February 2011 Archives

A 6-year-old boy was struck by a hit-and-run driver Sunday in St. Paul, and police are trying to find the vehicle and driver.

The boy was brought to Regions Hospital and is expected to live, the Pioneer Press reported.

Police described the vehicle as being a light blue minivan or SUV with possible damage to the passenger-side mirror, the Star Tribune reported.

The vehicle was traveling east on University Avenue at about 7 p.m. and its passenger-side mirror hit the boy in the head, the Star Tribune reported.

Two news organizations that have great multimedia options are the New York Times and NPR.

NPR has the option to listen to news stories, watch videos, and look at pictures that accompany news stories. The New York Times has a great multimedia section that offers slide shows of things like the pictures of the Day or other stories. The New York Times also has great videos.

New York Times features picture slide shows in their multimedia section while NPR features the different kinds of listening programs.

The pictures on New York Times give great visual perspectives to stories. It shows you what the story is telling you. NPR's listening news programs are great because you can hear the interviewee and interviewer talking.

The writing for the picture slides shows is very short and concise. The captions are about two sentences long and the first always describes who or what is in the picture. The listening programs have the complete story written out so you have the option of reading it. It is set up like a news story but is a lot longer than the captions used to accompany the slide shows.

Muammar Qaddafi told loyalists in Tripoli, Libya, that he is prepared to arm them Saturday to fight.

Rebels have taken hold of the eastern half of the coast in the towns of Zawiyah and Misurata, not far from Tripoli and important oil facilities, the New York Times reported.

"When needed, all the weapons stores will be opened," Qaddafi told a crowd in Green Square Friday, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it's time for Qaddafi to leave, and the U.S. and allies are working on ways to stop the violence in Libya without using the military, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

A level three sex offender disappeared Thursday after cutting off the GPS bracelet used for monitoring and leaving a St. Paul halfway house.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections is looking for Eugene Glaraton, 42, for failing to register as a sex offender in Ramsey County, the Pioneer Press reported.

Glaraton has previous convictions that include First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, but was released Feb.15 from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Lino Lakes, Kare 11 reported.

Glaraton is white with gray hair and blue eyes, Kare 11 reported.

Libyan leader Moammar el-Qaddaffi is blamed for violence Wednesday aimed at protesters in the capital of Tripoli.

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the European Union to cut economic and business ties with Libya, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"The international community cannot remain a spectator to these massive violations of human rights" Sarkozy told the Los Angeles Times.

President Obama said threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters is unacceptable, ABC News reported .

These violent confrontations between security forces and protesters have sent many people fleeing from Libya, ABC News reported.

A St. Paul man allegedly had 1,000 pounds of copper Wednesday and is linked to two recent burglaries.

The 53-year-old suspect is connected to the crime based on evidence left on the scene at 310 East 5th Street, Kare 11 reported.

The man has not been charged but allegedly broke into a vacant factory that is being converted into a facility for the Central Corridor light-rail line, the Star Tribune reported.

Kare 11 reported that investigators found evidence that links the man to the scene of the second burglary.

Protesters gather at the Capitol in Madison, Wis., Monday to demonstrate against Gov. Scott Walker's plan to end their collective bargaining rights.

The union leaders, health care workers and other public employees will give in to the financial concessions of the budget but not the union-busting, bargaining rights, NPR reported.

Walker told Reuters that the bottom line is that we are broke so we can't negotiate over a budget.

Teachers argue that what Walker is proposing will hurt students more in the long term because it will make it easier to get rid of aides, increase class sizes, and fire veteran teachers, NPR reported.

The Guardian updated a story on Silvio Berlusconi and his trial for paying for sex with a teenager. The first article was Tuesday, Feb. 15, and the updated story was Wednesday, Feb. 16.

The leads in the two stories differ because the first one talks about Silvio Berlusconi and how this trial will effect his position as prime minister. His supporters said the indictment was an attack on the will of the people, the Guardian reported . The second talks about how Berlusconi is "untroubled" by the trial.

The main news is summarized in the first story by the date of the trial in April that will have three women judges, and the possibility of an early election for the next prime minister, the Guardian reported. The second story summarizes by switching topics. Berlusconi told the Guardian that he was here to deal with the economy.

The second story advances the news by having more information of the Moroccan girl who was underage when Berlusconi allegedly paid for sex, and telephone records showed that Karima el-Mahroug had been at his mansion, reported the Guardian.

The second-day story is responding to further details that were obtained about the story. The details are related to El-Mahroug and Berlusconi's relationship.

The follow up story just provided more information on who El-Mahroug is and detailed some of her relationship with Berlusconi.

Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), Monday will resign in March after saving the government from more than $700 million in fraud losses, CBS reported.

Barofsky oversees the government's $700 billion bank bailout program, the Washington Post reported.

The only oversight with law enforcement authority that helps to limit waste, fraud and abuse within the bailout program is SIGTARP, CBS reported.

A spokeswoman told the Washington Post that Barofsky's resignation "was a personal decision based on a number of factors, including his desire to spend more time with his wife and 9-month-old daughter."

The FBI examined developer Jerry Trooien's St. Paul office Thursday searching for evidence of fraud.

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service searched Trooien's office at 10 River Park Plaza, the base of Trooien's JLT Group Inc., said FBI special agent and spokesman Steve Warfield, the Star Tribune reported.

Trooien owed creditors $284.5 million and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last October, the Star Tribune reported.

Trooien did not comment about the search after his bankruptcy court hearing Thursday, the Pioneer Press reported.

Gov. Mark Dayton's budget Wednesday wants to cut funding for higher education and increase income tax for the wealthy.

Minnesota's income tax rate will make it the highest in the nation for the wealthy by proposing a 10.95 percent increase for high earners, the Star Tribune reported.

About 5 percent of Minnesotans would be taxed higher and Dayton also wants to increase a property tax for 9,400 homes, the Star Tribune reported.

With this proposal, the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities could face cuts in their 2012-2013 budget of up to $171 million, the Minnesota Daily reported.

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was ordered Tuesday to stand trial for paying a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex, and then used his power to try to cover it up.

The trial will begin April 6 and the panel will consist of three judges: All of whom are women, NPR reported.

The trial date came two days after thousands of Italian women protested Mr. Berlusconi for his sex scandals and derogatory treatment of women, the National Post reported.

If Berlusconi is convicted he could spend three years in prison for molesting a minor, and the power abuse charge could be up to 12 years, the National Post reported.

Energy drinks have lots of caffeine and similar ingredients Monday that cause dangerous side effects for children and young adults, according to the medical journal Pediatrics.

Caffeine and these similar ingredients cause side effects such as heart palpitations and seizures, reported Fox 9.

About half of young adults drink energy drinks that contain caffeine, guarana, taurine and L-carnitine, but children who have heart conditions or ADHD can be more sensitive to the side effects, reported NPR.

"These drinks have no benefit, no place in the diet of kids," said Dr. Marcie Schneider, an adolescence medicine specialist, to Fox 9.

The reporter summarized the Star Tribune's story by using the inverted pyramid story structure.

The lead summarized all the key facts and the second paragraph followed with more details about how many students end up in expanded housing.

The third paragraph gives the location of where the new dorm may be built and is then followed by a quote in the fourth paragraph.

The next couple of paragraphs just provide more information that is just detailing background information.

The reporter did this because it is a shorter news story and the most important information is told within the first three paragraphs. It is effective because the paragraphs are short and get to the point quickly.

This structure works best because it is a short news story. There is not enough information for the martini glass structure and there is not too much chronology of events. The kabob would not have worked as efficiently because it is not about a certain person just about the lack of housing on campus. There would also not be an anecdote from a specific person.

Egyptian President Mubarak has resigned Saturday but protesters still remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square so the military will ensure their freedoms.

The military rulers vowed to keep the Israel peace treaty and give power to a newly elected government, reported the Star Tribune.

Mubarak resigned Friday, and people have started to return to their daily lives: Vehicles are being towed away, streets are being cleaned, and damages to Tahrir Square are being fixed, reported NPR.

The military, the protesters, and Mubarak's regime will be the main three powers building Egypt's future, reported the Star Tribune.

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a Republican bill Thursday that would decrease funding for the University of Minnesota.

Dayton said the bill was unconstitutional because he would have to make some of the decisions on what would be cut, which is the Legislature's responsibility, reported the Minnesota Daily.

The Minnesota Daily reported that "there is nothing to be gained, and much to be lost, by addressing [the deficit] in this disjointed manner," Dayton said in a statement.

Spending would have been cut on aid to cities and counties, education, renter's credit, and health and human services programs, reported the Star Tribune.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Thursday that the Vice President Omar Suleiman will take over some of his duties but Mubarak will remain in office until September when a government transition can take place.

The hundreds of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahir Square were outraged because they were hoping that Mubarak's address would end his 30 years in power, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Karim Kandil, one of the protesters, told NPR that they will continue to demand that Mubarak step down and be tried for his crimes.

Mubarak, a prominent leader, is a trusted U.S. ally in stopping Islamic terrorism and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reported the Los Angeles Times.

First lady Michelle Obama has created a nationwide program Wednesday that will help end childhood obesity in America.

The program called "Let's Move" informs parents about nutrition and exercise, increasing the quality of food in schools, making healthy food affordable, and emphasizing physical education, ABC News reported.

School lunches are changing everywhere and trying to improve the quality of food that children are receiving, NPR reported.

The first lady told NPR that she partnered with Wal-Mart to produce a grocery chain with foods containing less sugar, sodium, and trans fats.

One in three kids are overweight or obese, and Americans spend $150 billion a year to treat obesity-related illnesses, said the first lady to ABC News.

Living in a study lounge as part of expanded housing Monday, creates tight space for students living on campus; the U plans to build more dorms to increase space.

These study lounges that are turned into temporary living spaces house up to 300 first-year students, the Star Tribune reported.

The 1701 University Avenue SE classroom building is the proposed sight for the new dorms that are expected to house an additional 650 students, the Daily reported.

The Daily reports that the dorms will cost about $38 million, an essential addition when the University of Minnesota has 51,659 students.

NPR uses at least 13 different sources to attribute background information, add interest and weight. The sources that are named are the most prominent figures: U.S. President Obama, European Union leaders, Egyptian reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, Vice President Omar Suleiman, and the Muslim Brotherhood's news agency.

The attribution is scattered within the news story, and is used to add opinion on how the U.S. and European Unions feel about Mubarak resigning.

The information is mostly from individual people but the quotes attributed to the thousands of protesters are mostly repeatedly heard messages, like "Leave! Leave! Leave!"

The reporter sets up the attribution by saying who "said" what. There was a fair amount of quoting and paraphrasing, both of which used the word "said". The way the reporter attributed was effective,clear and precise. NPR effectively used the attribution to enhance the value of the story.

Thousands of protesters gathered peacefully Friday, in Cairo, to demonstrate the people's wish that Mubarak leave.

Tahrir Square was filled with anti-government protesters who were determined to have Mubarak leave, after the pro-regime rioters attacked them on Wednesday, reported the Detroit Free Press.

Soldiers checked IDs and did body searches to reduce weapons in the square; while, protesters are hoping the size and peaceful attitude of the rally will help initiate Mubarak step down, reported NPR.

NPR reported that the Obama administration and European Union leaders are pressuring Mubarak to resign, and create a transition where a council can create a permanent constitution to form political parties and other freedoms.

The new chancellor of MnSCU Thursday is risky, and more likely to transform the education system in major ways.

Steven Rosenstone, the University of Minnesota's vice president for scholarly and cultural affairs, has never before presided over a college or university, not to mention the huge Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, reported the Star Tribune.

The Board of Trustees for MnSCU chose Rosenstone because of his emphasis on innovation and creativity; he thinks big and wants to do many things, reported The Daily.

The MnSCU has had a decrease in state funding, but Rosenstone is still focusing on reducing overhead costs and maintaining academic reputations, reported the Star Tribune.

A huge snow storm pounds the Midwest Wednesday, causing thousands of flight cancellations, plant shut-downs, and public transportation interruptions.

Reuters reports that the storm effects 30 states and a third of the U.S. population; some cities getting heavy snowfall and others suffering from dangerous ice.

Chicago stranded motorists overnight when Lake Shore Drive was shut down to prevent anymore accidents; the storm is not over and is expected to leave 2 feet of snow in the Chicago area, the Star Tribune reported.

"You'll pay a price," Edward Butler, a lakefront doorman, told the Star Tribune. A true "Chicagoan" does not back down, but respects the storm.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarack will not run for reelection Tuesday as he listens to the demand of hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators.

Many protesters are still demanding that he leave right now, not in September, when the next elections will be held, reported the Washington Post.

NPR reported that the army released a statement to support the people because they have a legitimate right to protest.

The shut down trains and internet have forced businesses to stop and factories to halt as workers find their way to rallies, reported the Washington Post.

According to the Washington Post, this will cause an already rocky economy to be devastated if Mubarak and demonstrators don't reach an agreement soon.