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21 Apr 2011 20:32

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Biz: Colt 45 Blast: Endorsed by Snoop Dogg, not endorsed by Illinois

  • Meet the new Four Loko: Our friends at Pabst may not promote the heck out of PBR, at least obviously, but they are promoting this Colt 45 derivative really heavily, using Snoop Dogg to push Blast onto unsuspecting youths who missed out on Billy Dee WIlliams. The drink, which doesn’t have caffeine, does have 12 percent alcohol concentration — enough for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to compare a single can to a six-pack of beer. It’s not Loko. It’s a Blast. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2011 14:57

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U.S.: Blast wreaks destruction in Belarus metro station

  • seven people confirmed dead after an explosion at a Metro station in Belarus
  • fifty people injured in the blast, the cause of which is currently under investigation source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2010 19:33

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U.S.: Did yesterday’s oil rig blast cause another leak, anyway?

  • NO but that’s what they say; start conspiracy theories now source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jul 2010 11:37

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U.S.: Snaps: The Democratic Republic of Congo oil blast, underplayed?

  • We needed a new feature, and we think we have a pretty good one. Basically, we’re going to take a big story and see how it’s being covered on the front page of major news sites. Is it getting underplayed? Overplayed? This time around, We’re tackling the horrific oil tanker blast in Congo, which is new enough that a lot of people haven’t heard about it (it broke in the middle of the night in the U.S.). Otherwise, it’s a slow news day. On the downside, though, the story has no art, which might hurt its play. Let’s compare:
  • BBC: Top of the pageAs might be expected, considering the nature of the very deadly incident, BBC gave it top-of-the-front-page treatment.
  • CNN: Secondary lead storyWhile it was CNN’s top news story for a while (and worthy of an alert), it was replaced by a story about slain cops.

 

  • New York Times: BuriedThe New York Times, on the other hand, didn’t even bother to give it display play, instead putting it in their wire-stories-only slot.
  • Google News: right at the topGoogle News, which chooses its stories by computer algorithms, gave it much nicer coverage, just above Serena Williams.

 

  • MSNBC: Huge headlineMSNBC.com made the story their main news item with a huge headline, while giving Serena Williams art play off to the side.
  • Fox News: BuriedFox News buried the story even further than the New York Times did, preferring instead to lead with Joe Biden’s visit to Iraq.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jul 2010 10:23

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World: In the Congo, an awful tragedy involving an oil tanker and a cigarette

  • It started with a tipped-over oil tanker in the democratic republic of congo. As is common in the region, people tried to collect the spilled fuel from the tanker (around the tiny town of Sange, in South Kivu province), which can lead to explosions. And some dude was smoking a cigarette. And, worse, the explosion happened near a bar. During a World Cup game. … *shudder*. The result? Unspeakably awful. We’re talking bodies burned beyond recognition. Some quick numbers:
  • 230+ number of people killed in the blast
  • 190+ number of people injured by the tanker
  • no there aren’t photos of the incident yet source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 11:19

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U.S.: Scores missing after a massive oil-rig blast in the Gulf of Mexico

  • 126 people were on the rig when the explosion struck last night
  • 11+ people are missing after the massive blast in the Gulf of Mexico
  • 7+ were injured in the accident, off the Louisiana coast source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Mar 2010 10:34

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World: Just days after the Moscow subway bombing, another deadly blast

  • 12+ killed in blast in Russia’s North Caucasus region source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Feb 2010 09:25

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U.S.: Connecticut power plant blast: Dangerous conditions halt the search

  • good Most of the workers at the scene of the deadly power plant explosion are accounted for.
  • bad Crews had to call off the search early this morning with some workers unaccounted for.
  • worse The plant had a financial investment of nearly $1 billion. It was 96 percent done. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2010 12:50

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U.S.: A crazy blast at a Connecticut power plant has Twitter talking



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Oct 2009 11:51

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Tech: That water-on-moon thing cost a lot of freaking money

  • $79 million for the attack – and there wasn’t even a big flash! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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