September 2010 Archives

Reporter Paul Walsh uses several sources throughout his article, usually citing authorities, recent charges and state records of Kevin Doerr's previous criminal acts.

Walsh uses seven sources: the actual charges, Doerr's girlfriend, a witness, police Sgt. Bill Palmer, authorities, state records of Doerr's unlawful history and a complaint that cites a crime alert.

The sources are scattered throughout the article in order to compliment official charges that were made, the accident itself and the aftermath.

The sources are cited in an effective way that does not get in the way of the actual facts of the accident and those involved. They are primarily mentioned within a sentence or quote, while others are at the end or put at the beginning of the cited material.

Walsh's article is concise while also proficiently citing authorities and other credible sources to check the facts in his story.

Worldwide actors' unions are boycotting The Hobbit because the makers of the films, according to the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), refused to make negotiations with the unions, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Seven actors' unions from the US, Australia, the UK and Canada said that the producers of the films refused to negotiate with them and the MEAA is advising actors to avoid the films.

The International Federation of Actors (FIA) has called for actors around the world to support their fellow performers in New Zealand, who have, according to the FIA, "struggled on non-union contracts" in the past, the BBC reported.

According to the BBC, the New Line and MGM studios are funding the films and the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson, is signed on to be an executive producer.

Guillermo del Toro was set to direct the movies but opted out this past summer because of delays. Peter Jackson has been suspected to take his place, although there has been no official announcement of who will direct the Lord of the Rings prequel, now set to begin filming in 2011.

Lawsuits were filed against Bishop Eddie Long, who vowed to battle allegations that he sexually took advantage of four men from his congregation, the Guardian reported.

According to the Guardian, he compared himself to David and Goliath while addressing members of his church Sunday, and vowed to fight the claims that he coerced four male parishioners into sexual relationships.

The New York Times reported that four men, who used to be members of a youth group he led, accused him of repeatedly persuading them to commit sex acts with money, gifts and vacations.

Long, who is the pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, considers himself socially conservative and has said that same-sex marriage should be banned and, according to the Guardian, has described homosexuality as a "spiritual abortion."

The accusations will not be investigated, according to federal and state authorities, because the four men said they were either 17 or 18, older than Georgia's age of consent, which is 16, during their reputed relationships with Long, the Associated Press reported.

According to the AP, Long said as he addressed his congregation Sunday, ``There have been allegations and attacks made on me. I have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. But I am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. That's not me. That is not me."

A 24-year-old man was charged with two counts of Criminal Vehicular Homicide for purportedly killing University of Minnesota research associate Ethan Johnson, 37, in a hit-and-run late Monday night in south Minneapolis, the Minnesota Daily reported.

According to the Minnesota Daily, Kevin Roger Doerr was arrested early Tuesday morning for allegedly running through a stop sign at at E. 35th Street and 18th Avenue S. just before 11 p.m. Monday. He hit the side of Johnson's and then fled the scene on foot.

The crash critically injured Johnson and injured his wife, father and stepmother.

Johnson was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he later died.

Johnson's father, Stephen F. Johnson, 65, of Missoula, Mont., was in the seat behind his son during the accident and was hospitalized with serious injuries. He remains at the hospital in satisfactory condition, the Star Tribune reported.

Johnsons' wife, Xena Huff, 43, and his stepmother, 57, were treated at HCMC and have been released.

According to the charges, a witness and Doerr's girlfriend told police that Doerr had been drinking alcohol before the accident.

Police Sgt. Bill Balmer said that Doerr was not tested for his blood alcohol level because he was apprehended nearly 12 hours after the crash, the Star Tribune reported.

According to law enforcement in northern Minnesota, Doerr and his girlfriend may have been transporting a handgun and methamphetime from Itasca County, the Star Tribune reported.

Johnson was a research associate in the university's Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics.

The controversial documentary "Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story" will air as planned at the University of Minnesota after U officials decided that the film does not need further review.

Susan Weller, the director of the Bell Museum, where the film will be aired, said that she had looked over documents that said the film had already been reviewed and so there was no need for faculty to further examine the documentary, the Pioneer Press reported.

Karen Himle, head of University Relations, and deans from the college of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences decided to delay the documentary because it needed to be assessed for fairness and balance, the Minnesota Daily reported.

According to Minnesota Public Radio, Al Levine, dean of the college of food, agricultural and natural resource sciences said the documentary "vilified" agriculture.

The documentary will premiere on Oct. 3 with a forum discussion following the screening.

French workers staged a massive strike Thursday over President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to change the retirement age from 60 to 62 and the age to receive full benefits from 65 to 67, disrupting traffic, airports and schools as approximately 1 million people protested in the streets.

According to the Associated Press, unions in France organized more than 230 demonstrations that took over the southern city of Marseille to Lille in the north, where some protesters demanded the retirement age to stay at 60 and others called for Sarkozy's resignation.

About half of all teachers were striking, unions said, compared to the Education Ministry's estimation of one-fourth, while workers left their jobs at nuclear power plants and halted deliveries to oil refineries, The New York Times reported.

The protest, following a Sept. 7 demonstration which, reportedly, had higher turnout, exemplified the state of citizens experiencing cut backs on social benefits and the opposition European leaders have faced carrying out financial reform, the AP reported.

"The stakes are very high for Sarkozy right now, because these are seminal reforms," Paul Vallet, a professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, told The New York Times. "I think that, for him, this is as big as health care was for Obama."

The Guardian reported that according to several opinion polls, the majority of the French public supports the protest with 63% of those who responded to a Viavoice poll listed as "on the side" of the demonstrations.

By Kaitlyn E. Walsh

In an article in the Star Tribune, Matt McKinney writes about a 21-year-old who was shot in Minneapolis. He begins with a lead that introduces an article that is part dramatic narrative and hard news.

He includes the facts of the incident: who was shot, when and where the young man died and then sets the stage of the aftermath by mentioning people that observed the scene after the police arrived. The initial facts are concise and general, whereas the description of the crowd is more detailed and takes up nearly half of the lead.

This approach shows the reporter as an eyewitness to the aftermath and as part of the crowd, observing and listening to the people who watched the police gather evidence and bag up the body. By writing the lead this way, McKinney sets the mood for the entire story which ends up being, for the most part, a collection of quotes and details about the crowd, how they felt and what they saw.

As a local story in the St. Paul paper, the eyes of many Twin Cities readers may fall on this article. McKinney introduces the facts in a way that is professional while also seemingly empathetic to the young man that was killed and the community that was affected.

By Kaitlyn E. Walsh

From "Borat" to "Bruno" to the vocal powerhouse of Queen, Sacha Baron Cohen will once again sport a mustache and spandex in the upcoming biopic of Freddie Mercury.

According to the New York Times, the production company GK films signed the "Borat" star for a dramatic film that will highlight Queen's 1985 performance at the Live Aid benefit concert with the screenplay written by Peter Morgan, the playwright of "Frost/Nixon", a news release said.

Brian May, the guitarist of Queen, said that the band supports this venture and along with drummer Roger Taylor, will oversee the music for the movie, the Associated Press reported.

It was not mentioned by the film's producers whether or not Mr. Baron Cohen will actually sing in the film that is set to begin production next year.

By Kaitlyn E. Walsh

A 21-year-old was shot and left to die in Minneapolis on Friday.

Christopher Roy de Ronde was found dead around noon at the intersection of 30th and Colfax Avenues N., after sustaining a bullet wound in the chest.

This is the first homicide in 5 weeks and the 34th homicide in Minneapolis this year, the Associated Press reported.

An award was given to the neighborhood a day before the shooting for reducing crime by 70 percent, Minneapolis police Inspector Mike Martin told the AP.

Onlookers were drawn to the scene as sirens blared and observed as the police collected the victim's body, the Star Tribune reported.

According to the Star Tribune, one man said as he watched a detective inspecting the body, "Kid hasn't even lived yet and he's already dead."

By Kaitlyn E. Walsh

According to the Star Tribune, a man from Minneapolis was charged on Friday of splattering his ex-girlfriend with battery acid because she was unwilling to talk to him.

Jarso Yohannes Adem, 28, was charged and jailed for second-degree assault after the altercation Tuesday at the 3700 block of Louisiana Ave. in St. Louis Park.

The Pioneer Press reports that according to a criminal complaint, Adem was carrying acid in a bottle when he approached the woman on the sidewalk. The woman would not speak to him so he threw the contents of the bottle in her face and fled.

A jogger heard the woman scream and pursued Adem into a nearby parking lot where he was seized by police.

The woman sustained red marks and blistering on her face, neck and hands, according to police.

The name and age of the woman were not released, the Star Tribune reported.

By Kaitlyn E. Walsh

Riots broke out a day after a Pakistani politician was killed in London, CNN reported.

Crowds lit six vehicles and a store on fire on Friday in Karachi, Pakistan, Rafiq Gul, a senior police official in Karachi told CNN.

The Associated Press reported that Karachi has a history of retaliation and politically charged violence.

Politician Imran Farooq, a prominent member of the Muttahida Quami Movement party, was stabbed to death in front of his house on Thursday, The Daily Mirror reported.

Schools, stores and gas stations were closed and all public transportation was halted during the city's 10 day mourning period.

London's Metropolitan Police told the AP that no arrests have been made and they have not defined any possible motives.

Murad Qureshi, a lawmaker on the London Assembly told the AP, "I wouldn't be surprised at all if it turns out that this is an assassination."

The AP reported that the leader of MQM Altaf Hussain has recently made statements that aggravated his party's federal coalition partners and MQM leader Salim Shahzad said that the party believes the killing of Farooq is a response to these statements.

By Kaitlyn E. Walsh

Two bodies were discovered in the wrong graves at Arlington National Cemetery, The Associated Press reported.

The two plots were unearthed as part of an investigation into issues with recordkeeping at the cemetery after a report released in June revealed that among other problems thousands of graves could be mismarked or contain misplaced remains.

According to the AP, the grave of Marine Pfc. Heath Warner of Ohio was uncovered Wednesday at his father's request where the body of Warner, killed in Iraq in 2006, was discovered.

The Washington Post reported that the grave of an Army staff sergeant containing the wrong body was exhumed three weeks ago after his wife called concerned that her husband's remains had been buried in the incorrect plot.

The wife of the Army staff sergeant wished to remain anonymous so that this incident would not overshadow her husband's service.

Gary Tillman, an Army spokesperson, confirmed that both mishaps were taken care of, but information on other misplaced bodies or what could have caused the mistakes could not be given.