Monday, February 25, 2013

Campaign 2013


Quinn Split By Business and Supporters of Sick Pay
More than 15 women elected officials will gather at City Hall today to demand that New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn allow a vote on a bill requiring employers to give their workers sick leave, the News writes:
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Campaign 2013
Saturday True News Said Mayoral Candidates Making Fake Promises and Offer No Details on the Real Problems
None of the Candidates Talked About the MTA Funding Crisis, Rising Pension and Health Care Costs. True News said Show Us the Money to Pay for More Services Candidates Ignore Sequestration. Today we said
John Liu, echoing de Blasio, wants more transit funding from the feds is not going to happen in "sequestration Washington"

 Today the Daily News Called it A Happy Talk Campaign With No Details On How to Solve the Real Problems
The big issues are sorely lacking in the Democratic mayoral campaign(NYDN Ed) Candidates squabble over minor matters Mad about school closures? We’ll be rid of them. Unhappy with police who stop and sometimes frisk people? That’ll go, too. Up against a mayor who refused to budge in a school bus strike? Just wait. The budging will start next year. To this point, Quinn, de Blasio, Controller John Liu and former Controller Bill Thompson have done little more than run against the supposed downsides of the Bloomberg way. Their plans for public safety, school achievement, clean streets, job creation, budget balancing and more are largely unknown. There’s been far too much happy talk. And that’s sad.

Waste Plan
Quinn, alone, stands firm on an East Side waste station(Capital) * Mayor Bloomberg: UES Trash Plant? De Blasio And Liu Were For It Before They Were Against It

A Vallone Run Away?
Poll shows Vallone ahead in crowded field of Queens Borough(NYDN) According to an independent poll, New York City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is pulling ahead of the other Queens Borough President candidates, with 26 percent of voters saying they would back him in a primary

 de Blasio Dumps on the Dolan's
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio penned a letter to the NBA asking them to choose Barclays Center over Madison Square Garden to host the All-Star Game in 2015 because of Knicks owner James Dolan’s attempts at union-busting, the News reports:

 Will Quinn's Home Club Dumb Her
Club packing, expectations, term limits, etc. etc.
Christine Quinn's Endorsement From Home Club At Risk, Sources Say(DNAINFO)The Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, a bastion of progressive politicians since 1958, helped transform Quinn from a young housing advocate to the City Council Speaker. But now, many Chelsea residents, dissatisfied both with her performance representing their neighborhood and her job as speaker, have joined the club in a bid to ensure anyone but Quinn wins its mayoral endorsement.*
At a mayoral candidate forum this weekend, Council Speaker Christine Quinn faced a rowdy crowd of Upper East Siders over her support for a local waste transfer station. Video via Capital New York:* . and - allies to - rallying for which so far Quinn won't support.

Closed Door Deal Allows Mayoral Candidate To Raise Funds Above City Limits (NY1)

Catsimatides raps rival Lhota, calls for freeze on bridge & tunnel tolls(NYP)

Environmentalist Enters Growing Race for Leroy Comrie’s Seat(NYO)

AG Eric Schneiderman has moved against McDonald’s lawsuit challenging the NYC campaign-finance law. 

On Up Close With Diana Williams, mayoral candidate Bill Thompson discussed the differences between his 2009 bid and this year’s. 

MTA Fare Increase Protest 
Mayoral Hopeful Catsimatidis Rails Against Higher Fares As MTA Toll Increases Are Set To Take Effect 
Mayoral Hopeful rails against higher fares as MTA Toll Increases are set to take effect

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Polling Results Mixed
A Marist Poll A Week Before the 2009 Mayor's Race Showed Bloomberg Winning by 16% He Won By 5%
NYC's Bloomberg well ahead in mayoral race: poll | Reuters
10/22: Bloomberg Leads Thompson By 16 Among ... - Marist Poll



POLL POSITION: Public pollsters have had mixed success in predicting the results of New York City elections over the years, from Dinkins-Giuliani in 1989 to Bloomberg-Thompson in 2009. Will they do any better this year?(City and State)

POLL-ITICALLY INCORRECT: Campaigns sometimes dismiss public polls and the methodology behind them, but public pollsters counter that internal polls are the ones that should be viewed skeptically. Who’s right? (City and State) * And/but - says public polling matches what he's heard about private polling in mayor's race * More from , question is whether Quinn gets to 40 percent. Sub-q, which isn't posed, is can she win runoff


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NY Early Voting? 

New York’s consistently low voter turnout and the Election Day problems superstorm Sandy caused have sparked a drive by Democrats to make New York the 33rd state to adopt early voting.

New York's Decreasing Voter Turnout(True News)

September Primary Likely 
Despite an earlier push to change the election calendar, this year’s primaries appear increasingly likely to be held again in September, which threatens to create special logistical nightmares in New York City.

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Political Corruption

Even With Indictments, William Boyland Jr. Has Kept Assembly Subcommittee Chairmanship
Years after bribery indictment, Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. may finally lose chairmanship(NYDN)The Brooklyn Democrat still grappling with corruption charges has continued to lead the state Assemblyman subcommittee on outreach and oversight of senior citizens programs.





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Nuts

Very Out of Touch Act by Hikind Wonder What Thompson Who Wants His Endorsment Will Say?

dov-featuredDov Hikind Parties Down for Purim in ‘Black Basketball Player’ Costume(NYO)
 Assemblyman Dov Hikind tells WCBS it "never crossed my mind for a second" blackface costume might be offensive* Brooklyn assemblyman discovering even a little blackface is way too much(NY mag)* Assemblyman Dov Hikind wears blackface for   * Hikind apologizes for wearing blackface at Purim party - says offending anyone 'was not the intention'(NYP) * Assemblyman Defends Wearing Blackface to Party(NYT)
* .: "I believe this incident calls for Assemblyman Hikind to issue an apology."
* African American elected officials demanded an apology from Assemblyman Dov Hikind for his dressing-in-blackface-for-Purim stunt. 
Dov Hikind on his blackface Purim costume: "I was actually going to do Indians next year. But I don't want to...(NY1)
 
Really Dov? “: Hikind: "If I was black, on Purim I would have made my face white."”
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Fed Cuts Impact and Mayoral Candidates Empty Transit Aid Promises


At A Transit Debate John Liu, Echoing de Blasio Said New York Should Get More Money From Washington to balance the Transit Books
NY Could Even Get $$ for Sandy We Some Kid of Washington Cuts Coming It takes a lier to promise you can more bucks from DC


In Impasse, New York Would Face Steep Cuts(NYT) Some of the biggest reductions will be to financing for primary and secondary education, with New York set to lose about $42 million. If Washington fails to avert automatic spending reductions, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey could lose hundreds of millions of dollars for popular programs.New York would lose $275 million in federal funding for education, job training, public health, and law enforcement if a deal on the looming "sequestration" cuts can’t be reached by March 1st, and 12,000 civilian employees of the Department of Defense would lose their jobs, the Times-Union writes: * The White House said the looming sequester cuts would cause 12,000 New Yorkers who work as civilian contractors with the Department of Defense to go on forced furlough.*
  1. Gillibrand says $3 billion in Sandy aid is at request in the sequestration cuts. Says the worst of cuts will harm 9/11 first respond.

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Silver Unlink Teacher Evaluations

Silver Rebukes Cuomo Plan

Silver Calls for Reversing Cuomo’s Cut in School Aid(NYT) Sheldon Silver, the Legislature’s top Democrat, opposes Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s insistence on penalizing New York City schools over a teacher-evaluation impasse. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver plans to make restoring the $260 million in state education aid to New York City a top priority in state budget negotiations, after a judge ruled that the state could no longer withhold the money.  In a rebuke to Cuomo’s plan to withhold $260 million in school aid from New York City because it missed a deadline to finalize a system to evaluate teachers, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he’ll push to restore the money.* DN to judge who blocked Cuomo from withholding $250M in city school aid: "Butt out, your honor." * Cuomo To Withold Education Aid Until Teachers, City Agree On Evaluation System (NY1)

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NYS Budget

Pensions
CBC To DiNapoli: Reject Pension Smoothing(YNN)

Minimum Wage Battle
Senate Co-President Jeff Klein is pushing for a state minimum wage hike to be included in the state budget, while Silver has sided with Cuomo in considering dealing with the issue after budget negotiations, the News reports:* Minimum wage increase supporters see the issue as a “clear test” of the IDC-GOP coalition, and are counting on Klein to push it.

Marijuana Legislation
A new effort to pass medical marijuana legislation will begin this week when lawmakers plan to unveil a bill that has already passed in the Assembly but stalled in the Senate, despite a lack of support from Gov. Cuomo, The Buffalo News

Arbitration Awards
In Newsday, EJ McMahon, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, argues that Cuomo should insist on a statewide cap on arbitration awards as a condition for any further extension of the arbitration law

Medicaid
New York state Senate Republicans plan to investigate the state’s Medicaid program after a Republican-led Congressional panel accused New York of overbilling the federal government by $15 billion in the last decade

Abortion 
Cuomo Aide: Reproductive Health A ‘Binary Issue’(YNN)(YNN)* Conservatives find it “difficult to believe” the abortion rights bill Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to propose will be significantly different from the RHA.
 
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Selling Cuomo

Gov. Cuomo has been quietly soliciting donations to finance an array of television ads to promote his agenda, with the ads being run by the state Democratic Party as opposed to the private lobbying group, Committee to Save New York, The New York Daily News’ Ken Lovett reports: Cuomo has quietly been seeking to raise $5 million to finance an array of TV ads promoting his agenda, and he’s doing it through the state Democratic Party – not the Committee to Save New York. Like former Gov. David Paterson before him, Cuomo plans to send $5 million in taxpayer dollars to a nonprofit in New Jersey to help promote economic development in New York.Really good scoop, in fact - among those Cuomo approached to fund ads for his budget/gun agenda is Soros *Cuomo Says The Fayette Affair Was A DOT Matter(YNN) * Approximately 50 people were outside the College of Staten Island’s Victory Boulevard entrance this morning, protesting state budget cuts as Cuomo prepared to speak at the Willowbrook school.

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More Bad News for DA Hynes
DA aides live outside law (NYP) Five of Brooklyn’s top prosecutors — including the head of a politically sensitive “conviction integrity” unit — knowingly flout state and city laws by living in New Jersey

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New Old Police Boss

Bratton: I’d be top cop (NYP) The city’s former police commish is “tempted’’ to accept his old Job

Murder Rate Down
NYC murder rate continues to decline(Fox 5)
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Secret Bomb Scare At Grand Central

There Was a Bomb Scare in Grand Central, But No One Wants to Talk About It(NY Mag)


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Gun Fight Canceled

The 1199 SEIU hospital workers union abruptly canceled a rally this week challenging the opposition to the state’s newly enacted gun control laws, after concerns were raised over racial politics on both sides of the gun debate
Pro-gun-law forces cancel showdown(NYP) A Potentially explosive confrontation over Gov. Cuomo’s tough new gun law was avoided over the weekend as 1199 SEIU, the hospital workers union, abruptly canceled a Thursday rally designed to challenge some 10,000 opponents of the governor’s measure But late last week, rally backers were startled to learn that 1199, which has strong ties to Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg and the state Democratic Party, had joined with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence to bus backers of the new law to a counter-rally. Assemblyman Bill Nojay (R-Rochester), who opposes the new gun law, said, “Rent-a-mobs to provoke a confrontation cannot have a good ending.’’* Flash Mob in Times Square Honors Victims of Newtown(NYT) Amid startled tourists, a crowd of about 200 people in New York City’s theater district threw their hands in the air and sank to the ground in unison. * Shaping a Gun Reform Agenda That Includes Teenagers and Handguns(NYT) Richard M. Aborn, the head of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, has spent decades focusing on the American gun plague. A coalition of activists and celebrities – including hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons – has formed to push back against opposition to the SAFE Act, and will be holding events around the state in the coming weeks.* New Coalition To Rally In Favor Of Gov. Cuomo's Gun Control Law(NYDN)

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20 Years 93 WTC Attack

NYC remembers '93 attack(NYDN)

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Education
Their Tools Lost in a Fire, Pratt Artists Receive New Brushes, Canvases (WSJ) 

The Post takes issue with a court ruling against the Manhattan Institute’s Empire Center which is seeking the names of retired teachers and the amount they collect in taxpayer-funded pensions

Some professors are participating in the Open SUNY Textbook project — an initiative to have faculty members write 15 online textbooks, which students or anyone else can use free of charge. 

Parents Worried New Charter School Will Add to Overcrowding(DNAINFO)

A scathing report for 's own charter school on eve of renewal vote, with no recommendation either way
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Health Care

Mini-clinics give hospitals profit-ectomy (NYP) New York City’s financially strapped hospitals are worried they could be put out of business by a new threat: rival “same-day” surgery centers that are popping up across the five boroughs

DN Idea to Save Downstate 
DN: To save SUNY Downstate, Albany should free it from state-imposed handcuffs that cost $82M a year.  The News writes that in order to save SUNY Downstate Medical Center from a costly bailout, the state must roll back mandates that Downstate can’t afford:

Russian Smoking
PUTIN CRACKS DOWN ON SMOKING IN RUSSIA...

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MTA

After M.T.A. Setbacks, No-Swipe Fare Cards Are Still Stuck in the Future(NYT) Despite the rising cost of maintaining the MetroCard system, it is not going anywhere anytime soon, officials concede, because no one is sure what will replace it.* Today's Lead Story: Subway Fares To Go Up In March (Gotham Gazette)* You Will Be Stuck Behind Hapless MetroCard-Swiping Guy for at Least a Few More Years(NY Mag)


JFK Declines as Air-Cargo Destination(WSJ)

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Chinese Move to Harlem


Chinese Moving to East Harlem in a Quiet Shift From Downtown(NYT)

A Lunar New Year celebration in East Harlem, top, held at the Union Settlement Association, is one sign of the area’s growing Chinese presence in the neighborhood. \A robbery string that focused on Chinese residents thrust into violent relief a demographic trend in the last decade.

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Queens Soccer Stadium Leaked Online
Plans for proposed Queens soccer stadium leaked online(NYP) Here’s how Major League Soccer hopes to score big in Queens. The first designs of a $300 million, 25,000-seat soccer stadium that MLS wants to build for an expansion franchise in the heart of Flushing-Meadows Park were quietly revealed by Gregg. ___________________________________________________________________________________
Barclays Park Slope Not Wrong

A Daily News essay claiming "Park Slope was wrong about Barclays Center," the flaws in the logic, and the original skepticism discarded(Atlantic Yard Reports


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Midtown Development Vs Landmark Rezoning
Reinventing Midtown(WSJ) Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Midtown East rezoning plan envisions a future of soaring new skyscrapers around Grand Central Terminal, but preservationists are worried about what may be destroyed in New York's rush to modernize.

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More Staten Island Tourists

City Plans to Lure Tourists to Staten Island and Washington Heights(DNAINFO)


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Sandy 

South Street Seaport a 'ghost town' months after Sandy(Fox 5)
Varsity basketball players participate in "Threes for Sandy …(Fox 5)
Hurricane Sandy puts Staten Island high school plans on(SI Advance)
Automatic Spending Cuts Could Hurt Sandy Victims, 9/11 First Responders (NY1)

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Fire Union Boss 
Michael J. Maye, Scrappy Leader of Firefighters’ Union, Dies at 82(NYT) Mr. Maye led the Uniformed Firefighters Association in the early 1970s, when fires in New York City increased by more than half and the number of firefighters decreased by a third.


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Mets Still Broke and Still Suck

Not catching up (NYP) The Mets won’t have much money to play with this season.


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Bronx 
In Tune With the Bronx (WSJ)The Bronx's night club scene once rivaled Manhattan's, with more than 200 colorful venues.


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Media
Anchorman Rob Morrison's parade of ladies at diner almost earned him a punchout platter (NYP) Ousted WCBS anchorman Rob Morrison’s habit of bringing different babes to his local diner almost earned him a punchout platter from soon-to-be wife Ashley back in 2002, a former waitress told The Post.

Breaking: International Herald Tribune to Be Renamed The International New York Times
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Washington

V(ote)-Day for Lew WASHINGTON — The Senate Finance Committee will vote tomorrow on..
As Governors Meet, White House Details Cuts for States(NYT)
Reductions Threaten Popular Programs(NYT)
Defense and the Sequester(NYT Ed) The military budget not only can be cut, but should be cut, though not with this kind of political machete
Fresh Front in Budget Battle(WSJ)
Afghanistan Moves to Curb U.S. Forces(WSJ)
Budget Fight Signals Shift in Republican Focus - Weisman & Parker, NYT
Blame Republicans for the Spending Cut Crisis - Paul Begala, Daily Beast
The Establishment Fairy Tale on Spending Cuts - Michael Tanner, CNN
Silent Cal Makes a Comeback - Michael Barone, Washington Examiner
After Sandy Hook, a Miracle on Guns - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
Is Embracing ObamaCare Honorable or Dishonorable? - Mark Levin
Don't Feel Sorry for Karl Rove - Michelle Cottle, The Daily Beast
Republicans & the "Footloose" Fix - Glenn Reynolds, New York Post
A Costly and Unjust Perk for Financiers - Lynn Forester de Rothschild, NYT
The Presidential Balancing Act - John Dickerson, CBS News
Our Nixonian Press - Mark Judge, RealClearBooks
How Big Is the National Debt, Really? - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post
3 Governors: The Good, The Bad & the Ugly - Ben Domenech, The Transom
$9 an Hour Is Not Enough - Sen. Tom Harkin, USA Today
The Meaning of Our American Creed - Brian Vanyo, RealClearHistory
On Keeping On: One Fighter Pilot's Simple Code for Life - Bill Keller, NYT
Blessed Are Les Miserables - Michael Hannon, Public Discourse
Legislative branch prepares for spending cuts(Wash Post)
Jack Lew's Golden Parachute - Wall Street Journal
Medicaid Expansion the Right Call - Miami Herald
Rick Scott's Craven Retreat - Washington Examiner
Long Past Time to Give Pipeline the Green Light - The Oklahoman
Why President Obama's trip to Israel may not be so pleasant (Daily Beast)
Acceptance of Defense Cuts Signals Shift in G.O.P. Focus(NYT)
Trusts Offer a Legal Loophole for Buying Restricted Guns(NYT)
JUST IN: C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general who raised profile of AIDS and tobacco dangers in Reagan years, has died at 96 
White House spokesman Jay Carney struggled to deny a report that a $500,000 contribution to Organizing for Action buys access to the president. 
Did Citigroup Pay Jack Lew a Government-Job Bounty?(NY Mag)
To Reduce Gun Crime, Target Criminals - Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune
Spending Cuts Are a Losing Issue for Republicans - Julian Zelizer, CNN
President Barack "I Didn't Do It" Obama - Derek Hunter, Townhall
How Defense Spending Will Grow Under Sequester - Byron York, Examiner
Michelle Is the Next Hillary - Alex Seitz-Wald, Salon
Why Was Michelle Obama at the Oscars? - Jim Burkee, Milwaukee JS
The Race to Replace Jesse Jr. - Ilan Greenberg, The New Republic
Jane Mayer's McCarthyist Attack on Ted Cruz - Dan McLaughlin, RedState
The Republican House of Pain - Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker
Reports Skew Results on Teacher Satisfaction - Andrew Rotherham, RCP
On Keeping On: One Fighter Pilot's Simple Code - Bill Keller, NY Times
An Awful Loss, a Beautiful Life, a Daunting Task - Tim Carney, Examine 
Lindsey Graham says that the sequester will happen: (Politico)


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Wall Street

What Mortgage Relief?(NYT) Banks have been structuring debt relief in ways that help their own balance sheets rather than borrowers.


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China Cyberspace War

A New Cold War, in Cyberspace, Tests U.S. Ties to China(NYT)


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Media

WATCH: Seth MacFarlane’s Epic Oscars Opening From ‘We Saw Your Boobs’ To ‘Be Our Guest’ (Feat. Cpt. Kirk)





Screen-Shot-2013-02-24-at-11.19.17-PM-300x198 Streisand's Tribute With Rendition Of 'Memories' During Oscars' 'In Memoriam'  Screen-Shot-2013-02-24-at-10.48.23-PM WATCH: Adele Performs 'Skyfall' At The Oscars

  Shirley Bassey Shirley Bassey Brings Down The House With 'Goldfinger' Oscars Performance
 
 
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Law and Order

[image]'Fantasy Defense' in Trial (WSJ) Federal prosecutors are poised Monday to make their case that a New York City police officer intended to cross the line between cannibalistic fantasy and reality.* NYC policeman's cannibal-plot trial is starting(WSJ) * Defense: NYC cop a cannibal only in online fantasy(Fox 5)

Cannibal cop' sobs in court as wife readies to testify against him(NYP)




Execution-style: Man, tied up and shot in head, found dead after Queens blaze(NYP)
Chinatown hubby cleaver horror (NYP) Two heroic city firefighters pounced on a cleaver-wielding maniac yesterday as he hacked his terrified wife, authorities said.* Firefighters Intervene in Cleaver Attack on Woman in Chinatown(NYT) Firefighters from Engine 9 and Ladder 6 subdued a man who began hacking furiously at his wife with a long meat cleaver, the police said; the victim fled. * Man Arrested After Allegedly Attacking Woman With Meat Cleaver(NY1) * Husband charged in Chinatown meat cleaver attack(WABC) * Man Arrested in Chinatown Meat Cleaver Attack(NBC)
Charges Pending Against Man In Wife's Meat Cleaver Attack (NY1)
Officers Who Interfere With Airwaves Face Punishment(NYT) The practice known as “keying the radio” was a common expression of disapproval within the New York Police Department until department leaders started punishing officers more stringently to send a message.
Veteran Teacher Accused of Offering Student Money for Sex(NBC)
Police investigate fatal shooting in Brooklyn(WSJ)
Deadly day of cab crashes across NYC(NYP)
Fatal shooting in Brooklyn(Fox 5)
Mysterious Death of Woman Found in BK Home Investigated(NBC)
Another Person Struck By E Train This Morning: An unidentified person was struck by an E train this morning and...
Brutal Garment District stabbing left beautician dead, knife shattered(NYP)