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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Friday, March 20, 2009

In the United States, a suspended Pennsylvania state trooper has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing his girlfriend’s estranged husband.

Kevin Foley, 43, faces a mandatory life sentence without parole for slashing to death John Yelenic, a Blairsville dentist who was in the final stages of divorcing his wife, Michele. Foley’s attorney said he plans to appeal the decision. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

Foley previously said he “loathed Dr. Yelenic” and asked another fellow trooper to help kill him. During his testimony, which lasted several hours, Foley claimed he was joking and had no true intention of carrying out the threat, but the Indiana County jury rejected that defense after about six hours of deliberations.

John Yelenic was found dead in his home on April 13, 2006, one day before he was planning on signing his divorce papers. Charges were brought against Foley in September 2007, more than 17 months after the murder.

Foley, who had been on suspension from the Pennsylvania State Police, was himself the final witness to take the stand Wednesday in the trial. Foley insisted he was innocent during his testimony, and even made jokes that the jury laughed at on a few occasions.

“I never made a threat with the intention of carrying it out,” Foley said under cross-examination by the prosecution.

When Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek pressed Foley for what was funny about asking another state trooper to help him kill Yelenic, Foley answered, “There isn’t any joke. It’s just my personality, my behavior (with co-workers).”

Prosecutors said Foley killed Yelenic after going to the dentist’s house to confront him over the terms of the divorce. Prosecutors claim Foley slashed Yelenic several times with a knife and pushed his head through a small window. Yelenic bled to death.

“John has his justice tonight,” Mary Ann Clark, a cousin of Yelenic, told MSNBC. “John deserved this; he was the most wonderful person in the world. He died the most horrible death and tonight, this is his night. The system worked.”

Foley had been living with Michele Yelenic for two years at the time of the homicide. Prosecutors previously said Foley and Michele helped perpetuate rumors that Dr. Yelenic molested their son. John and Michele Yelenic had been separated in 2002. Michele Yelenic stood to collect Dr. Yelenic’s estate and a US$1 million life insurance policy, and could lose about $2,500 a month in support if the divorce was finalized, a Pennsylvania grand jury previously determined.

Michele Yelenic, who has not appeared at the trial, may face legal action herself, media reports indicated. A sentencing hearing for Foley is scheduled for June 1.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Alfred Hsing, a US martial artist with Chinese origins, besides having a long history of martial arts training in various styles, such as traditional kung fu, tae kwon do and karate, considers wushu – an athletic sport based on Chinese martial arts – as a form of art that pushes one’s physical limits and stimulates the mind at the same time. After having won the gold medal at the 10th World Wushu Championships, he became international movie star Jet Li’s personal assistant and went on to do stunts, action choreography, and land roles in movies.

Hungarian Wikinews contributor Teemeah has interviewed Alfred Hsing about his views on martial arts, life and Wikipedia.

A compilation of brief news reports for Tuesday, December 9, 2008.

The United States media group Tribune Company has filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday as it struggled to sort out its US$13 billion debt. It is the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, responsible for the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, among others.

The firm has been hit hard by the industry-wide slump in newspaper advert revenues this year. Sam Zell, the billionaire who owns Tribune, took out large loans in order to buy the firm back in June of 2007.

The United States Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection law states that a company can continue trading whilst it sorts out its finances.

Sources

• “US publisher in bankruptcy move” — BBC News Online, December 8, 2008
• “Tribune files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy” — MarketWatch.com, December 8, 2008

The Quebec general election is underway in the Canadian province of Quebec. Premier Jean Charest called the elections, saying he needed a majority to guide Quebec through a period of economic difficulties caused by the worldwide financial crisis.

Polls indicate that the Charest may obtain a majority, with support for his Quebec Liberal Party increasing to 45%, while support for the Parti Québécois remains at around 30%.

The polls will close at 01:00 GMT (20:00 local time), and the results will probably come in soon after that.

Sources

• “Quebec voters head to the polls” — BBC News Online, December 8, 2008
• “Quebec votes in provincial elections” — Agence France-Presse, December 8, 2008

The United States government is reportedly close to an agreement for a US$15 billion bailout plan for the country’s three largest auto firms.

According to a draft obtained by the Associated Press, the deal would give loans to Detroit‘s struggling Big Three automobile manufacturers — Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler — but under the condition that the auto industry restructures itself to survive. Another condition is that the incumbent US President, George W. Bush, would appoint an overseer to supervise the effort.

Analysts suggest that the agreement could be signed into law by the end of this week.

Sources

• “White House cool to plan for auto bailout” — MSNBC, December 8, 2008
• “US car bail-out nears agreement” — BBC News Online, December 8, 2008

Monday, June 18, 2007

An Air New Zealand Beechcraft performed an emergency landing at Blenheim after being diverted from its destination following a landing gear problem.

The Beechcraft 1900D was being flown by Eagle Air, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, flying from Timaru to Wellington with 15 passengers and two air crew on board.

When arriving at Wellington, the landing gear would not lower, forcing flight NZ 2300 to be diverted to the RNZAF Base Woodbourne, Blenheim where it landed on its belly at around 9.00 a.m.. The plane was badly damaged, and immediately covered in foam as is standard policy and as a safety precaution.

The air base was expected to be closed for around two hours as cranes cleaned up the wreckage.

Eagle Air General Manager, Doug Roberts said that their initial assessment is that the crew did an excellent job, and executed a text book wheels up landing. “Our pilots undergo some of the most extensive training in the industry and dealing with emergency situations like this is a cornerstone of their training.”

A man from Wellington on board with his son and partner, said that he was a bit “freaked out”, but was fine after the landing, praising the landing performed by the experienced pilot.

Marty Solomon says that all passengers were informed throughout the journey of what was happening, and were well prepared for the crash landing.

Two of the passengers, one of whom was pregnant, were sent to hospital for check ups.

A special support crew is now being flown to Blenheim by Air New Zealand to help those affected by today’s emergency landing. They say that most of the passengers will now continue the rest of their journey today.

Eagle Air and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission will now investigate the incident.

Eagle flies 17 other Beechcraft, and service by those planes is continuing as normal today, as they are considered to be extremely reliable.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Max Riekse, one of the candidates for the Constitution Party nomination for the 2008 United States presidential election.

Riekse is a retired decorated United States Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army who served in both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. He is also a former public school teacher and Assistant Professor of Military Science at Western Michigan University. He has a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of South Florida as well as two M.A.s, one in Political Science and International Relations, the other in Eductaion and History. Both are from Western Michigan University.

We asked him if he thinks he has a good shot at winning the Constitution Party nomination and ultimately the presidency. He replied, “I will give it my best shot because I think I can do better then all previous Constitution Party presidential candidates….As to being in the White House in 2009, realistically, its a long shot; but so was Abe Lincoln in the new Republican Party.”

When asked about America’s public school system he said, “Local school boards and the people they are responsible to are the best judge of what is needed; this with state oversight, will help boost public school quality & education.”

Riekse is running for president because he has been “very tired of our Republican and Democratic choices for president for many years. With a population of some 300 million people to draw from, I would think we could do much, much better then we have been doing in regards to having a choice for president.”

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The mystery of the location of a viewpoint used by English painter John Constable has been solved, after nearly 200 years. The Stour Valley and Dedham Church was painted in Suffolk, England, between 1814 and 1815, but changes to the landscape meant that the spot he chose was not known, despite the best efforts of historians and art experts.

Now the puzzle has been answered. Martin Atkinson, who works for the National Trust as property manager for East Suffolk, used clues from the painting and looked at old maps to track down the viewpoint. Trees had grown, a hedgerow had been planted and boundaries had moved or disappeared, but Atkinson eventually worked out where Constable had stood. He said, “When I discovered that I had worked out the location where Constable painted this particular masterpiece, I couldn’t believe it. All the pieces of the jigsaw finally fitted together.”

Atkinson used an 1817 map of East Bergholt, where Constable grew up, as a reference point, but found that the view would have changed not long after the painting was completed. “The foreground didn’t fit at all, it was quite unusual as we know Constable painted it in the open air so he would have been standing in the scene. The hedgerow in his work no longer exists and there’s another hedgerow that runs across the scene today which wasn’t there. When you stand on the road on which he would have stood, and use the oak tree as a reference point, you see the same view. It’s great to see where an old master stood – and be inspired by the same view,” he said.

Suffolk, where Constable painted many of his finest paintings, is often called “Constable country”. Most, but not all, of the locations that Constable depicted are known. The picture is now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Saturday, California District Attorney Anne-Marie Schubert told the public that the two Sacramento police officers who fatally shot 22-year-old Stephon Clark in his grandmother’s back yard last year would not face charges.

“The law requires that we judge the reasonableness of an officer’s actions based upon the circumstances confronting them at that moment of time,” Schubert said in a press conference. She went on to add, “We know [Clark] fled from the officers after being told to stop, we know that he continued into the backyard, and we know that when he continued into the backyard, he rounded that corner, and he went to the end of that yard and he turned around[.] He didn’t continue to flee. He turned around and he was in a shooting stance with his arms extended.” She went on to explain why the police sincerely believed that Clark had a gun, such as one officer’s claim to have seen a flash of light like the reflection off a gun.

“I don’t care if he was a criminal. None of that matters,” mother of the deceased, SeQuette Clark, told the public. “What matters is how those officers came with lethal force around a corner, on a vandalism call, after my son and gunned him down — when he had nothing but a cellphone in his hand.”

Stephon Clark was killed on March 18 of last year. Police received a 911 call about a man breaking glass on cars and a house. Later, DNA evidence would indicate this was indeed Clark. Officers Jared Robinet and Terrence Mercadal pursued Clark into what they later learned was his grandmother’s back yard, where, according to Schubert, they believed he had a gun, and they discharged their own weapons twenty times, hitting Clark at least seven. Clark was later found to have been unarmed. The event was recorded on the officers’ body cameras. After Clark’s death, large protests and demonstrations called for criminal charges against the two shooters.

After the press conference, religious leaders spoke to the press outside City Hall. “I’m first just heartbroken, as a black man, as a Sacramentan that has heard her demonize Stephon Clark and then not hold these officers accountable,” Pastor Les Simmons told the press. “I think our community is really hurting right now.”

During the press conference, Schubert said that Clark’s phone and other personal records showed that he had been in some trouble with the law before and having difficulties with his children’s mother. He had called a friend and talked about suicide. Former police chief Rick Braziel later said he had expected Schubert to claim Clark may have been attempting to commit suicide by cop, to provoke the police into killing him, but Schubert did not. When asked about this in a follow-up interview, Schubert explicitly said that she did not mean to suggest this.

The mayor of Sacramento, Darryl Steinberg, responded to the district attorney’s announcement with a renewed apology to the Clark family: “Today, the district attorney said she focused on a single question: Did the officers who shot Stephon Clark commit a crime? Her answer was, ‘No[.]’ Our community and its leadership have different questions. Was the outcome wrong? Was the outcome unacceptable? The answer to both questions is yes.”

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A former accountant for Oral Roberts University (ORU) has filed a lawsuit against ORU and its Board of Regents claiming he was told by Richard Roberts and his wife Lindsay to “cook the books”, hiding financial wrongdoing from authorities and the public. Trent Huddleston, the accountant, has filed suit against the school and the Robertses claiming he “was improperly and unlawfully directed to perform functions and duties in violation of state and federal law in an effort by the defendants to ‘cook the books’ and hide from the appropriate authorities and the public the continued wrongdoing, improper and illegal conduct of the defendants, and in particular, of Richard and Lindsay Roberts.”

Huddleston said that nearly $123,000 in remodeling fees for their home was paid by Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Ministries. In addition the lawsuit alleges $4,000 was spent on a pool table for the Robertses. Previously the Roberts were accused of illegal political and financial wrongdoing, which forced the president to step down from his positison.

Last week at a meeting called by Oral Roberts, founder of the University and former faith healer, a majority of the faculty voted against allowing Richard to serve as president.

An ORU spokesman declined to comment on latest lawsuit and the faculty meeting.

In other news, Tulsa World released emails between Richard and his political adviser and sister-in-law, Stephanie Cantees. The emails given by an anonymous source, show the two plan to gain political influence using ORU students.