Manhunt for Jersey City man authorities say

murdered 21-year-old Newark man as the

victim 'ran for his life'
Published: Sunday, March 06, 2011, 2:30 PM     Updated: Sunday, March 06, 2011, 2:30 PM

By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office has issued an arrest warrant for Rondell Jones, pictured
above, who they say killed a Newark man in Jersey City early yesterday as the victim "ran for his
life."
The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office has issued an arrest warrant for Rondell Jones, 21, of
Jersey City, who authorities say shot and killed a 21-year-old Newark man in Jersey City early
yesterday.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have joined the search for Jones, whose last known address
was on Fulton Avenue, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said this afternoon.

Jones is charged with shooting Eric Thomas, 21, several times in the back after Thomas left a
house party at Bergen Avenue near Communipaw Avenue at about 1 a.m. yesterday, DeFazio
said.

There was dispute at the house party between Thomas and another individual and the argument
continued outside on the street, DeFazio said.

Jones -- who witnesses say was a friend of the individual Thomas had the dispute with --
produced a semi-automatic pistol and shot the victim several times in his back as "he ran for his
life," DeFazio said.

Thomas was found unconscious at Communipaw Avenue and Sackett Street and was taken to
Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, the prosecutor said.

His wounds involved a severed spinal cord and damage to the lung, DeFazio said.
The last known address for Thomas was in Newark but he has immediate family members in
Jersey City, according to DeFazio.

Investigators found a semi-automatic pistol in an alleyway on Lexington Avenue but it is not yet
known if that is the weapon that was used to kill Thomas, DeFazio said, noting multiple spent
shell casings were found near the scene of the shooting.

Jones was paroled from Garden State Youth Correctional Facility on Jan. 24, just over a year
after his Jan. 22, 2010 conviction for the unlawful possession of a handgun and conspiracy for
drug dealing, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections' website.

Anybody with information about the whereabouts of Jones should call the Hudson County
Prosecutor's Office Homicide Unit confidential tip line at (201) 915-1345.

Princeton married gay men fight deportation

as Defense of Marriage Act debate continues
Published: Sunday, March 06, 2011, 2:27 PM     Updated: Sunday, March 06, 2011, 2:34 PM

By Lauren Zumbach/For the Times

Cie Stroud for The TimesVenezuelan Henry Velandia and his partner American Josh Vandiver, a
grad student at Princeton University, at the Carl A. Fields Center on campus in Princeton, N.J.
March 4, 2011. They are protesting the Defense of Marriage Act.

PRINCETON BOROUGH — Josh Vandiver never expected to become an activist. A sixth-year

graduate student at Princeton University, he planned to spend this spring finishing his
dissertation and enjoying his new life with his husband of a year and a half, Henry Velandia.

Instead, they’re in the middle of a fight to keep their marriage together. Velandia, who first came
to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2002 on a visitor visa, is facing deportation. Although they
married legally in Connecticut and have been together since 2006, Velandia is unable to qualify
for a spouse visa because the couple is in a same-sex marriage.

“I never imagined that, as an American citizen, I would be unable to sponsor the person I love to
be with me in the U.S.,” Vandiver said. “I never thought I would be discriminated against that
way.”

The two are now among the most prominent voices calling for a moratorium on deportations of
individuals in same-sex marriages while Congress and the federal courts determine the fate of the
1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

DOMA prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, which means
these couples do not receive typical marriage benefits, including the ability to sponsor a spouse
for immigration.

“Our fight is to stay together,” Velandia said in an interview. “We hope that the government will
realize the damage DOMA is causing to many couples in our position.”

At first, Velandia and Vindiver weren’t optimistic. But after President Obama and Attorney
General Eric Holder recently announced that the administration believes DOMA is
unconstitutional, Vandiver and Velandia have new hope for success.
The president’s statement doesn’t change the law. But, as their attorney Lavi Soloway explains,
it does change how we understand the position they’re in.

“Henry is now prohibited from getting a green card on the basis of a law that the president thinks
is unconstitutional, that has been found unconstitutional by a federal district court judge, and that
Congress is now working to repeal,” Soloway said.

(A green card grants an alien permission to live in the U.S. and be employed here.)

It’s unlikely that Congress will pass the proposed bills challenging DOMA before May 6, the
date of Velandia’s deportation hearing. Instead, they are calling on the Department of Homeland
Security to give same-sex binational couples facing imminent deportation the right to remain in
the U.S. until the debate on DOMA is resolved.

Vandiver and Velandia will likely be the first couple to take this appeal to the federal courts.

“It’s a momentous historical moment, one that was not foreseeable to anybody working in this
area, in immigration law or LGBT (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) rights,” Soloway said.

“It seemed like a long shot back in the fall, but it seems like a lot less of one now,” he said.

Although it would be the first case of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law for same-sex
couples, similar exceptions have been made in the past. Soloway described the Department of
Homeland Security’s 2009 decision to put a moratorium on deportations of women whose U.S.
citizen husbands were killed during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq before they received their
green cards. He said that decision to defer deportations on humanitarian grounds is very similar
to what Velandia and Vandiver are asking for now.

“It’s now perfectly reasonable for the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to make
a similar decision to prevent tearing couples apart in the context of a law that the executive
branch and courts think is unconstitutional,” Soloway said.

Though the process of appealing the immigration decision could take several years, Vandiver
and Velandia plan to keep fighting. They say leaving the U.S. rather than waiting in limbo is not
an option.

“Back home, there is a culture of machismo that doesn’t accept openly gay men,” said Velandia.
“America has been the place of becoming who I am.”

Vandiver added that they have been planning a life together in the U.S.

“As an American citizen, I expect to be treated equally under the law, and this law is singling me
out and discriminating against me,” Vandiver said. “The people who are in exile have lost their
voice to be a cause for change here.”
Though they may be the first to make the case before the courts, Vandiver and Velandia are not
alone. Soloway estimates there are thousands of bi-national same-sex couples in the U.S., and
more who live in “exile” abroad or chose not to marry because of the risks.

“Some of the people who have written to us have been young people who expressed despair that
they don’t foresee being able to get married and be together, even if the person they love is an
American,” Vandiver said. “To hear their sadness and despair drives us forward.”

Last October, they launched a petition to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
requesting that the deportation of the spouses of gay American citizens be stopped until the
situation is resolved. They currently have more than 2,600 signatures, and their Facebook group,
“Save Our Marriage: Stop the Deportation of Henry Velandia,” has more than 10,000 supporters.

They are also partnering with a student organization at Princeton — Princeton Equality Project
— to raise awareness among students and get more signatures on the petition.

“Their story is a great example of how these laws affect people’s lives,” said Elektra Alivisatos,
the organization’s Marriage Equality Project director.

“Because Josh is part of the Princeton community, we thought it would hit really close to home.”

“Some said combining two hot-button issues is a bad thing, but with the outpouring of support
we had, it seemed like we had both communities coming to our support and aid,” Vandiver said.

Velandia, a professional salsa dancer who operates his own school, Princeton-based
HotSalsaHot, was initially nervous about coming out to the Latin dancing community. But when
people in the community saw him featured on Fox News, they were very supportive, as was the
Princeton community.

“It’s been a great place to develop ourselves as a couple,” Velandia said.

As they’ve shared their story, they haven’t encountered many people who oppose their views.

“We found love and got married and want to be together, and it’s simple if it’s just a narrative of
our lives,” Vandiver said. “Maybe that will get through in a way that arguing from principle
wouldn’t.”

“We’re standing up for what we believe in — our love, our lives, and equality,” said Velandia.
“That’s the principle we’re working for.

^ That one was well organized and relatively easy to briefly summarize; the readily
explainable key facts were near the beginning. I tried to get all the necessary ideas across
and then stuck in a concluding line about the support they’ve received and the ideals for
which they’re fighting.

U.S. Wavers on 'Regime Change'

WASHINGTON—After weeks of internal debate on how to respond to uprisings in the Arab
world, the Obama administration is settling on a Middle East strategy: help keep longtime allies
who are willing to reform in power, even if that means the full democratic demands of their
newly emboldened citizens might have to wait.

A fighter for the Libyan rebels prepares for battle Friday against forces loyal to Col. Moammar
Gadhafi, on a day when the two sides waged a fierce battle near Tripoli.

Instead of pushing for immediate regime change—as it did to varying degrees in Egypt and now
Libya—the U.S. is urging protesters from Bahrain to Morocco to work with existing rulers
toward what some officials and diplomats are now calling "regime alteration."

The approach has emerged amid furious lobbying of the administration by Arab governments,
who were alarmed that President Barack Obama had abandoned Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak and worried that, if the U.S. did the same to the beleaguered king of Bahrain, a chain of
revolts could sweep them from power, too, and further upend the region's stability.

The strategy also comes in the face of domestic U.S. criticism that the administration sent mixed
messages at first in Egypt, tentatively backing Mr. Mubarak before deciding to throw its full
support behind the protesters demanding his ouster. Likewise in Bahrain, the U.S. decision to
throw a lifeline to the ruling family came after sharp criticism of its handling of protests there.
On Friday, the kingdom's opposition mounted one of its largest rallies, underlining the challenge
the administration faces selling a strategy of more gradual change to the population.

Administration officials say they have been consistent throughout, urging rulers to avoid
violence and make democratic reforms that address the demands of their populations. Still, a
senior administration official acknowledged the past month has been a learning process for
policy makers. "What we have said throughout this is that there is a need for political, economic
and social reform, but the particular approach will be country by country," the official said.

A pivotal moment came in late February, in the tense hours after Mr. Obama publicly berated
King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa for cracking down violently on antigovernment demonstrators in
Bahrain's capital. Envoys for the king and his Arab allies shuttled from the Pentagon to the State
Department and the White House with a carefully coordinated message.

If the Obama administration did not reverse course and stand squarely behind the monarchy, they
warned, Bahrain's government could fall, costing America a critical ally and potentially moving
the country toward Iran's orbit. Adding to the sense of urgency was a scenario being watched by
U.S. intelligence agencies: the possibility that Saudi Arabia might invade its tiny neighbor to
silence the Shiite-led protesters, threatening decades-old partnerships and creating vast political
and economic upheaval.

Washington's Approach

"We need the full support of the United States," a top Bahraini diplomat beseeched the
Americans, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, Assistant Secretary
of State Jeffery Feltman, Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, and other top
policy makers.

Arab diplomats believe the push worked. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton emerged as leading voices inside the administration urging greater U.S. support
for the Bahraini king coupled with a reform agenda that Washington insisted would be have to be
credible to street protesters. Instead of backing cries for the king's removal, Mr. Obama asked
protesters to negotiate with the ruling family, which is promising major changes.

Israel was also making its voice heard. As Mr. Mubarak's grip on power slipped away in Egypt,
Israeli officials lobbied Washington to move cautiously and reassure Mideast allies that they
were not being abandoned. Israeli leaders have made clear that they fear extremist forces could
try to exploit new-found freedoms and undercut Israel's security, diplomats said.

"Starting with Bahrain, the administration has moved a few notches toward emphasizing stability
over majority rule," said a U.S. official. "Everybody realized that Bahrain was just too important
to fail."

An exception to the policy of regime alteration is Libya, a longtime U.S. adversary partially
rehabilitated by the Bush administration after Tripoli agreed to give up its nuclear program. Mr.
Obama's initial reaction was muted, but he later criticized Col. Moammar Gadhafi for
committing acts of violence against his own people and called for the dictator to step aside.
Critics say the response has been too slow and that military action is needed.

The emerging approach could help slow the pace of upheaval to avoid further violence, the
administration's top priority, and help preserve important strategic alliances. At the same time,
the approach carries risk. Autocratic governments might not deliver on their reform promises,
making Washington look like it was doing their bidding at the public's expense. Officials said the
administration's response in Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere could change if people take to the
streets en masse, rejecting offers made at the negotiating table, or if the U.S.-backed
governments crack down violently. Indeed, administration officials say the White House is not
"unconditionally" behind the monarchy in Bahrain, and has made clear that the U.S. expected to
see quick progress on reforms and restraint by security forces.

The U.S. is trying a Bahrain-like formula in Morocco, supporting King Mohammed VI, and in
Yemen, whose weak central government has been headed by autocratic President Ali Abdullah
Saleh for nearly 33 years. The approaches signal Washington's willingness to vary its strategy
depending on its interests and the willingness of autocratic leaders to respond to popular protests.

The lobbying push on behalf of Bahrain was led by the Gulf Cooperation Council. In addition to
Bahrain, the council includes the Persian Gulf states of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates.

In private meetings late last month with Washington policy makers, cooperation council envoys
drove home the message that Bahrain could be a "model" that the Obama administration could
follow to advance democratic reforms without fueling unrest that could further destabilize the
region.

The Arab diplomats found a particularly receptive ear in the Pentagon. As Egypt began to sway,
some U.S. military officers had doubts about the administration's approach. The U.S. military
has strong ties with the country. Some worried that the U.S. was moving too quickly to push
aside a steadfast ally and that radical change in Cairo could destabilize the region.

Those concerns were shared by Israel and several key Arab allies, who were "furious" at the
Obama administration for ignoring their appeals to allow Mr. Mubarak a graceful exit, a senior
European military official said. But administration officials argued that with hundreds of
thousands of protesters on the streets, they had little choice but to turn on Mr. Mubarak sooner
rather than later. Indeed, the administration has been criticized by human-rights groups for not
standing more squarely with democracy advocates from the start.

Though initially skeptical, the Pentagon came around to the White House's view that if Mr.
Mubarak clung to power, there would be little chance for real reform. But the Pentagon's
perspective was far different when trouble began in Bahrain.

The protest movement in Bahrain began gathering in intensity on Feb. 14, after police killed a
protester and injured 25 more. Over the following days, six more demonstrators were killed and
more than 200 injured, as reports circulated that the Bahraini government was moving in military
equipment to disperse the protestors.

At an emergency meeting in Manama, the capital city, on Feb. 17, leaders of the Gulf
Cooperation Council backed Bahrain's response to the protests and the Bahraini foreign minister
warned that the kingdom was at the "brink of sectarian abyss."

The White House watched the developments with alarm, especially reports that Bahraini forces
had fired on the crowd from helicopters. A State Department official phoned a top Bahraini
diplomat and demanded an accounting of the events, a person familiar with the exchange said.
Bahraini officials told their American counterparts that witnesses mistook a long telephoto lens
for a rifle and that the helicopters never opened fire.

The next day, however, the Bahraini army fired on protesters again. In a call to the king, Mr.
Obama condemned the violence used against "peaceful protesters," and urged the king to direct
his security forces to punish those responsible for the bloodshed, according to the White House.

Arab diplomats reacted with alarm to the U.S. condemnation. They believed the administration
might be returning to the Egyptian playbook, according to officials and diplomats.

Inside the Pentagon, Mr. Gates and his team were quick to point out that Bahrain represented a
very different situation than Egypt's.

Bahrain has a restive Shiite majority that has long felt cut off from the opportunities available to
the country's Sunni royal family and social elite.
The country is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Arabian Sea,
Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Some at the Pentagon feared that Shiite-led Iran might try to hijack
the protest movement in Bahrain and back installation of an anti-American government.

Though skeptical of Bahraini claims that Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, were
instigating Shiite protests, U.S. and European officials fear the crisis could benefit Tehran. The
Mideast turmoil has driven up oil prices, helping Tehran refill its coffers and withstand
international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear program.

On Feb. 20, as two Bahraini diplomats made their case to top policy makers in Washington,
Adm. Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of a week-long visit to
Arab allies.

On the top of the agenda of his Arab counterparts: Bahrain. Adm. Mullen was straightforward
about his intentions to reassure the Saudis and other Arab allies that the U.S. would live up to its
security commitments, and remained a friend.

In Bahrain, the royal family scrambled to show it was complying with American demands. In the
following days, King Khalifa stood down his forces and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-
Khalifa issued a public call for the start of a "national dialogue" with opposition groups.
Privately, Bahraini officials assured their U.S. counterparts that the killing of the protesters was
due not to government policy but a breakdown in the chain of command.

On Feb. 23, Adm. Mullen arrived in Manama and gave a full-throated endorsement to the
national dialogue, a message endorsed by Mr. Gates.

As he has at some other critical national security debates within the administration, Mr. Gates
found his most important ally in Mrs. Clinton.

Still, while Bahrain's government believed the Pentagon's support for a national dialogue on
reforms was clear, the country's diplomats worried the White House was not on board.

On Thursday, Feb. 24, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon spoke with the crown prince and,
according to a White House statement, voiced "strong support" for efforts to "initiate an open
dialogue on political reform with the full spectrum of Bahraini society."

But Bahrain and its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council wanted the administration to give the
initiative higher-level endorsement. Without overt U.S. support from Mr. Obama or Mrs.
Clinton, the Arab envoys argued, Bahraini protesters were liable to up their demands.

The "Bahrain model," they said, offered the administration an alternative to their Egypt approach
and could be a solution not only to the crisis in Manama, but also a template for dealing with
Morocco or even, potentially, Yemen.

On Sunday, Feb. 27, the White House threw its support behind King Khalifa. The same day,
William Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, delivered a similar message to
Morocco's King Mohammed VI, another key Arab ally facing unrest, calling the North African
country "a model of economic, social, and political reform."

^This one was long and complex, but I highlighted the sections that would provide all the
information necessary for a radio report. I had to leave out more specific details of events
and try to touch on all the main countries involved, especially Bahrain, which was the focal
point of the article. I know it’s still long for a radio story, but I was forced to omit many
points that would require too much time to explain because the article is about as succinct
as possible, yet still lengthy. Therefore it would be necessary for anyone wanting more
information to read the actual article. It falls under the categories of both national and
international news, but I found it first under national, and it is foremost about our
changing policy towards the Middle East and attempt to maintain loyal to our allies in
power while also pushing for reform and nonviolence.

U.S. May Reject Off-Shore Drilling Permits

Due to Ruling By RUSSELL GOLD
The Obama administration says it may have to reject seven permits for deep-water drilling that
have become the subject of high-profile legal and political battles if a federal judge in New
Orleans forces the government to make a quick decision on the applications.

In court filings late Friday, the Interior Department said the permit applications are flawed or
incomplete, and that Judge Martin Feldman's order that it decide on them before the end of the
month disrupts the normal back-and-forth negotiations between oil companies and federal
regulators.

The government asked the judge to stay his order while it appeals his ruling, which was made in
mid-February.

The appeal comes just days after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and
Enforcement issued its first new deep-water drilling permit since an explosion aboard the
Deepwater Horizon on April 20 killed 11 workers and set off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S.
history.

In mid-February, Judge Feldman called the slow movement of permits "increasingly

inexcusable" and ordered the government to act on five permits within 30 days. A later ruling
added two additional permits.

Lawyers for London-based Ensco PLC, a global drilling company which brought the lawsuit,
didn't respond to a request for comment late Friday.

The slowdown in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling activity has become in recent weeks a
political issue, with Republican politicians seizing on rising oil and gasoline prices to charge the
Obama administration with needlessly delaying permits.
Federal offshore regulators have said they need to make sure the companies are prepared to drill
safely and have adequate equipment to control an uncontrolled deep-water spill.

Separately, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board sent a letter to other federal investigators on Friday
protesting their decision to end testing on a key safety device that failed to prevent the
Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The board, said that inconsistent test results suggested that there might be a "fundamental safety
design problem" with the controls of the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer, a massive set
of valves that sat on the seafloor and was intended to shut off the well if workers lost control of
it. The letter was first reported by the Associated Press.

The safety board, an independent federal agency, asked for additional testing.

Cameron International Corp., which made the blowout preventer, declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement,
which is investigating the disaster with the U.S. Coast Guard, said the testing procedures had
been agreed on in advance and no one else objected.

This isn't the first time the Safety Board has tangled with other investigators over the blowout
preventer. Last year, it threatened to go to court to block testing of the device if it weren't given a
larger role in the investigation.

^I read through that one, highlighted the paragraphs that struck me as being most
important, and summed them up as best I could in one paragraph. The facts were located
throughout the beginning, middle, and end of the article, but were not very difficult to pick
out and link together.

NASA Satellite Launch Goes Awry

WASHINGTON—A rocket carrying an Earth-observation satellite likely is in the Pacific Ocean
after a failed launch attempt, NASA officials said Friday.

The Taurus XL rocket carrying the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glory
satellite lifted off around 2:10 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Officials said at a news conference Friday that a protective shell atop the rocket didn't separate
from the satellite as it should have about three minutes after the launch. That left the Glory
spacecraft without the velocity to reach orbit.

The $424 million mission is managed by the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
NASA has already started a "mishap investigation board." The next NASA Earth sciences launch
on a Taurus rocket is scheduled for 2013, but the space agency still has the chance to change
launch vehicles if the Taurus proves unreliable, NASA Earth Science Director Mike Freilich

NASA suffered a similar mishap two years ago when a satellite that would have studied global
warming crashed into the ocean near Antarctica after launching from the same kind of rocket that
carried Glory. Officials said Friday that Glory likely wound up landing near where the previous
satellite did. Both were on Taurus rockets launched by Orbital Sciences Corp., of Dulles, Va.

"We failed to make orbit," NASA launch director Omar Baez said. "Indications are that the
satellite and rocket...is in the southern Pacific Ocean somewhere."

Had Glory reached orbit, it would have been on a three-year mission to analyze how airborne
particles affect Earth's climate. The tiny atmospheric particles, known as aerosols, reflect and
trap sunlight. The vast majority occur naturally, spewed into the atmosphere by volcanoes, forest
fires and desert storms. Aerosols can also come from sources like fossil fuels.

Besides monitoring particles in the atmosphere, Glory also would have tracked solar radiation to
determine the sun's effect on climate change.

NASA paid Orbital about $54 million to launch Glory, according to Orbital spokesman Barron
Beneski. The Taurus rocket has launched nine times, six of them successfully.

NASA and Orbital spent more than a year studying and trying to fix the problem that caused
2009's Orbiting Carbon Observatory to fail. The payload fairing—a clamshell-shaped protective
covering for the satellite—didn't open to release the satellite. The same thing happened with
Glory, officials said.

"The NASA team does the things that are important, not necessarily the things that are easy," Mr.
Freilich said. "Sometimes it takes more than one try at it."

The loss of Glory will mostly hurt projections and modeling of future climate change, he said.

^I highlighted most of this in red and pulled out what I wanted, then distilled it into my
own sentences that would sound natural. I arranged the facts in the order that I thought
they’d be most useful and sound the most sensible. I felt that the references to other
spacecrafts were worth mentioning quickly, to enrich the “Glory” news story and put it
into better perspective.

Large Bahrain Rally Pressures Leaders

By JOE PARKINSON
MANAMA, Bahrain—More than 100,000 protesters gathered in the Bahraini capital Friday for
one of the largest demonstrations since protests erupted in the kingdom almost three weeks ago,
escalating pressure on the ruling al-Khalifa family to accept sweeping political reforms.

The demonstration came a day after fighting between Sunnis and majority Shiite Muslims in the
first sectarian violence since protests began.

In a demonstration organized by the country's opposition groups, protesters poured into

Manama's financial district after Friday prayers, blocking the capital's main highway and then
inching their way to the Pearl roundabout, the focal point of antigovernment protests that have
left seven dead since they began on Feb. 14.

Thousands of Bahraini flags waved amid a column of protesters that stretched for over half a
mile. They chanted in unison for the government to step down.

The protest was organized by formal opposition parties who on Thursday submitted demands to
the ruling family that included the introduction of a constitutional monarchy and the dissolution
of the government. Other, more hard-line protesters are calling for the end of the al-Khalifa
monarchy.

Fighting between a group of Shiites and Bahraini Sunnis of Syrian and Jordanian extraction took
place Thursday night in Hamad town, on the outskirts of Manama before riot police arrived and
dispersed them, local residents said. Only half of Bahrain's population of 1.2 million are native
Bahrainis.

The Ministry of Interior said it took police about two hours to get the situation under control,
with the help of local politicians and high-ranking government officials who calmed residents.
Seven people were injured in the fighting.

Organizers of Shiite-led antigovernment protests and Sunni-dominated pro-government rallies

have been careful to try to avoid sectarian slogans and stress national unity, but tensions between
the groups have escalated in recent days as opposition protests gathered momentum and
government loyalists objected to the demonstrations' mounting impact on the economy.

"We feel the government is trying to separate the Bahrainis, and it's a dangerous new
development, but today's protest shows we're united.… We will keep building pressure until the
government falls," said Jawad Fairooz, a Bahraini opposition lawmaker.

Regional Upheaval

Bahrain's ministry of information says the country's crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa,
has made clear he intends to begin a national dialogue with all sections of society to "move away
from polarization and ensure that sectarianism does not take root in Bahrain."

Persistent anti-government protests and rising sectarian tensions in Bahrain are likely to heighten
concerns in neighboring Saudi Arabia, the region's largest economy, where a restive Shiite
minority in the oil-rich Eastern Province took to the streets on Thursday to protest against the
Sunday arrest of prominent cleric Tawfiq al-Amir, who had called in a sermon for more religious
freedom.

Saudi Arabia's authorities on Thursday night detained 22 people in Qatif, the main Shiite town in
the Eastern Province, after they staged a demonstration demanding the release of prisoners they
said were being held without trial. Saudia Arabia is connected by a short causeway to Bahrain.

"About 200 people took to the streets in Qatif on Thursday night. The protests were peaceful, but
still the authorities interfered, they tried to stop them and arrested 22 people," according to
Human Rights First, an independent human-rights group.

In Bahrain, the government has offered a series of concessions over the past week, releasing 308
political prisoners, reshuffling the cabinet and reducing citizens' monthly housing costs by 25%
in a move to assuage protesters' demands.

But the antigovernment movement has kept up the pressure for deeper reform.

^I mainly covered the Bahraini situation with necessary facts from the beginning, middle,
and very end. I had wanted to be able to include something about Saudi Arabia’s detained
Shiite protestors, but once again it seemed that the extra information would be too much
for a radio broadcast. This one was a bit tougher to organize because the article’s order
sometimes made me go back and forth and up and down trying to assemble the related
details and explanations, which the author had divided somewhat.

Suspect in Germany Chatted With Soldiers

Before Shooting Them
By LAURA STEVENS

KARLSRUHE, Germany—The Kosovo native suspected of murdering two American soldiers at

Frankfurt airport was specifically targeting U.S. military personnel heading to Afghanistan,
German prosecutors said.

The suspect, 21-year-old Arid Uka, has confessed to the murders, prosecutors told reporters
during a briefing here, where they described how Mr. Uka struck up a conversation Wednesday
with U.S. airmen before opening fire on them. He was arrested shortly afterward.

Mr. Uka told police he was inspired to kill the U.S. airmen after seeing an online video the day
before showing American soldiers raiding an Afghan home and raping a girl, prosecutor Rainer
Griesbaum said. The authorities can't find any evidence of this video, he added.

Mr. Uka held the U.S. airmen responsible for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, according Mr.
Griesbaum. "He was trying to stop them," the prosecutor said.
Mr. Uka had been in contact with Islamic radicals in Germany on Facebook and other social
networking sites, but authorities believe he acted alone and isn't part of any known terror
organizations.

Authorities said Friday that Mr. Uka hadn't come to their notice before the shooting. Prosecutors
cited Germany's privacy laws, which set a high bar for authorities seeking to monitor or gather
information on potentially threatening individuals, as one reason he hadn't drawn attention.

Mr. Uka came to the Frankfurt airport armed with a Belgian-made Fabrique National 9mm pistol
and two knives, Mr. Griesbaum said. He Security Forces team, a type of military police.

Mr. Uka asked for a cigarette from one of the airmen in order to strike up a conversation, Mr.
Griesbaum said. After the 25-year-old airman confirmed that the soldiers' final destination was
Afghanistan, Mr. Uka followed him as he boarded the bus, shooting him in the back of the head
and killing him instantly, the prosecutor said.

approached a group of 15 airmen who were dressed in civilian clothes and boarding a bus on
their way to Ramstein Air Base in southern Germany. The servicemen belonged to an Air Force

He said Mr. Uka then climbed onto the bus, shouting "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great,"
and then allegedly shot the 21-year-old bus driver in the head, killing him. Mr. Uka is also
accused of shooting two other soldiers, one in the head, wounding them both seriously.

He then allegedly held his gun to a fifth airman's head. The gun jammed with six bullets left, and
Mr. Uka ran off the bus and into the terminal, according to Mr. Griesbaum. The fifth airman
chased Mr. Uka and, along with two German policemen, helped to apprehend and disarm him,
the prosecutor said.

The U.S. Air Force identified the dead airmen Friday as Nicholas J. Alden, 25, of Williamston,
S.C., and Zachary R. Cuddeback, 21, of Stanardsville, Va. Mr. Alden was stationed at RAF
Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, and Mr. Cuddeback was stationed at Ramstein.

Mr. Uka told authorities he bought the weapon about six months ago "without a clear purpose"
and hadn't fired it before Wednesday, according to a German investigator.

Mr. Uka, who was born in Kosovo and raised in Germany, didn't have any in-person contact
with radical Islamists here or abroad, as far as prosecutors can tell. Mr. Uka recently began a
temporary job sorting letters at the Frankfurt airport operation of Germany's postal service.

Described by authorities and others as shy and quiet, Mr. Uka didn't have very many friends and
only recently demonstrated radical tendencies. On his Facebook profile, which was taken down
Thursday, Mr. Uka made plain his Islamist political leanings and approval of jihad and his love
of first-person shooter computer games such as "Call of Duty: Black Ops."

^This one was also somewhat challenging because, like most articles, it was so clearly and
concisely written that almost everything felt important, which made it tricky to try to weed
out the most crucial lines and rewrite them all together as simply as possible. I thought that
the portrait towards the end of what Uka was like personally was very interesting, but
didn’t want to reiterate things that had already been touched upon or could have been
assumed from what I’d already taken out of the story to use. I described the very basics of
what took place and included the names and ages of the most important people involved. I
then also blended in several details (such as Uka’s motivation, his weapons, why he is
believed to have acted alone, or a few of the curious things revealed about him in the final
graf) that would make the story more distinct and attention-grabbing, and the listener
more sufficiently informed.

Neftali Feliz hit in shin, has contusion

By Richard Durrett
ESPNDallas.com
Archive

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Texas Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz was hit in the left shin by a line drive
off the bat of Craig Gentry during his throwing session Sunday. A preliminary X-ray (a
fluoroscope) showed no break in the shin.

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After trainers attended to Feliz, he got up off the mound and walked to a cart nearby before being
taken into the clubhouse. The injury is termed a contusion at this point and it's unclear how that
might impact Feliz's throwing schedule this week. He was expected to pitch Wednesday.

Feliz is being stretched out this spring to see if he is ready for a spot in the starting rotation. He
was the closer for the Rangers in 2010 and finished with 40 saves, earning AL Rookie of the
Year honors.

Manager Ron Washington was in the dugout on the back field when Feliz went down. He went
out to check on him.

"You just hope it's not serious," Washington said shortly after Feliz left the field. "But pitchers
get hit in the shin all the time. He probably has a contusion."

Richard Durrett covers the Rangers for ESPNDallas.com.

Follow Richard Durrett on Twitter: @espn_durrett

^ I pulled out the key relevant facts about the injury and worded it a little differently, in a
way that I hope makes sense and is correct. I decided to leave in part of the manager’s
quote simply to give it a slightly more personal touch and include the perspective of
someone who is obviously upset and challenged by the player’s injury.

Box Office: 'Rango' wins box-office shootout

March 6, 2011 | 10:11 am

Though four new films saddled up at the box office this weekend, "Rango" was the one able to
lasso the most moviegoers, though not enough to make it a runaway hit.

The computer-animated western featuring a chameleon voiced by Johnny Depp, took in $38
million at the box office, according to an estimate from distributor Paramount Pictures.

"The Adjustment Bureau," a science-fiction romance starring Emily Blunt and Matt Damon,
collected $20.9 million for a decent second-place finish. But the weekend's two other new
releases did not sell nearly as many tickets. "Beastly," a modern retelling of "Beauty and the
Beast" set in high school, grossed $10.1 million, while the '80s romp "Take Me Home Tonight"
barely registered at the box office with only $3.5 million.

"Rango" now has the highest opening weekend gross of any film so far this year, though not a
great one given the amount Paramount spent making it. Two people close to the production said
"Rango" cost about $150 million to produce, while a studio spokeswoman said the budget was
$135 million.

Either way, the first non-DreamWorks animated feature released by Paramount since 2007 and
the first ever made by George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic is off to a so-so start. Based on
prerelease surveys, most people in Hollywood had figured the picture would open to more than
$40 million, even though it didn't have the benefit of 3-D ticket surcharges like many animated
films.

Good word-of-mouth and a long box office run are now critical if the family film is to be a hit.
Evidence on that front is mixed. Receipts jumped 73% from Friday to Saturday, a positive sign,
but early audiences gave it a weak grade of C+, according to market research firm CinemaScore.
That indicates that people over 13 who participated in the polling weren't enamored of "Rango,"
though children may feel differently.

The pictures drew both genders in roughly equal numbers, according to exit polls, and 54% of
the audience was over 25, indicating that positive reviews may have successfully lured parents
into theaters to watch the movie with their children.

Overseas, "Rango" opened in 33 foreign markets, taking in $15.4 million. It performed best in
Britain and Ireland, where it grossed $3.1 million, followed by Mexico's tally of $2.7 million.
The moderate debut for "The Adjustment Bureau" came from its overwhelmingly adult audience,
73% of whom were older than 30. The movie, which centers around a couple being kept apart by
supernatural forces, was produced and financed by Media Rights Capital, and Universal Pictures
acquired its worldwide distribution rights for $62 million. Audiences gave it an average grade of
B.

It also opened this weekend in 21 foreign territories, where it grossed $21.5 million, including a
second-place finish behind "Rango" in Britain. "Beastly's" soft performance was fueled almost
entirely by women, whom distributor CBS Films courted heavily in advertisements. The film
was produced for just under $20 million before tax rebates, but a studio representative said much
of that cost had already been covered through sales to foreign distributors. Despite middling
reviews, audiences gave the movie a B+, the highest Cinemascore of any new film that
premiered this weekend.

Few, meanwhile, wanted to spend a night at "Take Me Home Tonight," making it another flop
for Relativity Media's fledgling film-distribution business. The movie cost about $19 million to
make, including reshoots, though Relativity bought the U.S. distribution rights from Universal
Pictures for $10 million. With audiences giving the movie an average grade of C, "Take Me
Home Tonight" is likely to fizzle fast in coming weeks.

"The King's Speech" enjoyed a very modest box office decline of just 11% after being named
best picture at the Academy Awards last weekend. The movie raked in an additional $6.5
million, bringing its domestic total to $123.8 million.

[Updated at 10:50 a.m.: After its star Natalie Portman was deemed best actress at the Oscars on
Feb. 27, "Black Swan" continued to reach new audiences overseas. The psychological thriller set
in the world of ballet grossed $15.6 million in 45 foreign markets this weekend, bringing its
international tally to an impressive $147.6 million. The film performed especially well in South
Korea, where it was No. 1 for the second weekend in a row with $2.4 million in ticket sales.

Here are the top 10 movies at the domestic box office, with foreign grosses when available,
according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:

1. "Rango" (Paramount): Opened to $38 million. $16.5 million overseas in 33 foreign markets.

2. "The Adjustment Bureau" (MRC/Universal): Opened to $20.9 million. $21.5 million in 21

foreign markets.

3. "Beastly" (CBS Films): Opened to $10.1 million.

4. "Hall Pass" (Warner Bros.): $9 million in its second weekend, down 33%. Domestic total:
$27 million.

5. "Gnomeo & Juliet" (Disney): $6.9 million in its fourth weekend, down 48%. Domestic total:
$83.7 million. $2.2 million overseas. International total: $41.6 million.
6. "Unknown" (Warner Bros.): $6.6 million in its third weekend, down 47%. Domestic total:
$53.1 million.

7. "The King's Speech" (Weinstein Co.): $6.5 million in its 15th weekend, down 11%.
Domestic total: $123.8 million.

8. "Just Go With It" (Sony): $6.5 million in its fourth weekend, down 38%. Domestic total:
$88.2 million. $7.3 million in 33 foreign markets. International total: $35.1 million.

9. "I Am Number Four" (DreamWorks/Disney): $5.7 million in its third weekend, down 48%.
Domestic total: $46.4 million. $12 million in 26 foreign markets. International total: $42.1
million.

10. "Never Say Never" (Paramount Insurge): $4.3 million on its fourth weekend, down 54%.
Domestic total: $68.9 million. $850,000 in five foreign markets. International total: $6.5
million.]

-- Amy Kaufman

^ I focused the story on Rango’s performance, and mentioned some of the more
outstanding facts about it, then touched on the other three new releases from the weekend
—their genres, audience scores, and earnings.