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According to a New York Times article, police in New Jersey are being urged by everyone from their governor to their police chiefs to make their gang related cases with as few witnesses as possible. Because of violence against witnesses, the attitude has changed from getting as many witnesses as possible to present the strongest case one of building the best case with the fewest witnesses in order to protect them.
Pakistan's President Musharraff refuesd again on Saturday to give in to the US's demands that he end emergency rule, and release several thousand of his political enemies. Musharraff has been a strong ally against extremism in the past, but the future of the relationship looks grim unless something changes.This Times of London article is very informative.
Accordin to a New York Times aritcle, Senator John McCain intends to use a much different tactic than his Repubican competitors. McCain said in a speech he made on the 18th in New Hampshire that while he disagrees with Senator Clinton on policy issues, he respects her as a person and a political leader, and will stick to arguing the issues with her.
School officials say that a student on the Brooklyn Park campus was diagnosed with an active and infectous form of the disease. Friends, family, and those who worked closely with the student have been screened, and noone has tested positive. More information can be found with the Pioneer Press.
Ishanna Rambachan and Nicole L. Novak, both of St. Olaf college, were selected as 2 of the United States's 32 Rhodes scholars for this year. Both had gone above and beyond, serving the global community admirably in addition to having stellar academic performances. Gary DeKray, the Rhodes Scholarship advisor at St. Olaf said "There are few liberal arts colleges that got any, and two is phenomenal." The Star Tribune has more information.
About 1000 tons of fuel oil were spilled in the Black Sea after the tanker Volganeft split open in a storm. The extent of the ecological damage from the spill remains to be seen, but because it is thick fuel oil, it will probably be severe. The sailors were later rescued, The New York Times reported.
A police officer was trying to break up a scuffle, between fans of two soccer teams, when his gun when off, killing one of the fans. This sparked riots, an attack on a police station, a bridge was blocked off, and cars were set on fire. The Star Tribune picked up the brief.
The Supreme Court may hear a case soon about whether a District of Columbia gun control law is constitutional. Theywil ahve to decide whether the Ammendment truly protects an individual's right to possess arms, or if it only protects the rights of members of state militias to own weapons. The case has been carefuly constructed to force the nation's highest court to make a ruling on the issue. Star Tribune
Sonia Pitt, the MNdot's emergency management director was fired on Friday at noon for a series of innapropriate actions. She remained in Washington, D.C. to pursue a personal relationship during and after the collapse of the I-35W bridge. She is also under investigation for abusing her position by taking trips using state money, and using her business cell phone for personal use and taking pay for vaction days. The Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press both picked up the story.
Minneapolis's municipal Wi-Fi project is having much more success than its counterparts in other major cities such as San Francisco, Houston, and Chicago. The project is six weeks behind schedule, due to early difficulties, but is now progressing at a much greater rate. Also, service has improved on the existing parts of the network. The rest of the story is on the Star Tribune's website.
Devices which emits a powerful radio transmission that block cell phone transmissions are rising in popularity as cell phone use becomes more obnoxious. The devices vary in strength and price, with some merely interrupting a call, and others creating dead zones. One thing that doesn't change is their illegality: interfering with the cell phne airwaves carrries an $11,000 fine for first offenders. More details from the Star Tribune.
Homeless-outreach workers found the body of a homeless man who fell off the river bluffs at 10:30 Saturday morning. The man's name has not been released, and police say the death appears to be accidental. The short article is here on twincities.com
Scientists are studying a new option for keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere. They are considering pumping around 1 million tons of CO2 each year into a remnant of an ancient sea below North Dakota. Unfortunately, this solution is both temporary and takes care of only a very small amount of CO2. Another option is to store the CO2 in vegetation. The article is here on the Star Tribune website.
Meredith Whitney, a CIBC analyst has been recieving threats after she predicted Citigroup's poor performance. Whitney, who was Forbes magazine's 2nd rated stock analyst for 2007, predcicted that Citigroup would perform below the market, after they posted a large drop in profits last quarter. The stock dropped almost 7 percent on Thursday. More information can be found in severeal articles in The Times of London