November 2009 Archives

Teacher Convicted of Criminal Sexual Conduct

By thoma816 on November 21, 2009 11:21 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

A women was convicted by a jury Friday of having sexual contact with a 17-year-old female student she was mentoring, KARE 11 reported.

Melissa Koehn, 31, was found guilty of three counts of criminal sexual conduct. Koehn was a teacher and the basketball coach at St. Croix Lutheran High School.

Koehn and the student were found by a police officer inside a parked car in Apple Valley. Koehn admitted the two had a sexual relationship and dating back to August 2008.

According to the \, the age of consent is 16 years old, but it is against the law for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a student 17 or younger, 

Minn. House Tells Court Pawlenty Abused Budget Law

By thoma816 on November 21, 2009 11:03 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

KSTP reported that the lawyers for the Minnesota House believe the Gov. Tim Pawlenty misused a state law to enact budget cuts without legislative consent. The lawyers spelled this out in a 34-page brief on Friday.

The lawsuit questions some of the $2.7 billion in budget cuts made by Pawlenty. One of the main cuts involves money for food assistance and property tax credits for the poor.

KARE 11 added that the judge in this case might stop the cuts while the case is in court. 

New Moon Sets Records

By thoma816 on November 20, 2009 7:49 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

USA Today reported that "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" set the box-office record for midnight screenings. It is estimated that it earned $26.3 million Friday morning.

"New Moon" opened at midnight in 3,524 theaters. This movie is expected to have one of the biggest opening weekends of the year.

"New Moon" beat "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince," which earned $22.2 million when it opened this summer, according to CNN. It will also make more in its opening day than "The Dark Knight," which grossed $67.2 million on its opening day. 

Teenager charged with murdering a 9-year-old girl

By thoma816 on November 19, 2009 10:23 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

A grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo. indicted a 15-year-old on Wednesday of first-degree murder of her 9-year-old neighbor, USA Today reported.

Alyssa Bustamante was accused of murdering her neighbor Elizabeth Olten. Bustamante is accused of strangling the girl, cutting her throat and stabbing the girl. The murder took place Oct. 21. 

If she is convicted she could be sentenced to life in prison.

ABC reported that Bustamante confessed to the crime and said she did it so she would "know what it felt like to kill someone." 

She is being held without bond in Cole County jail. 

Cancer scientist is "Belle de Jour"

By thoma816 on November 19, 2009 10:04 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

CNN has reported that a cancer scientistic is behind the secret identity of an erotic blogger and author whose life as a prostitute became a hit TV series.

Brooke Magnanti, 34, revealed herself to be the women behind "Belle de Jour",the salacious online diary of a high class call girl, to a British newspaper. Magnanti is a cancer specialist at a university in western England.

Her accounts of working as a call girl got her a huge following and a book deal. She also had many critics saying that she glamorized  sex.

According to ABC News, Magnanti became a call girl when she moved from Scotland to London while working on her Ph.D. thesis. 

MIA dog found after 14 months

By thoma816 on November 14, 2009 6:13 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

USA Today reported the an Australian bomb-sniffing dog that disappeared during a fight in Afghanistan between Australian troops and militant fighters has been found after being missing for 14 months. 

Sabi, a black Labrador, was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol when they were ambushed and after the fight was not seen again. Officials said that Sabi was found Thursday by a U.S. soldier at an isolated patrol base in Uruzgan.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that it is unknown where the dog was for 14 months, but the dog was in good condition and happy. It appeared that someone had been taking care of her. 

6 Relatives Charged in Child Sex Abuse Case

By thoma816 on November 14, 2009 5:53 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

USA Today reported that a sixth relative, who called child sex abuse allegations against his brother and four nephews "repulsive", was charged Friday in Lexington, Mo. with raping two children, authorities said. 

Darrel Wayne Mohler, 72, was charged Friday with two counts of rape from 1986, according to court documents.

CNN reported that five other members of the Mohler family were also charged. Mohler's brother Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, and his sons Burrell Edward Mohler Jr.,53; David A. Mohler, 52; and Roland Neil Mohler, 47, also face charges from the mid-1980s until 1995 and more charges are expected next week. 

Mohler Sr., David Mohler and Jared Mohler are lay ministers in the Community of Christ, the Independence, the organization said in a statement. Lay ministers are volunteer ministers. 

'Wipeout' Contestant Dies

By thoma816 on November 12, 2009 9:46 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

CNN reported that a contestant on the ABC show 'Wipeout' died Nov. 5 after having an apparent stroke. Tom Sparks, 33, was participating in the show on Oct. 19  and was bought to the hospital after complaining of knee pain during an obstacle course challenge. He was also experiencing shortness of breath.

The stroke was likely caused by a pre-existing condition. The New York Times reported that the stroke was likely caused by antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS).

The contestants on 'Wipeout' have to complete medical examinations before they can be on the show, but APS is found through blood testing.

University of Minnesota Ethics Policy

By thoma816 on November 12, 2009 5:36 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

KARE 11 reported that the University of Minnesota officials said that a new draft of the ethics policy was made that will include guidance for avoiding conflicts-of-interest.

Mark Rotenberg, university general counsel, presented the policy Tuesday. The policy would ban faculty from product endorsements and ghosting writing research papers among other things.

On Thursday the university regents will hear a presentation.

The Minnesota Daily reported that the new policy would also tighten annual requirements for reporting outside income that University employees get. Financial accountability has recently increased in interest because of financial issues with researchers in the Medical School.

University of Minnesota player accused of assault

By thoma816 on November 12, 2009 5:22 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

KARE 11 is reporting that a University of Minnesota Gopher football player was accused of assault on Halloween night.  Neena Rachael accused the player of assault.

According to Rachael, she was out with friends and got a ride home with them and the player was the designated driver. She said she had never met him before. Rachael got into an argument with the football player's girlfriend.

Allegedly this is when the football player got involved. Rachael said that he threw her across the wall and she fell. Then he allegedly picked her up by the wrist and threw against the wall six more times.

The Minnesota Daily is reporting that the accused football player is Nathan Tow-Arnett, a 27-year-old sophomore that is a defensive back for the Gophers. The Daily also named the victim as Neena Kurian. I am unsure which name is correct. 

The police say that Tow-Arnett and Rachael (Kurian) both have different stories and they are still investigating. 

Analysis: Obituary

By thoma816 on November 6, 2009 3:09 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

     The obituary of Francisco Ayala in the New York Times sticks closely to the classic New York Times format of obituaries. The reporter used information from the director of the Francisco Ayala Foundation, Rafael Juarez. He also used information about Ayala's books and life as well as a quote from a previous interview of Ayala.
     The lead is the standard New York Times obituary lead. It starts out with the name then lists something notable followed by where he died and his age. The lead works and leads nicely into the rest of the story.
     This obituary differs from a resume because it involves more emotion and tells more of a story instead of just listing off things that he accomplished. 
     

Yankees Win

By thoma816 on November 6, 2009 12:06 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

     The New York Yankees won the 2009 World Series Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies. 
    The final score was 7-3. This is the Yankees' 27th World Series win, The New York Times reported.
    Hideki Matsui hit three homers and had eight runs batted in and was World Series MVP, USA Today reported. 

2 NATO Soldiers Missing

By thoma816 on November 6, 2009 12:00 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas


     Two NATO soldiers have been missing since Wednesday in western Afghanistan.
     The soldiers were on a routine resupply mission and did not return, CNN reported.
     There is a search mission still going on.
     According to The New York Times, a Taliban spokesman told the Reuters new agency that they recovered the bodies of 2 drowned soldiers.These bodies have not yet been confirmed as the missing soldiers. 

Polygamist Sect Leader Convicted of Sexual Assault

By thoma816 on November 6, 2009 11:40 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

     A polygamist sect leader was convicted of assaulting a girl under the age of 17.
     Raymond Jessop was arrested after last year's raid of Texas ranch that openly practices polygamy, CNN reported.
     The under-age girl was one of his assigned 9 wives.
     According to the New York Times, Jessop will be sentenced on Thursday. 

Gopher basketball players suspended

By thoma816 on November 5, 2009 10:38 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

      The Gophers suspended 2 more basketball players Tuesday making it a total of 3 suspended players.
      Coach Tubby Smith announced  that freshman Royce White and senior Devron Bostick are suspended for breaking team rules.
      According to KSTP, White faces legal trouble because he was accused of stealing merchandise from Macy's at the Mall of America and also pushing a security guard to the ground.
       The reason from Bostick suspension is not clear.
       Another player, Trevor Mbakwe, was already suspended pending the outcome of his trial on a felony aggravated battery charge in Miami, KSTP reported.
          KARE 11 reported that Smith is still unsure of how long he will decide to suspend the players but they are at least suspended for 2 games. 

H1N1 Deaths

By thoma816 on November 5, 2009 10:30 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
By Taryn Thomas

       Health officials in Minnesota are reporting 4 more deaths related to the flu.
       Not all the details of the cases are being released but 3 cases are from the H1N1 virus, KARE 11 reported.
       The cases of people with H1N1 are lower this week then last week.
       Debbie Lindstrom, 48, is one of the people that died from H1N1. She died Tuesday at Mayo Clinic in Rochester after being hospitalized for fluid build up around her heart, KSTP reported.
       Friends said that Lindstrom had no underlying medical condition. 
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