February 2012 Archives

North Korea has agreed to stop nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and enrichment activities at the Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for food aid from the United States, CNN reported.

The United States has agreed to ship 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance to North Korea in exchange for ceasing nuclear activities.

The aid will be closely monitored to make sure it is going to people in need, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The steps to cease nuclear activities show that North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un is willing to interact with leaders from the United States, the New York Times reported.

Leaders from the country have agreed to stop activities in the past and have backed out.

The United States will only continue to supply aid if the talks proceed and gain momentum.

A new airline will be flying in and out of the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport, KARE 11 reported.

The airline will fly out of Terminal 2, Humphrey, driving speculation that it will be a low-fare airline like the others based in the terminal.

The added competition from a new airline may bring down fares for both terminals.

"What's driving down airline prices in the Twin Cities is competition from Terminal 2," Professor Alfred Marcus with Carlson School of Management told KARE 11.

On Monday, airport officials narrowed down the options for the new airline to Spirit and JetBlue, the Grand Forks Hearld reported.

Fares at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport were ranked as high as 11th in the country last year.

One student was killed and four were injured in a shooting at an Ohio high school Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Chardon Police Chief Timothy McKenna said that a suspect has been taken into custody; his name is being withheld because he is a minor.

McKenna said that the injured students have been hospitalized but gave no other information about their conditions.

Officials said that the gunman opened fire in the school's cafeteria around 7:30 a.m.

Danny Komertz, a 15-year-old student at Chardon High, said the shooter was an outcast and was bullied, the Houston Chronicle
reported.

The slain student has been identified as Daniel Parmertor.

Opening arguments started Monday for the trial of a man accused of running over 3 people in Dinkytown last April, killing one of them, KARE 11 reported.

Timothy Bakdash faces charges of first degree murder and two charges of attempted murder after the intentional hit-and-run.

A senior at the University of Minnesota, Ben Van Handel, was killed after Bakdash went the wrong way down a one-way Dinkytown street last April, FOX 9 reported.

Leslie Falk, a friend of Ben Van Handel, said she saw his head hit a telephone pole after he was carried away on the roof of Bakdash's car.

Jurors were also allowed to hear Falk's 911 call from that night begging for help for Van Handel.

Bakdash's defense is arguing that he was too drunk to be guilty of premeditated murder and that he should not be tried on those counts.

New York Times Multimedia Page

Washington Post Multimedia Page

The Washington Post Multimedia page seems like it focuses mostly on photos and galleries with a few videos. The main galleries today were from the carnival in Spain, spring training, and Ash Wednesday. The way that the captions were set up were the same way that we wrote ours in class...the first sentence was a description of the picture, and the second sentence was more information about what was going on, a fact or a quote. Most of the photos added more information and intrigue to the stories.

The New York Times Multimedia page was a little different than the Washington Post. There were photos and videos, but more interactive features than the other page. There was a feature called "Leaving Iraq" that I enjoyed with audio from a reporter and audio from soldiers. I thought that this was a lot more effective than things I found on the Washington Post site. It felt so much more real and emotional. It is something I am interested in doing in the future. It was much more narrative and added a lot to news.

A bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion is set to pass through Virginia legislature, placing it on track to be signed into law, the New York Times reported.

The bill could pass the House of Delegates as soon as Tuesday; if it is adopted, Virginia will be the eighth state to require ultrasounds before abortions.

After learning that some ultrasounds may be more invasive than others, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has only agreed to "review" the bill, the Washington Post reported.

The bill has attracted controversy and has gotten attention from shows like "Saturday Night Live".

Pro-choice supporters have emphasized that some women in the early stages of pregnancy may require a probe instead of an external ultrasound.

Around 1,200 people silently protested outside of the Capitol Monday wearing T-shirts with phrases such as "Virginia is for lovers, not probes."

Four Twin Cities teens are dead after a horrific car crash on Interstate 94 Monday, Fox 9 reported.

Lauren Peterson, 18, was driving the car when it crashed near Alexandria while driving friends back to NDSU.

Danielle Renninger, 18, Megan Sample, 18, and Jordan Playle, 19, were passengers in the car; all teens were killed in the accident.

The car slid off of I-94 and crossed the median into oncoming traffic and it was hit head-on by an SUV.

Two others injured in the accident were taken to a nearby hospital, KARE 11 reported.

Renninger's funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. in Excelsior and funeral plans are still being made for the three other women involved in the crash.

The remains of a 14-year-old girl missing since 1999 were found in the house of an accused rapist's house while it was being demolished Saturday, CBS reported.

Nicholle Coppler's remains were found in a crawl space while the foundation was being dug out, police said.

Glen Fryer, the former owner of the home, killed himself in 2002 while he was awaiting sentencing for raping a girl.

Fryer was a suspect in Coppler's death in 1999, the New York Daily News reported.

At least two other people lived in the house with Fryer and Coppler's were the only remains found on the property.

The state took possession of the house after taxes had gone unpaid, police said.

A prison riot in northern Mexico resulted in the escape of 30 inmates and 44 were killed, CNN reported.

The director of the prison and 18 guards are under investigation after being removed from their positions, Gov. Rodrigo Medina said.

Top Mexican officials say that guards may have helped members of the Zetas drug cartel escape from prison and kill their rival inmates, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

Authorities are offering a reward of 10 million pesos for information that will lead to the capture of the escaped inmates.

There are only six federal prisons in Mexico and most of them are overcrowded and understaffed, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

The federal prison system in Mexico was built for 185,000 inmates but now is 45,000 over capacity.

A home invasion in Blue Earth Monday resulted in one death and left three people seriously injured, CBS Minnesota reported.

Police were called to the 400 block of 4th Street East around 12:30 p.m. after a masked man entered the house and attacked four people, according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

A 38-year-old man was killed in the invasion, two women and one girl were seriously injured and a 6-year-old girl was left unharmed.

The victims were taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester.

The police do not have any suspects in custody, the Mankato Free Press reported.

Police do not know what weapon the attacker used.

First Story

Second Story

First lead: A 21-month-old boy is in critical condition after being pulled from a hot tub at a northern Minnesota hotel.

Second lead: A toddler pulled from a hot tub at a hotel in Grand Rapids died Friday.

The stories were written about four hours apart, but had about the same amount of information in the leads. The leads were both intriguing, and obvious the advance in the story is that the boy that was formerly in critical condition had died.

The story used the fact blocks and the reporter did not change the order of the information much, just the content.

Also, the reporter talked to someone, "investigators", that told them that there were no signs of negligence in the death.

I believe that the story was followed by many news organizations because of the age of the child, but I doubt that this story was in response to competition.

Lawyers say that cocaine was found on the hair of the captain of the Coasta Concordia, CBS reported.

The ship capsized in January off of the coast of Italy, killing 32 pepople and over 15 remain missing.

Although traces of cocaine were found on the Francesco Schettino's hair, no traces of the drug were found in urine samples or within the hair, which would indicate that he took the drug.

Codacon, a consumer protection group in Italy, announced that Schettino told authorities he had taken tranquilizers, the Huffington Post reported.

Court experts and Codacon believe that the hair samples may have been badly preserved, or that the samples could have been switched.

In Sibley County, 178 students were confirmed absent at Sibley East from a stomach illness, KARE 11 reported.

There are around 600 junior and high school students at Sibley East and nearly one third of them were absent Wednesday due to vomitting.

Staff of the school were also effected with 11 confirmed absent on Wednesday, the Mankato Free Press reported.

An investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health has pointed to the Norovirus, the Independent reported.

Results from the investigation should be back in two weeks.

The man who brought a bomb onto an airliner on Christmas Day 2009 was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in what officials now call an al Qaeda plot.

Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab argued that life in prison would be "cruel and unusual punishment, ", CNN reported.

On Christmas Day 2009, AbdulMutallab attempted to detonate a bomb on a Northwest Airlines from from Amsterdam.

The bomb failed but enveloped AbdulMutallab in a fireball that spread to the wall and carpeting of the plane.

In a courtroom statement AbdulMutallab said, "I carried with me an explosive device to avenge the killing of innocent Muslims.", CNN reported.

Passengers on the flight spoke at AbdulMutalab's trial and expressed fears about flying, but he showed no remorse, NPR reported.

Minnesota received a C rating for its existing laws on domestic trafficking by a national group, Protected Innocence Initiative, KARE 11 reported.

The FBI ranked Minnesota as the 13th largest center for human trafficking of children.

Sgt. John Bandemer with the St. Paul police said that prostitution becomes trafficking when girls are forced into the profession.

Bandemer's team recently found over 500 web ads for prostitution in the Twin Cities over a 24 hour period.

The executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, Brian Rusche, estimates that there are around 10,000 women in Minnesota involved in prostitution, the Public News Service reported.

President Obama's approval rating has jumped to 50% for the first time in eight months, CNN reported.

The last time Obama's approval was over 50% was after Osama bin Laden was killed last May.

The CNN/ORC International Poll indicates that Obama's chances of being reelected are on the rise.

Polls on the economy and the future of America have seen positive results in the last few months, the Global Post reported.

Obama is gaining ground on Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich since the January polls

In hypothetical match-ups with registered votes, the president has a 51%-46% margin over Romney, a 52%-45% margin over both Santorum and Paul and a 55%-42% margin over Gingrich.

Star Tribune

The news value of this story is that a well known author was killed in a car accident, so the writer focuses on that.

Most of the top half of the story is about his accomplishments and what he was doing before he was killed.

The reporter put statements from family and friends near the top because the family and friends are notable members of their community and are well-known throughout most of the United States.

If the victim of the car accident was not someone famous or well-known, the hard news would have been at the top of the story.

The way this story is formatted is:
-Interesting information
-Hard news
-More detailed information

The president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, said Saturday in a radio interview that he is proposing legislation that will legalize drugs in Central America.

Legalizing drugs will also legalize the transportation of drugs though the area, ABC News reported.

Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes will visit on Monday to talk with Molina about new legislation.

Molina said that US aid, in the form of money and technology, has done nothing to reduce the amount of violence or drug trafficking in the area, The Washington Post reported.

The president said he believes drug cartels are to blame for most of the violence and homicides in Guatemala.

The homicide rate in Guatemala has remained steady at 45 per 100,000 people.

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced Saturday that within days there will be a major nuclear announcement, CNN reported.

Ahmadinejad did not provide any details about the nuclear development, but did note several large nuclear achievements.

Tehran has claimed that their nuclear developments are for peaceful reasons such as energy production for their citizens, ABC News reported.

Recent penalties by the United States and the UN have taken a toll on Iran's nuclear development program.

Authorities from the West believe that Iran has been developing weapons and that their nuclear program is not only for energy purposes.

An empty bottle of vodka was found in the SUV that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Maple Grove Jan. 31, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

FOX 9 News reported that the driver has been identified as Linda Lee Hamm, 61, and the victim of the crash was Ann Blake.

Police received the first report of an erratic driver at 11:46 p.m. The caller reported that the driver of the SUV was speeding and hitting curbs.

After following the SUV, police saw the vehicle go over the curb and strike Blake in the back.

Blake's son is severely autistic and her husband Dan died four months ago after a battle with cancer, CBS reported.

Rochester police are investigating an animal cruelty case involving abuse that resulted in the death of a dog Feb. 2, KARE 11 reported.

Investigators received a call on the morning of Feb. 3 that alleged that a large breed dog died from abuse the night of Feb. 2.

The owner of the dog was not home at the time and the dog was under the care of a 27-year-old man.

The man was back at the Paws and Claws Humane Society two days later and tried to adopt another dog, The Post-Bulletin reported.

The shelter manager requested that the man return the dog after becoming concerned about its safety.

A 31-year-old man was sentenced to death Friday for participating in a 2007 home invasion that resulted in the death of a woman and her two daughters.

Joshua Komisarjevsky was convicted of six capital felony charges last October and jurors recommended the death penalty for each count, CNN reported.

Steven Hayes, Komisarjevsky's accomplice, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2010.

The New York Post reported that the two children were tied to their beds and died of smoke inhalation while their father, Dr. Petit, escaped to get help from neighbors.

Komisarjevsky's lawyers said that Petit has become a media celebrity and that it would not be possible for their client to receive a fair trial.

He will face death by lethal injection.

KARE 11

The story above is about a couple who is being prosecuted for prostituting an autistic teen.

The sources that are named are: the authorities, a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County, the girl, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Two of the sources, the authorities and the girl, are people and two are records/other sources, the criminal complaint and the Pioneer Press.

The reporter set up all of the attributions at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: The girl told investigators...The St. Paul Pioneer Press says...

It made things clear because it was very obvious where all of the information came from right away.

A man accused of killing a 7-year-old Fla. girl who was found in a landfill is scheduled for a court appearance on Friday, the Washington Post reported.

Jared Harrell is awaiting trial in Clay County and has been accused of killing 7-year-old Somer Thompson. Court officials say there has been a "significant development" in the case.

Somer was abducted on Oct. 19, 2009 while walking home from school. Her body was found in Georgia landfill less than 48 hours after she was abducted.

Police say Somer was raped and died of strangulation, WJXT-Jacksonville reported.

Harrell is expected to plead guilty in three separate cases on Friday: possession of child pornography, the molestation of a 3-year-old girl and the murder and abduction of Somer, WJXT reported.

A 19-year-old has been charged with forcing his pregnant girlfriend into prostitution, KARE 11 reported.

A woman was arrested Jan. 11 by an undercover police officer at a Burnsville motel after police saw her escort ad on Backpages.com.

The victim told police that her boyfriend, Javed Mobin, told her that if she talked to police she would be killed, the Independent reported.

The victim also reported that Mobin had beaten and choked her in the past.

Mobin is being held at Dakota County Jail and is being charged with soliciting prostitution and domestic assault.

A Minn. woman was charged this week with malicious punishment of her daughter after allegedly slapping her over unfinished homework, KARE 11 reported.

Prosecutors charged Porscha Lafaye Yearby with malicious punishment of a child after police said she slapped her daughter five times and left her with a bloody nose and bruises.

The girl's father picked her up from Yearby's house after receiving a phone call from Yearby saying, "I really messed her up this time," the Pioneer Press reported.

Yearby says that she slapped her daughter because she believed that the 8-year-old was lying about finishing her homework.