Nicholas Lawrence's News Blog

Sunday morning witnessed a terrible act at a North Carolina nursing home when a gunman entered and killed six people and wounded three, according to BBC News.

The Pinelake Health and Rehab Center in Carthage N.C., about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh, was victim of a bloody shooting after a gunman entered at approximately 10 a.m. Sunday, according to CBS News.

The gunman was injured in attempt to apprehend him by police, according to The Associated Press.

A police officer was injured during the shooting but was "fine", reported BBC News.

The victims were brought to Moore Regional Hospital in Raleigh and further information would not be released, according to The Associated Press.

Chief of Police at the Carthage Polic Department, Chris McKenzie, only would say the shooter was an "adult male", according to BBC News.

Posted by lawre200 at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hundreds of millions of people followed the Earth Hour protocal and turned off their lights for one hour Saturday night, reported the Associated Press.

Following the success of the hour of darkness, environmentalists say, "nations have a mandate to tackle climate change" (The Associated Press).

Yvo de Boer, United Nations' top climate official, said it was now clear that the world seeks the nation's governments to ambitiously fight global warming, according to the Associated Press.

"The world said yes to climate action, now governments must follow," the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) told the Associated Press Sunday.

Schools and businesses across UK, Belfast, London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester paticipated in the event Saturday night, according to BBC News.

Posted by lawre200 at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 42-year-old Big Lake man shot and killed his girlfriend's son then raced down Interstate 94 with a hostage and killed himself after a standoff with authorities early Saturday morning, reported WCCO.

Peter Tek, 42, made a final phone call to his son before he put an end to the pursuit himself.

"I said, 'Dad are you serious?' He starts crying and then I start crying," Phath Bauer, Tek's 18 year-old son told WCCO. "I said, 'Dad, what are you going to do?' He said, 'I'm going to kill myself.' And I was like, 'Dad, no!'"

According to the Sherburne County Sheriff's Department Tek had shot and killed Savang Sath earlier that morning and then fled holding his girlfriend hostage, reported WCCO.

Deputies chased Tek westbound on Interstate 94 until stop sticks were used to stop the car, St. Cloud police negotiated with him for two hours, according to WCCO.

Authorities closed down a 2-mile strip on the freeway for about two hours while traffic was detoured, reported the Star Tribune.

The acts that took place Saturday morning left the families in shock; they believed something very serious had to have happened to push him over the edge, according to WCCO.

Tek had recently lost his job of 20 years but the families still had no idea he would be pushed this far, reported WCCO.

Posted by lawre200 at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An 81-year old man was vicously robbed on Sunday; a Brooklyn Park teenager faces the charges, reported WCCO.

Christopher Lamor Johnson, 16, was charged with first-degree assault and burglary after he allegedly beat and attempted to steal money from Norman Arneson in his Brooklyn Center home, reported WCCO.

Arneson was admitted to North Memorial Medical Center immediatley and recieved emergency brain surgery on Sunday and was due to undergo another brain surgery on Thursday, reported the Star Tribune.

"He's just not our dad right now," Vickie Trainor, one of Arneson's three daughters, told the Star Tribune. "That day, we never would have recognized him because his face was so beat up."

A neighbor called 911 after she saw the two teens force themselves into Arneson's home on the 5700 block of Northport Drive, reported the Star Tribune.

Police arrested Johnson after they found him, with the assistance of a K-9 unit, in the victims garage, hiding under his car, according to WCCO.

Johnson told officials he committed the burglary because he needed money, according to KSTP TV.

Posted by lawre200 at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Star Tribune

The lead takes a different approach than how it is standardly used. It did provide an antecdote but it doesn't state his death till the fourth paragraph. Sources used were Navy records, his son, and probably some other records, but I believe more could have been used. Maybe the first man discharged from WWII wasn't as high profile as other obits though. I feel this obit is a little too similar to a resume, this article only differs personal aspect and the small attribution by his son.

Posted by lawre200 at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The shuttle Discovery returned to Earth on Saturday after completing a construction mission at the International Space Station, reported the Associated Press.

Discovery ended their 13 day mission Saturday which left the International Space Station with a fourth and final installation of solar arrays, a repaired water recycling system and a new crew member, reported the New York Times.

The newly installed solar arrays help to double the power for scientific research at the station, reported the New York Times.

Sandra Magnus returned to Earth after spending 134 days in orbit at the space station. Japanese astronaut, Koichi Wakata replaced Magnus at the Station, reported the New York Times.

The shuttle returned one orbit late due to high winds and low clouds but landed without any issue at the Kennedy Space Center at 3:13 p.m, reported the New York Times.

More guests arrived at the space station on Saturday via the Russian Soyuz capsule which held, along with astronauts, billionaire tourist Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft executive, reported the Associated Press.

Posted by lawre200 at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center Sunday heading for the International Space Station, reported VOA News.

Discovery launched into orbit Sunday and will arrive at the space station in approximatley two days, according to SatNews Daily.

The crew of seven will deliver a set of solar arrays and the main truss for the space station to help improve the capacity of the station, reported VOA News.

The launch was originally set for last week but a hydrogen leak delayed the mission.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will be replacing Sandy Magnus at the station where he will stay for several months. Sandy will return to Earth with the Discovery in two weeks, according to VOA News.

Posted by lawre200 at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The term "enemy combatant" will no longer be applied to inmates at Guantamo Bay the Obama administration said Friday, reported the Los Angeles Times.

The anti-terrorism termonology of the Bush administration has been reviewed and changed under Obama and the U.S. Justice Department, reported Reuters.

Some believe the government still has not done enough.

"The government may have eliminated the term enemy combatant but it is still claiming the authority to detain people far beyond the traditional norms of humanitarian law," said Devon Chaffee, attorney of the group Human Rights First.

Obama claimed he would put an end to such violations of human rights, but The Center for Constitutional Rights said that the new administration's policy "offers essentially the same definition of 'enemy combatant' without using the term." (Los Angeles Times)

Posted by lawre200 at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif led thousands of anti-government protesters to Islamabad on Sunday to sit in on Pakistan's parliament meeting, reported The Associated Press.

The protest in Lahore started with the flooding of streets with rocks and teargas; Sharif, currently under government ordered house arrest, was allowed to march with his fellow protesters because they outnumbered the police, reported The AP.

President Asif Ali Zardari planned to reinstate the fired Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and, before this, he reinstated judges that have resulted public outrage, reported BBC News.

The ruling party claims Sharif is staging these protests in attempt to gain public favor.

"This is not a fight for restoration of judiciary. This is not a fight for the rights of people," said Farzana Raja, a leader of Zardari's ruling party. "This is a fight for personal gains" (The AP).

Posted by lawre200 at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three District judges' votes are now the only ones that matter in the Minnesota Senate race, reported the Pioneer Press Saturday.

After the two month recount, the public waits for what could be weeks for the decison from the three judges who have presided for the complete election trial, reported the Pioneer Press. The judges are Stearns County's Elizabeth Hayden, Pennington County's Kurt Marben and Hennepin County's Denise Reilly.

The case involves 2,000 exhibits, 35 days of arguments, more than 130 witnesses testimonies and decisions on election law cases from 1880 to the present, reported the Pioneer Press.

Norm Coleman's team asked judges to bend the rules and use "common sense' for the disputed ballots, reported the Star Tribune.

Al Franken, who led by 225 votes in the original recount, has taken the position that Coleman failed to prove election problems caused his defeat, and therefore, he should be senator, reported the Star Tribune.

Posted by lawre200 at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Young Somali men in Minneapolis have dissapeared in the past year and a half and FBI are linking the cases with a Somali terrorist group, reported NPR.

According to the FBI, the young men who have been dissapearing might have been recruited by the terrorist group, al-Shabab, reported NPR.

The FBI supoened at least 10 people from the Minneapolis Somali community to appear in front of a grand jury and they have interviewed at least 50 people, reported FOX News.

"We do worry that there is a potential that these individuals could be indoctrinated by al-Qaida while they are in Somalia and then return to the United States with the intention to launch attacks," deputy director of the National Counterterrrorism Center, Andrew Liepman, told a Senate committee Wednesday (NPR).

Police have looked into leads of two local mosques for the infiltration and recruitment of the community, reported NPR.

Posted by lawre200 at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Observer

This advance interviews an artist coming to the event who has been recognized for an award. They have some quotes from her and talk about her award. It then moves on to the founder of the event and lays out the purpose of the event. Then they speak to a local business owner who praises the event. The angle was that this famous artist was coming to their town. The writer wrote in a way that made the community a part of this event and also enticed them with an established artist.

Posted by lawre200 at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A man faces five years in jail after punishing a runaway cow by dragging it behind his pick up in Freetown, reported The Boston Channel.

Outraged residents reported Joseph Pacheco and he faces a charge of animal cruelty.

“It was awful,” Bus driver Irene Briggs told the Boston Channel, who witnessed the Feb. 26 incident.

An animal control officer was called to the scene where the cow had been reported, but when they arrived Pacheco had already arrived and had harnessed the cow. The officer then left on an emergency call, reported the South Coast Today.

Pacheco claimed he chose to slaughter it which the owner is entitled too, but evidence shows the cow was dragged behind his truck. Plymouth county forensics experts examined the scene reported the South Coast Today.

The charges include a five year jail sentence and a $2,500 fine.

Posted by lawre200 at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the number of drug violence claims for 2008 doubling from the last year to 6,290 and the number already more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009, Mexico called the troops in, according to ABC news.

The border city Ciudad Juarez has experienced much of this escalated crime and the morgues are becoming overwhelmed, reported ABC news.

The U.S.-Mexico border city, in attempt to restore security, recieed nearly 7,000 soldiers and federal police to help fight off the "bloody drug war", reported CNN.

The chief of police was forced to quit due to a threat by local organized crime; if he didn't they promised to kill one police officer every day, according to CNN.

1,500 soldiers are to join the 3,500 already stationed in Juarez to help the municipal police and take over their operations. With that 3,000 federal agents are to arrive to carry out investigations Ciudad Juarez police spokesman Jaime Torres Valadez said Thursday to CNN. Surveillance cameras are also being installed throughout the city according to CNN.

Posted by lawre200 at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A gunman shot and killed the pastor at a Maryville, Illinois church Sunday then turned knife on himself and others, reported CNN.

Fred Winters, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Maryville, was killed during an 8 a.m. Sunday church service.

Two parishioners suffered knife wounds in the attack as well as the suspect, Illinois state police spokesman Ralph Timmins told CNN.

The gunman's .45-caliber pistol jammed after he shot Winters and he pulled out a knife and turned it on himself, but was "tackled" by two church goers according to ABC news.

"No one can even fathom a motive for the shooting," Jeremy Kohler, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said to ABC news. "No one really seems to recognize [the shooter] as being a member of the church."

Posted by lawre200 at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Police worked throughout Friday evening using industrial steamers to remove an unidentified body from a small pond on a Ham Lake golf course, reported the Star Tribune.

The body was found by a groundskeeper at the Majestic Oak Golf Course Friday afternoon in a small pond about two feet deep, reported the Associated Press.

Lt. Paul Sommer of the Anoka County Sheriff's Office said he believed the body had to have been there since before the first November freeze, reported the Star Tribune.

Police told the Star Tribune it could take up to two days for the body to unthaw for an autopsy and identification. They identified him as a man based on his clothes.

Posted by lawre200 at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A woman was left by her husband with a fatal stab wound to her heart and lung Thursday in front of Regions Hospital, reported the Pioneer Press.

Prosecuters filed a criminal complaint to the Ramsey County District Court Friday, charging Whitney Tanee Kizart, 21, with second-degree murder without intent for the stabbing of Jennifer Linnear, 26, reported the Pioneer Press.

According to Robert Linnear, 24, Kizart stabbed his wife after they confronted her outside her home. Jennifer Linnear allegedly had contracted herpes from her husband who had contracted them from Kizart reported the Pioneer Press.

Kizart told police that Jennifer Linnear had pushed her and so she stabbed her in the chest. Police found a bent knife and broken handle outside Kizart's apartment in the 600 block of Oakdale Avenue in St. Paul, reported the Star Tribune.

Kizart was being held in the Ramsey County jail, according to the Star Tribune.

Posted by lawre200 at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Press Release
News Report

The story took a more relatable approach for the reader. It took out specifics of the release and took what was mostly the main point and put it up against conflict. This seems like a good approach to pull the reader in.

Posted by lawre200 at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A shooting at the Southdale Center in Edina Friday has left two teenagers in the hospital, reported Sun Newspapers.

One male victim, 18, was shot in the stomach while the other, also male, 15, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, the former underwent surgery late Friday at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis reported the Star Tribune.

"The information we have is that this is probably gang-related," Police Chief Mike Siitari said to Sun Newspapers.

It started as an altercation between two groups of hispanic men. Then one of the men pulled out a .45 caliber handgun and shot it into the other group, reported Sun Newspapers.

Police told the Star Tribune that most calls that came in from Southdale were for shoplifting or property crimes.

"This is the only shooting I'm aware of out here. And I've been here 30 years, so this is very strange," Siitari told Sun Newspapers.

Posted by lawre200 at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Lakeville man who admitted to killing his best friend with a baseball bat was acquitted of all charges by a Dakota County jury on Saturday after 30 hours of deliberation, reported the Pioneer Press.

Charlie Otto Reynolds, 32, was accused of killing his friend, Joshua Skare, last March after an altercation at Reynold's home led Reynolds to use a bat in self-defense. He was found not guilty of premeditated first-degree murder, which, if he was convicted, could have landed him life in prison without possibility of parole, reported the Pioneer Press.

He was also found not guilty of alternate charges of second-degree murder with intent to kill, second-degree murder without intent to kill while committing a first-degree assault, and second-degree murder without intent to kill while committing a second-degree assault reported the Star Tribune.

"They obviously struggled with the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Joshua Skare," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in a statement released by the Star Tribune. "Ultimately, the jury concluded that the state had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that self-defense was not a factor in this case."

Reynolds said in his testimony that Skare was drunk and becoming overly aggressive. He was walking around his house naked and attempting to enter the rooms of Reynold's daughter and Reynold's room claiming he could sleep wherever he wanted reported the Star Tribune.

Reynolds escorted him downstairs but the third time Skare pushed him into a banister near the stairs. After this Reynolds became fearful for his and his families lives, so he went downstairs, retrieved a baseball bat and struck Skare with it, reported the Star Tribune. He then called 911, reported the Pioneer Press.

Posted by lawre200 at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The European Union held an emergency summit Sunday to help avoid national protectionalism and take a unified stance on the economic crisis, reported CNN.

Czech Prime Minister and President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso called the summit to address the individual plans of states and help create a plan to fight the crisis together, reported CNN.

In a statement released by the Czech EU Presidency's Web site the leaders said they wanted countries to "abide by the Community rules" and didn't want them to create new border lines and that "pursuing a beggar-thy-neighbor policy is unacceptable", reported CNN.

Germany, however, rejected the bailout plan proposed on Sunday saying that a single multibillion-euro bailout for Eastern Europe would be unwise, reported the Associated Press.

Saying that the situation is the same for all Central and Eastern European states, I don't see that," Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said, adding "you cannot compare" the economic situation in Hungary with other countries, discouraging the EU leader's views for a unified recovery plan, reported the Associated Press.

Posted by lawre200 at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Hugo Chavez ordered the army to temporarily take over all rice-processing plants in the Venezuela on Saturday due to a pricing dispute, reported the New York Times.

Chavez accused the companies of refusing to produce the rice at government set prices, claiming they were overcharging, reported the New York Times.

What are some of the sectors of the agricultural industry doing? They buy rice from producers, and they don't want to produce regulated rice," Chavez said Saturday reported CNN.

Chavez warned the companies they would be nationalized if they attempted to interrupt supplies and did not say the length of this takeover, reported CNN.

Last February Chavez won a referendum making him eligible for re-election indefinitely reported the New York Times.

Posted by lawre200 at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governer, was the named the top GOP canidate for the 2012 election in a straw poll by conservative activists on Saturday, reported The New York Times.

This was the third consecutive year that Romney has topped the anual straw poll conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, reported CNN.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal placed second in the poll followed by Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Romney recieved 20 percent of the vote while Jindal recieved 14 percent; Paul and Palin recieved 13 percent of the vote, reported CNN.

Romney made clear his intentions on running in 2012 and wants to remain a key Republican player in politics he said in a speech Friday.

It was also reported by the New York Times that only 4 percent of those polled at the conference approved of the job President Obama was doing while 95 percent said they disaproved.

Rush Limbaugh, radio talk show host, rounded out the CPAC on Saturday with the keynote address. He spoke for an hour and a half and rallied the audience passionatley.

"I want to tell you who conservatives are. We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are because we make the mistake of assuming that people know," Limbaugh said (CNN).

Posted by lawre200 at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)