Twice last week and once just before that the nation's top news stories included the death penalty.

However, there came no (or at least little, for I didn't catch it) discussion on merits of death penalty.

These stories do not include the recent execution in Ohio of the man who raped a baby after a drunken night out, killing the baby in a horrific manner. That story was really a statewide story but it did cross the wires in Michigan and perhaps made it to sites like the Huffington Post. The man's own daughter still believed her father didn't do it or didn't mean to do it.

Last month, the bombings and terrorism in Boston prompted talk about the captured bomber receiving the death penalty, though more were interested in whether it was right to give him access to a lawyer and a reminder of the right to remain silent.

But the immediate news items with execution as a possibility included, of course, Jodi Arias, the darling bitch of cable news. Unlike Casey Anthony, she was found guilty and thus thoroughly reviled and unable to disappear. She reportedly said she preferred the death penalty instead of life in prison, prompting cable and social media debates about whether she was trying to use reverse psychology or deserved life to make her suffer more. The hatred, seemingly worse for her among many women than that sent to the Boston Marathon bombers but at least lasting longer in twitter trends, is interesting because all she did was kill a boyfriend.

"All she did," of course, is tongue in cheek in that domestic violence and killing a partner, though all too common, is a horrible act. I'm not against the death penalty, generally, but if domestic violence cases include it, we will be putting a whole lot of people to death.

Domestic violence is one of the more regular types of murders in our country, perhaps the most common. People hate her though because she is big news, due to her youth, her seeming prettiness, and the fact that she's tried to lie her way out of this. Oh, and there's sex.

She did not, though, kill a child, a group of people or terrorize the general public. She annoyed people.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, however, did kill many people, many babies, and he seemed a passive part of a horror story, running a filthy abortion clinic in a poor area and helping kill many unborn and just born babies. Many cried foul at the lack of coverage of this case, and they had a point; 'sexy' Jodi was on the cable news every night and the general media had a small Associated Press report on the complicated trial of the doctor and his practice. General news for the most part ignored both.

You can't say that the long trial was difficult to cover, as the Arias trial went on and on, and that was just great for cable news. But the murder of a boyfriend in a crazy relationship is less depressing than poverty, abortions and hopelessness. When Gosnell was convicted, though, the story turned, I thought, when it came out that he faced not just life in prison with the first-degree murder conviction, but he could face execution. That would be incredible, a professional who argued that he was doing legal abortions in tough circumstances now facing the worst penalty.

Quickly, though, the ruling came that he would not receive the death penalty. Cable news eagerly awaits Arias' fate, sidetracked by the tornado.

Again, interesting to me is the lack of debate about the death penalty, a regular news feature during the many Texas executions and even the Oklahoma City bomber's execution.

Presidential candidates lead the pack in the ability to maximize any good news and attempt (usually failing) to lessen the impact of bad news.

It's the 5 p.m. Friday announcement. Sure, it can dominate a weekend, but less people watch news throughout the weekend.

But on a day like today, I always joke that it's a good time to announce that paternity admission, when the headlines are dominated with the ONE story everyone is talking about.

Everyone, except Matt Lauer, is in Boston as the search for the suspect continues, so it's worth a chuckle for the Boy Scouts to announce it may allow gay scouts.

Of course, these things are not always intentional, but it's fair to wonder. PR people should naturally be shrewd.

What is in a name? Not much, it used to be, when it came to storms but with Twitter, a name is everything.

Lots of people didn't like the Weather Channel dubbing the snowstorm and blizzards that hit the East Coast as a superstorm named Nemo. We accept the naming of hurricanes and tropical storms, as the list is prepared at the start of the season and we know what storms will be called. But it seems as if this name was given just to name it and, hey, who gets to let you name it.

So don't use the name. Except, on Twitter, hashtags #matter and there's no point in using different hashtags. So, guess what. If you name it, and the name catches on right away, that's the name people will use.

In my mind, though, the storm, which affected more people directly, was not the biggest story of the weekend, and newscasts that led with it were reflecting a strong East Coast bias. The weekend's top story was out west, where the made-for-Hollywood rogue cop turned cop-killer, who upped the font of his headlines by publishing his manifest online, remained on the loose.

And the tie in to the other top weekend story, the Grammy awards, which some feared he would target, upped the ante. DrudgeReport.com led for a while about the Grammy's under extra protection.

Wild stuff, this story. On Friday, I wondered if it would end like Humphrey Bogart's "High Sierra," in the mountains without the dog but looking more like a combined episode of "Criminal Minds" and "Numbers," but he got away. Now, the headlines for this story bring in the other big story of the month, drones, as drones are part of the search operation.

The story continues to grow, especially as the alleged killer, Christopher Dorner, has some supporters. Anonymous, the hacker group, has gotten involved. And the LA command is reviewing the case that got him fired, though I doubt it will go anywhere once he is caught or found dead of a self-inflicted wound.

I'm not surprised at the recent criticisms of NBC Nightly News and NBC News in general for not reporting on a fascinating story out of New York, one that indicates one of America's most profitable companies paid no federal taxes.

GE made billions but has found enough loopholes to keep its tax bill to zero dollars. Of course, NBC is owned by General Electric and has little interest in airing its bosses' dirty laundry. Here's a good look at the issue.

I'm surprised they would totally ignore it, as that decision gives Daily Show host John Stewart something to accuse them off. Seems like tossing it in quietly and quickly would have done better. When I bounce between the three 6:30 p.m. national news broadcasts, I see generally the same stories, so it's noticeable if one story is ignored somewhere in particular.

And the news has been used so much as a way to promote network reality shows, that it's hard not to see the corporate shilling that is going on, especially with promotions of Dancing with the Stars, Biggest Loser or Celebrity Apprentice, or else American Idol -- especially when forced down on the local news stations (WXYZ's 7, WDIV's 4 or Fox2).

However, it's not like I'd believe any story at 6:30 p.m. that concerns medicines or other pharmaceuticals, considering that industry seems to pay for the right to get a 30-min worldview wrap up of the day's news.

Kwame Kilpatrick is in prison.

OK, nothing new to report, except of course that he's now facing new charges, the charges that much of the area's population has awaited and expected.

According to a story by The Associated Press, Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted on a 19-count federal warrant alleging what sounds like can be summed up in one word: corruption.

Interesting that Kwame's return to the front page occurs on the day that the perverted Detroit school board president continued being blasted while also:

1. Michigan and Canada and parts of northeast US experience earthquake fever,
2. The United States scores a late goal for an exciting finish in the final game of the World Cup's first round,
3. Another round of storms are watched with anticipation towards more power outages,
4. DTE tree trimmers set to strike,
5. A general honestly quoted by a rocknroll mag goes to face the Commander in Chief, and
6. A soccer game ends in exciting fashion.

I think that Kwame will play big on the TV news and of course the Detroit papers, but the earthquake I think is most interesting due to the immediate social media reaction to it. But the stories with biggest impact on our lives deal with weather and the subsequent power outages. The president's firing of the outspoken general also affect lives across the world.

Nice day to be in the news business, though I believe every day is fun. Now to see how everything gets played at 6 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m., and with the front pages.

Long day with lots going on. We had a fire at Rochester High School (a suspicious trash can), a late-breaking report of a homicide in Pontiac, a pair of home invasion arrests in Troy (way to go Troy PD; you got em before they could get away), accused cross burners and an accused DVing teen pleading to charges, and stagnating unemployment.
Oh, and the Tigers lost a close one.
Something I thought would be the most humorous but turned into the most distressing was finding the online video rants of a man accused of a road rage shooting in Farmington Hills. I would be so pissed off to have gotten shot by someone who seems so nutty, but in the end, it was depressing to listen to it.
Hopefully tomorrow's news is a little more cheerful.