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The 8 topics that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:
NAOMI OSAKA ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL FROM FRENCH OPEN AFTER DECISION TO NOT SPEAK WITH MEDIA
Naomi Osaka played one match at the French Open before deciding she had enough. After receiving backlash for deciding not to partake in post-match press conferences at this year’s tournament, Osaka announced on Twitter Monday afternoon she is withdrawing from the event. “This isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago. I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly,” the world’s No. 2-ranked women’s tennis player wrote. She also said she has been dealing with depression since the 2018 U.S. Open and will, “take some time away from the court now.” The announcement comes one day after Osaka defeated Patricia Maria Țig in straight sets in the first round of the tournament. Osaka’s announcement comes in light of her decision last that she would not speak to the press during the French Open to protect her mental health. “First and foremost we are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka. The outcome of Naomi withdrawing from Roland Garros is unfortunate,” French tennis federation president Gilles Moretton said Monday. “We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery. And we look forward to having Naomi in our tournament next year.” Moretton said the four major tournaments, and the professional tennis tours, “remain very committed to all athletes’ well-being and to continually improving every aspect of players’ experience in our tournament, including with the media, like we always have.”
[SOURCE: usatoday.com / ENGAGEMENT: 20.52%]
KING’S COLLEGE LONDON FORCED TO APOLOGISE AFTER STAFF OUTRAGE OVER PRINCE PHILIP EMAIL
King’s College London has been forced to apologise after an email bulletin featuring a picture of Prince Philip upset staff. Following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death, employees were sent an email which showed a picture of Philip opening university’s Maughan Library with the Queen in 2002. The duke had been a governor of the university since 1955. However despite the seemingly innocuous content, staff reacted with fury because of the duke’s “historical racism”. Associate director Joleen Clarke issued an apology after receiving a number of complaints. The original email was sent following the duke’s death, aged 99, last month with the caption: “As the nation marks the death of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, we thought you might like to see this photo of the duke at the official opening of the Maughan Library in 2002, which some colleagues will remember.” But complaints were made by the university’s Anti-Racism Community of Practice, according to the Mail on Sunday.
[SOURCE: standard.co.uk / ENGAGEMENT: 16.36%]
REPORT OF SHOOTING AT DALLAS’ NORTHPARK CENTER MALL WAS A SKATEBOARD BEING BANGED ON THE FLOOR, POLICE SAY
People rushed out of Dallas’ NorthPark Center in a chaotic scene Monday afternoon after a reported shooting at the mall, but police said the noise was actually a man banging a skateboard on the floor Police Chief Eddie García said that an active shooter was reported in the food court at 1:27 p.m. and that off-duty officers at the mall confronted the suspect three minutes later. On-duty officers arrived one minute after that at the mall, which is off Central Expressway, between Park Lane and Northwest Highway. García said a “mentally disturbed” man banged the skateboard on the floor, then made hand gestures mimicking a shooting. He did not have a gun, the chief said. García said he didn’t blame people for reporting the incident initially as a shooting because “there’s a lot of trauma” in the country now. He said he was proud of how officers responded and glad that the incident turned out better than feared. “We thank God that this was what it was,” he said.
[SOURCE: dallasnews.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.67%]
BOSTON CELTICS FAN ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THROWING WATER BOTTLE AT BROOKLYN NETS’ KYRIE IRVING
The Celtics fan who allegedly threw a water bottle at Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who used to play for Boston, was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, according to a report. Boston Police sergeant detective John Boyle told USA TODAY Sports in a phone call that the suspect apprehended for the alleged incident, Cole Buckley of Braintree, Massachusetts, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court. The fan is also subject to a lifetime ban from TD Garden in Boston. The arrest took place at 9:46 p.m. ET. The incident happened Sunday after Brooklyn’s 141-126 victory in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. As Nets players were leaving the floor, Irving walked into the tunnel when a water bottle thrown from the stands nearly hit him. “It’s unfortunate that sports has come to a lot of this kind of crossroad where you’re seeing a lot of old ways come up,” Irving said after the game. “It’s been that way in history in terms of entertainment and performers and sports for a long period of time. It’s just underlying racism and treating people like they’re in a human zoo – throwing stuff at people, saying things. There’s a certain point where it gets to be too much.” YES Network, the Nets broadcast partner caught the incident on camera, which marked the fourth time in the last week that fans at NBA games have allegedly thrown objects at players or have shown unacceptable behavior. Moments after the incident, cameras also showed Buckley, 21, being escorted out of the TD Garden. Moments before the incident, Irving appeared to step on the Celtics logo at midcourt.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.67%]
MAN JAILED FOR WRAPPING BANDAGES AROUND HIS HEAD TO TAKING DRIVING THEORY TESTS FOR OTHERS
A man who was taking driving theory tests for other people by wrapping a bandage around his head has been arrested after his scam was discovered by staff members. 28-year-old Izmir Senaj, from East Ham, London had reportedly used numerous excuses for his head injuries at several DVSA sites across the country where he was doing tests for people who had agreed to let him do them on their behalf. His scheme eventually came to an end in Swindon, when a staff member had recognised him from a wanted appeal and contacted the police. Senaj has since pleaded guilty on four counts of fraud at a Swindon crown court and was given a jail sentence of two years and four months. Judge Jason Taylor QC is quoted by The Metro as saying: “Your actions show a callous disregard for the system which is designed to ensure that only those qualified to drive safely get behind the wheel of a car. This could have had significant consequences both for road users and pedestrians and therefore my public duty requires me to reflect that.” This is far from the first time that Senaj had been jailed for the scam. He had been convicted twice before on driving test fraud charges and with his latest crime being committed while on a licence. The court heard that he had attended four different test centres in the south of England where he had a variety of excuses for his ‘injuries’ such as falling off a ladder and being struck in the head while working on a building site. In total, he has now received five convictions for 28 offences.
[SOURCE: indy100.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.23%]
OFFICIALS DECRY HOLIDAY WEEKEND MASS SHOOTINGS IN MIAMI-DADE
The shooting early Sunday morning that killed two people and left 21 others wounded was likely a dispute between two rival groups that came to a head over things said in rap songs or social media posts, Alfredo Ramirez III, director of the Miami-Dade County Police Department told reporters during a press conference Monday morning. Ramirez, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and other community leaders gathered outside of county police headquarters in Doral to update the case — one of the worst mass shootings in recent South Florida memory — and to plead with the public to help identify the shooters. Sunday’s shooting happened shortly after midnight outside of the El Mula Banquet Hall near the Country Club of Miami. Police say three gunmen armed with semi-automatic rifles got out of a Nissan Pathfinder and fired dozens of bullets into the crowd. They were wearing ski masks and hooded sweatshirts, according to the police. The scene became even more chaotic when some people in the crowd returned fire, police said. The wounded were taken to various hospitals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The two people killed were pronounced dead at the scene. Multiple law enforcement sources identified the deceased Monday afternoon as Desmond Owens and Clayton Dillard III. Both men were 26. Police are still trying to find the shooters. The Nissan was found Monday afternoon in the Biscayne Canal at Northwest 154th Street and Second Avenue, according to law enforcement sources. The vehicle was reported stolen a few weeks ago. Anyone with information on the shooting or shooters is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
[SOURCE: miamiherald.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.06%]
JOHNSON & JOHNSON ASKS HIGH COURT TO VOID $2B TALC VERDICT
Johnson & Johnson is asking for Supreme Court review of a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using the company’s talc products. The case features an array of high-profile attorneys, some in unusual alliances, including former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who is representing the women who sued Johnson & Johnson. The nation’s largest business groups are backing the company, and a justice’s father also makes an appearance because of his long association with the trade group for cosmetics and personal care products. The court could say as soon as Tuesday whether it will get involved. At the root, Johnson & Johnson argues that the company didn’t get a fair shake in a trial in state court in Missouri that resulted in an initial $4.7 billion verdict in favor of 22 women who used talc products and developed ovarian cancer. A state appeals court cut more than half the money out of the verdict and eliminated two of the plaintiffs but otherwise upheld the outcome in a trial in which lawyers for both sides presented dueling expert testimony about whether the company’s talc products contain asbestos and asbestos-laced talc can cause ovarian cancer. The jury found for the women on both points, after which Judge Rex M. Burlison wrote that evidence at the trial showed “particularly reprehensible conduct on the part of Defendants.” The evidence, Burlison wrote, included that the company knew there was asbestos in products aimed at mothers and babies, knew of the potential harm and “misrepresented the safety of these products for decades.” Johnson & Johnson denies that its talc products cause cancer and it called the verdict in the Missouri trial “at odds with decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, is not contaminated by asbestos and does not cause cancer.” The company also is the maker of one of three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States.
[SOURCE: apnews.com / ENGAGEMENT: 5.11%]
GOOGLE PHOTOS’ FREE UNLIMITED STORAGE ENDS TOMORROW
Like it or not, the moment is nearly here: Google Photos is ending its free unlimited storage on June 1st. From then on, any photo you upload (including compressed “storage saver” pics) counts toward your Google Drive storage limit unless it comes from a Pixel phone. If you need more space, you’ll have to pay for Google One plans that start at $2 per month for 100GB of Drive space and scale to 2TB for $10 per month. Any photos you upload before June 1st won’t count toward the cap, so you’ll want to get in one last backup if you can. Google has also made it easier to delete unwanted photos through a tool that finds blurry snapshots, screenshots and other items you can usually remove. Google explained the move last November as a necessary step to “keep pace” with the demand for storage. It didn’t expect 80 percent of Photos users to hit the cap for another three years, although it’s more of an issue for people whose free Drive space was already loaded with other content. You’re not completely stuck if you were counting on Google Photos as a backup for your image library. If you need a free service, you can use the no-cost tiers for services like Dropbox or Flickr if you have a modest collection. And there’s a real chance another paid service you use might offer cloud storage of its own. An Amazon Prime subscription provides free unlimited photo storage (plus 5GB of video), while a Microsoft 365 membership offers 1TB of OneDrive space per person. Apple’s iCloud can also help if you’re an iOS or Mac user, although that’s more of a sync service than full storage.
[SOURCE: engadget.com / ENGAGEMENT: 4.76%]
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