June 2012 Archives

Two men were charged Wednesday with the shooting last weekend that left four injured outside of the club, Gay 90's.

The Star Tribune reports Dontae Andre Dewayne McKinney, 19, and Don Buddie Austin, 20, face multiple assault charges.

Mike Freeman, Hennepin County attorney, told the Star Tribune at a press conference, "If you're dumb enough to start shooting at a bar closing, there's a ton of police there."

According to MPR News, Deputy County Attorney David Brown said tips led to the arrest of the two suspects. "Police can't do it alone and the fact that citizens were willing to be involved, make calls, give good descriptions, all really helped the police solve this crime," Brown said.

The Washington Post reports the latest wildfires in Colorado were caused by nearly a week of 100-degree days and low humidity, which takes moisture from grass, plants and trees, causing major wildfires.

U.S. Forest Service spokesman Steven Segin told the Post, "When it's that hot, it just dries the fuels even more. That can make the fuels explosive."

According to Reuters, Tuesday's wildfire prompted the evacuation of 7,000 people as the hot winds pushed the flames north.

Fire retardant was dropped onto the wildfire path from air tankers. There were no homes destroyed in the fire, Reuters reports.

Two Iranians were charged by a Kenyan court for possession of explosives Monday, according to AFP.

These charges occurred one day following a grenade attack in Mombasa that left three dead and wounding several others, according to news sources.

As reported by the AFP, according to documents presented in court, the Iranians were arrested last week in connection with planning bombings in Kenyan cities and possessing 15 kilos of RDX, a powerful explosive.

The Washington Post reports the two - Ahmed Abolfathi Mohammed and Sayed Mansour Mousavi - plead not guilty and were taken into custody.

This article is from the New York Daily News:

President Obama's immigration stance could pay off in key swing states, poll suggests

The reporter sourced Obama giving a speech near Orlando and a new poll showing the results of his new immigration policy in certain states.
The information from the two sources are spread throughout the story and the attribution is clear. The reporter uses quotes when sourcing Obama and uses phrases like 'poll suggests' and 'poll shows' when attributing information to poll results.

A thief took a $150,000 Dali painting from a gallery Tuesday, police said.

Described as a tall, slim, balding man, the thief walked into the new Venus Over Manhattan Art Gallery and asked the guard if he could take a picture. When the guard walked away, the man put the painting in a black shopping bag and left, according to the New York Daily News.

"The vast majority of high-end paintings such as this one are eventually recovered because they are such rare works of art and easily tracked," art-security consultant Robert Wittman told the Times Union. "And the true art is not in the stealing, it's the selling."

A five-game series ended Thursday with the Miami Heat earning their franchise's second National basketball Association championship.

The Heat defeated the Thunder 121-106.

Heat star player LeBron James, most valuable player in the finals, led his team to victory with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, the Washington Post reports. The Heat also tied an NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in the game after shooting 14.

Team president Pat Riley told the Miami Herald, "We believe we built a team to be around for a while."

Chairman of the Metropolitan Stadium Commission, Ted Mondale, became the executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Friday. According to the Pioneer Press, Mondale will oversee the planning and construction of the new stadium, estimated at $975 million.

Mondale, one of Gov. Mark Dayton's negotiators for the stadium early on, will receive $157,181 annually for this new full time position, the Star Tribune reports.

After being appointed CEO, Mondale told the members of the commission, "I appreciate the confidence you put in me and I will not let you down," the Pioneer Press reported. The commission will be responsible for the use of $500 million in state- and city- contributed funds and $477 million in team funds.

Hip-hop rapper and activist Brother Ali and 12 others were arrested for trespassing Thursday night at a Twin Cities home that faced foreclosure.

KARE 11 News reports the home that belonged to the Cruz family has now become the center of the foreclosure debate in Minneapolis due to claims that PNC Bank broke agreement with the homeowners by refusing to negotiate to correct the problem.

Nearly 125 Occupy Homes MN protesters arrived at the Cruz's home on the 4000 block of Cedar Ave, several news sources say.

Minneapolis police spokesperson Bill Palmer told the Star Tribune described Ali and the other protesters as peaceful. "Both the police and the protesters were so Minnesotan, in terms of how polite everyone was," he said.

According to the Star Tribune, this was Ali's first arrest. He spent nearly seven hours in jail and was released on $50 bail. His court date is set for July 5.

The Chicago Tribune reports no charges will be brought against a Texas father who killed a man for attempting to molest his 5-year-old daughter, officials said.

The father admitted to Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon and Texas Ranger that after hearing his daughter's screams, he ran to find her being attacked by Jesus Flores, then beat Flores to death, authorities said.

According to the New York Times, prosecutors said the grand jury and the police agreed after a review of the evidence that the father was authorized to use deadly force to protect his daughter.

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak is in critical condition in the hospital with rapidly deteriotating health, the New York Times reports.

According to the Times, conflicting reports about Mubarak's condition included Mubarak being declared "clinically dead" after suffering a stroke and being put on life support.
According to an Interior Ministry spokesman, Mubarak was confirmed alive, but in critical condition, the Times reports.

Business Week reports retired Major General Sameh Seif el-Layzil said in an interview, Mubarak was transferred from the prison he was serving his life sentence to a military hospital for care.

This lead was taken from the article Plague Confirmed in Oregon Man Bitten by Stray Cat written on ABC News:

Health officials have confirmed that an Oregon man has the plague after he was bitten while trying to take a dead rodent from the mouth of a stray cat.

This is an example of a general news story lead that is short and goes immediately to the action of the news story. This lead works to give the who (man), the what (confirmed to have the plague), the where (Oregon) and the why (from the bite of a stray cat) of the story without great detail.

Robert Kelly, also known as singer R. Kelly, owes the IRS over $5 million in unpaid taxes.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, documents held by the Cook County Recorder of deeds reports Kelly's unpaid debts to the IRS. Recently filed IRS documents say the singer's debts date back to 2005, the Times reports.

RTT News reports according to Billboard, this debt is owed despite payments made over the last few years. Kelly reportedly paid $2.6 million in 2008 and $1 million in 2011.

Kelly has not publicly addressed the debts but according to the Times, Kelly's spokesperson insisted the singer does not have any serious money problems.

According to The New York Times, singer Chris Brown and rapper Drake were involved in a brawl in a nightclub in SoHo on Wednesday, currently being investigated by police.

They also report that champagne bottles being thrown between entourages caused several injuries including one necessitating 20 stitches. Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, told the Times Brown was the "victim" in this case, "Clearly this was orchestrated by Drake," he said.

As reported by the Huffington Post, one alleged victim of the brawl took to YouTube about her injuries, according to the Channel News 7. A rumored shared love interest in Rihanna is behind the tension between the two artists, the Post reports.

An Andover man died during his first deployment in Afghanistan Wednesday.

According to the Star Tribune, 21-year-old Taylor Baune was deployed to Afghanistan three months after marrying his high school sweetheart. Baune is the second Minnesotan fatality this year.

The Pioneer Press reports his wife, Colleen Baune, said he died in a roadside bomb explosion while on foot patrol. They also report that according to the military, he was killed during a combat operation.

"He was the most fun, carefree person," Baune, 20, told the Pioneer Press. "He was always trying to make people laugh and would do whatever he could to turn someone's day around."

The Defense Department said Thursday Baune is the 2,000th American killed in combat in Afghanistan during operations in Helmand, reported by the Star Tribune.

According to the Star Tribune, 76-year-old Minneapolis woman, Lois Swenson, was found dead in her bedroom this week due to physical beating Friday, authorities said. They report the Hennepin County medical examiner's office said the victim suffered "multiple blunt force injuries."

KARE 11 news reports the death is being investigated as a homicide, after police found her at her home on the 2200 block of Vincent Avenue.

NEW YORK - A group of passengers on a JetBlue flight last March filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the airline and pilot for erratic behavior.

According to CNN, the lawsuit accused JetBlue of gross negligence for allowing an unfit Capt. Clayton Osborne to fly. The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Queens.

The Associated Press reports that Osborn faces federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and his conviction could result in a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

New York Daily News reported the flight Las Vegas flight was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, after yelling obscenities throughout the cabin. The suit quoted Osborne saying, "Say your prayers... We're going down...There's a bomb on board"

It is reported a spokesperson from JetBlue declined to comment.

YANGON, Myanmar - The Washington Post reports sectarian strife in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims has caused the president to declare a state of emergency. This declaration follows riots that took place in Rakhine last Friday that killed several and wounded others.

It is reported that the curfew was imposed in major towns across the western state. The dawn-to-dusk curfew runs for 12 hours from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

According to the Kuwait Times, groups of more than five people are banned from gathering in public. The Times also reported the large Muslim population, which includes the Rohingya, a widely persecuted minority, is often viewed with hostility in the dominant, mostly Buddhist state of Rahkine.

The ethnic and religious tensions between the social groups caused riots that left seven dead, 17 wounded and nearly 500 houses destroyed.