ROCHESTER -- A man accused of fatally shooting a teenager who was 8 1/2 months pregnant was ordered held without bail Monday pending a court appearance later this week. The baby boy survived.
Timothy Johnson, 23, was arraigned in Rochester City Court on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting of 16-year-old Tamika Fleming.
The shooting resulted from an argument that two of Tamika's friends had with some other men at a nightclub, according to Detective …
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — North Korea won't be allowed to send any gymnasts to the London Olympics, part of its two-year ban from international competition as punishment for age falsification.
The International Gymnastics Federation announced Friday it was effectively banning North Korea from any competition outside its borders until Oct. 5, 2012, after determining that Hong Su Jong had entered last month's world …
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Current EU president Poland said Wednesday that Israeli security must not be threatened should any change occur in the Middle East due to the Palestinian bid for statehood.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland's position depends on the wording of any U.N. resolution. He noted Poland's decades-long good relations with Arab nations, and especially with the Palestinians, but said Poland will be "tough" in making sure that no changes in the region threaten Israel's security.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to address the U.N. General Assembly later this week and request full U.N. membership. With peace talks deadlocked for the past three …
Time: Noon today at Soldier Field. TV: Fox-32 (Chris Myers, Tim Ryan). Radio: 780-AM, 105.9-FM. • Line: Seahawks by 31/2.
In other news . . . the Bears' season is on the line Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field.
After a tumultuous week that was unusual even by Halas Hall standards — the aftermath of getting Tebowed by the Denver Broncos, Marion Barber vs. the media and Sam Hurd's arrest on federal drug charges — an even more dire reality faces the Bears: They have to win a football game. And find a quarterback.
Regardless of how culpable general manager Jerry Angelo might or might not be for failing to find the red flag …
SATURDAY
BENEFITS & GALAS
Bartender's Ball, Saratoga Springs City Center, 522 Broadway, Saratoga Springs When: 6:30 p.m. Cost: $50 Contact: 583-0280 Notes: Benefits Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis. Soul Session, Garland Nelson.
Fundraiser swing dance, Averill Park High School, 146 Gettle Road When: 7-10 p.m. Cost: Advance: $8; $3, students, seniors; at door: $10; $5, students and seniors. Contact: 542-8890 Notes: Snow date, Feb.7. Instruction in swing dance by Ron Trito precedes big band music by Georgie Wonders Orchestra. Chinese auction.
Lunafest 2009, Saratoga Film Forum, 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs When: 6-8 p.m. Cost: $15; students, $12 Contact: 612-6112 or http://www.nylunachix.com Notes: Highlights female filmmakers. Benefits Hope in the Boat, Breast Cancer Fund.
FARMERS MARKETS
Troy Winter Farmers Market, Uncle Sam Atrium, Broadway, Troy When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Contact: 321-5749; e-mail: troyfarmersmarket@yahoo.com or http://www.troymarket.org
Winter market, Salvation Army, 27 Woodlawn Ave., Saratoga When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Contact: 638-8530
PET EVENTS
Cat adoption clinic, Animalkind Inc., 721 Warren St., Hudson When: Noon-4 p.m. Contact: 822-8643 or http://www.animalkind.info Notes: Not-for-profit work for welfare of abandoned, feral and stray cats. Hours: Noon-4 p.m., Thursdays-Mondays.
Cat adoption clinic, PetSmart, 3033 Route 50, Saratoga …
ALBANY -- Freddie Blair, 41, born December 7, 1958 in Jersey City, NJ, died June 7, 2000 at Albany Medical Center Hospital. He attended the Albany public school system and worked at Eden Park and Albany Nursing Home. He was the dearly loved son of Velma Booker and the late John Blair Sr. and stepson of the late Asbury Booker. Left to cherish his memory are six brothers, John, Dennis and Willie Blair, all of Albany, Paul Booker of Schenectady, Alonzie Gibbons of Louisville, GA, John Jeter …
Byline: Becky Pallack
Mar. 12--A team of local business and political leaders has banded together to create Southern Arizona's first regional economic development road map.
The group will study the area's more than two dozen economic development groups and work-force-training programs to see which ones benefit the Tucson-area economy.
Members hope to review each of the various groups by April and write an initial report on what each one does.
The leaders of the effort will take that report, seek public input and craft a strategic plan by the end of the year.
That plan must address three principles, Mayor Bob Walkup said in a prepared statement: a more regional approach, better coordination …
UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday proposed an accelerated plan to renovate the U.N.'s headquarters overlooking New York's East River that would complete the overhaul by 2013.
The proposal, in a report to the U.N. General Assembly, calls for the 39-story glass-and-steel Secretariat building to be completely emptied. The current plan calls for the renovations to be carried out several floors at a time, from top to bottom, and for the overhaul to be completed by mid-2016.
In December, the General Assembly finally gave a green light to start renovating the U.N. headquarters complex, which has not had a major overhaul in its 55-year existence and now …
According to the authors of a study from Geneva, Switzerland, "Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of infectious neonatal morbidity and mortality. Timely and accurate identification of colonized mothers is imperative so that antibioprophylaxis can be implemented during labour to reduce the risk of neonatal sepsis."
"We planned our study to analyse the diagnostic accuracy of an intrapartum PCR assay to identify GBS-colonized women and to allow the implementation of correct (i.e. at least 4 h) intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis based on the PCR results. We included 695 women in labour who were tested for rectovaginal GBS carriage by culture and PCR. Women were also …
The following driving courses will be offered:
A defensive driving class will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Rensselaer County, 544 Broadway, Rensselaer. Successful completion of the class will save drivers 10 percent off the base auto insurance for the next three years. Participants will be eligible to receive up to four points off their driving records. Class fee is $35. Registration is required. Call the club at 465-3403 or Raymond Frankoski at 286-3788.
The Northeast New York Safety and Health Council will sponsor a pre-licensing course at 8:30 a.m. …
I bought an HDTV set. I really hadn't planned to do this for another year, but my 32-inch NTSC set started having intermittent problems, the kind that a technician was not likely to track down. After a few weeks of use, here are my personal observations on HDTV.
First, on this receiver, HDTV movies are spectacular. But you know what? So are the SD (standard definition) movies on the digital tier. And so are the DVDs.
I bought a 36-inch 4:3 CRT HD receiver. I didn't want to spend the big bucks for a thin LCD display, and I've heard that the projection displays are constantly going out of convergence. My receiver provides great picture quality on all of the digital movie channels. Heavy-duty quality. About 230 pounds of quality, actually. I needed a stronger …
Dons boss Jimmy Calderwood expects Jackie McNamara to be fit toface Celtic on Sunday.
The former Hoops skipper suffered an injury in training butshould recover in time for the weekend.
"Jackie collided with Zander Diamond and was left with a deadleg," said …
Byline: -- Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Stocks struggled higher Tuesday, erasing more of July's pullback, as interest rates held firm in the bond market despite a new round of heavy government borrowing.
But trading was slow and cautious for the second straight session as investors found few incentives to bid an increasingly pricey market back into record territory. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.83 to 5,696.11, having recovered from an early 26-point deficit and briefly moving above 5,700 for the first time since early July.
In just three weeks, the blue-chip barometer has snapped back by more than 500 points from the depths of last …
In the course of her 24-year House career that began in 1973, Pat SCHROEDER, D-Colo., used to liken the atmosphere on Capitol Hill to that of "an overaged frat house." Now it is a frat house hooked up to the Internet. In an interview with National Journal , SCHROEDER, who lives in Florida, reflected on how little has changed in what is still a predominantly male club. Edited excerpts follow.
NJ What's your reaction to the Anthony Weiner revelations?
SCHROEDER I want to look for a barf bag. Oh, no, not again! I'm so old, I've seen this happen over and over again. You keep thinking, excuse me, haven't they figured out that they're not going to get away with that stuff? What drives them to do it? What in the world is going on?
NJ Is there something about men in powerful positions that leads them to this kind of behavior?
SCHROEDER I really don't know. That would be practicing psychiatry without a license. But you certainly see an awful lot of it. I don't want to unfairly paint them all with this bad brush. But it is amazing to me, because I know that when I was there, I couldn't figure out when I was going to launder my nylons, I was so busy. So, when they've got time to do all this stuff is way beyond me.
NJ What was the atmosphere like for you as a peer of these men? Do you think it has changed at all?
SCHROEDER It doesn't sound like it has changed much. I will never forget one afternoon on the floor, a group of congresswomen were all standing around and talking about how we didn't know this stuff was going on. There was some lobbyist who had this house on the Hill, where there were girls and liquor and all this stuff. The guys would all go there and then just show up for votes. And we were all saying we didn't even know this was happening. The guys came over and just said, "Well, you're out of it; you don't know anything; you don't understand."
I remember one man saying to me he never did understand why women were in politics because it was all about Chivas Regal, Lear jets, thousand-dollar bills, and beautiful women. And I thought, "Wow! I guess I came for another reason." I must say, I'm very proud that the women there, no matter which side of the aisle we're on, have not been engaging in such things, to my knowledge.
NJ These men aren't neces�sarily physical paragons.
SCHROEDER No. And that's what I really wonder about--the women, why they are attracted to them. One of the things that people used to say to me is that a lot of these guys were real losers in high school, and now that they are in power they find that women are just much more interested in them; they flock to them, and they just go nuts. What goes on in women's minds to think that these guys are a real bargain?
NJ Does the presence of women in Congress make a difference?
SCHROEDER No, because we've never gotten to critical mass. The scholars who have studied it say that women really do make a difference in the culture of an institution when they get to critical mass. They'll debate what a critical mass is, but there's absolutely no one advocating that 15 or 16 percent is [enough].
NJ Why aren't more women in Congress by now?
SCHROEDER The parties have been hesitant to really back women in the past. There isn't strong mentorship. The mentoring tends to be male-to-male; there's very little female-to-female.
Women really have to be self-starters. Most women think that if you are qualified and you have done all your homework and everything, somebody will discover you and ask you. That just doesn't happen in politics. You've got to walk out there and say, "Hey, here I am, and I want to go." Guys still seem to be so much more ready in our culture to do that. I think women still are hesitant to engage in public debate with men and beat them. It's like, "Oh, my goodness, am I being a lady?"
NJ Weiner has confessed to improprieties. John Edwards has confessed to improper behavior and is fighting charges in North Carolina. Does that taint the Democratic Party?
SCHROEDER No more than [Arnold] Schwarzenegger and all those guys on the other side [taint the GOP]. I don't think it has anything to do with party politics. I think it has much more to do with gender.
________________
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ATLANTA, Jan. 24 -- The U.
S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation Atlanta Field Office issued the following press release:
ANTHONY C. ATWATER, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester to serve six years in federal prison on corruption and drug charges.
United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, "While dressed in his uniform, this former law enforcement officer sold out his badge to people he knew as drug dealers, and chose to protect them rather than the citizens. Any sworn officer who thinks they can abandon their oath and become a criminal in police clothing should know this: Your betrayal makes you a criminal ready for federal prison."
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin said, "Having the public's trust is paramount in order for the criminal justice system to work effectively. It is for this reason that the FBI makes such public corruption matters a priority. While the public can be reassured that the vast majority of law enforcement personnel do uphold their sworn oaths of office with great vigor, those that choose to stray down a similar path as that of Atwater can expect a similar fate."
IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Reginael D. McDaniel said of the case, "Public Safety Officers hold positions of trust in the eyes of the public and violation of this trust can send damaging ripple effects throughout the community. Today's sentencing demonstrates the government s determination to restore and ensure that trust."
ATWATER was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service. ATWATER pleaded guilty to the charges on July 21, 2010.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: On two occasions in 2010, ATWATER provided protection for what he believed to be multi-kilogram cocaine deals. For each deal, ATWATER agreed to protect the people he thought were drug dealers in exchange for $2,000. On both of those occasions, ATWATER was on duty, in uniform, and in his marked police vehicle when he provided the protection. ATWATER's participation in each of these two drug transactions forms the basis for both the corruption and the drug charges.
At today's sentencing hearing, prosecutors told the Court that after ATWATER's arrest, Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated a report that ATWATER illegally searched the home of a Fulton County resident while driving a marked Fulton County Sheriff's Department vehicle and wearing a Fulton County Sheriff's Department uniform. ATWATER incorrectly told the resident that he had an arrest warrant for an individual inside of the residence. However, he refused to show the arrest warrant to the resident upon request. ATWATER then proceeded to enter and search the residence and again refused to show or leave a copy of the purported arrest warrant with the resident as he left the residence.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Brown, Zahra Karinshak and Elizabeth Hathaway prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.
S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.
S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
ATLANTIC CITY - The drivers of the resort's 190 jitneys are taking their campaign against a new casino shuttle to the streets.
Literally.
The Atlantic City Jitney Association announced Tuesday it is placing posters on each bus saying, "Don't let Harrah's crush AC jitney transportation. Just say no to Harrah's shuttle." The yellow placards picture a huge gorilla sitting on top of a jitney.
The association has also printed 20,000 postcards that drivers will hand out for riders to sign.
At issue are the free shuttle buses Harrah's Entertainment rolled out last month to ferry gamblers back and forth among the company's four Atlantic City casinos. The ride is free to anyone who shows a Total Rewards players-club card.
Jitney drivers say their fare revenues have gone down 35 to 50 percent since the Harrah's shuttles started running Oct. 16.
"We cannot and will not sit back and simply allow Harrah's to put a 90-year-old Atlantic City tradition out of business," association President Emmanuel "Manny" Mathioudakis said Tuesday in a released statement.
The 13-seat buses have been running in the resort since 1915. Drivers purchase a franchise, own and maintain their buses and keep the fares they collect.
The jitney drivers are also taking their message to the Internet, where their Web site,
face=+Bold; www.savethejitneys.comface=-Bold;
urges readers to boycott Harrah's Entertainment casinos, refuse to ride the shuttle and send letters to Harrah's executives and state and local legislators.
Contrary to earlier speculation, the jitney association said it is not planning any job actions such as a work stoppage.
Harrah's spokeswoman Alyce Parker said Tuesday she was not aware of the placard and Internet campaign. But she reiterated that Harrah's Entertainment negotiated with the jitney association for more than a year to run the shuttles.
The jitney drivers wanted $1 million more than Harrah's wanted to pay, Parker said. After receiving bids from several companies, Harrah's Entertainment decided to run the shuttles itself.
"We are still willing to talk with them," Parker said. "We have told them they can purchase those vehicles and run the shuttle service. We still have an open door."
But Mathioudakis said that "nothing can be further from the truth" than that claim. Harrah's never intended good-faith negotiations with the jitney drivers, and had already ordered the new buses when they were discussing arrangements with the jitney association, he said.
The jitney association never submitted a formal proposal to run the shuttle, but gave a price of $1.75 per trip, the lowest discount it is allowed to charge, according to a newsletter released last week.
"The fact of the matter is Harrah's is focused solely on corporate greed, not the small business owners in Atlantic City," Mathioudakis said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Parker said the free shuttles are popular with customers and "service is at high volume."
To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:
ERose@pressofac.com
iain.johnson@gazettenews.co.uk CENTURIES of heads buried in booksmay be at an end after two Brentwood schools signed up to a schemeallowing youngsters to download revision materials directly to theirmobile phone. Just before the Easter break, Shenfield High Schooljoined Sawyers Hall College, which took up the scheme in January, tobecome the second senior school across town to make therevolutionary GCSEPod available to students.
The service, which is currently aimed at Years 9, 10 and 11 onlybut will be rolled out to the lower school in time, allows childrento download, for free, audio files from the internet.
Easy access The podcasts have been created by a firm in Newcastleto provide easy access to study materials, based on exam boardrequirements, to pupils anywhere at anytime. Soundbite Learning UKused about 30 experienced teachers to help it compile the materialwhich is available for English, maths, science, ICT, history,geography and religious studies.
James Loten, acting assistant head teacher at Shenfield, isexcited by the initiative, which will cost the school about Pounds10,500 over three years.
He said: "I think the attraction of it is that it's enabling kidsto revise wherever they are in the world and it enables them tocombine learning styles such as visual and audio.
"The students have been very enthusiastic as they can usetechnology they're used to as a means of revising for their GCSEs.The auditory learners in particular have said how effective theproduct is.
"So far we've downloaded 2,575, podcasts since the launch onApril 4."
"We are exploring it and there is a possibility of anothercompany being used to make our own podcasts for the lower years.This is a powerful thing."
He claims it is not a substitute for classroom learning however,just a more flexible way of revising.
He added: "It taps into a media that they are into, but it's nota teacher replacement. It defines a new way of learning. It's areenforcement." The podcasts break the core subjects down into bite-sized chunks and the narrated audio files supported by relevantimages cover everything from Shakespeare to the Vietnam war.
GCSEPod - the future of studying IT was launched in 2008 and isnow used by three per cent of schools across the country There are300 podcasts available across seven core subjects A service formodern languages is not yet available but is in the pipeline It hasbeen produced in collaboration with more than 30 experiencedteachers A narrator talks through the information on the podcast It is based on study material from the six main GCSE exam boards Itis compatible with computers, laptops, iPods and mobile phones everyday and all year round
Dublin City Council plans to introduce special planningrestrictions to the entire south city retail quarter stretching fromDawson Street to George's Street, to rid the area of fast-foodoutlets and mobile phone shops.
Councillors will vote tonight on a proposal to make the capital'spremier shopping district an architectural conservation area with aview to introducing special planning controls to ban certainenterprises.
The conservation area boundary will extend east-west from DawsonStreet to George's Street South and north-south from Nassau Streetto St Stephen's Green.
Grafton Street, the central spine of the quarter was designatedan architectural conservation area last July.
The designation protects the "setting and exterior appearance ofstructures" and bans certain types of shops from setting up atground floor level on some of the streets in the area and limitstheir number in less prominent streets.
Banned and restricted shops would include internet cafes, callcentres, bookmakers, takeaways, off-licences, amusement arcades, carrentals and financial institutions. Applications for such shops onnon-ground floor level would be considered on their merits.
Other non-retail uses such as cafes, pubs and restaurants wouldbe considered as long as the "primary retail function" of the streetwas not undermined.
The designation would protect and enhance the "specialarchitectural character of these historic Georgian streetscapes",the council said.
By Peter Jean
CANBERRA, Aug 7 AAP - Federal Labor and Liberal political staffers today engaged ina religious brawl over the Parliament House email network.
The brawl began after a staffer for Defence Minister Robert Hill circulated an emailon a list normally used to make announcements on such things as upcoming computer maintenanceand air-conditioning systems.
"The Anglicans have a homosexual bishop but no women priests. Is this odd or not?"
the staffer wrote.
That prompted a quick response from one National Party staffer.
"Not as peculiar as the Catholics who are ruled by a man who has never had sex yetadvocates the `go forth and procreate or perish myth'", the staffer said.
A Catholic Labor staffer took offence at the comments and threatened to take legal action.
"I consider your comment is inciteful towards hatred of Catholics and our Holy Father,"
the Labor staffer wrote.
"I suggest you look up your laws on religious vilification very quickly for your own sake."
Over the next hour-and-a-half, dozens of staff from many offices joined the debate.
At one stage, an Australian Democrats staffer made a futile attempt at reconciliation.
"At the end of the day, what matters is we are true to ourselves, humane and sincereand open in the search for truth," she wrote.
"This is the basis of all religions and if practised would put an end to religiouswars, terrorism, etc."
Emails quoting the bible flew back and forth over a 90-minute period until senior Laborand coalition staff ordered their subordinates to get back to work.
A spokeswoman for Senator Hill's office said the incident was unfortunate.
"It was a private view and the use of the parliamentary email list was probably inadvisable,"
she said.
A spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker Neil Andrew said it was unlikely anyaction wold be taken against anyone involved in the incident.
AAP pj/jg/was/br
KEYWORD: EMAIL
SYDNEY, Feb 26 AAP - A 32-year-old man has died after an 11,000 volt electric shockfrom overhead wires in Sydney's south.
A NSW ambulance spokesman said the accident occurred shortly before 10am (AEDT) whena crane touched overhead wires on Wilson Parade at …
BRISBANE, Dec 26 AAP - A Belgian exchange student has drowned after doing somersaultsin a backyard pool in central Queensland.
Eighteen-year-old Thomas Ska died while swimming in the pool of a Carmila home, southof Mackay, about 7.30pm (AEST) yesterday.
The young man was an exchange student from Belgium and had been staying with the Queenslandfamily since August.
A Carmila police spokesman said the student, who was a strong swimmer, was thoughtto have knocked himself unconscious while doing somersaults in the shallow end of thepool.
His next of kin have been notified and his body will be returned to Europe once a post-mortemexamination is completed.
AAP nt/mg/de
KEYWORD: SOMERSAULT
The Queensland government has moved to resolve its bitter pay dispute with police byputting a new offer on the table.
Premier PETER BEATTIE says the government will cut superannuation contributions from18 to nine per cent in line with New South Wales officers and put the nine per cent intobase salary.
Mr BEATTIE says the government is also prepared to reduce the penalty rate paymentfrom 23 per cent to the New South Wales figure of 20 per cent and put the three per centon base salary.
He says this is in addition to its present offer of a 3.5 per cent annual increaseover three years.
Mr BEATTIE says his appeal to the police union is to get around the table and resolve the issue.
He says the latest offer won't mean police officers are worse off in retirement.
The QPU is seeking an 18 per cent pay rise over three years for its 8,000 members.
AAP RTV nr/jas
KEYWORD: QPU OFFER (BRISBANE)
BRISBANE, April 9 AAP - Members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) today plan torally outside a Brisbane transport depot today in their campaign for improved long-distancetrucking safety.
The TWU has been campaigning for a crackdown on trucking companies after a driver lastyear was jailed for three years for dangerously operating a motor vehicle causing thedeaths of two British tourists.
In the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission last year, the TWU claimed Brisbanetrucking company Harker Transport had been forcing its drivers to stay on the road forexcessive hours.
Harker Transport is now at the centre of a Queensland Government investigation intoits long-haul driving practices.
The union has already staged several protests outside Harker Transport's suburban Salisburydepot and has called another rally for 9.30am (AEST) today.
TWU secretary Hughie Williams said the rally would go ahead despite threats by thecompany to take legal action if the union held another protest or made any further commentabout the company.
Mr Williams said members of the TWU would gather at the corner of Granard Road andDouglas Street at Salisbury before marching to the transport depot.
He said the union had been working with police to minimise traffic disruption as themarch crossed busy Granard Road.
AAP jfs/ph
KEYWORD: TRANSPORT
SYDNEY, Jan 16 AAP - Overnight storms had helped to bring the NSW bushfire crisiscloser to an end, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said today.
Severe storms swept up the south coast as far north as Sydney last night, causing evacuations,flooding and power failures.
Storms struck the Shoalhaven on the south coast, where a number of fires had been burning.
Penrith, Richmond and Hornsby were also hit by heavy overnight rain.
RFS spokesman Cameron Wade said while the full effect of the rain would not be knownuntil later today, initial reports were that it had been helpful.
…
