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:
PHILIPPINES SAYS IT WILL END U.S. SECURITY AGREEMENT
At the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the United States, the Philippines announced Tuesday that it would scrap a security pact that allows American forces to train there. Duterte’s foreign secretary, Teodoro Locsin Jr., tweeted Tuesday that the Visiting Forces Agreement with the U.S. would be terminated — a move that could have consequences for a counterinsurgency against Islamist extremists in the country’s south. He said Manila would be open to similar agreements with other countries. “As long as it is favorable to us and there is a mutual benefit to both countries, we are open,” he said.
[SOURCE: npr.org]
A PARKING SPACE IN A GARAGE IN SAN FRANCISCO IS SELLING FOR $100,000
This parking spot in San Francisco’s South Beach neighborhood has been listed since mid-December, and the price isn’t necessarily outlandish. Realtor Bill Williams told SFGate that another space in the same garage sold for $90,000 in November. In the listing, Williams emphasizes the prime location of the spot. ” Great parking spot for investor clients, 1 block from the ballpark!” The listing also starts out with a call to “PARK YOUR MONEY.” “It’s a safe place to park your money,” Williams told SFGate. “It could be a nice hedge against the stock market dropping.” And, in case the buyer somehow thinks they’ve found the deal of the century for an apartment, the listing clarifies “To be clear: This is for a PARKING SPACE ONLY.”
[SOURCE: businessinsider.com]
FIRST US EVACUEE INFECTED WITH CORONAVIRUS WAS MISTAKENLY RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Errors by a hospital in San Diego and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led to a woman with the novel coronavirus being sent back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar instead of isolation at the hospital, according to a health official familiar with the situation. She flew to the base on February 5 on a US Department of State flight evacuating Americans from Wuhan, China. The next day, she started experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus and was taken to UC San Diego Health. Three other people exhibiting symptoms were also transported to the hospital. The hospital sent their specimens to a CDC lab in Atlanta for testing. According to the source, three of the four specimens were incorrectly labeled upon arrival and so they were not tested. The CDC lab did not realize the specimens were from the Miramar patients.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
UN REPORT SAYS NORTH KOREA USING BARGES TO SECRETLY EXPORT COAL FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
Prepared by a UN-appointed independent panel of experts charged with monitoring sanctions enforcement and efficacy on the Pyongyang regime, the annual report — which has not yet been publicly released — reveals North Korea continued its weapons program last year in violation of long-standing UN Security Council sanctions. Investigators also concluded that “despite its extensive indigenous capability it (North Korea) uses illicit external procurement for components and technology” to develop weapons. One section of the document seen by CNN said North Korea’s ballistic missile program was “characterized by its intensity, diversity and coherence.” The report said North Korea conducted 13 missile tests — and launched 25 missiles — in 2019.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
CORONAVIRUS: SENIOR CHINESE OFFICIALS ‘REMOVED’ AS DEATH TOLL HITS 1,000
The party secretary for the Hubei Health Commission, and the head of the commission, are the most senior officials to be demoted so far. The deputy director of the local Red Cross was also removed for “dereliction of duty” over “handling of donations”. Meanwhile the World Health Organization has named the virus Covid-19. The WHO is holding a two-day meeting in Geneva involving top medical, scientific and public health experts, aimed at speeding up the global response to the outbreak. There are now more than 42,200 confirmed cases across China. The number of deaths has overtaken that of the Sars epidemic in 2003.
[SOURCE: bbc.com]
BRITISH ‘SUPERSPREADER’ LINKED TO CORONAVIRUS CASES IN 3 COUNTRIES
Through no fault of his own, a British businessman appears to have been a “superspreader” linked to at least 10 coronavirus infections in three countries, authorities say. Officials say the man was at a business conference in Singapore from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24, where he apparently caught the virus from an attendee from Wuhan, Live Science reports. After returning to his hometown in Hove, England, the man traveled to a ski resort in France with his family and flew home from Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 28. Officials say the man spread the virus to at least six people at the French resort, one of whom was diagnosed after returning home to Spain. Officials in Britain are investigating four coronavirus cases linked to the man, who is now in isolation in a London hospital, the Guardian reports.
[SOURCE: newser.com]
JUDGE APPROVES $26 BILLION MERGER OF T-MOBILE AND SPRINT
The ruling clears one of the final hurdles for the deal, which still can’t close until the California Public Utilities Commission approves the transaction. Tuesday’s ruling also culminates a years long courtship between Sprint and T-Mobile, which have made multiple attempts over the years to merge, only to abandon their plans fearing regulatory scrutiny. In his decision filed Tuesday, Judge Victor Marrero wrote, “The resulting stalemate leaves the Court lacking sufficiently impartial and objective ground on which to rely in basing a sound forecast of the likely competitive effects of a merger.”
[SOURCE: cnbc.com]
‘BIRDS OF PREY’ GETS NEW TITLE AFTER DISAPPOINTING OPENING AT BOX OFFICE
Birds of Prey‘s first weekend wasn’t exactly Fantabulous at the box office. The DC film opened below expectations with just $33 million domestically, having been projected to earn $50-55 million in its opening weekend. There are a few possible reasons for this: Perhaps the film’s R rating shut out younger viewers, or maybe everyone just wanted to stay home and watch the Oscars this past weekend (okay, that definitely wasn’t it). But it seems distributor Warner Bros. has a theory of its own: Potential viewers must not be aware that Birds of Prey focuses on Margot Robbie‘s Harley Quinn. Well, the studio has now taken steps to make that loud and clear…or rather, louder and clearer. Though the film’s official title is Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), take a look at the listings for your local multiplex and you’ll see something slightly different: Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. AMC, Regal, and Cinemark‘s websites all currently display this title for the film.
[SOURCE: yahoo.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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