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:
THAILAND SHOOTING: SOLDIER KILLS 20 IN GUN RAMPAGE
Jakraphanth Thomma on Saturday killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp. The suspect continued his attack in a shopping centre, where he is still believed to be holed up, initially posting updates on his social media. Security forces are in the complex and have rescued hundreds while searching for the gunman, with shots ringing out. The gunman’s motives remain unclear.
[SOURCE: bbc.com]
CORONAVIRUS: PANGOLIN MAY BE VIRUS HOST; WHO SAYS VIRUS NUMBERS DROP
A Chinese university says scientists identified the heavily trafficked pangolin as a possible intermediary host of the new coronavirus. The coronavirus from China is believed to have originated in bats and transferred to humans through some other animal, health officials say. The pangolin may be that key link, researchers at South China Agricultural University said Friday. The research team tested more than 1,000 samples from wild animals and found a 99% match between the genome sequences of viruses found in pangolins and those in human patients, the AFP reported, citing Chinese state media.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
BOX OFFICE: ‘BIRDS OF PREY’ DISAPPOINTS WITH MEDIOCRE $13M FRIDAY
Even with strong reviews, a popular lead character and a brand (DC Films) on an upswing from four years ago, the moviegoers (thus far) have not shown up. At best, we’re looking at a $39 million opening, and that’s if it rebounds like Kong: Skull Island ($61 million from a $20.1 million Friday in March of 2017) or Jumanji: The Next Level (a $59.2 million debut weekend from a $19.722 million last December). More likely, we’re looking at an over/under $36 million opening weekend, about on par with last year’s (on the same weekend) $34 million launch of The LEGO Movie 2, and that pesky R-rating means it probably won’t get a bounce from kid-powered matinees.
[SOURCE: forbes.com]
MAJORITY OF DEMOCRATS PREFER METEOR WIPING OUT HUMANITY OVER TRUMP RE-ELECTION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE POLL
Sixty-two percent of Democrats in New Hampshire, whose primary will take place on Tuesday, responded to a University of Massachusetts-Lowell survey by saying they’d prefer human extinction over a second Trump term. An even higher percentage (69 percent) of people making less than $50,000 a year and female voters agreed that a giant meteor is preferable to the president getting re-elected on November 3, 2020. Independent voters surveyed also expressed relatively large support for the meteor strike, with just over half supporting Trump over extinction. UMass-Lowell Associate Professor Joshua J. Dyck, who led publishing of the survey, told Newsweek Saturday that the “giant meteor” question was intended to measure the amount of “partisan anger” and polarization among U.S. voters. He acknowledged that the query is a bit “tongue-in-cheek” but it helps to better illustrate “how angry Democrats are” as they vote in the primaries. He noted that a similar 2016 survey question of Millennials showed that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had higher unfavorability ratings than they did positive favorability.
[SOURCE: newsweek.com]
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT DIVERTED AFTER DISRUPTIVE PASSENGER ALLEGEDLY HITS FLIGHT ATTENDANT, SAYS ‘I WILL KILL YOU’
A United Airlines passenger is currently being held in federal custody after allegedly hitting a flight attendant in the face when he was denied more alcohol. The flight, which took off from Los Angeles for Narita, Japan, was diverted to Anchorage, Ala., on Sunday. The passenger, identified as Seksan Kumtong in an FBI affidavit obtained by the Anchorage Daily News, reportedly began acting up shortly into the flight, when a crew member observed him “banging on the airport bathroom doors.” The flight attendant tried to direct Kumtong to a different restroom, at which point he attempted — but failed — to shove the crew member. Kumtong eventually returned to his seat and fell asleep. When he awoke, he ordered more alcoholic beverages, but was denied, the Anchorage Daily News reported. He then began swearing loudly before striking a flight attendant in the face and grabbing the flight attendant by the neck and tie in an attempt to take the crew member to the floor of the aircraft. At one point, Kumtong also yelled, “I will kill you,” according to the affidavit.
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
PHILLIP SCHOFIELD REVEALS HE IS GAY IN EMOTIONAL INSTAGRAM POST
Phillip Schofield has announced he is gay, having revealed the news in an emotional post on Instagram. Schofield’s This Morning co-presenter Holly Willoughby has already praised her friend on her own Instagram page following this morning’s news. Revealing that they would be appearing on the ITV show today alongside hosts Ruth and Eamonn, she said: “Never been more proud of my friend than I am today.”
[SOURCE: ladbible.com]
ROBERT CONRAD, STAR OF TV’S ‘THE WILD WILD WEST,’ DIES AT 84
Conrad died Saturday of heart failure in Malibu, family spokesman Jeff Ballard told the Associated Press. “He lived a wonderfully long life, and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts,” he said. Conrad, among the actors employed by Warner Bros. Television to appear on the studio’s stable of shows starting in the 1950s, first gained attention for playing Tom Lopaka, a partner in a detective agency, on ABC’s Hawaiian Eye. The Chicago native also was known for starring as real-life World War II pilot Maj. Greg “Pappy” Boyington on NBC’s 1976-78 period drama Baa Baa Black Sheep (later known in syndication as Black Sheep Squadron), one of the first series created by Stephen J. Cannell.
[SOURCE: hollywoodreporter.com]
HEIDI KLUM, A WHITE WOMAN, COMPLAINS ABOUT BEING CALLED A ‘WHITE WOMAN’ AFTER GABRIELLE UNION WAS FIRED FROM ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’
Klum, who is German-American and was a judge from 2013-2018, told Page Six that she was called out for her comments about her “amazing experience” on the show — while Union was reportedly fired for lodging complaints about racist and inappropriate behavior she experienced while a judge on the show, too. “A lot of people got mad at me. I was called, for example, ‘a white woman,'” Klum said during an event on Wednesday, adding, “I think it is important for everyone to speak their truth. I think that when there is a story, it should be told. I had a different story.” The white model and “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” judge was first called out in January, after speaking at a Television Critics Association event. During the January event, Klum said of her time on the show, “I’ve only had an amazing experience. I can’t speak for [Union.] I didn’t experience the same thing.”
[SOURCE: insider.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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