K. Stolpa's 3101 News Blog

Street Sense, ridden by jockey Calvin Borel, made a come-from-behind victory on Saturday at the Kentucky Derby.

He also won the Breeder's Cup Juvenille race six months ago, making him the first horse to ever win those two races in the same year. That race was also run at Churchhill Downs.

The win makes Street Sense the highest-priced winning favorite in Derby history.

The derby has not had a 2-year-old champion since 1979 when Spectacular Bid won.

Trainer Carl Nafzger watched his horse start in 19th place, out of 20, and rally to overtake the entire pack and win the race.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 2:36 PM | Permalink

Senators and Democratic presidential nominee hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke to activists this weekend at the state convention in California.

While both candidates got warm welcomes from more than 2,000 party members, Obama's speech won-over the crowd. Obama used his early opposition to the war in Iraq to set himself apart from this competitors, including Clinton, who voted to support the war in 2002.

California, along with New York, have moved their primary elections up to February 2008, which could make the two states bigger decision-makers in the race for the nomination. California has always been a huge fund-raising state for White House hopefuls, but now their primaries will take place before the nomination is decided.

Check out ABC News and AP coverage of this story.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 11:07 PM | Permalink

The Seminole tribe announced Thursday its plans to buy a large portion of the Hard Rock casino, hotel and restaurant chain.

The Florida tribe bought Hard Rock from the London-based Rank Group PLC in a $965 million deal. Included in the deal were two casinos, 124 restaurants, four hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and what is said to be the world's largest collection of rock n' roll memorabilia, which includes 70,000 pieces.

The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas was not included in the deal, as well as the Hard Rock Casino in London. Rank Group plans to change the London business to the Rank Gaming brand.

The Seminole tribe includes 3,300 members on and off Florida reservations. All the members of the tribe receive payments from the success of their casinos.

Check out the Star Tribune's coverage

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 11:39 AM | Permalink

Michael Jordan's divorce could become the most expensive celebrity divorce in history according to Forbes.com.

Jordan and wife Juanita filed for divorce in December 2006 but had been living apart since February of that year.

If Juanita Jordan receives more than $150 million dollars in settlement the Jordan's divorce would pass Neil Diamond's 1995 divorce from Marcia Murphey to become number one on the list of expensive celebrity divorces.

Check out the AP's coverage in the Star Tribune and on ABC News.com.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:41 PM | Permalink

CINCINNATI - Local pizza parlor customers are part of a new effort to track down people who have failed to pay their child support. Wanted posters are being placed on the pizza boxes of three area pizza parlors.

Wanted posters are appearing on boxes from Karen's Pizza, Millio's Pizza and Fairfield Pizza. Since the posters have started appearing in August 2006, one person has been tracked down.

The pizza box posters are part of Butler County Ohio's Child Support Enforcement Agency's (CSEA) efforts to get the faces of people wanted for not paying their child support out into the public in more creative ways.

The posters feature the pictures of ten child support non-payers wanted by the CSEA.

Some people, including an attorney who focuses on the rights of the fathers, practicing in Eden Prairie, think the posters are just a way to shame the parents. But officials of the CSEA said their objective is to help the children first, not to shame the parents.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:14 PM | Permalink

World famous Frank Gehry designed a $10 million addition for the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. Construction could begin as soon as the end of the year.

78-year-old Gehry designed the Weisman in 1993, it was the first art museum he designed in the United States. The addition will add 11,000 square feet to the already 47,000 square foot space.

Lyndel King, director at the Weisman, said the museum has already raised $7.5 million to fund its renovation, but they will be continuing to raise money so they are able to break ground by the end of 2007.

Gehry's new design will incorporate the Weisman's signature curved metal structure around the existing building, something Gehry said always made the building seem incomplete without.

A recent $2 million donation by Target will yield a new space for "creative collaboration" between artists and other members of the university community.

Follow up: New design announced on Monday.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 3:46 PM | Permalink

A Michigan couple received two packages containing a human liver and part of a head in the mail on Thursday. The preserved body parts were meant for medical research but were mistakenly delivered to a home instead.

The human body parts were bubble wrapped and delivered by a DHL express driver. Authorities say there could be 28 more packages like these dispersed throughout the country. Two more packages broke open en route and their contents was spilled.

DHL is investigating how the mistaken delivery occured, and if they should have delivered the body parts in the first place.

The body parts, which were sent from China, pose no health hazard to the people who received them.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 12:28 AM | Permalink

As the race for the Democratic party presidential nomination in 2008 continues, Sen. Barack Obama holds firm as one of few candidates who have opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning.

Although fellow candidates Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards share similar plans for withdrawing troops from Iraq, both Clinton and Edwards voted initially voted to authorize the war. While Edwards has since apologized for his initial support and Clinton has not apologized but said her vote would have been different if she had known then what she knows now, Obama said he will continue to use his early opposition to the war in Iraq to distinguish him from the other candidates.

During his Senate race in 2004, Obama was in strong opposition to Iraq, but it was not until he had been in Washington 11 months that he delivered a major speech on the issue.

Obama's stance on Iraq is gaining him the most cheers from supporters as his campaign continues.

**A note about point/support structure in the NY Times coverage of this story:
The story uses point support throughout, but sometimes points are made with quotes, other times quotes are offered as support. Example: The article states that Obama will be using his early stance on Iraq to differentiate himself from other candidates (point). A quote from Obama follows which addressed his opinion on what the early votes said about the people who voted (support).

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 9:57 PM | Permalink

Scottie Pippen said he is interested in making a comeback to the NBA. Pippen, 41, said he would return to the game if he could join a playoff contending team, possibly as a player-coach.

Pippen would be chasing a seventh championship if he came back. He won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, and was also part of two U.S. Olympic gold medal winning teams.

Pippen retired in Oct. 2004, after a 17-year career in the NBA.

Pippen made an appearance at the All-Star festivities in Las Vegas where he competed in the 2007 Haier Shooting Stars contest with current Chicago Bull Ben Gordon and Candice Dupree from the WNBA's Chicago Sky.

Read more at ESPN.com and the New York Times.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 12:29 AM | Permalink

Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., officially announced his campaign for the White House on Saturday in Illinois. Obama would become the United States' first black president if he were to win in Nov. 2008.

Thousands endured the cold to hear Obama's speech in front of the Old State Capital. Obama acknowledged his apparent lack of experience in the nation's capital, especially compared to rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton. He proposed using his limited experience as a vehicle for political change.

"I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change," said Obama.

Obama also referenced President Abraham Lincoln, who delivered his famous "A house divided..." speech at the Old State Capital in 1858.

Read more about Obama entering the race for the White House in the New York Times and the Pioneer Press.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 11:43 PM | Permalink

Astronauts have avoided contact with ammonia leaking from liquid cooling lines during the first two of three scheduled spacewalks. U.S. astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Sunita Williams did not come into contact with the substance which froze into flakes when it leaked into space.

The astronauts were replacing temporary cooling lines with permanent ones when the leak occurred Wednesday. Mission Control was concerned about contamination issues if the ammonia flakes were to come into contact with the astronauts and be carried into the space station, but sign of contact was detected.

The three person crew aboard the space station completed the first of their scheduled spacewalks on Wednesday, the second on Sunday, with the third and final scheduled for Thursday. If the third walk is completed on schedule U.S. astronauts will hold records. The nine-day spread between spacewalks will be the shortest time three walks have been completed without a space shuttle docked to the station.

Want more information? Check out CNN.com and the Star Tribune.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 12:12 AM | Permalink

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton commented on President Bush's expectation that the next in office will inherit the current Iraq situation. Senator Clinton said the President should take care of the war in Iraq before he leaves office in 2009 and not leave the responsibility to the next president.

Clinton also defended her vote to send troops into Iraq in 2002. "I acted on the best judgment I had at the time," she said. "If we had known then what we know now, there never would have been a vote, and I never would have voted to give the president the authority." (As reported in the Pioneer Press and The New York Times)

Clinton's likely competition for the Democratic Nomination in 2008, former Senator John Edwards , has also been defending his vote supporting military action in Iraq.

Although Bush's plan for Iraq was a main talking point in Iowa, Clinton also dealt with questions concerning health care, standards for trade and labor, and the possibility of becoming the first female president.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 5:04 PM | Permalink