var htmlStr = "";

function init() {
    $('newsItems').innerHTML = htmlStr;
}

function displayNews(json) {
    newsItems = json.value.items;
    htmlStr = "";
    for (var i = 0; i < newsItems.length; i++) {
        htmlStr += buildItem(newsItems[i]);
    }
}

function buildItem(newsItem) {
    // things you can use 
    // newsItem.title newsItem.link newsItem.description newsItem.pubDate
    var date = newsItem.published.month+'/'+newsItem.published.day+'/'+newsItem.published.year
    var html = '<div id="newsItem"><em>'+date+'</em> - <a target="blank" href="'+newsItem.link+'">'+newsItem.title+'</a></div>';
    return html;
}