Hakanson's Headlines

I chose the story Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze from Extra Extra.

Journalists researched a ton of leaked records and names to create this story and to make their multimedia. The journalists had to look at many facts and figures like money transfers to figure out where the money was going and coming from. The journalists had to have good research skills to be able to find information about these records to help them see what the records were saying. They had to use high-tech data crunching to sift through emails and other documents that covered almost 30 years.
The very first multimedia graphic the news organization used was a great graphic of an older white man with a 100 dollar bill behind him and his eyes covered with a black streak. There is a video that is titled "Tax Haven 101" that tells you about going offshore with your money. There is a map of the key tax haven clients in the world. There are three interactive graphics and another video on how to dodge tax. This article has multiple graphics to keep the reader entertained, even though the story itself is rather entertaining.

The new Italian government was sworn in at the presidential Quirinale Palace in Rome, reported the BBC.

The new government is being called the "grand coalition" with Democratic Party Deputy Leader (PD), Enrico Letta, as prime minister including Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL), reported the BBC.

Politicians were the supposed targets of the gunman, reported the Associated Press.

Italy has been in a "political deadlock" since February's inconclusive election, reported the AP.

Rome Prosecutor Pierfilippo Laviani said the the "'desperate" gunman had `'lost work, had lost everything." He said the man "wanted to shoot politicians, but given that he couldn't reach any, he shot the Carabinieri" police at the edge of Chigi Square," reported the AP.

A man by the name of Luigi Preiti has been arrested and has confessed to targeting politicians, reported the BBC.

Denise Specht won the vote Saturday replacing current president Tom Dooher, reported the Star Tribune.

Previously, Specht was Education Minnesota's secretary-treasurer, reported the Star Tribune.

She will begin her three-year term on July 1, reported the Pioneer Press.

"My focus is on collaboration and building relationships," Specht said, reported the Pioneer Press. "We are going to be a union known for solving problems and innovation."

The driver of the SUV, that rolled Friday north of Interstate 694 sending all seven in the vehicle to the hospital, had been drinking, reported the Star Tribune.

Jennifer L. Teetzel, 35, of Minneapolis, was the driver of the vehicle and was the only one wearing a seat belt, reported the Star Tribune.

Many were thrown from the vehicle and one of the occupants that wasn't wearing a seat belt was a 4-year-old boy, reported the Pioneer Press.

The cause of the accident is still unknown and under investigation, reported the Pioneer Press.

President Obama had some fun at the dinner, joking about himself saying, "I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be," and that if Republicans were looking to win over the minority, they could start with him, reported the BBC.

He took a serious turn though paying tribute to the injured and killed from the Boston bombing and the Texas fertilizer plant explosion, reported the BBC.

The dinner also played host to many celebrities and was being hastagged as #nerdprom on Twitter, reported The Washington Post.

Michael Douglas, who has played a U.S. president and been in the presence of many others, said that the difference between Hollywood presidency and real presidency is that "We know how the script ends," reported The Post.

The dinner has always been about honoring good journalism and handing out scholarships, but in recent years it has been under criticism with people saying that the journalists get too cozy with the people they cover, reported The Post.

France became the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage Tuesday, reported the BBC.

The law, passed by 321 votes to 225 in the French parliament, also allows same-sex couples to adopt children, reported the BBC.

The first weddings could be as soon as June, France's Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said, reported The Washington Post, (via The Associated Press)

The Catholic Church says that legalizing gay marriage "undermines an essential building block of society," reported the BBC.

"We believe that the first weddings will be beautiful and that they'll bring a breeze of joy, and that those who are opposed to them today will surely be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families," Christiane said, reported the BBC.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is awaiting questioning after being found Friday seriously injured in a suburban backyard, reported the BBC.

Officials had piles of bloody clothing and abandoned bags as well as tons of video footage to look through after the explosions, reported The Washington Post.

They were looking for people "doing things that are different from what everybody else is doing," Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said, reported The Post.

Tsarnaev's brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a shoot out with police, reported the BBC.

Their mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, said in an interview she was "100% sure that this is set up" and that her sons had nothing to do with the bombings, reported the BBC.

Despite the freezing weather with sleet raining down on them, supporters of legalizing gay marriage rallied at the state capitol Thursday, reported the Pioneer Press.

"People don't want to be civil-unioned, they want to be married," Gov. Mark Dayton told the crowd, reported the Pioneer Press. "We're going to get this thing through."

"Yes to marriage, yes to same-sex marriage, yes to the constitutional right, the American right, to marry the person you love," Dayton told the hundreds of supporters, reported the Star Tribune.

The DFL-controlled Legislature is weeks away from voting on a measure that would legalize gay marriage in Minnesota, making it the 10th state to do so, reported the Star Tribune.

This event doesn't seem to be a random act, reported the Pioneer Press.

Marcos Antino Pantaleon, 19, of Shakopee, was the man killed while two other men were injured, reported the Pioneer Press.

Three suspects walked into a Shakopee apartment Friday night, and opened fire on the victims, reported the Star Tribune.

The three suspects remain at large but local police say that there is "no general threat to the public", reported the Star Tribune.

Even with her death dividing the nation, the funeral of Margaret Thatcher, "The Iron Lady", took place Wednesday silencing the bell of Big Ben and brought many mourners to see the procession, reported The Washington Post.

More than 2,000 people were at the funeral in St. Paul's Cathedral making it the biggest of such events since the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002, reported the BBC.

Prime Minister David Cameron called it a "fitting tribute" to such a major figure, reported the BBC.

A state funeral is usually reserved for monarchs, but Thatcher received the military honors and the pomp unfurled making it the most elaborate ceremony since the goodbye of Winston Churchill, reported The Post.

"Of course people have the right to disagree and take a different view. But when you're mourning the passing of an 87-year-old woman who was the first woman prime minister, who served for longer in the job than anyone for 150 years I think it's appropriate to show respect," Cameron said, reported the BBC.