Sen. Cruz Says President Obama Using Texas High School Student’s Story To Divide The Country. The Dallas Morning News (10/20, Jeffers Jr.) reports Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate, said that President Barack Obama is trying to use Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas high school student who was arrested for bringing a clock he built to school after it was mistaken for a bomb, to “divide the country.” Cruz said, “President Obama, at every stage, tries to politicize what happens, whether it is this teenager here in Texas, whether it is the shootings we saw in the Pacific Northwest. Over and over again, sadly, he seeks to try to divide us, to try to tear us apart.”

Teen Clockmaker Among Attendees At White House Astronomy Night. Coverage of Monday evening’s White House Astronomy Night focuses mainly on President Obama’s invitation to Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas teenager who was arrested last month after a homemade clock he brought to school was mistaken for a bomb. The AP (10/20, Freking) reports that Mohamed “capped a whirlwind month with a visit to the White House on Monday” after getting an invitation from the President for Astronomy Night. The President and Mohamed “met and chatted briefly during Monday night’s event. Earlier Monday, Ahmed said he was grateful for the president’s support and said he’s OK with the nickname that so many have given him over the past few weeks – ‘clock kid.’”         USA Today (10/20, Korte) says Obama “hosted 300 students, 11 astronauts, and Bill Nye (the Science Guy) on the south lawn of the White House on a clear Monday night” for the second White House Astronomy Night, “and in the third row, among the students,” was Mohamed. Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest “tamped down expectations for a meeting.” He said, “After all, there are several hundred people who are planning to participate in tonight’s festivities on the South Lawn.”         The New York Times (10/20, Harris, Subscription Publication) says Mohamed, “the 14-year-old Texas boy who became a cause célèbre after he was detained and handcuffed for taking a homemade clock to school, visited the White House,” while the Dallas Morning News (10/20) headlines its report “Clockmaking Teen From Irving Meets Other Science Lovers, President At White House.” Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times (10/20, Parsons) notes Obama’s invitation to Mohamed in the first line of its report, but focuses on the President’s “fascination with all things scientific.”