Each year, Purdue University’s annual Boiler Gold Rush event serves as a week-long introduction to campus for incoming freshman, and a way for the newest Boilermakers to forge long-lasting bonds while learning their way around.

But this year, the event ended with thousands of students bonding together in opposition to a comedian accused of sexually harassing a student leader in front of more than 7,000 of her peers, and the university vowing to never associate with him again.

“On Saturday night, a comedian performed as part of our BGR student orientation closing session,” Purdue officials said in a statement provided to IndyStar. “Accounts differ as to what exactly happened on stage, but some portions of the performance were clearly inappropriate and contrary to the university’s values of respect and support for all.”

“We will not work with this comedian again and are proud of our students who are standing up and voicing their concerns about the performance.”

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The comedian referred to in the university statement is Andy Gross, a ventriloquist and illusionist known for his touring show and YouTube channel that has amassed millions of views.

Students in attendance, including freshman Andora Fess of San Francisco, said Gross’ show was unfunny and distasteful throughout, but it took a troubling turn for the worse when he called a student up to the stage to serve as a volunteer.

“He brought up one of our supers, which is a leader in our BGR orientation program, and he proceeded to harass her,” Fess explained. “He made her stand closer and closer to him and made a joke about that giving him a erection and making his pants seem to say ‘let me out,’ referring to his genitals.”

Fess said Gross then made the student stand back-to-back with him, despite her apparent discomfort. 

While standing back-to-back, Fess said Gross made the student touch his upper thigh, and made a joke about “at least getting a feel” after performing a magic trick.

“In the beginning it was disbelief and extreme discomfort. I know I was pretty angry and just in shock that this seemingly very famous person was treating women like this at a school, and he continue to make jokes at the expense of women … he made a Matt Lauer joke,” Fess said. “It was just very distasteful, and once he started doing that, people in the audience started to get up. He came into the crowd, and none of the women would volunteer, and he just kept making sexual jokes even as the crowd was leaving.”

Fess said after Gross finished, a representative from the university took the stage and said the performance does not represent Purdue and its values. The Center for Advocacy, Response and Education at Purdue also released the following statement via Twitter.

“CARE was contacted earlier this evening regarding a performance during the BGR closing ceremony that was described as harassing and offensive. As a result, a CARE advocate responded to campus to offer support to students,” said the statement. “If you were impacted by this evening’s event and need to speak with someone, please remember that support is available 24/7.”

Students also made a statement by creating the hashtag #AndyGrossisGross on social media. Just moments after the performance, students and others in attendance were spreading the word about Gross and asking the university to take action.

Gross’s Wikipedia page was also altered to include the incident, and the following paragraph was added to his bio Sunday.

“On the 18th of August, 2018, Andy Gross was invited to perform in front of a group of incoming freshman at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. During the course of the event, he engaged in questionable behavior on-stage that prompted several students to walk out during his performance. Said questionable jokes included ‘sexually suggestive comments’ with a female volunteer on-stage [4], as well as tricking her to grope his butt. Later in the show, he berated female audience members when they refused to participate, and despite this, continued with questionable humor. Self aware, he quipped ‘You should call me the Matt Lauer of magic.’ More than half of the audience left the theater before the end of the show.”

Fess said Gross did not acknowledge or apologize for the offense during his performance. As of Sunday afternoon, he has not commented on the incident on social media. 

IndyStar has reached out to Gross for comment. 

Meanwhile, Fess said she is feeling even closer to her new campus family following the fallout.

“There was a real sense of pride honestly when everyone started to leave because it’s kind of like we banded together as a freshman class already,” she said. “The students showed what we stand for as a freshman class. Stand up when you see it and call it out when you see it because their time is up.”

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138 or email him at justin.mack@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.

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If Manchester City or Liverpool approach fixtures at Brighton with the tactical set-up and collective body language Manchester United did, I will be stunned.

After a defeat in which Paul Pogba said United lacked “hunger”, I am keen not to overreact but some fans will be raging as their side looked like they did not really want to compete.

United were cautious when, with their quality, they should be turning up and for the opening 20 minutes asking: “This is what we have, can you live with us?”

The tactical plan comes from the manager and, putting the result aside, my big concern now is if United’s players are still on board with what he is asking them to do.

‘Subconsciously tuning out’

Only once in my career did I have a manager where eventually players were at odds with his style.

Lawrie Sanchez wanted a direct, combative approach at Fulham but it became nearly impossible as we didn’t have the personnel to fit the task. Eventually, we had a run of bad results and players lost belief in the demands.

It is not a conscious thing. Players are not sat in the dressing room stating they will not follow the orders, it happens subconsciously and if that creeps in with just a couple of players then the collective performance will inevitably suffer.

Despite all their quality, United were not on the front foot early on and did not really press Brighton high up the pitch at all. The impact is that home players get early touches, grow in confidence and begin to realise they have space so settle down.

Then United fell behind and it is hard to change the mentality to suddenly chase a game. We expect to see one of the big sides in the league have at least one 20-minute spell where they stretch and force the lower-ranked outfit to cling on but it never came, there was simply no real urgency from minute one and it gave Brighton a platform they should not have been afforded.

Mourinho’s cautious approach would be fine if you have players who like to defend and sit in but if your personnel are collectively more expressive, they will find it harder to excel.

Forget the result, as anyone can lose on the road in the Premier League, it is the nature of the body language and that lack of early conviction which is a bigger concern and fans will want a reaction because at the Amex – against a side who lost last week – their players just did not look engaged.

Is Mourinho emanating negativity?

We watched Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side go for Huddersfield from the off in their 6-1 win on Sunday. City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will undoubtedly go to Brighton and test them by pressing immediately.

It is a mindset of positivity in contrast to what United delivered, with one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Mourinho has fuelled paper talk with comments about a disrupted pre-season, transfer frustrations, or even the form of Pogba, who was one player trying to do something on the south coast.

All the big teams have got these problems. Take Tottenham as an example, they have loads of players who were at the World Cup until late, as did Manchester City.

If you look at Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, he’s not moaning about not getting any players in, he’s even pacifying fans over new stadium problems – not whinging – and working with his players he has two wins from two.

Mourinho, as we know, is a far more successful manager and a winner so I am not questioning him but sometimes it is better to not make excuses and just get on with it.

He may well be saying one thing to the press and then telling his players his motive for saying it, but that would be rare. And, to be honest, if his players are hearing the messages in the media then I do think it can create a bit of negativity.

It’s hard to judge the mood of a group of players based on reports but you would have to concede that there’s often not much smoke without fire and too many players looked off it at Brighton.

Lingard a key midfield tweak and defensive questions

Dale Stephens ran further than any other player on the pitch on Sunday and saw more of the ball than any other Brighton player in his central-midfield role. There were times when he had 20 yards of space despite United using a midfield three of Pogba, Andreas Pereira and Fred.

From Mourinho’s perspective, that should not be happening when you ultimately have better players.

His midfield struggled as a trio and generally their displays were a bit safe and their positioning too predictable. None of them wanted to make positive runs in behind Brighton’s back four, with Pereira and Fred both particularly negative.

Mourinho changed it at half-time and recognised the issue, as good managers do. His side were crying out for Jesse Lingard, who likes to run in behind. When you’re on the ball in midfield, if you have someone making those kind of runs it is so helpful.

Juan Mata and Anthony Martial in wide areas did not threaten the space behind Brighton, and even though there may not have been much of it at times, Lingard is so clever that he is great at mixing his game up and will drop into pockets to get on the ball if needed.

I’m not sure you need Pogba, Fred and Pereira in the same midfield, so there is a balance which will need to be found, and at the back there are some questions to be answered too as the central defenders were a problem.

Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof were given a tough afternoon by Glenn Murray, who was absolutely superb. Mourinho verbalised his desire to sign another central defender and there were links with Leicester’s Harry Maguire but somehow he needs to get more from those he has for now.

‘No need for the panic button’

It is key to point out that Brighton were collectively and individually superb and when you get both of those together you are in a fine position. The decision-making was bang on, there was a lack of sloppiness and they made the most of their chances. Everything about them was well drilled and solid, a complete contrast to the visitors.

I can understand some United fans may be wound up and concerns may be deepening but when you step back, Mourinho has options aplenty to change things. Ander Herrera could come in and give some steel, Marouane Fellaini could start and of course Alexis Sanchez can return.

Those kind of introductions can quickly see a club like United rattle off four or five wins and the mood changes. Pogba admitted they were found wanting on Sunday so there needs to now be a reaction against Tottenham next time out.

It will be a real test but is a game which may suit United given Spurs have an awful record at Old Trafford.

Much will be said about Mourinho in the week leading up to that outing but I’d be loathed to have big concerns over them in terms of a potentially disastrous season.

The ease with which they went down at Brighton was not good but if they are engaged properly and their body language is righted, United will start getting the most out of a quality squad.

Danny Murphy was talking to BBC Sport’s Luke Reddy

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Angel Almaguer backed a waste truck into the middle of a trash storage building the size of a high school gymnasium. 

The gate on the back of the truck swung open and everything from tiny baitfish to massive Goliath grouper, huge snook, untold numbers of eels and puffed up puffer fish fell to the concrete ground.

With horseshoe crabs flanking the main pile, the mass of dead fish and sea critters looked like a seafood Sundae from a horror film. 

It smelled worse. 

This was the 90th truckload of dead fish and sea debris that’s been processed in the last three weeks at the Lee County Solid Waste facility on Buckingham Road. From here the carcasses will be transported to the incinerator and burned. 

“We make things go away,” said Molly Schweers, Lee County Solid Waste spokeswoman. “If you think about (trash from) a restaurant, it’s just the remains of food.” 

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Millions of pounds of dead fish have been processed at the facility this month since a strong red tide bloom came ashore and brought untold numbers of dead fish, sea turtles, manatees and dolphins. 

“Here we have the opportunity to mix it with other material that will have a higher heat value,” Schweers said. “It’s the same after a hurricane.” 

Experts say that only a fraction of the dead wildlife is washing up on local shorelines. Most of the carcasses are either floating at the surface offshore or are at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. 

About 2.8 million pounds of fish and sea debris has been collected by Lee County this month. Add Sanibel’s 600,000 pounds or so and the total jumps to more than 3 million pounds of aquatic wildlife that have been burned at the county facility this month. 

Red tide counts along the Southwest Florida coast in recent weeks have been at 1 million cells per liter and higher. Fish kills and breathing irritation in humans can begin when levels reach 10,000 cells per liter, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

Besides the droves of workers collecting dead critters, human activity at the beach has been sparse in recent weeks, and the National Weather Service has extended a red tide beach hazard advisory through Saturday evening for Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

Related: Governor Rick Scott declares state of emergency for red tide outbreak in Southwest Florida

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“It’s the worst in recent history,” said Keith Williams, public works director for the City of Sanibel, of the bloom. 

Sanibel has used between 30 and 100 contracted workers per day to help collect dead fish and debris, most of which was hauled off the island and taken to the Lee County waste facility, Williams said. 

Some larger animals have been buried on location. 

The bloom started in October but has been particularly strong since June. 

“Some canals were holding about 2,000 pounds of fish right beside people’s homes,” said Jesse Lavender, with Lee County Parks and Recreation. “You had neighborhoods surrounded by rotting, smelly fish and we needed to do something about it.”

The county recently purchased two raking machines for about $118,000 to help clean local beaches. 

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Work with the mechanized rakes started Thursday on Boca Grande, and Lavender said the machines will be loaned out to municipalities like the Town of Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs soon.

Westerly winds pushed the bloom onshore at the beginning of August. 

The National Weather Service is calling for light winds out of the east and southeast over the next week. 

That type of weather pattern should push the bloom and the dead animals offshore, the thinking goes. 

But just because fish and sea turtles are washing up at slower rates in recent days doesn’t mean the red tide has gone away. 

A University of South Florida College of Marine Science forecasting model shows red tide moving out of local bay areas over the next three days. 

Beyond that no one knows exactly what the toxic red tide bloom will do next. 

“Conditions have improved over what we had last week but any shift in winds or current could push red tide toward our shore again,” Williams said. 

Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Twitter. 

More about red tide

What: Karenia brevis is the organism that causes red tide and is naturally found at background concentrations in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Where: The current bloom stretches from the Tampa Bay area to Marco Island. 

How much: Counts along Southwest Florida beaches have largely been 1 million cells per liter and higher, which is enough to cause fish kills and breathing issues in humans. 

When: The bloom started in October and has since lingered along the Southwest coast.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Stay updated: go to myfwc.com/redtidestatus and continue to check news-press.com for the latest news.

 

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Hardcore fans of Lazio football club in Italy have circulated a letter saying women should be banned from part of the Curva Nord of Rome’s Olympic Stadium.

The Lazio ultras have gained a reputation for violence, racism and anti-Semitism.

Before the first game of the season, an unofficial flyer was handed round saying the stand was a “sacred place” to which women were not allowed.

It said women should go to other parts of the stadium.

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The pamphlet called for “women, wives and girlfriends” to not sit in the first 10 rows of the stand.

“Those who choose the stadium as an alternative to the carefree and romantic day at the Villa Borghese [a Roman historic house and park], should go to other parts,” it read.

The flyer is signed “Direttivo Diabolik Pluto”, who is one of the leaders of a group of Lazio ultras known as the Irreducibili.

Last season the club was fined after supporters displayed anti-Semitic stickers showing Holocaust victim Anne Frank in a Roma shirt.

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A surge in calls to a clergy abuse hotline in Pennsylvania is breathing new life into a vast investigation of “predator priests” and Roman Catholic Church leaders accused of protecting them.

The hotline has drawn more than 300 calls since the release of a withering grand jury report last week claiming church leaders protected hundreds of accused priests at the expense of more than 1,000 abuse victims.

“We’re answering every call and following up every lead,” Joe Grace, spokesman for state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, told USA TODAY on Sunday.

The redacted report detailed the latest in a decades-long series of claims of abuse and protection leveled against the church across the nation and around the world. The report accuses church leaders in the state of discouraging victims from reporting to prosecutors the abuse claims that spanned more than 60 years.

Shapiro acknowledged “surging” claims in a social media post, adding that the investigation did not end with the release of the grand jury report.

“We have trained, dedicated agents on the line to listen to survivors and help,” Shapiro said on Twitter. “This is an active and ongoing investigation.”

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Some of the accused have died, and statute of limitations laws prevent many others named in the report from facing criminal charges. Shapiro said the statute of limitations was a key tool in the  “systematic coverup” by senior church officials in Pennsylvania and at the Vatican.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington, D.C., led the Pittsburgh diocese from 1988 until 2006. Wuerl is targeted in the report, but he issued a statement after its release and said it “confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse.”

Shapiro said  Wuerl “is not being truthful and forthright.” He said Wuerl’s statements contradict the church’s own documents.

The grand jury compiled the information during a two-year investigation. Shapiro, in a news conference Tuesday, called the report an “honest and comprehensive accounting of widespread sexual abuse” in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton that minister to more than 1.7 million Catholics.

Previous investigations found widespread abuses in the Philadelphia Archdiocese and Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

Despite statute of limitations laws,  the grand jury did issue presentments against two priests. One pleaded guilty last month to charges that he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy more than 20 years ago. Another has been charged with felony child sex crimes.

The Vatican on Thursday condemned the activity cited in the report as “criminal and morally reprehensible.”

“Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and faith,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said in a statement. “The church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”

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Dear friends and family: If you’ve ever gotten a drunken text from me about one day owning my prized possessions when I’m outta here, unfortunately, that’s all null and void. 

According to a recent ruling from a French court, a text message of someone’s last will and testament actually has no legal value. My bad. 

As the BBC reported, the case was brought to court because of a dispute. In a text message to his sibling, a man mentioned that he wanted a portion of his estate given to his mother after he dies. When the man tragically took his own life in 2016, his wishes were reportedly ignored — so the mother took the texts to court. 

Ultimately, she lost her case. According to the court, via the BBC’s reporting, “a will can only be valid if it has been written by hand, dated and signed.” This is reportedly to make sure the will is not forged or a mistake.

For what it’s worth, while the ruling in France may not apply everywhere, you probably won’t have any more luck texting your will in the United States. Wills typically need a signature of some sort in addition to witnesses, who also have to sign the thing. 

For all you romantics out there, this unfortunately means you can’t sky-write your last testament. Or send a GIF representing who gets what. 

But the ruling in France still leaves you with plenty of creative options. Maybe write it all out on a piece of wood, or fold it up into a cool origami puppet. Just no Notes app wills, please. I beg you. (Obviously check with a lawyer IRL before doing, well, any of this.)

While we’re at it, maybe people should stop divorcing others over text messages, too. Just an idea. 

The first day of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 2018 is Sunday, August 19.

For Muslims, the Hajj re-enacts the actions of the Prophet Muhammad in his “farewell pilgrimage” in 632 AD. It is a central pillar of the Islamic faith meant to cleanse followers of sin and bring them closer to God.

The pilgrimage is obligatory once in a lifetime for all Muslims with the means to afford it.

We take a look at the step-by-step process of the six-day journey, which almost two million Muslims will take part in.

Below, we break down the nations where most pilgrims are journeying from. 

 

Source: Al Jazeera News

Former captain Michael Vaughan criticised the “fragility” of England’s batting after they were bowled out in a session against India at Trent Bridge.

Joe Root’s team slipped from 54-0 to 161 all out, losing all 10 wickets in a session for the third time in two years having not done so in the previous 78.

India closed the second day of the third Test on 124-2, a lead of 292.

“Having to fight for a few overs or a session… England’s mindset can’t seem to cope with that,” said Vaughan.

“When it does a bit or when the game is going against them, they find it difficult.

“The top order got a good start today, they were 54-0, then there were two wickets in two balls and you close the curtains and hide.”

England began day two in confident fashion, claiming the final four India wickets for only 22 runs then reaching 46-0 at lunch.

But in an extended afternoon session because of the rain-delayed start, they were all out in less than 30 overs.

“I said I was looking forward to seeing how England batted once the opposition had a score on the board,” Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

“It’s been an issue for the Test team for a while now. Yes, they weren’t ideal conditions for batting but they made the same mistakes they have made consistently for a number of years. I am learning nothing about the Test team in this series. Absolutely nothing.

“Streetwise cricketers would have seen [Ravichandran] Ashwin was injured and would have struggled to bowl. Let’s see off [Mohammed] Shami and Ishant [Sharma] and take them into another session because they don’t have a spinner.

“This is England’s deepest batting line-up but the collapse doesn’t surprise me because of the way that they play. As soon as they are under pressure and there is a little bit there in the pitch they have so much fragility. They have so much talent but the collapses are happening on a regular basis now.”

From 54-0 to 128-9 – how England collapsed

• Cook c Pant b Ishant 29 (54-1, 11.6 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Alastair Cook will say he got a good ball but if Alastair is honest, if you do your homework on Ishant Sharma bowling to left-handed batsmen, I reckon 10% of balls are going to hit the stumps. You can leave most balls on or around off stump and wait for one on the hips.”

• Jennings c Pant b Bumrah 20 (54-2, 12.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Keaton Jennings, technically, was all over the place to Bumrah. He was squaring up too much on the back foot. He was an outside edge waiting to happen.”

• Pope c Pant b Sharma 10 (75-3, 19.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Pope was a bit unfortunate down the leg side.”

• Root c Rahul b Pandya 16 (86-4, 24.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Joe Root’s dismissal wasn’t a bad ball but real quality Test batsmen – when the ball bounces or does a bit – release the bottom hand on the bat so it doesn’t give momentum to the ball and it doesn’t carry. Joe put momentum into the ball with his shot.”

• Stokes c Rahul b Shami 10 (108-5, 29.2 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Stokes got a decent cherry from Shami but again he put momentum into the ball with his hands.”

• Bairstow c Rahul b Pandya 15 (110-6, 30.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Jonny was driving at a ball which was full and swinging away.”

• Woakes c Pant b Pandya 8 (118-7, 31 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Chris Woakes played the hook shot – it can only have been the fifth ball he faced.”

• Rashid c Pant b Pandya 5 (128-8, 32.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Rashid got a good ball but, again, he was pushing at it.”

• Broad lbw b Pandya 0 (128-9, 32.5 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Broad had a man on the hook, thinks it’s going to be a bouncer, jumps across his crease and it’s an inswinging lbw.”

‘Their brains are trained to be 100-4’

This was the third time in the past two years England have been dismissed in a session.

At the same venue against South Africa last year, they were all out for 205 which prompted Vaughan to suggest “they lack respect about what the game is” and liken their style to that of a Twenty20 innings.

The batting problems resurfaced in Nottingham again on Sunday and in their past 61 innings, England have been 100-4 or worse on 30 occasions.

“It’s not always in conditions like this where the ball is moving around,” Vaughan said. “Their brains are trained to be 100-4. There has been a reliance on the engine room for a while – that somebody at five, six or seven will get a score.

“They’ve all got fancy cars which go into fifth gear so quickly. They need an old banger. They need a car which only has gears one and two. Play low-risk cricket shots and try to bat for a period of time.

“They don’t realise that a bowler is allowed to bowl well and you have to fight for a five-over period.

“Technically and mentally, a lot of those dismissals were very poor.”

A man detained by U.S. immigration officials while rushing his wife to a California hospital for the birth of their fifth child was wanted in Mexico on homicide charges, authorities now say.

Joel Arrona-Lara, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a gas station in San Bernardino. Surveillance video from the station shows Arrona-Lara being taken away in handcuffs.

The arrest set off the latest in a series of firestorms over the zero tolerance immigration policies of President Donald Trump. ICE initially issued a statement noting that no one is exempt from deportation and “all of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and” removal from the U.S.

On Saturday, ICE released a statement saying Arrona-Lara “was brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges.”

No details of the warrant were released. His wife, María del Carmen Venegas, 32, says the warrant was the result of a misunderstanding. The family’s legal representative, Emilio Amaya of the Community Services Center of San Bernardino, says he has been unable to find any legal proceedings against his client in Mexico.

Amaya says he will seek Arrona-Lara’s release this week.

“They (ICE agents) left her at the gas station to fend for herself,” Amaya said of Carmen Venegas. “The hospital is about two miles from the gas station. She actually ended up driving by herself to the hospital.”

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Carmen Venegas says she and her husband have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years. She says her husband was taking her to the hospital for a cesarean section on Wednesday when agents walked up to the car and asked the couple for ID.

She told CNN she is undocumented but did provide a driver’s license. Her husband had left their nearby home in a hurry and did not have his with him, she said. ICE agents denied her husband’s request to return home for his ID, she said. 

“I never thought that they would take him like that, handcuff him, and that they would leave me stranded at the gas station,” she said.

Carmen Venegas gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Arrona-Lara remained in detention at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange County, Amaya said.

“I asked them why they separate good people, why they weren’t arresting people who do bad things, and I asked them to let us go,” Venegas told NBC Los Angeles in Spanish. “They told me they were only doing their job.”

Below is the complete statement from ICE:

Mr. Arrona-Lara, a citizen of Mexico illegally residing in the United States, was taken into custody Wednesday by ICE Fugitive Operations Team officers in San Bernardino, Calif. Mr. Arrona-Lara is currently in ICE custody pending removal proceedings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

Mr. Arrona-Lara was brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges.

ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in compliance with federal law and agency policy. However, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.

 

 

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It’s World Photography Day, which means Tim Cook is celebrating in a very Tim Cook way: sharing #ShotOniPhone snapshots.

On Sunday, the Apple CEO tweeted the breathtaking work of John Bozinov — a photographer who focuses on wildlife and portraits. Bozinov is a master of iPhone photography, and the images that Cook shared are breathtaking examples of his work capturing life in Antarctica. 

But it’s kind of hard to believe they were actually shot on an iPhone, especially when you compare them to the smartphone pics we normally see on our timelines. 

At first glance, it’s easy to assume Bozinov attached a newfangled lens (perhaps from the masters of iPhone accessories, Moment), but as he told Mashable in 2016, there are no extra gadgets involved when he takes pictures. It’s just good, old-fashioned editing with an app that has revolutionized iPhone photography: VSCO. 

The app has been quietly improving your Instagram feeds for years, with easy-to-use tools that adjust everything from color saturation to exposure. For those less formally trained in photography (no shame!), VSCO also offers a bevy of presets that do the job for you.

VSCO, which stands for Visual Supply Company, was founded by Greg Lutze and Joel Flory in 2011. Since its inception, it’s grown into a community hub offering grants along with editing tools and presets. The app also doubles as a platform on which to share your work (every user has “journals” they can post images to).

Seven years later, the app’s impact is obvious. The internet is saturated with how-to-guides on creating the perfect image and maximizing the tools on the app.

That said… VSCO can’t fix what’s already broken. If you’re looking to be Cook’s next featured tweet on #WorldPhotographyDay, here are some things you can do to make your iPhone photos sing before opening up any app.

1. Focus on lighting

“A lot of my work is outside, and the iPhone works really well with that, because there’s lot of light around,” Bozinov said in his 2016 interview with Mashable. That abundance of lighting is what makes his photos stand out compared to the pics on your personal camera roll. 

Keep an eye out on how much light there is next time you whip out your phone. The more light, the clearer the image — and the easier it will be to make the technical adjustments that you need to transform your iPhone pics into the masterpieces that you’ve always wanted. 

2. Don’t forget to maintain stability

“Whether I’m shooting in portrait or landscape mode, I like to hold the iPhone with my left hand and release the shutter with my right thumb. I recently learned that the camera shutter isn’t released until you take your thumb off the shutter button on the touch screen,” photographer Cotton Coulson told National Geographic. 

Since that’s the case, making sure you have as steady of a hand as possible when capturing a shot is key. You have to be a human tripod.

3. It’s ultimately all about composition

Composition is essentially just how you arrange the photo, so next time you’re walking down the street, pay attention to the colors, shadows, colors, and scenes — and frame it up in a way that looks interesting! 

Keep all of this in mind and before you know it, you’ll VSCO yourself into Tim Cook’s heart, too.