Monday, November 26, 2007

What stories can you make from these headlines?

Try these on for size... you can create your own characters to fit the headlines or maybe take a character "type" from one of the stories in the news and create a whole new scenario for that character.

Another interesting thing to do is to use a character that you've already created for another work and plunk them down inside one of these headlines and see what happens next.

You can also take characters from one story and have them interact with characters from another news story or perhaps switch characters altogether - let them live the other one's circumstances, in other words.

It's all up to you, Writer. Click on any headline to go to that real news story for more details (if you need them).

Decapitated Body Found in Detroit Sewer

Former Candidate Staged Car Crash to Aid Campaign

France to Shut Off Internet for Pirate Users

Police: Mother describes beating of 2-year-old, hiding her body

Survivors Recall Their Rescue From Icy Waters

The Mysterious Case of the AP Photographer

Feds May Fund Terror, Report Says

Insurer Dropped Sick Patients to Save Money

RI hospital fined for surgery error

Targeted Genetics Responds to Wired Science Criticism

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Tragic Headlines (and a mystery)

UPDATE: Police Have ID'd Baby Grace

'Baby Grace' Sketch Released
Police Seeking Public Help in ID-ing Girl Found Dead by Fisherman Monday Night
By DAVID SCHOETZ Nov. 2, 2007


Authorities in Texas released a composite sketch of an unidentified child whose dead body was stuffed into a locked plastic container and found by a fisherman Monday night.


"Baby Grace," as authorities have named the girl, suffered fractures to her skull that initially may have caused her death. Police are treating the case like a homicide while pathologists at the Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office continue to analyze the body.

Results from various chemical tests may be required before an exact cause of death is determined. Because of the body's level of decomposition, investigators cannot specifically place the girl's date of death.

Authorities are trying to elevate the profile of the case -- an effort that has already resulted in hundreds of calls to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. "We're getting loads of phone calls," Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a spokesman for the county sheriff's office, told ABC News. "We're keeping our fingers crossed one of those calls is going to be the right one."

Sheriff's officers describe Baby Grace as a white girl with blond hair between the ages of 2 and 3. She stood a little less than 3 feet tall and weighed about 30 pounds.

"For us, she is a whole lot more than an unidentified girl," Tuttoilmondo said. "She's somebody's child. Somebody's missing her." The name Grace, he said, was given to the girl to provide the public "a human factor for folks to identify with."

Authorities hope that someone will come forward with information that will allow them to stop using "Grace" in place of the girl's real name. They also want answers about how the girl died and what type of criminal charges should be pursued.

"This is a young person who has not received an appropriate burial," said Galveston Sheriff Gean Leonard. "We recognize that this death could be the result of an accident. One thing is that this is a young person who has not received an appropriate burial. Another thing is for someone to come forward and clear up the entire matter."

The girl's body was found inside a locked plastic Sterilite container, authorities said. She was wearing a pink pullover top, a "broom-style" skirt in a matching color made of seersucker material, and a pair of Velcro sneakers.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE