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:
SPEEDING DOCTOR GETS CORONAVIRUS MASKS FROM MINNESOTA TROOPER, NOT TICKET
A doctor caught speeding by a Minnesota state trooper was issued five brand new N95 masks — not a ticket. Dr. Sarosh Ashraf Janjua, a cardiologist, was headed to Minneapolis after getting off work at Essentia Health in Duluth on March 21 when she was pulled over. Doctors and nurses at U.S. hospitals treating coronavirus patients have reported a shortage of N95 masks, making them a priceless the paper commodity. He was issued N95s as protection for himself from the coronavirus. His mask donation to the doctor also came with a warning not to speed. Shank said Schwartz and his fellow troopers “are working hard during the pandemic and are thinking about all the first responders who are caring for Minnesotans during this critical time.”
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
PROTESTS AT AMAZON, WHOLE FOODS BEGIN
Some employees at Whole Foods Market nationwide executed a work stoppage Tuesday, while a former employee at parent company Amazon considered legal action after his dismissal for participation in a labor walkout Monday. Expect escalating tensions between employers and workers as workplaces deemed essential during the coronavirus crisis weigh issues of safety with pressures to meet the demands of a sheltering-in-place populace. Amazon, which acquired the supermarket chain in June 2017 for $13.7 billion, is seeking to hire thousands of workers for both businesses. But workers for the supermarket chain want improved workplace safety and benefits including hazard pay and sick pay for employees who may be sick but haven’t been tested for the coronavirus. Whole Foods workers had originally scheduled May 1, International Workers’ Day, as the date to stage a sickout, in which they call in to say the won’t come to work that day. But concerns about contracting and spreading the COVID-19 virus between co-workers and customers led them to move up the daylong strike.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING FLASHES RED TO HONOR FIRST RESPONDERS
One of New York City’s most iconic landmarks is celebrating the efforts of medical workers responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The top of the Empire State Building paid tribute Monday night despite rainy conditions, with red and white lights revolving around the famous needle to resemble the lights that accompany a siren. The building’s owners call the display “the heartbeat of America.” The upper floors had pulsing red lights, similar to a heartbeat. The red and white lights will be on display until the end of the month.
[SOURCE: msn.com]
CNN ANCHOR CHRIS CUOMO TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Covid-19. He is feeling well, and will continue to anchor his 9 p.m. program “Cuomo Prime Time” from his home. Cuomo was most recently at CNN’s offices in the Hudson Yards neighborhood of New York City last Friday. He anchored from his home on Monday, and interviewed his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The two men traded brotherly barbs about the anchorman’s basement live shot location. Cuomo said Tuesday that he is “quarantined in my basement” and will “do my shows from here.”
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
CHRIS GODWIN GIVES UP JERSEY NO. 12 TO TOM BRADY, FREE OF CHARGE
Last season, wide receiver Chris Godwin had a breakout season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading the team with 86 receptions, 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns. Teammate Mike Evans slipped a bit from 2018, and came in second with 67 receptions for 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns. Even if Evans takes a step forward from 2019, Godwin has taken a critical step to ensure he’s got the attention of new Bucs quarterback Tom Brady. On Tuesday, the Bucs announced that Godwin has given up his No. 12 jersey to Brady and will switch to No. 14. More notably, there was no transaction involved. Normally a player will give money or a gift to another player to get their number. However, Godwin had indicated shortly after the Bucs signed Brady that he was comfortable giving up No. 12 for no cost.
[SOURCE: draftkings.com]
NEW MEXICO’S GOVERNOR WARNS TRIBAL NATIONS COULD BE ‘WIPED OUT’ BY CORONAVIRUS
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham raised alarms with President Donald Trump Monday about “incredible spikes” in coronavirus cases in Navajo Nation, warning that the virus could “wipe out” some tribal nations, according to a recording of a call between Trump and the nation’s governors obtained by ABC News. As of Sunday, there were at least 128 cases and 2 deaths reported on the reservation, which has a population of over 250,000 and spans three states, according to the Navajo Department of Health and Navajo Area Indian Health Service. The outbreak of the virus in the reservation is believed to have spread at an evangelical church rally in Chilchinbeto, Arizona, on March 7, according to a Los Angeles Times report. At least two Navajos have already died, the report said. The Navajo Nation government declared a state of emergency on March 13, just one week later, before ultimately issuing a reservation-wide Shelter In Place order for all residents on March 20.
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com]
CHRISTOPHER MELONI AS ‘SVU’ CHARACTER ELLIOT STABLER TO HEADLINE NEW DICK WOLF DRAMA SERIES FOR NBC
A beloved TV character is coming back. NBC has given a 13-episode series order to a new Dick Wolf crime drama series starring Christopher Meloni reprising his Law & Order: SVU role as Elliot Stabler. The SVU spinoff drama, which marks the actor’s return to Wolf World, revolves around the NYPD organized crime unit led by Stabler. It is the first show to come out of the massive new five-year, nine-figure, multi-platform deal Wolf signed with Universal Television last month, which includes multiple series commitments. The new series, which could be branded as part of the Law & Order franchise, is executive produced by Wolf, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski for Wolf Entertainment and Universal TV, a division of NBCUniversal Content Studios. I hear former Chicago P.D. showrunner Matt Olmstead is being eyed as writer-showrunner. Like Law & Order: SVU, headlined by Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson, the new drama is set in New York, allowing for potential seamless crossovers with SVU and for Benson-Stabler reunions.
[SOURCE: deadline.com]
HASBRO RELEASES FULL EPISODES OF THE 80’S G.I. JOE ANIMATED SERIES ON YOUTUBE
Yo Joe! It looks like Hasbro is next to join in the fray of releasing videos online for all to watch amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Out now on Hasbro’s official YouTube channel are the first three 5-part story arcs (15 episodes) from the original 80’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero animated series: The M.A.S.S. Device, The Revenge Of Cobra and The Pyramid Of Darkness. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero follows an elite team of soldiers as they battle the evil Cobra organization. These heroes thwart the COBRA’s desire for world domination at every turn, cleverly stopping them from controlling the weather, creating unstoppable weapons, and genetically engineering super-warriors.
[SOURCE: geekculture.co]
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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