October 2012 Archives

The Supreme Court considered on Monday if the federal government has the right to eavesdrop on international conversations in efforts to combat terrorism, Chicago Tribune reports.

The case, Clapper et al v. Amnesty International et al, will determine weather the eavesdropping could violate the protection against illegal search and seizure rights under the Fourth Amendment.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed in 2005 and allowed the federal government to wiretap international communications without warrant. The act was intended to help pursue terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The courts have argued that the wiretapping was not issued to directly harm an individual or institution.

Those not in favor of the eavesdropping say that they have taken steps to protect their international conversations, such as only meeting their sources or clients in person/

This month, South African researchers announced they may be on the way to finding a vaccine to end the spread of H.I.V., The New York Times reports.

The research, published on Oct. 20, found a weak link in the virus's outer shell that might present a target for a vaccine. The South African researchers also discovered what stage the weak link develops during infection.

The researchers found two woman who had the vulnerability, and it was not the same virus that had infected them, but a mutant that developed later.

The study was conducted by Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and lead by Dr. Salim Abdool Karim.

This month, South African researchers announced they may be on the way to finding a vaccine to end the spread of H.I.V., The New York Times reports.

The research, published on Oct. 20, found a weak link in the virus's outer shell that might present a target for a vaccine. The South African researchers also discovered what stage the weak link develops during infection.

The researchers found two woman who had the vulnerability, and it was not the same virus that had infected them, but a mutant that developed later.

The study was conducted by Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and lead by Dr. Salim Abdool Karim.

The Obituary I read was of Paul Kurtz a secular humanist responsible for the creation of multiple magazines and publications.

The obituary uses a combination past articles on Kurtz and quotes from his son for the majority of the sources. The reporter also used a few sources from Kurtz own work, as well as quotes from colleagues and others in the field.
The lead of this article strays a bit from a standard obituary lead. The lead still shows the most important impact Kurtz had, but it doesn't say it in a straight forward way. I think this reflects how Kurtz was not a straight forward thinker.

The news value of this story would be novelty, because Kurtz was began a new branch of thought. This obituary differs from a resume because it includes quotations from colleagues and family, as well as a stronger description of what Kurtz did. It is more than a list of Kurtz's successes, but a detailed description of Kurtz's life.

An 8-year-old gir wrote a response to Dwell magazine's article about the realease of the Architect Barbie, Huffington Post reports.

Olivia Steger, 8, wrote the response to a Dwell magazine article about the pros and cons of the new "Barbie I can be... Architect Doll" for girls.

In the original article, the writer discusses how the Barbie introduces the idea that girls can do anything, but also has Barbie wearing a dress, loads of make-up, and high heels. A get-up that the author said is unrealistic for an architect.

Stegner said she really enjoyed the article. She suggested that the Barbie gets sent out with information about being an architect or a home-design game so that the girls can know what the doll means.

Stegner pointed out that there aren't many female architects that can serve as role models for young girls. She said that Frank Lloyd Wright is her favorite architect, but he wouldn't inspire most girls to become architects because, "after all, he is a man."

After being in the United States for three months, freshman Daly Santana, has becoming a star athlete for the Gophers, The Minnesota Daily reports.

Santana, 17, came to the University of Minnesota from Puerto Rico to play collegiate volleyball and is now in contention for the nation's Freshman of the Year Award.

In the beginning of October, Santana was deemed Big Ten's freshman of the week after she had 14 kills against Michigan on Oct. 3, and 13 digs to help the Gopher's win the game Oct. 6.

Santana has started every match this season, helping the gophers reach a 17-4 overall record.

In 2003, Lu Lobello, an Iraq War Veteran was a part of a shooting incident that killed Iraqi civilians, on Oct. 23 2012, he apologized to the family, NPR reports.

Nine years after the shooting incident that killed three members of the Kachadoorian family, Lobello apologizes to the members of the family who have immigrated to the United States.

Lobello, who sufferes from post traumatic stress disorder, could not stop thinking about this shooting incident, and after reading the New York Times article about the event, he decided he wanted to apologize to the family.

The article explained the confusion that the Kachadoorian family was facing when they drove into a firefight. The family was in three separate cars trying to flee after the house they had been staying in was bombed. Lobello and other soldiers yelled that if the cars didn't turn around they would shoot. When the cars didn't change direction, the drivers were shot and killed, and two others were injured. Lobello said that at the time this was protocol.

Lobello said he felt that "there was somebody out there who was greatly affected by our actions as a unit, and that we had a duty to them, to reach out to them, to find out how they were doing, and if I could do that I knew I'd feel better"

The meeting was described by NPR as unbearably tense until Lobello shared a cigarette with the husband of a member of the family.

After the meeting Lobello said, "Just letting me into their home and feeding me and meeting with me," it's as if "they were saying, 'We forgive you, and we understand.'"

Target is told its pork suppliers to phase out the use of cramped pens for pregnant sows, Star Tribune reports.

The Minneapolis based chain is working with its pork vendors to eliminate gestation crates by 2022.

The Humane Society of the United States said Target is joining 30 other companies, including Cosco and Krogers, to eliminate the confining cages.

The cages were used to keep sows from fighting, but animal welfare groups oppose them because they are so small the sows cannot turn around.

India has been polio-free since it's last reported case in January 2011 and will be declared officially as polio-free if they have no cases until January 2014, New York Times reports.

In honor of World Polio Day, on Wednesday, India Ink interviewed Dr. Naveen Thacker, who was a big part of how India has become polio-free.

Thacker says the government worked together with public-private partnerships to raise $1.5 million for the polio eradication campaign. Rotary International, the World Health Organization, Unicef, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation all worked together to vaccinate those who had previously been unreachable.

India was a large feat in the battle to eradicate polio, leaving only Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan with the disease.

Missy Franklin, a five-time medalist from the Summer 2012 Olympics, announced verbally that she will attend the University of California, Fox Sports reports.

''Committed to swim at Cal Berkeley! I am officially a baby Golden Bear [symbols] I am so honored to be a part of such a special team! #GoBears,'' Franklin tweeted Saturday.

Franklin will join Summer 2012 Olympic Swimming Coach, Teri McKeever, as well as olympic teammate Rachel Bootsma on the Bears.

Franklin only plans on swimming at the collegiate level for two years until going pro in 2015 before the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Senior Linebacker for Hastings High School defeated cancer and is back playing football, Hastings Star Gazette reports.

Josh Kickbush found out he had testicular cancer on Aug 30 after a routine preseason physical required for all athletes.

Two days later Kickbush went to the hospital and after six hours in surgery and emerged cancer free.

Kickbush now needs to go to the hospital for checkups every two months. He said he is relieved that he doesn't have to go through chemotherapy because that means he can participate in wrestling.

In a story about Vice President Joe Biden's speech in Fort Pierce, Florida, the reporter makes the focus on Biden's discussion of "Romnesia" and the fact that Florida is a swing state.

The story emphasis the fact that Biden is campaigning in Florida, a swing state, for the ninth time in hopes to win the state, and help Obama get re-elected. The story first discusses Biden's talk of "Romnesia." The reporter said Biden used the term "Romnesia" to define Biden's opinion that Romney and Ryan keep shifting their positions on issues.

The article then discussed how Florida is a swing state. In Biden's speech, according to the article, he said that if he and Obama win Florida, they will win the election. The article then goes into the background of how much campaigning has happened, and will happen in Florida. This goes beyond the event itself to discuss this and give the reader a greater understanding in how important Florida has become in the election.

On Thursday the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Defense Against Marriage Act unconstitutional, CNN reports.

The Defense Against Marriage Act that denies federal benefits for same-sex couples was deemed unconstitutional, making the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the first to say the GLBT community should be protected as a minority.

The court said the federal law violated the Constitutions equal protection law, and ruled in favor of Edith Windsor, 83, who was charged $363,000 in federal estate taxes after the death of her same-sex spouse.

Windsor sued the federal government after being denied spousal deductions after being with her late partner for 44 years, after their marriage in Canada.

The court upheld the lower courts decision saying that the LGBT community has been discriminated against for years, and deserves special protection.

A St. Paul teen became an internet sensation and some are calling her 'the next Oprah,' Insight News reports.

Tryneal Adiison, 16, thought of the idea for the new internet TV show, "What Girls Think" about a year ago, an idea that has her being called the next coming of Oprah Winfrey.

The show, "What Girls Think," will be run on FirstRun.Tv and will include girls from around the county giving their opinions on issues such as obesity, bullying, and teen pregnancy.

Addison said she feels her purpose is to motivate, educate, and recreate the lives of young people, and is very excited for the show.

A rebel group in Manila signed a peace treaty with the country's government on Monday that will end a long conflict in the country, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The peace treaty could help unlock Mindanao in the southern Phillippeans to increas the economic capabilities of that area and the nation.

Mindanao is one of the poorest areas in the country, but could develop develop fruit and rubber plantations, tourism, tuna canning and mining projects.

The peace agreement was signed by Chief Negotiator Atty.Marvic Leonen for the Philippines and Mohagher Iqbal from the rebel group.

The treaty also aims to disassemble the 11,000 member strong rebel group, bringing peace to the area.

Australian skydiver jumped through the stratosphere on Sunday, breaking three world records, Chicago Tribune reports.

Felix Baumgartner, 43, broke three world records as he jumped from 24 miles above Roswell, Mexico.

Baumgartner broke the records for the highest altitude manned balloon flight, the highest altitude skydive, and was the first person to break the sound barrier. His maximum speed was around 833.9 miles per hour.

Baumgartner's decent took about 2 1/2 hours and he broke the highest sky jump on record by five miles.

After examining the multimedia packages in NBC news and Time, I noticed how multimedia plays a very important role in online journalism.

On TIME there is a separated section only multimedia journalism. This section contains both videos and pictures. The writing that goes along with these multimedia aspects is brief and specific to the multimedia shown. It lets the picture/video tell the story, only giving enough information to aid in the storytelling. These pictures and videos give an interactive visual to the news story. This allows the reader to not only read, but listen and/or see the news happening. This probably allows people to remember the news story better.

On NBCnews the multimedia is still divided into a special section, but isn't as specifically labeled multimedia like in TIMES. The photos in this section like there own newspaper, showing pictures of note that happened throughout the week, instead of multiple pictures on a specific story like the times. The writing on these pictures is much more brief than in TIME. Some pictures have only a title with a link to a more specific news story, which allows an interactive aspect as well.

Coach Kill suffered from a seizure after the homecoming football game on Saturday, StarTribune reports.

After the 21-13 loss to Northwestern on Saturday Coach Kill had a seizure in the coaches locker room, school officals report.

According to a release by the univeristy, Kill's trip to the hospital was a precaution and he is alert and resting comfortably.

Kill has a history of seizures and after a one-week period with multiple seizures last September, he decided to look into medical treatment. He has been working with doctors on a medical program to reduce his seizures and said he was the healthiest he has been in years in July.

Metro Transit unveiled new energy-efficient light-rail cars on Wednesday in Minneapolis, Star Tribune reports.

Metro Transit shows off their new energy efficient cars to be used on the Central Corridor line, "The Green Line", between St.Paul and Minneapolis when it opens next spring.

The new cars are 6,000 pounds lighter than the previously used cars. They will use LED lights instead of the previous cars' florescent lighting. With these new developments, the cars will use less electricity. than ever before.

There will be 47 of the new energy-efficient cars on the "Green Line."

The Supreme Court will hear arguments about the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case on Wednesday, beginning a new discussion about affirmative action in colleges, CBS News reports.

The Supreme court will hear an hour of arguments on both sides of the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case, potentially changing how colleges across the nation look at race when deciding admission.

Abagail Fisher, a 22-year-old white woman, sued the University of Texas claiming that she was denied admission because she is white.

The University said they automatically accept anyone who is in the top ten percent of their graduating class, and then fill in the rest of the incoming class to make create a "critical mass" of racial groups in the school.

This case will bring up the issue of weather it is constitutional to curb diversity in schools.

This is the first time an affirmative action case has been heard by the Supreme Court since the Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003. Affirmative action has been a part of national discussion since first appearing in the Supreme Court with Brown. v. Board of Education in 1950.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez beat candidate Henrique Capriles in Venezuelan presidential election on Sunday, giving Chavez his third consecutive six-year term, Los Angeles Times reports.

Despite in increase crime rates and a growing sense of dissatisfaction, Hugo Chavez won his third consecutive election this Sunday winning 54.4 percent of the votes.

If Chavez finishes out this term, he will be the longest serving leader in the southern hemisphere. His first term began in December 1989, his next term will end in February 2019.

Chavez's battle with cancer could bring his next term to a premature close. He was diagnosed with abdominal cancer in June 2011. After various surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy, Chavez announced he was "totally free" of cancer in June 2012.

On Sunday, Chavez celebrated his third victory.

"Viva Venezuela, viva the people of Bolivar, viva Oct. 7," said Chavez.

UW-Stout officers were honored for saving the life of a freshman student on Sept. 27, Journal Sentinel reports.

Officers, Spetz and Peterson, were honored Sept. 27 for saving the life of Ryan Child, 18, when he suffered from sudden cardiac arrest.

Child had heart flutters throughout the summer but doctors had no idea the problem was severe. On Thursday Sept. 13 Child was walking with a classmate when he suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground, his heart had stopped.

Luckily, Spetz and Peterson were close by and immediately took action. Spetz kept Childs airway open as Peterson performed chest compressions, according to the police report.

According to the American Heart Association, few resuscitation attempts succeed after 10 minutes of cardiac arrest.

Spetz and Peterson were honored for saving the life of Child, as they responded quickly and immediately took action. Child says he beat the odds because of the two officers quick response.

"It's one in a million," Child said. "People don't usually survive this."

Mark Williams, a long time Vikings fan and architect, will design the $975 million stadium to replace the Metrodome, Star Tribune reports.

Williams, 49, is a Marshalltown native and remembers taking the four-hour drive to the Minneapolis Metrodome as a child to watch his favorite team in action. Now, he is working with HKS inc. to design the stadium to replace it.

HKS was chosen to design the "Metrodome Next" on Friday. The firm, along with Williams, designed the stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis colts. The firm was chosen because of its experience with retractable roofs, an important feature in the new Vikings stadium, Finance & Commerce reports.

Williams said designing a 65,000 seat stadium that will fit into downtown Minneapolis setting will not be easy, but is confident it can be done with flair and with in the city's budget.

"There's nothing better than to watch people walk into a stadium you and your firm have worked on for years and watch the faces," Williams said. "It makes all that hard work worthwhile."

As I followed the story of George Hensley's stolen scooter, I saw how the reporter, Chao Xiong, updated the story with new news.

The original story gave the readers insight to the details of the theft. It explained in expanded detail when the scooter was stolen. It also explained where the bike was. What made the story something someone would want to follow was the story of George Hensley's battle with cancer. Xiong placed a large section on the battle with cancer Hensley had, and how he beat the odds. This explains why he needs the scooter, and adds emotion to the story.

The follow up story describes the new news about a law firm donating a used scooter to Hensley. It adds to the original story by explaining how the law firm heard about the story and wanted to help. The story then follows a very similar structure as the original story. It describes the original theft, with a few minor new details and describes the condition Hensley is in. The updated story overall has more detail and gives a happy ending to the story of Hensley's stolen scooter.

A St. Paul hospice patient had his scooter stolen days ago, but on Friday a St. Paul law firm gave him the gift of a new scooter, Startribune reports.

George Hensley, 45, had his electric scooter stolen on Tuesday afternoon. The scooter had been donated to Hensley by his hospice nurse and her father and getting a new one was something Hensley and his girlfriend were unable to afford.

Luckily, Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben, a Minneapolis Law Firm, donated a scooter to Hensley on Friday.

Hensleyis unable to walk due to complications from a brain tumor. After chemotherapy, doctors said he had only six months to live. He has defied those odds, but his prognosis is still unclear.

A new DNA test published Wednesday by can find genetic mutations in babies DNA in a couple of days, The New York Times reports.

Researchers at Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., used new technology for genetic sequencing to find genetic mutations in young babies in order to diagnose disease quicker.

The DNA test can identify 3,500 out of 7,500 genetic diseases. Of the 3,500 diseases that can be found, 500 have known treatments, Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, the lead author of the study, stated.

Kingsmore said the test can also be useful in the diagnosis of genetic diseases without treatments, "You can stop doing additional testing or stop giving futile treatments. Parents can get counseling about whether this can recur in a future child and get advice about how intense treatments can be."

This method of diagnosis can costs $13,500, and is not yet covered by insurance, The New York Times reports.

Kingsmore said although expensive, the test can be cost effective because every day a baby spends in intensive care costs about $8,000. An early diagnosis can decrease the days a baby spends in intensive care, making the test pay for itself quickly.

Kingsmore also added that he hopes insurance will soon cover the cost and in the meantime is hoping philanthropists will help reduce the cost.

At least 38 people were killed in Hong Kong on Monday when two boats collided in Victoria Harbor, CNN reports.

The two boats, the Sea Smooth ferry and Lamma IV, a Hong Kong Electric company vessel, collided in Victoria Harbor, an area that was more crowded than usual due to National China Day festivities, CNN reports.

All of the confirmed dead were on the Lamma IV. The vessel was carrying 120 people, which included staff members of Hong Kong Electric and their families, to enjoy the festivities of the weekend, The New York Times reports.

Two of the Hong Kong Electric's vessel captains and five other crew members have been arrested on suspicion of endangering the safety of others at sea, according to a official police statement.

This event marks China's worst maritime accident in 40 years, The New York Times reports.