March 2012 Archives

By Alexa Ball

The obituary of Davy Jones, singer of The Monkees, written by John Rogers of The Associated Press takes us back to his band's time of fame.

The lead of the obituary does not start out in the typical way, Jones' death is not even mentioned until the fifth paragraph. Instead the lead takes us back to the year of 1966 when The Monkees were coming into their prime as celebrities and how Jones was idolized by his fans. In a sense this lead works because of its attention getter qualities, however it takes a very long time to get back to the fact that Jones died- the main point of an obituary.

I was surprised at how few sources were used throughout the lengthy obituary. Jones himself was quoted, as well as a couple others who worked with him and The Monkees. No words from family or close friends were added.

By Alexa Ball

The Minnesota Gophers mens hockey team shut down the top-seed North Dakota team with a 5-2 win Sunday earning them the NCAA West Regional title, the Pioneer Press said.

Erik Haula scored his 20th goal of the season during the game against North Dakota, according to the Star Tribune.

Ben Marshall, Travis Boyd and Nate Condon scored the other points for the Gophers Sunday, goalie Kent Patterson made 24 saves for the team, the Star Tribune said.

By Alexa Ball

"The Hunger Games" set box office records in its opening weekend, CNN said.

The movie that is based on a young-adult-novel sold an estimated $155 million during its opening weekend, CNN said.

This large selling put "The Hunger Games" into the third place debut in the history of the North American box office, CNN said.

The midnight showing sold $19.7 million, which was the seventh biggest midnight showing in history, Fox News said.

"The Hunger Games" film was produced by Lionsgate, and is easily the biggest film in their history, according to Fox News.

By Alexa Ball

Former vice president Dick Cheney is recovering after a heart transplant surgery, according to Fox News.

Cheney, 71, is recovering at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia, a spokeswoman said, according to Fox News.

After waiting on the transplant list for more than 20 months Cheney's surgery took place Saturday, CNN said.

"Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift," a statement from Cheney's office, according to CNN.

Cheney has had a long history of heart complications, he has suffered five heart attacks since 1978, CNN said.

By Alexa Ball

Pope Benedict XVI led Mass for tens of thousands of faithful Catholics in Mexico, according to CNN.

The Mass took place near the important Mexican Catholic symbol the Christ the King monument, Fox News said.

The pope called on the Virgin Mary and spoke of how the Mexican Catholics should remain true to their faith, Fox News said.

More then 400,000 people attended the Mass, CNN said.

The current drug-related violence occurring throughout Mexico and church leaders concern led to Pope Benedict's visit,Fox News said.

By Alexa Ball

An 18-month-old boy survived after falling three stories from a Coon Rapids apartment complex Saturday, according to the Star Tribune.

The boy fell out of a window, Coon Rapids Police Sgt. Ben Bautch said the incident remains under investigation, according to the Pioneer Press.

Officers arrived to 11689 Raven St. NW., an apartment building, just after 1:45 p.m. Saturday the Anoka Sherriff's County Office said, according to the Star Tribune.

Bautch reported that the baby was conscious when he was taken to Mercy Hospital- his current condition is unknown, according to the Pioneer Press.

By Alexa Ball

The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio suffered an ACL tear during Friday night's game, according to the Star Tribune.

The 21-year-old's outstanding rookie season will come to an end after injuring his left knee, the Pioneer Press said.

"We love having him around. On and off the court. We hope for a speedy recovery so he can help this team next year. It's a big loss for us," Timberwolves forward Kevin Love said, according to the Pioneer Press.

Rubio will also likely miss playing in the upcoming Olympic games where he was supposed to be a large part of Spain's mission to win the gold medal, thePioneer Press said.

Rubio became one of Minnesota's most popular sports players overnight, his amazing season came to an end within the final seconds of a game lost to the Los Angeles Lakers when he came down on his knee when trying to block Kobe Bryant, according to the Pioneer Press.

A surgery date has not yet been set but David Kahn, Timberwolves team president, said that he expects Rubio to be back and fully recovered by the beginning of next season, according to the Pioneer Press.

By Alexa Ball

The publicity event involving the cast from "The Hunger Games" film filled the Mall of America with thousands of fans Friday, the Star Tribune said.

The movie, which comes out March 23, is based off of three books written by Suzanne Collins where teenagers are televised and forced to fight to the death, the Pioneer Press said.

A large crowd of people slept on the floor of the rotunda at MOA after waiting in line all night, the Star Tribun said.

"We haven't slept at all!" said Taylor Roelofs, 16. Roelofs and her friends arrived at the mall at 8 p.m. Thursday to get in line for the 5 p.m. Friday meet and greet with the movie cast, according to the Pioneer Press.

By Alexa Ball

Filmmakers from America who run a nonprofit organization against the brutality in Africa launched a 29-minute video Monday that focuses on the work of Joseph Kony, the Star Tribune said.

This short film is part of an effort called KONY 2012 which is targeted towards the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and their leader Joseph Kony, the Star Tribune said.

Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, according to Fox News.

Kony is responsible for kidnapping children and forcing them into his army which is responsible for the destruction of villages throughout Uganda, Fox News said.

A group called Invisible Children is responsible for releasing the film about Kony, their hope is to make him as famous as possible across the world and raise awareness about what is going on in Uganda, Fox News said.

The video has gained a large amount of attention through social media outlets, Ben Keesey, 28, Invisible Children's chief executive officer said that having the video go viral gives the public a way feel empowered to force change, according to the Star Tribune.

The Invisible Children organization planned on working with the issues in Uganda for a year or two, and it has turned into nine years of work. Keesey said that the KONY 2012 campaign represents that the year 2012 will be the year that all "this crazy violence can stop," according to the Star Tribune.

By Alexa

A 41-year-old Albuquerque woman and her cat were found alive in a New Mexico forest Wednesday, according to the Daily Mail.

Margaret Page and her cat Maya survived for 3 1/2 weeks in the forest, Fox News said.

Page was reported missing by family members on Feb. 14 but police only began looking for her this week, according to Fox News.

Page was found in her sleeping bag just 25 yards off of one of the national forest's trails, it is currently unclear how she became lost, the Daily Mail said.

Page was extremely malnourished when she was found and is said to have lost one-third of her body weight during the time in the forest, Maya fared quite well from being able to hunt, the Daily Mail said.

By Alexa Ball

Three people testified during trail Thursday that ex-girlfriend to Viking's Chris Cook said he choked her during a fight, according to the Pioneer Press.

Those who testified included a police officer, paramedic and emergency room doctor that all spoke with then girlfriend, Chantel Baker, the night of the fight, according to the Pioneer Press.

Cook, 25, has been accused of domestic assault by strangulation and third-degree assault, according to the Pioneer Press.

The fight took place at Cook's home in Eden Prairie after the couple spent a large portion of their night at a strip club, jealousy is seen to be a main factor in the argument that became physical, according to the Star Tribune.

Cook's defense attorney, David Valentini, said that the Viking's defensemen did strike Baker out of self defense, she had beaten him with a wedge shoe, tore out shoulder length dreadlocks and threw a lamp at Cook during the fight, the Star Tribune said.

By Alexa Ball

An American teacher died Thursday after a disagreement between the teacher and a student lead to gunfire, according to ABC News.

18-year-old Biyar Sarwar, student of Media School in Sulaimaniya, shot his gym teacher, Jeremiah Small, 33, and then shot himself, authorities said, according to ABC News.

Small was from western Washington state, his death was confirmed by his father J. Dan Small in a facebook post that read, "Our oldest, Jeremiah, was martyred in Kurdistan this a.m.," according to ABC News.

Ahmed Mohammed, a student present at the time of the shooting, said that Sarwar was sitting in the back of the classroom and that he had paid little attention when the argument began, until he heard the gunshot and turned and saw that the American teacher was on the ground, according to Fox News.

Mayor of Sulaimaniyah, Zana Hama Saleh, declined to speculate on Sarwar's motive, Fox News said.

By Alexa Ball

T.J. Lane was charged Thursday in connection with the Ohio school shooting Monday, CNN said.

Court documents said that Lane was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault, according to CNN.

Lane went into the juvenile court with a guilty plea, the 17-year-old sophomore admitted that he brought a knife and .22-caliber gun to Chardon High School and fired 10 rounds, according to CNN.

Prosecutor David Joyce said that victims were selected at random and that Lane is someone "who's not well," according to the Star Tribune.

By Alexa Ball

The city of St. Paul gave out 1,900 tickets and towed 795 cars Thursday during the overnight snow emergency, according to the Star Tribune.

The snow emergency began at 9 p.m. Wednesday night and lasted until 8 a.m. the next morning, the Star Tribune said.

Tickets cost $53 and the impound fee is $144.67 for the first day and $15 for each additional day starting at midnight St. Paul Police Spokesman Howie Padilla said, according to the Pioneer Press.

Streets are not to be used for parking until the streets have been cleared of snow from curb to curb, tickets are issued and cars are towed for 96 hours after the emergency is set in place, according to the Star Tribune.

During a snow emergency you are not allowed to park on the snow plow day routes, these consist of eat-west residential street and one side of north-south residential streets, any exceptions are marked, the Star Tribune said.

By Alexa Ball

Seven men from the Eau Claire area suffered from serve hand injuries this week while using snowblowers, according to the Star Tribune.

Four of the men required surgery and three had some part of at least one finger amputated, the Pioneer Press said.

State emergency officials are renewing their warnings about using snowmobiles, according to the Star Tribune.

All of the men injured were attempting to remove wet and heavy snow from the inside of their snowblowers, the Pioneer Press said.

Emergency officials warn that you should make sure your snowmobile is turned off before attempting to unclog it, and when doing so you should always use some type of stick or broom instead of your hands, according to the Pioneer Press.

By Alexa Ball

A man from Oklahoma is suspected of killng his wife and 16-month-old daughter Tuesday, police said, according to Fox News.

Tara Shay Johnston, 29, and daughter Allison Sue Johnston were found dead in their northern Oklahoma City home around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, police said, according to Fox News.

It is suspected that husband to Tara, and father of Allison killed the two. Daneil J. Johnston was found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room, police said, according to the Daily News.

Police suspect that Daneil Johnston committed sucide in the hotel room located 1,000 miles away from his family's home, according to Fox News.

"We didn't see anything wrong ... He took care of Tara and the baby. Allison was his pride and joy. He was really liked within the family," Tara Johnston's uncle, Bill Lisby, said, according to Fox News.

Charles Johnston, Daniel's father, wrote on his Facebook page that his son cut his wrists and ankles to kill himself, Fox News said.

Investigators from two states are currently looking deeper into the case to find out the motive behind the murders, according to Fox News.