TASK DEFINITION: Given a document, an entity and its sentiment towards the entity, verify if it is the correct sentiment towards the entity. Answer should be yes or no. Note that URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
PROBLEM: Verify if the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Al Franken is Positive . Sen. Al Franken  is speaking to friends and supporters in Minnesota ahead of  his  resignation from the Senate  which  he  announced earlier this month amid a storm of sexual misconduct allegations. At times becoming choked up   Franken  said it is the "honor of my life" to serve the people of Minnesota.
"Here is my promise to you: I may be leaving the Senate  but I am not giving up my voice "  Franken  said. "We still have a lot of work to do together on issues ranging from net neutrality and climate change ... and we still have to be ready to speak out for economic justice and to defend the truth."
 Franken  kicked off  his  speech by saying "I am here to thank you."  He  extended gratitude for nearly 30 minutes to those who helped  him  achieve an eight-year run as a U.S. Senator  most notably  his  wife  Franni  CBS Minnesota reports.
"Whatever it is that we do next  we will do it together "  Franken  said. "And while I can never thank her enough for her love and support  I am willing to spend the rest of my life trying.
 He  also highlighted achievements  like helping pass the Affordable Care Act and the Farm Bill.
"All these years later  I am deeply proud of the work I've been able to do on Minnesotans' behalf "  Franken  said.
The move came after a wave of calls for  his  resignation from  his  Democratic colleagues. Multiple women have alleged  he  inappropriately touched them or tried to forcibly kiss them.
"Let me be clear  I may be resigning my seat but I am not giving up my voice "  Franken  said on the Senate floor. "I will continue to stand up for the things I believe in as a citizen and as an activist."
 He 'll officially step down on Tuesday.  His  successor  current Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith  is set to be sworn in on Wednesday.

SOLUTION: yes

PROBLEM: Verify if the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Ted Cruz is Neutral . But could it be that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas does n't get personally grilled by constituents very often ? 
The listed events Cruz attended from April through August 2017 demonstrate that the term ` town hall ' can be stretched every which way , even to events not open to the public . 
All told , it looks to us like Cruz took questions at gatherings of selected constituents , mostly business employees -- with the three veterans events open to members of the public who registered . 
Regardless , the Houston lawyer was told during the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival about a Democratic challenger 's suggestion that Cruz had n't visited small Texas towns during the term he won in 2012 . 
"Do you do enough interaction with your constituents , Sen. Cruz ?" 
Cruz , asked if he interacts enough with constituents , said : "In 2017 , I 've done 17 town halls" in Texas . 
Cruz replied : "That is a huge part of the job . 
A town hall , Cruz spokesman Phil Novack later noted by email , is defined by Merriam-Webster as "an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members ." 
Cruz , a Republican poised to seek re-election in 2018 , hardly has a reputation of avoiding attention . 
Novack otherwise told us Cruz had held 19 town halls with Texas constituents in 2017 , all "organized by third parties who determined attendees , where" the senator "has taken unvetted questions from anyone in the crowd -- at businesses , factories , chambers of commerce , and in public venues ." 
The businesses , including Division Laundry & Cleaners in San Antonio , Sysco Central Texas in New Braunfels and Igloo Products Corp. in Katy , had employee town halls with Cruz , the chart says . 
The veterans group , per the chart , hosted Cruz at July events in McKinney , Austin and Houston . 
By email to our inquiry , a CVA spokesman , Jim Fellinger , told us each CVA event with Cruz was open to the public by registration , without the group screening out anybody who registered . 
Fellinger pointed us to video posts of the CVA events showing that Cruz each time took questions via a moderator , who recognized a few individuals to speak directly to Cruz . 
Cruz 's office lists 19 events . 
Next , we confirmed from press releases , news stories and video snippets that Cruz made the appearances described in the Novack-provided chart . 
Events in bold on the chart below were open to reporters , Phil Novack , a spokesman for Sen. Ted Cruz , said . 
SOURCE : Chart provided by email from Phil Novack , press secretary to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz , Sept. 28 , 2017 . 
We also asked Novack to share 2017 events Cruz had in Texas that were open to the public without registration -- where anyone could ask a question on any topic . 
Experts evaluate Cruz 's claim . 
Next , we shared our annotated version of the chart by email with academic experts and requested appraisals of Cruz 's statement that he 'd done 17 "town halls ." 
It seems these town halls are open only to the people from the sections of ` town ' that support Ted Cruz . 
In contrast , Trim , who directs a Pepperdine public engagement institute , said Cruz 's use of the "town hall" term struck her as "valid within the common use of the term ` town hall ' in 21st century America ." 
Mark Jones , a Rice University political scientist , said Cruz 's claim fits a "minimalist" definition of town hall in that they involved the senator speaking to , and fielding questions from , constituents from all walks of life across the state . 
But for a town hall "maximalist ," Jones wrote , none of Cruz 's events would qualify as a town hall "because they were held in largely controlled settings and were not open to the general public" with the exception of the veterans gatherings open to people registering ahead of time . 
John Gastil , a Penn State University professor , said that while the "town hall" term has lost clarity of definition over the years , he thinks Cruz 's claim was made to affirm his availability to the public . 
Cruz 's claim "strikes me as dubious ," Gastil summed up .

SOLUTION: no

PROBLEM: Verify if the sentiment of the following document towards the entity John Paul Stevens is Negative . The United States is bracing for a heated political battle after venerable US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement from the bench.
 George Washington University law school professor Jonathan Turley described Stevens's retirement as "an understandably sad moment for liberals."
 Stevens nearly beat the record of his long-serving predecessor  William Douglas  who served for 36 years.
 Born in 1920 in Chicago  Stevens first threw himself into the study of literature in the hope of becoming a professor like his mother.
 But he turned to law after joining the US Navy following the attacks on Pearl Harbor  serving as an intelligence officer from 1942 to 1945.

SOLUTION:
no