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:
TEEN APOLOGIZES TO PRINCE HARRY FOR ‘CUDDLING’ MEGHAN MARKLE AFTER APPEARING ON STAGE WITH HER
On Friday, the Duchess of Sussex — who was back in the U.K. for a final round of royal engagements — visited the Robert Clack Upper School in the town of Dagenham in East London for a special assembly celebrating women’s rights, where she asked one “brave young man” to appear in front of his classmates and speak about the importance International Women’s Day. As seen in a video shared on the Sussex Royal Instagram account, Aker Okoye quickly volunteered and hopped onstage, remarking about how “beautiful” the former actress is as Meghan jokingly wagged her finger at him, to cheers and laughter from the crowded auditorium. The pair later embraced which elicited even more cheers from the students. In a handwritten letter to Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, published by The Sun newspaper, the 16-year-old apologized if his actions were out of line, explaining that he was simply taken back by the encounter.
[SOURCE: msn.com]
SXSW REELING FROM CANCELLATION AS COMPANY ASSESSES LOSSES
SXSW LLC, the company behind the South by Southwest festival held in Austin each year since 1987, is reeling financially from the city’s decision to cancel the 2020 event over coronavirus fears, apparently putting its future in jeopardy as it scrambles to ascertain how much money it stands to lose. SXSW said Monday it has laid off about a third of its 175 year-round employees. The company “has been rigorously reviewing our operations, and we are in the unimaginable position of reducing our workforce,” a SXSW spokesperson said in a written statement. “We are planning for the future and this was a necessary, but heartbreaking, step.” SXSW co-founder and CEO Roland Swenson told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that SXSW is “planning to carry on and do another event in 2021.”
[SOURCE: statesman.com]
POLAND’S PRESIDENT WILL NOT HOLD BIG ELECTION RALLIES DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
Polish President Andrzej Duda has said he will not organize large campaign meetings in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus, raising questions over how the outbreak could affect the election due in May. The presidential vote will decide whether the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party can fully implement its agenda, including a further overhaul of the judiciary that has put it at loggerheads with Brussels, as the president can veto laws. Duda is a PiS ally and is ahead in the polls, consistently scoring over 40%. If no candidate scores more than 50% in the first round there will be a runoff vote, which most polls show Duda narrowly winning against any opposition candidate. His announcement late on Monday came before PiS Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday all mass events in the country would be canceled due to the outbreak.
[SOURCE: reuters.com]
NFL, 2K GAMES INK MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP FOR NUMEROUS FUTURE TITLES
The NFL has entered into a new multiyear partnership with video game publisher 2K Games that will encompass multiple upcoming titles. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The partnership returns NFL games to 2K, which is behind the NBA 2K and WWE 2K franchises, for the first time in over 15 years. Previously, 2K published the NFL 2K series from 1999 to 2004. The NFL has had a deal with Electronic Arts’ EA Sports publishing label dating back to 2004, resulting in the popular NFL Madden franchise. The new 2K, NFL games are described as “non-simulation football game experiences” and specifics on developers, exact titles and release dates are yet to be revealed. However, current projects are already in early development and are slated to launch sometime in 2021.
[SOURCE: hollywoodreporter.com]
LED ZEPPELIN WINS ‘STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN’ COPYRIGHT DISPUTE
Led Zeppelin prevailed in a long-running copyright dispute after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict saying the rock band’s 1971 megahit “Stairway to Heaven” did not illegally borrow from Spirit’s 1968 track “Taurus.” The copyright battle dates to 2014, when the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe sued Led Zeppelin, alleging copyright infringement. Wolfe, whose stage name was Randy California, died in 1997. A jury ruled against the estate two years later, after which attorneys for the estate sought a new trial. In 2018, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court ruled in favor of the estate. In response, Led Zeppelin’s attorneys sought a rehearing before the full 9th Circuit, which heard the case in September.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
NEW YORK’S SOLUTION TO HAND SANITIZER SHORTAGE: PRISON LABOR, HOURLY WAGES BELOW $1
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday the state had begun producing its own line of hand sanitizer, known as NYS Clean. The state will distribute the products to schools, local governments, prisons and other public entities free of charge. The low price of making the sanitizer in house – $6.10 a gallon – will allow the state and local governments to save big, particularly when a coronavirus-fueled run on the product has led to rising prices if you’re even able to find it at all. But it’s the way the state is containing its costs that has some lawmakers and advocacy groups alarmed: By paying prisoners as little as 16 cents an hour to make it.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
PETE BUTTIGIEG TO GUEST HOST ‘JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE’
On Monday’s “Today,” former South Bend mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg announced he will be subbing in for Jimmy Kimmel Thursday night. In an exclusive interview with MSNBC’s Craig Melvin, Buttigieg expanded on why he exited the presidential race and what lies ahead in his life. Buttigieg said that despite running four races for the Democratic nomination, his goals for the country outweighed his goal to win the election. In the immediate term, the former candidate said he is going to be traveling a bit, thanking supporters and spending some time away with his husband Chasten. “Then we’ll come back and I’ll make myself useful in new ways, but we’re going to have some fun first,” he hinted. Melvin pressed for details on what that “fun” looked like and Buttigieg confirmed he’ll be hosting the late-night show while Kimmel is away in production for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Kimmel joked on Twitter after the segment that he’s nominating Buttigieg for the guest slot.
[SOURCE: thewrap.com]
MONTANA GOVERNOR BULLOCK ANNOUNCES BID FOR U.S. SENATE
Governor Steve Bullock of Montana announced his bid for the U.S. Senate on Monday, a widely anticipated move that breathes life into Democratic hopes to take control of the upper chamber come November.Bullock, a popular Democratic moderate and Montana governor since 2013, failed to gain any traction in his late-entry bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year and had resisted calls to challenge Republican U.S. Senator Steve Daines. But he came to heed those calls, and on Monday posted his intention on Twitter. Monday’s decision gives Democrats another competitive Senate race heading into November. Republicans hold 53 seats in the 100-member Senate. Democrats hope to win back four seats but worry about a potential defeat in Alabama, making a competitive race in Montana all the more urgent.
[SOURCE: reuters.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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