February 2010 Archives

A climber who fell into the crater of Mount St. Helens Monday was found dead Tuesday, said officials.

According to the LA TImes, Joseph Bohlig, 52, was posing for a picture Monday on the rim of the crater when the snow overhang he was standing on gave way.

The body was air lifted into Carson, Washington and then transported to the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy, according to CNN.

County undersheriff David Cox said that Bohlig had climbed the volcano 68 times before the accident.

The Sudanese government signed an agreement Saturday in N'Djamena with Darfur rebels to help resolve the conflict in the region, said President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

The rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, said the agreement signed Saturday was not a formal peace deal, but only set out terms for negotiations.

A formal framework agreement for a cease-fire with the rebels will be signed next week by the Sudanese government, according to both the rebels and state media.

Bashir said he would cancel death sentences for prisoners who were a part of the rebel group and he would release 30 percent of them immediately, according to Reuters.

According to CNN, Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement signed a confidence-building agreement last year in Qatar.

Rebel spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam said the truce would be temporary and dependent on the actions of the Sudanese government.

The reporter who wrote the Associated Press article about a helicopter crash summarizes the important elements in the lead by stating that the helicopter crashed, with a child on board, and that three people died, with the possibility of more victims. He/She also gives the day it occurred on and that it happened north of Phoenix. He orders the story by starting with a description of the event from a witnesses point of view, followed by a quote from the witness. He/She then describes the aftermath of the crash and ends with details about the owner of the helicopter and the investigation of the crash. I find it was done effectively, because it lists all of the facts in order of importance to the reader, although I think the first quote could have been paraphrased, but that is more of a personal preference since I don't care for quotes in stories.

Police said a man smashed 29 TVs at a Wal-Mart in Lilburn, Georgia.

Westley Strellis was charged with 29 counts of criminal damage to property in the second degree after he picked up a baseball bat in the sporting goods section of a Wal-Mart and started smashing flat-screen TVs, according to USA Today.

The televisions are valued at over $22,000, and it is unknown whether Strellis has an attorney or not, according to The Associated Press.

A couple who's child was having an apparent seizure was given a ride to the hospital by the Mayor of St. Paul Friday night.

According to the Pioneer Press a couple who's child seemed to be having a seizure frantically ran into the street and flagged down the first car they saw.

Coleman told the couple to get in and he drove the couple and their infant son to United Hospital, said St. Paul police Cmdr. Doug Holtz.

According to the Star Tribune, the condition of the child is not known.

A St. Paul gang member pleaded guilty Friday to shooting another man in early December.

Rashad Burch, 25, will be sentenced on April 13 and entered into a plea agreement that calls for a sentence of no less than 18 years, according to the Star Tribune.

Burch was called to help during a fight between two women in an apartment building parking lot on E. Maryland Avenue, according to a criminal complaint.

Burch ran up to a van which the victim, Dwight Tate, was sitting in and began firing shots. Tate was able to run away, but was then struck by a vehicle, according to the Pioneer Press.

Three people were killed Sunday when a helicopter crashed in Arizona, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

The helicopter crashed in the afternoon in Cave Creek, Arizona, about 35 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona, according to CNN.

Police said that there are three confirmed victims, including one child, but since the helicopter could hold up to six people they are searching for more victims.

Debris was scattered over several hundred feet and nearby residents were contacted to make sure no one was hurt, according to The Associated Press.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

Apolo Anton Ohno won the silver medal Saturday in the men's 1,500 meter short-track speedskating event at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Ohno was in line to finish fourth, but advanced to second place after two Koreans in front of him, Lee Ho-Suk and Sung Si-Bak, took each other out, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Ohno's silver medal put him ahead of Eric Heiden as the most decorated American male athlete in Winter Olympic history, according to the USA Today.

Ohno has three more races in this year's Olympics, and only needs one more medal to bypass Bonnie Blair as the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian, male or female.

In the Star Tribune article about a car that had started on fire contained only one real source, which was the woman driving the vehicle, Kathey Rich, whom they must have interviewed after the incident. They never overtly attribute any facts to her or anyone else, they just used direct and indirect quotes from her. Attributions are scattered throughout the article in the form of quotes from Rich. The information is directly from people, Kathy Rich. The attribution is not really set up, quotes are just taken from Rich. I find that it is somewhat effective in that it was easily assumed that the quotes come from an interview with Rich and a reporter. But it is confusing because they never say that they spoke to the woman themselves, so it could be the case that someone else did the interviews, but they would have had to attribute the interviewer, but they did not, so I assumed that they interviewed her themselves.

Jail officials in Washington state intercepted a cantaloupe filled with drugs on Monday.

According to the World Entertainment News Network officers thought there was something odd about the melon when they saw it was cut near the top. After further investigation they found a bag of oxycodone pills and some tobacco inside.

The Associated Press said that the jail routinely receives surplus food from area grocery stores and unauthorized materials have come with it before.

A surveillance camera caught two woman dropping off the melon at a Plaza Super Jet and employees called in to the jail after watching the video, according to the AP.

A St. Paul police dog that was shot last year was honored Saturday in Minneapolis.

The dog, Boomer, was injured in the line of duty on April 6 last year and was inducted into the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association Hero Animal Hall of Fame on Saturday.

According to the Star Tribune Boomer and St. Paul police officer Patrick Murphy responded to a call last April and found an armed man in an alley. While attempting to get to the suspect Boomer was shot at and hit in the head.

Boomer was then rushed to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center where he had surgery and survived.

An investigation later showed that Boomer was likely hit by police fire, according to the Pioneer Press.

A mattress lying on Interstate 494 in Woodbury caused a SUV to burst into flames on Jan. 31.

According to the Star Tribune the driver, Kathleen Rich, said she saw the car in front of her drive over it, but she was unable to change lanes due to heavy traffic.

Rich said she hit the mattress but thought she had left it behind until other drivers started motioning her to pull over. After she pulled over on an exit ramp her and her friend jumped out of the car and flames shot out from under the vehicle, according to the Associated Press.

"I loved that RAV4," Rich said. "I just loved it. I had it since it was new."

Three people were killed Saturday after two planes collided in midair near Boulder, CO, authorities said.

The pilot of one of the planes, a single-seat Piper Pawnee, was killed, but the glider it was towing was able to detach and land safely, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Department.

At least two people on board the other plane, a Cirrus SR 20, were killed, although the plane seated up to five, according to the sheriff's department.

CNN reported that a parachute did deploy for one of the aircraft, but no one was attached to it.

The debris was scattered over a 1 1/2-mile region near a suburban area, but no one on the ground was hurt, according to MSNBC.

Iran announced on Wednesday it had launched a rocket carrying several small animals into space.

An Iranian state-run news agency said the rocket was launched to commemorate the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution on Feb. 11. The launch of the rocket also coincided with Iran's Space Day, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Last year when Iran announced that it was planning a series of satellite launches the U.S. government expressed concerns over the matter.

"Although this appears to be [a] satellite, there are dual-use capabilities that could be applied to missiles, and that's a concern to us and everybody in region," said a U.S. Defense Department spokesman at the time.

According to CNN the Pentagon dismissed claims made by Iran in 2008 saying that they has launched a vehicle into orbit capable of carrying a satellite. The Pentagon said the rocket was too unstable to leave Earth's atmosphere.