State News
Ilitch Holdings, Inc., owner of the Detroit Red Wings, has announced plans to create a “multi-purpose events center” in downtown Detroit. The development of the new arena depends on the passing of state legislation to allow the use of Downtown Development Authority (DDA) funds. A Senate committee unanimously approved the bill supporting the arena on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The new arena is projected to create 5,500 jobs. George W. Jackson, Jr., president and CEO of Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, supports the new arena as it is intent on integrating districts rather than being for a single purpose. The exact location of the arena has not been announced but will be centrally located in downtown Detroit.
National News
The New York Post came under heavy criticism on Tuesday, Dec. 4, for running a cover photo of a man moments before he was killed by an oncoming subway. The victim, 58-year-old Ki Suk Han from Queens was pushed onto the tracks by a man who was harassing others on the platform. R. Umar Abassi, a New York Post freelance photographer took the pictures. He said he was using his flash to warn the subway operator, and said he was not physically strong enough to help the man get back onto the platform. The newspaper faced criticism for buying and running the photographs. Criticism arose due to the headline as well, saying, “Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die,” and in all capitals, “Doomed.”
International News
Israel has made plans to create more than 3,000 homes in the sensitive West Bank, while the European Union summoned the ambassador of Israel to speak up . Israel’s decision was announced Friday, Nov. 30, one day after the U.N. General Assembly’s de facto recognition of Palestine. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated the housing project to be an uncrossable “red line,” as it could divide the West Bank and make a Palestinian state an impossibility. Eleven U.N. members, including key members of the European Union have expressed staunch criticism over Israel’s plans to develop. The Palestinian leadership decided Tuesday to seek a binding resolution at the U.N. Security Council requiring Israel to halt its development in the West Bank.
Weird News
Chinese newspaper The People’s Daily fell victim to a satirical news story by The Onion that named North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un “Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.” The People’s Daily, quoting The Onion, wrote, “With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true.” Previous winners of The Onion’s “Sexiest Man Alive” have been Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria and Bernie Madoff, former chairman of Nasdaq and convicted of a Ponzi Scheme. In 2002, the Beijing Evening News published The Onion’s account of the U.S. Congress wanting a new building and threatening to leave Washington. The article was a satire of sports teams threatening to leave a city in order to get new stadiums.
