Andrew Wright's Blog

For this week's analysis, I listened to the most recent episode of the New York Times' podcast The Daily. On this episode, the podcast talks about the release of the Mueller report and what information was found in the investigation.  The podcast progressed by explaining different aspects of the Mueller report and going over the information Mueller found in relation to Trump's relationship to Russia. The podcast starts out by Mueller's reporting on the accusations of collusion with Russia by the Trump administration. Then, the podcasts shifts to discussing accusations of obstruction of justice against Trump.  The podcast included two reporters as guests who spent a large amount of time reading the Mueller report. The two guests explained what they read in the report to clarify what was said in the report, what information the special counsel found in its investigation and what charges, if any, were found during the investigation.  The podcast included sound b

BY ANDREW WRIGHT One man died Saturday morning after he fell off a light rail platform while a train was leaving the station, according to the Pioneer Press. The accident happened at the Stadium Village station. According to KSTP, at around 1:20 a.m., a Green Line train was leaving the station. As the train pulled away, the man fell between two of the cars and was pulled under the train. The man has not been identified and it is unclear if he was a student at the University of Minnesota. It is unclear what caused the man to fall off the light rail platform and raises questions as to whether this was an accident. Police said they will review camera footage of the accident to determine what happened. They will also be talking with people at the scene.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT The five-year-old boy who was thrown from balcony on the third-floor on the Mall of America is still in intensive care but shows signs of recovery, according to WCCO. “Our miracle child Landen is showing real signs of recovery. New test results have been positive, though he remains in intensive care with a long road ahead,” the family said in a statement Friday. Landen was thrown from the third-floor of the MOA last week by Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, of Minneapolis. Aranda is charged with attempted murder and is being held in Hennepin County Jail on $2 million bail, according to the Star Tribune. Aranda has a history of disruptive behavior and has been banned from the Mall of America in the past. According to the Star Tribune, Aranda went to the mall looking to kill someone. He approached Landen and his mother on the third-floor, the picked up Landen and threw him off the balcony.  Landen's family said in a statement Friday that they appreciat

BY ANDREW WRIGHT The redacted version of the Muller report was released Thursday and shows evidence of public officials lying under oath, according to the Washington Post. The 448-page report revealed President benefited from Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, and documented several meetings between Trump's campaign and Russians, according to the New York Times. However, the report was inconclusive on bringing criminal conspiracy charges against President Trump. The report stated the evidence was insufficient to bring charges, but the report did not fully exonerate Trump. Although Mueller's report does not conclude on bringing charges against the president, the report is much more incriminating than the summary written by Attorney General William Barr in March. It is unclear what effect the Mueller report will have in Washington, but it is sure to be a highly contentious debate for the remaining time of Trump's presidency before the 2020 ele

BY ANDREW WRIGHT For this week's analysis, I found an article from the Associated Press that covers President Trump's remarks about sending illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities as a way to teach the cities a lesson for not working with Trump on his immigration policy. The author of the article sourced Trump and parts of his administration when the president and his press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders discussed the idea of sending illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities. Additionally, the author sourced immigration organizations and attorneys in sanctuary cities o cover the pro-immigration side of the debate as a contrast to President Trump's anti-immigration idea. The author used an analysis from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University to report on statistics and data about immigrant populations in sanctuary cities and the probability of immigrants being arrested compared to immigrants living in non-sanctuary cities. In any immigra

BY ANDREW WRIGHT A 5-year-old boy was thrown over the third-floor railing at the Mall of America Friday, according to WCCO. Witnesses at the scene said they heard the boy's mother screaming that someone pushed her son over the edge of the railing. "She was screaming ‘Everyone pray, everyone pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge,'" one witness said. Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda was arrested later Friday in connection to the incident at the MOA. He was arrested near a light rail station after reportedly running away from the scene. According to the Star Tribune, Aranda has a history of criminal offenses at the Mall of America. In July 2015, he was banned from the mall for throwing objects of balconies to lower levels and causing damage to stores inside the mall. In October that same year, Aranda was charged with throwing a glass of water and glass of tea at woman after she refused to buy food for him. Bloomington Police said charges will file

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Gov. Tim Walz signed a cell phone "hands-free" bill into law Friday that forbids drivers from using their phones unless in hands-free mode, according to WCCO. Gov. Walz signed the legislation while surrounded by families who lost loved ones because of distracted driving involving cell phones. "I just feel the deepest apologies that it took this long for many of you,” Walz said. According to the Star Tribune, Minnesota will be one of 16 states and the District of Columbia to implement legislation meant to curb distracted drivers from using phones. According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, most of the states that adopt hands-free legislation see a 15 percent decrease in traffic deaths. The efforts this year saw a stark contract to the efforts put in place four years ago. Rep. Scott Newman admitted the efforts by the families this year changed his mind about the legislation. Newman opposed the legislation wh

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Julian Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested Thursday after being evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, according to the BBC Th United Kingdom will now decide whether to extradite Assange to the United States, where the Justice Department charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for leaks in 2010. According to the New York Times, in 2010, WikiLeaks received leaked confidential documents and videos from Chelsea Manning regarding U.S. campaigns in the Middle East. Assange decided to publish the information. Manning was subsequently arrested and convicted of leaking the information to Assange. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison, which was later commuted after Manning served seven years.  The United States asserts that Assange worked with Manning in obtaining the leaked information, and is wanted for his role in acquiring and disseminating the information.  More recently, Assange and WikiLeaks have come und

BY ANDREW WRIGHT For the analysis article this week, I found an article from the Star Tribune that looks at the increase in CBD sales in Minnesota. The author focuses on the effects and uses of hemp-based CBD products and how more people are turning to CBD to cope with mental issues and other illnesses. The author points to the increase in CBD sales across the United States as evidence that more people are relying on CBD products to relieve their illnesses. The author needed to understand several aspects of the data to be able to report on this story. First the reporter needed to be able to interpret the data to understand the trends in CBD sales in Minnesota and across the United States. Another important skill the reporter needed for the story was to have a basic understanding of the effects of CBD and why more people are turning toward the drug. This is something that could not be found in the data, and as a result the reporter needed to find the information from other source

BY ANDREW WRIGHT A New York man was arrested and charged Friday after her threatened to murder Rep. Ilhan Omar, according to NBC News. Patrick W. Carlineo Jr., 55, called Omar's office in late March and made threatening remarks to the staff member who answered the phone. "She’s a [expletive] terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her [expletive] skull,” Carlineo said on the phone call. Carlineo's threats continue a series of hostilities toward Omar. Back in February, graffiti calling for Omar's assassination was investigated by the FBI. Additionally, according to the Washington Post,  Fox News host Jeanine Pirro made antagonistic and racist remarks about Omar's Islamic faith. "Is [Omar's] adherence to this Islamic doctrine [wearing a hijab] indicative of her adherence to sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution,” Pirro said last month. Omar continues to be berated by racist remarks and receive death threats because

BY ANDREW WRIGHT The jury selection process for the murder case of Mohamed Noor continues to be a complicated process as more potential jury members have been excused, according to WCCO. A total of 75 people were questioned as potential jurors for the trial. On Wednesday, a total of 16 people had been dismissed from the trial, and by Thursday, the number increased to 23. The minimum number of jury members needed for the trial to proceed is 12 jurors and at least four alternates. Mohamed Noor is a former police officer who is charged for the murder and manslaughter of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old with dual citizenship in the U.S. and Australia. Noor responded to an emergency call where he fatally shot Damond. Damond called 911 to report a possible rape happening outside her residence.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Metro Transit is considering cutting its Green Line overnight service, according to the Pioneer Press. Metro Transit said it may cut the Green Line service from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays to provide more time for maintenance and to prevent passenger misconduct. According to the Star Tribune,  Metro Transit General Manager Wes Kooistra said he has received requests from maintenance to cut the overnight schedule to allow for safer maintenance repairs. Kooistra also said there have been an increasing amount of complaints about night use on the Green Line, including theft, assault, and drug use. Metro Transit's news has people worried about the homeless community, who rely on public transit for shelter during the harsh winters. Kooistra acknowledged the change would affect riders who seek public transit for shelter, but he said that is not the purpose of the light rail.