, and Spotify intends to keep the site up and running. But what Spotify really wants out of the deal is Simmons’s ability to create podcasts, including his Bill Simmons Podcast, and some 30 other titles, which range from an NBA chat show to one devoted to rewatching old movies. The companies didn’t disclose a sale price; the deal is supposed to close in the first quarter of 2020.
[SOURCE: vox.com]
A COUNTY IN CHINA IS OFFERING PEOPLE $140 TO TELL ON NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE VISITED WUHAN, AND ANOTHER IS THREATENING THE DEATH PENALTY TO ANYONE DELIBERATELY SPREADING THE CORONAVIRUS
According to the New York Times, one county in the northern province of Hebei is allegedly offering bounties of 1,000 yuan ($140) for each person who has recently been in Wuhan to be reported by residents. In other areas, residents are even being locked in their own homes by authorities. In the eastern province of Jiangsu, police reportedly used metal poles to barricade the door of a family that had just come back from Wuhan, the Times said. To eat, the family had to rely on their neighbors to drop food onto their back balcony, the NYT cited a local news report as saying. Courts in different provinces in China are also releasing new guidelines on the use of laws to stop the spread of the virus.
[SOURCE: yahoo.com]
POLICE CHASE ENDS IN CRASH ALONG PARADE ROUTE TO CELEBRATE CHIEFS’ SUPER BOWL LIV WIN
According to a release issued by the Kansas City Police Department, police took two suspects into custody. No injuries were reported. The crash happened when several police units were dispatched and one police car used a PIT maneuver, a tactic that forces a fleeing car to turn sideways and lose control, on the suspect. According to the release, a car broke through the parade barrier on the north side of the parade route at 8:12 a.m. CT. After all officers along the route were notified of the incident, Clay County (Missouri) Sherriff’s deputies – who were on hand to assist the KCPD for the parade – used stop sticks, which the car struck, according to the release.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
PETE ROSE ASKS FOR REINSTATEMENT AFTER NO ASTROS PLAYERS WERE PUNISHED IN SIGN-STEALING SCANDAL
In a 19-page letter submitted to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday, Rose and his lawyers argue that Rob Manfred’s reluctance to punish active players in a cheating scandal opens the door to reinstating baseball’s all-time hits leader. Rose has been banned from the game since 1989, when then-commissioner Bart Giamatti placed him on the permanently ineligible list for betting on games. As he’s maintained over the years, Rose reiterated his regret for violating the rules
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
FORD FALLS FURTHER BEHIND TESLA AFTER MUSK-LIKE MISTAKES
Ford shares fell as much as 10% Wednesday, their biggest intraday drop since July 2016, after the automaker projected lower-than-expected profit for this year and reported that 2019 ended with a quarterly net loss. Costs linked to launching revamped F-150 pickups will hurt upcoming results and extend an earnings slump partly blamed on the botched rollout of its signature SUV, the Explorer. The disappointing forecast and faulty introduction of a crucial vehicle are reminiscent of the struggles investors watched Elon Musk go through for years. Tesla almost went out of business, the billionaire chief executive officer has said, because of the “production hell” the electric-car company went through ramping up output of its Model 3 sedan.
[SOURCE: yahoo.com]
COORS LIGHT WILL COVER DOG ADOPTION FEES ACROSS THE COUNTRY UNTIL FEB. 21
A day after former Florida State Seminoles and Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Derrick Nnadi paid for dog adoptions at a Kansas City shelter, Coors Light said hold my beer… literally! Coors Light will reimburse up to $100 in fees for 1,000 dog adoptions across the country for pups taken to their forever homes between today and Feb. 21. The offer is good for those ages 21 and older. Eligible participants can text “COORS4k9” and a picture of their adoption receipt to 28130. After review, the first 1,000 eligible participants will be given $100 to apply toward their adoption fees. For a full look at terms and conditions click here.
[SOURCE: wfla.com]
TWO LYNWOOD, CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS OFFERED 381 COLLEGE ADMISSIONS IN ONE DAY
In a one-day visit to two high schools in the Lynwood Unified School District, Wiley and two dozen other historically black colleges and universities offered students 381 on-the-spot admissions and $5.8 million in scholarship awards.
[SOURCE: latimes.com]
AT&T’S DIRECTV, U-VERSE, & AT&T TV NOW LOST OVER 4 MILLION TV SUBSCRIBERS IN 2019
2019 was a very bad year for cable TV owners. We are now getting an idea of just how bad it was. We learned that AT&T lost over 4 million TV subscribers in 2019 when looking at DIRECTV, U-Verse TV, and AT&T TV NOW. AT&T has been excitedly pointing out that losses slowed slightly in the fourth quarter of 2019 but many argue that this was more of just a normal seasonal adjustment because AT&T still lost over 1 million TV subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2019. AT&T announced that they believe that AT&T TV and HBO Max will offset the losses seen by their traditional pay-TV services in 2020.
[SOURCE: cordcuttersnews.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.
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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