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 appr...

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...

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.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT In one of the obituary stories of the Star Tribune, the author writes about the life of former Twins outfielder Jim Holt. The author detailed Holt's life by focusing on his time as a player for the Twins. The author included Holt's stats while he played for the Twins and his impact in the Twins organization.  The author focused on Holt' relevance to Minnesota and the Twins, but also included other interesting facts about Holt's career that were not necessarily focused on Holt's career on the Twins. The author included how the Twins acquired Holt from Oakland. The author also included that the Twins traded Holt to the Oakland Athletics and how Holt went on to win one World Series ring with Oakland. Overall, the author spent very little time talking about Holt's death and instead focused on the most intriguing and important aspects of Holt's life and career.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT An 18-year-old man is in critical condition after shots were fired at a Myth Live Nightclub in Maplewood on Friday night, according to WCCO. The man was shot in the neck and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to the Star Tribune. It is not clear if the man's identity has been revealed. The shooting occurred after a fight broke out in the nightclub. Lil Baby and Blueface were performing at the nightclub where the shooting occurred, and reported numbers estimated about 1,800 people were in attendance. The person who shot the man in the nightclub has not been arrested, and it's unsure whether the man who was shot was the intended victim.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT A man was charged Friday for first-degree arson and second-degree murder after starting a fire in an apartment in Thief River Falls, according to the Star Tribune. Devon James Pulczinski, 23, was arrested after starting a fire at 307 1/2 Arnold Avenue South. Pulczinski was a renter of the apartment, according to the Crookston Times. Emergency vehicles were called to the apartment Wednesday. When they arrived, they found Pulczinski's apartment on fire. After putting out the fire, firefighters discovered one dead woman with severe burns over her body. The woman's identity has been released. Pulczinski's motives for setting the fire to his apartment still remain unclear. He is currently being held at Pennington County Jail.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT President Trump signed a one-year extension for the Deferred Enforced Departure program Thursday, allowing Minnesota Liberian immigrants to stay in the state for another year. Trump has considered ending the program in the past. In 2018, Trump proposed not extending the program, saying living conditions had improved and the government of Liberia had stabilized,  according to the Pioneer Press. The Deferred Enforced Departure program gives legal status to Liberians who fled war and natural disasters in Africa. According to the Pioneer Press, around 4,000 Liberians in Minnesota are covered by the program. President Trump faced backlash if he were to end the program. According to the Star Tribune, a coalition of attorneys general filed a brief Monday in support of Liberians remaining in the United States. One of the attorneys general was Minnesota's Keith Ellison.   The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has one of the largest Liberian immigrants populations ...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Sen. Amy Klobuchar criticized President Trump's rhetoric about Muslims and Islamophobia Sunday after a shooting in New Zealand left 49 dead and 40 injured, according to The Hill. Klobuchar spoke on CNN and said she thinks Trump's rhetoric has worsened Islamophobic behavior not only in the United States, but in other countries, as well. "I don't think you can actually take each of the murderous acts and say what role Donald Trump played, but I can tell you this: his rhetoric doesn't help," Klobuchar said on CNN.  "And many of these people, whether it was the person who tried to bomb Barack Obama or this murderer in New Zealand, have cited Donald Trump along the way." Klobuchar called for the president to speak out against these acts of terror and violence and should begin to praise defend the Muslim community. The recent attack in New Zealand continues to put a spotlight on white nationalism, which many people see as a grow...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Minnesota could see flooding levels that rival the floods in 1965 as a result of the weather quickly warming combined with the excess snow gathered over the past winter season,  according to the Duluth News Tribune. At a briefing about the potentially hazardous weather, meteorologist Dan Luna revealed a map that predicted a 15 percent chance of serious flooding this spring. "At St. Paul, there’s a 15 percent chance we could see levels as high or higher than what we saw in 1965 — which is the flood of record,” Luna said. According to the Star Tribune, Luna also said the current decade has been one of the wettest for Minnesota. However, all doesn't look dreary for the upcoming Minnesota spring. Minnesota experienced similar weather in 2013 and faced potentially hazardous flooding, as well. Despite the potentially dangerous weather, Minnesota experienced a perfect melt where temperatures rise above freezing during the day and fall back below freezing...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Three people are injured after a car chase ensued Thursday when police pursued two suspects, according to the Minnesota Daily. The suspects were found on camera stealing from cars in the Dinkytown area before the two fled before police arrived at the scene. Police then pursued the suspects in a car chase. According to the Star Tribune, the suspects caused two car accidents as a result of the car chase, leaving three people injured. One of the injured people was identified as a University of Minnesota student, and another was identified as a university faculty member. The fist accident occurred at the intersection of 5th Street and SE. 15th Avenue, and the second occurred at 5th Street and SE. 12th Avenue. Police arrested one man, 39, and booked him at Hennepin County jail. The second suspect escaped the scene and police are still searching for the suspect. Images obtained by police show with black hair in a white polka-dot shirt, dark pants, and dar...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT The Senate voted Thursday to overturn President Trump's national emergency relating to the border wall, according to the New York Times. The vote to overturn Trump's declaration marks the first time Congress has overturned a presidential national emergency.  Both Republicans and Democrats joined together to reject Trump's emergency, arguing the president's declaration was setting dangerous precedent as an overreach in executive power. Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas posted statements on his Twitter of his response to Trump's emergency. "Expanding the powers of the presidency beyond its constitutional limits is something I cannot support," Moran said. Trump was quick to respond to the Senate's vote. Trump took to his Twitter and sent out a simple message, "VETO!" Several senators clarified that the vote was not a rejection of Trump's border wall. Instead, some senators said this vote was the ...