Month: October 2019 (Page 1 of 2)

In the last five years the Golden State Warriors have made the NBA Finals all five years. Winning four of those. With major departures and injuries, this years team has the worst start in recent memory. Will they be able to claim a spot in the playoffs? Or will they succumb to the pressure?

After losing Klay Thompson to a knee injury during the playoffs, people realized that the Warriors dynasty was over. Losing veteran players like Andre Iguodala and Shawn Livingston certainly didn’t help. With Steph Curry breaking a bone in his hand Wednesday night, their chances are even slimmer.

They were all ready in for a tough year with the young inexperienced team. Warriors owner Joe Lacob had this to say about the teams expectations “We will fight like hell. Develop our younger guys. Learn to win.” Adding “You don’t get better by trying to loose. Our entire organization is about winning. And we will win.”

I think the article by Ramona Shelburne is well written. It has a good attention grabbing lead. It features a video of an EPSN journalist breaking down Steph Currys injury. It uses good quotes from the Golden State Warriors owner. Who provides some great quotes.

For my comparison, I decided to look at CNN’s article on Rudy Giuliani’s recent voicemails. The print story is Giuliani talks money and Bidens in dual accidental phone calls to reporter. While I found a CNN video titled Giuliani accidentally called reporter. Hear what he said.

The CNN video has a brief lead showing the viewers an excerpt of the voicemails between Giuliani and an unknown person. The reporter has a panel of four other people that she asks questions to. The CNN article goes much more in-depth. It makes great use of quotes when there was only a brief quote from Giuliani in the video. The article includes multiple quotes from Rudy. It also features a quote from Andrew Bates who is a spokesperson for the Biden campaign.

There are quite a few differences between the article and the video. The video itself is relatively short. It is only two minutes long and the majority of the time is spent on asking the other guests what their reaction was. The article was much more detailed. In the article, it gives more background information that somebody just watching the video would not have known.

Here is the link to the CNN article. The video is embedded in the article. https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/25/politics/giuliani-buttdial-bahrain-bidens/index.html

After weeks of testimony behind closed doors from top White House officials, Republicans invaded the room where the depositions are being held. Many of whom have criticized Democrats secretive process.

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida had this to say “Behind those doors, they intend to overturn the results of an American presidential election.” Around 30 Republicans reportedly rushed passed police officers causing a distraction. Even ordering a pizza at one point.

Republicans who were barred from SCIF are not members of the House oversight committee. However there are Republicans that are on a committee and have access to information and interviews that have been conducted as apart of this investigation.

The article makes great use of quotes from both Republican and Democratic politicians. I think the lead could be improved. There isn’t anything that instantly grabs my attention and engages me to keep reading. The authors include a twitter post from The Washington Examiner showing a video of the events that unfolded.

How much time does Earth have? Our planet has been around for billions of years. We know that the planet will eventually burn out and be unable to support life. When that times come will it be like the destruction in the apocalyptic movie 2012? Or will it just go up in a puff of dust?

According to CNN more than 300 lightyears from Earth there is evidence that two exoplanets recently collided. Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system.

The star system where these two exoplanets are located is called BD +20 307. It was discovered by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope a decade ago.

Scientists think that Earth’s moon formed after Earth collided with a planetary body the size of Mars billions of years ago Alicia Weinberger lead investigator had this to say “This is a rare opportunity to study catastrophic collisions occurring late in a planetary systems history.”

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27866416/gms-pick-clippers-champions-giannis-antetokounmpo-mvp

In the annual NBA.com survey all 30 of the league’s general managers voted on their predictions to win league MVP and who would be crowned NBA champions. Giannis Antetokounmpo the previous most valuable player received 52% of the vote. While Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard each received 10% of the vote.

The likely frontrunners of the 2020 NBA finals are the Los Angeles Clippers in the west, and the Milwaukee Bucks in the east. With the offseason moves the Clippers made in acquiring a new star filled starting lineup.

As for rookie of the year, Zion Williamson was picked to win by 68%. With only two other players receiving any votes. San Antonio’s Greg Popovich was named league’s best coach by a majority of 55% of voters. Other picks include Portland star Damian Lillard as the league’s best leader, while Antetokounmpo edged out Lebron James for the league’s most versatile player.

With more details being released about President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky public opinion on impeachment is shifting.

A new Fox News poll shows support for impeachment at an all-time high. The poll surveyed 1,003 registered voters between October 6th and October 8th. The results find that a majority of voters support Trump’s impeachment. This is a significant increase from the last Fox News conducted poll which only had 42 percent support removing the President from office.

The survey proves that Americans are changing their opinion because of the attempt to put the blame on other political rivals primarily Joe Biden. According to the results 38 percent said they were extremely troubled by the Ukraine situation surrounding the President. When asked if they though what Trump said on the call with the President of Ukraine was an impeachable offense 43 percent agreed.

Fox News certainly is pro Trump so it is surprising to see these results broadcast on their programs. The President which has already had a rocky relationship with the station tweeted “Whoever their Pollster is, they suck.” This is not the first time Trump has called out Fox News on Twitter. Back in August the station published a poll that showed him polling below 40 percent agains Democratic frontrunners.

I found this article well written. The use of visuals showing how opinion has changed since June of 2018 gives the reader an idea of how quick opinion has changed. Also included are the Tweets from the President that give the reader an opportunity to view them on Twitter.

“How dare you! You have stolen my dream and my childhood with your empty words. ” Greta Thunberg passionately said during an intense address to the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist has been a trailblazer in recent months fighting for our Earth’s future.

According to Greta the popular idea of cutting emissions by 50 percent in 10 years only yields a 50 percent chance of keeping the earth’s warming trend below a 1.5-degree Celsius threshold that could do irreparable damage to our planet.

The general theme of the speech was that unless we make swift decisions relating to Earth’s climate it will be too late. ” You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say, We will never forgive you.

With Hurricane Dorian spiraling towards the coast, President Trump is defending a NOAA map that appeared to be modified with a black Sharpie. The map showed a questionable projection of the storm hitting Alabama.

 The President tweeted the following Monday: “The Fake News Media was fixated on the fact that I properly said, at the beginnings of Hurricane Dorian that in addition to Florida & other states, Alabama may also be grazed or hit.” He added, “This nonsense has never happened to another President.” 

            After being mocked by major news outlets and social media, the President originally claimed that he was provided with outdated forecasts. Some of the earliest models for the hurricanes path included a possibility that Alabama could be affected by the storm. However, by the time Trump tweeted there were already more accurate forecasts that showed Alabama was no longer in danger said a top NOAA official. 

            According to Craig McLean, NOAA’s acting chief scientist Trump’s claims were “political” and a “danger to public health and safety.” According to the Washington Post Mclean is “pursuing the potential violations of our NOAA Administrative Order on Scientific Integrity”. The Associated Press reported the head of the National Weather Service defended forecasters who challenged the President’s claim that Dorian threatened Alabama. Trump’s Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross allegedly threatened top employees at the NOAA after the agency contradicted the president in a tweet. NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs told the staff that they would be fired if they contradicted Trump’s Alabama remarks. The National Weather Service almost immediately debunked the president’s claim, but he repeated the assertion that the map was not doctored twice more that day. 

President Trump’s tweets come as Hurricane Dorian advanced to the coast of the Carolinas, making landfall in North Carolina overnight as the Bahamas continued recovery efforts. At least 30 have been confirmed dead in the Bahamas so far, and at least four have been killed in the Southeastern coast. 

            I used sources from Politico, CBS News, Newsweek, and the President’s Twitter account. The Politico article “Trump drags his Alabama hurricane claims into the 6^thday.” This article by Caitlin Oprysko is certainly is written with a neutral perspective in mind. It uses several quotes from the President and other agencies. The article from CBS News “NOAA chief scientist reportedly investigation agency’s backing of Trump’s claims about hurricane.” It focuses on the exchange between the President and NOAA chief scientist Craig McLean. It contains great information about the potential ramifications of violating the NOAA Administrative Order on Scientific Integrity. The final article from Newsweek “Trump Commerce Chief Wilbur Ross Threatened NOAA to Agree with President’s Alabama Hurricane Tweet.” This article main focus is Trump’s Secretary of Commerce threatening NOAA scientists to agree with Trump’s Alabama Hurricane blunder.

Sources:

Oprysko, Caitlin. “Trump Drags His Alabama Hurricane Claims into 6th Day.” POLITICO, 6 Sept. 2019, www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/trump-hurricane-dorian-tweets-1483586.

CBS News. “NOAA Chief Scientist Reportedly Investigating Agency’s Backing of Trump’s Claims about Hurricane.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 9 Sept. 2019, www.cbsnews.com/news/noaa-hurricane-dorian-statements-president-donald-trump-claims-being-investigated-by-chief-scientist/.

Fearnow, Benjamin. “Commerce Chief Wilbur Ross Threatened to Fire NOAA Employees for Disagreeing with Trump Alabama Tweet, Report Says.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 9 Sept. 2019, www.newsweek.com/commerce-secretary-wilbur-ross-threatened-noaa-employees-hurricane-dorian-alabama-trump-1458391.

Trump, Donald J. “In Addition to Florida – South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, Will Most Likely Be Hit (Much) Harder than Anticipated. Looking like One of the Largest Hurricanes Ever. Already Category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!” Twitter, Twitter, 1 Sept. 2019, twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1168174613827899393.

Baker, Peter, et al. “Trump Pressed Top Aide to Have Weather Service ‘Clarify’ Forecast That Contradicted Trump.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Sept. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/us/politics/trump-alabama-noaa.html.