Eight Things To Talk About For Wednesday, June 9, 2021

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The 8 topics that our followers ranked as the most conversational are:

RAPPER POOH SHIESTY ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH MIAMI-DADE STRIP CLUB SHOOTING  
A well-known rapper has been arrested in connection with a shooting at a Miami-Dade County strip club. Rapper Pooh Shiesty, whose real name is Lontrell Williams, was booked into the Miami-Dade jail Tuesday on an aggravated battery charge, records showed. The 21-year-old was being held without bond. Attorney information wasn’t available. Williams is accused of shooting a security guard in the leg at King of Diamonds strip club during Memorial Day weekend, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the Miami Herald. Williams was arrested back in October in connection with a separate shooting in Bay Harbor Islands that left two men hospitalized. Shiesty is signed to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records and has more than 3.3 million Instagram followers.
[SOURCE: nbcmiami.com / ENGAGEMENT: 13.35%]

FRANCE’S MACRON SLAPPED IN FACE DURING CROWD STOP, TWO DETAINED
French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face while greeting a crowd in southeast France on Tuesday, in a shock incident he shrugged off as “isolated” but which drew widespread condemnation in a tense political climate. Video footage on social media shows Macron shaking hands with voters when a man in a green t-shirt takes hold of his forearm and slaps him. Someone can be heard in the video shouting an old French royalist battle cry, and “Down with Macronism”. Macron’s bodyguards quickly intervened and two people were detained after the incident in the village of Tain l’Hermitage, local officials said. Two 28-year-old men living in the region are being questioned, said local prosecutor Alex Perrin. But “at this stage of questioning, their motives remain unknown”. The incident took place in a tense and increasingly polarised political climate in France, weeks ahead of regional elections and less than a year before presidential polls. In an interview with the Dauphine Libere newspaper, Macron insisted he was unafraid and would continue to meet people in this way. The assault sparked outrage across the political spectrum and overshadowed what Macron has billed as a listening tour to “take the country’s pulse”. “Politics can never be violence, verbal aggression, much less physical aggression,” Prime Minister Jean Castex told parliament, adding that “through the president, it is democracy that has been targeted”. Macron continued meeting the public, alongside his wife Brigitte.
[SOURCE: yahoo.com / ENGAGEMENT: 11.08%]

PAUL GIVAN TO BECOME NORTHERN IRELAND’S NEW LEADER  
A 39-year-old lawmaker is set to become Northern Ireland’s youngest first minister, following an internal party revolt that led to the ousting of the leader who played a major role during recent Brexit dramas. Paul Givan was nominated for the top job in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday by the new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. Edwin Poots broke with tradition by deciding not to serve as first minister himself. Both Givan and Poots are considered religious conservatives. DUP divisions surfaced with the effective ousting of First Minister Arlene Foster over her handling of Brexit and her perceived softening on social issues like abortion and LGBT rights.
[SOURCE: wkow.com / ENGAGMENT: 8.80%]

POLICE RAIDS AROUND WORLD AFTER INVESTIGATORS CRACK AN0M CRYPTOPHONE APP IN MAJOR HACKING OPERATION 
Police in sixteen countries have launched multiple raids after intercepting the communications of organised criminal groups in the biggest police hacking operation undertaken to date. Drug dealers and other criminal groups in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US were sending messages on an encrypted communications network, unaware that it was being run the FBI. The network, known as An0m, offered encrypted Android phones and an encrypted computer platform that claimed to offer its users secure communications. The FBI created An0m as a closed encrypted platform to target organised crime, drug trafficking and money laundering. An0m had 9,000 users world-wide. Users were unaware that the FBI had been harvesting their private communications. The platform is the latest in a string of encrypted communications networks, known as Criminally Dedicated Secure Communications (CDSC) networks to be breached by law enforcement. Europol described the operation, which it said targeted some of the world’s foremost criminals, as the “most sophisticated effort to date to disrupt the activities of criminals operating from all four corners of the world.” The An0m network was cracked by a technical expert from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), who developed a “trojan horse app” that was able to decrypt messages and read them in real time. More than 9,000 officers across the world, including 4,500 from Australia worked on the investigation.
[SOURCE: computerweekly.com / ENGAGEMENT: 7.28%]

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BUCS ROOKIE CAMERON KINLEY TOLD BY NAVY HE CAN’T PLAY THIS SEASON 
After four years as a standout at the U.S. Naval Academy, Cameron Kinley signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in May as an undrafted rookie free agent. But when the Bucs start mandatory minicamp Tuesday, Kinley won’t be there. He will instead be required to immediately commission for the rank of ensign. Cadets who attend the Naval Academy commit to active-duty military service after graduation. A 2019 policy directive allows for graduates pursuing a career in professional sports to delay their commission if approved by the defense secretary. Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker denied Kinley’s request and won’t permit him to appeal the decision.  Harker declined to forward any exception requests from recent Navy graduates to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a spokesman for Harker told Yahoo Sports on Monday. “Following discussions with senior Department of Navy leadership and in accordance with existing Department of Defense policy, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker declined to forward requests from recent Naval Academy graduates to the Secretary of Defense, seeking to delay their commissions,” Capt. Jereal Dorsey said in a statement. Kinley’s agent Ryan Williams-Jenkins, who attended and played football at the Naval Academy, criticized the decision in a statement. He said: “As a Naval Academy graduate, football player, and decorated combat veteran I understand Cameron’s commitment. I also understand there are ways he can fulfill his commitment while representing the Navy and playing professional sports. I played with three-time Super Bowl champion Joe Cardona, who still serves our country as a Navy reservist. If there is a directive and precedent allowing other service academy athletes to pursue this opportunity, what makes Cameron different? It is important to note that this could have a long-term impact on his mental health going forward. He wants to fulfill both of his childhood dreams, playing in the NFL and honorably serving his country.” Kinley, a Memphis native, wrote a letter to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) seeking help with his case.
[SOURCE: sports.yahoo.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.83%]

TEYANA TAYLOR IS FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO BE NAMED MAXIM’S SEXIEST WOMAN ALIVE
Teyana Taylor definitely deserves the title of Maxim‘s Sexiest Woman Alive, even if she is a bit taken aback by it. The publication’s annual Hot 100 list named the “Coming 2 America” star as their top pick. “Somebody pinch me!!!! Maxim Hot 100 to be named the ‘Sexiest Woman alive’ by literally living in the skin I’m in. WOW….Stepping back in front of the lens has been a journey of self-reflection and self-confidence. Living up to name and title of this shoot wholeheartedly made me nervous,” Taylor captioned the Maxim cover on Instagram. The multi-hyphenate is the first Black woman to be named No. 1 on Maxim’s list. The mom of Iman (Junie), 5, and Rue, nine months, recalled, “This particular day was dope because it made me see another side of myself. I had just dropped JUNIE off at school before heading straight to the shoot; sweatpants a beanie and an army jacket. My hair wasn’t done for a ‘shoot’ because I planned on throwing on a wig & I didn’t have on any make up.” Which is precisely how photographer Gilles Bensimon wanted to shoot her. “I was like SO LET ME UNDERSTAND THIS…I WILL BE THE SEXIEST Woman Alive IN SWEATS AND A SKULLY?” she added.
[SOURCE: etcnda.com / ENGAGEMENT: 6.53%]

NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR MOTHER OF SAN JOSE BOY, JOHN “LITTLE ZION” DOE, FOUND DEAD NEAR LAS VEGAS
Authorities have identified a body found near a highway outside Las Vegas 10 days ago as that of a missing boy from San Jose, California. His mother is now wanted for his murder, and there’s a nationwide search for her, CBS San Francisco reports. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said Monday the body was identified as that of 7-year-old Liam Husted, who was last seen traveling by car with his mother, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez. The boy had come to be known as John “Little Zion” Doe. Las Vegas police worked with counterparts from San Jose over the weekend to confirm his identity, Metro police Lieutenant Raymond Spencer said at a Monday news conference. “Over the last 10 days, we have put in a tremendous amount of resources,” said Spencer. “We had detectives working through hundreds of leads in an effort to identify the victim. … After looking at those photographs, we believed that there was a very good possibility that the missing person case that they were working in San Jose was related to our homicide investigation.” Rodriguez left San Jose with her son on May 24, traveling first to Southern California and then Nevada, Spencer said. “We can place them in the area of Laguna Beach, on the afternoon of the 26th of May,” Spencer said. “Later that afternoon, we know the vehicle was in the area of Victorville, California.” A hiker found the boy’s body May 28 off State Route 160 near Mountain Springs, just west of Las Vegas. Investigators believe his body had been recently placed there and he was the victim of a homicide. Investigators were tipped off by a family friend who hadn’t seen Rodriguez or her son for some time and saw news coverage of a boy’s body found in the desert. Police said they sent an investigator to San Jose to collect clothing and a pillow of Liam’s, which they used to positively identify his body through DNA. Investigators found that Rodriguez continued to travel in the same vehicle, Spencer said. A nationwide arrest warrant was issued for Rodriguez. Police are looking for her vehicle, a dark blue 2008 Dodge Caliber hatchback with California license plate 6WLH211. Police are urging anyone with additional information about Rodriguez to come forward.
[SOURCE: cbsnews.com / ENGAGMENT: 4.25%]

COLORADO HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL RESIGNS AFTER STUDENTS REENACT GEORGE FLOYD MURDER ON SOCIAL MEDIA  
A Colorado high school principal has resigned weeks after a photo surface of several students reenacting the murder of George Floyd in the school’s parking lot. According to the Boulder Daily Camera, Mead High principal Rachael Ayers’ resignation was announced in a letter to families sent on Monday from St. Vrain Valley Schools superintendent Don Haddad. Ayers had worked at Mead High School for 12 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. The announcement comes nearly three weeks an image, reportedly posted on Snapchat, showed a student kneeling on the neck of another student who appears to be wearing blackface. A third student appears to be “restraining” the student in blackface. After the photo circulated, the NAACP Boulder County Chapter asked the St. Vrain Valley school district to take a number of steps to address systemic racism in the area’s schools. The school district declined to say whether the resignation was related to the viral photo.
[SOURCE: msn.com / ENGAGMENT: 4.10%]

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.

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 FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

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