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:
TREVOR LAWRENCE GOES TO JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS WITH NO. 1 PICK IN 2021 NFL DRAFT
The Jaguars’ star-studded pairing of Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer is finally official. It’s been presumed since the end of the 2018 college football season — when Lawrence quarterbacked Clemson to the national title as a true freshman — that he would be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, his first year of eligibility. And it’s been known since Dec. 27, 2020 — when Jacksonville clinched the NFL’s worst record — where Lawrence was headed. Two long roads intersected Thursday in Cleveland with the formality of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announcing Lawrence as the first pick of the first round. Lawrence is held in the same regard as John Elway, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck as the can’t-miss quarterback prospects of the past 40 years. Elway and Manning won two Super Bowls each, and Luck was on an upward trajectory before injuries forced an early retirement. After years of rebuffing interest from the NFL, including from the Browns in his home state of Ohio, Meyer finally bit at the chance to come out of retirement. But the lure was bigger than a monster contract and a chance to return to the area where he is renowned for winning two national titles as coach at the University of Florida. It was the opportunity to coach Lawrence, whom Meyer gushed over in his role as Fox Sports college football analyst.
[SOURCE: nypost.com / ENGAGEMENT: 17.56%]
SHERIFF RELEASES NAMES OF 7 DEPUTIES ON SCENE OF ANDREW BROWN JR. DEATH
A North Carolina sheriff has identified the seven deputies who were on the scene of last week’s fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. and subsequently placed on administrative leave – four of whom have been cleared to return to duty. Deputies shot and killed Brown, a 42-year-old Black man, while carrying out search and arrest warrants at his home on Wednesday in Elizabeth City, N.C. The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office said that Sheriff Tommy Wooten was releasing the names of the deputies on the scene as part of his promise of transparency and accountability. Wooten said in a statement that it’s “obvious” from footage of the incident and preliminary investigation that four deputies did not fire their guns. The three deputies who did fire shots will stay on administrative leave pending investigations, he added. They are: Investigator Daniel Meads, Deputy Sheriff II Robert Morgan and Cpl. Aaron Lewellyn. Morgan and Meads have each been with the sheriff’s office for more than five years and Lewellyn has served just over two years. Two others resigned after the shooting incident: Deputy Sheriff II William Harris and Lt. Christopher Terry, both of whom started on the force over 11 years ago. Deputy III James Flowers, who’s been with the sheriff’s office since 2000, has decided to retire. Wooten, facing mounting pressure to release the body camera footage of the deadly shooting, said he has asked the state court to allow public release of the videos, which a judge on Wednesday postponed for at least 30 days. Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster ruled that turning over the footage to the public could threaten the safety of the deputies and interfere with the state’s investigation.
[SOURCE: npr.org / ENGAGEMENT: 13.72%]
AARON RODGERS TELLS PACKERS HE DOESN’T WANT TO PLAY IN GREEN BAY ANYMORE
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has informed members in the organization that he no longer wants to play for the team, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Schefter describes Rodgers as “disgruntled” and reports that the team’s decision to trade up to draft quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of last year’s draft plays a role in his dissatisfaction. Rodgers has played in Green Bay since being selected in the first round of the 2005 draft. He’s led the team to a Super Bowl victory, is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time NFL MVP, including winning the award last season at 37 years old. Rodgers has also gone through some recent significant changes in his personal life. He and longtime girlfriend Danica Patrick broke in up in 2020, and Rodgers has since been engaged to actress Shailene Woodley. Rodgers has taken a guest turn as a host on TV game show “Jeopardy!” and has openly lobbied to become the show’s full-time host replacing Alex Trebek. Schefter did not report that Rodgers was considering quitting football altogether, just that he was unhappy in Green Bay.
[SOURCE: sports.yahoo.com / ENGAGEMENT: 9.69%]
MEET THE 97-YEAR-OLD BRITISH-ISRAELI MAN WHO HOLDS THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD AS THE WORLD’S OLDEST JOURNALIST
When Walter Bingham moved to Israel following a long career as a host on British radio, he applied for a job at Kol Israel, one of the country’s leading broadcasters. He came in for an interview but was rejected: At 80 years old, Bingham was told, he was past the station’s mandatory retirement age. Other journalists might have retired. Bingham did not. The experience, he said, made him “realize this is a very ageist country.” Undeterred, he kept finding opportunities to work. Seventeen years later, Bingham is still not retired. And this month, at age 97, he was certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest working journalist. It’s the second such record for Bingham, a radio journalist who once was an actor and a model. In 2017, he was certified by Guinness as the “oldest radio talk show host” — the latest in a series of accolades that include a British military award for bravery during World War II and the French Légion d’honneur. The host of the ongoing “Walter’s World” program on Israel National Radio, a right-wing news site based in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, Bingham has been a fixture at media tours, news conferences and other events across Israel since emigrating from London in 2004. Known for his signature blue breton cap, audio recorder and handgun kept in a holster on his hip, he is a familiar sight to members of the foreign media here, whose companionship Brigham cites as one of the reasons he feels so young.
[SOURCE: forward.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.66%]
PETITION TO RENAME WASHINGTON DC’S ‘RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON AIRPORT’ AFTER JOJO SIWA GOES VIRAL
Move over, former President Ronald Reagan — teen superstar, and oversized hairbow/apparent traction alopecia enthusiast, JoJo Siwa is coming for your eponymous Washington DC airport gig – at least if petitioning teens have their way. Last week, zoomers officially began carrying on the national past time that is dunking on Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down economics championing, HIV/AIDS crisis overlooking legacy, launching a viral petition to rename Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after a true American hero, the glitter-clad YouTuber and children’s musician. Accompanied by a simple description asking “why on earth is there an airport named after this war criminal,” the petition, entitled “Rename Ronald Reagan Airport to Jojo Siwa Washington National Airport” has garnered more than 4,700 signatures – roughly 300 away from hitting the goal of 5,000 backers — since emerging on Change.org last week, with fans flocking to express their support for the proposed change. “Ronald Reagan rigged the economy for the rich and screwed over everyone else. Jojo Siwa was on Dance Mom’s and I like her better. Plus she’s gay,” wrote one donor. “I don’t know who JoJo Siwa is, but I know she didn’t fire 11,000 striking air traffic controllers,” added another.
[SOURCE: cracked.com / ENGAGEMENT: 4.24%]
2 DEPUTIES KILLED, SUSPECT AND 2 OTHERS DEAD AFTER A 13-HOUR STANDOFF AT A NORTH CAROLINA HOME
A married couple found dead along with a suspected gunman after a 13-hour standoff at a North Carolina home were members of the same family, a sheriff’s office said Thursday. Two deputies also were fatally shot in the home. The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office said George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, were killed Wednesday inside their home in Boone. A sheriff’s statement said the suspect, Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, also was found dead at the home and had a large number of weapons. Barnes was identified as Michelle Ligon’s son and George Ligon’s stepson. Authorities said Barnes was suspected in the fatal shootings of two deputies who had been dispatched to the home Wednesday. Sgt. Chris Ward died at a hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee, after Wednesday’s shooting while K-9 Officer Logan Fox died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said. Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman said family members had expressed concerns about the large number of weapons in Barnes’ possession. The sheriff added that he believed Barnes may have been contemplating an attack in public. A Boone Police officer, a Boone firefighter and an Appalachian State University police officer also were shot at during an initial attempt to rescue the deputies, and the Boone police officer was hit, but he escaped injury because of his Kevlar helmet, Hagaman said.
[SOURCE: apnews.com / ENGAGEMENT: 3.63%]
IN REPUBLICAN RESPONSE, TIM SCOTT DISMISSES BIDEN’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN AS “BIG GOVERNMENT WASTE”
Republican Senator Tim Scott delivered a speech responding to President Joe Biden’s first address before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening. The response provides an opportunity for Scott, a rising star in the Republican Party, to outline an alternative to the president’s ambitious legislative agenda. Scott began his speech by saying that Mr. Biden “seems like a good man,” but argued that his policies were divisive. Scott noted that five bipartisan coronavirus relief packages had passed under former President Trump in the past year, but Congress passed the nearly $2 trillion American Rescue Plan without any Republican votes. Scott delivered his response after Mr. Biden concluded his speech, which included details about his American Families Plan, a tax and spending bill focused on health care, child care and education. Between this and the American Jobs Plan, his infrastructure proposal, Mr. Biden is calling on Congress to pass over $4 trillion in spending on major projects. Scott called the American Jobs Plan a “liberal wishlist of big government waste.” Republicans have balked at the price tags for these proposals, questioned their relevancy, and criticized Mr. Biden’s plan to raise certain taxes to pay for them.
[SOURCE: cbsnews.com / ENGAGEMENT: 3.63%]
CHINA IS SET TO LAUNCH FIRST MODULE OF MASSIVE SPACE STATION
Since the Soviet Union launched the first space station, Salyut 1, 50 years ago, humans have lived on a total of 11 such facilities in Earth orbit. China will soon add one more to that list. With the core module of the Chinese Space Station (CSS) scheduled to lift off at the end of April, the culmination of a project the nation’s government initially envisioned in 1992 is finally entering the construction phase. After the core module reaches space, China plans at least 10 more launches of other major modules, as well as crewed and cargo missions, to complete the station’s assembly by the end of 2022. At that time the CSS will join the International Space Station (ISS) as the only fully operational space stations in orbit. The T-shape, 100-metric-ton CSS will comprise three major modules: the 18-meter-long core module, called Tianhe (“Harmony of the Heavens”), and two 14.4-meter-long experiment modules, called Wentian (“Quest for the Heavens”) and Mengtian (“Dreaming of the Heavens”), which will be permanently attached to either side of the core. As the station’s management and control center, Tianhe can accommodate three astronauts for stays of up to six months. Visiting astronauts and cargo spaceships will hook up to the core module from opposite ends. Both it and Wentian are equipped with robotic arms on the outside, and Mengtian has an airlock for the maintenance and repair of experiments mounted on the exterior of the station. Tianhe has a total of five docking ports, which means an extra module can be added for future expansion. The station is designed to operate for more than 10 years.
[SOURCE: space.com / ENGAGMENT: 3.23%]
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.
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