HannahMikels

A 25-year-old Coon Rapids soldier died Monday in Iraq, according to kare11.com.
The Defense Department said Army soldier Sgt. William J. Beardsley was killed when a when a IED exploded near his vehicle in Diwaniyah, according to wcco.com.
He was assigned to the 260th Quartermaster Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Troop Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart, Ga., according to startribune.com.
Beardsley is the 52nd person with strong Minnesota ties to die in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to kare11.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 16-year-old Cloquet boy was charged with stalking after he allegedly threw ice water on a nursing home resident, said police, according to wcco.com.
According to a criminal complaint, the Cloquet teenager told police he found it so funny when he dumped a pitcher of ice water on a 90-year-old resident of Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet in June that he returned and did it twice more, in December and again last month, according to wcco.com.
The boy told police that him and another teenager thought it was hilarious and told everyone at school about it, according to a criminal complaint, according to startribune.com.
After the last dousing in January, Nursing Assistant Amanda Bernhardson said she saw the boys run from the home and drive away. She said she chased the boys down in her car and got their license plate number, according to kare11.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Britney Spears checked herself into rehab Thursday for the third time this week, according to the Associated Press.
Spears was admitted for treatment at Promises Treatment Centre in Malibu, the same facility she had checked out of less than 24 hours before, after a crazed attack on paparazzi the night before, according to The Herald Sun.
She was refused entry to ex-husband Kevin Federline's home which caused her to repeatedly attack a photographer's vehicle with the metal tip of a large umbrella, according to The Herald Sun.
Federline has been caring for their children, five-month-old Jayden James and one-year-old Sean Preston, since Spears first checked into rehab last week, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
She checked out from a Caribbean rehab facility within 24 hours and mirrored this behavior by checking out of the Malibu facility after one day, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Democrat Tom Vilsack removed himself from the 2008 presidential bid Frday after struggling against stiff competition, according to kare11.com.
He was facing rivals such as New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards, who have had more success raising money and attracting attention across the nation, including Vilsack's home state of Iowa, according to kare11.com.
Vilsack, who announced his candidacy in November, continued to rank at the bottom of national polls, registering support from about 1% in most national surveys of Democratic presidential preference, according to usatoday.com.
Vilsack's campaign focused on a plan to end U.S dependence on foreign oil by promoting alternative energy sources, according to wcco.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The body recovered from the Corcoran home explosion was identified Wednesday as the owner of the home, according to wcco.com.
Daniel Johnson, 43, was discovered in the southeast corner of the house under three feet of debris, according to wcco.com.
The explosion happened around 7:20 Wednesday morning, according to kare11.com.
Johnson's wife Pamela and 2-year-old son Aiden were not in the explosion, according to startribune.com. They had left the home late Tuesday night because of a "furnace smell," according to kare11.com.
The cause of the explosion is yet to be identified, according to wcco.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An 80-year-old Brewster man was found dead Tuesday in a bin filled with three feet of beans, according to startribune.com.
James Haberman was alone when his body was found just before noon, according to startribune.com.
The cause of death is unknown, Nobles County Chief Deputy Chris Heinrichs said, according to wcco.com
Haberman was working with another person that day, according to wcco.com.
The coworker left to either deliver or pick up a load of beans and found Haberman upon return, according to kare11.com.
He was dead when the emergency responders arrived on the scene, according to wcco.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Al Gore announced Thursday his plan for a series of world-wide concert events to help create awareness of the threat of climate change.
The former vice-president has teamed up with Kevin Wall, Pharrell Williams and Cameron Diaz to launch a 24-hour worldwide concert on July 7, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wall served as worldwide executive producer for Live 8, the 2005 concerts that drew attention to African debt relief, according to The Washington Post.
Some of the 100 artists lined up for the event include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge, the Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, and Duran and Duran, according to The Star Tribune.
Promoters say shows will take place in Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; London and cities to be announced in Japan, Brazil and the United States, according to the Star Tribune.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Disney Tigger actor suspended for hitting a teenager will not face charges, according to authorities.
The State Attorney's office announced Thursday that charges would not be filed against Michael J. Fedelem, the actor who played Winnie the Pooh's Tigger at Disney Land in Florida, according to startribune.com.
Jerry Monaco from New Hampshire filed a complaint after Fedelem,31, allegedly hit Monaco's son on the head while posing for pictures, according to cbsnews.com.
Monaco took his son to the hospital that night after he woke up with a pain in his neck, according to cbsnews.com.
The Associated Press called Disney officials early Friday concerning Fedelem's employment status, but the call was not immediately returned.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An 18-year-old Lyle High School student was charged Thursday with two felonies after he allegedly laced brownies with laxatives.
Collin Wayne Orth served the brownies to seven employees and five students on Feb. 6 who later suffered symptoms of discomfort, diarrhea, stomach cramps and bloody stools, according to startribune.com
Orth has been charged with felony adulteration resulting in bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, and felony adulteration not resulting in bodily harm, with a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to wcco.com.
The complaint states that Orth admitted to buying the laxatives and making the brownies, according to wcco.com.
He must appear March 19 in Mower County District Court, according to KSTP.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Minnesota National Guard Spec. and his fiancee wed Wednesday via teleconference.
Keith Swanson was located at Camp Al Assad in Iraq while Amanda Watson was accompanied by about four dozen guests at the National Guard Armory in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., according to wcco.com
Swanson's aunt, Nicole Kilanowski, of Kasota, contacted Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office to ask for help with the video conference wedding, according to the Star Tribune.
They had planned a July 2007 wedding with over 500 guests but Swanson's tour was extended until August 2007, according to kare11.com.
The couple now plans on having another wedding ceremony sometime in 2008, according to kare11.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The NBA removed Tim Hardaway Thursday from All-Star weekend in Las Vegas after he made anti-gay remarks on a Miami radio show.
Hardaway, who played in five All-Star games during the 1990s, was already Las Vegas participating in activities during the week but NBA Commissioner David Stern pulled him from the various assignments scheduled for the weekend, according to the San Fransisco Gate.
Hardaway allegedly stated he hates gay people and hates to be around them, according to Sports Illustrated.
Hardaway issued an apology several hours after he made the remarks, according to the Miami Herald.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three rare white tiger cubs made their debut Thursday at the Buenos Aires zoo.
The Bengal triplets were born Dec. 23 to Conde and Bety at the zoo but had been kept out of sight, according to msnbc.com.
There is a name suggestion box for the cubs which is already filled with over 5,000 slips. The winners will recieve the privelage of being godparents to the cubs along with a yearlong pass to the zoo, according to wcco.com
The birth of the Bengal cubs is important to the conversation of this type of tigers. According to The Associated Press, there are only about 250 of this variety in captivity.
White tigers are a genetic variation of the more common orange Bengal tigers. Both parents must have the recessive gene for white coloration in order to have a white cub, according to wcco.com.

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

An ad campaign gone wrong in Boston last month proved that all publicity, including negative publicity, does not help ratings.
Authorites shut down bridges and highways Jan. 31 because of linking lights replicating characters from the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The authorities feared the lights may have been bombs, according to wcco.com.
Despite the notion that any publicity helps in boosting popularity, ratings of the show remained relatively the same comparing last week and the previous week, with the former coming in at 386,000 viewers and the latter with 380,000, according to wcco.com.
The devices were removed from Boston and nine other affected cities. The Cartoon Network's corporate parent, Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting Systems, and an advertising agency agreed to pay $2 million to compensate for the incident, according to wcco.com.
The devices were orignally placed to promote the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie, according to msnbc.com.
Many feel a generation gap is to blame for the confusion, while others believe nothing can be taken lightly living after Sept. 11, according The Boston Globe.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An Ohio prison inmate was charged Thursday with stabbing and killing a St. Paul man back in 1989 thanks to DNA results from the crime scene, according to police.
Larry Wayne Brigman, 57, faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of Dale Luverne Heinold, according to wcco.com.
Brigman was a drifter in 1989 who may have befriended Hienold before the murder. In fact, witnesses said they last saw Heinold alive in the elevator with another man. The two of them were carring pizza and a 12-pack of beer, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Heinhold's sister was found dead in his apartment by his sister on May 20, 1989. The next day, his stolen car was found in the parking lot of an Ohio bar, and witnesses there recalled seeing an unknown man with a bandaged right hand. However, after that the case went cold, all according to startribune.com.
Police reopened the investigation in June 2006 when they ran the unknown killer's DNA through the national forensic DNA database, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The DNA results and also fingerprints from the crime scene matched Brigman, according to wcco.com.
Investigators reviewed Brigman's Ohio manslaughter conviction with the case of Heinhold and found similarities, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. For example, the victims were killed in their homes, their cars and other items were stolen, and the killings occurred three months apart.
Brigman claims he wasn't in or around Minnesota at the time of Heinhold's death, but he had blackouts due to alcohol, according to investigators, reported wcco.com

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two men were charged Thursday with the murder of a 46-year-old cab driver outside a Brooklynn Center, Minn. apartment complex.
Brandon D. Cox, 21, of Omaha, Neb. and Willen T. McIntyre, 19, of Blaine, Minn. are each charged with one count of second degree murder after shooting James Lee Moody, a newly employed cab driver, early Sunday. According to wcco.com http://www.wcco.com, Cox admitted to firing twice while McIntyre shot once, police said.
The motive is unknown, although police say robbery or a fight may have caused the shooting, according to wcco.com http://www.wcco.com.
Police located the two men by tracing a cell phone call made requesting a cab to the location of the shooting, according to kare11.com http://www.kare11.com.
The gun used was traced back to McIntyre's stepfather. The stepfather's wife informed authorities McIntyre had recently been looking through his stepfather's Navy items, according to startribune.com http://www.startribune.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna Nicole Smith died Thursday after collapsing in her Florida hotel room.
The 29-year-old former Playboy model and reality television star collapsed and was unresponsive while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino, according to newsday.com http://www.newsday.com. Smith was rushed to the hospital at about 2 p.m. EST where she was pronounced dead at 2:49 p.m. EST, according to the Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com.
Smith's private nurse discovered her in the room where a bodyguard tried to revive Smith but failed, reported Seminole Police Chief Charles Tiger, according to The Associated Press.
Edwina Johnson, chief investigator of the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, said the cause of death was under investigation and an autopsy would be done on Friday, according to newsday.com http://www.newsday.com.
Smith first gained public recognition with a Playboy centerfold in March 1992. After that, she led a controversial life ranging from marrying a billionaire oil tycoon to the recent death of her son, according to cnn.com http://www.cnn.com.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

British rocker Gary Glitter, convicted of molesting two Vietnamese girls, may be released early from his three year prison sentence, a prison official said, according to boston.com.
The release is part of a Lunar New Year's celebration in Vietnam where inmates become eligible to recieve reduced prison terms. His release may happen as early as May.
According to msnbc.com, a panel of three judges will decide on Feb. 7 if this will become a reality or if Glitter will serve his entire sentence which will end in November 2008.
Glitter was arrested in November 2005 and later convicted in March 2006 of committing "obscene acts with children." The children were two young girls, aged 10 and 11.
Glitter was mainly popular in the 1970s, but his hit "Rock and Roll (Part 2)" is still played at sporting events.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

San Fransisco Mayor Gavin Newsom apologized Thursday for having an affair with his former campaign manager's wife.
"I'm deeply sorry," Newsom stated during a press conference at City Hall, according to msnbc.com.
His campaign manager, Alex Tourk, resigned Wednesday after approaching Newsom about the sexual relations. Tourk learned about the affair after his wife, Newsom's former appointment secretary, confessed that it was short lived and happened about a year and half ago, according to cbs.com.
Despite the affair, Tourk said he was honored to work with the Newsom campaign, and Newsom named Tourk "an extraordinary leader of our campaigns and a tireless public servant."
According to abc.com, residents still plan to vote for Newsom when he runs for re-election in November.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Miss USA Tara Conner has been speaking out about her controversial behavior.
According to the New York Post, Conner, 21, has admitted to cocaine use as well as other drugs such as anti-depressants.
Alcohol is her biggest vice, reported the Detroit Free Post, which she realized after a stay at rehab last month. She once showed up to school drunk at the age of 14. This was the same year she won her first beauty pageant and of her parents' divorce.
According to Fox News, Conner hints her problems may be because of abuse she suffered as a child. Details from Conner are limited out of respect for her family.
Despite all of the controversy, Conner is anxious to return to her duties as Miss USA which she will do so while living under a chaperon at an apartment in New York City.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 21-year-old woman was killed early Sunday morning when a 19-year-old man ran a red light and crashed into her car at an intersection in Apple Valley.
According to Kare 11, The Eagan man drove his full-sized pick up truck through a red light heading north on Cedar Avenue South where he collided with the woman's eastbound Toyota Sedan traveling through a green light on 140th Street.
Alcohol is believed to be a factor, but the blood alcohol content details are not available.
The woman driver of the Sedan was pronounced dead on the scene, while the Eagan man and his three passengers were unharmed.
WCCO reported that the man is being held in the Dakota County Jail and has a previous DWI conviction on his record from 2005.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 33-year-old St. Paul man who dragged an 11-year-old girl with his van was charged Tuesday with two counts of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm.
According to the Star Tribune, Mauricio Sanchez struck Gladys Reyes as he turned onto Wentworth Avenue where Gladys and a friend were crossing the street. She became caught up in the front driver's side wheel and was continued to be dragged for nearly 500 yards.
Another driver, David Carrera, of St. Paul, witnessed the incident and forced the van to pull over into a parking lot. Gladys was freed from the wheel and was run by the van and left behind.
Reyes remained in critical condition Tuesday at Reigns Hospital in St. Paul.
According to kare11.com, police officers at the scene found Sanchez had a suspended driver's license for failure to pay fines.
Sanchez is currently being held at Dakota County jail with a $100,000 bail, according to wcco.com.
His next court date is set for Feb. 21.

Posted by Hannah Mikels at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)