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:
6 PEOPLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA DIED FROM CORONAVIRUS AFTER GOING TO THE SAME FUNERAL
The group attended the funeral during the first week of March, The Daily Beast reports. This was before the CDC announced its social distancing directives to funeral directors on March 16, which advised funeral homes make live-streaming available for services. The funeral had taken place in Kershaw County, which encompasses Camden, South Carolina. A married couple—both over the age of 60—was part of the group that passed away. They died days apart from each other. The other four people who died were also over the age of 60—a group that’s at high-risk to contract the virus—and were all black. Coronavirus has hit the elderly and black the hardest in South Carolina and across the U.S. Many of those who attended the funeral have self-quarantined.
[SOURCE: complex.com]
CORONAVIRUS: NICK CORDERO HAD HIS LEG AMPUTATED
Nick Cordero’s wife is keeping positive, saying she’ll dance again with the Broadway star, despite her husband having his leg amputated due to complications of the coronavirus. On Saturday, Amanda Kloots shared with fans that Cordero made it through surgery to have his right leg amputated. Kloots shared a sweet new video to Instagram on Sunday showing the couple dancing at their wedding. She captioned the clip, “Part of our wedding dance that our friends @swaywithmeny choreographed for us. I love dancing with you @nickcordero1 and we WILL dance again!” The same day, Kloots told followers more about her husband’s recovery: “Okay I just heard from the doctor and he’s doing good guys — for Nick, he is doing the best that he possibly can right now, which is a huge hallelujah.”
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
JOE ROGAN IS TESTING PODCAST GUESTS FOR CORONAVIRUS
Joe Rogan is paying a concierge doctor in Los Angeles to test guests coming on his podcast for the coronavirus. Chris D’Elia revealed during an interview with BUILD Series Thursday that Rogan had him tested for COVID-19 this week ahead of doing the show. The comedian, who is promoting his Netflix comedy special Chris D’Elia: No Pain, was tested on-site before appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience. The result was immediate: He tested negative. When asked how Rogan is getting COVID-19 tests, D’Elia stated, “Because Joe’s paying for them, that’s why.” If you think you have COVID-19, live in Los Angeles and have $299 to spare then you can get tested privately, too. According to VICE, Rogan is having Dr. Abe Malkin administer tests. Dr. Malkin is part of Concierge MD LA, which offers the in-home service. A recent video showed Rogan and his podcast guest, Bryan Callen, getting tested by Dr. Malkin.
[SOURCE: yahoo.com]
COMIC-CON CANCELED OVER CORONAVIRUS, PLANS 2021 RETURN
This year’s San Diego Comic-Con has been canceled due to coronavirus-related restrictions around large gatherings. Organizers say they are planning for the festival to return in July 2021. The annual confab was scheduled to take place from July 23 through July 26 in and around the San Diego Convention Center. California Governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that he was not optimistic about a return of “mass gatherings” for things such as sports events, concerts and fairs in 2020. Comic-Con attracts over 135,000 people — often elaborately costumed — to the Gaslamp District every year for the comic book convention which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary. Social distancing would be difficult to manage at the convention which is infamous for its long lines and crowded rooms. It is not uncommon for thousands of people to gather in a single room for a panel discussion, and the exhibit hall is usually jam-packed with people perusing the merchandise. The convention center is also currently being used as a temporary homeless shelter as a measure to help curb the spread of the virus.
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com]
FIONA APPLE FANS CELEBRATE HER FIRST ALBUM RELEASE IN EIGHT YEARS
Fans of Fiona Apple have been celebrating the release of ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’, the artist’s first new album in eight years. The long-awaited follow-up to 2012’s ‘The Idler Wheel…’ is out today (April 17). You can read the NME review of ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’ here. Apple’s fans have been registering their delight at the arrival of ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’ on social media, with the record — which you can hear below — being met with plenty of acclaim. Praise for the “tremendous” record being “absolutely worth the wait” appears to be the general feeling among many of Apple’s fans on social media, with Them editor-at-large Michael Cuby adding that Apple was “in a league of her own” as an artist.
[SOURCE: nme.com]
STIMULUS CHECKS ARE BEING SPENT ON DILDOS, TIGERS, GUNS AND STRIPPER POLES
Americans began receiving the first batch of coronavirus relief funds this week, and now many are taking to social media to brag about the assortment of purchases — both strange and savvy — they’ve already made with them. While many are using the emergency cash to pay bills for necessities and living expenses, others are putting the money toward wild splurges. Among the more trivial items people have reportedly used the extra bucks on is an inflatable dinosaur costume — although the buyer argues the $35 getup was totally worth it. “I actually have good use for it plus look at that price! I shoulda bought 2,” the proud dino suit owner tweets.
[SOURCE: nypost.com]
KROGER AND PEPSI ARE GIVING WORKERS ON THE FRONT LINES IN THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 99-CENT DISCOUNTS ON BOTTLES OF SODA
“Pepsi wants to support the hard work of the Kroger Associates by offering all Pepsi 20oz Soft Drink products for only $1 each,” reads a flyer sent to Kroger stores. “Pepsi has partnered with Kroger to offer this exclusive program to Kroger Associates, who continue to inspire us all during these extraordinary times.” A regular 20-ounce bottle of Pepsi costs $1.99 at Richmond-area Kroger stores, meaning the promotion offers a discount of about half off. The discount applies to soft drinks purchased between April 17 and May 12, with a limit of two bottles per transaction. An employee of a Kroger-owned store in Kansas told Business Insider that he was grateful for the offer. The employee also said he hoped Kroger would also extend its “hero” bonus, a $2 hourly wage increase applied to hours worked between March 29 and April 18.
[SOURCE: businessinsider.com]
JACKSONVILLE BEACH PACKED AS FLORIDA CORONAVIRUS CASES HIT RECORD
Floridians didn’t waste any time getting back to the sun and surf when beaches and parks were reopened in Jacksonville — the same day the state clocked a record number of coronavirus cases. Crowds were seen cheering and rushing the beach as police removed the barriers around 5 p.m. Friday, CNN reported. Aerial photos show hundreds of people packing the sand to swim, stroll, surf and fish. Many were without masks. Jacksonville opened beaches from 6-11 a.m. and 5-8 p.m. daily, with some restrictions including no sunbathing or lounging in chairs or on blankets. Mayor Lenny Curry made the call after Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the green light for some municipalities to begin reopening beaches.
[SOURCE: nypost.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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