Elderly YouTuber individually thanks his thousands of subscribers

We’ve found it, folks: the purest YouTube channel on the internet.

Nilson Izaias is a senior citizen who loves to post stories about the flowers and fruits in his garden. In December, Nilson decided to write all of his subscribers down in a notebook, then thank them individually in a video.

The only problem? His channel appears to have exploded as a result. Nilson now has over 897,000 subscribers. 

SEE ALSO: These senior citizen YouTubers are better than anyone else on this hellscape internet

I’m not sure how he will get through his hundreds of thousands of subscribers, but he’s trying. At the end of January, Nilson had just 1,862 followers. Now, he’s approaching 900,000.

That’s a lot of composition notebooks to fill.

Since the original post, Nilson has made multiple thank you videos, all of them equally uplifting. 

This is YouTube Xanax, folks. This is the pure shit. I’m high. It makes me feel like people are good again. 

Why would you watch Logan Paul fart for clicks when you can watch human gratitude in action? He’s a Mary Oliver poem reimagined as a senior citizen YouTuber. Even his comments section is full of gentle strangers thanking Deus for him. 

You don’t need to be fluent in Portuguese to enjoy this kind of content. I highly recommend you check out his other videos, including such critically acclaimed hits as “Me having breakfast in the morning” and “Bird singing in my backyard.”

I’m currently making my way through his psychological thriller slime-making series. My favorite episode is made to be watched on a loop: “My slime worked. I got here this time. I made my dream my friends.”

I saw the dream my friends. I think it’s this channel.

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Brian Flores Named Dolphins Head Coach After Patriots’ Super Bowl Victory

New England Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores watches his team warm up before an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

New England Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins to become their new head coach.  

The Dolphins announced the news Monday following the Patriots’ 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. General manager Chris Grier provided his thoughts on the hiring in a statement:

“Two things that stand out immediately when you meet Brian are his football intelligence and leadership skills. Brian is widely respected throughout the NFL. He paid his dues in New England working in personnel, on offense, defense and special teams, which helped him build a great understanding of what it takes to win. If you talk with anyone who has played for him or worked with him, you will hear about his ability to lead and get the most out of people. Brian sets a high standard for his players and coaches and we are completely aligned with our vision on how to build a successful organization.”

The 37-year-old joined the Patriots in 2004 as a scouting assistant and slowly worked his way up the coaching chain. While still listed as New England’s linebackers coach, he effectively took over for former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who left to coach the Detroit Lions last year.

In Flores’ only season in charge of the unit, the Patriots defense ranked 21st in yards (359.1 per game) and seventh in points allowed (20.3 per game). New England was also 16th in defensive efficiency, per Football Outsiders.

This wasn’t the first season he was on the radar for a team needing to fill a head-coaching vacancy. Prior to selecting Steve Wilks, the Arizona Cardinals brought him in for a formal interview.

Ahead of the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim spoke highly of his meeting with Flores, per Andy Hart of the Patriots’ official site:

“Brian was a guy I didn’t know a lot about. Had the recommendations from a lot of different people. Was really impressed with him in the interview process, maybe a little bit more just about his presence. A lot of times you get to know a guy and early on you can see that this guy can command the room. And there is no doubt in my mind that Brian Flores has that skill, that he can command the room, that he can hold 53 guys’ attention and earn their respect. That’s really what it’s about. The great ones in the league, to me, can do that.”

Flores’ stock has been steadily climbing, and his hiring as a head coach was inevitable.

Through no fault of his own, his arrival in Miami is likely to be met with some skepticism. Bill Belichick is one of the NFL’s greatest minds, but his coaching tree is a mixed bag at best.

Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, Josh McDaniels and Eric Mangini all parlayed their success in New England into head-coaching jobs elsewhere, and all four fell well short of expectations. Bill O’Brien might be an exception, and the jury is still out on Patricia, though he’s already facing heavy scrutiny after the Lions went 6-10 in 2018.

To some extent, it’s unfair to hold the failures of Patriots assistants against Flores. But there’s enough evidence to suggest working in close proximity with Belichick doesn’t automatically provide transferable skills.

College football programs have attempted to copy Alabama coach Nick Saban’s approach by hiring his assistants and experienced varying degrees of success as well, which is a similar parallel.

Like O’Brien, perhaps Flores can buck the trend.

Going to Miami is a gutsy decision for Flores.

For one, he’ll be coaching in the same division as Belichick. Rather than leaving his former boss’ shadow, he will see him twice a year in the AFC East.

Independent of that, Miami presents Flores with a difficult challenge right out of the gate. It has avoided a full-scale rebuild so far, but that process might be inevitable now.

The Dolphins aren’t going anywhere with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, and going in a different direction would likely mean a transition year or two. The team doesn’t have a ton of cap space, either, with just under $14 million to spend this offseason.

Rather than continuing to spin their wheels, win eight to 10 games and settle for second or third place in the division, the Dolphins might as well start over. If that’s the route the team takes, then Flores is going to experience some growing pains early into his tenure.

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Virginia lieutenant governor says timing suspect for ‘smear’ allegations against him


Justin Fairfax

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax faces the growing possibility that he could soon assume the governorship in Virginia if Gov. Ralph Northam bows to pressure from the highest echelons of the Democratic Party over the racist photo. | AP Photo/Steve Helber

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax said Monday that it’s no coincidence an uncorroborated sexual assault accusation from more than a decade ago has emerged right as he potentially could be elevated to the state’s governorship.

The accusation surfaced Sunday night on the fledgling conservative website Big League Politics, the same site that on Friday unearthed a racist photo on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s yearbook page that has gravely imperiled his governorship.

Story Continued Below

Fairfax first responded to the allegations in a statement posted to Twitter at about 3 a.m. on Monday in which he threatened legal action against “those attempting to spread this defamatory and false allegation.”

The statement, attributed to his chief of staff and communications director, said that Fairfax was aware of the accusation against him and that his accuser had approached the Post before his inauguration last year. It said that the Post “carefully investigated the claim for several months” and decided not to publish a story “after being presented with facts inconsistent” with Fairfax’s denial, “the absence of any evidence corroborating the allegation, and significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations.”

In a news conference Monday in Richmond, Fairfax said he wasn’t sure why the accusations had resurfaced, but he said the timing was was suspect.

“Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this uncorroborated smear comes out?” he asked. “Does anybody believe that’s a coincidence? I don’t think anybody believes that’s a coincidence, again, particularly with something — this is not the first time this was brought up.”

He asserted that the Post investigated the account for three months before it “dropped the story” because it was uncorroborated.

“It’s uncorroborated because it’s not true,” he said, adding that “you don’t have to be cynical, you don’t have to understand politics to understand when someone is trying to manipulate a process to harm someone’s character without any basis.”

On Monday, the Post acknowledged that it had looked into the allegations, but took issue with Fairfax’s claim that it found “significant red flags and inconsistencies.”

The accusations center on a sexual encounter that both parties acknowledge took place in a hotel room in 2004 though, through an attorney, Fairfax said that the encounter was consensual, according to the Post.

“Fairfax and the woman told different versions of what happened in the hotel room with no one else present” and ultimately “The Washington Post could not find anyone who could corroborate either version,” reporter Theresa Vargas wrote in an article published Monday.

“The Post did not find ‘significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations,’ as the Fairfax statement incorrectly said,” Vargas added.

In the news conference Monday afternoon, Fairfax told reporters that there were no texts or emails between him and his accuser, and called the accusation “not only from left field, it was from planet Mars because it didn’t happen in the way it was described.”

He said that he’d spoken with his accuser once by phone since the initial encounter and provided the Post with “ample evidence of the inconsistencies in the story,” including a story.

Fairfax added that he believes his accuser’s story should be heard, and said that it was a “shame” her story had “been weaponized and used as a smear.”

But he also claimed that “she was heard by The Washington Post and The Washington Post didn’t believe her,” though that defense doesn’t track with the Post’s explanation for not publishing the claims.

Big League Politics did not speak to Fairfax’s accuser, but reposted the claims of a tipster who claimed to have permission from the accuser to share her private Facebook post cryptically referring to a 2004 assault without mentioning Fairfax by name.

The site, which was founded by a former Breitbart and Daily Caller reporter, acknowledged over the weekend its partiality to “America First Trumpism.”

Fairfax faces the growing possibility that he could soon assume the governorship in Virginia if Northam bows to pressure from the highest echelons of the Democratic Party over the racist photo. Northam is adamant that he is neither the man pictured in a Ku Klux Klan outfit nor the man in blackface who appears on his page, but has said he appeared in blackface on a separate occasion in the past.

Fairfax has stopped short of calling for Northam’s resignation, but said he was “shocked and saddened” by the photo.

The Post reported that as the scandal first unfolded, Fairfax “called his wife and two young children to prepare them for the possibility of relocating to Richmond,” and on Monday he only allowed that “we are always prepared and will continue to prepare” to step in as governor.

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Jawline Documentary Follows The Fleeting Fame Of Teenage Social Media Success

By Monica Castillo

Like so many other teenagers growing up in 2019, Austyn Tester loves social media. But the 18-year-old influencer isn’t just obsessed with earning likes and followers. Since high school, Tester has dreamed of using his live broadcast following as a way to escape his small town in Tennessee, move to L.A., and chase fame. But even for an aspiring teen heartthrob like Tester, it’s not enough to be cute and online.

Liza Mandelup’s incisive documentary, Jawline, follows a group of teen boys, including Tester, with sizable social media followings who embark on a nationwide tour — and the legions of fans who pay hundreds of dollars to meet them in person. Waiting for the boys at every stop are mobs of young girls, not unlike the generations of Beatles, *NSYNC, Justin Bieber, and One Direction fans before them. Through Tester and 22-year-old social media upstart Michael Weist’s experiences, Mandelup gives audiences an in-depth look at a social media gold rush to gain followers, brand deals, and achieve influencer status.

MTV News spoke with Tester, Mandelup, and Weist at the Sundance Film Festival about their wild ride through this social media bubble.

MTV News: Now that you’ve seen the documentary with an audience, what’s it like revisiting this chapter in your lives?

Austyn Tester: It’s so cool. It’s like watching a videotape that, not my mother, but Liza made. I was a baby, and someone was filming me growing up. It’s crazy how short two years is, but how long it can feel when you look back on it. It’s like, my god, I’ve changed so much.

MTV News: Why did you decide to talk about positivity on your channel?

Tester: It’s more just like my struggles in life, and how I overcame those. I can pass advice down and help others. It was me being influenced by other social media influencers, ones that I was fans of who would motivate me and keep me positive. I wanted to be like them. I want to spread the positivity like they do. Change peoples’ lives. It is constantly surrounding myself with positive people, even on the internet. Plus, why would I want to be negative or drama or anything? Why would I want to cause anyone harm or stress? Like, why not help them? Spreading love is better than spreading hate.

Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images

Director Liza Mandelup poses with film subjects Jovani Jara, Julian Jara, Michael Weist, Donavan Tester, and Austyn Tester at the Sundance premiere of Jawline

MTV News: How did you get in touch with Austyn to make a movie about him and his experience?

Liza Mandelup: I knew I wanted to make a film in this world, and I started filming various meet and greets. I found out that there were these meet and greets where these girls pay money to meet the guy that they have been following online really closely through the live broadcast apps. That sounds really crazy. So, I went to a couple meet and greets, and it was as crazy as I thought.

The emotions were just insane. These girls were just so in love with these boys that they’ve never met. They were telling me they were so connected to them and that they were the love of their life. They were best friends and they talk every day. How is this possible for a 16-year-old to be doing all this? We started filming those meet and greets and then eventually found Austyn. He was discovered out of obscurity by someone who had randomly seen him on the app, and it was kind of his very first time broadcasting. We started with him at the very beginning.

MTV News: And how did you get interested in live broadcasting, Austyn?

Tester: It’s funny cause I have no clue. One day, I was like, let me download this live shooting app. I downloaded it, and I remember just sitting in my bed, criss-cross applesauce, just talking to the camera. Then someone popped up, “Hey.” I’m like, “Hey, what’s up?” I’m just talking to one person, and then I get at most five people where it was so cool. I was like, “Alright guys, I’m gonna be back on tomorrow.” Then, five people showed up again. It was awesome. I just talked about whatever I wanted to, and I liked it.

MTV News: And then in the documentary, you go on this rollercoaster ride of a tour. What was it like to film those events?

Mandelup: With documentary you never know what is going to happen. We were always rooting for Austyn, especially meeting him so young and so early on and him trying to chase his dreams. I thought this is the moment he’s getting on tour and everything’s going to happen.

Tester: Yeah, it’s definitely a roller coaster ride, just how everything took off from Kingsport to the city. There’s just no opportunity there for me [in Kingsport, Tennessee]. I don’t want to make it sound like it’s the crappiest place on Earth, but for entertainment industry or anything like that, it is. You work in a factory or you’re a doctor or teacher, and it’s kind of boring. Doing the same thing every day the rest of your life. It’s not for me.

MTV News: The documentary also shows what it’s like after a tour of meet and greets. How did it feel to go back into broadcasting after that?

Tester: It was definitely a crash. Every weekend there was like a thousand screaming girls, “AHHH, oh my gosh,” and then, boom, back to Kingsport where I’m not managed anymore. It’s such a total lifestyle change. It was so hard adjusting. I started getting a lot of anxiety and stuff, just feeling like I didn’t fit in.

Michael Weist: Post-tour depression is what we call it. It’s after big festivals where we have tons of meet and greets. Even going back to L.A. is still not the same as being on a tour bus every day, waking up and going outside to thousands of screaming girls. It’s just different.

Mandelup: Austyn is just one story, but a lot of the struggle that we see is you’re so young and you’re working and you’re being part of this industry — part of this ecosystem is that it brings you in and then spits you out. That is really hard for a teenager to experience when you naturally, as a teenager, have so many anxieties and things to have to deal with. Then throw that in the mix [and] it can be really harmful for someone.

MTV News: One of the things that really stood out about the documentary was that Liza included a lot of voices of the girls who go to these events. Why did you decide to include them in the film?

Mandelup: I saw the whole thing as this sort of triangle where it was like you have the manager, you have the talent, and then you have the fangirl. The structure of the film in my head was they all have to play off each other so that the viewer can understand the ecosystem.

When we were actually filming, I thought we’ll have like one fangirl to counteract the boys. Each time I would meet a different fangirl, they were a chorus. One singular story doesn’t necessarily explain what’s happening. What’s happening is hundreds and hundreds of girls are following one boy. It only made sense to weave them all together. They were all dealing with their own personal struggle. Every girls’ story is heart-wrenching. It was like you wanted to give them a hug after or something like that. This made me think about that time when I was a teenage girl, too. That is a really hard time, and you really don’t know where to put your emotions.

MTV News: Social media changes so quickly, what’s one of the things you noticed about this industry while documenting it?

Tester: I would say social media changes a lot. I mean, the app I used to live shoot on when I got noticed on by a manager is gone now. The platforms are constantly changing to the next. Some just kind of die out.

Mandelup: Even as we were finishing shooting, the app that they were using was done. The film takes place on the coattails of the social media gold rush. Everyone thought, I can get famous off of this, and that person did it, and he’s making a ton of money and has millions of followers. It became oversaturated. I think what you see in the film is this world of everybody thinking that all it takes is just going live all the time or posting on social media all the time, and I, too, can become famous. It’s actually not that easy. It’s really hard to keep up with. I think a lot of boys in the film struggled to keep up with that.

Weist: You can see my battles some of my clients trying to get them to stay focused because once they feel like they’ve made it they are really quick to be, “OK, I don’t have to do it anymore.” Well, if they don’t, someone is going to come right up from the bottom and replace them, which happens.

MTV News: How has life changed for you since the end of the documentary?

Tester: I’m caught up with school. I’m a senior this year. I’ll graduate in May, and then college will start in fall. Currently, I’m in school and a barista at Starbucks. People do not want to follow you if you have nothing to support. I’m not posting on social media as much.

MTV News: Do you have any words of advice for kids who might have followed you or might be interested in going after that social media lifestyle?

Tester: I would tell them to don’t be discouraged by the negative comments. Remember why you started. It’s very important to remember why you started this goal, why you wanted to obtain this goal, and, to never give up. It’s going to get really tough sometimes. You are going to go up and down in life, but remember to stay motivated, stay consistent, and stay being yourself.

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X-Men spin-off ‘Legion’ will end in 2019 after three seasons

Image: Scott Kirkland/Fx/Picturegroup/REX/Shutterstock

2016%252f09%252f16%252f63%252fhttpsd2mhye01h4nj2n.cloudfront.netmediazgkymde1lza2.c97cf.jpg%252f90x90By Adam Rosenberg

No one knows what the Marvel Cinematic Universe will look like once the Disney acquisition of Fox properties is complete, but this takes one possible stumbling block out of the mix.

Legion, an X-Men spin-off series on FX that exists outside the MCU, is set to end after its third season, which kicks off in June, concludes. FX CEO John Landgraf confirmed the news on Monday at the Television Critics Association press tour, noting that this was always the plan.

SEE ALSO: Marvel’s newest mutant is a drag queen and her name is Shade

“[Series creator] Noah Hawley had always considered Legion to be a three-season show … and he has confirmed that he’s going to stick with his plan,” Landgraf said, per TVLine. “This will be the final season.”

Legion follows the exploits of David Haller, the titular mutant whose abilities are inextricably tied to his diagnosed schizophrenia. While the series hasn’t ever featured the X-Men themselves, the overarching villain of Legion is a deep cut character pulled from the pages of X-Men comics.

The status of Fox’s mutant universe remains to be seen as the extended and highly secretive acquisition process plays out. But whatever happens, it looks like Legion fans will get the closure they hope for on a series they’ve stuck with since 2017.

It’s too bad the same can’t be said for MCU fans on Netflix.

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Apple is reportedly planning a gaming subscription service

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NBA Trade Rumors: Anthony Davis Would Re-Sign with Handful of Teams, Not Celtics

PORTLAND, OR - JANUARY 18:  Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 18, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

Sam Forencich/Getty Images

New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis has reportedly informed Pelicans management of “a handful” of teams that he would re-sign with once he becomes a free agent in 2020, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are two options, but the Boston Celtics are reportedly not included on his list. He would also reportedly re-sign with the Milwaukee Bucks, although they haven’t discussed a trade with the Pelicans, per Wojnarowski.

Davis likely hopes to get traded before the Feb. 7 deadline, but his flexibility could allow more teams to get involved in a bidding war for the superstar.

The six-time All-Star was eligible for an extension this offseason, but he informed New Orleans he wouldn’t be re-signing with the team and requested a trade at the end of January, per Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski now adds that Davis won’t sign an extension with anyone and plans to hit the open market in 2020 when he declines his player option for 2020-21.

Almost every team could still acquire the center in a trade this year and either trade him next year or let him walk in free agency. However, an organization would likely be much more willing to give up assets in a trade if it knew the acquisition was a long-term one.

The Lakers, Knicks or another team on the list could make a blockbuster deal before Thursday and hope to build around the 25-year-old going forward.

The Celtics, though, are not eligible to trade for him this season because Davis and Kyrie Irving both received designated rookie extensions and can’t both be acquired through trade. The center also reportedly doesn’t want to go to Boston because Irving might leave this offseason in free agency, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The Celtics’ absence from Davis’ list confirms his lack of interest in the team.

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Pope in UAE: Reject wars in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya

In the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula, Pope Francis has said that faith leaders have a duty to reject war as he called for religious freedom in the majority Muslim region.

“War cannot create anything but misery, weapons bring nothing but death,” the pope said on Monday, addressing an inter-religious meeting attended by hundreds of representatives from different faiths.   

“I am thinking in particular of Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya,” he added.

He said: “Every form of violence must be condemned without hesitation… No violence can be justified in the name of religion.”

The gathering included imams, muftis, ministers, rabbis, swamis, Zoroastrians and Sikhs.

Francis, who has made outreach to Muslim communities a cornerstone of his papacy, is on an historic three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE is involved in the wars in Yemen, Syria and Libya. 

‘Before our eyes’

The United Nations calls Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. It was triggered by the intervention of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies in a war between the government and Houthi rebels.

More than 10 million Yemenis now risk imminent starvation.

The pope said the consequences of the war in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East “are before our eyes”.

Francis warned the future of humanity was at stake unless religions come together to resist the “logic of armed power … the arming of borders, the raising of walls”.

“There is no alternative: we will either build the future together or there will not be a future,” said Francis.

He also called for religious equality in the region. 

“I look forward to societies where people of different beliefs have the same right of citizenship and where only in the case of violence in any of its forms is that right removed,” he said. 

At the end of the interfaith meeting, Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam – signed a joint statement on “human fraternity” and their hopes for world peace.

They then laid the cornerstones for a new church and mosque to be built side-by-side in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.

Red carpet welcome

The document describes itself as being in the name of “all victims of wars, persecution and injustice; and those tortured in any part of the world, without distinction”. It also decried modern “signs of a ‘third world war being fought piecemeal’”.

“We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood.”

It added countries have a duty to establish a concept of “full citizenship”. The UAE relies heavily on foreign labourers who have no path to naturalisation.

Even for a nation known for excess, the Emiratis’ red-carpet welcome was remarkable, especially for a pope who prides himself on simplicity. It featured horse-mounted guards escorting the pontiff’s motorcade through the palace gardens, while a flyover trailed the yellow-and-white smoke of the Vatican flag. 

 Advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) had urged the pope to use his visit to the UAE to highlight abuses it said are currently being carried out in the Gulf state. 

It sent a letter to Francis before his visit calling on him to lead international pressure to hold the UAE’s leadership accountable.

“Despite its assertions about tolerance, the UAE government has demonstrated no real interest in improving its human rights record,” the HRW said.

The New York-based watchdog said the UAE authorities have targeted critics, political dissidents and human rights activists with arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.

The pope is scheduled to hold an open-air mass on Tuesday for 135,000 of the Muslim country’s estimated one million Catholic residents, set to be the largest ever public gathering in the Gulf state.

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Slack has confidentially filed to go public

Sharing the wealth!
Sharing the wealth!

Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE

2017%252f09%252f19%252ffa%252frakheadshot.f59fb.jpg%252f90x90By Rachel Kraus

Bust out your favorite party parrot: Slack has completed its first official step in the road to going public.

Slack published a blog post Monday stating that it had “confidentially submitted a draft registration statement” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is a form that essentially lets the SEC begin reviewing the company’s financials in advance of a stock listing. Slack has chosen to do so confidentially, which means it’s not giving just anyone a peek under its financial hood.

SEE ALSO: How dancing emoji hijacked your job — and why there’s no going back

Slack has raised over $1 billion since its founding in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal, and some estimate that the valuation could go for up to $7 billion.

Slack is pursuing a direct listing, which means it will be selling its shares directly to the public. That’s in contrast to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which uses underwriters and intermediaries to give the stock more predictability and stability as soon as it launches — at a hefty fee. 

Direct listings are rare, but Spotify successfully went public with a direct listing in 2018, leading some to speculate that other already successful tech companies could follow suit.

Goldman Sachs is still helping out with the direct listing, according to Reuters. The messaging platform could reportedly go public in Q2. Which means all of us could soon have the chance to share in the wealth that is animated .gifs in work chats.

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AP College Basketball Poll 2019: Complete Week 14 Rankings Released

Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner (1) drives around Texas A&M guard Jay Jay Chandler, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Michael Wyke/Associated Press

For the second straight week, things were relatively quiet atop the Associated Press Top 25.

Tennessee remains the nation’s top-ranked team after getting by another seven-day stretch undefeated and is followed by Duke, Virginia and Gonzaga in an unchanged Top Four. No. 5 Kentucky is the most notable change following a week of upsets in the Big Ten.  

Here’s how the entire poll played out:

1. Tennessee

2. Duke

3. Virginia

4. Gonzaga

5. Kentucky

6. Nevada

7. Michigan

8. North Carolina

9. Michigan State

10. Marquette

11. Virginia Tech

12. Houston

13. Kansas

14. Villanova

15. Purdue

16. Louisville

17. Iowa State

18. Texas Tech

19. Wisconsin

20. Iowa

21. LSU

22. Florida State

23. Buffalo

24. Maryland

25. Cincinnati

Michigan moved back two spots to No. 7 after being unable to survive a trip to Iowa. The Hawkeyes scored 42 first-half points and got a game-high 19 points from Luka Garza on their way to a 74-59 blowout win. Iowa moved into the rankings at No. 20 following the victory.

“I think what it says about this team specifically is, when you put it together from a game-plan perspective and execute, we can be pretty good,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery told reporters.

Michigan State also moved backward to No. 9 after a shocking 79-75 home loss to Indiana. Romeo Langford had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead the effort for the Hoosiers, who entered the game just 3-7 in Big Ten play. Indiana’s only other road win of the season came against lowly Penn State, and the team had dropped seven straight overall.

“This is the stage you want to be on when you come to Indiana,” Hoosiers coach Archie Miller told reporters. “The way we practiced the last couple of days, the way we addressed the first half of the Big Ten season, I see we have the light at the end of the tunnel. … We looked like a different team.”

The two Michigan rivals were the only Top 10 teams to lose this week.

Teams just outside the Top 10 weren’t as lucky. Kansas is in danger of failing to win the Big 12 for the first time in a decade-and-a-half after a 73-63 road loss at Texas. The Jayhawks sit 6-3 in conference play, a half-game behind Kansas State and Baylor.

Louisville’s run of six straight victories came to an end with a 79-69 home loss to North Carolina. The Cardinals and Tar Heels split their season series, with the road team coming out on top in both contests. Luke Maye had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Cameron Johnson added 19 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina.

Mississippi State and NC State moved out of the Top 25 and were replaced by No. 20 Iowa and No. 25 Cincinnati. 

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