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:
WHITE WOMAN FIRED FROM JOB AFTER CALLING NYPD ON BLACK MAN WHO ASKED HER TO LEASH HER DOG IN CENTRAL PARK
A white woman who called police alleging that a black man was threatening her in Central Park in New York after he asked her to put her dog on a leash was fired Tuesday. The investment management company Franklin Templeton said it fired the woman, Amy Cooper, after an internal review after video of the incident was posted online. In the video, Cooper says she is going to call police and claim that an “African American man” is threatening her life. Video of the incident had been viewed more than 29 million times as of Tuesday afternoon after it was posted to Twitter. Christian Cooper, no relation to Amy Cooper, said he was in the park bird-watching when he noticed the dog off the leash. He told NBC News that he approached to ask the woman walking the dog to put it back on a leash, which is the park’s policy. He said Tuesday that unleashed dogs have been a longstanding issue in the Ramble, a wooded area of Central Park, and that it wasn’t his first confrontation after having asked dog owners to leash their dogs. As an avid bird-watcher, Christian Cooper said, he is often in the Ramble and asks for dogs to be leashed to preserve the area’s environment and wildlife. Christian Cooper said he began recording when the woman refused to leash her dog, and he said that was when she said she would call the police. He told NBC News that he didn’t want to “dehumanize” himself by giving in to what he considered an attempt at “racial intimidation.” He said he wanted to move beyond the single incident, which he described as a rash judgment by a woman in a stressful situation, and focus on the larger discussion of racial bias in America.
COMMENTARY: The ‘Karen’ issue aside, this is a disturbing example of the world we live in. We are not as civil as we want people to believe, and the more we learn about the background of Amy Cooper, the more we should believe she should be one of the ‘good guys’ that would never get tangled in a thing like this. The best commentary I have seen on the day that past is to stop doing stupid things because someone is carrying a camera. Which is even more poignant in the nest story.
[ SOURCE: nbcnews.com ]
‘I CAN’T BREATHE’: 4 MINNEAPOLIS OFFICERS FIRED AFTER BLACK MAN DIES IN CUSTODY
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the four officers were now “former employees”. Footage shows the man, George Floyd, groaning and repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” to the white officer. The incident echoed that of Eric Garner, a black man who died being arrested in New York City in 2014. The FBI has said it will investigate the Minneapolis incident, which took place on Monday evening. Minnesota police said 46-year-old Mr Floyd, who had worked providing security at a restaurant, died after a “medical incident” in a “police interaction”. On Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed the four officers involved in the incident had been “terminated”. At a press conference earlier, Mr Frey had described the incident as “completely and utterly messed up”. It is the latest accusation of US police brutality against African Americans. Recent high-profile cases include an officer in Maryland who fatally shot a man inside a patrol car. The incident in Minneapolis began with a report of a customer attempting to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a store.
COMMENTARY: Again, bad policing. Counterfeiting is a serious crime, but never punishable by death and never styled as a public execution. Especially when everyone has a camera. At some point common sense has to outweigh pride and privilege. And bad policing must be addressed.
[ SOURCE: bbc.com ]
GOLDEN RETRIEVER DOGS HELP DELIVER BEER AMID COVID-19
While many dog owners dream of training their dogs to fetch them beer, that’s just what golden retrievers Buddy, 3, and Barley, 1, are doing amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Mark and Karen Heuwetter, co-founders of Six Harbors Brewing Company in Huntington, a coastal town on Long Island, New York, were inspired to bring the dogs on beer deliveries to cheer up customers. As the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March, Six Harbors Brewing Company was deemed an “essential business,” so it was able to stay open for deliveries and curbside pick-up, which the owners had never done before. Like many pups, the Brew Dogs love to go on car rides and stick their heads out the window. So rather than leave them at the brewery while making deliveries, Heuwetter decided to take them along. The Heuwetters fashioned “little accents” that could hang on the dogs’ necks like a collar and carry four beer cans. (They used empties, because “we’re dog-loving people and we wouldn’t want to have them get hurt in any way or shake up the beer,” Heuwetter says.)
COMMENTARY: We need more stories like this anyway, and with our top two stories from Tuesday likely to stretch the news cycle to give relief to COVID-19 coverage, we need more stories like this badly.
APPLE MAY NOT INCLUDE EARPODS HEADPHONES IN IPHONE 12 BOX TO BOOST AIRPODS SALES
According to the latest report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple may not include the wired EarPods headphones in the box of the iPhone 12. This would naturally drive sales of Apple’s second-generation AirPods, as customers would no longer be getting free headphones with their new phones. Kuo suggests that Apple may heavily promote or discount the AirPods this holiday season, with no new models of AirPods or AirPods Pro expected until 2021. When the iPhone 7 removed a headphone jack, the inconvenience was mitigated by the inclusion of EarPods in the box — most people just use the earbuds the phone comes with. If Apple no longer offers it, that means customers needing new earbuds will be forced to buy either MFi Lightning proprietary wired headphones like EarPods, or spend more on Bluetooth wireless options such as AirPods. Although the epidemic led to a sales decline in the second of this year, he is expecting a rebound by the holiday shopping season including strong year-over-year sales growth of AirPods Pro. Kuo is further increasing his AirPods sales estimates for this year from 80 to 93 million units. With second-gen AirPods being about eighteen months old by the time the iPhone 12 launches, it is possible Apple drops the price further to incentivize add-on sales. However, supply analyst Kuo naturally has no firm details about the company’s marketing plans. Through Apple retail, customers can buy a pair of EarPods for $29 and the base model AirPods start at $159.
COMMENTARY: Apple has done fairly well despite the economic crisis we are living through, and they will continue to do well because they are a focused corporation first, and a semi-cult second. They will not lead their flock to astray on purpose or for long. And their audience will buy everything that is a licensed accessory.
[ SOURCE: 9to5mac.com ]
UBER LAYS OFF 600 PEOPLE IN INDIA BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
The ride hailing company said on Tuesday that it is cutting 600 jobs in India, roughly 25% of its workforce in the country. People working in driver and rider support, as well as other functions, will be affected. Uber’s president for India and South Asia, Pradeep Parameswaran, apologized to departing staff and called it a sad day for the company. He added that Uber will provide 10 weeks of pay and six months of medical insurance for affected staff. The reductions are part of the latest round of job cuts that Uber announced last week. The company is shedding a total of 6,700 positions as it grapples with the pressure from the global pandemic on its core business. In India, Uber resumed ride hailing services in about 50 cities earlier this month, but much of the country remains under lockdown. India is a key market for Uber in Asia. The company had previously sold off the bulk of its ride-hailing business in Asia to Chinese rival DiDi and Singapore’s Grab. It still operates in places such as Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
COMMENTARY: Uber is not doing will under COVID-19 lockdowns, as you would expect. There is only so much of a pivot that a taxi company identifying as a tech company can do.
VINCE MCMAHON WON’T BID ON XFL ASSETS AMID LEAGUE’S BANKRUPTCY FILING
More than one month after the XFL’s parent company filed for bankruptcy, league owner Vince McMahon won’t bid on the assets. In a bankruptcy court filing Tuesday (via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert), McMahon said in his deposition that he’s “not going to be a bidder” amid claims from the unsecured creditors committee that the WWE chairman would attempt to buy back the XFL without fully paying back debtors. The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan wrote last week that some XFL creditors felt McMahon was trying to buy back the league, with his sources also saying “XFL president Jeffrey Pollack has called venues in St. Louis and Seattle about reinstating the lease agreements.” Alpha Entertainment, owned and operated by McMahon, announced in Jan. 2018 a revival of the XFL. The league previously ran for one season in 2001 before it folded due in part to financial losses around $35 million after taxes. Darren Rovell wrote for ESPN.com in June 2018 that McMahon was planning to spend $500 million over the XFL’s first three comeback seasons to pay players, coaches and cover insurance premiums. The XFL’s return season ended March 12 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The league filed for bankruptcy April 13, three days after suspending operations, and listed assets and liabilities between $10 million to $50 million.
COMMENTARY: This is the second ‘second’ professional football league to disappear in the middle of its first season, even though XFL 2020 is seen as a less-bombastic revival of 2001 iteration of the XFL. Not that Vince McMahon needs me feeling for his troubles, but this is a low blow that was obviously not seen coming that nothing could have prepared for.
[ SOURCE: bleacherreport.com ]
ASTON MARTIN CHIEF LEAVES AFTER 94% SHARE PRICE COLLAPSE
Struggling luxury UK carmaker Aston Martin has announced that chief executive Andy Palmer has stepped down. Tobias Moers is taking over from 1 August, with Keith Stanton filling the gap as interim chief operating officer. Mr Moers joins from Mercedes’ high-performance subsidiary AMG, where he is currently chief executive. Aston Martin was struggling before the coronavirus crisis hit sales and its share price is down 94% since the company’s flotation in 2018. Mr Palmer said it had been “a privilege” to serve Aston Martin for almost six years. He thanked management and staff for “their hard work and support, particularly during the challenges presented by Covid-19”. In other management changes, the firm said three of its directors – Richard Solomons, Imelda Walsh and Tensie Whelan – had departed on Saturday. They had already indicated that they would not seek re-election in June. The news was well received by the markets, with Aston Martin’s share price surging more than 40% in Tuesday morning trading.
COMMENTARY: Aston Martin doesn’t get a lot of love as a luxury brand, but it looks like the odd ability to dump a leadership team and watch the stock price go up at least brought it to our attention. If no one is buying cars, who is going to buy overpriced luxury cars to keep the coming sustained?
[ SOURCE: finance.yahoo.com ]
DOLPHINS TURNING HARD ROCK STADIUM INTO A DRIVE-IN THEATER
Every NFL team is facing the prospect of replacing lost revenue from ticket sales during the coronavirus pandemic. And the Dolphins appear set to try by turning their stadium into a drive-in theater. Hard Rock Stadium announced plans for “The Outdoor Theaters at Hard Rock Stadium” which will allow 230 cars to park on the stadium floor to watch movies and other events on the large end zone-corner video screens. Per the release, the theater will show “select Miami Dolphins matchups from the team’s 54-year history, classic motion picture films, host commencement ceremonies and other events.” It’s one way to be socially distant, and it’s certainly a unique idea.
COMMENTARY: The stories that are covered by The Conversation Project are selected by your engagement with our postings on social media, and this story barely made the cut today. It is also one of the more interesting business pivot stories we have had during COVID-19. Hopefully, the ‘really-big’ drive-in idea will end up being more of a stunt than a sustained business model of the future.
[ SOURCE: profootballtalk.nbcsports.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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