Assignment 13: International Hard or Feature News

Ex-Juventus footballer jailed in mafia trial.

Vincenzo Iaquinta
via BBC

Vincenzo Iaquinta, 38, a former Juventus F.C. footballer has been sentenced to two years for firearms offenses as a part of a large mafia trial. The 38-year-old, who was part of Italy's winning World Cup team in 2006, was one of 148 people standing trial for alleged links to the 'Ndrangheta, a major organization linked to the Italian mafia.

The judge dismissed those charges against him, but Iaquinta's father was found guilty and jailed for 19 years. More than 120 others were found guilty also. The court ruled that Iaquinta illegally passed two guns to his father, whom at the time was under a court order banning him from keeping firearms.

Under Italian law, defendants are allowed to appeal twice before a sentence is confirmed, though it is unlikely Iaquinta would have to serve any jail time.

Original story via BBC

Assignment 12: Numeracy

'Halloween' holds top spot for second straight week, 'Mid90s' jumps up ten places. Weekend box office for Oct. 26-28, 2018.

This weekend didn't see many changes in the top five at the box office as 'Halloween (2018)' maintained it's top spot for the second straight week. 'A Star is Born', 'Venom', and 'Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween' also staved off 'Hunter Killer' on it's premiere weekend to hold on to the number two, three, and four spots respectively.

The biggest changes in the top ten saw 'First Man' drop from number five to number seven while Jonah Hill's directorial debut 'Mid90s' jumped from 20th to 10th place.

Oct. 26-28, 2018 Box Office Top 10
via BoxOfficeMojo

Notable weekend debuts include 'Hunter Killer', 'Johnny English Strikes Again', and 'Indivisible'. 'Hunter Killer' debuted at the number five position while 'Johnny English Strikes Again' and 'Indivisible' debuted at number 12 and 13 respectively.

Notable weekend debuts for November 2-4, 2018 include 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'The Nutcracker and the Four Realms', and 'Bodied'.

Assignment 11: Civics

Kentucky requires all high school students to pass a U.S. citizenship test to graduate.

Kentucky recently became the ninth state in the United States to require high school students to pass a U.S. citizenship test in order to graduate. This comes after a study from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation revealed that students and young adults aren't as familiar with the United States government as they should be.

Photo via The Lexington Herald-Leader

The study showed that from a sample of 1,000 American adults, only about 36 percent would pass a U.S. citizenship test. Adults 65 and older performed the best on the mock test while only 19 percent of participants 45 and younger passed the test. Also, 60 percent of participants were unaware of the countries the United States fought against in World War II.

Kentucky now requires high school students to get a 60 out of 100 on a civics test before being allowed to graduate. This new protocol doesn't come without opposition as the National Council for the Social Studies is against the test.

"While the Naturalization Test as presently constructed does assess a surface level of civic knowledge that may be quickly forgotten, it ignores the skills and dispositions component so necessary for true civic literacy and learning,” according to an NCSS position statement posted in March, 2018. “Indeed, rote knowledge of civics content does not equal understanding of what it means to be a citizen."

Original story via The Great Bend Tribune
More information on the test can be found here.

Assignment 10: Listening Posts

News can get around fast.

On a smaller campus like SAU, news can get around quicker than just any other town or city. The community here is really close knit, mainly due to all of the events that go on around campus, but also through the unity we all share through the classes we take, the team we support, or the dorm we live in while on a college campus.

I get most of my state or national news through social media resources such as Twitter or Facebook. Among the personalities I follow are multiple news medias like ABC News, NBC News, CNN, BBC World News, and Fox News. On my phone, I have three Twitter accounts that send me notifications every time they post: NBC Breaking News, Dr. Reppert, and the unofficial Big Ben account.

I get most of my local news through my friends and passerby in my dorm, Honors South. If my

Image via SAU

friends and I aren't in the Blue and Gold Cafeteria for lunch or dinner, we're hanging out in the third floor lobby of Honors, probably playing Guitar Hero, Settlers of Catan, or just talking about our days. We're usually in the lobby till the early morning hours, around two or three in the morning. Of course, if it's a weekend we'll be in the lobby till way later than that to get Shipley's Donuts the next morning when they open at five.

I have a very diverse group of friends with varying backgrounds, occupations, political beliefs, and majors, so it's very easy to local news from all over campus with multiple opinions. We're all from a different parts of Arkansas, with a few of us being from out of state including Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Zealand, and even India. Throughout the course of the day, we're all on different parts of campus due to differing majors, so any news that's on campus will most likely make it to someone in the group.

If news does happen to slip through the cracks, by hanging out in the lobby and being friendly with essentially everyone in the Honors dorm, any news that comes through the dorm will make it into the ears of one of us.

News is important, whether local, state, national, or international. Build a listening post!

States highlighted in red indicate the home state of a friend in my 'friend group'.

Assignment 9: Public Records (State, National, International)

Newark, Ohio Police Reports through October 10th.

These incident reports were gathered from the Granville Police Department over the past week.

Image via The Newark Advocate

On Sept. 28, police arrested a juvenile male in the area of the Sunset Drive parking lot for possession and drug paraphernalia. The juvenile was released to parents.

Police investigated an act of vandalism in which a toilet was torn from a men's room of an East Broadway business on Sept. 30.

Warnings and/or citations for speeding and/or failure to observe stop signs were issued in the areas of Ohio 16 and Thornwood Crossing (numerous), Ohio 16 and River Road, and Newark-Granville Road and Bryn Du Drive.

Original story via The Newark Advocate

Assignment 8: Public Records (Local)

South Arkansas bankruptcies from the week ended on October 2nd.

Image via Getty Images

Listed below are the bankruptcies listed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Arkansas in South Arkansas, sorted by county.

Lafayette County

Brenda Wesley, 1220 Waldo St, Stamps; Chapter 13; bankruptcy filed September 26.

Union County

Whitney Lynn Haynes, 11168 Haynesville Hwy, Junction City; Chapter 7; bankruptcy filed September 27.

Terry Johnson and Roshonda Rochell Johnson, 1631 N. Martin Luther King Blvd, El Dorado; Chapter 13; bankruptcy filed September 28.

Randal Gene Wells, 548 Kelly Road, El Dorado; Chapter 7; bankruptcy filed September 30.

James Levi Bynum, P.O. Box 238, Junction City; Chapter 13; bankruptcy filed September 30.

Linda Faye Ford, 601 Nelson St., El Dorado; Chapter 13; bankruptcy filed September 30.

Original story via The Magnolia Reporter

Assignment 7: Campus Hard or Feature News

Texas Christian University responds to divisive on-campus comedian.

Texas Christian University released a statement on Tuesday, calling an on-campus comedian "offensive" during the filming of his show. Steven Crowder set up a booth on a public sidewalk on the TCU campus with a sign reading, "Rape culture is a myth. Change my mind," and he garnered a strong, mostly negative reaction from university students.

Image via Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Joyce Marshall

Crowder's show usually features the comedian behind a booth sporting a controversial statement with the subheading, "Change my mind." TCU's Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kathy Cavins-Tull wrote in a statement that Crowder, "makes his living by posing a divisive statement to a group, often college students, and asking them to change his mind."

When Crowder was setting up his booth, on Twitter he called the episode, "possibly the most controversial #ChangeMyMind to date." TCU students reacted strongly with a large group gathering around his table.

Tyler Long, a student at TCU, questioned Crowder's decision on the topic at a college campus. "I think the main feeling was, why are you on our campus? Rape culture is definitely more prevalent on a college campus. That especially made it [ten] times more offensive because of its prevalence here."

Kaden Freeman, a sophomore at TCU, defended Crowder's right to be on campus and pose a provocative statement. "This is public, he has every right to come out and talk whether or not people agree or disagree."

Video via Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Calvins-Tull acknowledged the displeasure with Crowder's appearance on campus and addressed the issue with a statement on individuals who pushed for action by the university. "We are a community, and in the marketplace of ideas, the best remedy for bad ideas are good ideas. Let’s keep talking," Tull said.

Original story via Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Steven Crowder on Twitter