Bridgegate’ scandal threatens next World Trade Center tower
NEW YORK — The "Bridgegate" scandal that rocked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration earlier this year is threatening a deal that would allow developer Larry Silverstein to finish building the next World Trade Center skyscraper.Silverstein needs a guarantee from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to secure a...
NYPD ends Muslim surveillance program
April 18th, 20140 NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis confirmed that detectives assigned to the unit had been transferred to other duties within the department's Intelligence Division.An ongoing review of the division by new Police Commissioner William Bratton found that the same information collected by the unit could be better collected through direct...Dutch girl arrested after tweeting terror threat to American Airlines
NEW YORK — A 14-year-old Dutch girl who threatened a terrorist attack in a tweet to American Airlines was arrested in Rotterdam on Monday — but that didn't stop a copycat from tweeting a similar threat to another airline.A Twitter user named "Sarah" wrote on Twitter over the weekend that she was a member of Al Qaeda and that she...Utah woman charged for killing six infants
UTAH — A judge set bail at $6 million on Monday for a Utah woman suspected of killing six infants after giving birth to them, then stuffing their bodies into cardboard boxes which were found at a house where she used to live.Police said Megan Huntsman, 39, admitted under questioning that she strangled or suffocated the babies...Asian Americans challenge Philadelphia’s refusal to provide language access to voters
PHILADELPHIA — On Wednesday, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) filed a complaint against the Philadelphia City Commissioners for refusing to provide language assistance to Asian American voters, in violation of the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance (FPO).Jerry Vattamala, Staff Attorney in AALDEF's...U.S. court deportations fall 43 percent over five years
WASHINGTON — Deportations through U.S. immigration courts have fallen 43 percent in the past five years as the federal government brought fewer cases before those courts, according to Justice Department data analyzed by the New York Times on Wednesday.The figures come as President Barack Obama and House Republicans clashed openly...Daughter denies wanting Iraqi-American mother dead
SAN DIEGO — The daughter of an Iraqi-American man accused of killing his wife in California in what was first investigated as a hate crime denied under cross-examination by a defense lawyer on Monday, April 7, that she ever said she wanted her mother dead.Fatima Alhimidi acknowledged telling an uncle's then-girlfriend that she...Families of autistic kids sue Disney parks over policy on lines
LOS ANGELES — Families with autistic children have sued Walt Disney Co, alleging the company does not provide adequate access to theme park visitors with autism who have difficulty waiting in long lines for rides.In October 2013, Disney parks stopped offering autistic visitors a "guest assistance card" that let them and their families...House bill demands tougher line against Hizbullah
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill that demands a tougher line against Hizbullah was introduced in the House of Representatives Monday, April 7. The Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act urges the Obama administration to turn the screws on financial institutions — including the central banks of Lebanon and other nations —...
Developer to demolish ‘Ground Zero mosque’
April 11th, 20140 NEW YORK — A New York City real estate developer has filed plans to raze the "Ground Zero mosque," a structure housing an Islamic community center just two blocks from the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks, city officials said Tuesday, April 8.The Islamic center and prayer space opened in 2011 amid protests that it could become...Knife-wielding student injures 21 in Pennsylvania school
MURRYSVILLE, Pennsylvania — A 16-year-old student wielding two knives went on a stabbing rampage in the hallways of a Pittsburgh-area high school early on Wednesday, injuring 21 people, about half of them seriously, officials said.The attacker moved stealthily through Franklin Regional High School, stabbing his victims in the torso and...Moroccan man arrested in Connecticut after school bomb plot
CONNECTICUT — A Moroccan man who entered the United States as an exchange student six years ago is facing criminal charges after planning to use a remote-controlled plane to bomb a U.S. university and a federal building in Connecticut, officials said on Tuesday, April 8.The resident of Bridgeport, Conn., 26-year-old El Mehdi Semlali...Iraqi man goes on trial in California for wife’s murder
SAN DIEGO — The trial of an Iraqi-American man accused of killing his wife in a crime that was first investigated as a hate crime opened on Tuesday with testimony from a paramedic who described finding the woman bloodied and dying in her San Diego area home.Shaima Alawadi, a 32-year-old stay-at-home mother of five, was...GM avoided defective switch redesign in 2005 to save a dollar each
DETROIT — General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional investigators.The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce...Shooting at Fort Hood army base kills four, shooter’s motives not clear
Ivan Lovez in full combat gear.FORT HOOD, Texas - The soldier suspected of shooting dead three people before killing himself at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas was under psychiatric care but showed no signs of violence or suicidal tendencies, a U.S. official said on Thursday.No motive was given for the rampage, which also left 16......
Washington mudslide kills 29 people, dozens still missing
WASHINGTON — Efforts to recover bodies following a Washington state mudslide that killed at least 29 people could be hampered in the coming weeks if melting snow runs into a clogged river at the disaster site, officials said.Over the past few days, workers at the mud pile in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, northeast of Seattle,...CIA misled public on interrogation program
McLean, Virginia — The Central Intelligence Agency misled the U.S. government and public for years about aspects of its brutal interrogation program, concealing details about harsh treatment of detainees and other issues, according to a report in the Washington Post.U.S. officials who have seen a Senate Intelligence Committee report on...Jury convicts bin Laden son-in-law on terrorism charges
NEW YORK — Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, was found guilty of terrorism-related charges on Wednesday following a three-week trial that offered an unusually intimate portrait of al Qaeda's former leader in the days after the September 11, 2001 attacks.Abu Ghaith, 48, a Kuwait-born teacher, faces life in prison...CNN journalists arrested trying to sneak into World Trade Center
NEW YORK — Two CNN journalists were arrested for trying to sneak past security at the World Trade Center in New York City on Tuesday in an attempt to report on recent security lapses at the site, police said.Yon Pomrenze, 35, and Connor Fieldman Boals, 26, first tried to talk their way in through the main gate to the center in......
Agents protecting Obama abroad sent home for disciplinary reasons
WASHINGTON — Three members of the U.S. Secret Service detail that protects President Barack Obama were sent home from Amsterdam for disciplinary reasons, a Secret Service spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.The spokesman, Brian Leary, declined to provide further details.The agents were disciplined after going out for a night of...Five charged for smuggling 115 immigrants in “stash house”
HOUSTON — Five men suspected of being part of a human smuggling ring that held more than 100 people captive in a derelict Houston area home were charged with hostage-taking and firearms crimes at a federal court on Tuesday.Jose Aviles-Villa, Jonathan Solorzano-Tavila, Antonio Barruquet-Hildiberta, Jose Cesmas-Borja, and......
Russia warned U.S. about Boston Marathon bomb suspect Tsarnaev
WASHINGTON — Russian authorities warned the FBI in 2011 about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two Chechen brothers accused of carrying out last year's Boston Marathon bombings, but U.S. authorities missed chances to detain him, NBC News reported on Tuesday.Citing a congressional report it said could be released by the House of...Muslim couple sue Empire State Building owners for discrimination
NEW YORK - A Muslim couple filed a $5 million lawsuit against the owners of the New York's famed Empire State Building, claiming they were forced to leave as they prayed.Fahad Tirmizi, 32, and his wife Amina, 30, of Long Island, said security guards interrupted their prayers July 2, 2013, and forced them to leave the building, the New......