The News Blog of Marco LaNave

President Barack Obama announced on Friday his plan to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq within 18 months, the Star reported.

Obama told 2,000 Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., that combat operations would end by August 31, 2010, with many troops being withdrawn from Iraq, where 4,250 U.S. soldiers have died, the International Herald Tribune reported.

He said he plans to leave 30,000 to 50,000 in Iraq until the end of 2011, the Mail Online reported. Their purpose would be to train and equip the Iraqi army, protect civilian reconstruction projects, and conduct counter-terrorism operations.

While following through on a campaign promise to end the war in Iraq, Obama had also ordered 17,000 troops to Afghanistan last week, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Obama's plan for involvement in Iraq spurred criticism from many Republicans. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain, however, said he believes the plan is reasonable and plans to support it, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Obama said his administration would pursue regional diplomacy in the Middle East, including with Iran and Syria, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Obama shared his plans with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and with former President George W. Bush, before his address in Camp Lejeune, the Star reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A winter storm swept through Minnesota on Thursday, and was projected to leave 6 to 10 inches of snow in the area, the Pioneer Press reported.

The cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis declared snow emergencies, which came into effect at 9 p.m., Thursday, the Star Tribune reported. Several suburbs did the same.

The Pioneer Press reported there had been two traffic fatalities, including a snowplow striking and killing a pedestrian in Minneapolis.

The snowfall had a major effect on transportation, causing several dozen car accidents, traffic jams, airport delays, and metro bus slowdowns, the Pioneer Press reported. St. Paul Regions Hospital had treated several slip-and-fall victims by late afternoon Thursday.

The University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota both canceled late-afternoon and evening classes on Thursday, the Star Tribune reported. Many districts throughout the state ended the school day early.

Temperatures are not expected to climb above freezing until Tuesday, the Star Tribune reported.

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The District of Columbia will have another chance at gaining a full representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, after the Senate voted on Tuesday to consider a bill that would add two seats to the House, beginning in January 2011, the New York Times reported.

The bill would include addition of a House seat for the District and add another representative for Utah, presumably adding one Democratic and one Republican seat to bring the total to 437 representatives, the Washington Post reported. The District currently has a delegate without full voting power in the House.

The Senate voted 62 to 34 to consider such legislation for the first time since 1978. Two years ago, a Senate filibuster blocked it from consideration, the Washington Post reported.

The District's population of 600,000 is comparable to that of multiple states, the New York Times reported.

Opponents of the bill argue that it contradicts the Constitution's statement that representatives are chosen "by the people of the several states," the Washington Post reported.

Although there is optimism about the bill's passage and the support of President Obama, a court challenge or constitutional amendment may stand in its way, the New York Times reported.

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A Minneapolis mosque has scheduled an open house, with prayer and dinner, for Wednesday evening, supposedly in response to rumors that Somali-American youth were leaving the Minneapolis area and returning to Somalia to join militias, the Star Tribune reported.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations-MN has invited FBI Director Robert Mueller to the open house at the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, after Mueller said Monday that a Minneapolis man had become the first U.S. citizen to carry out a terrorist suicide bombing, after he was "radicalized in his hometown in Minnesota," the Pioneer Press reported via the Associated Press.

An FBI special agent in Minnesota said that Mueller would not be able to attend the event on such short notice, the Star Tribune reported.

An Abubukar spokesman said Monday that the mosque had nothing to do with the disappearances of several Somali youth from the Minneapolis area, after which the mosque had received hate calls and emails, the Star Tribune reported.

CAIR-MN spokeswoman Jessica Zikri said the event is open to people of all faiths and will demonstrate that Muslims share the same concerns as other Minnesotans, the Star Tribune reported.

The open house will include an Islamic prayer and a dinner of Middle Eastern and African food. Guests will include local police commanders. The event will include speeches, and a question-and-answer session, the Star Tribune reported.

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International Criminal Court judges announced Monday that they will decide on March 4 whether to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, USA Today reported via the Associated Press.

The decision will concern the July 14, 2008, application for an arrest warrant against Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, and the statement of the ICC noted that there had been rumors about the date and outcome of the decision.

Prosecutors have filed 10 charges against al-Bashir, accusing him of genocide and crimes against humanity, USA Today reported.

Al-Bashir could become the first sitting head of state for whom an arrest warrant had been issued by the ICC, which has operated since 2002, USA Today reported.

The Sudanese undersecretary for foreign affairs said that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Sudanese citizens, and that the country's judiciary is capable of handling all such matters, USA Today reported.

Sudan is currenlty in peace talks with one Darfur rebel group over the war that began in 2003, and, according to U.N. officials, has seen the death of up to 300,000 people, and the displacement of 2.7 million others, USA Today reported.

There was fear that a decision could lead to more violence, but the undersecretary said the government would continue to pursue peace throughout the country, USA Today reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune's stories on consecutive days covering a shooting differed in length, leads, and content.

The first story detailed the medical condition of a Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy after he was shot on Wednesday. Its lead detailed the latest medical information in the first few paragraphs, and then described the events surrounding the shooting, and information about the suspects.

The second story was a short update of the subject's condition, leading with the latest activity of the subject in the hospital. It included the reports of doctors who had operated on the subject. The final paragraph mentioned the names of the suspects and the status of the charges.

The first story may have been built from an original report of the events surrounding the shooting. The medical update that began the story might have simply been added to an original draft.

The second story, which came a full day later seemed to have been written with the assumption that most of the information in the first story was not necessary. This was probably correct, since many parts of the overall story would have been old news at that time. After tying the lead to an ongoing story, it starts right into the latest news. It only additionally includes the most crucial other part of the story: the identification of suspects and the charges. This is a good choice, because those will likely be pieces of whatever further news develops from the story.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Barack Obama spoke to the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., on Friday, saying that he expects mayors to be responsible and accountable in using money from the economic stimulus package on the local level, the New York Times reported.

The president said that, in asking for Americans' trust in its handling of the economic stimulus package, the government has "obligations to spend that money wisely, free from politics and free from personal agendas," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported via the Associated Press.

The president said that he would "call out" any federal agencies and state or local governments that propose wasteful spending, the Journal-Constitution reported.

Earlier in the week, the administration released the outline for how government agencies and other organizations will be required to report spending. Reports will then be accessible through a new website devoted to the Journal-Constitution reported.

The Times reported that two mayors said that they were focused on how to use the money, rather than on questioning the passed legislation.

Some pointed to the need for the state leaders to properly and efficiently administer the funds to the local governments, the Journal-Constitution reported.

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North Korea is prepared for an "all-out confrontation," as released by the Korean Central News Agency Thursday, the Manila Times reported.

The statement by a spokesman of the Army General Staff came the same day that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was scheduled to arrive in Seoul to meet with South Korean officials, the Statesman reported.

After repeated threats against South Korea in recent weeks, North Korea is thought to be preparing for a long-range missile launch in a matter of weeks. The missile, which is suspected to be able to reach as far as Alaska, would likely be the same one that was tested in 2006, the Star Online reported via Reuters.

South Korea's defense minister said that there may be a naval confrontation in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea. The previous agreement over the area was among multiple agreements that North Korea chose to discard last month, the Manila Times reported.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is unpopular in North Korea because he has put restrictions on aid to the North since taking office last year, the Star Online reported.

North Korea may also be concerned about military drills that South Korea and the United States plan to conduct in mid-March, the Manila Times reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 2:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mercury concentrations in northern pike and walleye have increased since the mid-1990s, after a substantial decrease over the previous decade, according to a study released Tuesday, the Pioneer Press reported.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency conducted the study, which was published last week in Environmental Science & Technology. The data were collected from fish in 845 Minnesota lakes, the Star Tribune reported.

The results are surprising, MPCA scientist Bruce Monson told the Pioneer Press. The increase in methylmercury is a concern, because it contaminates fish, and can harm humans or other plants and animals.

Monson and the other MPCA scientists have concluded that the primary source of the mercury is unlikely to be local, since the observed increase is statewide, the Star Tribune reported.

Increased mercury emissions worldwide, as well as global climate change, contribute to the problem. Emissions in Minnesota, however, have decreased significantly over the past two decades, the Pioneer Press reported.

The mercury in the atmosphere can be converted into methylmercury by aqueous bacteria, and enters the food chain, resulting in high concentrations among large predatory fish, the Star Tribune reported.

The MPCA scientists are advocating for addressing the issue by reducing mercury emissions internationally, the Star Tribune reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A task force of two dozen legislators and interest leaders presented a plan Monday for a Green Enterprise Authority, the Pioneer Press reported.

After nearly a year of research, the Green Jobs Task Force made recommendations about how the state economy can integrate green jobs, the Star Tribune reported via The Associated Press.

Task Force co-chair Sen. Ellen Anderson said that the proposals would create 20,000 new jobs and retain 50,000 more by 2020, the Star Tribune reported.

In addition to helping to create green jobs, the Authority would be concerned with grant and loan programs, public renovations for energy efficiency, and water recycling, the Pioneer Press reported.

The Authority could include one or members of the state government, so as to utilize state agencies and finances, the Pioneer Press reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez will be eligible to run for more terms of office, as determined by the passing of a referendum Sunday that overturned the two-term limit for the presidency, the Times Online reported.

Chávez, who first won election in 1998, will not have to step away from re-election in 2012, as decided by the 54 percent support for the amendment, the Australian reported via Reuters.

Chávez failed in his 2007 efforts to amend the constitution, but the referendum passed by a wider margin than expected, the Australian reported.

He said he will need 10 more years to complete the revolution he has promoted, the Times Online reported.

Opponents of Chávez claim that he seeks to emulate the lifetime rule of Cuba's Fidel Castro. They claimed that the campaign for the referendum was illegally funded, and suspected electoral fraud, the Times Online reported.

Chávez claimed that his opponents were attempting to override the will of the people. He had also said that a vote against the referendum went in the direciton of violence and chaos, the Times Online reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about the proposal for a massive green power line across the Midwest opened with a standard lead. The monetary figures were in the lead, clearly stating the financial weight of the story.

The second paragraph explained which company had offered the plan and a little more about exactly what it is.

The story was broken into sections by sub-headings, which were carefully titled with generally positive terms: "Renewable energy" and "Power upgrades." Such a structure, which allowed for a more thorough explanation of the plan, could have been designed to inform readers who may not be able to quickly identify the factors in a green energy effort.

Clear statistics about costs are included early in the story. Key statistics of concern are repeated throughout the story, but the story generally consists of pieces that are held together in one spot per idea.

The story seems to be built by an introduction of the news - the proposal for a green power line - followed by analysis of major components of the proposal that may be of interest to those who would be affected by the project being considered, and those who have interest in the project and its planning process.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has selected a leader for the newly created Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity, the Star Tribune reported.

Luz Maria Frias, who has been the director of external affairs, will lead a focused effort to address the interplay of economic issues in - and the city's relations with - minority communities, the Star Tribune reported.

The department's goal is equal opportunity, which will be promoted through work on human rights, minority outreach, and city contracting, the Pioneer Press reported.

Several issues have surfaced over the years leading to the creation of the department. An audit determined that businesses owned by women or minorities received less than 7 percent of the money of all city contracts in 2006, the Star Tribune reported.

Frias, who will begin a three-year term on Feb. 23, was not originally a finalist for the position, the Pioneer Press reported. But the mayor and the search committee leader said they were pleased with the selection of Frias, the Star Tribune reported.

The mayor and the city's Human Rights Commission will oversee the new department, the Pioneer Press reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Taliban in the Swat valley of Pakistan agreed Sunday to a 10-day cease-fire with the Pakistani army after over a year of fighting, BBC News reported.

Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad, who was released by the government just last year, had been in negotiations with the government of the Northwest Frontier Province, BBC News reported.

The agreement will include the implementation of Shariah, Islamic law, in the region. One component is that Islamic experts will join judges in carrying out decisions consistent with Shariah, the Globe and Mail reported.

President Asif Zardari expressed concern in an interview with CBS about the influence of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Globe and Mail reported.

One Pakistani analyst claimed the cease-fire was a "surrender," another interpreted it as indication of the country's failed legal system. But officials in the Northwest Frontier Province said the agreement is necessary for improvement of conditions in the region, the Globe and Mail reported.

Swat had formerly been a major tourist destination, BBC News reported.

A formal announcement of the agreement is expected Monday, the Globe and Mail reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally settling on a $787 billion bill, Congress passed the national economic stimulus legislation Friday, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported.

Voting on the bill was partisan, as no House Republicans voted in favor of the package, and just three Republican senators gave their support, the Journal reported.

The Senate had adopted a rule that the bill would require 60 votes to pass. For that reason, the bill waited for the vote of Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who was traveling to Washington on Friday, the Times reported.

The bill includes provisions for tax cuts and credits, and spending on unemployment benefits, education and health care in states, infrastructure, and scientific and technological research, the Journal reported.

The Congressional Budget Office anticipates that nearly three quarters of the package will be spent in the next year and a half, the Times reported.

The amount of the bill will be equal to 2.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product over the next two years, as compared to the New Deal legislation of the 1930s that never rose above 1.5 percent of the annual U.S. GDP, White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer told the Journal.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Michigan power company released plans on Monday for a $10-12 billion green power line that would span the Upper Midwest, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.

ITC Holdings Corp. of Novi, Mich., said that its plans for the 3,000-mile Green Power Express are consistent with ideas expressed by President Barack Obama for harnessing of wind energy in the Midwest for transmission to densely populated areas, the Star Tribune reported.

ITC estimated that the project could save the equivalent of carbon emissions from several large coal-fired power plants, the Star Tribune reported.

The project is estimated to take around ten years to complete. ITC Chairman and CEO Joseph Welch said that the company hopes to have the Green Power Express built by 2020, the Journal-Sentinel reported.

There is some concern, at least in Wisconsin, that the proposed power lines would carry 765,000 volts of electricity, which is over twice the amount carried by Wisconsin's highest-voltage lines, the Journal-Sentinel reported.

ITC submitted an application on Monday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and will probably need to have the project approved by the involved states, the Star Tribune reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Dalai Lama became an honorary citizen of Rome during a ceremony with the mayor on Monday, but China expressed disapproval a day later, VOA News reported.

The Tibetan spiritual leader received honorary citizenship in a ceremony with Mayor Gianni Alemanno and the city council. The mayor said the honor acknowledged the Dalai Lama's efforts for peace and human rights, VOA News reported.

The Dalai Lama stated his commitment to promotion of the individual, inter-religious dialogue, and resolving the situation in Tibet, VOA News reported.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that Italian relations with the Chinese could be negatively impacted if they are unresponsive to Rome's decision, The Australian reported.

A statement by the Italian Foreign Ministry said that Italian mayors are independent of the national government, and that Italy supports a united China, RIA Novosti reported.

Rome's city council had approved the idea last September, the Australian reported.

As he continues his trip through Europe, the Dalai Lama will also receive honorary citizenship in Venice, VOA News reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sports Illustrated broke huge sporting news on Saturday with a report that baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for steroid use over five years ago.

For obvious reasons, SI did not name its sources in connection to Rodriguez's positive test, but carefully stated that four independent sources were giving information, and directly stated that the sources had spoken on condition of anonymity, and generally why they had done so. In addition to the four anonymous sources that supplied the main information of the story, SI cited three anonymous baseball players and two anonymous people with knowledge of Rodriguez's contract.

Relevant individuals or organizations were also sought for responses to the information of the anonymous sources. SI asked Rodriguez about the reported information before it was released. SI added parts of statements by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association that were released after the story was published.

SI also included information attributed to steroids experts, and a previous MLB-conducted investigation into steroid use. After stating a claim made by the investigation, the story included the reaction (or lack thereof) by the subject of the claim.

All of the sources seemed to have authority on the subject of the report, and contributed relevant information. Although the reader might be compelled to doubt some of the story because of the frequent use of anonymous sources, the story's credibility is bolstered by citing multiple sources for every fact contributed by anonymous sources.

The only direct quotations in the story were from the individuals who were asked to respond to claims in the story, and the statements issued by two organizations in response to the story. This seemed correct, since the information from other sources was largely factual and needed no embellishment as part of quotations.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sources have revealed that baseball star Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, Sports Illustrated reported.

Rodriguez, the third baseman for the New York Yankees, is on a list of 104 players (over 5 percent of who tested positive during the 2003 season, sources have told Sports Illustrated. Major League Baseball tested players anonymously in 2003 to assess the need for mandatory random drug testing that was eventually implemented - along with penalties for positive tests - in 2004. While refraining from comment about Rodriguez's tests, a statement by Major League Baseball said that 2003 testing "was intended to be non-disciplinary and anonymous."

Federal agents obtained Rodriguez's testing information in an April 2004 seizure of the 2003 test results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., as part of the investigation of 10 players linked to the steroid distribution activity of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative. The list of players, however, remains sealed in California, Sport Illustrated reported.

Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan (chemical name methenolone). As was the case in 2003, Primobolan is not an approved prescription drug, while testosterone can be taken with prescription, Sports Illustrated reported.

As the shortstop for the Texas Rangers in 2003, Rodriguez won the first of his three American League Most Valuable Player awards, leading the league in home runs for the third consecutive year.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In response to a complaint by a human rights organization, a Turkish prosecutor will open an investigation into Israel's recent attacks on Gaza, Arab News reported via Reuters.

The human rights organization Mazlum-Der filed a complaint against 19 Israeli officials - including Israel's prime minister, president, foreign minister, and defense minister - for crimes in connection with the 22-day offensive in Gaza that killed 1,300 Palestinians and wounded 5,400, Middle East Online reported.

The Ankara chief prosecutor's office will investigate whether there should be a prosecution for genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity, News 24 reported via the Associated Press.

Prosecutors are required to assess the need for full investigation when an official complaint is filed. Turkish law also allows for trials of such crimes, even if they were not committed in Turkey, Middle East online reported.

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Two former Ramsey Country sheriff's officers were sentenced Friday to over two years in prison for failing an FBI integrity test over four years ago, the Star Tribune reported.

Former St. Paul police officer Timothy Rehak and former Ramsey County sheriff's spokesman Mark Naylon were sentenced to 35 and 30 months in prison, respectively, the Pioneer Press reported.

Upon suspicion that the two men in the sheriff's special investigations unit had interfered with drug investigations, the FBI planted $13,500 in a St. Paul hotel room, and an informant told Rehak and Naylon that an arrested drug dealer had left drugs and money in the room, the Star Tribune reported.

Videotapes caught the two taking $6,000 of the money before their supervisor inspected the room. The attorneys for Rehak and Naylon argued that the men had played a practical joke on their supervisor, and had not violated the law, since the money was returned to the FBI, the Pioneer Press reported.

But U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz was unconvinced, and in sentencing the two Friday, he emphasized that their action was a reprehensible betrayal of public trust. He also fined each of them $7,500 and ordered them to report to the U.S. Marshals Service on March 9 to serve their prison time, the Pioneer Press reported.

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Thursday's beginning of the confirmation hearing of Leon Panetta as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency focused on his leadership as it would contrast to the doctrines and practices of the George W. Bush presidency, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported.

President Barack Obama has set out new rules of interrogation, but Panetta said that he would request approval from the administration to use methods outside of the outlined rules, if he believed interrogators were not able to extract information from a suspected terrorist, the Times reported.

Panetta said he believes that the CIA can collect information to protect the country and still abide by the law, the Times reported.

Panetta, a former chief of staff under President Bill Clinton said he believes waterboarding is indeed torture, although he said that government employees who carried out waterboarding upon being informed by the government that it was legal should not be prosecuted, the Journal reported.

Panetta was also asked about his flights on the airplane of an individual under investigation by the Senate Finance Committee and the Internal Revenue Service, the Journal reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not much could be cleared up between the Minnesota Legislature and the governor's office regarding funding for a teacher development and compensation program, after the state legislative auditor's office released a report that did not give it an explicitly positive or negative assessment, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

Quality Compensation - or Q-Comp - began in 2005 as a program to give state funding to school districts for teacher development and higher teacher salaries based on quality, the Star Tribune reported.

The report was presented Tuesday to the Minnesota Senate by the legislative auditor's office, which said that there was not enough evidence to determine whether the program positively or negatively affects student performance. The report also said that school administrators have a more positive view of the program than teachers have, and that both groups have a more positive view of the development component of Q-Comp than the increased salary component, the Star Tribune reported.

The state has spent $143 million on Q-Comp since it began. Governor Tim Pawlenty has proposed $41 million in increased funding for the program over the next two years. With the state's budget deficit, many legislators are not supportive of a spending increase for a program that might not have demonstrated a positive effect on schools. Others see Q-Comp as a project that can still improve the quality of public education. Either, it might be difficult for the state to increase its funding of Q-Comp, the Star Tribune reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The three men who gunned down Jeffery Lamont Logan during a botched robbery in St. Paul early Saturday could have just asked for the money.

Logan, 44, who had stepped up to defend his cousin when the trio accosted them, would have handed it over not out of fear, but from the goodness of his heart, his brother said Saturday. (Star Tribune 31 Jan. 2009)

This lead clearly identified the people in the story, including Logan, the man who was killed, and the three robbers who seem to be have been his killers. It says exactly what happened (a homicide); it contains the time and place of the incident, and a potential reason for the incident (the man tried to defend his cousin in a robbery). So, it does accomplish the usual tasks of a hard news lead: who, what, where, when, why. By naming the man, and adding the extra insight about his personally, the lead tells the reader that there is more to the story than just a local homicide.

The story discusses the facts of the homicide, but also provides a look into the life and personality of the homicide victim. Most of the information is provided by the man's brother. The lead prepares the reader for both of these elements, by both explaining the action of the event, and describing the behavior of the victim from a view of (perhaps admirable) personal qualities, and hinting at the picture that will be painted of the life of the man who is the subject of the article.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 44-year-old St. Paul man died from a Saturday morning shooting near the Attucks-Brooks American Legion Hall when he tried to intervene with three robbers, reported the Star Tribune.

Jeffrey Lamont Logan was coming to the aid of his cousin, who was being robbed by three men, Logan's brother told the Pioneer Press. Logan was shot in the alley, and died at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

The police briefly chased and then caught three men and placed them in the Ramsey County jail. It was the third homicide of the year in St. Paul.

The Star Tribune reported that many friends and relatives came to mourn Logan at the American Legion post on Saturday afternoon.

Members of the community were expressive of how considerate and self-sacrificing Logan had been throughout his life. He was a single man with a large extended family. He was born without a left hand, but played three sports at Highland Park high school, and attended St. Paul College. He had lived in St. Paul his entire life, the Pioneer Press reported.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Provincial elections were held in Iraq for the first time in four years Saturday, with few violent incidents.

U.S. and Iraqi security forces had implemented major security measures for the election, including thorough screenings at polling entrances, reported the Associated Press.

Provinical council elections were held in all but four of the 18 Iraqi provinces, reported Al Jazeera. The councils nominate governors and finance public projects.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who will be seeking re-election later this year, said that Saturday's elections were an important step for the country and an evaluation of its progress.

The Times Online reported that 15 million Iraqis, just over half of the population were registered to vote. Sunnis had boycotted the elections four years ago, but had a substantial turnout Saturday.

The Associated Press reported that, in some areas, there were voters claiming that they were omitted from the voting registries.

Leading up to the election, there were a few concerns about candidates and political parties buying votes, reported Al Jazeera. Five to eight candidates had been killed leading up to the election.

Results are not expected until Tuesday.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)