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:
JAMAL MURRAY HAD WHAT APPEARED TO BE A SEX TAPE SHOW UP IN HIS INSTAGRAM STORIES
Jamal Murray’s Instagram page got very NSFW early on Sunday, with what appeared to be a sex tape showing up in the Denver Nuggets guard’s Instagram stories. The short clip was posted sometime in the early morning hours on Sunday, showing what was believed to be Murray and a woman in an explicit scene. The video clip was deleted from the stories but quickly made waves across social media, with many fans taking to Twitter to express their shock at having seen it. While many people believed that Murray accidentally posted the clip himself, the posts that followed after it was deleted from his Instagram stories led some to speculate that his social media page had been hacked. After the clip was scrubbed from his social media, the explicit video was replaced by a series of odd images, including an inflatable dancing man in front of a tax preparation office and a computer screenshot of a log-in screen. Others speculated that it could be Murray trying to cover up the accidental posting of the explicit clip with the series of strange snaps.
[SOURCE: inquisitr.com]
SENATORS RICHARD BURR, KELLY LOEFFLER FACE CALLS TO RESIGN OVER STOCK SALES
Senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler have faced calls to resign after it was revealed that the Republican lawmakers sold off stock holdings before the COVID-19 epidemic crashed markets. Both of the senators reportedly attended briefings on the novel coronavirus outbreak and publicly sought to calm nerves as they dumped chunks of their portfolios ahead of market turmoil in March. ProPublica reported on Thursday night that North Carolina Sen. Burr, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, sold between $628,000 and $1.7 million worth of stock on February 13. The stock dump came days after he co-authored a Fox News op-ed claiming the United States was “better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus.” Following the news of Sen. Burr’s stock sell off, the Daily Beast reported that Sen. Loeffler of Georgia recorded a sale of stock on January 24 — the day of an all-senators briefing with administration health officials that covered the COVID-19 outbreak.
[SOURCE: msn.com]
CORONAVIRUS NEW YORK: 38 TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS IN NYC JAILS, INCLUDING RIKERS
The board overseeing New York City’s jails urged officials to start releasing vulnerable populations and those being held on low-level offenses as the coronavirus outbreak hit the notorious Rikers Island complex and nearby jails – infecting at least 38 people. Another inmate, meanwhile, became the first in the country to test positive in a federal jail. Board of Correction interim chairwoman Jacqueline Sherman wrote in a letter to New York’s criminal justice leaders this weekend. Sherman pushed for the release of more than 2,000 people in custody in New York City jails, including those over 50 years old; those with health conditions such as lung and heart disease; those being held for parole violations, such as missing a curfew; and those serving sentences of less than a year. Such steps are needed, she said, to stem the tide of COVID-19. Mayor Bill de Blasio said 23 inmates were set to be released Sunday, all older and at a low risk of offending again, and 200 additional inmates were being reviewed for release.
[SOURCE: abc7ny.com]
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS’ CHRIS GODWIN WILLING TO GIVE TOM BRADY NUMBER 12 ‘OUT OF RESPECT’ FOR LEGENDARY CAREER
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ wide receiver Chris Godwin says he’s more than excited to play with Tom Brady next season but the two athletes are going to have to decide who will walk on to the field wearing the number 12 jersey. Brady took to Instagram Friday morning to announce that he had officially signed with the Buccaneers after spending two decades with the New England Patriots. Godwin, 24, said he had heard rumors throughout the offseason but couldn’t believe it when it was finally announced. But the big question for the star wide receiver, who had 1,333 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns this past season, is whether he’s willing to give up the number 12 jersey he’s worn since high school. Brady has worn the number 12 throughout his entire career with the Patriots. He previously wore the number 10 when he played at the University of Michigan. Godwin went on to say that Brady reached out to him after signing and expressed that he was “excited” to play in Tampa and more specifically with Godwin.
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
UNITED AIRLINES WARNS OF MASSIVE LAYOFFS WITHOUT FEDERAL AID
Leaders of United Airlines and its labor unions are raising the threat of massive layoffs if Washington doesn’t provide “sufficient” help to the airline industry by the end of this month. The airline’s CEO, Oscar Munoz, its president and four union officials said Friday that without federal help this month, “our company will begin to take the necessary steps to reduce our payroll” to match a 60% reduction in flying planned for April. United had 96,000 employees at the start of the year; proportional layoffs could be close to 58,000 jobs, but airline officials say they don’t envision that many job losses. As an alternative, the airline is considering slashing pay, or a combination of job and pay cuts. So far, no major U.S. airline has announced layoffs because of the COVID-19 outbreak, although two small regional carriers have said they will shut down next month. The big airlines have canceled tens of thousands of flights, grounded hundreds of airplanes, and asked employees to take unpaid leave or early retirement. Delta said 13,000 employees have agreed to unpaid leave.
[SOURCE: msn.com]
STARBUCKS MOVES TO DRIVE-THRU AND DELIVERY IN U.S. ONLY AMID CORONAVIRUS, PLEDGES 30 DAYS OF WORKER PAY
Starbucks is temporarily suspending indoor access to all of its 15,000-plus U.S. cafés and will move to a drive-thru and delivery only as the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread. The move comes after Starbucks transitioned to a “to go” model on Monday by removing all of its seating inside its stores and on its patios to help aide in social distancing. About 60% of Starbucks stores in the U.S. have a drive-thru service. Starbucks offers delivery in partnership with Uber Eats across 49 markets in the U.S. Starbucks will keep its cafés in and around hospitals open as an exception to serve healthcare workers. The coffee giant also said it will pay all of its employees for the next 30 days whether they choose to come to work or stay home.
[SOURCE: finance.yahoo.com]
NIKKI HALEY RESIGNS FROM BOEING BOARD OVER AIRLINES BAILOUT
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has resigned from the board of Boeing Co., cutting ties with a company she long supported as South Carolina governor, because of her opposition to a bailout of the airplane manufacturer that is in the works amid the new coronavirus outbreak. The move is also an opportunity for the Republican to draw a distinction with the Trump administration, something that some strategists have said could be helpful if Haley intends to pursue the presidency herself. Haley announced her departure in a letter dated Tuesday to Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun and board Chairman Larry Kellner. Earlier this week, Boeing said it was seeking $60 billion in “public and private liquidity” for the aerospace industry, which is struggling amid a COVID-19 outbreak that has halted major travel and shuttered many businesses. The Trump administration has said it would back Boeing, which is also a top U.S. defense contractor.
[SOURCE: latimes.com]
TAYLOR SWIFT AND KANYE WEST’S “FAMOUS” PHONE CALL LEAKS ONLINE
In early 2016, seven years after the rapper famously interrupted the singer at the 2009 MTV VMAs, he sparked controversy with his song “Famous.” It contains the lyrics, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.” The two had talked about the song over the phone before it was released and to this day, argue about what was actually discussed. Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian shared a short, edited video of her husband on the call months after the track was released. On Friday night, an extended, 25-minute video of Kanye, wearing the same white T-shirt seen in Kim’s clip, speaking to Taylor about “Famous” on the phone circulated on Twitter, spurring the hashtag #KanyeWestIsOverParty. E! News has not verified its authenticity and the two artists have not commented. Taylor’s rep could not be reached for comment.
[SOURCE: eonline.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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