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:
JUUL IS UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BY FEDERAL PROSECUTORS
In California, federal prosecutors have launched a criminal probe into Juul Labs, the immensely popular e-cigarette manufacturer, according to The Wall Street Journal. The focus of the probe is unclear, but the investigation is being led by the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, according to the Journal. Juul has faced a number of legal challenges in recent months, as government outrage grows over hundreds of illnesses linked to e-cigarette use, including seven deaths. A number of federal authorities are already investigating Juul. The Federal Trade Commission and a few state attorneys general are focusing on the company’s marketing practices and whether they purposefully sought to target minors. The Food and Drug Administration is also actively probing Juul, but little is known about its investigation.
[SOURCE: theverge.com]
KANSAS BASKETBALL HIT WITH MAJOR NCAA VIOLATION CHARGES STEMMING FROM FBI PROBE
Several Level II violations have also been levied against the football program dating back to the previous coaching regime under David Beaty, according to Yahoo Sports, which first reported the notice of allegations. Those violations are less serious in nature and reportedly include charges of allowing an extra coach to work during practice. Kansas’ alleged violations in basketball stem from the FBI’s recent investigation into the sport related to corruption and bribery. The probe roped in Kansas when T.J. Gassnola, a former Adidas consultant, testified about his involvement in funneling money to the mother of former KU basketball player Billy Preston and to the guardian of current KU basketball player Silvio De Sousa. Last week, reports surfaced indicating an NOA — with major rules violations allegations — was likely imminent for the program.
[SOURCE: cbssports.com]
NUTRITIONIST PIXIE TURNER USED TO BE SO OBSESSED WITH ‘CLEAN EATING’ SHE ATE A PLATE OF VEGETABLES ALONE ON HER BIRTHDAY. NOW SHE’S AN ADVOCATE FOR DEBUNKING THE WELLNESS MYTHS SHE FELL FOR ON SOCIAL
About six years ago, Pixie Turner became immersed in the world of wellness bloggers on Instagram. This was when trends like clean eating — eating predominantly raw vegetables and cutting out or dramatically restricting almost everything else — were at their peak. Before she knew it, her Instagram account Plant Based Pixie had thousands of followers relying on her for health and nutrition advice. She was fully cemented in the elite group of wellness gurus who were taking over social media. But while it should have been a positive change for followers to embrace, critics of the wellness fad soon started to speak up. They said behind the dewy, envious appearance of many Instagrammers were promotions of an unhealthy, unattainable body image and masses of false information about food: gluten is bad for your gut, detox tea is your savior, and acidic food causes diseases.
[SOURCE: businessinsider.com]
HEROIC BYSTANDERS RESCUE GIRL AFTER FATHER DIES JUMPING IN FRONT OF SUBWAY TRAIN
Cellphone video captured a harrowing rescue on Monday, showing bystanders who scrambled to rescue a young girl when her father jumped in front of a moving train while holding her in his arms. The video showed commuters as they jumped into action on Monday morning when a 45-year-old man jumped to his death from a subway platform in the Bronx while holding his daughter. The 5-year-old girl miraculously landed in a safe space below the train, allowing her to survive the frightening incident. She was crying and calling for her father, who was pronounced dead on the scene.
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com]
TEKASHI 69 WITNESS PROTECTION: RAPPER MAY PAY FOR OWN TATTOO REMOVAL
According to the New York Times, “Prosecutors have indicated he could enter the witness protection program,” but that “it is unlikely the United States Marshals Service, which runs the witness protection program, would pay for the removal of Mr. Hernandez’s [Tekash 69i’s real name] signature face tattoos.” A quote from Jay Kramer, a former FBI official who worked on organized crime cases, says, “Despite how connected we are, and the appetite for social media content in this country, there are places where, if this kid gets a haircut and wears normal clothes, no one would know or care who he is.”
[SOURCE: uproxx.com]
A 6.0-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRUCK OFF THE COAST OF PUERTO RICO
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Puerto Rico Monday night, striking off the coast of the island in the Atlantic Ocean. The quake hit about 49 miles north-northwest of Isabela, Puerto Rico, around 11:23 p.m. ET, according to the United States Geological Survey. At least three aftershocks have followed the quake including a magnitude 4.7, USGS said. Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced said in a tweet that there was no damage.
[SOURCE: cnn.com]
INDONESIA FIRES TURN SKY AN EERIE BLOOD RED
Koh Tieh Yong, a professor at Singapore University of Social Sciences, told the British news agency that this phenomenon, known as Rayleigh scattering, has to do with certain types of particles that are present during a period of haze. “In the smoke haze, the most abundant particles are around one micrometre in size, but these particles do not change the colour of the light we see. There are also smaller particles, around 0.05 micrometres or less, that don’t make up a lot of the haze but are still somewhat more abundant during a haze period [than a normal non-haze period]… but this is enough to give an extra tendency to scatter red light more in the forward and backward directions than blue light – and that is why would you see more red than blue.”
[SOURCE: foxnews.com]
GOOGLE PLAY PASS BUNDLES 350 ANDROID GAMES AND APPS FOR $4.99 PER MONTH
Google is launching a new service called “Google Play Pass,” which for $4.99 per month gives Android users access to over 350 games and apps which will be served ad free and without any in-app purchases. Google will give users 10 days free and is also planning on offering the first year at $1.99 per month. It will be available in the US this week and other countries “soon.” Google’s take on the app subscription model is a little different from Apple, which just last week launched Apple Arcade, its $4.99 games subscription service. Firstly, Google Play pass includes apps as well as games. Secondly, Google isn’t directly funding development their development nor demanding exclusivity.
[SOURCE: theverge.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 a weekend.
A full weeks’ data (from Friday to Friday) is compiled, weighed, and sorted to produce the content for the Wrap-Up Show 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 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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