ESPN did something unexpected on Monday — they got people to care about the ESPYs. The network announced Monday afternoon that Caitlyn Jenner would receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at next month’s ESPYs award show in Los Angeles, honoring the person formerly known as Bruce Jenner for "(showing) the courage to embrace a truth that had been hidden for years, and to embark on a journey that may not only give comfort to those facing similar circumstances, but can also help to educate people on the challenges that the transgender community faces," ESPYs executive producer Maura Mandt said in a statement announcing the award. While Jenner has been celebrated for her choice, ESPN has been criticized for making Jenner its choice. Many sports fans are accusing ESPN of chasing the day’s trend and forgetting the not-so-recent past. College basketball player Lauren Hill, who battled a brain tumor during her freshman year … [Read more...] about Twitter users call for ESPN to give Arthur Ashe Courage Award to Lauren Hill, not Caitlyn Jenner, at ESPYs
Senate GOP’s Iran letter sparks American outrage, #47Traitors Twitter trend
Twitter has turned on the nation’s 47 traitors. Outraged Americans on Tuesday blasted the overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans for sending a letter to Iran’s leaders, sparking a top trending #47Traitors hashtag on the social media site following the Daily News’ front-page coverage of the unprecedented missive. “We have met the enemy, and they are ours. #47Traitors,” user @Normsmusic of California wrote. “Judas got thirty pieces of silver. What did you get? @SenJohnMcCain #47Traitors,” New Jersey resident @annmariepoli added. Others took to social media to individually list the renegade lawmakers who sent an open letter to Iran’s leaders warning them that a future President “could revoke” any nuclear deal not approved by Congress. The News condemned the dangerous treachery in Tuesday’s scathing editorial — and a chorus of patriots chimed in. … [Read more...] about Senate GOP’s Iran letter sparks American outrage, #47Traitors Twitter trend
Tech Thursdays: E3 game announcements, Oculus Rift and Snoop Dog for Twitter CEO
Daily News tech reporter Alejandro Alba is back with another segment of Tech Thursdays. This week, Alba talks about the videogame announcements made at E3, which include "Final Fantasy VII," "Star Fox Zero," "Halo 5" and "Rise of the Tomb Raider." Other headlines include Snoop Dog announcing his candidacy for Twitter CEO, YouTube launching its own gaming website, Emoji passcodes and the Oculus Rift release date. Make sure to subscribe to the Daily News YouTube channel to keep up with Tech Thursdays every week and other news videos. On mobile? Watch Tech Thursdays here. … [Read more...] about Tech Thursdays: E3 game announcements, Oculus Rift and Snoop Dog for Twitter CEO
‘SNL’ star Colin Jost nukes Time Warner Cable on Twitter
Update: Jost's cable was restored as of Friday, Time Warner Cable said in an email to the Daily News. "Saturday Night Live" star Colin Jost is at war with Time Warner Cable. The head writer and "Weekend Update" co-anchor went nuclear on Twitter against the cable provider Wednesday night, claiming his service has been out for four months despite scores of calls and visits from technicians. "The main reason I believe in the concept of Hell is because I know the people who work at Time Warner Cable will go there when they die," the 32-year-old Staten Island-bred comic seethed. "My new goal in life is to be the Mother Theresa of getting people to switch from Time Warner Cable to Fios," he added. In all, the Regis High School and Harvard University graduate posted some two dozen messages slamming the cable and Internet behemoth while retweeting scores of other complaints from people who have had similar issues. … [Read more...] about ‘SNL’ star Colin Jost nukes Time Warner Cable on Twitter
This is how Twitter reacted to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign logo
Hillary Clinton made her presidential candidacy official on Sunday, and naturally, the Internet reacted with all sorts of jokes to her announcement and her presidential campaign logo. The logo is a blue "H" with a red arrow in the middle pointing right. Some people think the logo is cool and retro, but the majority of the Internet is mocking the logo with Microsoft Paint designs, Stock photography lookalikes and other jokes. These are some notable tweets published from users on Twitter: … [Read more...] about This is how Twitter reacted to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign logo
‘Daily Show’ correspondent Aasif Mandvi defends Trevor Noah amid Twitter controversy
Aasif Mandvi, a contributing correspondent on "The Daily Show," says the uproar over Trevor Noah's past tweets is "much ado about nothing." Noah, newly named as Jon Stewart's successor, has been feeling the heat over several controversial old posts on Twitter, where he joked about women and Jews. Mandvi came to the defense of his future boss during a Linkedin discussion in New York on Tuesday. "The guy made some off-color, irresponsible tweets, but he was trying to be funny," he said when asked about the controversy. "There's going to be a presidential candidate 25 years from now. Are we going to go back and look at his Twitter feed when he was 14, because it's going to have a lot of stupid things with it. I don't have the answer." "Are we going to hold artists, comedians, responsible for what they say on Twitter?" the comedian asked. Mandvi joked that Trevor isn't his boss yet, but he did say he's excited for him to get started. "I … [Read more...] about ‘Daily Show’ correspondent Aasif Mandvi defends Trevor Noah amid Twitter controversy
City’s top cop hits high on Twitter
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton celebrated reaching a landmark social media following Sunday, announcing that he amassed 25,000 followers on Twitter. “Thanks to @SinacoriAnthony for being my 25K follower. Great to connect w/all who follow, community members & cops,” New York's Top Cop tweeted, linking to his record-setting follower, who is also a member of the department. Though Police Officer Anthony Sinacori is a 13-year-veteran of the department, he is a relative newcomer to the social media scene. After becoming involved in the NYPD’s new training initiative, Sincori-- who is assigned to the 20th Precinct in Manhattan-- created a Twitter account to follow other precincts, NYPDnews.com reported. His first two tweets were in response to the Commissioner's praise. “I would like to thank the commissoner (sic) For his kind response in acknowledging his newest follower,” Sinacori wrote. “As a … [Read more...] about City’s top cop hits high on Twitter
Jessie J upsets fans after unfollowing everyone on Twitter
British pop singer Jessie J has upset her fans after she "unfollowed" hundreds of people on Twitter. At the start of the month, the "Price Tag" singer was following 885 people on the micro-blogging site, where pop stars often have huge followings. By Thursday her 'Following' count had gone down to just 1 but, confusingly, a further click brought up a message saying "@JessieJ isn't following anyone yet". She began deleting the accounts she was following earlier this week, and fans quickly began to react angrily. "I didn't unfollow just all my fans. Please stop trying to create bad energy, I unfollowed half my followers...," the singer wrote on Tuesday in a now deleted tweet. "And when my thumb can be bothered I will unfollow the other half. Seriously guys. My love and respect for anyone isn't based in a follow." Many of her supporters took to Twitter to voice their disappointment, with one writing: "@JessieJ your words upset so many people who … [Read more...] about Jessie J upsets fans after unfollowing everyone on Twitter
Mets’ Noah Syndergaard hurls insults at fan on Twitter: ‘I’m sure you call in sick to your pathetic 9-5 job’
Noah Syndergaard isn’t well enough to take the mound, but the Mets’ top pitching prospect mustered up the strength to hurl some insults at a fan who called him “soft.” After it was announced that Syndergaard would miss his scheduled start for Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday night — because of a “gastro” issue, according to Mets GM Sandy Alderson — the righthander engaged in a war of words on Twitter with a follower who criticized him. When someone tweeted that Syndergaard was “soft,” the 22-year-old responded, “I’m sure you call in sick to your pathetic 9-5 job all the time. Or you might not have one.” He also said, “I really hope you don’t reproduce.” When asked if he would prefer Syndergaard not respond to criticism on social media, Alderson laughed. “Yes. Generally speaking, Twitter’s more of a trap than a means of positive … [Read more...] about Mets’ Noah Syndergaard hurls insults at fan on Twitter: ‘I’m sure you call in sick to your pathetic 9-5 job’
Kanye West tweets support for Tidal after removing all Twitter references to Jay Z’s music service
The Tidal has turned. Kanye West is once again promoting his pal Jay Z’s new music service Tidal, after making headlines for scrubbing his Twitter account of all references to it. “The love of music is louder than words,” he tweeted Wednesday night. It was a change of tune for Yeezus, considering that he initially deleted all references to Tidal, including removing the service’s logo as his Twitter avatar. West was one of the many music superstars, along with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna and Nicki Minaj, who attended Tidal’s star-studded launch last month, which is why it didn’t go unnoticed when he removed his original tweets promoting the service. It was unclear why the rapper deleted the messages, but the removal did coincide with news of Tidal's middling launch; it dropped out of iTunes’s Top 700 most-downloaded apps chart this week. Perhaps West’s change of heart has to do with reports … [Read more...] about Kanye West tweets support for Tidal after removing all Twitter references to Jay Z’s music service