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The 8 headlines that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:
ESPN FIRES RECENTLY HIRED BETTING ANALYST KELLY STEWART OVER 9-YEAR-OLD HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS
Betting analyst Kelly Stewart was recently hired to contribute to ESPN’s upcoming gambling coverage but unfortunately, she was fired over some old tweets before she could even record her first podcast for the company. According to a report from Front Office Sports, the network fired Stewart over homophobic tweets she made in 2012. An ESPN spokesman confirmed Stewart was no longer with the network on Friday. Sources tell Front Office Sports that her departure was related to old Twitter messages and posts that were flagged after ESPN brought her on board. ESPN declined to state the reason she’s no longer at the network. Stewart released a statement on Twitter confirming she had been fired over the old tweets and expressed disappointment ESPN didn’t stand behind her. Stewart was hired a little over a month ago and was set to begin appearing on the network as a betting analyst this month.
[SOURCE: brobible.com – ENGAGEMENT: 12.17%]
MEGHAN AND HARRY WELCOME SECOND CHILD, LILIBET ‘LILI’ DIANA
Prince Harry and Meghan may have stepped away from their royal duties — but family appeared to be top of mind in naming their second child, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born Friday in California. The name pays tribute to both Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose family nickname is Lilibet, and his late mother, Princess Diana. “Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family,” Harry and Meghan, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, wrote in a statement that accompanied the birth announcement Sunday. The baby is “more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe,” they continued. The baby girl was born at 11:40 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California, and weighed in at 7 lbs, 11 oz, a spokesperson for the couple said. The child is eighth in line to the British throne. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the queen; Harry’s father, Prince Charles; his brother, Prince William; and other members of the family had been informed and are “delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.” No photos of the newborn or the Sussexes accompanied the announcement. The couple has said that in lieu of gifts, they request those interested learn about or support nonprofit organizations working for women and girls, including Girls Inc., Harvest Home, CAMFED or Myna Mahila Foundation.
[SOURCE: apnews.com – ENGAGMENT: 5.71%]
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DELTA AIR LINES FLIGHT FORCED TO DIVERT AFTER ‘UNRULY PASSENGER’ REPORTEDLY TRIED TO BREACH COCKPIT
A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from LA to Nashville reportedly tried to breach the cockpit Friday, forcing the plane to divert to New Mexico, airport officials in Albuquerque said. Albuquerque International Sunport had received reports from an air traffic control tower that a passenger on the plane had attempted to breach the cabin, according to airport spokeswoman Stephanie Kitts. She said the unidentified passenger was detained by police at the airport once it landed, and the investigation is being turned over the the FBI. The Albuquerque FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but confirmed in a Twitter post it was responding to diverted flight that landed at the airport. One passenger on the flight posted videos of the incident on Twitter and said the flight had to make an emergency landing because a passenger “tried to hijack” the plane. The videos show a male Delta flight attendant appearing to detain the passenger in the back of the plane and also shows a passenger with his wrists ziptied tied behind his back. In a statement, Delta did not provide details of the inflight incident or confirm the passenger tried to breach the cockpit. Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Flight 386 landed without incident in Albuquerque and he praised the crew and passengers on the flight for “detaining an unruly passenger” on the flight. The Boeing 737-900 was carrying 162 passengers and six crew members. The plane landed at the airport at 2:18 p.m. and is scheduled to depart for Nashville this evening, arriving about five hours behind schedule. The incident comes as airlines are seeing a spike in passengers behaving badly, forcing a crackdown by the Federal Aviation Administration.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com – ENGAGMENT: 5.67%]
FACEBOOK REPORTEDLY TO END POLICY SHIELDING POLITICIANS FROM MODERATION RULES
Facebook is set to roll back its policy exempting politicians from some content moderation rules, The Verge reports. Previously, Facebook has come under fire for allowing posts from politicians to remain up when they would otherwise be taken down or lead to account suspension for violating the company’s content policies. Former President Donald Trump was suspended from the platform over his posts following the Capitol riot, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited his “use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government” in explaining the decision. Facebook later referred this decision to its Oversight Board, the company’s “Supreme Court” for its moderation rulings. The Oversight Board called on Facebook to “re-examine the arbitrary penalty it imposed” on Trump. As soon as Friday, Facebook will reportedly announce plans to standardize its content moderation and attempt to provide more transparency on moderation decisions. “Facebook is also set to begin disclosing when it uses a special newsworthiness exemption to keep up content from politicians and others that would otherwise violate its rules,” writes The Verge. NBC News’ Ben Collins called this a “very good change,” arguing “transparency cuts off a lot of conspiracy theories and at least some claims of bias at the knees.” While Facebook is still completing a review of Trump’s account and the decision to suspend it, deciding his account must adhere to the same standards as other users’ would seemingly suggest Trump will ultimately remain permanently banned, like he is on Twitter. A study by watchdog group Media Matters found that Facebook’s previous approach of adding misinformation labels to Trump’s posts may have actually amplified their reach and boosted engagement. Read more about the reported changes at The Verge.
[SOURCE: yahoo.com – ENGAGEMENT: 5.28%]
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HARRY AND MEGHAN DEMOTED BELOW PRINCE EDWARD ON ROYALS WEBSITE
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex now appear below the Earl and Duchess of Wessex on the royals website. Following their Megxit to the states and an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey criticizing The Firm, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been moved down on the list of senior royals posted to the Royal Family site. Fans noticed in previous weeks that the page was down while under construction. Now live once again, Harry and Meghan follow Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and the Wessexes. They previously ranked just beneath big brother Prince William and wife, Kate Middleton. Harry’s updated biography reads, “As announced in January, The Duke and Duchess have stepped back as senior members of The Royal Family. They are balancing their time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour their duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and their patronages. Frogmore Cottage in the UK remains their family home.” Meghan’s bio adds, “The Duchess will continue to support a number of charitable causes and organizations which reflect the issues with which she has long been associated including the arts, access to education, support for women and animal welfare.” While some may interpret the change as a shot aimed at the Sussexes, others felt the move wasn’t enough, believing the couple should be removed from the site completely.
[SOURCE: pagesix.com – ENGAGEMENT: 3.79%]
CNN GUESTS CLAIM DONALD TRUMP IS ‘LOSING POWER’ AS FOX NEWS DECLINES TO BROADCAST FORMER PRESIDENT’S SPEECH LIVE
Fox News and CNN both declined to broadcast live former President Donald Trump‘s speech at the North Carolina GOP Convention dinner. MSNBC briefly aired footage of the speech, but viewers could not hear what the former president had to say, as MSNBC correspondent Ali Vitali provided commentary, speaking over him. CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted that while “Newsmax and One America News are showing Trump live, as expected,” Fox News was instead “sticking with a pre-taped ‘Watters World.’” Although CNN did not broadcast the speech, guests David Gergen, a former presidential advisor in multiple administrations, and Amanda Carpenter, a former senior staffer to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), devoted a chunk of time to discuss the newsworthiness of Trump’s first speech in months. Asked by CNN’s Pamela Brown whether or not she was worried Trump would use the speech to continue to push unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, Carpenter replied: “As long as he remains stuck on November 2020, everyone else will remain stuck on January 6th. Because those two things are inextricably linked.” “This whole event feels weird, right?” she continued. “Like, he is entering this speech so diminished as a twice-impeached, losing president under multiple investigations. His aides are talking about reinstating him as president. He can’t even be reinstated on social media right now. And so, I just have a lot of questions about this event. It doesn’t seem presidential at all.” Carpenter and Gergen agreed that he appears to be losing power, with Gergen adding that in his opinion, CNN’s decision not to cover the speech live underscored how Trump’s relevancy is waning.
[SOURCE: mediaite.com – ENGAGEMENT: 2.70%]
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FALCONS TRADE JULIO JONES TO TITANS IN BLOCKBUSTER DEAL
Julio Jones is a Tennessee Titan. After weeks of speculation and a very publicized conversation with Shannon Sharpe, the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver has now been traded. The blockbuster deal was reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The reported trade will not be official just yet, as the Falcons star still needs to pass a physical. But once everything is clear, Julio Jones will formally be the Tennessee Titans’ latest weapon, Rapoport clarified. “The deal may not be official for another few days — Julio Jones will have to take a physical. But the Titans are the landing spot.” The drama had been leading up to this point, and it just became a matter of when and no longer if. A trade had been brewing since the end of the 2020 NFL season, but it only really snowballed when Jones’ discontent with the Falcons became louder–which of course had the entire league buzzing. Julio Jones adds a devastating receiving threat to an offense buoyed by the ground game of running back and human bulldozer Derrick Henry. While the two-time All-Pro certainly had a down year last season, you could say that about the Atlanta Falcons franchise as a whole. Look for him to bounce back in a big way in his first year in a Titans uniform.
[SOURCE: clutchpoints.com – ENGAGEMENT: 2.15%]
T-MOBILE EMPLOYEE FILES SUIT AFTER HR ASKED INVASIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT HER ONLYFANS ACCOUNT
A sales rep at a T-Mobile store in Fort Worth, Texas has filed a gender discrimination suit against the company after a member of the HR team inappropriately questioned her about having an OnlyFans account. Caitlyn Stevens had been working at T-Mobile for nearly seven years when a male colleague became angry with her about how she was handling a customer interaction, the complaint says. He approached her “in a physically aggressive manager,” forcing a coworker to step in and stop the man from hitting her. Stevens reported the incident to the store manager. Rather than disciplining the male colleague who’d allegedly tried to hurt her, the manager relocated Stevens to a different location, according to the complaint. The location got less foot traffic, resulting in fewer sales for employees, Stevens says. “I did not feel like it was fair that I went to a slower location based on what had just happened,” she explains in an interview with The Verge. When Stevens submitted a complaint to HR, a man on the team called her and began asking questions about her personal life, including “whether she had a ‘sugar daddy’ and whether she had an OnlyFans account.” Stevens was shocked. “I immediately started crying,” she tells The Verge. “I told him I did not feel comfortable and he still continued to ask the questions.” According to Stevens, the male HR rep said “we’ve heard that you have an OnlyFans account, is that true?” Then he added, “We’ve heard that people have seen nude pictures of you.” Stevens says the questions felt violating. “I felt sexually harassed, I felt uncomfortable,” she says. “The nature of the questions, when I’m literally reporting a physical assault, is not okay.” Stevens’ attorney, Vincent White, a partner at White, Hilferty and Albanese, says the incident shows T-Mobile sided with Stevens’ male colleague over her. “T-Mobile chose to stand with a man who had a history of violence in the workplace over a woman who was a high performer at the company for seven years,” he said in a statement. “Caitlyn Stevens’ personal life had nothing to do with store operations, while threatening coworkers with violence hinders the productivity and well-being of the entire workplace.” Stevens turned down a settlement in order to speak out about what happened. “I think she chose a much harder path here, but she realizes that this is indicative of a broader trend that many women are facing and feels strongly about changing the culture by telling her story,” says Ariella Steinhorn, founder of Lioness Strategies, a communications firm assisting in Stevens’ case.
[SOURCE: theverge.com – ENGAGEMENT: 2.15%]
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