Munnell's News Reports

By Christina Munnell

I found an investigative story about fraudulent-researched drugs on ProPublica.org through the Nicar link. In the article "FDA Let Drugs Approved on Fraudulent Research Stay on the Market." writer Rob Garver uncovers the truth about prescription drugs consumers frequently use. According to his research, there are about 100 drugs-including painkillers and chemotherapy compounds-that FDA officials deemed safe for consumer use but did not actually pass research tests. Garver used basic computer skills to gather this information and put the story together. The interactive elements of the story's webpage give his writing more appeal and really draws in readers.

Most of the interactive elements on this page are links to other pages. However, all of the links seem to "jump out" at readers and keep them engaged because they highlight a few key, interesting words. For example, one of the bold links says "FDA records," while another emphasizes "accompanying story." What I especially enjoyed about some of the links is that they were provided for certain facts or people I did not know. The writer gave links to background information for both Cetero and Lazanda, two FDA officials. Overall, links to all of Garver's research and data are what makes this story credible, interesting, and engaging.

Along with links and graphics in this story, there is one other interactive piece I have never seen before. There is an interactive "key points" chart. Because this is a longer piece, the writer found the most important elements of the story and compiled them in a chart towards the beginning. Each key point has a link to it and when the reader clicks on it, they are able to jump to that spot in the story where that topic is covered. I think this is a really smart idea, especially when readers do not have time to read the entire story. This is beneficial in that readers are at least getting some of the story's content, rather than skipping right over it because it is too long. Though the interactive aspects of this story are quite simple, they add that quality that makes the audience want to keep reading. It really has that "get lost in it" feeling.

By Christina Munnell

A mute autistic boy alerted his father that he was being abused by his teacher via drawings, officials said.

Chicago man Luis Murillo reported that his 7-year-old son had been coming home from school with scrapes and bruises all over his body since the beginning of the year, CBS News said.

Murillo also said that recently the youngster, who is incapable of speaking, recently came home from Finkl Elementary School with the knees of his pants ripped out, as if he had been pulled across the ground.

According to a statement from Murillo in The Chicago Tribune, the boy's school had told him the bruises and ruined clothes came from fighting with other children.

The boy began drawing pictures illustrating the situation. He drew pictures of stick-figure children looking scared and sad, saying "no," officials said.

One picture featured three tall stick-figure women with angry brows and giant teeth and a stick-figure saying "help". Another drawing featured stick-figures saying "screaaaamm!!"

"Every time he drew, we just thought he was drawing," Murillo said. "He needs psychological help; not only him, but the other kids, too," CBS News reported.

According to officials, other parents from the school had also noticed injuries on their children.

Jessica Sanchez said her 8-year-old son, who has Down Syndrome, came home with scratches on his face in March, and the mark of what looked like an adult's hand on his forearm last Thursday.

Parents told the Chicago Sun-Times that the teacher had two aides working with her and the 13 special needs children.

No-one has been charged in connection with the matter, CBS News said.

Chicago Public Schools would not say why the teacher had been removed, nor would the district confirm what had happened to the aides.

By Christina Munnell

A Minnesota man was a victim of a deadly Colorado avalanche Saturday, officials said.

The avalanche, which officials call the the state's deadliest in 50 years, took the life of Rosemount graduate Joe Timlin, The Pioneer Press said. He was one of five victims.

Timlin, 32, played hockey for Rosemount High School and graduated in 1999 before moving to Colorado, Kare 11 News said.

He was part of a backcountry-touring group of six, on snowboards and skis, caught in the snow slide north of Loveland Pass, about 55 miles west of Denver. One member of the group survived, officials reported.

The deadly slide was estimated to be about 400 feet wide and five feet deep, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

The Pioneer Press said he had worked as a sales representative for various snowboarding companies and was also considered a very experienced rider.

"He was an outdoors-type and loved being out and about," recalls Mary Eigner, a former teacher at Rosemount High School. "Tim was fun-loving and a good kid."

This season, 24 people have died in avalanches, 11 in Colorado, Kare 11 News said. More than three feet of heavy snow in less than two weeks has created dangerous conditions in the mountains.

"When I heard the news I was pretty sad," Derek Anderson, a 1999 grad from Rosemount said in a statement. "He was a neat guy."

By Christina Munnell

Thousands of rescue workers continued their search for survivors after the deadly earthquake in China on Saturday, officials said.

Teams have helped many families who were in need of supplies and living among wreckage in the southwestern province of Sichuan, BBC News said.

Reports said rescue workers used dynamite and heavy equipment to get through roads blocked by landslides to reach remote areas.

According to CNN News, workers have had to contend with frequent aftershocks that have threatened to set off landslides and topple more buildings.

The death count has reached at least 188 people while teams have just begun the long search for survivors, officials reported.

Chinese authorities have marshaled a big response to the disaster, trying to meet the basic needs of the tens of thousands of people left homeless in Sichuan, CNN News said.

More than 18,000 soldiers and police have been mobilised in the rescue efforts, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday.

Although on the same fault line as the earthquake that occurred five years ago, this earthquake was much less powerful.

Once again, though, it is the poor who have born the brunt of the disaster, BBC News said. The biggest killer was not the earthquake itself but poorly-constructed houses, officials said.

By Christina Munnell

A St, Paul hospital said that a second stillborn baby's remains were discovered in a pile of laundry Tuesday, officials said.

Regions Hospital confirmed that remains found in a Red Wing commercial laundry earlier this week came from the hospital's morgue. The remains were of a stillborn baby at 22 weeks' gestational age, MPR said.

The stillborn was believed to have been wrapped in linens in hospital's morgue and accidentally shipped to the Red Wing laundry facility in the same shipment of linens, The Star Tribune said.

Officials reported that the St. Paul hospital subsequently checked its records and found the remains of a stillborn of 19 gestational weeks were also missing.

It was likely a staff member accidentally put both sets of remains in the laundry, Region's chief nursing officer Christine Boese told MPR.

According to hospital officials, the unusual incidents are likely sparking conversations not just at Regions, but at hospitals across the country about oversight of stillborn deaths.

"We're always rushing, rushing, rushing, and we're cutting staff and dollars," hospital spokeswoman Sherokee Ilse told The Star Tribune. "Maybe these are the kinds of outcomes that happen when all that other chaos is going on."

Regions Hospital officials said they have implemented extra safeguards such as additional tracking and security in the morgue.

The hospital has apologized to the families, Boese told MPR, and added security and supervision to make sure the mistake does not happen again.

Regions said it has not identified the hospital staffer responsible.

By Christina Munnell

Two days after the deadly explosion in the central Texas town, investigators said they have recovered 14 bodies.

The explosion blasted through the small, centrally-located town of West on Wednesday. The close knit town has finally shifted toward recovery, officials said.

"It's going to be a long recovery for this community," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement.

The death toll included the secretary, who was also a member of the volunteer fire department, Mayor Tommy Muska told CNN News officials.

Residents moved ahead with what they could, ABC News reported. A contractor was to rebuild, a funeral home was to arrange a service. Residents continued to wait for authorities to let them back in their neighborhoods and release the remains of the 14 dead.

In total, five West firefighters died battling the blaze, along with one Dallas firefighter and four emergency responders, officials said.

"It's devastating. I've been a member of the firefighters for 26 years," Muska said. "These guys are my friends."

Residents cannot return to their homes until investigators are finished, ABC News said. Officials did not have a timetable on when that might be.

Local authorities are still working with federal officials, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to determine the cause of the deadly explosion, CNN News said.

By Christina Munnell

The city of Moorhead has learned its lessons on flooding the last few years and this year packed 400,000 sandbags in preparation, officials said.

City officials told CBS that 400,000 bags of sand are ready to be deployed. And, that should be sufficient to construct sandbag levees to a top elevation of 43 feet.

The National Weather Service says there's a 40 percent chance the Red River could top the 2009 record of nearly 41 feet. Homes and business in the area are affected when the river reaches 38 feet, The Star Tribune said.

Officials reported that by late April, the river is expected to reach highs of at least 42 feet in the Fargo area.

Collegiate students in the area participated in the packing of the sandbags as part of a tradition, officials said. They do what they can to see to it their campuses are kept safe from the flooding.

Moorhead is holding neighborhood meetings on Monday to brief residents on flood preparations, The Star Tribune reported.

By Christina Munnell

Officials reported Martin William Richard, 8, was the youngest of the three victims who lost their lives in the Boston Marathon explosions Monday afternoon.

Martin, who was cheering on runners near the grandstand, was caught in the cross-fire of the bombings. He was with his parents and his 6-year-old sister, Boston News said.

The mother and sister were both critically injured in the blast. Martin's mother underwent brain surgery Monday night and his sister lost a leg in the blast, Fox News reported.

The family had gone to get ice cream, then returned to the area near the finish line. Neighbor Jack Cunningham told officials that Martin's father was a runner but had been injured and didn't run the marathon.

Martin's father released a statement regarding the tragedy.

"We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover. Thank you," he said.

Boston News reported friends and classmates created a makeshift chalk memorial for Martin at a nearby park, where the third-grader played during gym class. In chalk, they wrote messages of love and prayer, telling the young boy that they loved him and would never forget him.

At least nine children were among the injured, according to law enforcement officials.

On Tuesday morning, candle burned on the stoop of the family's single-family home in the city's Dorchester section, and "peace" was written in chalk on the front walkway. A child's bicycle helmet lay overturned on the front lawn.

By Christina Munnell

Two bombs that exploded during the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon left at least two people dead and dozens injured, officials said.

The explosions occurred just before 3 pm near the finish line of the race and another reportedly went off near the Boston library, Boston police told Fox News.

The simultaneous explosions, and reports of two other unexploded devices found near the scene raised suspicions that the blasts could be part of a terrorist attack, officials reported.

Officials reported that two have been killed in the blasts and at least 23 have been injured-including as many as 10 with amputated limbs.

"Somebody's leg flew by my head," a spectator, who gave his name as John Ross, told the Boston Herald. "I gave my belt to stop the blood."

Medical tents set up for runners were being used to treat individuals with injuries, The Huffington Post said.

Fox News said that meanwhile, authorities in New York were deploying counter-terrorism vehicles around landmark sites in Manhattan, including prominent hotels, according to the New York City Police Department.

Nearly 25,000 people, including runners from around the world, competed in Boston's celebrated 26.2-mile race, attracting huge throngs of onlookers, especially near the finish line., officials said.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick commented on the horrific event and said the safety of the people is his number one concern.

"My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured. I have been in touch with the President, Mayor [Thomas] Menino and our public safety leaders. Our focus is on making sure that the area around Copley Square is safe and secured. I am asking everyone to stay away from Copley Square and let the first responders do their jobs."

By Christina Munnell

The Twins vs. Mets baseball game that was supposed to happen today at 1:10 pm has been postponed due to bad weather, officials said.

According to a news release from a Twins worker, the game has been rescheduled for late summer on Monday, August 19, The Pioneer Press said.

Tickets for Sunday's game can be used for admission into the August game or the value of the ticket may be used as voucher towards a future 2013 regular season game, officials reported.

The Star Tribune informed ticket holders that they have these options:

*Utilize their tickets for admission into the August 19 game.

*Utilize the value of their ticket as a voucher towards any future Twins regular season game in 2013.

*Tickets in suites, Champions Club, Legends Club and Budweiser Roof Deck will be valid only for the rescheduled game.

According to officials, for the Twins, the game will be tacked on to the end of a home stand and before a road trip to Detroit. The Mets will stop in the Twin Cities at the end of a 10-game road trip on the West Coast.

This has been the first game that has been postponed this Twins baseball season due to weather, officials said.