Leebrick-Stryker Blog 3101

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker President Donald Trump accused San Juan mayor  Carmen Yulín Cruz of "poor leadership"   on Saturday after she criticized the White House response to Hurricane Maria. Cruz tearfully spoke at a press conference Friday, according to the Guardian.  “We are dying here,” she said. “I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles. So, mayday, we are in trouble.” Trump responded the following day. "The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump," the Trump said in a tweet. "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort." Trump was criticized for his comments, CNN said.  One Puerto Rican

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker A Minneapolis man was charged with Murder Friday after he set his ex-girlfriend's bed on fire, killing her in the process, prosecutors said. Vanessa Danielson, 36, was brought to the hospital with severe burns Thursday. A neighbor heard Danielson screaming and saw her covered in flames "from head to toe," according to a criminal complaint. The neighbor covered her in a blanket to douse the fire. Danielson died later in the hospital, according to the Associated Press.  A suspect was located near Danielson's duplex near Central Avenue NE. The man is also suffering severe burns and is expected to survive, the Star Tribune said.  His identity has not been released.

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker A Nevis, Minn. man suspected of being under the influence of alcohol struck and killed a passenger on an Amish horse-drawn buggy Saturday night, the Pioneer Press reported.  The accident occurred around 7:35  p.m. as both the buggy and the Ford F-350 pickup truck were traveling southbound on Minnesota 92 in the Leon Township, according to the Star Tribune.  The pickup driver, 27-year-old Christopher Keith Bauman, struck the rear of the buggy, killing Elsie Yoder, 23, of Clearbrook, Minn., the Minnesota State Patrol said. The driver in the buggy, Mervin Yoder, 27, also from Clearbrook, did not receive life threatening injuries. Bauman remains in jail.

In looking at the story about Jared Kushner and his private email, which Politico first reported , the use of sources was surprising. To begin, the meat of the story comes from four anonymous sources. These four people told Politico about the email and its contents. I am continually fascinated by the idea of an anonymous source. It interests me that there always seem to be these kinds of sources, especially in the political world. Do they have something to gain or are their moral convictions strong? I digress. There are a couple other uses of sources in this story that are very different. They are not at all similar to how the anonymous sources are used. Kushner's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, is frequently cited in this story, and her quotes are dispersed across the article, unlike the anonymous sources, which were mainly tied to the beginning paragraphs of the story. The writer also attributes the law itself, explain that it is the law for all records within the white house to be saved,

Senior White House advisor and son-in-law to President Trump, Jared Kushner, used a private email account for communication with officials within the administration, according to CNN . Politico reported that Kushner’s account was set up in December and was used to speak to officials and advisors about media coverage, event planning, and other subjects. "Mr. Kushner uses his White House email address to conduct White House business," Abbe Lowell, Kushner’s lawyer, said in a statement. "Fewer than a hundred emails from January through August were either sent to or returned by Mr. Kushner to colleagues in the White House from his personal email account." During the campaign last year, Donald Trump continually attacked Hillary Clinton about a private email of her own. The White House has not made a comment regarding Kushner.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was elected to her fourth term in Germany on Sunday and a far right party has entered parliament for the first time in around 60 years, according to the New York Times.  Support for Germany's two main parties lagged as the far right party, known as Alternative for Germany, won around 13.5 percent of the vote, which was a large showing from voters who felt angry about immigration and inequality, according to exit polls. Merkel's conservative party has seen its worst results in an election in 70 years, the BBC reported.  Though she won, Merkel and her conservatives can no longer rule parliament alone, promising to make the chancellor's political life more challenging. The far-right Alternative for Germany party were pleased with their results. "We are in German parliament and we will change Germany," Alexander Gauland, one of the leaders of Alternative for Germany, said. "We will claim our country back."

After a series of twitter attacks towards protesting players in professional sports from President Trump this weekend, NFL owners and players across the country knelt or linked arms in a display of solidarity on Sunday. Owners from teams like the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings along with owners around the US joined in unison to criticize Trump's suggestion that players who knelt during the national anthem be fired. "Our players are intelligent, thoughtful, and care deeply about the community," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. "I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful." Along with owners, players chose to show their support for their NFL colleuges. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady linked arms with his fellow Patriots during the national anthem and Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans skipped it all together, the New York Times Reported.   NFL comm

Five people and three firefighters were injured early Saturday morning after an apartment fire in St. Paul's West Side, authorities said. The fire was reported near Humboldt High School at a building on 30 Baker St. W before dawn, the Fire Department said. The five residents who were injured were two infants, the mothers of the children and a man who jumped from the building's third floor. The five were treated at the hospital with minor injuries, the Pioneer Press reporte d. The three firefighters also suffered minor injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to the Star Tribune. "(The apartment was) too small to require fire alarms and sprinklers," the Fire Department said in a tweet. "Sprinklers (would have) made a huge difference."

St. Paul Central High School was on lockdown Monday morning as officers investigated a report of a gun on the school's premises, the Pioneer Press reported. According to the Star Tribune, the school went into lockdown after 11 a.m. while officers investigated a fight and possible gun. St. Paul Police spokesman Steve Linders explained that officers got the information of a weapon at the school after a fight in a bathroom. "At one point, one of the participants in the fight allegedly flashed a gun in his waistband," he said. "This caused quite a commotion." At 11:35, police announced the lockdown was lifted and that they had confiscated a pellet gun and arrested three people, the Star Tribune said. "There is no threat to (the) school community," the St. Paul Police Department tweeted. http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/18/st-paul-central-high-school-on-lockdown-as-police-search-for-gun-after-fight/ http://www.startribune.com/central-high-sc

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker In this analysis, I will be looking at the lede in the New York Times story about a violent tweet President Donald Trump sent out on Sunday morning. I chose to analyze this article because I think the lede the author chose to write was unconventional, especially in something that I would consider a hard news story. Instead of cutting right to the chase, Christina Caron begins lightly. "It’s a big week for President Trump," she says, before explaining the next 7 days the president has in store for him in subsequent sentences. Caron describes Trump's coming meetings with the United Nations General Assembly alongside current issues with Iran and North Korea. In fact, it takes her a whole paragraph before she arrives at the real story: Trump's tasteless tweet regarding Hillary Clinton. It's a little puzzling that Caron made this choice and though I consider this a hard news story, she did not. The way she approaches the article is almost

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker President Donald Trump retweeted an edited video of himself hitting former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with a golf ball Sunday morning. The video was a GIF image, splicing together videos of Trump swinging his golf club and Clinton getting hit in the back by a ball and falling while she boards a plane. The actual footage used of Clinton tripping was from 2011 as she boarded a plane to Yemen, the New York Times reported. The tweet has amassed more than 24,000 replies and 21,000 retweets and sparked online outrage. "The President of the United States just retweeted a video vignette that imagines him assaulting his political rival," former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub said in a tweet. "This man is unfit." A spokesperson for Clinton declined to make a comment regarding Trump's tweet, according to CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/17/politics/trump-tweet-clinton/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/201

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker St. Paul police are looking for two hit and run drivers after a 91-year-old man was injured Tuesday night and 7-year-old girl was injured Wednesday morning, the Pioneer Press reported.   The young girl received minor injuries and a broken leg after being struck crossing the 1800 block of 7th Street East,  St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said.  A sedan described as gold or silver struck the girl.  The driver has not been located after they fled the scene, according to Kare 11.   The 91-year-old man was hit after eating dinner with his wife at The Lexington. The restaurant's executive chef and co-owner, Jack Riebel, heard the crash from the patio the Pioneer Press reported. The perpetrator drove off before he could see, according to Riebel. “The fear, the uncertainty on (the man's) wife’s face will be forever in my memory,” Reibel said. “My heart goes out to her and those who had view this horrible tragedy.” http://www.twincities.com/201

Police in London announced Saturday that a "significant arrest" has been made relating to the terrorist attack on a Subway that left at least 30 injured in Parsons Green Station according to the New York Times. The suspect is an 18-year-old man, arrested in the port city of Dover before he could board a ferry, authorities said.  Investigators are still unable to rule out if more that one individual was responsible for the attack or its planning, the Guardian reported. The UK is still at the highest state of terrorism alert, which means another attack could be imminent. The attack occurred Friday morning in London, where a bomb wrapped in a plastic bag and covered by a bucket exploded at the height of morning commuter traffic, the New York Times said. Hours later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility on a message to its Amaq news site.  The bomb was an improvised explosive device (IED) and was detonated by a timer according to the Guardian.  -----------------------

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker Flags were flown at half-mast Thursday as a Wayzata police officer was laid to rest in the city where he served. The family of William Matthews, joined by Gov. Mark Dayton, attended a celebration of the life of the officer, killed nearly a week ago serving in the line of duty, according to the Pioneer Press. Matthews was struck by a distracted driver on Sept. 8 while he was occupied with a traffic hazard on U.S. 12. Matthews had been with the Wayzata Police Department for seven years and was described as a devoted father and loving husband to his wife and son, the Star Tribune reported. The woman who hit Matthews, Beth Freeman of Mound, has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. Freeman was under the influence of drugs and on her phone, prosecutors said. After the first service two more processions were scheduled with hundreds of police officers attending, according to the Pioneer Press. "Bill lived his life to serve as an officer,"

By Ned Leebrick-Stryker   "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli has had his $5 million bail revoked Wednesday after a provocative Facebook post regarding Hillary Clinton, the Washington Post reported. Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager who was convicted of defrauding inverstors, offered his Facebook followers $5,000 for a strand of Clinton's hair. Prosecutors argued that this was the latest instance of inappropriate online behavior made by Shkreli and a judge compiled with a government demand to jail him following the post according to the Associated Press.   Shkreli's defense argued Tuesday that the post was political "satire and strained humor," though the courts disagreed, the associated press reported.             "The fact that (Shkreli) continuous to remain unaware of the inappropriateness of his actions or words demonstrates to me that he may be creating an ongoing risk to the community," said U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in response t