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:
PLANTERS ANNOUNCES MR. PEANUT HAS DIED AT AGE 104 AHEAD OF SUPER BOWL
In an accompanying video, a 2020 Super Bowl pre-game ad, Mr. Peanut can be seen driving to the big game in the NUTmobile with his pals, Matt Walsh and Wesley Snipes. During the drive, Walsh sees an armadillo in the road and yells, “Ah! Look out!” To avoid the animal, Mr. Peanut swerves and the NUTMobile goes over a cliff. The three friends are able to abandon the car and grab onto a branch, however, they soon realize “we’re too heavy.” After noticing that the branch is breaking, Mr. Peanut tips his hat to his friends and let’s go.
[SOURCE: eonline.com]
8 PEOPLE SHOT, 1 DEAD IN DOWNTOWN SEATTLE
Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said authorities began receiving calls of multiple gunshot victims at about 5 p.m. One person was found dead and five others were taken to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center by fire and medical personnel, he said. The person who died was a woman approximately 40 to 50 years old, fire officials told the Seattle Times. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg and fire officials said later Wednesday that a total of seven people were being treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds. An approximately 55-year-old woman was in critical condition, a 9-year-old child was in serious condition and five men were in satisfactory condition.
[SOURCE: apnews.com]
75 ‘HIGHLY DANGEROUS’ INMATES ESCAPE FROM PARAGUAYAN PRISON
Officers investigating the escape Sunday morning found a massive tunnel as well as about 200 bags of earth stashed in the cells, but they believe the tunnel may have been used to cover up complicity by prison officials who may have allowed inmates to simply walk out through the main gate. Most of the inmates are affiliated with Brazil’s First Capital Command, a powerful criminal organization that was founded inside a São Paulo prison in the 1990s and is involved with drug trafficking, large-scale robberies, kidnapping and other crimes.
[SOURCE: nydailynews.com]
ELI MANNING RETIRES AFTER 16 NFL SEASONS
Manning, 39, steps away holding almost every passing record in team history and a pair of Super Bowl rings. His victories over the New England Patriots after the 2007 and ’11 seasons are the most iconic moments from a legendary career. They will put him in the conversation for the Hall of Fame in five years, when he’s eligible. Manning is one of just five players in NFL history with at least two Super Bowl MVPs. He’s in an elite club with Joe Montana, Bart Starr, Tom Brady and Terry Bradshaw.
[SOURCE: espn.com]
REP. TULSI GABBARD SUES HILLARY CLINTON FOR ALLEGED ‘RUSSIAN ASSET’ SMEAR IN 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST, CLAIMING $50 MILLION IN DAMAGES
The suit claims that Gabbard has suffered “actual damages” of ”$50 million — and counting” from Clinton’s comments. But the suit does not cite a specific amount of damages it is seeking. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee who previously was a senator from New York, said in an October interview that an unnamed Democratic presidential candidate was “the favorite of the Russians.” Clinton did not mention Gabbard, a four-term congresswoman, by name in that interview with the podcast “Campaign HQ With David Plouffe.” But Clinton’s spokesman, Nick Merrill, said after the interview that “If the nesting doll fits,” when asked if she had been referring to Gabbard, who is also a major in the Army National Guard and a combat veteran of Iraq.
[SOURCE: cnbc.com]
TERRY JONES DEAD: ‘MONTY PYTHON’ FOUNDER, BRITISH COMEDY ICON WAS 77
Jones had been suffering from dementia, which was revealed publicly by his son, Bill, in September 2016. It left him unable to speak. Renowned for his depictions of middle-aged housewives, often with hysterically falsetto voices, it was Jones who would famously scream the iconic line, “He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy,” while playing mother to the titular not-quite-son-of-god in the 1979 comedy Monty Python’s Life of Brian, which he also directed. The line twice was voted the funniest in film history in U.K. polls. Although rarely receiving the same acclaim as Monty Python’s other members, Jones as widely regarded within the group as its underrated but passionate heart, known for his good-natured enthusiasm and a deep well of intelligence across a broad range of subjects.
[SOURCE: hollywoodreporter.com]
DEREK JETER GETS 99.7% HALL OF FAME VOTE, LARRY WALKER GETS IN
The last of the New York Yankees’ single-digit legends, Jeter on Tuesday just missed becoming the second player shipped off to Cooperstown in unanimous fashion, receiving 396 of 397 votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America. Teammate Mariano Rivera was the first unanimous selection last year. Walker, whose climb to the 75% vote total required for induction looked impossible just three years ago, earned 76.6% of the vote – getting in by 10 votes –, earning induction in his 10th and final appearance on the ballot. Walker, 53, is the seventh player to get in on his final try, following Edgar Martinez’s path one year ago, and joins pitcher Ferguson Jenkins as the only Canadians in the Hall.
[SOURCE: usatoday.com]
U.S. SUPREME COURT LETS FLINT, MICHIGAN RESIDENTS SUE OVER WATER CONTAMINATION
The justices turned away two appeals by the city and the state and local officials of a lower court ruling that allowed the lawsuit to move forward. The lower court rejected a demand for immunity by the officials, finding that they violated the residents’ right to “bodily integrity” under the U.S. Constitution by providing the tainted water after switching water sources in a cost-cutting move in 2014. The justices’ action comes as similar class-action cases are currently on appeal at the Cincinnati, Ohio-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Flint switched its public water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River to reduce costs during a financial crisis. The corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes. Lead poisoning can stunt children’s cognitive development. No level of exposure is considered safe.
[SOURCE: reuters.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.
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