September 2010 Archives

By Justin Reis

Story by The Washington Post

It appears there are several sources used: Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Rev. Graylan Hagler, and Bishop Harry Jackson.

They are sourced in clusters, not scattered throughout the story. The information from these people provides verification and hard, factual evidence of who Long is as a person, what he is up against with the lawsuits, and these sources also tell the reader more about the life Long lives as a megachurch bishop.

Grassley talks about other run-ins he encountered in the Bishop's past when he previously investigated Long for his flashy lifestyle and possible tax fraud. These records provide further background of Eddie Long.

Attribution is most often at the end of sentences, rarely at the beginning. Also, the name of the source is consistently followed with the verb: said. This is effective and keeps the story clean and even flowing.

By Justin Reis

Georgia megachurch pastor denies accusations that he approached young men into engaging in sexual relationships.

Bishop Eddie long, 57, of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of Lithonia, Georgia, is being sued by four men all saying Long seduced them. MSNBC reports that two of the young men were a part of the LongFellows Youth Academy, run by the church, which teaches teens about sexual and financial obedience.

"I'm not a perfect man, but this thing I'm going to fight," Long said to his 25,000-member congregation. According to MSNBC the crowd roared Sunday when he said, "I am not the man portrayed on television."

Long has been a long-time opponent of gay marriage.

According to The Washington Post and the lawsuits, Long persuaded the four men into homosexual acts with jewelry, cars, vacations, and access to celebrities.

"I will fight this" paired with "I am not a perfect man" gives him room to settle the accusations, The Washington Post reported.

By Justin Reis

Many residents of Blue Earth, Wabasha and Watonwan counties are asked to avoid the use of household water, are in need of sandbags and are still running from the rising flood waters.

Minnesota officials said in Blue Earth County, the high water of the LeSueur River is resulting in the failure of sanitary sewer systems, in a report by the Pioneer Press.
134 soldiers are in southern Minnesota helping with flood victims according to the Pioneer Press.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty assured those affected by the floods in southeastern Minnesota will receive federal aid, the Star Tribune reported. Clean up of the flood disaster continued Sunday after the severe rain last week.

State officials in the Zumbro Falls area are working with communities to get people home, fed, and ensured safety.

By Justin Reis

Last week a Shoreview man went missing after telling his wife he had been abducted and was found in Las Vegas unharmed.

Mathew William Anderson, 29, was found on Friday after the week long search of his whereabouts. Anderson was found in a construction area downtown Las Vegas and was taken to the hospital, the Pioneer Press reported.

According to the Start Tribune, Anderson's wife reported her husband missing a week ago after he called her saying he was being kidnapped by two men. He was speaking quietly and said he was somewhere in Iowa.

He was found in "good medical condition," the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department said, who is investigating the case, "Anderson was not kidnapped and left on his own."

No criminal charges have been placed as it was Anderson's family who alerted authorities that they believed he was in danger.

By Justin Reis

The Department of defense purchased and destroyed thousands of copies of an Army officer's memoir during his time in Afghanistan leading a black-ops team.

Lt. Col Anthony Shaffer's memoir titled "Operation Dark Heart" released information deemed hazardous to national security by the Department of Defense. The destruction of 9,500 copies of memoir took place on September 20, Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. April Cunningham told CNN.

"Someone buying 10,000 books to suppress a story in this digital age is ludicrous." Shaffer said in a report by CNN. St. Martin's Press, Shaffer's publisher, released a second printing which the government made some changes.

Single words, names and paragraphs were blackened out. In a memo received by CNN on August 6, Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess said the Defense Intelligence Agency had been trying to get a copy of the manuscript for two months.

The book had been reviewed and approved by Shaffer's military superiors prior to publication. According to Fox News, a source confirmed that the DoD has been in the process of budget cuts and spent over $47,000 to destroy the book.

Shaffer said the controversy with the Pentagon and his memoir couldn't have happened at a better time now that his book is number 2 on Amazon.com's best seller list.

By Justin Reis

After 50 days of being trapped 2,300 ft underground in Copiapo, Chile, the 33 miners are expected to be rescued by a 924-pound cage.

The "Phoenix Capsule" arrived on Saturday at the San Jose gold and copper mine where family members of the miners saw it for the first time. The unveiling was presented by Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Goldborne and Health Minister Jamie Manalich, in a report by CNN.

The cage stands 10 feet tall, inside is six feet, four inches and 21 inches across. The cage is big enough to hold one person and should take about 15 minutes to bring each person to the top.

In a report by The Guardian, on August 5 the miners were told they would be trapped until Christmas, when the incident occurred.

The capsule is outfitted with an oxygen supply, communications equipment and retractable wheels to travel up the rescue shaft in case anything goes wrong, CNN reported.

If the miner in the cage needs to evacuate the capsule during the rescue, he can escape through the bottom and will then be lowered with a cable, Goldborne said in a report by The Gaurdian.

by Justin Reis

The lead in the Star Tribune report provides clear indication of what to look for to identify the missing man. However, I feel it may be a bit too brief, not getting to the who, what, when, and where until much later in the article.

News elements in the lead are: The man is missing, he was talking to his wife, and he called her saying he was kidnapped. These all outline the "what". The "who" is clear, as well as the when and where. The downward pyramid is used in displaying the information.

The lead is straightforward due to the facts outlining what he may be found driving. The facts that are missing from this are his physical attributes: hair color, build, "was last seen wearing"... This all is identified later in the story.

I believe the reporter chose this approach due to the importance and relevance of what the man is seen driving due to the national missing alert, alerting the public of the license, make and color of the vehicle.

by Justin Reis

The Associated Press reports a Minnesota couple waling around Lake Superior. The 1,550-mile trek lasted 4 ½ months and they only encountered 4 others during the mission.

Mike Link, 64, and his wife Kate Crowley, 60, decided on the walk to commemorate Link's retirement. They want to draw attention to his one-time employer Northwoods Audubon Center to highlight fresh water resources, the Star Tribune reported.

Minnesota Public Radio reported a group of 75 welcomed the two home Saturday afternoon. They told MPR, during the 150-day hike just one thing stood out. "The lake makes the decisions."

They two plan to write a book on their experience.

by Justin Reis

A Shoreview man was deemed missing on Friday, according to the Star Tribune. He was on the phone with his wife during the confrontation, as he shouted, "No, no, no."

Mathew Anderson, 29, was on his was to pick up his daughter from daycare Friday when he suddenly disappeared. The Star Tribune reported a nationwide missing-person alert announced Saturday.

Anderson made a call from what is believed to be a vehicle the Star Tribune reported. Anderson's wife, Amber Anderson, told police officials he called from his cell phone around 7 p.m., whispering he was "kidnapped."

Ramsey County officials traced the cell phone call from Wisconsin Dells. Anderson's van was later discovered downtown Chicago in good condition, KSTP reported.

Anderson is still considered missing.

by Justin Reis

A man died after being Tased at the downtown Minneaopilis YMCA. Family and friends say he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which added to his confrontational behavior.

David Cornelius Smith, 28, of Brooklyn Park refused to leave the fitness center on Sept. 9 and police were called. Police said Smith was causing a disturbance at the time of close and was uncooperative, the Star Tribune reported.

He was Tased and handcuffed, then police noticed there was a medical emergency, then rushed to him to Hennepin County Medical Center. The Star Tribune went on to report Smith went into cardic arrest and spent eight days in a coma.

Smith's uncle said he was "declared brain dead and life support had to be disconnected," reported by Kare11.

Smith's family is speaking out on the dangers of police use of Tasers.

by Justin Reis

BP's Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is dead after 205 million gallons of oil leaked from the end of April to mid-July. USA Today reportsthat National Incident Commander Thad Allen said, "The Macondo well poses no continuing threat to the Gulf."

The well along with two others will be destroyed while clean up efforts continue. A temporary cap was placed on the well in July until a permanent fix was decided upon.

Mud and cement filled the well causing a permanent plug, not allowing addional oil to be released.

President Obama called the death to the oil leak a "milestone" as this catastrophy will be marked in history as the worst offshore spill, mentioned by USA Today.

The New York Times reported a pressure test by the Development Driller III that confirmed a tight seal with the concrete mixture stopping more oil and gas to leak.

By Justin Reis

The world's number of flowering plant species is estimated at 400,000 after eliminating more than 600,000 from the list due to overlap of many of the same plant species.

Scientists from the US and UK have determined that after centuries of identifying new plant species, many are duplicates and the actual results will be released later this year, The Guardian reported.

Knowing the exact number will be important for food, nutrition, and medicine reasons, one of the project's researchers mentioned.

"On average, one plant might have between two and three names, " Alan Paton, a researcher from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London stated.

This is economically important because of the high use of plant materials.