November 2009 Archives

Nearly 10,000 albinos in east Africa are being forced into hiding, for fear they will be hunted and dismembered, according to CNN.

Albino citizens living in Tanzania and Burundi are targeted because their body parts are believed to bring wealth and good fortune, reported CNN.

The Associated Press reported that dealers can make up $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set.  These sets include limbs, genitals, tongue, nose and ears.

A Red Cross report said that many are fleeing to schools of disability in Tanzania because there are emergency shelters set up there.

Government officials in Tanzania are trying to mobilize police but these killings usually happen in rural areas where there aren't enough resources, CNN reported

Officials at the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies.say this issue needs to be addressed on an international level because, "Thousands more albinos across a huge swathe of countryside ... are unable to move freely to trade, study or cultivate fields for fear of albino hunters,"

Albinos are often looked down upon and many are uneducated, according to the AP.  They are therefore forced to work menial jobs, often outside, putting them at a high risk for skin cancer.

CNN reported that at least 44 Tanzanian albinos have been killed and 14 in Burundi since 2007. 

An accused Nazi Camp Guard is on trial in Germany for forcing 27,900 Jews to their death at a Holocaust death camp, according to the New York Times.

The defense argued that John Demjanjuk, 89, had no choice but to put Jews to death at Sobibor death camp in Poland, CNN said.

The New York Times said this was Demjanjuk's second time on trial, after almost being sentenced to death in Israel in 1988.

Ulrich Busch, Demjanjuk's defense attorney, argued that he was a 'victim' and was a prisoner of war during World War II.

Demjanjuk was born in the Ukraine and fought for the Soviet Army against Germany.  He became a prisoner of war and was forced to be a camp guard for the Nazi's, according to the New York Times.

CNN reported that his trial is expected to last until May of next year and that given his medical condition, there can only be two 90 minute sessions a day.

The prosecuter's office said he was orginally charged by the German court with 29,000 murders, but it was reduced because some Jews had died during the transportation process.

The New York Times said if Demjanjuk is convicted, he will most likely die in a German prison.

"While no trial can bring back those that were murdered, holding those responsible to justice has an important moral and educational role in society," said Avner Shalev, the chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Tiger Woods dropped out of his own tournament on Monday, due to injuries from a car accident, according to WCCO News.

CNN reported Woods had suffered minor injuries in an accident near his Florida home early Friday.

His SUV hit a fire hydrant and a tree, leaving Woods with a few cuts and bruises, according to WCCO.

The Chevron World Challenge tournament is to take place in Thousand Oaks, California, where Woods was also scheduled to attend a news conference to raise money for Tiger Woods Foundation programs, according to CNN.

Greg McLaughlin, president of Woods' foundation said the tournament will go on and that Tiger's decision to not compete was fully supported.

"I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at may tournament this week," Woods said. "I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there."

Woods declined three interviews with police regarding the accident and said for the sake of his family, he wanted the incident to remain private, he said in a statement n his website.

A man used a hammer to smash televisions and cameras inside a Winona Target store, Saturday night, according to the Winona Daily News.

Police arrived to find Jerome Charles Eberle, 39, running around the store with a hammer, before he turned the hammer to them, police said.

Eberle swung the hammer once at a police officer and another had suffered a minor hand injury during the chase, according to police Sgt. Chris Nelson.

One witness said the man had a "glazed look" in his eyes and was "walking like Frankenstein."

Police officers had to tase Eberle twice so they could take him into custody, according to the Winona Daily news.

The Pioneer Press (AP Minnesota) reported that Eberle was taken to Winona Health for a behavioral evaluation.

Eberle is charged with two counts of assault for attacking officers, obstruction of justice with force, first-degree property damage and disorderly conduct, Nelson said. 

A St. Paul Central High School student was shot in the back of the head on accident, Thanksgiving morning, according to the Star Tribune.

Darion Joseph Smith, 15, and his friends had been joking around with a .22-caliber nine-shot revolver, when the shooter pointed it at the victim's head and pulled the trigger, according to the criminal complaint.

The Pioneer Press reported that 19-year-old Daniel Thomas Cornell had brought the gun to use as protection later on that day against a group of Asian males who had jumped him.

The shooter, identified as C.I.N., told police he didn't know the gun was loaded, according to the criminal complaint.

"I didn't know it was loaded," the 16-year-old said. "I didn't mean to."

Cornell then called his girlfriend to come dispose of the revolver, which was later found along with Smith's blood-stained hat in a backpack, according to the Pioneer Press. 

Cornell is being charged by the Ramsey County District Court with two counts of second-degree assault, aiding an offender, furnishing a dangerous weapon and furnishing a dangerous weapon to a minor the Star Tribune said.

The New York Times wrote an article in October about how the Chinese language in and around Manhattan's Chinatown is changing from Cantonese to Mandarin.  I met a Chinese-American student at Coffman Student Union and discussed this article with him.  He is a senior named Thomas, who lives just off-campus.  Thomas convienantly has been to Chinatown twice throughout his life and has a general background about the Chinese language.  His grandparents speak Cantonese.

We both came to the conclusion that this article is more substansive than stereotypical of the Chinese-American population.  The news article starts off with one man's perspective on the way language is changing in Chinatown.  The article goes into more factual information about the people that live in the area and about how schools are adapting to teach children the different dialects.

Every interview and quote is from a parent at the school, the principal, a college professor or a resident of the area.  There is minimal obeservation but mainly based on interviews. They are the ones that tell the reporter about the dialect differences because they experience it everyday.  The NY Times reported that this difference is due from a shift in immigration. 

Thomas said out of all the articles he has read pertaining to Chinese/Asian-Americans (which he notes hasn't been many at all) that this one remains pretty neutral in its writing and is based on facts/opinions from other people other than the reporter. 

A Miami man is being sentenced to 6 years in prison for plotting to bomb the Chicago Sears Tower, according to CBS News.

Prosecutors originally were sentencing Burson Augustin, 23, to 30 years in prison but Joan Lenard, a US district judge, gave him a lighter sentence, according to BBC News.

CBS reported, Augustin had also allegedly been a supporter of al-Qaeda.

Islamic terrorism is one of the most tremendous problems that this country now confronts... and this defendant took an oath to al-Qaeda," the judge said.

Four other men were also involved in the plot to bomb the Sears Tower and other FBI buildings, according to CBS.

CBS reported, the ringleader, Narseal Batiste, could face up to 70 years in prison and the others between 30 and 50 years.

BBC reported that the Sears Tower has since been re-named to Willis Tower.

Residents in South Australia have been asked to evacuate their communities as part of a 'catastrophic' fire warning issued Tuesday, CNN reported.

People living in the Eastern Eyre Peninsula and West Coast districts were asked to evacuate and residents of Flinders, North West Pastoral and Lower Eyre Peninsula are under 'extreme' watch, according to CNN.

BBC News reported that the warning was created after 173 people died in the state of Victoria earlier this year, 113 of them were killed in their houses trying to put out fires.

"In the next couple of days we are going to see high temperatures, very low humidity and very strong winds," said fire service chief Euan Ferguson.

Temperatures are expected to reach 104 F over the weekend, according to CNN.

Residents are urged to leave although it can't be mandated, BBC reported.

A 7-year-old third grader from El Paso was fatally shot in Juarez, Mexico, Friday night, according to the El Paso Times.

CNN reported that Raul Xazziel Ramirez was visiting his father when a gunman shot at their white Geo Tracker when they were in a roundabout.

Ramirez's father, Raul Ramirez Alvarado, was shot in the driver's seat first and when the boy tried to escape the vehicle, he was shot in the back several times and fell near the car, spokesman Arturo Sandoval said.

The gunman fired at least 18 shots with a 9 mm weapon, Sandoval said.

Patricia Ayala, a spokeswoman for Ysleta Independent School District said the boy lived with his aunt and uncle and this was his first semester at Glen Cove Elementary School.

Ramirez's family couldn't be reached for comment, according to the El Paso Times.

Tom Petters was given the chance to testify early Tuesday and denied that he knowingly was involved in fraud, Kare 11 (AP) reported.

WCCO reported that when Petters took the stand he claimed not guilty to the 20 wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering charges against him.

"I have a lot of regrets," Petters said. "I ran too fast. I trusted some people far too much. Sometimes I didn't double-check and recheck."

Petters did apologize to his investors, family, employees and their families for all the money they lost, according to WCCO.

Bob White, the chief financial officer and Deanna Coleman, the vice president of operations at Petters Co. Inc. admitted to forging thousands of documents to fool investors.

Sandra Imdahl, an accountant for PCI, said it she was never gven access to PCI's bank statements.

Petter could face life in prison if he is convicted, according to Kare 11. 

St. Paul and Minneapolis police are investingating a recently posted YouTube video showing a group of males harrassing and attacking passersby, the Pioneer Press reported.

The Star Tribune reported that the video was edited and posted by a group of eight young Somali males, showing them attacking bikers, pedestrians and young children for enjoyment purposes.

The video contains the names and street names of the young males but were still being investigated as to their actuality, according to police.

Police are still trying to identify the locations where the incidents exactly occured and are looking for "police reports that might match up to this kind of behavior," according to Sgt. Paul Schnell, police spokesman.

The Star Tribune reported that some of the locations included the intersections of University and Lexington avenues as well as on the Midtown Greenway.

"Whether criminal charges are brought will be dependent upon our ability to match the incident with actual reports by the victims," Schnell said.

The YouTube video was e-mailed to St. Paul police by concerned citizens this morning, according to the Pioneer Press.

This Star Tribune news story is about how Xcel Energy filed an application with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to increase their natural gas rates for 2010.  They want to increase the rates by 3.9 percent, adding $2.71 onto customers' energy bill per month.

This story contains the use of many numbers. The numbers include: dates, percents, monetary amounts and increases in those percents and dollar amounts.  The numbers used make the story what it is.  This story deals strictly with all numbers otherwise there wouldn't be a story to tell.  Xcel wants to make increases in their natural gas rates in a couple of increments until 2011 thus far.

The reporter made the numbers easy to grasp in this story because it was told clearly and to the point.  He used some math to figure out in percent increases from year to year as well as the increase that will be added to customers monthly energy bill.

His sources must have come directly from Xcel Energy Inc and the president, Judy Poferl, because there were no surveys for example that were used.  They are not directly listed.

A North Dakota woman left Williston's Mercy Medical Center with the wrong baby, according to the Bismarck Tribune.

Hospital officials said the incident occured in September but the hospital is changing its procedures, according to the Pioneer Press.

The Pioneer Press said the mistake was discovered within an hour the family reunited with their child.

A baby's movement from the bassinet is logged everytime and the wristband is supposed to be double checked before a newborn can leave, according to, Mercy Chief Financial Officer Kerry Monson.

Monson wouldn't release details about the incident, nor identify the families involved.

Monson did read a statement about how "disheartened" the hospital emplotees are, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

A Brazilian bricklayer, who was reported dead, walked into his own funeral and shocked his family members, according to the New York Daily News.

Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, was reported dead in a car crash on Nov. 1 because some of his family members identified him as the victim, according to CNN.

The NY Daily News said Goncalves family didn't know that Goncalves had spent that night of the crash at a truck stop drinking with friends and didn't know about his funeral until it was in session on Monday.

Ironically, the funeral was held on a holiday known as Dawn of the Dead, where Brazilians honor the dead at cemetaries, according to the NY Daily News.

Goncalves neice, Rosa Sampaio told police there were doubts about whether the victim was Goncalves.  She said, "Before long, the walking dead appeared at the funeral. It was a relief."

CNN reported the mystery of the actual victim was solved when a family in a nearby city inquired about a missing son.

A former astronaut pleaded guilty to lesser charges as part of a plea bargin on Tuesday, according to CNN.

Capt. Lisa M. Nowak, 46, a former Navy officer, attacked Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman at the Orlando International Airport in 2007 to confront her about the man they had both been dating, according to the New York Times.

The New York Times said Nowak pleaded guilty to to felony burglary of a car and misdemeanor battery, which was lighter than the original charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary and battery.

Orange County Circuit Judge Marc Lubet sentenced her to a year of probation, 50 hours of community service, have no contact with the victim and write a letter of apology to Shipman.

Nowak and Shipman had both been seeing Navy Cmdr. Bill Oefelein and Nowak drove from Texas to Florida wearing diapers so she wouldn't have to stop, to confront Shipman, the New York Times said.

"Shortly after I turned 30 years old, Lisa Nowak hunted me down and attacked me in a dark parking lot," Shipman said.

Nowak made a formal apology to Shipman saying, "I am sincerely sorry for causing fear and misunderstanding and all of the intense public exposure that you have suffered." 

CNN reported that Lubet should Nowak no sympathy and that she had brought this upon herself.

A Minneapolis man was charged for abusing his 10-year-old son and turning on the oven when the boy was trying to hide, according to the criminal charges.

Kare 11 reported that William T. Hurley, 23 is being charged with malicious punishment of a child and was taking into custody at Hennepin County Jail.

Police responded to the child abuse call on Friday at an apartment on the 2000 Block of Elliot Avenue, according to Kare 11.

The boy told police Hurley punched him and when he tried running outside, his mother pulled him back into their apartment.

Hurley then beat the boy with an extension cord and turned the oven on when the boy tried to hide in it, according to WCCO.

WCCO reported that Hurley threatened the boy again in front of police officers and had to be restrained.

A golden valley daycare provider turned children's pajamas into straight jackets as a disciplinary action, KSTP News reported.

Arvilla Marie Lilly Meinhardt, 70, had been safety pinning children to mattresses in straight jackets made from pajamas for nearly eight years, according to the Star Tribune.

According to KSTP, Meinhardt is being charged with false imprisonment and malicious punishment of a child.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said she would pin them down when they were taking their naps but that some children were pinned when they were just laying.

Meinhardt showed the police how she would pin the pajamas together and parents said they had no idea this was going on, according to the criminal complaint.

Meinhardt's husband and daughter were also arrested but could be "potentially" charged, according to Golden Valley Police Chief Stacy Altonen.

The Star Tribune reported that the police were told about this case when a 7-year-old girl told her mother what Meinhardt would do during nap time. 

The Star Tribune ran an obituary on James Lehman, a record setting football player for St. John's University and pro football player.

This particular obituary has a different format in comparison to most.  It certainly doesn't follow the typical New York Times formula.  The lead is more alternative.  It starts by talkin about his football touchdown record for St. John's University in the game against Augustana in 1954.  Facts about his death are not even mentioned until the fifth paragraph. The lead works in a sense that it tells the reader who he was and why he is notable in the community.

The different kind of sources that are used come from mainly people who knew him from sports.  The head coach at St. Johns, the head pro golfer at the Alexandria Golf Club and his son, Tom, who is a professional golfer.  Lehman's whole obituary revolves around his sports career and history with athletics so the sources used are fitting to the story.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karai was re-elected for another term after a run-off vote was cancelled, on Monday, according to Reuters.

Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in Afghanistan called off the race due to Karai's only rival,Abdullah Abdullah, withdrawing on Sunday, CNN said.

Abdullah dropped out because he said he didn't believe the election to be fair and didn't want the rights of the Afghan people to be abused.

Reuters reported the IEC said the first round of voting in August was marred by widespread fraud in favor of Karzai.

President Barack Obama said this would be an improved governance and told Karzai this was a chance to increase training for Afgahn security forces.

Obama wants Karzai to best serve his people and crack down on corruption.

CNN reported that Obama may increase troops to 40,000, but the decision will officially be made within a number of weeks.

Reuters said Karzai has ruled since 2001 and now has to appoint a cabinet acceptable for the Afghan people and international community.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge reopened this morning after six days to attend to emergency repairs, MSNBC News reported.

The bridge had to be closed after heavy traffic and high winds caused two rods and a crossbar to fall onto rush hour traffic on Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Caltrans' Chief Engineer Richard Land said the fix was temporary "but a long-term solution might be needed."

MSNBC said the first car was allowed to cross at 9 a.m. this morning, followed by California Highway Patrol cars on the upper deck.  The lower deck opened 10 minutes later.

When the 5000-pound assembly crashed onto the upper deck, three cars were damaged, the San Francisco Chronicle said.

Lauren Wonder, a spokeswoman for the state department of transportation said there were tests done on Saturday but they failed and had to be reworked all day Sunday.

Commuters were happy for the bridge to reopen but Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said, "safety is our priority." 

A Gopher football player was arrested and put in jail on Sunday night for obstructing the legal process and minor alcohol consumption, according to the Minnesota Daily.

Freshman defensive back, Michael Carter and his teammate Kenneth Watkins had attempted to "fight" with two other males outside Mesa Pizza in Dinkytown the University Police report said.

Carter refused to cooperate with police officers and became aggressive, the police report stated, while Watkins obeyed with police and tried to get Carter to do the same.

The Minnesota Daily said it took two police officers to arrest Carter and he had a BAC of .055.

The Pioneer Press reported that Carter has played in all nine games and recorded five tackles this season.  He is No. 2 behind cornerback Traye Simmons.

A university althletic department spokesman said that there was no one available for comment and the football team has not yet taken any action regarding the incident. 

A former St. Paul school employee pleaded guilty to stealing $81K from the school district since 2006, according to the Star Tirbune. 

James Allen Elwood, 63, of Woodbury had been using the school district's funds, meant for their Xcel Energy bill, to pay for his own home Xcel account, according to the criminal charges.

District Judge Paulette Flynn will sentence Elwood on December 17 and his plea agreement states that he must serve jail time, perform community service and pay back the school district, according to the Pioneer Press.

The charges against Elwood stated that Xcel began an investigation in August when he requested 10 large refund checks for his home account. 

The Star Tribune said that Elwood was an assistant accounting tech and would divert the school funds to his own account, which Xcel eventually figured out.

A school spokesperson said that Elwood is no longer working for the district.

A Lakeville woman pleaded guity for the second-degree manslaughter of her 6-week-old grandson today, according to the Star Tribune.

The Pioneer Press reported that Tina Louise Miller-Steiner, 46, was sentenced to 45 days in jail and 10 years probation for smothering to death her grandson, Evan Michael Berney, on May 9.

The Dakota County grand jury charged MIller-Steiner with two counts of felony, one for endangerment of a child and the other for neglect of a child.

According to the Star Tribune, Miller-Steiner's 12-year-old daughter had found her lying on top of the baby, who had stopped breathing.

Miller-Steiner had a couple drinks that night while babysitting and her blood alcohol level was a .08, after police were called.

Her doctor had advised her not to drink while taking her antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications, according to the Pioneer Press.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom was glad this case had been resolved and said that in this situation, the pain the woman has brought upon herself, was a big punishment in itself.