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.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE EMAIL NEWSLETTER | BECOME A SUPPORTER ON PATREON
The 8 topics that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:
BIG BROTHER GERMANY CONTESTANTS WILL LEARN ABOUT CORONAVIRUS ON LIVE TV
One might think that you’d have to be living under a rock to not known about the escalating coronavirus pandemic. But it turns out you just have to live in the Big Brother house. The 14-person cast of Germany’s newest season of Big Brother are unaware of the growing crisis and will be informed on live television on Tuesday night, according to several news organizations, including Radio Times and The Guardian. The cast has been living in isolation in a house in Cologne since Feb. 6, at which point the novel coronavirus was restricted to Wuhan and a few isolated cases around the world. Since beginning the show, they’ve had no updates from the outside world, apart from the addition of four housemates on March 6. Germany now has over 7,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19; 17 people have died there. An uproar led producers to announce that the contestants will be told the news in a live special episode, now set to air Tuesday night before the show’s regular time slot at 7 p.m. Reportedly, the housemates will be able to ask questions about the state of the nation and receive video messages from relatives.
[SOURCE: https://ew.com]
UAW CALLS FOR TWO-WEEK SHUTDOWN OF BIG 3 AUTO PLANTS
The United Auto Workers union has asked the Big Three Detroit automakers to shut down production for two weeks to safeguard its members from the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to union members, UAW President Rory Gamble said Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler haven’t been willing to pause production. A task force meeting is scheduled for later Tuesday, and its members “have been working diligently since Sunday and that work continues,” GM spokesman Jim Cain said in an emailed statement. More information will be provided after the meeting, he added. In response to the UAW’s letter, executives at Ford told CNBC that they are considering production cuts at the company’s U.S.-based factories as a possible solution. The company is trying to determine if a plant would need to closed down completely in order to sufficiently reduce risk, or if it could be kept operating with reduced staffing.
[SOURCE: cnbc.com]
PANTHERS GIVE CAM NEWTON PERMISSION TO SEEK TRADE
The Panthers on Tuesday gave quarterback Cam Newton permission to seek a trade. General manager Marty Hurney met with Newton and his representation to discuss the plan, signaling the end of a nine-year run in Carolina. Newton, who will turn 31 in May, has made the Pro Bowl three times and was the NFL’s MVP in 2015. But Newton has suffered numerous injuries since 2016, which led to multiple surgeries on his throwing shoulder and a foot procedure. Newton, who holds most of Carolina’s all-time passing records, was limited to two games in 2019 after suffering a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot during the preseason.
[SOURCE: panthers.com]
LOS ANGELES SHERIFF RELEASING INMATES, URGING FEWER ARRESTS TO HELP COMBAT CORONAVIRUS
The Los Angeles County sheriff has reduced the jail population by more than 600 people and is asking officers to cite and release offenders when possible to protect inmates from the coronavirus. As of Monday morning, the inmate population had been reduced from 17,076 to 16,459 since the end of February, in part by granting early release to those with less than 30 days on their sentences. Arrests have dropped from around 300 a day to around 60 a day, the sheriff said Monday. The aggregate bond amount for people to be booked also went up from $25,000 to $50,000, with those under that amount being cited, he said. There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus within the jail, but nine inmates are in isolation housing at a correctional treatment center, while 21 inmates are in quarantine at the Men’s Central Jail and five are at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, he said.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com]
U.S. DELAYS APRIL 15 TAX-FILING DEADLINE BY 90 DAYS
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that his department is pushing back the April 15 deadline to pay taxes owed for many individuals and businesses, giving them 90 extra days to send checks to the government. Individuals can defer up to $1 million of tax liability and corporations get an extension on up to $10 million, Mnuchin said Tuesday at a news conference Tuesday. The payment extension, which affects millions of taxpayers, is part of the Trump administration’s effort to curb the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Mnuchin said the delay will free $300 billion of liquidity in the economy as individuals and businesses have more time to pay their taxes. Delaying payment requirements will give businesses and individuals nearly three more months to meet their IRS obligations, potentially lessening cash-flow issues that some businesses are facing as many people stay home and spend less money on dining out, entertainment and transportation.
[SOURCE: bloomberg.com]
PEACE CORPS EVACUATING VOLUNTEERS AND SUSPENDING OPERATIONS OVER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
The Peace Corps is suspending its global operations and evacuating all volunteers as concerns mount about the coronavirus pandemic, the organization said in a letter on Sunday. Director Jody K. Olsen said the suspension is temporary. The US State Department raised the worldwide travel advisory to Level 3 on March 11 — meaning US citizens should reconsider travel abroad. Airlines around the world have reduced flights and many have suspended service to countries hard-hit by the virus. The Peace Corps volunteer program has been run by the US government since the 1960s and aims to foster peace and friendship through service abroad.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
FDA REVEALS BERRY AND SHRIMP RECALLS OVER NOROVIRUS AND LISTERIA
Over the past two days, the FDA has published two different food recall announcements that involve potentially contaminated food products sold to the public. The first of the two recalls involves blackberries and frozen berry mixes that may infect people with norovirus, a highly contagious virus that can be severe in kids and the elderly. The second recall published on Saturday involves shrimp. The berry recall involves two products from manufacturer Rader Farms: frozen Berry Medley sold in 16oz and 32oz bags, as well as frozen BlackBerries sold in 16oz bags. Both are sold under the WinCo brand at WinCo Foods stores in multiple states, including Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Texas, Washington, Montana, and Oklahoma. Joining the berry recall is another published by the FDA on Saturday, March 14, including whiteleg shrimp with the tail still on. This shrimp isn’t sold to consumers in frozen form; rather, it was butterflied and cooked, then sold as part of prepared sushi products sold at grocery stores, business dining centers, cafeterias, and similar places.
[SOURCE: slashgear.com]
LEBRON JAMES PROVED HE’S JUST LIKE THE REST OF US AFTER SAYING HE’S PASSING HIS CORONAVIRUS ISOLATION BY DRINKING WINE, NAPPING, AND WATCHING NETFLIX
Self-isolation and social distancing amid the global coronavirus pandemic is vital. That doesn’t mean it isn’t tedious, even for the world’s greatest athletes. Stuck within the confines of the house, many of us are (when not working, of course) turning our attentions to the television, the sofa, and the fridge in an attempt to cure the boredom. Basketball legend LeBron James is no different, with the Los Angeles Lakers star saying he is passing the time by watching Netflix, napping, and drinking wine. “I’m headed to Wakanda!” the 35-year-old tweeted on Monday. “See y’all on the other side!” Wakanda is the fictional home of Marvel superhero Black Panther. He added in a second tweet: “I need a vino drinking partner!” before posting again the next day: “Nap was amazing! Now headed to the wine cellar. And finished watch #SelfMadeNetflix Madam CJ Walker story.”
[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 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.
Connect with us directly by emailing us at theconversationinbox@gmail.com or by simply visiting thisistheconversation.com.
