Latest news with #M-80
USA Today
21-07-2025
- General
- USA Today
Former USA TODAY editor David Mazzarella, who helped give paper its hard news edge, dies
Known as 'Mazz' to the staff, he brought a hard-news approach to USA TODAY in the 1990s. Former USA TODAY editor David Mazzarella, who helped propel the newspaper to its strongest circulation years in the late 1990s, passed away on July 17 after complications resulting from a fall. He was 87. Mazzarella, a seasoned war correspondent, editor and AP reporter in Europe, was with USA TODAY from its improbable beginnings in the early 1980s to an impactful five-year stint as editor in chief from 1994-99 at the dawn of the digital age. Known as 'Mazz' to the staff, he brought a hard-news approach to USA TODAY, too often known more for its bright graphics and layouts rather than its journalism. Under Mazzarella, the newspaper's approach expanded what had been pushed by former editors, featuring investigations into air bag safety, the wave of arsons at Black churches and reports on AIDS in Africa. Mazzarella had a street fighter's instinct, honed during his years as a circulation manager in 1983, where he was tasked with persuading hostile New York City union bosses and politicians to allow USA TODAY boxes at hundreds of street corners. Rapidly replacing the vending machines as they were destroyed by M-80 firecrackers or otherwise vandalized, Mazzarella said later: 'We wore them down.' "He had competed in New York. He knew what being disrespected was about," former USA TODAY president and publisher Tom Curley said in a 2007 interview for 'The Making of McPaper,' a book about USA TODAY. "And he had a fix on what the paper needed to do with its soul, which was to get better at news." Named newspaper's editor in 1994 He was named head of USA TODAY's International editions before being selected as the newspaper's editor in 1994. Few in the newsrooms knew who he was, but Mazzarella made his mark immediately, insisting on a strict adherence to professionalism, clarity and openness to presenting fresh political takes on Washington stories. At one point, Mazzarella ordered the newsroom to tamp down on its wall-to-wall coverage of OJ Simpson, a prescient realization that the story was becoming more circus than courtroom. And he once wondered why a story about Madonna's new hair color was a story at all. 'I spent many hours with him when the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal broke,' remembered former Washington editor Bill Sternberg. 'He was focused on ensuring that the coverage was fair and competitive, not lurid.' Mazzarella instituted late afternoon "bullpen" meetings, where reporters and editors were asked to explain why their stories deserved to be on Page One. The questioning was so precise that some staffers were shaken by the inquiries. 'Woe is you if you went in unprepared,' former National Editor Lee Ann Hamilton recalled. 'Great coverage became less the exception, more the expected,' former managing editor of News Hal Ritter said. 'He believed in us,'' agreed former executive editor Susan Weiss. "I would like to think that era awakened some talent among the staff," Mazzarella said in an interview later. The hard-news approach seemed to work on the bottom line. Circulation was often 2 million copies a day or higher, and ad revenue soared. 'Best newspaper editor no one's ever heard of' "USA TODAY is getting perceptibly better all the time," wrote the American Journalism Review in 1997, during the heart of Mazzarella's influence. Mazzarella, said media critic Howard Kurtz, might be 'the best newspaper editor in America no one's ever heard of.' He did this while never losing a ready smile and amiable relations with most staff members, even as the specter of layoffs began to infect the industry as a whole. Mazzarella was proud of his Italian-American heritage (born in Newark), often recalling his favorite restaurants in Rome, writing a memoir about his mother, Benigna, titled, 'Always Eat the Hard Crust of the Bread,' and emphasizing the third syllable when he pronounced political correspondent Richard Benedetto's name. Said Benedetto upon hearing of Mazzarella's death: "Not only was he one of the best newsmen ever, he also was a kind, sincere and generous soul, a loyal and trusted friend and mentor, an impeccable role model, a credit to his Italian American heritage and just plain one of the kindest gentlemen I ever met." Mazzarella retired in 1999, just as the newspaper's focus began to shift to digital platforms. He became an ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, the Defense Department's daily newspaper, and an advocate for the newspaper's First Amendment rights within the closely watched military environment. Mazzarella is survived by his wife, Christine Wells, a former senior vice president of The Freedom Forum; three daughters, and two grandchildren. Mazzarella and Kitty Uksti divorced in 1995. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 2 at 11 a.m. at Holy Rosary Church, 595 Third Street St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Diocese launches recovery fund to rebuild chapel in Mahanoy City
MAHANOY CITY — The damage can be repaired, but the shock wave triggered by the May 6 detonation of an explosive device by an intruder could have a lasting impact on the Solemn Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. After being open to worshippers around the clock for 43 years, access will be limited after the estimated $27,000 in damage is repaired and the chapel reopens. After dark, a security code or special access card will be required to gain entrance. 'I hate to do it,' confided Rev. Kevin Gallagher, 'but I had to take that extra step given what happened.' What happened was that an explosive device — possibly an M-80 or larger — was detonated at 9:02 p.m. on May 6 in the chapel next to St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church. Placed on the altar, the device burned the altar cloth, shattered glass candleholders and scorched the monstrance, the ornate receptacle that contains the consecrated host. The shock wave was powerful enough to damage three stained glass windows and puncturing a hole in the aura of the Blessed Virgin Mary in one. The stained glass windows, transplanted from the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Mahanoy City, have to be removed for repair by a Pittsburgh company. Damage from the blast is estimated at $27,000, not including cleanup costs, Gallagher said. 'There's smoke and residue over everything,' said Gallagher, Teresa of Calcutta pastor. The Allentown Catholic Diocese has launched a St. Teresa Recovery Fund to assist the parish in repairing the damage. So far, the fund has raised $8,250, the Allentown Diocese reports. Donations can be made at Suspect in custody Kyle Kuczynski, 32, remains in Schuylkill County Prison, facing charges in connection with the chapel explosion. He has been charged with felony arson, reckless burning or exploding, possessing explosive or incendiary material, risking a catastrophe and related charges. His preliminary hearing is 10:30 a.m. June 19 in Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker's office, Shenandoah. Photographs from the chapel's security system show a person wearing a black hoodie leaving the chapel on May 6. In his hand is a black device, resembling an explosive, with a fuse at one end. Police have not released details about the device. Rev. Kevin Gallagher looks at the broken stained glass windows within the adoration chapel at Saint Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church in Mahanoy City, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) The manufacture, sale, possession and use of M-80 explosive devices is illegal under federal and Pennsylvania law, according to the Crime Watch Pennsylvania website. Considered highly explosive devices, they contain ingredients capable of injuring or killing people. In the chapel Miraculously, a statue of the church's patron saint, Mother Teresa, holding baby Jesus was not damaged by the blast, though it was only a few feet away. A stained glass window depicting the Nativity wasn't as fortunate. Holes in a stained glass window were caused by a May 6 explosion in the adoration chapel at Saint Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church in Mahanoy City, pictured Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) The concussion from the ignition, perhaps an arm's-length away, blew holes in the window. A statue of St. Teresa of Calcutta inside the adoration chapel at Saint Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church in Mahanoy City, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) A statue of the Blessed Mother nearby was damaged and has been sent to an artist in Mountain Top for reconditioning. The monstrance, held sacred by Catholics, has been sent to the St. Jude Shop in Philadelphia for repairs. 'The blast blew open the luna, a door at the rear through which the host is placed, and the Holy Sacrament was tossed out,' Gallagher said. The monstrance was donated by Joanne Bobbin, in memory of her family, he said. She's in her 80s, and still helps out at the church. On a recent visit to the chapel, Gallagher reflected on how it touches the lives of church members. When the churches consolidated, he was certain to relocate items from Polish, Slovak and other churches that we closing into what was formerly St. Joseph's, a Lithuanian church. It was his way of preserving some of their heritage. The 11 stained glass windows in the chapel were from Sacred Heart, an Italian parish. 'Many of the items in the chapel are of a personal nature to our parishioners,' Gallagher said. 'They're very important to them, and we want to restore them.'
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
A Teen's Rejection from a Girl Allegedly Led Him to Blowing Things Way Out of Proportion… Literally
Women often expect the backhanded reply of, 'Ight then, you ugly anyway,' or possibly something more aggressive when rejecting a man. However, one Michigan teen is accused of responding in an extreme, and dangerous way, putting the girl's entire family in fear for their lives. Macomb County prosecutors say the incident happened around 3 a.m. on April 10 when a rental home on Eldredge Street suddenly caught fire. Though, what seemed to begin as a small, sparked fire turned into something more like an explosion. 'You just hear a big old boom, like it was just loud. It sounded literally like someone threw an M-80 in there. It blew up. When I went downstairs, first it was like a little fire. It wasn't nothing big,' said Delvon Lee, who was inside the home with his 9-month-old son. Also in the home was the infant's mother, grandmother, a cousin, plus a 2-month-old, Lee told WXYZ. The family ran out of the house through the back door and hopped a fence to escape the fire. Home camera footage from across the street showed massive flames flooding out the windows of the front of the house. Thankfully, everyone managed to escape the fire without injury, per the report. However, the house sustained serious damage leading to suspicions of intentional arson. A few days later, prosecutors confirmed that theory with the arrest of a 17-year-old in connection to the incident. While police have yet to release an official motive behind the fire, Lee told reporters he had an idea: rejection. He told the outlet the teen was talking to a female cousin who resided in the home. Earlier that night, Lee said she refused his invitation to go out. Later that evening, police say the teen broke into their house and planted the bomb. 'This is a kid ruining his life over a girl he met five days ago,' Lee told reporters. The teen is being held at the Juvenile Justice Center on charges of home invasion and arson... but only for now. Prosecutors are considering having him charged as an adult, prosecutors said, per The Detroit News. 'This was an extremely serious crime that endangered the lives of seven people and caused substantial damage to a home. I am especially outraged that the lives of two infants were put at risk,' said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido in a statement. He added how his 'office will not tolerate this reckless disregard for human life and private property.' For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CBS News
11-03-2025
- CBS News
Michigan man pleads guilty in home explosion that injured two children
A Flat Rock, Michigan, man has pleaded guilty to illegally transporting and receiving an explosive device that caused a home explosion, injuring two children. Steven Marchbanks, 58, is accused of purchasing the device, thought to be an M-80, from an unknown person and taking it to the home in River Rouge. Federal officials say Marchbanks left the device unattended near two children, with one of the children setting it off. The children suffered severe injuries, and there was structural damage to the home. A search warrant executive by police uncovered two guns belonging to Marchbanks, who previously was convicted of felony offenses and was permitted from possessing guns. Marchbanks pleaded guilty to felon in possession of firearms in addition to the explosive device charge. Sentencing is scheduled for July 15. He faces up to 10 years in prison for the device and 15 years for the firearms. "The allegations in this case represent the most horrific unintended consequences associated with poor choices. Steven Marchbanks is a repeat offender prohibited from lawfully possessing a firearm. Tragically, he chose to leave an unsecured M80 caliber explosive device with children in the home," said Detroit Field Division Special Agent in Charge James Deir in a statement. "In a millisecond, a young child's life was changed forever. In the end, Mr. Marchbanks will have several years behind bars to reflect on how his poor decision-making caused serious injuries to a child. Illegal fireworks are extremely dangerous and should never be left stored inside of your home."
