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:
DEPUTIES LINKED TO KOBE BRYANT CRASH-PHOTO MATTER WERE OFFERED DEAL TO AVOID DISCIPLINE
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies linked to the alleged display of gruesome Kobe Bryant crash-scene photos in a California bar were told they could avoid discipline if they simply admitted involvement and deleted the photos, according to a report. But the disclosure of the alleged quiet attempt to let the deputies off the hook could amount to destruction of evidence, a source told The Los Angeles Times. The sheriff’s department learned of the alleged bar incident from a citizen’s complaint, the newspaper reported. The citizen reportedly saw a deputy showing the crash-scene photos, which had been stored on a cellphone, at a bar in Norwalk, about 17 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Several other sources told the newspaper they had witnessed crash-scene photos being shown in settings that had nothing to do with the crash investigation – alleged behavior that Patti Giggans, chairwoman of the sheriff’s department’s Civilian Oversight Commission, described as “completely unprofessional” and “very regrettable.”
[SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com]
YOUTUBE TV, SINCLAIR KEEP FOX SPORTS CHANNELS ON AS THEY NEGOTIATE
On Thursday YouTube TV announced that subscribers would lose access to Fox regional sports networks and the YES network because it couldn’t reach a new deal with their owner, Sinclair Broadcasting (they got there as a part of Disney’s deal to buy Fox, which required selling off the sports networks). Now the deadline of February 29th has arrived, and the channels are still on. Per the Team YouTube Twitter account, the two companies have arranged an extension while they keep working on a new deal, so we’ll have to wait and see if this arrangement lasts or whether the carriage dispute actually leads to some blacked-out channels.
[SOURCE: engadget.com]
NFL COMBINE: MITCHELL WILCOX DRILLED IN THE FACE DURING COMBINE DRILL
The NFL Scouting Combine is must-flee TV and you should do whatever it takes to help a loved one if you see them watching this glorified track meet on TV. But every so often something fun does happen that goes viral and that’s the type of combine content that you should be consuming. One of those moments happened on Thursday when former USF tight end Mitchell Wilcox took a pass directly to the face during a drill that is called the “Gauntlet Drill.” Wilcox, who started all four years at USF, tried his best to shake this off but yeah, this isn’t the type of stuff you want to leave on film. Another look at it shows that Mitchell was able to shake it off pretty well and catch the next two passes, which is kind of impressive.
[SOURCE: ftw.usatoday.com]
POPE FRANCIS REMAINS SICK, CANCELS FRIDAY AUDIENCES
Pope Francis remained ill with an apparent cold on Friday — and canceled official audiences for a second day, Vatican officials announced. The 83-year-old pontiff celebrated morning Mass as usual and greeted congregants at the end, the Vatican said. He planned to go on with his private meeting schedule, but opted to cancel his official audiences. The Vatican has not said exactly what the pope came down with, but he appeared to have a cold as he coughed and blew his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass.
[SOURCE: nypost.com]
TYSON FOODS OUTSOURCING WILL ‘DISPLACE’ 330 TECH EMPLOYEES
Tyson Foods officials said Thursday the company has hired an outside service provider for certain IT services, a move that will result in the “displacement” of roughly 330 employees. The name of the outside service provider was not disclosed in a company news release. Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said the provider is a global company with offices across the U.S. – including Northwest Arkansas – as well as other parts of the world. The transition to the service provider will take place over the next several months and result in the displacement of about 330 IT employees, mostly in Springdale and Chicago. Some of the employees will be offered a position with the service provider. Others will be offered a severance and benefits package. Tyson Foods is also bringing in a career transition services firm to help displaced employees find new jobs.
[SOURCE: talkbusiness.net]
SOFIA VERGARA JOINS ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’ AS NEW JUDGE, HEIDI KLUM RETURNS TO MOTHERSHIP SERIES
NBC’s America’s Got Talent has filled its two vacant judge chairs. Modern Family star Sofia Vergara is joining the hit summer reality series as a new judge for its upcoming 15th season. Additionally, Heidi Klum, who was a judge on AGT for six seasons, from 2013-2018, is coming back. They are being joined by returning judges Simon Cowell, who is AGT’s creator and executive producer, and Howie Mandel, as well as host Terry Crews. Vergara and Klum succeed Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough who were let go in November after one season on AGT. Union’s ouster sparked controversy and triggered an investigation over allegations of hostile work environment on the reality show. The investigation was supposed to wrap by end of January but its results are yet to be made public. Klum never left the AGT franchise — she has been a judge on spinoff America’s Got Talent: The Champions.
[SOURCE: msn.com]
BRITAIN’S PRINCE HARRY VISITS ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS IN LONDON TO MEET SINGER JON BON JOVI AND MEMBERS OF A MILITARY VETERANS’ CHOIR
Britain’s Prince Harry and singer Jon Bon Jovi recreated one of the Beatles’ best-known album covers on Friday, walking across the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road recording studios in north London. Harry was at the studio to meet the singer and members of a military veterans’ choir in one of his last engagements as a senior member of the royal family. As countless Beatles fans have done since the 1969 release of the “Abbey Road” album, the pair walked across the black and white pedestrian crossing, this time led by a military veteran in a wheelchair. Earlier, a video of the two wearing headphones, with Bon Jovi strumming a guitar before beginning to sing was posted on the official Instagram page of Harry and his American wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
[SOURCE: reuters.com]
CORONAVIRUS TRAVEL: AMERICAN WAIVING CHANGE FEE FOR NEW TICKETS
Skittish about buying a nonrefundable plane ticket given the growing travel fallout from the coronavirus epidemic? American Airlines and other carriers, worried about soft ticket sales, are taking the unprecedented step of broadly waiving those hefty ticket change and cancellation fees for new ticket purchases. JetBlue started the trend last week because of “evolving coronavirus concerns” and was quickly joined by Alaska Airlines, which calls it a “peace of mind” waiver. American is the first of the big three airlines to announce the fee waiver. Delta and United have not done so but it wouldn’t be surprising if they match the offer, given the competition in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge change fees. Travelers can cancel or change any Southwest ticket, even those that are nonrefundable, and receive the value of the ticket for future travel.
[SOURCEL usatoday.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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