CDeutsch News Entries

Two teens were shot in the parking lot of a Southdale mall Friday evening, with the suspect still at large, Edina police told the Pioneer Press.

Both teenage boys, 15 and 18, were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. One was shot in the leg, but was not seriously injured. The other was shot in the abdomen, and was in surgery Friday. His condition is not known, Police Chief Mike Siitari told the Star Tribune.

The shooter, believed to be between 15 and 18 years old, fired at least four shots from a .45-caliber handgun. Siitari told the Star Tribune that the shooting was the result of a fight between rival Hispanic groups.

Police were still reviewing evidence and looking for witnesses late Friday.

Posted by deuts076 at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bangladesh police discovered a mass grave containing 38 bodies Friday, following the end of a two-day mutiny by border guards, the New York Times reported.

The bodies are thought to be those of officers taken hostage, a Bangladeshi police officer told the New York Times.

The death toll due to the mutiny has risen to more than 75, the Guardian reported. Searches for more bodies are continuing.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised amnesty to the mutineers, but said those responsible for the killings would answer to the law.

Hasina, elected last December, faced the mutiny as her first major test in leading the country, the New York Times reported. She was elected after two years of military rule.

Three days of mourning have been declared by the government following the deaths, the Guardian reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rocky Mountain News, a newspaper serving the Denver area, published its final edition Friday, the New York Times reported.

The Rocky’s owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, announced the closing of the paper Thursday. The paper had been up for sale before, but no credible buyers came forward, the New York Times reported. The paper lost $16 million in 2008.

The Rocky began publishing in April of 1859, shortly after Denver was founded. It had served the area for the past 150 years.

The Rocky's chief competitor, the Denver Post, was founded in 1892. Many years of competition between the papers followed.

The Post and Rocky combined business operations in 2001, but kept their newsrooms separate, Yahoo News reported. The Post will continue publishing newspapers.

Daily newspapers all over the country are feeling increased financial pressure. Yahoo News reported 33 daily newspapers declaring bankruptcy in the past 2 1/2 months.

Posted by deuts076 at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One person died in a two-car crash Thursday morning on Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis, police told the Star Tribune.

One car was stopped at a stoplight when a second car crashed into its rear end and started a fire in the first car. The driver of the first car was dead when police arrived at the scene.

Police told the Star Tribune that they believe alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. The driver of the second car is undergoing chemical testing.

The identities of the drivers have not been released.

The crash occurred at 4:30 a.m., the Pioneer Press reported. Officials closed Hiawatha Avenue while they investigated the crash.

Posted by deuts076 at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The story I am analyzing the first- and second-day reports of is "Courageous rescuers saved lives in Hastings, fire chief says" from the Star Tribune. The first story, which I briefed on Tuesday, Feb. 17, is no longer available online.

The lead of the first story was a straight news lead, telling the reader when and where the fire happened. The second story began with a more feature-style lead, putting the reader in the moment by showing him or her what a specific police officer was doing during a moment in the story - specifically knocking on doors and trying to get people to safety. The main news in the first story was that there was a fire in a Hastings apartment building. The main news in the second story was the bravery of police officers in getting people out of the apartment building during the fire. While both of them centered around the fire, they had slightly different focuses in doing so.

The second story advances the news by telling readers more about the fire and people's actions during the fire. It also reports how the fire was started, as that wasn't known at the time the first story was written. There were also many more people in the second-day story than there were in the first-day story, as the reporter had more time to talk to people and find out just what they saw and what was going on.

The second story doesn't seem to be a response to a report from a competing news organization, it just seems focused on giving a more accurate and personal account on what happened in the fire and who was affected by the fire. It seems like a pretty basic follow-up written to let readers know more about what was going on as more information became available.

Posted by deuts076 at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A gas explosion in a north China coal mine Sunday killed at least 74 people, the China Daily reported.

The accident occurred in the Gujaio City mine, Tunlan Coal Mine of Shanxi Coking Coal Group, while 436 miners were working underground. Rescuers told the China Daily that 114 miners were hospitalized because of the accident, and six are in critical condition.

All of the trapped miners had been accounted for by late Sunday, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Most of the injuries were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, the Xinhua News Agency told the Lincoln Journal Star.

Before this, The Tunlan Coal Mine of Shanxi Coking Coal Group hadn't had any major accidents for five years.

Posted by deuts076 at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An Australian writer was pardoned by the Thai king after he was sentenced to a three-year jail term for defaming the monarch, BBC reported.

Harry Nicolaides, 41, returned home to Australia Saturday after being sentenced to jail in January.

He was pardoned by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Al Jazeera reported.

Nicolaides self-published a fictional book, Verisimilitude, in 2005 that allegedly slandered the monarchy. Only seven copies of the book were sold, Al Jazeera reported. Nicolaides was sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to lese majeste.

The Australian government had lobbied for Nicolaides' release, BBC reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Bloomington mother and daughter were indicted Thursday on multiple manslaughter charges for the death of a toddler at their day-care center, the Pioneer Press reported.

Doris D. Meeks, 48, and Harmony S. Newman, 21, were indicted by a Hennepin County grand jury on charges of second-degree manslaughter by way of child neglect, second-degree manslaughter by way of child endangerment and second-degree manslaughter by way of culpable negligence.

A 22-month-old boy, Demar Joseph-Amir Hicks, was found unconscious in a car seat in the basement of Mamma D's Day Care on Aug. 28, the Star Tribune reported. The boy wasn't breathing and didn't have a heartbeat. Paramedics re-started his heart and he was taken to a hospital. He died two days later.

On the day of the incident, Mamma D's was only licensed to have 14 children, but 23 were in the home, the Star Tribune reported. Newman was the only adult in the house at the time, although the day care was required to have two present.

Posted by deuts076 at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A winter storm hit California on Monday, bringing with it rain, snow and traffic problems, USA Today reported.

The storm has closed several Los Angeles highways and canceled the last round of the PGA gold tournament.

The storm was expected to last through Tuesday and reached from Mexico to Oregon, a National Weather Service forecaster, Stan Wasowski, told USA Today.

Much of California's Central Coast was in a flash flood watch.

Effects of the storm caused the cancellation of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am's final round, MSNBC reported. Dustin Johnson, who had a four-shot lead before the rain began, was declared the winner.

The city of Sierra Madre has warned residents that they may have to leave their homes because of the possibility of mudslides in the area. A voluntary evacuation order for the city was in effect Monday, MSNBC reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several residents and rescue workers received minor injuries in a Hastings apartment fire early Tuesday morning, the Pioneer Press reported.

The fire started on the third floor of the south Valley Manor apartment complex around 2 a.m. Hastings police officers were first to arrive at the apartment and rescued people on the third floor, the Hastings community relations coordinator, Shannon Rausch, told the Star Tribune.

"I believe we would have had some fatalities up there if it had not been for the actions of the police officers and the deputies," fire chief Mike Schutt told the Star Tribune.

Five residents and five rescue workers were taken to Regina Medical Center in Hastings because of the fire. Only one remained there late Tuesday morning, Schutt told the Star Tribune.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Posted by deuts076 at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I chose to analyze the structure of "Venezuelans Voting on Lifting Term Limits" from the New York Times.

The reporter began by telling the reader what the issue was in the lead - that Venezuelans were voting to lift term limits specifically so President Hugo Chavez could be elected again after his term ends in 2013. Information about the pros and cons of this idea and process, and how citizens feel about Chavez, was conveyed primarily through quotes of citizens. This way, the reader could get a brief taste of what others were feeling without the reporter actually writing "some people say this..." and "others say this..." and so on. The reporter then summarized some of the campaigning that had gone on leading up to the vote Sunday, such as protests and attacks. The reporter then included information about Chavez's relationship and views of the U.S. and of President Barack Obama. The story ended with a citizen opinion quote about Chavez.

This seemed to be a very effective way of structuring and ordering the story, because the reader understood the issue right away and why it was important to Venezuelan government. Both sides of the issue were presented fairly clearly and precisely. The reporter then took a step back and let the reader look at how this could affect the U.S. and why citizens here should care about what's going on in Venezuela. In the end, the reporter brought the story full circle back to the elections and how Venezuelan citizens feel about them, thus leaving the reader with what the actual facts and news value of the story. It could have been done differently in that the reporter could have re-ordered the information and perhaps moved the information about U.S.-Venezuelan relations up to earlier in the story and condensed it down a bit more, and moved all of the Venezuelan citizen reactions together, either at the beginning or the end of the story, but the way the reporter structured it was very effective, and perhaps just as effective as it could be if the story was structured a different way.

Posted by deuts076 at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 33-year-old man was found dead late Saturday on a set of train tracks in St. Paul, police told the Pioneer Press.

A Union Pacific Railroad worker told authorities when he discovered the body. The body was discovered in the area of Bush Avenue and Burr Street, St. Paul police Cmdr. Kevin Casper told the Pioneer Press.

The victim apparently fell asleep or passed out on the tracks, police told KSTP-TV.

It is unclear how the man got on the tracks, as two fences, one of barbed wire, block access to the tracks, KSTP-TV reported.

The name of the man has not been released.

Posted by deuts076 at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has appointed the first woman to the council of ministries and sacked two powerful religious officials in a Cabinet shuffle, the BBC reported.

One man who was dismissed from his post was the country's senior judge, and the other was the head of a religious police force.

Noor Al-Fayez was appointed to the position as deputy minister for women's education, a new position on the Saudi Council of Ministers, CNN reported. King Abdullah's appointment of her was considered a progressive move.

This is King Abdullah's largest Cabinet shuffle since he came to power in 2005, CNN reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peanut Corp. of America, the company linked with the national salmonella outbreak, filed for bankruptcy in federal court Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Lynchburg, Va. According to court documents, the company has between $1 million and $10 million in assets and $1 million and $10 million in liabilities.

One of the company's plants, in Blakely, Ga., was shut down last month after officials traced the outbreak to it. In the plant, inspectors found mold, roaches, and a leaking roof, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The salmonella outbreak is credited with sickening more than 630 people and may have killed nine people, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The FDA said more than 2,000 products have been recalled.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which usually involves liquidating a company's assets to pay its creditors, may shift more victim compensation cases to the companies that used Peanut Corp. of America ingredients in their products, such as Kellogg Co. and King Nut Co., the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A former St. Mary's University women's hockey player was among the victims killed in the Continental Airlines plane crash near Buffalo, N.Y., the Pioneer Press reported.

Madeline L. Loftus, 24, of Parsippany, N.J., graduated from St. Mary's in 2006 and played as a forward from 2004 through 2006. While there, she helped start the Cardinal Athletics Council, a student-athlete group active in community service projects, the Star Tribune reported.

"We are deeply saddened at the news of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of so many, including one of our own. Madeline was an important part of the university and athletic communities," St. Mary's athletic director Nikki Fennern told the Star Tribune.

Loftus played at Buffalo State College in New York from 2002 through 2004, Jeff Ventura, the sports information director at Buffalo State, told the Pioneer Press. She was on her way to Buffalo Thursday to play in a reunion game for Buffalo State Saturday.

Buffalo State plans to hold a moment of silence in memory of Loftus and the other plane crash victims before Saturday's varsity women's hockey game.

Posted by deuts076 at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

China's national television network apologized Tuesday for its Beijing fireworks display that lit a luxury hotel on fire and killed a firefighter Monday, the New York Times reported.

The fireworks display, part of the country's Lunar New Year celebration and sponsored by China Central Television, was so powerful that it needed a special permit. The permit was never obtained.

The Mandarin Oriental hotel was still under construction before it burned. It was expected to open in May, and was located in the same housing complex as CCTV's headquarters, the Star Tribune reported.

The New York Times reported that the fire remained largely under-reported in media outlets in China. CCTV's own newscasts did not include images of the burning hotel.

According to a propaganda official's leaked directive, photos and video clips should not be printed or aired with the news, and "comments posting areas should be closed," reported the New York Times.

News of the fire still spread to the general population via cell phones, e-mail and blogs.

Posted by deuts076 at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The story I'm analyzing for attributions is "Death Toll in Australia Fire Climbs to 108" from the New York Times.

In the story, the reporter names an Australian resident affected by the fire, John Ryan, Victoria state police, hospital officials, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, news media reports, authorities and John Brumby, the Victoria state premier. The information from all of these sources is scattered throughout the story, it isn't simply all clumped together.

The only sources specifically named in the story are Ryan, Rudd, and Brumby, although most of the information is from people, such as police or hospital officials. The only information that is specifically sourced from records is that from news media reports. The reporter primarily sets up attribution by stating information he received from a source and then attributing it to that source at the end of the sentence. It is quite effective and fairly easy to follow. At the end of the article, I had no questions about which information came from which source.

Posted by deuts076 at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Deep-sea explorers announced Monday that they found the wreckage of a British warship carrying four tons of gold coins, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The HMS Victory was one of the most important ships in British history, the Miami Herald reported. It sank in 1744.

The shipwreck was discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration, based in Florida. The company is currently in negotiations with the British government over the project.

The ship was lost, presumably in a storm, in its way back from Portugal, the Miami Herald reported. It was crewed by 1,000 men and was carrying 100 brass cannons and 100,000 gold coins.

So far, two brass cannons have been recovered from the shipwreck, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Odyssey Marine Exploration won't disclose the exact location of the wreck so not to attract plunderers.

Posted by deuts076 at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At least 35 people were confirmed dead in Australia Sunday due to wildfires sweeping through the state of Victoria, the BBC reported.

About 30,000 firefighters are battling the blaze. The federal government also plans to sent in the army to help control the fires.

The firefighting conditions are some of the worst in Australian history, the BBC reported. Winds are unpredictable and temperatures have reached as high as 117 F.

Victoria's deputy police commissioner, Kieran Walshe, told CNN that some of the fires seem to be caused by people as opposed to natural ignition.

At least 100 homes have been destroyed in the fires. One town, Marysville, is reported to have burned to the ground, BBC said.

Most of the deaths occurred in small towns north of Melbourne.

Firefighters are primarily battling the fires with aircraft, except in areas with houses, CNN reported.

The fires are Australia's worst since 1983, when 75 people were killed.

Posted by deuts076 at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak launched his re-election bid Saturday at the Riverview Theater, the Star Tribune reported.

Rybak told the Star Tribune that he cannot guarantee he will serve the full four-year term if elected as he has been considering running for governor in 2010.

Rybak also revealed his "Opportunity Agenda," the Pioneer Press reported. With it, he plans to create jobs and improve public safety, transportation and education.

Rybak's best-known competitor in the election for Minneapolis mayor is Bob Miller, the Star Tribune reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 41-year-old Minneapolis man suspected of groping 10 female students at the University of Minnesota was charged Thursday with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, the Star Tribune reported.

Police arrested Phillip W. Acosta Tuesday night after two more assaults on the university's campus.

Minneapolis Police sex crimes Lt. Nancy Dunlap told the Minnesota Daily that Acosta had confessed to 10 offenses.

Acosta has a minor criminal history but nothing similar to the assaults he is now charged with, Dunlap told the Star Tribune.

The two officers who apprehended Acosta were working off-duty at an event at Northrop Auditorium when one of the victims reported the incident, the Minnesota Daily reported. The officers arrested Acosta on the university's West Bank campus.

According to the charges filed Thursday, Acosta groped the women because he is "attracted to the female buttocks," reported the Star Tribune.

Posted by deuts076 at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of health and human services, Tom Daschle, withdrew his nomination Tuesday after Senate scrutiny over tax issues, the Star Tribune reported.

Obama took responsibility for sending mixed messages about ethical standards while trying to push Daschle's nomination through. The Boston Globe reported that Daschle was a strong supporter and close friend of Obama's.

The Boston Globe reported that Daschle has paid $128,203 in back taxes and $11,964 in interest in January. Daschle's nomination withdrawal is the third high-profile withdrawal; New Mexico governor Bill Richardson withdrew his commerce secretary nomination during a grand jury investigation and Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination as chief performance officer earlier Tuesday amid tax problems of her own.

Both Daschle and Killefer didn't want to be distractions in Obama's new administration, the Star Tribune reported.

Posted by deuts076 at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following is the lead from the Pioneer Press:

"A St. Paul man was shot to death Saturday doing what family members said he'd always done — looking out for one of them."

This lead immediately tells the readers some critical information right away in the lead. The "who" is a St. Paul man, the "what" is that he died, the "when" is Saturday, and the "how" is that he was shot. This lead doesn't answer the "where" question - where the man died - although it does address where the man was from.

The first part of this lead is pretty general. "A St. Paul man was shot to death Saturday" doesn't go beyond the bare facts of what happened. However, the second part of the lead, "doing what family members said he'd always done - looking out for one of them" is more detailed. It gives us more information about what kind of person this man was before he died, and why we as a community should care that he'd been shot and killed.

This lead has the elements of a straightforward hard-news lead, though it has a little more detail added to it than a hard-news lead usually does. The reporter likely chose this approach so readers don't just focus on what happened - a man was shot and killed - but also on who this man was, and why the loss of his life is a loss for the whole community. This lead makes the story more personal and important to the community than would a hard-news lead.

Posted by deuts076 at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Obama's half brother was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday for possession of marijuana, the Dallas Morning News reported.

George Obama, who is in his 20s, allegedly had one joint of the drug on him, the area's police chief told BBC.

George Obama and the president share the same father, but have only met twice. He did not attend the president's inauguration, the Dallas Morning News said, although some of the president's Kenyan relatives did.

BBC reported that George Obama is studying to be a mechanic, and lives in Huruma with his extended family.

George Obama is scheduled to appear in court to face the drug charge Monday morning.

Posted by deuts076 at 2:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three people died when a single-engine plane crashed in a Wisconsin field Friday, the Pioneer Press reported.

The Pioneer Press identified the victims as Laurence and Vicki Berg of Houlton, Wis., and Brett Weller of Hudson, Wis. They were the only people aboard the plane.

The crash was reported to the Dunn County Sheriff's office at 9:45 p.m. Friday, the Star Tribune reported. The plane crashed north of Menomonie, Wis., with the wreckage spread over 5 to 10 acres.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration told the Pioneer Press.

Posted by deuts076 at 2:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)