Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Shashank Bengali and Cindy Carcamo, Tribune Washington Bureau – CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. — The Rev. Armando Palmieri normally tends to his parishioners at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace,
By Anthony R. Wood, The Philadelphia Inquirer – PHILADELPHIA — Already ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, the Jersey Shore is on track to get exactly what it doesn’t need: another siege of powerful,
MOUNT PLEASANT – A Vinton man was killed after falling from a tree stand Saturday in Henry County. Clint Michael Lawrence, 38, was found at approximately 8:30 p.m. where he had been
By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times – SANFORD, Fla. — Mitt Romney’s sprint through five rallies in four states began on a misty morning here along the vaunted I-4 corridor, a fitting
By Kathleen Hennesey, Tribune Washington Bureau – MADISON, Wis. — Bruce Springsteen was rhyming “Obama” with “pajama” and “Osama.” Presidential adviser and guru David Axelrod was waxing nostalgic about the Iowa caucuses
By Kim Murphy and Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times – KABUL, Afghanistan — Most everyone was asleep when an Afghan guard at a U.S. military camp spotted the American soldier walking out
By Patricia Mazzei, Amy Sherman and Kathleen Mcgrory, The Miami Herald – MIAMI — What began Sunday morning as an attempt by the Miami-Dade County elections department to let more people early
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times – POINT PLEASANT, N.J. — There were all of 21 homes on the little cul-de-sac. There wasn’t much space between them and nobody
By Erica L. Green, The Baltimore Sun – BALTIMORE — Families looking for a cheap getaway, friends looking to do a little duty-free shopping, couples celebrating an anniversary, and spontaneous planners able
By Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — Counties in 31 states are accepting tens of thousands of electronic absentee ballots from U.S. soldiers and overseas civilians, despite years of warnings from
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times – BEIRUT — A bomb exploded Sunday near the offices of a trade union in central Damascus, Syria, injuring 11 people, state media reported. The
By Edward Colimore, The Philadelphia Inquirer – PHILADELPHIA — Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Eugeneia Aikens grew up in Atlantic City, N.J., but had never seen the town looking as it did
By Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Getting an early diagnosis of dementia could lead to finding ways to cope — and it could mean feeling bereft at what the
By Emily Alpert, Los Angeles Times – TADANOUMI, Japan — Billions of dollars meant to help Japan recover from its devastating tsunami went to government projects that had little or nothing to do
By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times – WEST CHESTER, Ohio—Most of the top surrogates for Mitt Romney who appeared at a massive rally Friday night expressed compassion for the victims of Hurricane
By Frances Robles, The Miami Herald – Puerto Ricans will head to the polls Tuesday to answer a question that has long divided the island of 4 million people: Do they still
By Scott Fallon, Lindy Washburn, Kim Lueddeke and Tatiana Schlossberg, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) – HACKENSACK, N.J. —In an effort to prevent a fuel shortage and ease waiting times at gas stations,
By Monsy Alvarado and Peter J. Sampson, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) – HACKENSACK, N.J. — A coastal storm that some are describing as a nor’easter could hit New Jersey this coming week,
By Paul Nussbaum, The Philadelphia Inquirer – PHILADELPHIA — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid out nearly $19 million so far to victims of Hurricane Sandy, primarily for temporary rentals or
By John L. Micek and Peter Hall, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) – HARRISBURG, Pa. — When it really counted, three top leaders at Penn State University engaged in a “conspiracy of
By Tom Knudson, The Sacramento Bee – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Photos of animal abuse and suffering posted on a federal wildlife specialist’s Facebook and other Web pages are stirring anger among wildlife
By Kate Mather, Larry Gordon and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Halloween party was going strong at the heart of the USC campus. Inside the student center,
By Siddhartha Kumar – NEW DELHI — The death toll from a cyclone that hit southern India rose to 20 on Friday as people started to return to their homes after the
Mackenzie Elmer, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa – MOUNT PLEASANT – Though Halloween is a celebration of all things frightening, Melissa Viviano said she found herself fearing for the life of her 7-month-old
By Joseph Tanfani, David Zucchino and Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times – BEACH HAVEN, N.J. — Sandy’s departure from the Northeast Tuesday brought no hint of relief, revealing instead a tableau of splintered
By Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Yi-Shen Chou has spent more than 30 years in the U.S., first as a motel operator and now as a Monterey Park, Calif.,
By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times – As the number of canceled flights continued to mount in Cyclone Sandy’s wake, analysts said the key to reopening storm-battered airports and getting flights back on
By Carol Rosenberg, The Miami Herald – MIAMI — The U.S. military shut down a ferry landing at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and sent for a bomb disposal team from
By Sergei L. Loiko, Los Angeles Times – MOSCOW — Teacher Svetlana Nikitina could hardly imagine while studying Russian literature that she would eventually mark Political Prisoners’ Day with a protest against what
Matt Peterson, Austin Daily Herald, Minn. – By Laura Yuen Minnesota Public Radio News MINNEAPOLIS — Four years after federal authorities in the Twin Cities began investigating homegrown recruitment for the terrorist group al-Shabab,
Rose French, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – The U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis announced Monday that it is launching a formal civil rights investigation into the rejection of a proposed Islamic center in St.
By Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times – ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, a Pakistani hard-line cleric with a $10 million bounty placed on him by the United States because of his alleged
By Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times – KABUL, Afghanistan — Two soldiers from the British army were slain in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday by a gunman dressed in an Afghan police uniform, the
By Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama told his team he wants them “leaning forward” in their response to the storm that has battered
By Tina Susman, David Zucchino and Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — More than 200 patients were being evacuated from two Manhattan hospitals late Monday after backup power systems
By Michael Muskal and Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — Floods and fires, seawater surges and electrical outages, fierce rains and lashing winds continued to pummel parts of the
By Kathleen Hennessey, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed major-disaster declarations for parts New York and New Jersey, sending additional government aid to those waking up to
By Siddhartha Kumar – NEW DELHI — Hundreds of demonstrators were detained in southern India on Monday as they tried to blockade a regional assembly in protest against a nuclear plant under
Los Angeles Times – BEIRUT — Syrian government shelling of areas held by opposition forces and a car bomb in a suburb considered loyal to President Bashar Assad killed and injured dozens
By Joseph Tanfani, David Zucchino and Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times – PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. — Cyclone Sandy roared ashore with 80 mph winds in southern New Jersey Monday night, poised to deliver a