Rodriguez, media clash off field

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By JOSH WHITE

On March 23, the Watsco Center field house was packed with some of the brightest minds in the sports industry.

Inside the glass doors, the 2017 University of Miami Sport Industry Conference was underway.

The event drew 305 top sports businessman and women, students aspiring to become successful in the sports industry and a middle-aged man named Alex Rodriguez.

Although Rodriguez was known for his towering home runs, boisterous attitude and PED use late in career, since his playing days, ARod has developed into a business pioneer.

Rodriguez is the CEO and founder of a company called ARod Corp.

ARod Corp. ventures in real estate, auto dealerships and high-end fitness centers in Mexico and The United States.

While there was plenty of knowledge in the room, news media coverage was lacking.

Only two news media outlets were on hand; CBS Miami Channel 4, and UMTV. After Rodriguez delivered a talk to the attendees and participated in a question-and-answer session, ARod spoke to the two TV stations.

After a short interview with UMTV, Rodriguez spoke to sports anchor Jim Berry from CBS Miami. This is where it spiraled downhill.

Rodriguez, who had recently been seen with celebrity Jennifer Lopez, was asked a question about it. Thrown off guard, Rodriguez gave a vague answer and concluded the interview.

Not only were very few outlets in attendance to cover a sports celebrity giving a local talk, but then a question that had nothing to do with the event was asked.

First off, I think more news media organizations should’ve covered the event because Alex Rodriguez is a prominent sports figure especially in the Miami community. Secondly, a very unprofessional question having nothing to do with the conference and Rodriguez’s business ventures should not have been asked.

Understanding LaVar Ball

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By LUIS GONZALEZ

Former Division II basketball player LaVar Ball speaking in hyperbole is fine, but only for his sons.

Ball, father of UCLA Basketball star Lonzo Ball, rising high school athlete LaMelo Ball, and future UCLA Bruin LiAngelo Ball, has been in the news lately for comparing Lonzo to the likes of Jason Kidd, Magic Johnson and even Michael Jordan.

The quotations, retrieved from ESPN’s Ian O’Conner, say an obviously false narrative about his sons.

When comparing Lonzo to Magic Johnson, LaVar said “Lonzo is more athletic than Magic, blocks more shots, and makes more steals. … Lonzo is Magic with a jump shot.”

“The way you compare him to Kidd is, he likes to pass and Kidd and Zo are light-skinned.” LaVar said when comparing Lonzo to legendary former New Jersey Nets Guard Jason Kidd “But [Lonzo] is taller and longer, and he’s got a better jump shot than Kidd. He’s more athletic in how he jumps and catches lobs back door.”

On the comparison of Lonzo to arguably the best player to ever play in the NBA, Lavar said.

“Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time, but all three of my boys can go down as the greatest player ever. Lonzo is better than what Michael Jordan was doing in high school, and he’s better than what Michael Jordan was doing in college. … He’s only 19. He’s got to get past Jordan’s six titles and get to seven to be the greatest player ever, and I think he can do it.”

An obviously proud father has gained traction on the internet pages of many news programs and even got him a chance to argue with ESPN’s Stephen A Smith.

Understanding LaVar is easy, being a good father means believing your kids are the best in the world.

LaVar however, knows that the media will put out much of what he says. He is not a television analyst or bound to any journalistic integrity, so he can say whatever he wants.

Using the media as a marketing ploy to get your child’s name into every home before they get drafted, helps only Lonzo. Getting his name on your eye through an article or twitter makes you keep an eye on him during the NCAA tournament.

Watching Lonzo’s 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.6 assists a game (according to sports-reference.com) leads many to fall in love with 6-6 guard. Once they fall in love it adds fan pressure to teams to draft the Bruin earlier, adding jersey sales, making him more marketable for sponsorships.

Pair arrested for counterfeit jewelry

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By COURTNEY ADELMAN

Miami-Dade County recently arrested two jewelry store owners for selling high-end jewelry that was fake.

Jimmy Hernandez, 40, and Tania Varona, 57, were co-owners of Joyeria The Lord of the Rings Collection. Both were arrested for counterfeiting services and good worth more than $20,000.

investigators say that they see name-brand jewelry sold at its normal retail price.

This jewelry included items from Bvlgari, Cartier, Chanel, Christian Dior, Gucci, Hermes, Lous Vuitton, Micheal Kors, Movaddo, Ray Ban, Rolex, Tiffany, Tory, Tous, Van Cleef & Arpels and Yves St. Laurent.

If all of this jewelry were authentic and new the arrest would have claimed for counterfeiting about $31,000.

Whether or not this is important news is hard to say. This arrest and incident did not hurt anyone. I feel that it wouldn’t be until they continued this business that the store owners would get into worse things.

However, I don’t see this story posing any threat to people in nearby areas. I did fin it interesting because I enjoy jewelry and would not want to buy something fake.

So in that sense, it is important to report this so people know that if they have ever bought something from this store, it is counterfeit.

March Madness = pressure on athletes

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By JIHAD SHATARA

That tournament in between February and April is really madness.

Every year we all fill out our brackets, choose a Final 4, and hope that our eventual champion doesn’t get knocked out in the second round. The NCAA Tournament has become a monster in itself. These 18 year old kids continue to garner more and more interest from the NBA as they want them to go pro so early.

It is actually ridiculous how much pressure these kids are faced with. For instance, schools like Kentucky, Duke and even Kansas are asking so much from kids fresh out of high school. In large part, this is due to the news media’s coverage of this tournament.

If you go on Twitter anytime there is a game during March Madness, the feed is going crazy for kids who were in high school just a year ago. ESPN, CBS, Yahoo and so many more media outlets milk the competitions.

“Get a perfect bracket and you will win a billion dollars,” they try to entice us with. When a favorite is upset by a “Cinderella” its always a nice story, but who is really happy that George Mason made the Final 4 other than George Mason fans? The news media blow it up like this large thing, but in all reality, people are upset because it costs them in the long run.

The news media are putting so pressure on young kids in college. Now, the coverage of the big dance as they call it is really phenomenal. They even have an app where you have the ability to live stream all the games. But lets take the pressure off of the kids for once. We are all here to watch and have some fun with basketball.

Times checks Trump on false claims

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By AMANDA PRATS

The New York Times released a fact check in response to President Trump’s recent interview with Time magazine.

During the interview, Trump repeatedly falsely cited The Times to support his unsubstantiated accusations of wiretapping of his campaign office.

The statements involved his continued assertion that President Obama wiretapped the phones in Trump Tower during the election, a claim he has repeatedly made despite a complete lack of evidence and support from any intelligence officials.

In his interview, Trump said that The Times altered a headline on an article that originally read as, “Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides.” He went on to say that the headline was changed to drop the word “wiretap.”

In response to the statements, The Times’ fact check clarified that this was false, and that the original articles which appeared both online and in print were released with different headlines, neither of which were changed at any point. The Times included in its fact check screenshots of the cached website showing the article and headline, unchanged, at various times as the story developed.

The fact check refuted Trump’s usage of The Times’ headline to back his claims. “Neither the print nor online version of the article supports Mr. Trump’s accusation that Mr. Obama ordered surveillance on him,” The New York Times wrote, arguing that Trump’s statements were misleading.

Ultra takes over downtown Miami

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By ISABELLA HALILI

This weekend Miami will be hosting the annual Ultra Music Festival as it comes back to Miami for the 18th time.

This electronic dance music festival started in Miami in 1999 by two entrepreneurs, Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. The first festival they ever hosted was only one day, but now the organization has grown to host three full days of music.

Construction for this massive event started on Wednesday and has caused much distraction in downtown Miami since then. There has been many complaints from Miamians asking Ultra to find a better, less distracting venue.

Although there are many who have complained, locals acknowledge the fact that the Ultra Music Festival is economically beneficial to the city. It causes international attention and it’s always a sold out event.

Most locals who don’t attend the event just choose to flee the downtown area for the weekend.

The Miami Herald wrote about Miami’s mixed feelings about the festival. How it’s a real distraction to people who work and live downtown, but how this festival does end up benefiting the city more than distracting it. The Miami New Times came out with an article to help drivers in Miami avoid traffic, but also wrote about the lineup of the festival. Sun Sentinel wrote an article about the addition of trains to transport music festival goers.

I think the news media based in Miami has made a big deal to note that the Ultra Music Festival is in town this week. They are giving free publicity to this music festival, while also giving publicity to their own city, which in the end will only benefit the city as a whole.

Disney has done it again

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By CHELSEA LOVELL

Disney’s live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” waltzed in with $170 million in box office sales during its debut this past weekend, leaving the runner up movie “Kong: Skull Island” trailing behind with only $27 million.

There was lots of excitement and talk in all outlets of news media before and after the movie hit theaters.

“Beauty and the Beast” set a new record for March opening which only solidified Disney’s status as a force to be reckoned with in the film business. According to Vanity Fair’s article about the movie, “no other company can match the streak that Disney is currently enjoying, thanks to a series of multi-billion acquisitions that put the likes of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm in its Magic Kingdom. Last year, the studio accounted for more than a quarter of all domestic ticket sales, and 2017 brings the release of sequels to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Cars,’ and ‘Thor,’ in addition to ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ ”

All ages enjoyed the movie and took to the news media to share their responses to the movie. The main talk of the crowd was Emma Watson’s performance of Belle the princess and main character of the movie.

“Beauty and the Beast” is a musical and this was her first time singing professionally. Most of her fans admired her work and used social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, to congratulate her on her performance as well as encouraging others to go out and see the movie.

Pair accused of ordering hit man

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By COURTNEY ADELMAN

A couple in Houston allegedly hired a hit man to kill their ex-partners. Talk about a fun couple activity.

The hit man was an undercover police officer posing as a hit man.

On Monday, a judge set bail at $50,000 for 48-year-old Valerie Busick McDaniel. He denied bail for 39-year-old Leon Philip Jacob who was already on bail for assaulting and stalking his ex-girlfriend. He and McDaniel were both arrested on Friday.

The couple remained in jail for the whole weekend and will stay much longer in jail if convicted.

The Miami Herald reported this week that “the couple are charged with solicitation of capital murder. Prosecutors say McDaniel wanted her ex-husband killed, while Jacob sought to have his ex-girlfriend kidnapped and later killed to prevent her from testifying against him in the assault case.”

Investigators with Harris County District Attorney’s Office Special Crimes Bureau had found out that Jacob had already planned to kill his ex-girlfriend and was willing to pay someone $10,000 to do it.

The undercover cop who was posing as a hit man met with Jacob and during the meeting, McDaniel came in and said she would also pay $10,000 for the hit man to kill her husband.

This is crazy to hear. People hear horrible stories about relationships, but not necessarily to the extent of killing a previous partner.

It is very interesting that this case has news media coverage in Miami because it occurred in Texas.

However, this is a unique case that has a lot of issues with it. It could even be noted as a semi-famous case because it deals with so many issues.

Largest cruise ship coming to Miami

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By ALISON GOEBEL

The world’s largest cruise ship is set to sail out of the cruise capitol of the world, PortMiami in November 2018.

This cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, will be the fourth Oasis class ship from Royal Caribbean.

Symphony of the Seas comes in at 230,000 gross tons, is 215.5 feet wide, 1,188 feet long, and has a cruising speed of 22 knots (25 miles per hour). The ship will also hold 6,780 guests in 2,775 rooms and have 15 dining options.

Before she heads to Miami, she’s set to explore several destinations in the Mediterranean including Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Provence, France; Florence/Pisa Rome and Naples, Italy.

She then arrives at Miami, where she begins seven-night eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.

This is a major breakthrough and milestone, the biggest, largest, most vast cruise ship ever to exist.

Although that this sounds great, and the media certainly portrays it to be so, this doesn’t mean all good things.

About a week prior to this announcement that was made on every local news company and cruise or vacation website, there was breaking news of how a cruise ship ended up scrapping the bottom of the sea beds in Fort Lauderdale and how terrible those ships are for the environment.

But, with that being said, it was quickly forgotten about and trumped by this story “The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Ever Built to Set Sail.”

I think that, in this situation, the news media are definitely skewed, possibly because readers are more interested in these vast Titanic-like ships if you will. Or, it could possibly just be purely for revenue.

Either way, it doesn’t dismiss the fact that cruise ships are very harmful for our environment.

Little do people know that the ships release all of their waste into the sea mid-voyage away from beaches or land.

Not only that but incidents like the one that happened in Fort Lauderdale where it scrapped the bottom of the seabed are far too common.

Stories that are about the environmental impact cruise ships have put those specific companies in check.

The ones that are revolved around the negative factors of cruise ships don’t really get as much attention or popularity compared to ones that focus on the largest cruise ship in the world being launched.

Why? That I still wonder.

Gas prices rising as summer nears

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By ALISON GOEBEL

As soon as we thought gas prices were going down, they’re going up again and this time there’s no escaping it.

A few years ago, people flocked gas stations when gas was under $2. People bought bigger cars thinking that it was going to stay cheap when in reality, it only lasted about a year.

Ever since then, gas prices have been rising slowly but steadily, with jumps here and there between 30 cents to 70 cents a gallon.

In places like South Florida, that’s where I notice it the most.

There are multiple reasons as to why gas prices rise. One of them is, due to the emissions during the winter compared to the summer, hotter weather, they try and change the way gas is formulated to its less of an impact on the environment.

This has a huge impact on traveling, especially for spring break and Memorial Day weekend.

Flights these days could be very cheap, but during this time of year, it’s pretty hard to find those.

I think this is a very typical story that has been around for a long time. There really isn’t a lot to cover on gas prices rising other than … they’re rising, duh!

But, with that said, it’s a necessity for people to know or be aware of if they’re planning on traveling or taking a vacation during these times because they need to know if it’s going to be more expensive due to the time of year they’re looking to travel.

I don’t think this is a very hard topic to cover and you can find articles like this written anywhere in our country in any state or city.

Spring break begins in Florida

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By ALISON GOEBEL

As we all know, it is now the season for spring breakers to travel south and enjoy the nice, warm, blaring sunshine that we have.

But, it is also the time of the year where cops have to be in full force and bars, clubs and beaches all have to be prepared for the massive crowds that fill their territories.

Last year in Miami, there were several arrests due to fights breaking out and crowds in the thousands created chaos on Ocean Drive on South Beach.

The police ended up having to step in the middle of these giant crowds, making the scene take quite a bit to get under control.

This year, there were a lot of efforts that went into cracking down on alcohol, litter, loud music, and the safety of all of the people participating in spring break on South Beach.

This new ban includes no coolers, tents or inflatable devices on the beach.

Although all of these efforts were made in order to keep the peace, the police were still forced to shut down ocean drive this year for spring breakers too due to the crowds filling the sand and streets.

In Fort Lauderdale, it still is a great place for spring breakers, but it doesn’t seem as “ratchet” or too out of hand.

They have tents that are specifically stationed in the popular areas and four policemen on horses at each station.

There are also dozens of trash bags and bins all across the beach to try and keep the littering to a minimal.

Fort Lauderdale seems to have it a lot more under control than Miami, although Miami probably has a lot more people participating in such activities.

As far as the news coverage goes, I’d say that they do a very good job of informing people about issues such as these on a local level.

All of the news companies from Orlando to Daytona Beach to Miami have done a very good job covering all aspects of the “spring breakers” story, the only thing that I thought maybe was lacking was on the national level.

The national level, I think, does still apply to these types of stories because you have people coming from all over the country to Florida to be a part of drinking and partying on the beach.

Hoax shows importance of sources

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By LUIS GONZALEZ

The New England Patriots woke up to an awkward breakup post by backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, except the Patriots did not trade or cut the QB.

At around 4 a.m., Garoppolo’s Instagram saying a concise goodbye to Boston. While the third-year QB has had his time this year on the trade block, it appears that his Instagram was hacked and has not been traded or released.

The post lasted around four hours on his profile and has been deleted since then. Below is a screengrab of the post from Garropolo’s Instagram (the gray box only covers the comment section).

NFL news media have been working tirelessly around the clock for the last week because of the opening of free agency.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport summed up the situation best for the aforementioned news media members.

“Spoke to someone close to Jimmy Garoppolo who had no knowledge of any trade and believes it’s a hack. Alas, it’s 5:26 am now & we’re all up,” Rapoport wrote.

He also gave an update this morning on NFL Network’s show Good Morning Football and provided some insight of the early morning flurry.

“Here is the latest from RapSheet on the Jimmy Garoppolo Instagram story,” he wrote.

The whole situation brings up the importance of maintaining multiple legitimate sources to confirm a story before it its published, especially during the free agency period.

Front office personnel from NFL teams and countless sports agents are currently participating in a dance to gain leverage over each other, to get the best deal for their party.

The dance involves leaking information to reporters in hopes of starting published rumors and put pressure on the other party to conform to their side of the bargaining table.

With the feed-the-beast mentality, it would be easy for someone looking to get some clicks on their new blog and make a name for themselves, might publish the leaked information and it may not be true.

Having multiple sources to confirm a story solidifies it, allowing it not to be subject to a rich man’s leverage war.

Rapoport, in the tweet, showed how reporting during a whirlwind time should be done. With solid confirmation and not believing the first thing that is seen.

ACC in Brooklyn a smart choice

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By JOSH WHITE

The Atlantic Coast Conference is in the midst of holding its men’s basketball tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this week. The move might seem strange for the Tobacco Road-centric league, but the league has good reason.

Besides a return to the ACC’s roots, the conference moved the event out of North Carolina as a result of House Bill 2.

HB2 is best-known for requiring visitors to schools and other government facilities to use the bathroom of the gender that appears on their birth certificates.

The ACC felt it was best to move the event out of North Carolina because of the complications politically.

I agree with the move and so do many of the head coaches and players.

First off, moving the event to a city/state that allows individuals to use the bathroom of their gender identity is right in my opinion. No one should be restricted.

Now basketball-wise, the move to a major city like Brooklyn/New York City that has so much going on builds excitement in the news media. Fans, not just of the ACC, but fans of college basketball are invested in the tournament because of its location. Located in the heart of nation’s news media capital now builds attention for the best conference in college basketball.

Lastly, many of the head coaches and players love it because it is in the mecca of basketball.

Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Jim Larrañaga praised the conference and thinks it should always be in Brooklyn because he feels that basketball was born in New York.

Syracuse’s veteran Head Coach Jim Boeheim agrees that the tournament should be held in New York or another major city because there is zero reason to hold it in Greensboro.

No matter which way you slice it up —politically, athletically, or news-media wise — the move out of Greensboro to a major city outside the state of North Carolina is a positive one.

Free agency frenzy returns to NFL

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By JIHAD SHATARA

Every off-season period in the NFL brings something new.

Free agency is a time where fans can get a sliver of of hope that the new players signed to their team can make a championship impact.

If you go back two years ago, the biggest signing was Ndamukong Suh who, at the time, signed the biggest free agent contract ever for a defensive player with Miami. Moves like this generate great excitement towards a franchise. It gives fans hope that this will be the move to carry their teams to the title. Championships are usually won in April via the draft, but with good spending in free agency, teams can set up a nice future.

News media coverage of free agent seems to grow more and more each season. With NFL insiders like Adam Schefter and Jeff Ian Rapoport, it is always fun when they break news.

ESPN even runs an entire special show devoted to free agent signings. It is what fans want. They want to see what team got who to help improve them at a certain position. Guys like Schefter and Rapoport are always answering the phone on air to break news. As a fan, I want max coverage. Twitter is now the go to source to break news. When a big story breaks, Twitter seems to have the details and reactions first.

The NFL free agency frenzy is upon us. Fans, teams and even the news media are starting to feel the excitement, yet the pressure that builds up with free agency.

International Women’s Day celebrated

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By CHANTAL ALBA

International Women’s Day is an annual commemoration of the women’s rights movement, that takes place every year on March 8. This year, women had many ways in which they celebrated.

Many women used it as a day of protest, to show why women are important in the world. They used it as a day of praise, to take the time to thank and lift each other up. They used it as a day to hold everyone, including themselves, accountable for the way women are treated in today’s society.

This International Women’s Day called for women to wear the color red. Why red? Wearing red was promoted by the same people who organized the Women’s March on Washington. They stated that they chose the color red for their new campaign because they see it as a “power” color and because it represents “revolutionary love and sacrifice”. The color is a “call to action” for human rights and justice, but to also raise awareness to the women’s right movement.

Many celebrities and politicians took to social media to show their support in the campaign including Salma Hayek, Kerry Washington, Emma Watson, Ellen DeGeneres and Hillary Clinton. Men like Mario Lopez, LeBron James, Jared Leto, and Pharrell Williams decided to join in on the movement and show their support for women.

With everything going on in our nation and around the world, Wednesday showed that the world is still full of people who want to show, give and receive love. It was a beautiful reminder why we must continue to fight the good fight.

Baylor coach apologizes for comment

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By ERYKAH DAVENPORT

Back in January 2017, a lawsuit was filed by a former student that attended Baylor University. Allegedly, 31 different Baylor football players committed 52 “acts of rape” between 2011 and 2014, which was reported by CBS Sports.

After gaining a well-deserved win 500 over Texas Tech, Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey made a comment that caused tremendous controversy. Reported by John Elizondo of ABC, Mulkey said this to the crowd in attendance at the Ferrell Center following Baylor’s win over Texas Tech: “If someone around you ever says I’ll never send my daughter to Baylor, you knock them right in the face.”

She has recently released an apology after comments made last week regarding the school’s sexual assault scandal. According to ESPN, Mulkey stated, “I’m sorry for those choice of words, timing wasn’t good, poor analogy as well, because if you know me, I’m an emotional person, coached and coached with emotion. It all got the best of me, because I love this place. A lot of bad things happened here, but I’ve always thought about the victims.”

Mulkey previously expressed regret for those comments in an interview with Mechelle Voepel of espnW.com Tuesday.

“I hate that I used the remark about punching them in the face,” Mulkey said. “That was not literal. I was trying to make a point, to be firm in what you are saying back at them. I’m not a violent person. I apologize for the very poor choice of words.”

Pope considers married men as priests

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By ISABELLA HALILI

Pope Francis has been known to be one of the more progressive popes that have lead the Catholic Church. He has been trying his best to lead the church to a more modern and up-to-date place.

He speaks openly about his acceptance of homosexuality and his understanding of why abortions can sometimes be necessary, but his most recent comment will put one of the strictest rules of the Catholic Church into question.

In an interview, Francis said he is considering letting married men become ordained priests. He said this new rule would be quite beneficial to rural areas that have very few priests. Right now, he knows he will not be completely removing the rule of celibacy.

There has been a growing issue of getting young people to fully commit to a vocation to the Church, and so this is why Francis is open to changing such strict rules.

This new type of priest would be called  a “viri probati,” which comes from the Latin meaning “man that is proven.”

The Associated Press did the original article about the statement from Francis. TIME magazine then did an article covering this topic. I think they could have down more news media coverage on this topic targeting the youth, but also it is a sensitive subject since it does deal with religion.

So with that taken into consideration, I feel they did a fare amount of coverage on this sort of topic.

Retail stores experience decline

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By: SHELLIE FRAI

After years of taking center stage as the stand-out example of a retail store for young consumers, Urban Outfitters shares plummet to a new low as sales fall short of expectations.

Nasty Gal, the e-commerce store that was once a booming mecca for young online shoppers, recently felt the same decline of sales. Except, unlike Urban Outfitters, Nasty Gal was unable to turn its low sales into profits and earlier this year the e-commerce store was forced to file for bankruptcy.

The decline of established retail stores come at a time when social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook and online marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy make it easier for consumers to become the producers.

Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon and Etsy, allow ordinary people to start online businesses and stores with a click of a button.

By registering your account as a business, one can easily start posting handmade clothing, jewelry and even furniture to their pages for sale.

Bagatiba, Same Swimwear, Gisou and The Blonde Salad Shop are all retail stores created on social media and all have a following of over 50,000 people.

On these social media outlets and online marketplaces, one can even buy ad space to promote their merchandise to their target audiences.

Because of the accessibility and uniqueness of handmade garments and items, many fast-fashion stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and J. Crew are losing long-time customers that now prefer to stay at home to shop rather than make a trip to the mall.

Established retail stores are trying new ways to get customers back into their stores.

Urban Outfitters is set on making their stores a place to not only shop, but get your hair done and have lunch. Abercrombie & Fitch switched from their typical preppy polos and khakis to maxi-dresses and bohemian blouses that are severely marked down.

However, their efforts are not gaining the reception they need to compete with the online marketplaces. The retail stores sales keep declining while as of early February, Amazon’s revenue increased 22 percent, according to investing website, fool.com.

Only time will tell if brick-and-mortar stores will keep up with the allure of e-commerce shops.

Trump re-issues travel ban with changes

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By CHELSEA LOVELL

News media outlets could only talk about President Donald Trump even before he entered office, but it is even more intense as they record his first 100 days. As much as the news media loves to exploit him, President Trump makes it quite easy for journalists to develop stories about him.

The latest making headlines is his continued effort to fulfill what he promised during the campaign, his travel ban policy. Weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order temporarily blocking all refugees and visitors from seven mostly-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. It also banned Syrian refugees indefinitely. The seven prominently Muslim countries are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

Trump’s team said the ban was necessary to keep the country safe. However, critics disagree. They believe the ban was unconstitutional for discriminating based on religion and sued to suspend the order. The court put a hold on the ban and Trump and his team went back to work on reforming it.

Yesterday, Trump issued a new ban, however. The difference is Iraq is no longer one of the countries banned. Also, the new ban doesn’t apply to people who already have valid U.S. visas or green cards. Lastly, all refugees are temporarily banned from entering the US except the people who’ve already been granted eligibility to come. Syrian refugees are no longer banned indefinitely. All of this takes effect next week.

Hackathon focuses on abortion rights

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By ISABELLA HALILI

Hackathons are usually held as competitions to see what developers can create the newest and best app, but this weekend it’s a for a much greater cause.

More than 300 developers and activists will come together at the Abortion Access Hackathon. It is a two-day coding marathon in San Francisco that is aiming to find technology-based solutions to support women’s health care providers who fear the new decisions under the Trump Administration.

The organizers of this event have no set game plan, but are thinking of creating an app that educates people on abortion access laws in their state or developing an Uber-like app that will drive women who need it to abortion clinics.

Many abortion providers have financial support, but lack basic operational tools, such as data management and cybersecurity. This event is crucial so to help abortion providers with these issues, but to also shine light on the more relevant issue of Republicans in Congress initiating the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Although this event is only taking place in California, organizers hope the ideas that come out of this event spread across the country, especially to states that have stricter abortion laws.

A number of women’s health blogs and online magazines have covered this event idea in the past week. TIME also wrote an article discussing the importance of this event. It was smart of the Los Angeles Times to write about this event as well, since it is taking place in California. Teen Vogue is trying to get the young adults more active in political issues by publishing an article about this hackathon as well.

I think there was a wide variety of audiences that were reached with all these different publications and all did a great job on getting the public more involved with political matters.