Links to the News

Star Tribune, July 1, 2009 Newseum Image

July 1, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

At last, a second senator for Minnesota

By PAT DOYLE

Al Franken, a satirist known for his biting political humor, is headed to the U.S. Senate, the survivor of an epic legal struggle that opponent Norm Coleman finally conceded he couldn't win.

Franken's triumph followed a 5-0 decision Tuesday by the Minnesota Supreme Court declaring him the winner and a quick concession by Coleman. Franken, a Democrat, could be sworn into office soon after the July 4th holiday.

"I don't know if it has really sunk in," said Franken, appearing at his home in Minneapolis shortly after receiving a congratulatory call from Coleman, a Republican. "He said it was a very hard-fought campaign. I said, 'Norm, it couldn't have been closer.'

"It was a nice way to end this."
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Pioneer Press, July 1, 2009 Newseum Image

July 1, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Minnesota Supreme Court declares Franken winner of Senate race

By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER and DAVE ORRICK 

It is over.

Eight months after Election Day, the end of the U.S. Senate race came quickly Tuesday. In a matter of a few hours, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Democrat Al Franken won, Republican Norm Coleman conceded, Franken gave his thanks, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie signed Franken's election certificate.

Next week, after months of waiting, Minnesota will have two U.S. senators again.

"I don't know if it's really sunk in yet," said Franken.

He's waited a long time for his day to come. Tuesday was the third time -- over three seasons -- that he met with reporters outside his Minneapolis town home, his wife, Franni, at his side, to thank supporters and declare that he had won. Once after the recount, which he won by 225 votes; once after a trial court decided he won by 312; and again Tuesday.

But this declaration will last.
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The Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2009 Newseum Image

June 30, 2009: An excerpt from a story in The Wall Street Journal:

'Evil' Madoff Gets 150 Years in Epic Fraud
Victims Cheer Tough Sentence; Judge Slams Financier for Stonewalling Investigators; True Size of Losses Still a Mystery

By ROBERT FRANK and AMIR EFRATI

Bernard Madoff, the self-confessed author of the biggest financial swindle in history, was sentenced to the maximum 150 years behind bars for what his judge called an "extraordinarily evil" fraud that shook the nation's faith in its financial and legal systems and took "a staggering toll" on rich and poor alike.

The landmark sentence, one of the stiffest ever given for a white-collar crime, came just six months after Mr. Madoff, a pioneer on Wall Street, allegedly told his sons that his entire business was a massive Ponzi scheme. The penalty sparked a burst of applause in a courtroom packed with victims of the fraud.
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Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2009 Newseum Image

June 26, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Los Angeles Times:

Michael Jackson's life was infused with fantasy and tragedy

By GEOFF BOUCHER and ELAINE WOO 

Michael Jackson was fascinated by celebrity tragedy. He had a statue of Marilyn Monroe in his home and studied the sad Hollywood exile of Charlie Chaplin. He married the daughter of Elvis Presley.

Jackson met his own untimely death Thursday at age 50, and more than any of those past icons, he left a complicated legacy. As a child star, he was so talented he seemed lit from within; as a middle-aged man, he was viewed as something akin to a visiting alien who, like Tinkerbell, would cease to exist if the applause ever stopped.




(For additional front pages see also --
Page One Today Collection: Michael Jackson Dies at 50)
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The State, Jun. 25, 2009 Newseum Image

June 25, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Columbia, South Carolina newspaper, The State:

Sanford admits affair: 'I've let down a lot of people'

By CLIF LeBLANC and JOHN O'CONNOR

Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday to an extramarital affair with a woman living in Argentina and to lying to South Carolinians to cover up his tryst -- then asked everyone, including his family, for forgiveness.

The two-term S.C. Republican, a rising GOP star, fought tears during a news conference hours after a reporter from The State newspaper surprised him at the Atlanta airport on his way back from seeing the mother of two during Father's Day weekend.

Sanford did not respond in the State House rotunda when asked whether he would resign his office. Spokesman Joel Sawyer later said the governor had no plans to step down.
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The Daily Star, Jun. 23, 2009 Newseum Image

June 23, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Beirut, Lebanon newspaper, The Daily Star:

Iran's Guards threaten to 'firmly confront' protests
Basij forces attack demonstrators in central Tehran

From Reuters

Editor's note: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

TEHRAN: Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards threatened on Monday to crush demonstrations, after opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi urged supporters to pursue their protests over a disputed presidential election. Shouts of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) again reverberated around Tehran at nightfall, as Mousavi supporters took to the rooftops to chant their defiance of the authorities, a tactic used in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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Maariv, Jun. 21, 2009 Newseum Image

June 21, 2009: Page One from the Tel-Aviv, Israel newspaper, Maariv. Here is a story excerpt from the CNN Special Report, Iran Election Fallout:

'Neda' becomes rallying cry for Iranian protests

(CNN) -- "RIP NEDA, The World cries seeing your last breath, you didn't die in vain. We remember you."

That Twitter post was from a man who said he is a guitarist from Nashville, Tennessee.

Amid the hundreds of images of Saturday's crackdown on protesters in Iran that were distributed to the world over the Internet, it was the graphic video showing the dying moments of a young woman shot in the heart that touched a nerve for many people around the world.


(See also: Iconic Video from Tehran Demands New Skills of Journalists, Bill Mitchell, Poynter Online, Jun. 22, 2009)

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Jam-e-Jam, Jan. 17, 2009 Newseum Image

June 17, 2009:
Page One from the Tehran, Iran newspaper, Jam-e-Jam





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An-Nahar, Jun. 16, 2009 Newseum Image

June 16, 2009: Page One from the Beirut, Lebanon newspaper, An-Nahar. Here is an excerpt from a BBC News story:

Iran 'to hold election recount'

By JIM MUIR  

On the face of it, the disturbances currently shaking Tehran in the wake of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election look very similar to the street clashes that erupted there in July 1999 and June 2003.

As happened then, thousands of angry and disillusioned people, their hopes for change frustrated, have taken to the streets, clashing with security forces and hardline vigilantes who roam the city on motorcycles.

Buses and banks have been burnt, and student dormitories raided by police or irregulars, as happened on those earlier occasions.

The 1999 and 2003 disturbances involved thousands of protesters, rather than the millions it would take to shake the Islamic regime seriously.

They petered out after about 10 days, and achieved nothing, in the face of stern repression.

Will that be the fate of the current protests, too?
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Daily News, Jun. 15, 2009 Newseum Image

June 15, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Los Angeles Daily News:

Tinseltown turns into Titletown

By KEVIN MODESTI

The Lakers carried Los Angeles back to the top of the basketball world Sunday night, the ease of the championship-clinching victory belying the difficulty of the seven-year round trip.

Pulling away to beat the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Florida, the Lakers took the NBA Finals by 4 games to 1, capping off the 10th championship for L.A. and a milestone achievement for series Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson. It's the 15th NBA title in franchise history.

Players and coaches began to celebrate with grins and hugs during a timeout with 40.4 seconds on the clock and let loose at the buzzer, Bryant leaping and throwing his right fist in the air. A downtown victory parade is scheduled for Wednesday.

"To go from the top to the bottom and back to the top, you can't describe how it feels," Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. "This is the best."
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The Washington Post, Jun. 11, 2009 Newseum Image

June 11, 2009: An excerpt from a story in The Washington Post:

At a Monument of Sorrow, A Burst of Deadly Violence
Guard Killed, Suspect Injured Amid Scene Of Fear, Chaos
 
By MICHAEL E. RUANE, PAUL DUGGAN and CLARENCE WILLIAMS   

At 12:40 p.m. yesterday a man stepped through the doors of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He took two paces, lowered his rifle at a security guard and, before anyone could react, opened fire in a popular national landmark.

The guard, who did not have time to draw his gun, fell bleeding and fatally wounded to the polished floor. Other guards fired back, cutting down the assailant. Terrified patrons, many of them children, dived for safety. And what moments before had been a bright weekday in June became a tableau of violence.
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The Boston Globe, June 10, 2009 Newseum Image

June 10, 2009: An excerpt from a story in The Boston Globe:

Times Co. seeks Globe bids
Potential buyers say paper's owner has hired firm to manage possible sale

By KEITH O'BRIEN 

The New York Times Co. has hired an investment bank to manage the possible sale of The Boston Globe, and the company plans to request bids for Boston's major daily in the next couple of weeks, according to two people who say they may make offers on the newspaper.

The Times Co., which has declined to comment in recent months on whether it is selling the Globe, has hired Goldman Sachs, the same Wall Street investment bank the Times Co. has hired to sell its 17.5 percent stake in the Boston Red Sox, the potential bidders say.

In recent weeks, Goldman Sachs representatives have told interested parties that the Times Co. would begin accepting bids for the Globe after June 8, no matter which way the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's largest union, voted on $10 million in pay and benefit cuts demanded by the company.
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The Boston Globe, June 9, 2009 Newseum Image

June 9, 2009: An excerpt from a story in The Boston Globe:

Globe union votes no
Paper declares impasse, slashes wages 23 percent

By ROBERT BAVIN and KEITH O'BRIEN 

The Boston Globe's largest union last night narrowly rejected $10 million in wage and benefit cuts, and about an hour later the paper's owner declared an impasse in negotiations and imposed a 23 percent pay cut on the union's members, effective next week.

The move by The New York Times Co., which said the Globe's dire financial condition gave it no choice, could quickly shift the bitter contract dispute from the bargaining table to the National Labor Relations Board and federal courts. The Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents nearly 700 editorial, advertising, and business office workers, has told members it would file unfair labor practice charges with the board and seek a court order blocking the Times Co. from imposing the pay cut.

In a statement, Globe spokesman Robert Powers said that management was disappointed by the vote and that the company must now move ahead with the deep pay cut. The company sent a letter advising Guild officials of the move last night.
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Metro-Boston Edition, June 9, 2009 Newseum Image

June 9, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Metro-Boston Edition:

Guild says 'no'
NYT says it will now cut wages 23 pct.

By GREG ST. MARTIN 

The Boston Globe's largest union last night voted down a proposal to accept $10 million in concessions, a move the paper's owner immediately declared would lead to a 23 percent wage cut for its members.

The final vote tally from Boston Newspaper Guild members was extremely close -- 277 voted "No" and 265 voted "Yes." As a result, the Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Co., indicated wage cuts will go into effect next week.
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Boston Herald, June 9, 2009 Newseum Image

June 9, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Boston Herald:

Times makes Guild pay
Globe union faces 23 percent wage cut after voting down contract

By JESSICA HESLAM and CHRISTINE McCONVILLE  

The Boston Globe's corporate masters in New York plan to make good on their threat to whack members of the newspaper's biggest union with a drastic 23 percent pay cut next week after the Boston Newspaper Guild rejected the company's demands.

By a 277-265 vote, Guild members last night refused to bow to contract concessions and dared management to impose the 23-percent pay cut or even shutter the struggling broadsheet.

The polls closed at 8 p.m. with 542 ballots cast. An astounding 140 members - or 20 percent of the Guild - didn't even vote.
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Star Bulletin, June 8, 2009 Newseum Image

June 8, 2009: An excerpt from a story in the Honolulu newspaper, the Star Bulletin:

N. Korea sentences US reporters to 12 years labor

By VIJAY JOSHI (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea convicted two American journalists and sentenced them Monday to 12 years of hard labor, intensifying the reclusive nation's confrontation with the United States.

Washington said it would "engage in all possible channels" to win the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV media venture.

There are fears Pyongyang is using the women as bargaining chips as the U.N. debates a new resolution to punish the country for its defiant May 25 atomic test and as North Korea seeks to draw Washington into direct negotiations.
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Al Watan, June 4, 2009 Newseum Image

June 4, 2009: Page One from the Abha, Saudi Arabia newspaper, Al Watan. Here is an excerpt from an updated BBC News story about President Obama's speech in Cairo:

Obama reaches out to Muslim world

US President Barack Obama has said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.

In a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties.

He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".

Mr Obama made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says Barack Obama wants to give a message of respect to a region which has often felt ignored, misunderstood or patronised by the US.

White House officials said the speech was intended to start a process to "re-energise the dialogue with the Muslim world".
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Correio Do Povo, June 3, 2009 Newseum Image

June 3, 2009: Page One from Correio do Povo, a newspaper from Porto Alegre, Brazil, a city in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. Here is an excerpt from a BBC News story about the recent Air France crash:

Lost jet data 'may not be found'

French aviation officials have said they may never find the flight data recorders of an Air France jet that went missing over the Atlantic.

The officials promised a thorough investigation but said the circumstances were very difficult.

Flight AF 447 was heading from Rio to Paris with 228 people on board on Monday when it was lost over the ocean.

Debris has been spotted 650km (400 miles) off Brazil's coast and navy vessels are converging on the area.
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Detroit Free Press, June 2, 2009 Newseum Image

June 2, 2009: An excerpt from an editorial in the Detroit Free Press:

Rough times get rougher, but we can be better for it

We knew it was inevitable.

We knew it would be painful, too.

Still, Monday was another lousy day for Michigan, with more of those to come as even more jobs vanish.

But also and as important, the Chapter 11 filing of General Motors Corp. signals the start of something new and, we have reason to hope, something better. The promised "new GM" will be smaller, sure, but with efficiencies, resources and competitiveness that the old GM was simply never going to attain. This is restructuring, not dismantling. And as Chrysler is showing with surprising speed, it can lead to a new era.

There's a clear message -- no, let's call it a mandate -- for Michigan in these events that are rocking the state's economic foundations. Nothing stays the same through this kind of process. Hard choices have to be made. Survival can be a powerful motivator.
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The Detroit News, June 2, 2009 Newseum Image

June 2, 2009: An excerpt from an editorial in The Detroit News:

GM bankruptcy is Michigan's darkest day

Monday was as dark and humbling a day as Michigan has ever seen.

The General Motors bankruptcy is a hammer blow for a state that was already on its knees. Seven more major automotive plants will close in the state, killing 8,900 factory jobs. That will be followed in a few days by perhaps 3,500 additional layoffs in GM's white collar ranks, most of them coming in Michigan as well.

As the impact ripples through the economy, tax revenues at the local and state levels will plummet. GM was once the engine of Michigan's prosperity. Now it is emblematic of the state's despair.
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The Wichita Eagle, June 1, 2009 Newseum Image

June 1, 2009: An excerpt from a story in The Wichita Eagle:  

Suspect in shooting death of abortion provider George Tiller may be charged today

By JOE RODRIGUEZ, TIM POTTER and STAN FINGER

With one bullet, a gunman ended the life and the controversial career of abortion doctor George Tiller, killing him as he stood in the foyer of his church Sunday.

Today, a 51-year-old Johnson County man could be charged with murder and aggravated assault in the shooting of Tiller, who had been shot before by an anti-abortion foe.

The crime has drawn condemnation and outrage from the president and stirred strong emotions across the nation.