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Najibullah Zazi, Denver Man Accused Of Terrorist Plot, Has Day In Brooklyn Court

2009-12-03T16:00:32Z

NEW YORK — Federal authorities expect to file more charges in an alleged plot by an al-Qaida associate to attack New York City with homemade bombs, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Knox told a judge the charges would be contained in a new indictment against Najibullah Zazi, a Colorado airport van driver arrested earlier this year on charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction.

"I think it's likely there will be additional charges," Knox said at a pretrial hearing in federal court in Brooklyn. "The investigation continues."

The prosecutor didn't specify the charges, or say whether the indictment would name more defendants. He called the evidence in the case "voluminous."

Zazi, who sat motionless at the defense table during the 15-minute hearing, was ordered to return to court on Feb. 16.

"He's in fairly good spirits considering his situation," defense attorney Michael Dowling said afterward.

Authorities allege that Zazi, after receiving instruction on explosives at an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan, bought beauty supplies in a Denver suburb to make peroxide-based bombs. They say he urgently tried to mix up explosives in a hotel room in early September, and then drove to New York to carry out an attack, possibly on the New York transit system.

Investigators, who had Zazi under surveillance, secretly searched his rented vehicle in New York on Sept. 10 and found a laptop computer with bomb-making instructions, authorities said.

Fearing he was being watched, Zazi flew back to Denver on Sept. 12, authorities said. He was arrested a week later.

Authorities have said that they believe other suspects were in on the plot. But no one else has been charged.

Shang Celebrates First Anniversary With Foodies, Downtown Social Scene (PHOTOS)

2009-12-03T15:16:39Z

A mix of New York's foodie establishment and the downtown social scene came out Tuesday night to help chef Susur Lee celebrate the one-year anniversary of his restaurant, Shang, in the Thompson LES Hotel.

Lee presented a traditional Chinese banquet featuring a feast of 16 specialty dishes to guests ranging from restaurateurs Drew Nieporent and Todd English to "It Girls" Becka Diamond and Byrdie Bell.

Shang opened last year to much fanfare, as it marked Lee's debut in the United States. The Hong Kong native is a celebrated chef in Toronto, where he owns two restaurants. He has since opened Zentan in Washington, DC.

See photos from the anniversary party and feast below:

Jack Rhodes, Mugger Of 101-Year-Old Rose Morat, Gets 75 Years For Brutal Attack (VIDEO)

2009-12-03T15:03:22Z

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - A New York City man who mugged a 101-year-old woman on her way to church has been sentenced to 75 years in prison.

Queens resident Jack Rhodes was sentenced Wednesday after being convicted of victimizing three women, including Rose Morat, who's now 103.

Authorities argued the 47-year-old Rhodes targeted two of the women because of their age, a violation of the state Hate Crimes Act. The law provides for harsher sentences.

A surveillance camera recorded the 2007 assault on Morat. It showed her using a walker to leave her apartment building when she was set upon.

Morat suffered a fractured cheekbone and bruises. Her attacker got away with $33.

Defense attorney Paul Montgomery questioned eyewitness accounts at trial and suggested Rhodes was being framed.

Time Warner Cable Down After Outage In Brooklyn, Queens

2009-12-03T14:16:30Z

Time Warner Cable is down this morning in parts of Queens and Brooklyn.

NY1 reported that several thousand people "lost video service" but phone and Internet services were unaffected.

Jennifer 8. Lee of the New York Times tweeted that a "wind-related fire" caused the outage.

More details to come on this outage and when it will be fixed.

Gay Marriage Defeat In New York Welcome By Some, Becomes Rallying Point For Others (VIDEO)

2009-12-03T14:04:07Z

ALBANY, N.Y. (Associated Press) - A bill that would have allowed same-sex marriage was rejected by New York lawmakers, a bruising outcome for national advocates in a state that was the site of one of the gay rights movement's defining moments four decades ago, and a huge victory for opponents who said it could influence votes elsewhere.

"It's just a huge win," said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to protect marriage. "It's going to help cement defeat for gay marriage in New Jersey, and I think it's going to get a whole bunch of politicians in New Hampshire who voted for gay marriage this year pretty nervous when they come up for election."

So far this year New Jersey failed to schedule long-expected votes on bills to legalize gay marriage, Maine voters rejected a measure and California voters rescinded their law. Supporters, however, point to Vermont and New Hampshire, where lawmakers adopted gay marriage bills this year, while the city council in Washington, D.C., is expected to legalize gay marriage next month.

Iowa's Supreme Court also recognized gay marriage this year. Gay marriage was already legal in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Richard Socarides, who was former President Bill Clinton's senior adviser on gay rights issues, called New York "clearly the biggest prize in this effort."

"Not only will it affect a lot of people because New York is a big state," he said, "but symbolically New York is the country's leader in finance, the arts and culture. It's a bellwether for the country."

Across the Hudson River, New Jersey was watching.

"Here in New Jersey, many of the legislators would rather not vote on it," said Gregory Quinlan, of New Jersey Family First, which opposes gay marriage.

He said New York's action underscores that reluctance and bolsters his group's position.

But Steven Goldstein, CEO of Garden State Equality, countered that the demographics of New York and New Jersey are very different.

"If Democrats in New Jersey don't lead the way, as they promised, to pass marriage equality in 2009, there could be a mutiny against the New Jersey Democratic Party the likes of which this state has never seen," he said.

On Wednesday, New York's bill was defeated 38-24 in the Senate led by liberal New York City Democrats holding a single-seat majority. It was the last hurdle for passage for the measure passed three times by the Democrat-led Assembly and strongly pushed by Democratic Gov. David Paterson.

Gallagher said she never expected such a lopsided margin. She said the supporters of the bill hurt their cause by equating opponents of gay marriage to slave owners and Nazis.

"The gay marriage movement usually looks very smart," she said. "Now it looks flat-footed."

Evan Wolfson, director of the national gay rights group Freedom to Marry, said the vote stung. He and other national advocates blamed in part the fractured dynamics of the New York Senate, where Democrats won a slim majority this year after a half-century of Republican control, only to face defections from its ranks and a Republican-dominated coup that gridlocked the chamber this summer.

The Senate's Republicans who were expected to cross the aisle to support the measure had a scare put into them in November. The state's Conservative Party reasserted its power in GOP politics when the Conservative candidate in a special election for an upstate congressional seat attracted so much support he forced a more moderate Republican to end her campaign.

But advocates say there were victories in the loss and New York – site of the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots, considered the birth of the modern gay rights movement – may have provided a model for success.

The "cause of inclusion" has gained, said Wolfson.

"Most striking was the eloquence and the passion and the details of what people had to say in this very personal and rich way," said Wolfson, who like thousands nationwide watched the Senate's webcast of the more than two-hour debate.

Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger, of Manhattan, talked about her grandparents who escaped discrimination against Jews and were steeped in religion.

"My religion, I believe, teaches me I must vote yes today," she said.

Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat and black civil rights activist, said gays are now in the position of the Irish, Italians, blacks and other oppressed groups.

"I am hoping New York state comes out of the closet and understands that all Americans deserve the right to marry who they love," Adams said. "This is about love ... we have no right to deny that."

During debate, Sen. Ruben Diaz, a conservative minister from the Bronx, led the mostly Republican opposition.

*******

Here is a list of the eight Democrats who bucked the party and voted against the bill:

Shirley Huntley, D-NYC (Jamaica)
George Onorato, D-NYC (Astoria)
Hiram Monserrate, D-NYC (Jackson Heights)
Joseph Addabbo, Jr., D-NYC (Ozone Park)
Carl Kruger, D-NYC (Brooklyn)
Ruben Diaz, D-NYC (Soundview)
Darrel Aubertine, D-Upstate (Cape Vincent)
William Stachowski, D-Upstate (Hamburg)

WATCH video from Wednesday's vote:

XOXO Models Strip In Window Display In New York (VIDEO)

2009-12-03T13:56:21Z

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Tradition is taking a back seat at a window display on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan this holiday season.

Directly across the street from the traditional Lord & Taylor holiday windows that attract families is a more edgy display. It's not X-rated -- just XOXO.

That's the name of the clothing line being advertised in a storefront, with one young woman stripping to her underwear while another sends text messages or applies makeup. The scantily-clad models were hired for 10 days in leased window space.

Carol Powley created the window for the California-based company and calls it "a play on voyeurism."

She says crowds stop to look "into the life of a young woman, her apartment, her beauty" -- as well as clothes that can be purchased online or in department stores.

WATCH:

Jennifer Hromadka's DNA Sought In Annie Le Murder Case

2009-12-03T05:29:34Z

HARTFORD, Conn. — An attorney for the fiancee of a Yale University lab technician charged with killing a graduate student said Wednesday he's been told authorities are seeking a sample of her DNA.

Robert Berke, attorney for Jennifer Hramadka, told The Associated Press that it's unclear why authorities want her DNA. He says he was told in September after Annie Le was killed that she is not a suspect.

"I've been advised that they're seeking a sample of her DNA," Berke said.

Hramadka's boyfriend, Raymond Clark III, is charged with killing the 24-year-old Le five days before Le's planned wedding in September.

Berke said investigators wanted to interview Hramadka shortly after the crime, but the interview did not take place. He declined to comment on his reaction to the move.

A prosecutor and police declined to comment.

Clark and Hramadka were seen leaving a coffee shop in a car in which "blood-like stains" were found hours after Le was killed, according to search warrant affidavits unsealed Wednesday.

New Haven police said in September that they didn't expect to make more arrests in Le's killing.

Le's body was found stuffed behind a research lab wall in September on the day she was supposed to get married on Long Island. Autopsy results show Le was strangled, but the motive remains unclear.

Experts said investigators may seek someone's DNA to exclude him or her as a source of the DNA that was collected as evidence.

"It sounds like they have some DNA they don't know who it belongs to," said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, director of toxicology at the University of Florida. "They're trying to rule her in or rule her out as a contributor to that DNA."

Dr. John Howard, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, cautioned against drawing conclusions about the move. He said investigators might want to address any claims or anticipated claims by the defense, such as that blood found was the suspect's fiancee's from a nosebleed.

Two days before Clark was arrested, investigators said they found blood "in plain view" on the kitchen floor near the entrance to his apartment, according to the search warrants. The warrants do not indicate the source of the blood found in Clark's apartment.

Authorities took plastic door panels and carpeting with "blood-like stains" from the Taurus in which Clark was riding in the hours after Le's disappearance.

Clark sent e-mails to Le "in the recent past," the affidavits said. Her e-mail address was found in a laboratory locker labeled "Ray," the documents said.

Clark has not yet entered a plea. His public defender, Joe Lopez, has said he intends to plead not guilty.

The affidavits show that police searched for evidence in Clark's home, two cars that he used and numerous lockers in the laboratory building where Le's body was found. They show investigators also sought samples of Clark's body hair, including pubic hair.

Quinnipiac University law professor Jeffrey Meyer, a former federal prosecutor, said hair samples could help establish a link to hair found on the victim's body.

"It could go to suggest there was a sexual assault of some kind," Meyer said. "At this point, prosecutors don't want to rule anything out or leave any stone unturned."

The suspect, the affidavits said, "has gone to great lengths to conceal evidence in multiple locations in unusual places."

Investigators found a white rag, tweezers, scissors, a screwdriver and several plastic tubes in a clogged drain pipe in the building where Le's body was found, the affidavits said.

Portions of the affidavits released Wednesday were blacked out.

Police had previously revealed that they discovered other items linking Clark to Le's death, including a green-ink pen under Le's body with her blood and Clark's DNA. Police have said Clark signed into the secure building with a green pen on Sept. 8, the day Le disappeared.

They had also said DNA from Le and Clark was on a bloody sock found hidden in a ceiling. Elsewhere in the building, they found a pair of work boots labeled "Ray-C" that had blood-like stains on them, and a hospital scrub shirt with blood-like stains that was similar to the shirt Clark wore that day, police had previously said.

In arrest warrant affidavits released last month, Clark told investigators that he never socialized with Le or had contact with her outside of work. He told investigators that he knew Le for about four months, according to court papers.

Clark told police that Le left the building 15 minutes before him, carrying her notebook and two bags of mouse food. An extensive search of the crime scene failed to locate Le's notebook or her shoes.

Court papers previously released describe a bloody crime scene and Clark's efforts to scrub floors.

Investigators say Clark tried to hide a box of Wipe-Alls that later was found to have traces of Le's blood.

Investigators uncovered "a possible medium velocity blood-like spray pattern" on the wall that tested positive for blood and showed apparent efforts to clean the blood off the wall.

The blood at the scene suggests there was a struggle, experts said, noting the scratches on Clark's body and the surgical gloves Le was wearing that left her thumb exposed.

Nets Lose Record 18th Game To Start Season

2009-12-03T03:18:43Z

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — All those losses in what's now the worst start in NBA history had already beaten down the New Jersey Nets.

So when the Dallas Mavericks hit them with a 49-point second quarter, the Nets simply had no fight left.

New Jersey was pounded into NBA infamy Wednesday night, falling 117-101 for its 18th straight loss to start the season.

"I think what happens is you know it wears on you," interim coach Tom Barrise said. "It's not a two-game losing streak. We play four games a week in this league and it's every day and every other day, and you know you hear it and you start to feel it a little bit."

The Mavericks made 17 of 19 shots and opened a 27-point lead in a nearly flawless second period, burying the Nets early in former New Jersey captain Jason Kidd's second trip back to his old home.

The Nets passed the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games. New Jersey's next chance to end the streak comes Friday at home against Charlotte.

If the Nets defend the way they did Wednesday, the skid could last a while longer.

Dallas shot 81 percent in the first half, the first NBA team to make 80 percent of its shots in a half since the Denver Nuggets hit 82 percent against the Clippers on April 4, 2006, according to STATS, LLC.

"At this point, I feel the streak has definitely gotten the best of us. It's really not starting to get to us now," guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "So when a team goes on a run, we kind of, it's almost like we give up, which is really unfortunate but that's what it looks like to me. We kind of give up and just lay down instead of trying to fight."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Kidd had 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, who led by 31 points in the third quarter. Erick Dampier added 18 points and 11 boards, and Jason Terry also scored 18 points.

The Nets, the NBA's worst team in scoring and shooting, could only blame their defense this time, which gives new coach Kiki Vandeweghe something to address when he runs his first practice Thursday.

Vandeweghe, the Nets' general manager, replaced the fired Lawrence Frank and will coach the team the rest of the season – but not quite yet. Though his hiring was announced Tuesday, Vandeweghe won't coach his first game until Friday, leaving Barrise in charge one more time.

Vandeweghe handled the pregame coach's meeting with reporters, then sat in a seat above center court with Del Harris, the former Dallas assistant who will join him on the bench.

"Nobody likes to lose. Period. And obviously we made it clear and you all know this is a developmental year, but nobody expected to be 0-17," Vandeweghe said before the game. "That's just obviously not acceptable and I think that it's not acceptable to anybody and especially the players."

The longtime losers had their chances to avoid history. They led Minnesota by 19 in the third quarter on opening night before losing 95-93 on Damien Wilkins' putback at the buzzer, and lost 81-80 on Nov. 14 at Miami when Dwyane Wade made a 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left.

New Jersey hung around for a quarter in this one. The Mavs shot 71 percent in the first period, but the Nets turned six Dallas turnovers into 11 points and fought their way to a 28-all tie.

It was over a few minutes later. Dallas shot 89.5 percent in the second, hitting its final nine shots and making all 10 free throws while building a 77-50 lead.

"We came out with great energy, great defensive effort in the first quarter and then we have two steps back in the second quarter, giving up 49 points and them shooting 81 percent in the first half," point guard Devin Harris said. "The second half was good, but that's too tall of a mountain to climb obviously from a team that has been struggling."

There were only a few boos, but then again there weren't many fans. The Nets have been plagued by poor crowds for years, and a chance to see history or Kidd wasn't enough to change that, as attendance was announced at just 11,689.

Some fans left early – a few heckling Vandeweghe and Harris on their way out – while two sitting courtside wearing Santa Claus hat-covered paper bags that read "0-18" over their heads were still there in the fourth quarter.

Eyeing the summer of 2010 free-agent class and still planning a long-delayed move to Brooklyn, the Nets have made a series of cost-cutting moves in recent seasons, trading Kidd and other players who helped them become a perennial playoff team and two-time NBA finalist this decade.

"It's unfortunate. There's nobody on that team that was a part of the run we had here," Kidd said. "They're going in a different direction. Personnel-wise, they're young. They got some young talent. The future is bright for them if they can stay together and stay healthy."

But they were woefully unprepared to deal with the injuries that have hit them this season, especially against a Dallas team that was fortified this summer after owner Mark Cuban signed off on the re-signing of Kidd and a trade for Shawn Marion.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, an assistant for five years in New Jersey, compared the Nets' situation to when he coached an Indiana team wrecked by suspensions after the brawl with Detroit Pistons fans five years ago.

"I've been through it. It's tough. It's not easy," Carlisle said. "Kiki will do a great job with these guys because he's a great teacher and they're going to get healthier. Everything is going up. It's at the bottom now."

Douglas-Roberts scored 24 points and Harris, acquired in February 2008 in the Kidd trade, added 17. Brook Lopez had 16.

NOTES: Vandeweghe and Del Harris worked together as assistant coaches in Dallas. Cuban expects their partnership to work well, comparing it to when Larry Bird coached Indiana and Carlisle was the Xs and Os guy as his assistant. ... Vandeweghe said starting forward Yi Jianlian, who has missed the last 14 games with a sprained right knee ligament, could start practicing by early next week.

Republicans Fail To Overturn Order Targeting Voter Intimidation In New Jersey

2009-12-03T03:01:10Z

TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey has denied a request by the Republican National Committee to dissolve a 27-year-old court order aimed at preventing intimidation of minority voters.

In his ruling Tuesday in Newark, U.S. District Judge Dickinson Debevoise said voter intimidation remains a threat and preventing it outweighs the potential danger of voter fraud.

But the judge did modify the order, loosening some of the restrictions on Republican activities, and set a 2017 date for its expiration.

The order resulted from a lawsuit filed in New Jersey in 1981, but applies nationwide.

Democrats claimed a Republican "ballot security" program in minority neighborhoods violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The program included using mailed sample ballots returned as undeliverable to compile lists of voters to be challenged at the polls and stationing off-duty police and sheriff's officers near polling places.

The Republican National Committee chose to settle the 1981 suit by entering into the consent decree in November 1982.

The order was modified in 1987 to require that the Republicans get court approval before engaging in ballot security efforts, which were defined as any efforts to prevent or remedy voter fraud.

In seeking to end the order, Republicans argued that changes in state and federal election laws have significantly increased the danger of voter fraud and that the consent decree was hampering its efforts to combat it. The Democratic National Committee countered that the Republicans were exaggerating the threat.

In his 79-page ruling, Debevoise said that "neither changed factual circumstances nor developments in state and federal election laws justify vacating the Consent Decree, but modification is required."

In a statement Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee called the ruling "a victory for all Americans who believe that every eligible citizen should have the right to vote and have their vote counted."

RNC spokeswoman Kate Wright said the modifications are a step in the right direction, but "there is still work to do in order for the RNC to be able to compete on a level playing field and ensure fair elections across the country."

Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary, Will Not Testify About Gatecrashing Salahis

2009-12-03T01:49:03Z

WASHINGTON — White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi declined an invitation to testify to Congress about their caper at President Barack Obama's state dinner last week, prompting a quick threat from a lawmaker that they will be forced by subpoena to face questions if they don't show up Thursday.

House lawmakers want answers in a hearing Thursday about how the couple managed to sail through security checkpoints while their names were not on a list of approved guests for the dinner. But their publicist, Mahogany Jones, said in a statement on the eve of the hearing that the couple had already provided information to two lawmakers as well as the Secret Service and would not come.

The Salahis believe "there is nothing further that they can do to assist Congress in its inquiry regarding White House protocol and certain security procedures," the statement said. "They therefore respectfully decline to testify."

That didn't sit well with Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, which is holding the hearing.

"The Salahis' testimony is important to explain how a couple circumvented layers of security at the White House on the evening of a state dinner without causing alarm," he said in a late-evening statement. The committee "must understand the full scope of what went so terribly wrong on Tuesday night (Nov. 24) to ensure that security gaps are sealed. This can only be achieved by hearing both sides of the matter. "

He said: "If the Salahis are absent from tomorrow's hearing, the committee is prepared to move forward with subpoenas to compel their appearance."

In addition, the White House is refusing to send its social secretary to the hearing, citing the separation of powers and a tradition of not having White House staff testify to Congress.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan agreed to testify.

The couple said on TV they were invited to the dinner. But e-mails between the Salahis and a friend who works at the Pentagon show they were not invited to the exclusive party.

Jones said the couple's information makes clear they broke no laws, that White House protocol at the dinner "was either deficient or mismanaged" and that "there were honest misunderstandings and mistakes made by all parties involved." Lawmakers wanted to explore those questions and more for themselves, by questioning the couple and social secretary Desiree Rogers, herself a guest at the dinner, as well as the Secret Service.

The ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security committee, Rep. Peter King of New York, was the first to ask that the social secretary be called to testify at Thursday's hearing.

By not sending Rogers, King said, "the White House is creating a needless confrontation and is raising serious issues about its judgment on the night of the state dinner."

Jones said the Salahis through their attorneys presented information to King and to Thompson's staff, that was similar to what they told Secret Service investigators.

The Salahis have been trying to land a part on a Bravo reality show, "The Real Housewives of D.C.," and were filmed by the Bravo show around town as they prepared for the White House dinner.

Defending the decision not to let Rogers testify, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs cited the separation of powers and a history of White House staff not testifying before Congress. Gibbs also said the first family is "quite pleased" with Rogers' performance.

In the past, at state dinners and similar events, a member of the White House social office or other White House staff stood with the Secret Service as guests entered. No one from the White House was with the Secret Service on Nov. 24. There were no plans for a White House staff member to be there, and it was the Secret Service's responsibility to make sure the guests were on the approved list.

"After reviewing our actions, it is clear that the White House did not do everything we could have done to assist the United States Secret Service in ensuring that only invited guests enter the complex," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina wrote in a memo Wednesday to the staff about the new procedures.

The Secret Service has admitted it should not have let the Salahis in and is investigating how it happened.

The White House reviewed its policies as well. Messina decided White House staff would be at the security checkpoints at future events to help clear up discrepancies about guests, Gibbs said. From now on, a staff member also must check guests off the invitation list while the Secret Service makes sure they have been properly cleared.

On Tuesday night, when the White House threw a party for nearly 100 volunteers who spent the past few days decorating the White House for Christmas, a staff member stood with the Secret Service as guests arrived.

Wednesday afternoon, Secret Service Deputy Assistant Director Faron Paramore briefed some House members. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told reporters afterward that a Secret Service officer didn't follow security protocols.

"It's very clear that there was one person who allowed these two individuals to go" through the first security checkpoint, Issa said. "That's something that the Secret Service is clearly responsible for. I know a lot of people want to hold the White House responsible. At this point we're taking the Secret Service at their word. They made the mistake."

Copies of e-mails between the Salahis and a Pentagon official have undermined the couple's claims that they were invited to the state dinner honoring the visiting Indian prime minister. The Salahis pressed their friend, Pentagon aide Michele Jones, for four days to score tickets to the big event. By their own admission in the e-mails, the Salahis showed up at the White House gates at 6:30 p.m. without an invitation – "to just check in, in case it got approved since we didn't know, and our name was indeed on the list!"

___

Associated Press writers Ben Evans, Ann Sanner, Darlene Superville and Pete Yost contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

White House memo:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/091202-messing-state-dinner-review-new-guidelines.pdf

(This version CORRECTS Paramore's title to deputy assistant director.)

New York State Senate Approves $2.8 Billion Budget Deficit Plan

2009-12-03T00:59:26Z

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's Senate has joined the Assembly in approving a measure to reduce the state's budget deficit by about $2.8 billion.

But officials say the actions on Wednesday still fall short of balancing the state's budget for next year by more than $3 billion.

Gov. David Paterson says he supports the Legislature's decision. But he says he'll have to reduce and delay payments for the last four months of the current fiscal year to balance next year's budget. He says he'll target school aid and funding to hospitals.

Paterson is urging schools to cut back spending now in preparation for harder times in the 2010-11 budget.

Paterson first called for lawmakers to act in a series of special sessions dating back to September.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting: Watch Live Online

2009-12-02T22:20:54Z

After narrowly-avoiding a labor strike that would have spelled disaster for tonight's festivities, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony will go on.

Barry Manilow, Shakira, and Alicia Keys will perform for the holiday crowd before the 10-ton, 76-foot Norway spruce is lit up in all its glory!

WATCH live coverage below:

MTA Maintenance Workers Slack On Job, Cost City $10 million

2009-12-02T21:50:37Z

Some track maintenance crews regularly work on the rails just four hours a day - but get paid for a full eight hours, a report released Monday reveals.

Diane Savino On NY Gay Marriage Bill: 'We Have Nothing To Fear From Love And Commitment' (VIDEO)

2009-12-02T21:23:32Z

Gay marriage supporters suffered a defeat today when New York state lawmakers rejected a bill that would have established same-sex marriage. The debate over the bill was passionate, and state Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) gave one of the more moving and powerful speeches in support of the Marriage Equality bill. She said the issue is not political, but about "fairness and equality... We have nothing to fear from love and commitment."

WATCH:

Joshua Hunter, Fort Drum Soldier, Arrested For Stabbing Deaths Of Waide James, Diego Valbuena

2009-12-02T20:52:35Z

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Fort Drum soldier was arrested at a hotel in southern Ohio early Wednesday on a warrant charging him in the stabbing deaths of two fellow servicemen at an apartment near the military post in northern New York.

The bodies of Waide James, 20, and Diego Valbuena, 23, each with multiple stab wounds, were found Tuesday morning in an apartment complex housing mostly military families in Evans Mills near the post's main entrance. Fort Drum is the 10th Mountain Division's home base.

A warrant was issued charging Joshua Hunter, 20, with two counts of second-degree murder, county prosecutor Cindy Intschert said at a news conference. Based on a tip provided by New York authorities, Hunter was arrested at a hotel in Wheelersburg, Ohio, at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Capt. David Hall of the Scioto County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies called Hunter's cell phone and told him to surrender, which he did without incident, Hall said. Hunter is in custody at the county jail in nearby Portsmouth, Ohio.

"The impression we have right now is there's only one suspect," Tim Dowe, the Jefferson County undersheriff, said in a telephone interview.

Dowe declined to provide a motive or say whether a murder weapon was recovered. Autopsies were scheduled Wednesday.

Hunter did not have a lawyer. He will likely be appointed one during a video arraignment at 11 a.m. Thursday with Portsmouth Municipal Court, Hall said.

Hunter indicated to deputies that he did not intend to fight extradition, Hall said.

The killings came a little more than three weeks after an Army psychiatrist was accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas.

Hunter's father, Jim Hunter of Ona, W.Va., told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that his son spent 15 months in Iraq and had been back for about four months. He said he had seen his son in October and "seemed to be doing good."

Jim Hunter described his son as "a pretty outgoing kid" who was married, but had no children, and lived off base.

Sheriff's deputies in New York, he said, had not provided much information. "They told us not to come up until they get him from wherever he's at," he said.

In September, James and Valbuena graduated from Fort Drum's Warrior Leaders Course, which teaches skills required to lead, train, fight and accomplish the mission as noncommissioned officers. They and Hunter all listed each other as friends on their MySpace pages.

On his MySpace page, Valbuena wrote that he was born in Bogota, Colombia, and had joined the military in August 2008. He also wrote that he'd been deployed to Iraq.

"We're just trying to digest the news," Valbuena's brother, Sergio Valbuena, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "It's really hard."

Specialists James, of Cocoa, Fla., and Valbuena, of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., served as motor transport operators with the Headquarters Battalion of the 10th Mountain Division, according to Fort Drum's public affairs office.

James joined the Army in March 2007 and arrived at Fort Drum in July of that year, while Valbuena joined in August 2007 and came to Fort Drum in January 2008. Both have received awards and decorations including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, and overseas service ribbon.

On his MySpace page, Hunter says that he's married and has a dog, that his favorite book is J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," and his hero is James Dean. In an expletive-laced tirade posted on the site, he also describes himself as "cold and heartless" and says unhappiness "can be a way of life."

"i am angry at the world and i will take it out on anyone," he wrote.

He writes that he graduated from Cabell Midland High School in Ona in 2007 and attended Calvary Baptist Academy in Hurricane, W.Va., from 2005 to 2006.

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Associated Press writers Mary Esch, Michael Hill and Jessica M. Pasko in Albany, N.Y., and Matt Leingang in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. Associated Press news researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York also contributed.