Week 1 News Stories UPDATED

Local: BODY FOUND IN BELLEVUE

On Saturday, May 21^st, the body of 31 year old Nicole Vanderheyden was found in a field alongside Hoffman Road in Bellevue, according to FOX 11. Police officers arrested Vanderheyden’s boyfriend, Douglass Detrie, at his parents’ home last Monday on suspicion of first degree intentional homicide, with a $1 million cash bond.

Vanderheyden, who had three children, one of which she shared with Detrie, was found a few miles down the road from the home she shared with Detrie.

WBAY reported that prosecutors believe the homicide resulted from an argument the couple had earlier that day, suggesting that Detrie then beat and strangled Vanderheyden. Prosecutors found bloodstains and dirt outside of their home, along with the inside of Vanderheyden’s car, however Detrie’s defense attorneys have stated that the bloodstains could be there for multiple reasons, and are still waiting to get the test results back from those stains.

Detrie was scheduled to appear in court Monday and has another date schedule next week after the evidence showed enough probable cause.

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I decided to write this story because it proved to have several elements to be considered newsworthy. First, it had immediacy because Vanderheyden's body was found just a few days earlier. It had emotion because it caused a lot of shock, confusion, fear and anger within the local community. Many people were scared when they did not have a suspect in custody and many were beyond angry that someone could take the life of an individual. The story also was prominent in that murders are a pretty rare occurrence in the community and the situation itself left an innocent person dead. It also had novelty as no one expected that there would be a murder in the Green Bay community, and left everyone shocked and confused. I think it was important to discuss this brief as the community needed to be aware of what was going on with such an important issue in their town.

National: GORILLA SHOT AFTER YOUNG BOY FALLS IN EXHIBIT

According to CBS News, A 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe was shot dead after a young boy fell into the exhibit early Sunday morning at the Cincinnati Zoo. A visitor’s video of the event went viral, causing much outrage and blame being pointed at the boy’s mother, who was said to have been watching many other children at the time the boy fell into the exhibit.

The gorilla was said to be nudging and dragging the small boy, however the zoo said the boy was never under attack but definitely at risk. According to CNN, the Zoo initiated their animal response team in what they believed was a life-threatening situation, which involved shooting the endangered animal.

Many fingers are being pointed at the boy’s mother, claiming her negligence cause an endangered animal to be killed. NBC News reported that animals rights groups such as PETA said that multiple barriers should have been put around the gorilla’s exhibit for better preventative measures.

The boy was taken Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical center and was said to have serious initial injuries.

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I chose to brief this story because it also expressed many of the newsworthy characteristics and was a very unusual story to hear about. The story had immediacy as the boy fell into the exhibit earlier that morning. It showed emotion as millions of people went to their social media accounts to express thier feelings, anger, disgust and sympathy for the gorilla and for the family. It also was prominent because it sparked a nation wide debate whether or not the life should have been taken of an innocent animal whose cage the boy fell into. People were pointing fingers at both the zoo, and some at the family. The story also showed novelty because this was a very rare occurance for the zoo and the shock that people felt all over the nation, watching the video footage of the gorilla handling the boy sparked a lot of outrage and sympathy. I think it was important to discuss this article because it did cause a nationwide debate in regards to animals rights and groups such as PETA.

International: PRESIDENT OBAMA VISITS VIETNAM IN HOPES TO AMEND PAST TIES

According to PRI., President Obama was in Vietnam, Japan this last week, in efforts to amend past ties between the two countries. According to the Washington Post, Obama, who is reported to be only the third president to visit the country, lifted the 50 year ban on the sales of weapons to their government. In doing so, Obama hopes to better the relationship between the two countries as other factors such as business, military, research and cultural programs hope to strengthen.

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I decided to brief this story because it showed prominence as the history between both the United States and Vietnam is a very crucial thing in regard to both our country and Vietnam. It also expressed novelty as President Obama was only the third president in our nation's history to visit Vietnam and is truly a historical event. It also showed immediacy as the President has visited the country this past week. I thought this was also an important topic to cover because if President Obama can stregthen ties between the two nations, we can hope for more opportunities and a better relationship with the country.