Here is an example of not burying the lede lead:
CENTERTON, Ark. -- The mayor of an Arkansas town resigned on Wednesday, claiming he was abducted and brainwashed by Satan worshippers nearly three decades ago.
OKAY THEN. You've got my attention. Let's read on:
He said he was abducted and brainwashed into forgetting all about his life as Don LaRose.
It was a double-life he had never acknowledged, Williams said, because he didn't even realize it existed until he had recently taken a truth-serum injection.
As Williams regained his memory, he said, he realized that he had a wife and two kids but that he had decided to leave and take on a new identity to protect them.
"I had no choice. The choice was to watch my family killed before my eyes or go with these people, and I chose instead to run," Williams said.
You know how sometimes you here a story that's REALLY REALLY interesting, but it's just not satisfying because there are a few gaping plot holes? Well, that's what's happening here. For example, why on EARTH did he take a truth serum? It's simply NEVER EXPLAINED. What the hell IS a truth serum, anyway? Does that even really exist? I mean, who even says "serum" outside of comic books? Does he mean sodium thiopental, which is most commonly used during anesthesia, and only lasts about 10 minutes with no lingering "truthy" effects? I mean, really.
Oh, and also, whatever happened to the abductors? They just sort of vanish from the guy's story after the exciting opening sentence. As a Catholic friend once said to me in all sincerity after seeing a documentary about Anton LaVey: "I've just got to learn more about these Satanists."
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