Skylar Wolfe Journalism

By Skylar Wolfe Police found the body of an 18-year-old Wednesday inside a lion enclosure at a zoo in Pakistan after going missing,  CNN  reported. Muhammad Bilal, allegedly a gardener at the Lahore Safari Zoo , had gone missing Monday, Chaudhry Shafqat, deputy director of the zoo, said to CNN. During the search Wednesday morning, zoo employees found “a blood-soaked skull, some bones and pieces of torn cloth,” which relatives recognized as Bilal’s, according to BBC . Officials are investigating how Bilal made it into the enclosure, CNN reported. Police are investigating whether Bilal “entered the field of his own accord or if someone threw his body inside the enclosure,” Shafqat said. “The facility was totally safe.” Bilal’s family ransacked parts of the zoo to protest what they consider “incompetence by park authorities,” police said to the New York Times. Bilal’s family and friends also blocked a main highway, demanding the initiation of criminal proceedings against the

By Skylar Wolfe A 10-year-old boy was shot by his 19-year-old aunt Tuesday evening in a Houston apartment, authorities said. The boy was transported to the hospital in critical condition, but is now stable, according to  CNN . Police charged 19-year-old Caitlyn Smith Wednesday with serious bodily injury to a child, which is a second-degree felony, according to  ABC .  Smith was allegedly taking pictures and videos with what she thought was an unloaded gun while she was babysitting, reported ABC.  While trying to remove the magazine, a bullet fired,  Deputy Thomas Gilliland , spokesman with the Harris County SHeriff’s Office, said. . The bullet hit the boy in the stomach, CNN reported. “Weapons are not meant to be props in selfies or any type of videoing,” Gilliland said to CNN. He said the shooting “could have caused a homicide.” Smith has not yet appeared in court, according to ABC.

By Skylar Wolfe Several University of Minnesota students have been on high alert after receiving an alert last Tuesday morning that there had been an attempted kidnapping  on the university's East Bank . The alert stated that around 10:30 a.m., a suspect attempted to push the victim into the back seat of a car at the intersection of Sixth St. SE and Tenth Ave SE. Adeline Saunders Adeline Saunders, a senior at the university, said she has become more nervous on campus because the crime happened during the day. "My sister saw the alert before I did," Saunders said. "She messaged me, and was like 'Oh my god, are you okay?'" The Minnesota Daily reported in January an increase in violent crime in neighborhoods surrounding the university compared to crime rates in 2018. The Marcy-Holmes neighborhood experienced a 23 percent increase in crime, and the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood experienced about a 33 percent increase in crime from 2018 to 2

By Skylar Wolfe Authorities tranquilized a 400-pound bear Friday after it walked through a residential neighborhood just outside of Los Angeles,  CNN  reported. Residents spotted the female bear walking through the Monrovia neighborhood around 2:30 a.m., according to CBS Los Angeles . According to CBS, a bear was also reported the previous day near  Mayflower Elementary School  on the same street. The bear showed no aggression toward people, and was followed by news vans and paparazzi, according to CNN. Authorities speculate that the bear was hungry and in search of food from trash cans, CNN reported. Many spectators were entertained by the bear, CBS reported. "It's nice to be able to get this close to him," resident Elizabeth Riteholz said to CBS. Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife moved the bear to the Angeles National Forest , CNN reported. According to CBS, Fish and Wildlife will continue to monitor the bear's movements

By Skylar Wolfe Covering breaking news accurately and in a timely manner is an extremely important part of the job of a reporter. The term ‘breaking news’ implies the urgency of the message, and working under a deadline can be extremely stressful. Not only does the information need to be published quickly, but there is no room for mistakes. Publishing information hastily with an incorrectly spelled name, an incorrect location, or other information that is not confirmed can lead to panic and anger from readers. The best way to overcome fears around covering breaking news is to practice usual reporting guidelines, including fact-checking and proof-reading. As talked about in class, accuracy of information should never be compromised for speed. Therefore, when a ’breaking news’ situation occurs, what seems best is to take a breath and allow usual reporting habits to take over.

By Skylar Wolfe An inmate, convicted of murdering four people, is scheduled to be executed Thursday night in Tennessee,  according to  CNN .  Correctional officers have claimed that the inmate, 58-year-old Nicholas Sutton, who was sentenced to die after stabbing  a fellow inmate, saved their lives, CNN reported. Tennessee  Gov. Bill Lee  rejected Sutton’s bid for clemency, which said he was a changed man, on Wednesday. Tony Eden, a correctional officer at the Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, said to  CBS  that Sutton escorted him to safety after a group of five  armed inmates attempted to take him hostage in 1985. Cheryl Donaldson, a former manager at the prison, said she slipped and fell, dropping a radio and keys.   Sutton helped her to her feet, returned her belongings and alerted staff to help. Sheriff Deputy Howard Ferrell said Sutton prevented an inmate from hitting the back of his head. Sutton was first convicted for murder when he was 19 years

By Skylar Wolfe Forty Americans from the cruise ship Diamond Princess are infected with the coronavirus, according to BBC . The article takes the form of an inverted pyramid , beginning with the aforementioned cases.  The following paragraphs detail that, of the 3,700 passengers quarantined on the ship, 400 are Americans.  The Americans that did not test positively for the coronavirus will fly to the U.S. to be quarantined for another 14 days. Those that are infected will be moved to a hospital in Japan. After explaining those facts, BBC reports the unhappiness of some passengers about the quarantine in the U.S.  Matthew Smith tweeted that he would prefer to finish the quarantine period on the ship and come back to the U.S. by his own arrangements. The next section describes new security measures authorities are taking in Hubei, China to avoid further spread of the virus. These measures include keeping non-essential business closed and banning the use of private cars. The

By Skylar Wolfe Pictures of a mutilated woman spark outrage in Mexico over media coverage of "femicide," according to CNN .  Authorities announced the murder of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla by her husband Sunday, according to CNN. Leaked photos of the woman's body appeared on the front page of several media outlets, according to CNN. Twitter users have expressed their anger over the use of the photos of Escamilla, calling for discipline of the publishers, BBC said. Femicides have increased 137% in the last five years, according to Mexico's Attorney General Alejandro Gertz . Womens activists argue that more murders should be classified as femicides, CNN said. Claudia Sheinbaum , Mexico City's mayor, tweeted in regards to the recent murder, "Femicide is an absolutely condemnable crime. It is appalling when hatred reaches extremes like in the case of Ingrid Escamilla." 

By Skylar Wolfe The body of a 6-year-old South Carolina girl was found Thursday after her disappearance on Monday , authorities said. CNN reported that Faye Swetlik had been playing in her yard after getting home from school before her family realized she was missing,  according to Cayce police Sgt. Evan Antley .   Swetlik's death is currently being investigated as a homicide, said  Chief Byron Snellgrove of the Cayce Department of Public Safety at a news conference . During the search for Swetlik, an unidentified man's body was discovered. The investigation into his death has just begun, Snellgrove said. According to the Washington Post , police are looking for people who drive a silver SUV that was seen in Swetlik's neighborhood around the time of her disappearance.  No suspects have been named.

By Skylar Wolfe Police arrested a man Friday in Bakersfield, California for charges of burglary, false imprisonment, and sexual battery while supposedly posing as a ride-share driver, according to CNN . Victims have accused 48-year-old Nassef Ragheb of forcibly kissing them after a ride to their home, peering into their windows, and entering their homes through unlocked doors, according to ABC . According to the Bakersfield Police Department, Ragheb targeted intoxicated women leaving bars or restaurants in order to get them to enter his vehicle. Police have linked Ragheb to several investigations from 2018 to 2020, CNN said. Authorities are still investigating Ragheb, and victims have been urged to come forward, police said.

By Skylar Wolfe BBC published an article titled “ Apple fined for slowing down old iPhones ” Friday afternoon, in which they attributed Apple and DGCCRF , a “fraud watchdog.”  The article describes the conflict between the two sources. According to BBC, the watchdog argued that the installation of new iOS updates slowed down older devices. Apple responded that, though this is true in certain cases, the slow-down is not to encourage the purchase of new technology, but to prolong the life of the device. Almost every sentence contains an attribution to its source, providing credibility. It is easy to see exactly where the information came from. Though there are many attributions, they are simple and effective, with statements such as “apple said,” or “it said.” They are not overly wordy, and do not bog the reader down.

By Skylar Wolfe A Chinese doctor who had tried to warn the public about the  coronavirus died between Thursday night and Friday morning at the Wuhan Central Hospital  after contracting the virus, BBC said.   According to The Washington Post , Li Wenliang was a 34-year-old ophthalmologist who had tried to alert people to the dangers of the coronavirus in December. Authorities censored Wenliang's posts and detained him Jan. 1 for spreading rumors. Authorities released him two days later and forced him to sign a document admitting to making false statements.  He returned to work at the hospital immediately following his release. Wenliang shared on social media that he had officially been diagnosed with the coronavirus on Saturday, The Washington Post said.  His parents are currently in the hospital for a fever, but it is unknown whether they, or Wenliang's pregnant wife and young child, have contracted the virus.  Wenliang's classmates and community grieve h

By Skylar Wolfe Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times began his article from Friday's paper, titled "'You Can't Fake Those Kind of Skills': Pete Buttigieg's Charisma Test" with an anecdotal lede. The article begins by stating " OTTUMWA, Iowa —   N o presidential campaign is spared its awkward moments: overlong hugs from supporters, groaners about the Iowa weather, white lies about the caliber of the local cuisine."  The title of the article already informed readers that the focus will be Buttigieg, so it makes sense that his name was not repeated in the lede.  Readers can also imply from the title that the topic of the article will be charisma, specifically that of politicians. The lede does provide Ottumwa, Iowa as the location of importance to the article. That, however, is the only fact-based part of the lede. Flegenheimer continues to explain several laughable encounters that are common during elections that readers will likely