November 2010 Archives

On Friday evening, a man driving a red Honda Civic was involved in two hit and runs in Rochester, one of which was fatal, according to an article in the Minnesota Daily.

The first occurred when the driver, who witnesses say was going over the speed limit, ran into a car with eight passengers who had been barhopping that night including a 23-year-old U student.

After critically injuring the U student and killing another, the driver hit two pedestrians, both are in critical condition.

The Star Tribune reported that a 32-year-old man from Oronoco, Minn. with a history of arrests is in custody in connection with the accidents. Police said alcohol may be a factor but that the suspect was not "targeting people."

Since less than 9,000 votes separated Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer in the governor's race, a recount was called and will be started Monday, according to an article in the Minnesota Daily.

All 2.1. million votes cast will be counted by hand and a state canvassing board will reconvene Dec. 8 to determine the winner.

The Star Tribune reported that four of Dayton's attorneys had handled Senator Al Franken's recount in 2008, while Emmer's team includes one of the attorneys that represented Norm Coleman.

Law enforcement officers in Portland Oregon derailed a plot to bomb the lighting of a community Christmas tree Friday night.

CNN reported that Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a 19-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, was seized in connection with a plan to detonate a vehicle bomb.

But the bomb turned out to be a fake and none of the contents were actually explosive.

However, officials believe Mohamud thought the bomb was real and intended to detonate it at the lighting ceremony.

Several presidential candidates are rejecting the election results in Haiti over alleged fraud. 12 out of 19 candidates banded together and accused the incumbent, "President Rene Preval of trying to steal the election and install his chosen candidate, Jude Celestin," according to the Washington Post.

However, their provisional electoral council acknowledges the vote and claim there was not the widespread fraud that displeased candidates are complaining about.

The Wall Street Journal reported that if the election officials validate the vote, it will most likely result in a race between the top 2 candidates.

More than 250 thousand Information cables about United States foreign policy have been leaked to news outlets over the last months through a website called Wikileaks.

According to the Wall Street Journal, this information has been released to newspapers in the United States and Europe including The New York Times, U.K.'s Guardian, Germany's Der Spiegel, El Pais of Spain and France's Le Monde.

Many of the cables contain "embarrassing" information about U.S. diplomatic relations with Iran regaring nuclear power.

U.S. officials are upset about Wikileaks, including the Obama administration who said the leaks are potentially dangerous and "reckless."

U.S. envoy on North Korea Stephen Baldworth said evidence that the country has built another nuclear plant is both disappointing and provocative, according to BBC News.

He met with a Korean minister and said the situation was not a crisis.

"A U.S. scientist said he had been shown more than 1,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium on a visit to North Korea and had seen a new light-water reactor."

The new evidence showed North Korea to be in violation of United Nations resolution.

Reuters reported that analysts believe Kim Jong-Il "wants to use nuclear muscle to boost his son's credentials with the military," since his series of offensive moves began when he began transitioning his son Kim Jong-Un into power.

Freezing rain brought hundreds of crashes and injuries to Minnesota late Saturday night and Sunday morning. The Minnesota Daily reported 376 crashes in the Metro area and 438 statewide.

According to the Pioneer Press, more than 75 of those crashes resulted in injuries and two deaths, including a 12-year-old girl.

In addition, the Pioneer Press reported the hundreds of injuries from dangerous walking conditions due to the freezing rain and ice.

The Star Tribune reported that more freezing rain could be coming Monday night.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents appointed Stony Brook University Provost Eric Kaler as president Thursday after a series of meetings on campus.

The Minnesota Daily reported that the appointment was "little more than a formality" because Kaler was the only finalist name in the five-month search process. Kaler is an '82 graduate of the University's chemical engineering doctorate program and only the second alumnus serving as University President. Kaler will take office on July 1.

The Associated Press reported that Kaler was offered a "compensation package worth $610,000, which would put him about in the middle of his fellow Big Ten presidents."

The Transportation Safety Administration's is under fire since they began using body scanners that see through people's clothing and subject fliers to extremely thorough (or invasive) pat downs.

According to the Associated Press, the TSA was created as a public service in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks but since have become more of a public nuisance.

President Barack Obama said he supports the TSA's efforts to keep up to date on potential threats to the United States. However, travelers are angry because the TSA interrupts routine business trips and pleasant family vacations.

Interest groups are encouraging travelers to protest the body scans and pat downs on Nov. 24---the day before Thanksgiving and one of the busiest travel days of the year.

According to a second article in the Associated Press, the TSA believes the process should be minimally invasive and that the agency would be looking into best practices to ensure consumer comfort.

On a lighter note, the cast of '' had their own take on the TSA's new measures.

The seventh film in the Harry Potter franchise "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1" grossed over $125 million over opening weekend, according to a Wall Street Journal blog.

The film produced by Warner Bros. garnered the best opening weekend of all the previous films in the franchise. The previous record was held by 2005's "Goblet of Fire" which brought in $108 million.

Entertainment Weekly reported that the film opened in more than 3,700 theaters late Thursday night and into Friday morning, with some screenings at 3:15 a.m.

The seventh installment is the first Harry Potter film without scenes from the wizarding school Hogwarts. The PG-13 movie is said to have more mature themes than the others in the series including warfare and death.

BBC News reported that Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader from Burma, was finally released after seven years under house arrest.

Thousands of supporters waited outside the Nobel Peace Prize winner's house, anticipating her release.

The Guardian reported that the junta that runs Burma announced Nov. 13, 2010 as her release date and much anticipation was built up in the weeks prior to her release.

There is no telling what Aung San Suu Kyi's role will be or what the military will allow her to do now that she is free, because her political party is illegal.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been in and out of prison and house arrest since 1989.

Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff, announced his bid for Chicago mayor Saturday during a rally for supporters at a Chicago school.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel told the crowd of 250 supporters that he had the right combination of "background, vision and grit" to lead the city through tough economic times.

"Because I love this city - the place my family came to and the place where I was born - I want to fight for a better future for all the people of Chicago. And that's why, today, I'm announcing my candidacy for mayor," he said.

The Christian Science Monitor reported that he told the crowd the only thing that could pry him away from Chicago was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to aid President Barack Obama.

Since his resignation as Chief of Staff, Emanuel has spent the last five weeks on a "listening tour" of Chicago. Emanuel pledged to fight the city's corruption.

"Government can no longer be an insider's game, serving primarily the lobbyists and well connected," he said.

Despite only announcing his candidacy today, the Christian Science Monitor reported that he was one of the front-runners and that two candidates have already dropped out.

A Roseville police dog is recovering at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center after being stabbed four times Friday morning during a response to a break-in at a Maplewood business.

According to an article in the Minnesota Daily, the dog is still in critical condition.

The Pioneer Press reported that the dog, Major, may have saved his partner's life.

Major and Officer John Jorgensen were responding to an early-morning break-in at Truck Utilities in Maplewood. Police had rigged a car with an alarm in light of recent car break ins. The K-9 unit found Roel Perez, 21 of Maplewood, hiding on the lot.

Perez could face "a gross misdemeanor charge for harming a public safety dog, police said. If Major dies, he could be charged with a felony. "

If Major lives and is unable to continue work as a police dog, he will retire with Jorgensen's family.

The Minnesota Daily reported that the presidential search committee named Stony Brook University Provost Eric Kaler as the sole finalist to replace Bob Bruininks.

Kaler, who received his Ph.D in chemical engineering from the University in 1982, has been provost at the New York university since 2007. While it has almost have the students as the University, Kaler has navigated the school through similar economic conditions like loss of state funding.

Kaler said he hoped to bolster investment in the University's research and graduate education.

He will be on campus Wednesday for an open question and answer session at Coffman Memorial Union.

The Pioneer Press reported that the search committee went through over 150 applications, and named four semi-finalists, two of which did not want to be revealed.

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported that a 17-pound Jack Russell terrier trapped a mountain lion in a tree on a Colman farm. Virtus and Chad Strenge were working in their shop when their dog Jack started barking like crazy. Virtus, Chad's father, went to investigate and couldn't believe what Jack had found---a mountain lion.

This quirky little story that came out of a farm in South Dakota is surprisingly, international news. It was picked up by the BBC.

Chad shot at the lion with a 12-gauge shotgun and it fell out of the tree. Jack then chased the lion into a neighbor's yard.

No charges were filed against the farmers for shooting at the animal. The lion was taken to South Dakota State University to be studied. Experts say the lion was between 3 to 5 years old and probably migrated from the Black Hills.

This obituary for actress Jill Clayburgh was written by Derrick J. Lang for the Associated Press.

The sources used in this story are mostly old interviews and other public information about the actress. In the beginning, Clayburgh's family is quoted for the cause of death and again at the end for funeral and memorial arrangements.

By my analysis, the lead is standard although a bit more lengthy in the beginning. I think it is so long because they want to contain enough information so people realize how familiar this woman really is even if they don't recognize her right away. Usually, I would say it would have been better to be a little more general but the specifics of the movie she earned an Oscar nomination for help to showcase her prominence.

The rest of the obituary follows the standard pattern. The 'claim to fame' section that describes high points in her career is on the first page of the article. The chronology, however, is a little sparse. It jumps from her college years to theatre in 2005 which I find confusing. I think they should have made that clearer without bogging down the story with too many more details on the work she did during her five decade career.

It's not a resume in that it leaves out information and really focuses on what is important to the story and what paints her as a prominent figure. Since Clayburgh has been fighting leukemia for 21 years, it's as if they are reminding the readers of who she was as an actress, even if they don't recognize the name right away.

Note: Many of these stories could be considered obituaries for Feingold's Senate career.

Russ Feingold, the progressive Democrat from Wisconsin, lost his Senate seat Tuesday to Ron Johnson. He was a Senator for three terms. All joking aside... onto the news.

Many national news organizations covered Feingold's loss which I found surprising as I understood who he was and what he did because I was a Wisconsin resident. I did not realize he was a prominent figure nationwide.

NPR reported that Feingold was most well-known for his campaign finance reform legislation of 2002 which regulated fundraising in political campaigns. NPR painted Feingold as a Washington "outsider."

According to the New York Times, that legislation was eroded for years before being thrown out by the Supreme Court this year. The Times reported that the kind of spending Feingold worked to stop consumed the race in Wisconsin. Feingold raised more money than Johnson in what "appeared to be the most expensive Senate race in Wisconsin history, topping out at more than $35 million."

Feingold was the sole Senator to oppose the Patriot Act in 2001.

The Washington Post mourned the loss of "one of the last true progessives." During his concession speech, Feingold said it was "on to the next battle" in 2012 but was unclear what his plans might be.

KSTP reported that a 17-year-old boy drowned at a Brooklyn Park hotel water park Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred at the Grand Rios Ramada Inn where the teen, from Champlin was staying with his family.

According to the Star Tribune, the boy was pulled from the bottom of a water slide. Responders administered CPR and rushed the victim to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he died.

A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department told the Star Tribune they could "not divulge more information about what happened, or safety measures at the park" but that it was an ongoing investigation.

A series of violent protests has delayed a train carrying reprocessed nuclear waste from France to Germany.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the train "left a reprocessing plant in France on Friday and was due at Gorleben in north West Germany at midday on Sunday."

17,000 police officers are on duty to make sure the train reaches its destination safely. Protesters have set fire to armored police vehicles and chained themselves to stretches of the line.

The protests are against Chancellor Angela Merkel and her renewed commitment to nuclear power. Accoring to the article, she "reversed an earlier decision to phase out atomic energy in Germany by 2020 saying the country needed its 20 nuclear plants more than ever before. "

ABC News reported that officers had used batons and pepper spray to keep the protesters at bay and figured 20,000 people were participating in the protests.

1.8 million votes were cast in the election on Tuesday but the governor's race is too close to call.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Mark Dayton (D) had a narrow 9,257 vote lead over Republican candidate Tom Emmer. Independent candidate Tom Horner conceded after securing 12 percent of the vote.

MinnPost reported that governors will miss the White House new governor's summit if the recount drags on as long as expected. The summit is Dec. 2 and the MN Secretary of State's timeline says the recount should be finished by Dec. 14. If not, the recount timeline could put Minnesota Democrats at a disadvantage.

According to the Associated Press, Gov. Tim Pawlenty could retain executive power when the Minnesota legislature begins its session in January. With Republicans in control of the state House and Senate, Pawlenty will be able to "push through massive spending cuts and pursue long-held goals on things like banning gay marriage, enacting photo ID for voters and expanded gambling."

After the elections Tuesday, most large news outlets featured coverage of the turnover of the House and overall election trends, instead of focusing on individual races.

According to the New York Times, Republicans gained 60 seats in mid-term races, forming a 239-to-187 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the G.O.P. did not fare as well in the Senate race where Democrats only lost 6 seats.

According to the article, Republicans even beat out more established Democrats, like former Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

Experts are predicting that the splitting of Congress will make it more difficult for President Barack Obama to enact new legislation.

Bloomberg news reported Sunday that with 9 races still undetermined, Republicans could expand their control of the House.

Officials are still involved in recounts for close races in California, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Washington and New York.