BDeutsch News Analysis

Two Florida sheriff deputies are dead after being shot while responding to a domestic dispute on Saturday.
Deputies Burt Lopez and Warren "Skip" York were killed by National Guardsman Joshua Cartwright, who the two deputies were attempting to arrest for beating his wife, according to the Associated Press.
Lopez was singled out by one of his peers on Sunday when the sheriff’s department met to remember the two fallen deputies.
"He was the person you would want in a confrontation because he calmed people down," Capt. J.D. Peacock, who worked with Lopez and York for 20 years, said.
It was a further dark spot on the Niceville, Fla., sheriff’s department. Eight weeks ago, the former chief was arrested by FBI agents on corruption charges. Nearly a year ago, another deputy was killed responding to a report of an attempted suicide.

Posted by deuts060 at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A lawyer for the Minneapolis army sergeant charged with killing two soldiers in Iraq said he was acting in self defense, according to an Associated Press article in Wednesday’s Star Tribune.

Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich's is charged with killing Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson of Pensacola, Fla., and Sgt. Wesley Durbin of Dallas base south of Baghdad early on Sept. 14. Bozicevich’s Article 32 hearing – similar to a civilian grand jury – is currently underway at Fort Stewart.

An article in Tuesday’s Pioneer Press painted a grim picture of the events Sept. 14. According to testimonies, Bozicevich chased Dawson and Durbin around the base hours after being criticized by the victims on two separate occasions.

“As I'm seeing Sgt. Bozicevich, he's saying, '(Expletive), I'm going to kill you,' " Staff Sgt. John Dresel said during his testimony. "Pow! I could see the muzzle flash. ... When the muzzle flash came up, I could see his face. You could just see the expression on his face, angry and wild."

According to the Pioneer Press, Dressel testified that after soldiers tied Bozicevich up, the former University of Minnesota student said, “I'm glad they're dead. Kill me,” although none of the other soldiers at the hearing testified to hearing him say those words.

Posted by deuts060 at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Authorities are still not sure what caused a large fire that destroyed around 50 buildings at a 146-year-old Christian center in New Hampshire on Easter Sunday.

The number of buildings destroyed at the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center on Lake Winnipesaukee was not the same among news outlets. The Associated Press published 52 buildings were burned to the ground while a more thorough report by the New York Times listed 40.

No civilians were injured in the massive fire although the New York Times listed one firefighter was injured when a propane tank exploded. An unpublished number of firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and exhaustion.

According to the Associated Press, “The center's Web site says its purpose is to change lives by ‘encouraging commitment to Jesus Christ and offering opportunities to mature in one's Christian life style.’ It says it tries to accomplish this through evangelism, encouragement of believers and equipping Christians to be effective leaders.”

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, according to both outlets.

Posted by deuts060 at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting differences in leads used by news outlets reporting on the New York community center shooting on Friday.
Unnamed sources with ties to authorities believe Jiverly Vong, 42, killed 12 people at the American Civic Association community center in Binghampton, N.Y. before taking his own life.
The Associated Press chose run the story using a story of a surviving secretary as the lead. According the article, Vong shoot the unnamed secretary, who then played dead until the shooter left the area. Then, she called police and stayed on the line for 90 minutes despite a serious wound to the abdomen.
Meanwhile the New York Times focused on the large number of recent shootings in the United States – Friday’s being the latest and largest since 32 people were killed in the Virginia Tech shootings nearly a year ago. According to the article, “In the last month, 25 people, including 2 gunmen, were slain in three mass shootings, in North Carolina, California and Alabama.”

The New York Times also provided further coverage showing that the shootings were premeditated by Vong, a name police believe is only an alias used by the attacker. According to the article, Vong blocked the building’s rear door with his vehicle before walking around to the front of the building as he began his assault.

Posted by deuts060 at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One nurse and seven residents of a North Carolina nursing home were killed when a gunman opened fire on Sunday morning.
Authorities in Carthage, N.C., say Robert Stewart injured three others at Pinelake Health and Rehab including a police officer attempting to subdue the shooter.
Both the Associated Press and The News & Observer, a local newspaper based out of Raleigh, reported on the shooting, however, only the Associated Press published that Stewart had been charged with eight counts of first degree murder and one charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer.
The News & Observer focused its coverage on stories of the survivors and victims and while the Associated Press also mentioned similar aspects such as one victim who was spared for an unknown reason by Stewart, the AP did uncover some background on Stewart himself.
The outlet spoke with Stewart’s ex-wife, who said the gunman had been reaching out to family members recently and had violent tendencies.

Posted by deuts060 at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven successfully launched Sunday after a month of delays.

After a hydrogen leak caused the launch to abort again on Wednesday, the mission, which will send the crew to the International Space Station for repairs later this week, finally got under way Sunday according to the Associated Press.

“Well, you had a little bit of a wait but that will just make the payoff that much sweeter," launch director Mike Leinbach said to the crew as quoted by the news outlet.

The New York Times is reporting NASA engineers were unable to definitively identify the cause of the hydrogen leak but replacing seals and “other components” took care of the problem.

Discovery will make key repairs to the space station including the delivery of the final set of solar rays for the station and the instillation of a replacement part for the water system.

Posted by deuts060 at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few weeks off of the class topic of spot updating and the Associated Press publishes a string of stories that displays the practice very well.
An Illinois pastor was shot and killed and three others, including the assailant, were injured Sunday morning during church services.
Initially, the Associated Press published only that an unknown man, whose name was being withheld by police, walked up to the Rev. Fred Winters during services and spoke for a short time before shooting Winters. Two members of the church were also injured attempting to subdue the attacker.
Hours later, the Associated Press still has no motive for the attack but has learned several other important facts.
First, a police spokesman said the attacker’s name is still being withheld but did acknowledge the suspect does not have a criminal record.
Second, the news outlet uncovered more details of the attack such as Winters using his Bible to deflect the first shot. The bullet shredded the book into what some members of the congregation thought was confetti – giving them the impression the event was a skit.
And finally, the Associated Press may have uncovered the identity of the suspect although it apparently will respect authorities wishes not to reveal it. The outlet traced the license plate of a red Jeep parked in front of the church to a local 27-year-old man. While no one in the man’s neighborhood was willing to comment, an Associated Press correspondent reported neighbors crying in the area.

Posted by deuts060 at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A North Carolina mother or two will bring her children with her when she reports for duty four years after being honorably discharged.

After her attempts to appeal the recall into service were rejected, Lisa Pagan said she had no choice but to bring her children with her to Fort Benning when she reported on Sunday according to an Associated Press article.

"I don't plan on them leaving my side once I'm there," she said of her kids. "Them being away from me is not an option."

Neither is staying home with dad said Pagan. Her husband frequently travels for business.

The Fort Benning commander will have the final say in whether Pagan is granted a deferment or exemption according to Master Sgt. Keith O’Donnell, an Army spokesman.

“The Army tries to look at the whole picture and they definitely don't want to do anything that jeopardizes the family or jeopardizes the children," O'Donnell said. "At the same time, these are individuals who made obligations and commitments to the country."

Posted by deuts060 at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The pilot the airplane that crashed near Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday may have ignored federal safety recommendations and violated the airline's own policy by putting the airplane on autopilot.

According to the Associated Press, federal guidelines suggest pilots flying in icy weather should not use autopilot while the company that charted Continental Flight 3407 requires pilots to turn off the feature in such conditions.

“You may be able in a manual mode to sense something sooner than the autopilot can sense it," Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board said in an Associated Press interview.

All 47 passengers aboard the flight were killed as was one civilian on the ground when the airplane crashed into a house near Buffalo.

Posted by deuts060 at 4:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A small, Georgia town is worried about possible economic ramifications of the recent salmonella outbreak in peanuts that has been linked to eight deaths and 575 illnesses.

According to the Los Angeles Times, citizens of Blakely, Ga., the agricultural home to nearly 6,000, call their town the Peanut Capital of the World.

But Blakely – already reeling from the nation-wide recession – was dealt another blow when the Food and Drug Administration name a local peanut plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America as the source of the outbreak.

On Friday, the New York Times reported the plant continued to ship peanuts even after the contamination was discovered.

“We are sorry our process fell short of not only our goals, but more importantly, your expectations,�? the company said in a statement.

But that’s not enough for one victim’s family, according to an interview with the Times.

“Our whole family was angry,�? said Jeff Almer of Savage, Minn., whose 72-year-old mother, Shirley Mae, died in December after eating tainted peanut butter from the plant. “This could have been avoided.�?

Victims aren’t the only ones upset with the company according to the Los Angeles Times.

“We've got an industry that has a good track record, and now we have a small processor that did something wrong and caused chaos for everyone," Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, said. "Because of this, farmers are having a difficult time obtaining peanut contracts for 2009, consumers are confused, and the ripple effect is being felt throughout the peanut industry. This is unconscionable."

Posted by deuts060 at 4:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

607,000 customers went without power after last week’s winter storm in Kentucky – the largest power outage in state history according to Business First of Louisville.

For many customers, the storm also wiped out telephone lines, cellular phones, cable and internet service according to the Kentucky Public Services Commission, which announced it may take a week or more for services to be restored.

Meanwhile, the Star Tribune is reporting Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear deployed the state’s entire National Guard in an effort to deal with the situation.

“With the length of this disaster and what we're expecting to be a multi-day process here, we're concerned about the lives and the safety of our people in their own homes," Beshear said.

While temperatures are rising in Kentucky, many victims are still without electricity and a lack of fuel has slowed the process.

As many as 42 deaths have been blamed on the recent storm.

Posted by deuts060 at 5:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)