Links to the News

The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2007 Newseum Image

February 28, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Wall Street Journal:  

Markets' Slide Spotlights Risks
Chinese Shares Tumble, And Investors Reassess U.S. Economic Outlook

Fleeing to Safe Treasurys

By E.S. BROWNING and CRAIG KARMIN in New York, JAMES T. AREDDY in Shanghai, and GREG IP

Yesterday's plunge in stock prices around the world, including the steepest percentage decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in nearly four years, signals that investors may finally be re-evaluating their insatiable appetite for risky investments.

The catalyst was Tuesday's nearly 9% fall in stock prices in Shanghai, one of the hottest and most volatile markets in the world. That helped send U.S. stocks on a roller coaster that ended with the DJIA down 416.02 points, or 3.3%, to 12216.24.

For a moment yesterday it was even worse. Starting just before 3 p.m. Eastern time, the Dow plunged more than 200 points in minutes, to a low of 12086.86, after a technical glitch delayed the reporting of its true value.
___________________________________________________

Asahi Shimbun, February 27, 2007 Newseum Image

February 27, 2007:

The Tokyo, Japan newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, features a Page One photo about a new art gallery in the Yokohama underground. The brush and spray-painted images are featured in the "Sakuragi-cho on the Wall" show, sponsored by the city. In the photo, a train runs on the JR Negishi Line.

____________________________________________________

LA Daily News, February 26, 2007 Newseum Image

February 26, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Los Angeles Daily News:

At last, Scorsese
He wins Best Director; 'Departed' is Best Picture

By GLENN WHIPP 

Martin Scorsese finally got what he was gunning for as his mob drama "The Departed" was the big winner at the 79th annual Academy Awards, taking best picture, adapted screenplay, editing, and, most significantly, a long-awaited director's honor for Scorsese himself.

The legendary director won on his sixth try and was handed the award by long-time friends Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

"So many years, people have been wishing this for me," the 64-year-old Scorsese said, before going into a trademark rapid-fire random list of well-wishers. He then thanked his family and those well-wishers holding up the Oscar and saying, "this is for you."

Favorites Hellen Mirren and Forest Whitaker won the top acting awards for their portrayals of legendary historical figures. Mirren played Elizabeth II in "The Queen," while Whitaker delivered a ferocious version of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland."
__________________________________________________

News & Observer, February 23, 2007 Newseum Image

February 23, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Raleigh News & Observer:

Fires claim homes, lives
Residents escape with their lives and little else from the blaze on Oneonta Avenue, which was one of Raleigh's biggest fires ever. Firefighters planned to work through the night to put out hot spots

By TOBY COLEMAN and THOMASI McDONALD 

Fire destroyed 27 homes and damaged 11 in a North Raleigh subdivision Thursday with ferocious, wind-driven speed that forced people to leave their possessions and run for their lives.

"I'm blessed," said Juanita Williams, 18, whose family lost their car, clothes and home. "I was asleep, and my mom woke me up. If she hadn't been there, I wouldn't be alive."

Nobody died, but the American Red Cross said at least 26 families were homeless or displaced. Assistant Fire Chief Tommie Styons said Thursday that the cause remained "a $50 question."

The air in Pine Knoll Townes stank from burned siding, cars were scorched khaki and smoke hung like an acrid fog.

The fire, one of the biggest in Raleigh's history, came on top of two others in the Triangle in which five people died.
__________________________________________________

Billings Gazette, February 22, 2007 Newseum Image

February 22, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Montana newspaper, the Billings Gazette:

Sitting Bull's kin seek home for chief's bones

By LORNA THACKERAY

Sitting Bull's four surviving great-grandchildren want the bones of their famous ancestor moved from a cement-clad grave in South Dakota to Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana.

Ernie LaPointe of Lead, S.D., the spokesman for the family, said that for 50 years, Sitting Bull's grave on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Mobridge, S.D., has been neglected and dishonored. Now, LaPointe says, new owners of the property plan to exploit the legendary Lakota political and spiritual leader's memory.

LaPointe and his sisters, Marlene Little Spotted Horse Andersen, Ethel Little Spotted Horse Bates and Lydia Little Spotted Horse Red Paint, sent letters Wednesday advising government and tribal officials in the Dakotas and Montana of their intent to have the remains moved.
__________________________________________________

The Times-Picayune, February 21, 2007 Newseum Image

February 21, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Times-Picayune:

THE USUAL MADNESS
With the crowds, costumes, beads and beer, it felt like old times

By KATE MORAN 

New Orleanians poured into the streets and filled balconies on Fat Tuesday to celebrate their city's endurance in the face of unthinkable disaster and to enjoy the unbounded creativity that fellow revelers displayed in extravagant costumes.

The ambivalence that hung over last year's Carnival, held just six months after Hurricane Katrina wrecked neighborhoods and displaced many thousands of people, seemed to have dissipated this year, replaced with a sense of collective pride in unshakable traditions.

French Quarter resident Carol Erath and several friends celebrated the recovering city by suiting up for parade-watching as that universal symbol of durability: the cockroach.

"Every year, we dress up as something related to New Orleans," Erath said, as a friend passed out rubber roaches to queasy onlookers. "The hurricane didn't wipe out the roaches, and it can't wipe out us."
___________________________________________________

South China Morning Post, February 20, 2007 Newseum Image

February 20, 2007: An excerpt from a story in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post:

Kung Hei Fat Choi!
The South China Morning Post wishes all our readers a happy and prosperous Year of the Pig 

A HK$4 million display of pyrotechnics lit up a cloudy and drizzling sky last night as about 330,000 people converged on Victoria Harbour to celebrate the start of the Year of the Pig.

___________________________________________________

Lansing State Journal, February 19, 2007 Newseum Image

February 19, 2007: An excerpt from a story in Michigan's Lansing State Journal:

Test finds many college students show little knowledge of U.S. history

By CHRISTINE ROOK 

On this Presidents Day, is it too much to ask that after 16 years of formal schooling, a person know roughly when Abraham Lincoln served as the nation's top executive?

Apparently.

Thirty-six percent of college seniors couldn't answer a basic multiple-choice question on the issue, according to a newly released study of students at 50 institutions of higher learning.

Among the universities surveyed: Yale, Brown and Michigan. The question: Lincoln was elected president during which period?

a. 1800-1825
b. 1826-1850
c. 1851-1875
d. 1876-1900
e. 1901-1925

The answer is "c."
_______________________________________________

The Washington Post, February 18, 2007 Newseum Image

February 18, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Washington Post:

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

By DANA PRIEST and ANNE HULL 

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients.
_______________________________________________

Sun Journal, February 15, 2007 Newseum Image

February 15, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Lewiston, Maine newspaper, the Sun Journal:

Cupid's curse

By MARK LaFLAMME 

LEWISTON --- The wind was fierce. Snow was blowing in from all directions. And it was cold, very cold.

Yet Diane Benoit was standing outside on Park Street smoking. Because she knows that the weather gets severe in Maine and you have to learn to live with it. Especially if you crave a cigarette.

"The wind is blowing in my face and I'm freezing to death, but I'm out here anyway," Benoit said. "I just had to have a smoke. You know? It's Maine. If you live here, you've got to go with the flow."

Across the state, people were going with the flow one way or another. Valentine's Day was less about flowers and candy this year than it was about snow blowers and shovels, hats and mittens.
________________________________________________

The Post-Star, February 14, 2007 Newseum Image

February 14, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Glens Falls, New York newspaper, The Post-Star:

Snow speeds the roses

By SARAH SUTTON

GLENS FALLS -- Cupid can't fly very fast when his wings are heavy with snow.

So the winged cherub started shooting his arrows a day early, inspiring lovers across the region to send their beloveds flowers before a projected 18 to 30 inches of white clog the roads.

And the valentines who received the many bouquets of roses delivered Tuesday were appreciative of the efforts.

"An extra day to enjoy them!" said Natalie Simpson as she opened her door to find John Plude of Binleys Florist on her doorstep, his hands overflowing with a basketful of flowers.
________________________________________________

JoongAng llbo, February 13, 2007 Newseum Image

February 13, 2007:

The Seoul, South Korea newspaper, JoongAng IIbo, reports on North Korea's nuclear disarmament deal.


_________________________________________________

Los Angeles Times, February 12, 2007 Newseum Image

February 12, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Los Angeles Times:

Grammys make nice with the Dixie Chicks
The controversial trio takes home five awards. Mary J. Blige and the Red Hot Chili Peppers also are honored.

By GEOFF BOUCHER 

The Dixie Chicks are Nashville refugees for reasons of politics and personality -- after stinging comments about President Bush, country radio banned them and country fans shunned them -- but on Sunday the trio found blue-state redemption at the 49th annual Grammy Awards with five awards, including song, record and album of the year.

Intense R&B singer Mary J. Blige and the rock veterans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers were among the other notable winners, but by the end, the show belonged to the Chicks, who became the first act in 13 years to sweep all three prestigious categories. __________________________________________________

Sun-Sentinel, February 9, 2007 Newseum Image

February 9, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Mystery surrounds Anna Nicole Smith's death at Hard Rock in Hollywood

By ROBERT NOLIN, MARLENE NAANES and IHOSVANI RODRIGUEZ

Anna Nicole Smith's media-hyped journey of celebrity, marked by dubious successes and all-too-human tragedies, ended Thursday at a venue as colorful as her life when she collapsed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and died at a Hollywood hospital.

Nearby residents and casino patrons said Smith, a former stripper turned Playboy playmate, diet maven, reality show star and prospective multi-millionaire, frequented the hotel on the Indian reservation and was known for partying loud and late.

Five months after the birth of her daughter and the death of her 20-year-old son, Smith, 39, was found unconscious around 1:39 p.m., when her private nurse called hotel staff for help, Seminole Tribe Police Chief Charlie Tiger said. At 1:45, Tiger said, a bodyguard started CPR in Smith's hotel room, No. 607.
________________________________________________

The Kansas City Star, February 8, 2007 Newseum Image

February 8, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Kansas City Star:

Chemical plant explosion rocks east Kansas City

Firefighters used fire-suppressing foam late Wednesday night to subdue a chemical plant blaze that raged for almost nine hours in Kansas City's East Bottoms.

Crews planned to wait until Thursday morning to re-enter the area of the massive blaze to clean up remaining hot spots.

Fire crews began laying down the foam about 10 p.m. to battle the intense fire that followed multiple explosions at a chemical plant in Kansas City's East Bottoms area about 2:15 Wednesday afternoon.

The fire from the explosions at the ChemCentral plant, 910 N. Prospect, sent a huge plume of black smoke drifting over the area north and east of downtown near the Missouri River.
_________________________________________________

Orlando Sentinel, February 7, 2007 Newseum Image

February 7, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Orlando Sentinel:

What went wrong? Family, friends stunned

By TAMARA LYTLE 

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Until Monday, the life of Lisa Marie Nowak -- diligent student, Navy pilot, astronaut, loving daughter, wife and mother -- was a point of pride for her circle of family, friends and NASA colleagues.

Then, that life of accomplishment came crashing down during an odyssey that ended in Orlando, where the 43-year-old shuttle astronaut faces charges of attempted murder and the possibility of life in prison.

Few people -- including those closest to her -- understand what went wrong. And police are not divulging many details, except to say that Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando, where she stalked and then assaulted U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who apparently was vying for another astronaut's affection.

But Nowak intended much worse, police said: She wanted to kill Shipman.

"We're just trying to figure out how to get her the help she needs," said Jonathan Rose, Nowak's brother-in-law, from his Garrett Park, Md., home Tuesday afternoon. As Rose spoke, his family watched TV news coverage of Nowak's arraignment in an Orlando courtroom.
___________________________________________________

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 6, 2007 Newseum Image

February 6, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

You think this is cold?
Previous winters were chillier, but schools, outdoor projects halt in latest arctic blast

By RICK BARRETT and TOM HELD

If you think it's cold now, then you probably missed 1963.

In Milwaukee, temperatures fell below zero 38 days that year, and a total of 137 days in the 1960s.

Things were just as cold in the 1970s, which had 138 days that were below zero.

Then things started tapering off. Despite the current arctic blast, we have seen only 24 days of below-zero temperatures in this decade.
___________________________________________________

The Indianapolis Star, February 5, 2007 Newseum Image

February 5, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Indianapolis Star:

Colts 29, Bears 17
Shedding labels

By PHIL RICHARDS  

MIAMI -- No more suggestions of "soft." No more snide "dome" team references. No more finesse label. No more playoff questions.

The Indianapolis Colts smashed every stereotype Sunday evening while they were smashing the big, bad, bruising Chicago Bears 29-17 to win Super Bowl XLI at rainy, soggy Dolphin Stadium.

The Colts pounded the Bears with their running game. They battered them with a swarming, attacking defense. They punished. The Colts' fat 430-265 advantage in total yards was more indicative of their dominance than was the scoreboard.

The Colts ran 81 plays to Chicago's 48 and outrushed them 191 yards -- a Colts' postseason record -- to 111.

"Now it's time to party. Now we can just let loose and enjoy it," said safety Bob Sanders, who intercepted one pass, broke up another and forced a fumble.

Peyton Manning, long derided as a quarterback who put up big numbers but didn't win big games, won the biggest one Sunday. Manning completed 25-of-38 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown with one interception.

With the dank postgame air still full of smoke, streamers, confetti and fireworks, the announcement was made: Manning had won the Pete Rozelle Trophy as the game's Most Valuable Player. He got his ring and more.
_______________________________________________________

Orlando Sentinel, February 3, 2007 Newseum Image

February 3, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Orlando Sentinel:

Dawn of devastation
Within an hour, storm leaves 19 dead or dying

By JEFF KUNERTH 

The killer storm started in the Gulf of Mexico and began its grim journey across the state at 2:30 a.m. Friday.

While racing across Citrus County, it was relatively small. But that would change in Sumter County in less than 10 minutes. Paul Close, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Tampa, was watching radar when the storm exploded.

"It went from a little hint of something to 'Oh, no!' " Close said.

He issued a tornado warning at 3:02 a.m. Just 13 minutes later, a twister struck trees near Wildwood and quickly knocked roofing off a nearby gas station.

From there, the tornado thrashed across rural landscape until it hit The Villages, the retirement mega-community that sprawls across Sumter and Lake counties. There, in the space of about 10 minutes, it killed at least six people in Lady Lake and 13 in the rural Paisley/Lake Mack communities about 25 miles to the northeast.

"Hell opened up, and half the demons came out," said Russell Timmons of Lady Lake.
_________________________________________________

The Boston Globe, February 2, 2007 Newseum Image

February 2, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Boston Globe:

Turner Broadcasting accepts blame, promises restitution

By MICHAEL LEVENSON and RAJA MISHRA

Turner Broadcasting System yesterday accepted full responsibility for the guerrilla marketing campaign that caused a scare in Boston.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said that the company had agreed to pay the cost of the massive effort to defuse what authorities had believed was a potential bomb plot. Those costs are expected to top $500,000 in Boston and approach another $500,000 for the MBTA, Cambridge, and Somerville.

"We have no intention of shirking the responsibility onto any other company," said Shirley Powell, a spokeswoman for Turner Broadcasting. "We are taking full responsibility for this."

The statement was issued as friends of a local artist involved in the guerrilla advertising campaign said he was told by a New York marketing executive five hours into the scare not to tell anyone.

According to an e-mail one friend provided to the Globe, the executive at Interference Inc. told the artist, whom the agency had hired to install the small, battery-powered light screens in Boston, to remain silent, even as dozens of police officers collected the devices and shut down highways, subway lines, and part of the Charles River.
________________________________________________________

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 1, 2007 Newseum Image

February 1, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Irrepressible liberal columnist Molly Ivins dies

By JOHN MORITZ

AUSTIN -- Molly Ivins, whose biting columns mixed liberal populism with an irreverent Texas wit, died Wednesday at her home in Austin after an up-and-down, seven-year battle with breast cancer. She was 62.

Ms. Ivins, the Star-Telegram's political columnist for nine years ending in 2001, had written for The New York Times, the Dallas Times-Herald and Time magazine and had been a sought-after pundit on television talk shows where she provided a Texas slant on issues ranging from President Bush's pedigree to the culture wars rooted in the 1960s.

"She was magical in her writing," said Mike Blackman, a former Star-Telegram executive editor who hired Ms. Ivins at the Austin bureau in 1992, a few months after the Times-Herald folded. "She could turn a phrase in such a way that a pretty hard-hitting point didn't hurt so bad."