Journalism 3101W

  By: Madison Maronde So far in my final feature story I have interviewed three people. The director of French studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Lauren Goodspeed, and the director of Italian studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Carlotta Dradi. I have also interviewed one student, who speaks Italian and is from Italy. She spoke about challenges she has faced when learning English. I am not sure if I will use her interview. I am still wanting to talk to at least two more students. My interviews with Goodspeed and Dradi have been very helpful.  I am having a setback with navigating the student tutor website, and am having a hard time figuring out how to contact student tutors for foreign language classes. The previous tutors I wanted to interview are tutors through a new program so they will not be able to speak on what changes they have seen in students pre-pandemic versus post-pandemic, which is what I am needing right now for my story. Next week I will

  By: Madison Maronde Parents have sued a school district in Wisconsin because of its policy on gender transitioning students, according to NBC news. The Kettle Moraine School District in Waukesha, Wisconsin is facing a lawsuit by parents over a district policy which allows students to change their names and gender pronouns at school without parental consent, according to NBC news. The policy allows for students who are minors to change their pronouns at school. Parents claim this policy violates their constitutional rights as parents, according to NBC news. Two sets of parents filed the lawsuit Wednesday and according to The Wisconsin State Journal , some Madison school districts are facing similar litigation. According to The Wisconsin State Journal, parents at the Madison School District are suing due to a policy in the schools, that allows transitioning transgender students to not have to notify parents of this transition. In 2020, a Dane County Judge ruled that the Madison School

  By: Madison Maronde A pivotal figure during the U.S. Capitol riot, Jacob Chansley, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison, according to CNN . Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,'' became a symbol for the January attack on the U.S. Capitol. Chansley donned a fur headdress with horns while holding an American flag and was one of the first 30 rioters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to NPR . Chansley was arrested days after the storming of the capitol and was indicted on six charges including two felonies. Chansley has now been sentenced to 41 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of obstruction, according to NPR.  During the riot, Chansley led the crowd using his bullhorn to talk to them, according to NPR.  "Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists, and the traitors within our government," Chansley said, according to NPR. According to CNN, in an interview since Chansley has been jailed, Chansley said he feels

By: Madison Maronde Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand Wednesday in his homicide trial, according to CNN . 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is on trial for allegedly shooting and killing two people at a racial justice protest in August 2020. At one point during his testimony on Wednesday, Rittenhouse broke into sobs, according to NPR . During the testimony, Rittenhouse claimed he did not do anything wrong and acted in self defense, according to CNN. "I didn't intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me," Rittenhouse said, according to NPR. Rittenhouse broke down as he was describing the situation leading up to the shooting, causing a short break in the trial, according to NPR Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to six charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree attempted intentional homicide, according to CNN. The question before the jury is whether Rittenhouse's actions, shooting those protes

  By: Madison Maronde Eight people are dead after attending an Astroworld concert in Houston on Friday, according to NBC News.  Travis Scott held a festival in Houston called Astroworld on Friday. There were around 50,000 people in attendance, of which eight were killed and hundreds more were injured after a crowd surge, according to NBC News. The crowd began pressing towards the front of the venue as Scott was performing. This surge, according to Fox News , is what caused the death of eight people.  One attendee, 21-year-old Alleighya Odom, said the crowd was tightly packed.  "I started looking around, and there’s people on the ground. There’s people looking at me, like, scared, eyes wild, like, 'Please help me,'" she continued. "There’s people behind me crying because they’re being stepped on," Odom said, according to NBC news. Scott reportedly paused the show many times after reports of attendees passing out, according to NBC News. The show was stopped ab

  Election reflection By: Madison Maronde I analyzed an article written by MINNPOST. MINNPOST included many percentages describing the losses or wins for candidates. The journalists told a larger story of many incumbents losing their seats this year in the Minneapolis Council. There was an underlying story as well about some of those newly elected being younger and people of color. For example Alisha Chughtai won a seat for council president. Chughtai is a young organizer and the daughter of an immigrant family. Chughtai described her win as an “absolutely incredible achievement,” according to the article. Using Chughtai as a source, rather than just the percentages of the votes, very effectively explains the significance of the votes. Although it is important to provide what the percentage was for each candidate, adding in human sources helps describe why we should care about the election. The largest story in this article explained how five Minneapolis City Council incumbents lost t

The obituary I read was for former activist and congressman John Lewis. The obituary, by  AP News , somewhat followed The New York Times obituary outline. The obituary began stating Lewis had died and his age, however soon after, it did not state his cause of death. Information is then given on his notable achievements and that is followed by his life in chronological order, per The  New York Times guidelines. The article quoted former President Barack Obama in the interview along with Nancy Pelosi and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Those who were quoted were good sources as they knew Lewis and had seen first-hand the changes he made in the world. There were also direct quotes by Lewis included in the article. These were very impactful as they showed multitudes about his character. I think overall the obituary did a wonderful job describing the character of Lewis, and noting his achievements. 

  Footage from a Pentagon review showed a child present in the area of a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, minutes before the strike occurred, according to NBC news. The Pentagon’s review found many issues that occurred during the strike including execution errors and breakdown of communication. The report found the assessment issued before the strike, which occurred in Kabul, Afghanistan in August, was inaccurate, according to NBC news . The strike team was not aware there were children at the site of the drone site. However minutes before the strike, a child could be seen by video cameras at the location of the deadly strike, according to The New York Times . The review by the Pentagon followed a drone strike the U.S. made on a site in Kabul which killed 10 civilians, including seven children, prompting an investigation of the strike, according to The New York Times.  According to NBC news, Pentagon Officials called the assessment made before the strike a “regrettable mistake.”

  Australian police found a 4-year-old girl Wednesday who had been missing for 18 days, according to an article by The New York Times.  Four-year-old Cleo Smith has been found alive in Carnarvon, Australia in a locked house. Smith went missing Oct.16 after camping at a popular spot with her family. Police have arrested a 36-year-old male suspect, according to The New York Times . “My name is Cleo,”Smith said after police found her, according to CNN .  Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch told 6PR radio when police found Smith, there was not a dry eye in the house, according to CNN. Police have been on a massive search effort, interviewing over 100 campers, digging through garbage and more, according to The New York Times. The massive search effort occured after Smith’s mother woke up to their tent open and Smith and her sleeping bag gone. The family camped at Quobba Blowholes, in Western Australia, according to The New York Times.