Monthly Archives: November 2017

Long-term efforts aren’t supported

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By NATE DERRENBACHER

This week, storm-ravaged Puerto Rico faced another widespread power outage. A little more than a month ago, Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria – one of the most powerful storms to hit the island in modern history.

Following Maria, the entire island of Puerto Rico was without power, there was widespread flooding, extensive damage and a significant lack of resources for recovery. The 2017 hurricane season has been one of the most active with many large, named storms making landfall in the Caribbean and the United States.

And the response was initially unparalleled. Celebrities, public figures, politicians and everyone in between reached out to help those impacted by storms with an outpouring of monetary donations, volunteering on-site and organizing events around the country to gather supplies to donate to the impacted areas.

This response was possible because of continued coverage on major news outlets and social media. In times of disaster people come together, but sometimes that isn’t always the case for people who aren’t directly impacted. This year, this was not the case. Almost everyone showed their support for storm victims in any way that they could, but something else came to light as a result.

It seems that storm relief is not sustained long-term. In today’s business and social climate, it is understanding that news organizations can only cover a story for so long without any new information. But, social media and the internet are new tools for people to connect, engage and support other groups of people that they may not have had access to otherwise.

This can also be a powerful tool for the opposite impact. In order for countries like Puerto Rico to not only rebuild, but repair its infrastructure to reduce the number of power outages, citizens need help. While initially an overwhelming support, much of the world, and media, has moved on to other stories.

What’s next, America?

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By KAYLA FOSTER

It feels like we are in a constant cycle of tragedy. From mass shooting to sexual harassment scandals, it’s as if we have become numb to the cycle. Something bad happens, we mourn, have little discussion, then move on to the next sad thing. There’s little to no solution being discussed, as we feed off of the next thing that makes the news.

Earlier this week we mourned the lives of innocent people in Texas, in yet another mass shooting. Simultaneously, the list continues to grow, in Hollywood, of high profile men making sexual advances and misconduct in the workplace. So far names like Kevin Spacey, Ed Westwick, and recently Louis C.K, are making headlines as more and more are speaking up against the harassment.

As we hear about all the tragedies that are happening, maybe instead of asking what’s next, we ask what can we do next?

In an article by Vox.com, since more people are speaking out, acknowledgement of sexual harassment in the workplace has become more prominent and therefore easier to stop. People are become more comfortable and accepting of speaking out, especially if it means it might help the next person.

However, unless like the little progress made in workplace harassment, nothing has been done with gun control in America.

In an article by TIME, many have noticed the lack of action to prevent tragedies like Los Vegas and Texas. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin told TIME, “It just strikes me that we see tragedy after tragedy and no action….”

It is the news media’s job to bring attention to and shift talking topics, but so far no one is talking about the cycle we constantly find ourselves in. Maybe we are too focused on reporting the next tragedy instead of doing something to prevent one from happening.

Air Force racist slur graffiti hoaxed

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By DANNY LAROSE

The news media and those on social media jumped all over a story from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs of five black students reporting racial slurs posted outside their dormitory rooms.

Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria’s speech to cadets denouncing racism then received incredible enthusiasm and went viral. And yet, the circumstances that generated the passionate speech have been proven fabricated.

The Air Force Academy said on Tuesday that one of the cadets who was targeted by the racist remarks was in fact the perpetrator of the act.

While hoaxes of racist bigotry may be few and far between, they are certainly energized by the mainstream media who more often than not jumps all over stories like this one. When the media sees an opportunity like the one at the Air Force Academy, they latch on and ride it for days. They utilize the story to revamp attention on a supposedly racist America and divide people by their ideologies and cultural backgrounds.

The news media is obsessed with racial division.

Especially in this case, but certainly in other cases of hoaxed racism, the news media is complicit in failing to allow the truth to surface. If news media outlets had allowed a proper investigation of the situation by Air Force Academy administration before hyping up this story, the embarrassing turnaround here would only be on the perpetrator, not the news media as well. But they didn’t.

Like so many cases like this one, especially the rare hoaxes, news media hype and plain excitement to rile up this sense of American division and white vs. black is obvious.

It is unfortunate that people feel the need to post racist remarks directed at their own race in order to raise attention to a cause or simply garner pity. It is equally unfortunate when the news media encourages this and seeks to generate excess division.

Why have mass shootings increased?

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By ANAEL GAVIZON

After the Texas shooting last week, many of us kept wondering what is going on in the country. Why are the shootings in the U.S. gradually becoming more deadly ? All we have seen in the news lately include shootings, injured and people killed.

During the week, I read two different articles that somehow tried to address the issue with a lot of facts, information and in an appealing way. Both, The New York Times and BBC News, wrote an article on their websites titled: Why are U.S. mass shootings getting more deadly? Why U.S. mass shootings?

It seemed really interesting to me as a reader not only for the timing of the subject but also because it is such a controversial, broad topic about which it is hard to write .

The article in the NYT explains how America is different to any other country when the issue involves a gun and gun policy. The article stated that one of the main reasons the mass killings in the U.S. have been constant is because of the gun regulations. Although the newspaper explains fairly enough how it reached that conclusion, statistics and facts are presented vaguely. In my opinion, the story and analysis is really good but the newspaper could have presented the data more effectively using more than two simple graphics. Moreover, the newspaper fails to include multiple sources and just uses information provided by Adam Lankford, a professor from the University of Alabama.

On the other hand, BBC News did a similar piece in which it explained how the frequency of mass shootings has increased during the years. The news network gives us a little background to each of the shootings in modern history and dismantles factors that have changed during time. For this article, BBC News engages the attention of the reader in any way possible. The BBC offers various facts and information through explanatory videos, graphs, videos of each event, etc. Readers can even keep listening to the videos while they see other pictures or read the article. The network offers a really good analysis and provided evidence and visuals that help the viewer imagine the full context.

Helpful Links:

New media: Inform, discuss, educate

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By REGINA SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ

In the middle of the huge competition and fight between news media to become the leading newspaper for readers, newspapers offer new services that have been previously unnecessary .

As I pointed in one of my past posts, online newspapers use new tools as Virtual Reality to offer a new experience of the same service. But that’s not enough now.

As a result, The Washington Post tries to differ from the competitors providing a service called “Washington Post Live.” It’s described as “the newsroom’s live journalism platform.” It’s a platform where legitimate voices of different fields discuss the main issues that concern the citizenship.

The service is based on live programs about some contemporary topics, but not necessarily related to breaking news. The procedure to attend is free and just requires a pre-registration. And for those people that cannot attend in person, they can subscribe to receive a notification and watch it streaming.

This open knowledge almost plays a public service role participating in the audience’s education.

If we assume that one of the duties of the news media is to inform the readers about issues that can impact their lives, we can claim that this platform contributes to achieving it. Also, it contributes to the democracy because an informed public serves democracy the best.

Photo by Esther Vargas

For example, the last program was the 8th of November about Cybersecurity: Personal Privacy in a Digital World and the next one will be on Nov. 14 about the transformation of American cities to adapt to demographic, economic and technological changes.

The Washington Post is a sample of how a newspaper without neglecting its main informative priorities, such as breaking news, can cover other important topics that most of the times don’t create break news by themselves, but they’re enough important to be known by the society. And meanwhile, The Post creates a discussion space and empowers every single listener.

Sex scandals, accusations continue

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By BEN EZZY

It has been a month filled with accusations of sexual misconduct for many high-profile individuals in the entertainment industry, with multiple scandals emerging. Victims seemed to gain the confidence and will to speak out about the abuses they endured, following a New York Times piece that followed the misconduct of Harvey Weinstein. The article cataloged his trail of abuses and paying off victims for decades, with clear supporting evidence. Weinstein was later removed from his own company, following a public scandal in the wake of the devastating story.

Next came an accusation against Kevin Spacey, star of Netflix’s breakout original series, House of Cards. Actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of assaulting him 31 years ago, when Rapp was only 14 years of age. Spacey denied any recollection of the alleged event, releasing an apology for what he says, “would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” Spacey went on to publicly come out as gay, vowing to live “honestly and openly” and to examine his behavior.

Netflix suspended the star from his show, ultimately deciding to suspend production of the show indefinitely. Since the initial report, multiple men have also come forward against Spacey. Just yesterday, Heather Unruh, a former TV news anchor in Boston, accused Spacey of assaulting her son in 2016, when he was 18.

In the most recent of the scandals, five women are accusing Louis C.K. of various separate incidents of sexual misconduct during the past several years. All of the allegations revolve around the comedian masturbating without their consent, whether over the phone or in person. C.K. or his publicist have not yet commented publicly on the issue, and this story has yet to fully develop.

News media outlets have done a good job covering these delicate issues, being careful with language choices so as not to paint an inaccurate picture of the allegations. The New York Times, in particular, has done an outstanding job keeping information straight and making sure to remain unbiased in the handling of these complex situations.

TripAdvisor hides warnings of rape

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By EVAN ALDO

More than 10 travelers from around the United States say reviews website TripAdvisor is deleting and muzzling their accounts of rape, blackouts and other injuries suffered at resorts in Mexico, according to an extensive investigation published Wednesday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This report came out two days after U.S. officials called on the U.S. State Department and the Office of the Inspector General to investigate Mexican resorts that have allegedly been serving dangerous, tainted alcohol.

Tourists who have had terrible experiences say their posts of TripAdvisor are frequently removed and labeled as “hearsay.”

“To me it’s like censoring,” said Wendy Avery-Swanson of Phoenix. “It wasn’t hearsay. It actually happened to me.”  In her review, she wrote she blacked out after being served alcohol at a swim-up bar.  This review was scrubbed from the website.

Another review that was taken off the website was one by Kristie Love of Dallas. She posted that she had been raped by a security guard at the Iberostar Paraiso Resort near Playa Del Carmen.  She wrote that she had been followed by the guard who later overpowered her and raped her outside. She claims that the hotel staff refused to call police.  Her post was taken down for violating the “family friendly” guidelines.

“We apologize to the sexual assault victim,” said Brian Hoyt, senior director of communications for TripAdvisor. “Since 2010, when the forum post was removed, our policies and processes have evolved to better provide information like this to other travelers.  As a result, when recently brought to our attention, the victim’s initial forum post was republished by our staff.”

Hoyt also said the company is creating a “badge” notification to apply to businesses to “alert consumers of health & safety or discrimination issues at that business reported on within the media or other credible sources of information.”

Hopefully TripAdvisor is being truthful and will no longer censor these voices.

The media has done a very good job of covering this story.  An interview of a woman whose post was deleted had been featured on the NBC Nightly News last week.  The story has been showing up on CNN, FOX, and MSNBC’s websites as well.

This is an important story that many should be aware of, especially college students since many of them go to Mexico for spring break each year.  It is very good that many major news sources have been covering it and getting the word out there.  A lot of people will likely think twice about going to Mexico after reading about this.

School sells bulletproof backpack panel

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By NINA GARZA

Florida Christian School in Miami recently added a new item for purchase on its school website: bulletproof panels that can fit inside students’ backpacks.

The dean of the school, George Gulla, said that these panels would add another level of protection in the event of an active shooter. He also stated that teachers are to instruct students to use their backpacks as shields for protection.

The price for the bulletproof panel is $120.

With so many recent active shooter stories in the news recently, Florida Christian School wants to make sure students are well equipped in case they ever encounter one.

Gulla thinks offering the panels for parents to buy will give them peace of mind. However,  Kenneth Trump, school security expert, does not agree. He told CNN the panel “are not well focused for a child-centered environment.”

It is important to be prepared in case of an active shooter encounter. Though the topic of selling bulletproof panels for students’ backpacks can be controversial, it is good that CNN reported two different opinions on the matter.

No stories that I read on this topic stated any comments made by the parents of the students who attend Florida Christian School. I think that would have been good sources, seeing what the parents have to say and whether they think the school is making the right decision in selling the panels and if they would purchase them for their children’s backpacks.

Purge shakes up Saudi government

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By ANDRES ARENAS GRAYEB

This past weekend, a slew of arrests were ordered by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The arrest targeted many influential people in the Arabian government, including Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the kingdom’s riches investor, and Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, the most potent threat to Prince Mohammed’s power.

The arrests were the result of orders from an anti-corruption committee formed by the Crown Prince just hours before the arrests. Through a royal decree, the committee reportedly had the power to detain individuals or seize assets without trial or due process.

According to USA Today, the Saudi Arabian news media praised the arrests as a long awaited cleanup. President Donald Trump also appeared to be in favor of the arrests, praising the Crown Prince’s modernization drive in a recent phone call.

There are also concerns abroad and in Saudi Arabia, however, that the Crown Prince’s domination of the Saudi Arabian political scene is a turn for the worst. Scholars, such as James M. Dorsey from Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, are concerned that international businesses will see a threat to their assets in the Crown Prince’s aggressive behavior, effectively driving away the very business he wished to attract. Former U.S. ambassador Charles W. Freeman expressed concern about the possibility of a government even more corrupt than before, now that the Crown Prince is in firm control of Saudi Arabia.

USA Today worked diligently to create a story that was both a sufficient cover and analysis of the current events in Saudi Arabia. The story told what happened, what it might mean, and provided a brief history of modern Saudi Arabian politics to support their analysis. The newspaper also included analysis from sources outside the conflict, bringing different perspectives into the debate. Appropriately enough, they did not provide a conclusion, saying only time will tell what will happen after these drastic events: a wise ending that gives readers plenty of room to interpret the situation for themselves and draw their own conclusions.

Violence against women protested

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By KAYLA FOSTER

Last Sunday, Miss Peru contestants stood in solidarity as each contestant presented facts on the violence against women in Peru instead of their individual body measurements.

This protest against the violence of women and femicide was pre-planned by former 1987 pageant winner, Jessica Newton, Vanity Fair reported.

All 23 contestants walked the bathing-suit section while news about murdered and assaulted women cycled behind them,and answered questions focused on topics like femicide and gender violence during the question and answer section.

“We definitely had wanted a different Miss Peru,” Luciana Olivares told NPR. Olivares is a content and strategy manager of Frecuencia Latina, the TV network that broadcast the competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=63&v=p2keNlHhCuY

The hashtag #MisMedidasSon (“#MyMeasurementsAre”) was trending in Perú Sunday night, during and after the pageant.

“This contest could not be about casting pretty faces,” Olivares said. “We decided that we had the opportunity to turn the pageant around and use it as a platform to mobilize, raise awareness and speak up. We knew the whole country would be watching.”

The topic of violence on social media and the protest fits within a larger movement against femicide and violence against women across Latin America, and in wake of the sexual scandals of high profile Hollywood executives in the US.

Ivanka Trump speaks in Tokyo

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By VICTOR GUZMAN BERGER

“TOKYO — As the president might say, the room was half full.”

Ivanka Trump’s appearance at a government-sponsored conference on Friday, during the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo, took place before a half-empty room that motivated clumsy excuses on the part of those in charge of the security and the organizers of the event that put in greater evidence the embarrassment of the moment.

New York Times reporter Motoko Rich wrote, “Yet Ms. Trump spoke to a room with so many empty seats that ushers hustled to move audience members forward several rows in the minutes before she walked to the podium.”

The author limits himself to report in well-structured succession the stumbling blocks of this event.  There was no intention of lecturing and he is so candid in his description of the events that he cannot be labeled as malicious. However, even for the most confused reader, it allows us to glimpse the low popularity and lack of sympathy that Ivanka Trump generates. The author writes in a simple fluent language that engages the reader as if he was following a comedy of situations.

Cam Newton and the news media

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By JUSTIN STEVENS

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton doesn’t have many friends in the news media anymore.

Newton’s rocky relationship with local Panthers sports reporters and columnists took another turn for the worst last week when the quarterback left his press conference early with no explanation. This was his first press conference after skipping several press conferences over the course of a week. Many people believed that he was boycotting the news media because of an earlier incident that occurred involving a female reporter.

In this press conference, Newton was asked a large amount of questions about the Panthers’ struggling offense, which only managed to score a field goal in its game the previous Sunday. A reporter then asked Newton about “big chunk plays” that the Carolina offense was lacking, which sent Newton over the edge.

Newton responded to that question saying, “Next question,” then he rolled his eyes, paused, and then left the press conference without any explanation.

The Panthers released a statement saying, “Cam didn’t intend to be discourteous toward any specific media member, in his mind after answering questions for nine minutes he had fulfilled his obligations.”

It’s still questionable why that question caused his sudden outburst but it seems like his relationship with the news media has been stalled for a while. This comes a couple of weeks after  Newton replied with a sexist comment during a press conference to a female reporter when she asked about running routes. Newton later apologized and then lost an endorsement deal with Dannon.

The reality of the situation is that Newton can’t escape the news media. As a public figure and a former MVP quarterback, he is going to have to deal with questions he might not want to answer. Some of the questions might be pointless, but it’s also the job of the news media to ask questions that Newton might deem stupid or unnecessary.

But to Cam, it’s his world and the news media is just living in it.

Media help spread incitement of terror

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By NATE DERRENBACHER

This week, another vehicular terror attack occurred in New York City, killing eight people. The suspect, identified as an Uzbekistan native, claimed allegiance to ISIS, the Islamic terrorist group that has lost some of its reign over the past few months.

Following any major attack in which people are intentionally killed, ISIS almost always claims responsibility, whether the attacker was really acting on behalf of ISIS or not. But the terror attack that occurred on Oct. 31 may have been different.

Law enforcement and investigators are claiming that they have found hundreds of pictures and material linked to ISIS on the suspect’s cellphone. This comes after ISIS released statements encouraging its supporters to carry out local attacks such as this one.

So, why are these types of attacks on the rise? Well, in short, the increased accessibility to ISIS and other terror inciting materials on the internet and mass media. People can now see and interact with terror inciting materials on a more regular basis and, as a result, can sometimes become desensitized to the to the scale of these horrific attacks.

The media have been covering this story with constant updates since ever since the initial reports of the attacks. Some news outlets continue to share images of the suspect, while others share pictures of the truck in which he carried out the attack and maps of where the attack happened.

This is not a story that is going away any time soon. Unfortunately, news outlets have had to continue to cover stories such as these, including a mass shooting in Las Vegas last month and the multiple vehicular attacks that have been carried out in London.

The accessibility to mass media has bridged the gap of reach for terrorist organizations, and as a result, the frequency of attacks has been on a steady rise.

ABC News’ embarrassing reporting

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By DANNY LAROSE

When allegations of Kevin Spacey molesting an underage boy in 1986 were all but confirmed by Spacey’s public apology Sunday evening, a news media uproar understandably ensued. However, ABC News seemed to take lightly to the revelation as it released a breaking headline that chose not to point out Spacey’s actions but rather his “coming out.”

Spacey’s apology culminated in his openly declaring his homosexuality, which many have speculated was an attempt to divert attention away from the circumstances behind his actual apology. ABC, however, took the bait. It published a headline that did not mention his apology for molestation, but rather referred to it as a “heartwrenching” coming out story.

Gay people, straight people, famous comedians and actors, and your average Joe on Twitter all responded to Spacey’s “coming out story” with immense backlash. They called the actor out for conflating homosexuality with pedophilia, a bigoted allegation the gay community once had to consistently battle against, and took issue with his attempt to essentially, as one tweeter called it, use his ‘get out of jail free card’ by saying “I am gay.”

ABC News, in avoiding the major story in this apology, which is the apology for the molestation of a 14 year-old-boy, and instead choosing to highlight Spacey’s coming out of the closet, is appalling. First, ABC is allowing Spacey this cop out, affording him the luxury of basically saying “don’t focus on that, focus on the fact that I am gay.” Focusing on Spacey’s homosexuality instead does a massive disservice to both the gay community who criticized Spacey for the manner in which he came out, and the victim(s) of Spacey’s abuse.

Second, ABC is ignoring journalistic standards by highlighting what should be perceived as secondary information. Most news outlets reported Kevin Spacey’s apology most prominently as well as the circumstances that called for such an apology, but ABC made it the main story. The headlining is akin to beginning a news report with a bus crash and waiting until the end of the story to inform the viewer that there was a death.

Finally, ABC’s use of the word “heartwrenching” is simply incorrect. Any decent human being will point out that “heartwrenching” is not the applicable word when reporting on a sex offender. Nothing about Spacey’s actions or apology was heartwrenching because he is not the victim. He is at fault and he does not deserve the sympathy that ABC allots him with this generous phrase and headline.

ABC dropped the ball covering the Kevin Spacey apology in an extraordinarily embarrassing way. Let’s hope they don’t do anything like it again.

The other fieldwork in Tongo Tongo

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By REGINA SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ

It has been a month since the killing of four American and five Nigerien soldiers in the village of Tongo Tongo in Nigeria by terrorist groups of the region. The patrol, composed of 30 soldiers, was conducting a routine reconnaissance mission when the soldiers were entrusted other mission. They sought to capture one of the main targets of the U.S., in Niger, a man of the ISIS.

The patrol didn’t find its objective so it headed to the base. On the way, the soldiers were ambushed by a group of approximately 50 people and probably associated with ISIS. There were four victims of the U.S. Army, Sgts. Bryan C. Black, Jeremiah W. Johnson, Dustin M. Wright and La David T. Johnson.

This last death has created controversy because the body of the La David T. Johnson was recovered two days after the attack and a mile away from the crime scene. Also, Donald Trump’s condolences to the widow of the sergeant have been described as insensitive and disrespectful.

The American troops were sent to Niger in 2013 to help French Army to stop the rise of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS or Boko Haram. There are 800 American soldiers assigned to Niger.

The U.S. troops are not permitted direct action against the enemy. So, the Pentagon is investigating if there was any change in the mission entrusted.

While official sources try to clarify everything, a CNN reporter, Arwa Damon, has traveled to Tongo Tongo, to find the truth.

She described the landscape to make it easier to understand how the ambush was held. In her article, she describes her purpose as “looking for answers to the many questions that continue to churn around the attack”. She talked with first-hand sources, another great journalist’s practice.

As she was exposed, she didn’t have enough time to investigate deeper. But everything she told gives us clues of how could be the battle.

While the government could be interested in hiding part of the truth, a great practice of a journalist, as carry out fieldwork and talk with first-hand sources, allows us to know more about the situation in Tongo Tongo.

It’s important that journalists don’t wait in their offices to write stories from just an official statement. Journalists have to be suspect of everything, find out the truth themselves, never confine themselves to official sources and try to have a first-hand story to tell their audience.

Houston Astros win World Series

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

Just nine weeks after one of the worst hurricanes and severe flooding hit Houston, the Astros prove that #houstonstrong is more than just a trending hashtag.

On Wednesday night, the Houston Astros made history by winning the World Series in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, making it the city’s first baseball championship. Never had the team even made it to the seventh game before.

“Earned History,” is what the Astros posted on their Twitter after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 during Game 7, making it the first win for World Series veterans Justin Verlander and Carlos Beltran. This was retweeted more than 50,000 times.

“No matter what, this Series is going down in the history books as one of the best Series of all time,” said Verlander after the Astros took a loss in Game 6. “I think tomorrow’s going to be nothing short of spectacular either way. I hope we blow them out, but the way these things have been going, I don’t see that being the case.”

This game did well in bringing Houston together after some games were forced to be played away from Houston, due to the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

“My mom lost her car & nearly our house to Harvey. It’s her birthday & she’s SO happy the Astros gave her a World Series win #HoustonStrong,” tweeted Leah Ware, a local fan.

Most players helped with relief efforts and even wore the words “H Strong” on their jerseys.

Three Astros players, including shortstop Carlos Correa, dedicated their win to those affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Outfielder Carlos Beltran, a Puerto Rico native, donated more than $1 million to disaster relief for the island.

Man serenades dying wife in Puerto Rico

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By ANAEL GAVIZON

Among all the disheartening stories that have been covered about Puerto Rico since its devastating hurricanes in September, we find many personal experiences of people who suffered in their beloved land. This week, The Miami Herald featured one story about a Puerto Rican that was accompanying one of his family members on her last days. Many were sick from the contaminated water and mosquitoes that followed the hurricanes.

In the medical center, “generators hummed in the background, powering the ventilators and feeding tubes of patients who had fled nearby hospitals after Hurricane Maria knocked out power across the island.” But in the middle of this climate of nervousness and the preoccupied crowd, an old man took his guitar and started to play songs for his wife lying next to him.

Santos Candelaria also said he was playing songs to thanks the medical staff and volunteers that came to help his country in this crisis. This act from Candelaria reunited a small crowd of people singing proud to be Puerto Rican, but also people looking for support and hope.

There were a lot of things that impressed me about this particular story published by The Herald this past Thursday. First, is the fact that it focused on those little pieces that really change your perspective and make you smile. I realized that this could be one of the reasons why it is the center of the front page and essentially the day’s cover story. The second thing that called my attention was the use of multimedia in the article.

When you look the publication from the “front page” of The Herald it looks like a simple video and then you wonder why would they have that as one of the most important stories? Yes, it is a nice story but isn’t other news more controversial or shocking. The only thing that came to my mind was the fact that the video that was accompanying the piece was definitely a perfect video for social media. It was a short video, with images from the stories but titles that narrated what was happening. This is one of the formats that Facebook and many other websites have been using to advertise, promote a story and have a larger reach. It is a short story, with good visuals, that is appealing to the emotional, easy to understand and easy to instantly share.

I also noticed that although they had this self-explanatory video, the newspaper decided to also write a larger article with a more in-detail store for those who were looking for more information. It is also interesting because it makes us think of a balance between getting our news from social media and newspapers’ websites.

To see the original Miami Herald story, go to:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article182286646.html

Judge blocks Trump transgender ban

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By ANDRES ARENAS GRAYEB

This Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked a White House policy barring transgender soldiers in the military.

Judge Colleen Koller-Kotelly of the Federal District Court found the administration’s justification for the ban to be lacking and likely unconstitutional. The ban, set to take effect March 2018, is a clear offense to the equal protection clause of the constitution, according to a thorough and strongly worded 76 ruling by Judge Kollar-Kotelly.

The Justice Department has voiced its disagreement with the ruling and is “… currently evaluating the next steps,” according to a statement.

The policy was originally brought to light by a series of tweets made by President Trump in July, expressly announcing that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve in the military. The announcement was a step to reverse Obama era policy decisions that allowed transgender troops to serve openly, and a shock to military officials already in the process of integrating transgender people into the military.

The ban was a relief for transgender soldiers and supporters of transgender rights alike. “Big news today,” said Lt. Commander Blake Dremann, director of Sparta, an active LGBT military group with more than 650 members. “A lot of people’s lives were put on hold. They thought their careers were ending. This means we can continue to serve with honor, as we have been doing.”

The New York Times and Fox News have been proficient in detailing not only what happened on Monday, but also the before and what may be the after. They have done so by providing an intuitive timeline of the events, as well as brief statements by various involved officials and individuals. They also provide statistics to help solidify the transgender case, though the outcome is left open for deliberation.

8 killed in New York City truck attack

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By EVAN ALDO

Police and witnesses say a man deliberately drove a rented truck onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center in Manhattan which killed eight people and injured at least 12 others.

The man later got out of the truck waved around a fake gun before being shot by police.  He was wounded and taken into custody.

“This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians.  It was a very painful day in our city,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

This was the deadliest act of terror in New York City since 9/11.

The suspect was identified by law enforcement as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, a 29-year-old truck driver from New Jersey and Florida.  He immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 2010.

A federal law enforcement source said a note had been found inside the truck that was in reference to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Saipov does not appear to have an extensive criminal background, according to the FBI and the NYPD.  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the attack appeared to be a “lone wolf” incident with no links to a wider terrorist plot.

The incident occurred at West Street and Chambers Street at 3:05 p.m.  The truck drove down a bike path for about four blocks and stuck cyclists and pedestrians before moving back into traffic lanes and striking a school bus.

The media should pay very close attention to the fact that this attack occurred without the use of any firearms.  Lately the media has been giving a lot of attention towards the possibly of banning firearms to increase safety.  However, I believe that they do not realize that there are many other ways that criminals commit murder.

This incident shows that even without a gun, a person can murder multiple people at the same time.  Firearms aided the police in this situation.  They wound the man with their firearms and stop him from creating anymore havoc.

If firearms are banned, I believe that terrorists will find other ways commit mass murder.  As seen in Nice, France last year, a trunk ran over and killed 86 people.  This was more than the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history last month that killed 58 people.

Media should report these facts accordingly and point out the fact that this incident shows banning guns will not solve the occurrence of mass murders.

Manhattan attack leaves eight dead

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By BEN EZZY

Eight people were killed and 11 injured Tuesday in Manhattan after a driver ran them over in his pickup truck. The lone driver then ended the rampage after crashing into a school bus and shouting “Allahu akbar” as he ran around the road with a pellet gun and a paintball gun. He was later identified as 29-year-old Sayfullow Saipov, after being shot by police in the abdomen.

Investigations following the incident have revealed that Saipov spent weeks planning the attack and that it was tied to directives he received from the Islamic State. The instructions were to carry out an attack with a truck and leave a note behind that praised the group and its philosophies. Crime scene investigators found an assortment of knives around the truck, along with a note as described.

As the story has developed and more information has become available, news media outlets have done a good job handling and dispersing the material in a way that keeps details from becoming confusing. This is a sensitive topic and, in organizing information for readers, this has allowed for order in the face of chaos.

The New York Times, for example, has published several pieces on the attack, including angles relating to the potential motivation behind the attack, the state of affairs as they stand, and what is happening in the aftermath of the incident. The newspaper also published one story online that was simply a list of facts that “we know” and “we don’t know” at this point. In doing so, readers can quickly understand where the story is and how it is developing.

Other outlets, like CNN, placed an emphasis on the use of images and video to complement the written articles. A slideshow that is part of the latest CNN article allows readers to visualize with the current situation is like. There are also links to “related articles,” which give viewers a complete picture of what is happening and what the effects will be for the people of Manhattan and the United States at large.