Al's Morning Meeting

The abduction and subsequent murder happened 43 years ago. Yesterday, according to The Clarion (Miss.) Ledger, federal authorities arrested 71-year-old James Seale. He was charged in the kidnapping of hitchhikers Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, both 19 years old when they were found dead in the river.

As early as 2000, the Ledger reported that the feds had the authority to go after Seale. The paper said FBI documents from the 1960s included Seale's alleged admission to the crime. The newspaper now features a photo gallery and an interactive timeline that's worth a look:

Gallery: Forgotten Killings: Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore

Multimedia: Interactive graphic shows sequence of events

This case was largely broken open by the dogged determination of a brother of one of the dead boys. In 2005, the Jackson (Miss.) Free Press and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documented the brother's quest for justice. The Free Press has been pressing for justice in this and other old cases for years, and has amassed an impressive list of projects.

Here are links to the Free Press' package of stories about 1960s Ku Klux Klan activity in the Natchez-Meadville-Roxie, Miss., area, starting with an award-winning investigative story by Donna Ladd and a team of young Mississippians, working with David Ridgen, a documentary filmmaker from the CBC. It is about Thomas Moore's 2005 return to Mississippi to seek justice for his brother's murder. In the first story, the Free Press broke the news that both of the key suspects were still alive in the Natchez area.

July 20, 2005 -- I Want Justice, Too

July 27, 2005 -- A Dream Deferred

Oct. 26, 2005 -- Editor's Note: Damned If We Don't

Oct. 26, 2005 -- Evolution of a Man

Oct. 26, 2005 -- Dear Meadville: Thomas Moore Tries to Wake Up His Hometown

Oct. 26, 2005 -- Daddy, Get Up

Oct. 27, 2005 -- Franklin County Advocate Editorial and Thomas Moore Response

Dec. 7, 2005 -- Just Rewards

Here is a collection of other civil rights era murder cases -- some solved and some not.

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Senate Republicans Block Minimum-Wage Hike

It was to be the first increase in the federal minimum-wage in a decade, but the U.S. Senate blocked it, demanding a tax break for the small businesses that would have to pay the higher wages. It is possible, even likely, that sometime next week, the Senate will approve such a tax break, and, accordingly, we'll see a hike in the minimum wage. The delay means more than 6 million Americans will have to wait a little longer for a pay raise.

The $8.3 billion tax-cut package that Republicans demanded includes a five-year tax credit for employers who hire low-income or disadvantaged workers.

The Associated Press reports that the bill also extends, until 2010, tax rules that permit businesses to combine as much as $112,000 of expenses for one annual tax deduction.

The tax break would be funded with revenue from a proposed cap on tax-deferred executive compensation at $1 million. The tax-cut package also would end deductions for payments in court settlements or punitive damages paid by companies that have been sued.

Extreme Cold Snap Forecast

Dow Jones Newswires report that natural gas futures bumped up this week after weather forecasts suggested that the cold weather expected to hit the Midwest early next week will last longer than previously thought.

The story says:

One model run by meteorologists at MDA [Federal Inc.]'s EarthSat Weather Group in Rockville, Md., forecasts "the coldest outbreak in years" for large parts of the U.S. between Feb. 2 [and] 6.

The Weather Channel shows Arctic air moving in, but stops short of making any bold claims.

Al's Morning Multimedia

Yesterday, I mentioned the use of "tag clouds" as an interesting way to analyze speeches. MSNBC.com used tag clouds to cover the State of the Union address. I like the "transcript" and "analysis" tabs on the page too.

Alex Johnson at MSNBC.com told me:

We supplemented [the tag cloud] with video, and the cloud is generated in real time as the President progresses [through the speech], which is pretty cool because you can track the shifts of emphasis as he goes along. Plus we supplemented it with topic-by-topic analysis and reader interactivity.

Also, listen to this piece from NPR's "Morning Edition," which features several NPR correspondents commenting on the president's speech in quick 15-second bursts. NPR also produced beat-specific "fact check" columns. Brilliant! It was not only useful, but it was a wonderful display of the depth of NPR's reporting power and expertise.

The Booming Battery Biz

Thanks to Al's Morning Meeting reader Susan Mador for this tip.

The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate reports:

With consumers using more and more battery-driven devices these days -- from cell phones to iPods to digital cameras -- a niche of specialty stores are hoping that when batteries croak, they come to mind.

Stores such as Batteries Plus [...] are trying to cash in on a share of what is reported by the company to be a $22 billion battery industry in the United States, one that’s growing 6 percent annually.