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South Carolina father arrested after leaving 6-year-old asleep in Pokémon card line

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Target store exterior with red logo sign, red shopping carts, and parked cars
Image via NBC NewsHow images are chosenReport this image

Police in Charleston, South Carolina, say John-Michael Dooley, 35, left his 6-year-old daughter asleep outside a Target store in the West Ashley neighborhood around 1 a.m. Friday to keep his place in line for new Pokémon trading cards. Police say he gave her a pillow and blanket before leaving. Concerned line-goers alerted officers around 2:30 a.m., and Dooley was arrested when he returned to the store. Police say he told them he had gone home. He was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child, and his bond was set at $40,000. Online court records list a return date of Dec. 12.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Police say John-Michael Dooley, 35, left his 6-year-old daughter asleep outside a Target in Charleston around 1 a.m. Friday while he held a place in line for Pokémon cards.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    New York Post, The Washington Times

  2. Police say the girl was found alone in line around 2:30 a.m. after customers reported an unattended child.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  3. Police say Dooley was arrested on Friday.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    The Washington Times

  4. Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child and his bond was set at $40,000, according to police.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  5. Police say Dooley told them he had gone home and left his daughter outside the store to keep his place in line.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  6. NBC News reports the release does not say whether Dooley intended to buy the cards for himself or for his daughter.

    One outletNBC News· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Police say John-Michael Dooley left his 6-year-old daughter asleep outside a Target to hold his place in line for Pokémon cards, and he was arrested. Right-side headlines lead with the father’s conduct and the Post calls it brazen, while NBC keeps closer to the police account.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    NBC News, the only left-side article supplied, states the arrest plainly and attributes the account to police, with no judgement words in its headline.

    South Carolina man arrested after leaving sleeping 6-year-old daughter in line for Pokémon card release, police say
    NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side headlines frame it as a parent’s act: the New York Post leads with the dad and the daughter’s age and calls it brazen, while the Washington Times states the arrest plainly.

    SC dad left sleeping daughter, 6, outside Target at 1 a.m. to save his spot in line for Pokémon cards: cops
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right1

    brazen

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    brazenMore neutral: A South Carolina father

    The adjective adds a judgement about the father’s character that the police account in the excerpt does not state.

    A brazen South Carolina father left his 6-year-old daughter sleeping in line outside a Target…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the arrest
  • the girl found alone
  • the police account
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • NBC NewsLeft

    South Carolina man arrested after leaving sleeping 6-year-old daughter in line for Pokémon card release, police say

    A man was arrested Friday in Charleston, South Carolina after leaving his six-year-old daughter asleep in line outside a Target to hold his place in line for the release of a new Pokémon trading card set, police said.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the father’s conduct
  • the girl’s age
  • the Pokémon card drop
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    SC dad left sleeping daughter, 6, outside Target at 1 a.m. to save his spot in line for Pokémon cards: cops

    John-Michael Dooley, 35, left his 6-year-old daughter sleeping outside a Target in Charleston at 1 a.m. Friday in line for Pokémon trading cards, police said.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Father arrested for leaving sleeping 6-year-old daughter in Pokemon card line

    A man in South Carolina is accused of leaving his 6-year-old daughter sleeping and alone outside a Target to hold a place in line to buy a new set of Pokemon cards.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    NBC News, Nov 7, 11:59 AM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    3 hr 8 min later

    Its first report, Nov 7, 3:07 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. NBC NewsLeftNov 7, 11:59 AM EST
  2. The Washington TimesRightNov 7, 3:07 PM EST
  3. New York PostRightNov 7, 10:00 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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