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$65,000 Reward Offered for Information in Search for Bomber in 2008 Times Square Attack Bomber May Have Also Been Involved in Two Other Unsolved Bombings—One at the British Consulate in 2005, the Other at the Mexican Consulate in 2007 FBI New York June 18, 2013 SNIPPET: "Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department announced a reward of up to $65,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect or suspects involved in the unsolved 2008 bombing of the United States Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square. Also released today...

The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the New York Police Department over its surveillance of Muslim communities, accusing the police of trampling on religious freedoms and constitutional guarantees of equality. The surveillance by the NYPD's intelligence division has extended beyond New York City's five boroughs into neighboring New Jersey and other nearby states. The police department says that surveillance of Muslims is legal under an earlier federal court order. The lawsuit is the latest skirmish in an ongoing battle between the NYPD and civil liberties advocates over the department's aggressive policing tactics - including...

The FBI saw enough merit in a reputed Mafia captain’s tip to once again break out the digging equipment in search of the elusive remains of former Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa, last seen alive when he left for lunch with two mobsters 38 years ago. Federal agents brought excavation equipment Monday to a field in suburban Detroit where Tony Zerilli said Hoffa’s remains were buried. Zerilli, 85, told Detroit television station WDIV in February that he knew the location of the remains. …

Eight eager and well-trained canines – joined by their human partners – entered the ranks of the MTA Police Department’s Canine Unit at a graduation ceremony held on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Grand Central Terminal. The canines, who are roughly 1½ years old and are German Shepherds or German Shepherd/Belgian Shepherd mixes, completed an intensive 14-week course with their human partners in which they learned all aspects of explosives detection, recognition and handling. The MTA K-9 Unit is believed to be the largest such force in the nation, with 50 canines in service. “The MTA PD canines are one...

Jesse Daniels, 53, is accused of endangering the welfare of children for the actions he took after catching four boys in the act of vandalizing his father-in-law’s home over the weekend. With extensive damage done to the inside of the house, Daniels and his wife called 911 — and he went inside of the residence to confront the boys. But that’s not all: Daniels put the kids inside of a closet while he waited for authorities to arrive. It was this latter action that created an even bigger legal conundrum. The vandalism unfolded in Clyde, New York, a small town...

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who was allowed to travel to the U.S. after escaping from house arrest, said Monday that New York University is forcing him and his family to leave at the end of this month because of pressure from the Chinese government. The university denied Chen’s allegations. Chen said in a statement that China’s Communist Party had been applying “great, unrelenting pressure” on NYU to ask him to leave, though he did not provide details or evidence to back his claim. Chen said Beijing’s authoritarian government has more influence on the American academic community than is perceived. “The...

It’s Father’s Day — but do these New York men have reason to celebrate? The Post spent the past few weeks cruising shotgun in a mobile DNA-testing truck helping doubtful dads find proof of their progeny. Health Street, the testing company, has two 27-foot Winnebagos — “Who’s Your Daddy?” emblazoned on either side — that rumble through the city seven days a week offering a range of services, including drug and heritage testing.

A heroic FDNY dispatcher went beyond the call of duty — staying on the phone with an elderly Upper East Side stroke victim for nearly eight hours while rescuers struggled to pinpoint the woman’s location. EMT Joann Hilman-Payne took the call from Mary Thomas at about 1 p.m. Monday — and kept the line open as emergency responders tried to find Thomas’ address, according to FDNY documents obtained by The Post. Rescue workers were first dispatched to an East 71st Street address based on a cellphone tower relaying Thomas’ call. But she wasn’t at that location.

It comes as no surprise that controversy would ride the coattails of the news yesterday that Attorney General Eric Holder may suggest a federal monitor over the NYPD should stop-and-frisk be deemed unconstitutional in Floyd v. New York. Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly freaked out in a teleconference with Holder the other day when they heard about the Justice Department's proposal. And yesterday, at an unrelated press conference, the m ayor made his opposition to the proposal absolutely, 100 percent clear. Contrary to an inspector general--a City Council proposal in the Community Safety Act currently making its way through...

Six months ago today, an odd, angry kid named Adam Lanza woke up, grabbed a couple of guns, and went looking for easy targets. He started with his mother, who had taught him to shoot, and who was probably still asleep when Lanza entered her bedroom and put those lessons to use, shooting her four times in the head. Next, he moved on to children, 20 of them, huddled in the first-grade classrooms at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza shot and killed them and six adults with 154 rounds from an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle. His final target was himself: with...

Five people, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot in three boroughs within a 21-minute span Saturday night, police sources said. The bloodshed began at 9:33 p.m. when a gunman blasted away on 106th Ave. near 180th St. in Jamaica, Queens, striking a woman in her 20s in her leg. Paramedics rushed the wounded woman to Jamaica Hospital. Shots were heard again six minutes later — this time in St. George, Staten Island. Police sources said a gunman fired off several rounds inside Mahoney Playground on Crescent Ave. near Jersey St. at 9:39 p.m., striking a 14-year-old boy in the chest....

especially interesting in a New York Times story from Friday on Iran, where they found it advantageous to edit out an America-hating Iranian who wished the Times building would burn down: “He is a war veteran, a good manager and a religious person,” said Noushin Sobhani, 31, a gynecologist. She and her parents voted at the Imam Sadegh University, where most of Iran’s cadre of bureaucrats are trained. “We hate America,” her father said, smiling. “I hope The New York Times building burns down.”

A love-struck boyfriend is refusing to testify against his partner who is accused of shooting him because he wants to marry her. Randolph Costa was allegedly blasted at close range by Evelyn Barnave who faces 25 years in jail if found guilty of attempted murder. The 59-year-old initially pointed the finger at his girlfriend, but he is now refusing to co-operate with prosecutors in her trial at Brooklyn Supreme Court. He told the New York Post: 'I'm just hoping they drop this order of protection so we can get married. We love each other.

Police Scotland officers attend the scene at Prestwick. Picture: Colin Sturgeon Published on 15/06/2013 15:09 AN EgyptAir plane from Cairo to New York has landed at Glasgow Prestwick Airport after being diverted. • EgyptAir flight from Cairo to New York lands in Glasgow Prestwick Airport • Reports suggest plane was escored by typhoon fighter jets before landing The Boeing 777 - which was travelling to JFK International Airport - touched down at 2.30pm. Air traffic control at the airport confirmed that action was taken following “a problem”, and that standard procedure had been followed. Unconfirmed reports said that typhoon fighter...

Huma Abedin skipped town in the same month that the Heat was on last year and a U.S. Senator may be on to her (if so, his way of letting her know is absolutely brilliant). The date of a letter sent by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), to Secretary of State John Kerry about Huma Abedin, the former Deputy Chief of Staff to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, matches the date on a letter sent by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and four other congressmen to the State Department’s Deputy Inspector General from one year earlier, about Abedin’s irrefutable familial...

During a fawning report on Hillary Clinton's "first time kicking off the Clinton Global Initiative" on Friday's NBC Today, White House correspondent Peter Alexander also cheered the "double feature" of Clinton and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaking at the event: "Today it is Bill Clinton who could soon be advising his wife's next presidential bid, giving her possible rival Chris Christie the reins for a major platform to showcase his own leadership skills." Continuing to hype Christie hobnobbing with Democrats, Alexander declared: "Chris Christie, the Jersey-shore-reopening, carnival-playing presidential pal is the former President's guest of honor, speaking this afternoon,...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who helped draft the immigration reform bill currently being discussed in the Senate, says he will walk away from the negotiations if it includes a controversial amendment to provide immigration benefits for gay couples. "If this bill has in it something that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill. I'm done," said Rubio during an interview on the Andrea Tantaros Show on Thursday. "I'm off it, and I've said that repeatedly. I don't think that's going to happen and it shouldn't happen. This is already a difficult enough issue as it...

A new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks New York as the most competitive global city, finishing ahead of London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and other American cities, including Chicago (ranked 9th in the world) and Los Angeles (17th). All three American cities have actually moved higher on the list from previous years, meaning they've become more competitive. The study appears during a New York mayoral race in which the candidates and the business community are debating the city's future. While the outgoing Bloomberg administration argues that Gotham is in fine shape, having rebounded from the financial crash of...

Claiming they had "inadvertently" published "before it was ready for publication," The New York Times published and then yanked a story about Anthony Weiner titled: “For Women in Weiner Scandal, Indignity Lingers.” According to Politico, the Times' story... Started with the line, “Customers still taunt Lisa Weiss.” "‘Talk dirty to me,’ they joke. ‘We know you like it.’ Colleagues still refuse to speak with her,” Barbaro wrote, according to a Google News search. Another sentence in the article apparently said: “For those on the other end of Anthony D. Weiner’s sexually explicit conversations, the episode damaged careers, disrupted educations.”(continued)

Citi Bike’s solar-powered docking stations don’t always get enough electricity on cloudy days — a glitch that makes returning the bikes infuriating, riders say. Bike share users — who for weeks have had trouble locking bikes into docks — say the malfunction occurs most on overcast days, when stations are not fully charged. “It’s a joke — they’re solar-powered so they’re basically dead half the time….It’s worse when it’s cloudy or when the dock is under a tall building,” (edit) Lengthy waits to receive bike keys and poor customer service are also part of the problem, riders say. A spokesman...

As the North American natural gas boom continues, state legislators across the country have targeted hydraulic fracturing for new regulations, proposing a range of 50 bills involving bans, moratoriums and increased disclosure requirements, according to a new Colorado State University study. Much of the new legislation tries to address issues such as water use, air and water quality monitoring and fluids disclosure, as many non-industrial communities grapple with the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and the changes it brings. For example, Illinois passed new rules in May requiring drillers to publicly disclose the chemicals they use, and on water testing. And...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg–who previously suggested so-so students skip college to become plumbers–dished out some more advice to young people Friday morning during his weekly radio show. Mr. Bloomberg, whose own syntax has sometimes been the butt of jokes, warned kids to pay attention to their grammar lessons or risk losing opportunities later in life. “Kids have to learn to speak grammar,” said the mayor, in response to a caller who suggested kids weren’t being taught the subject in schools. “If you don’t speak good grammar–English with good grammar–you’re not gonna get the kind of jobs that you want,” said the...

A long time ago in a media world far, far away, Katie Couric was once seen as a competent, likable, down to earth co-host of NBC's "Today Show." She was appealing, smart, and accessible, But success ruined Couric. Over time, she became a Media Diva and a divisive, hysterical left-wing partisan. Whatever your politics, it is impossible to dispute that Couric went Hollywood -- and narcissism is never pretty In the wake of her chilling metamorphosis, Couric has only met failure. But her latest endeavor, a daytime talk show, is making Couric's time at CBS look like the glory days...

OK, this is really shocking: a Heritage Foundation economist [Dr. Salim Furth] has been accused of presenting false, deliberately misleading data and analysis to the Senate Budget Committee.What’s so shocking? Not the false, misleading data and analysis — that’s SOP at Heritage. Remember the disappearing forecast of 2.8 percent unemployment under the Ryan plan, and various other Heritage escapades? What’s shocking is that they got called on it, in real time.The claim in particular, by the way, is widely popular on the right; it’s the claim that there isn’t any real austerity in Europe. Wonkbook goes through some of the...

ALBANY, N.Y. (WIVB) - A bill currently making its way through the State Legislature would make it a crime to annoy a police officer, a move that could have far reaching consequences. The State Senate passed the bill Wednesday that makes it felony to “harass, annoy, threaten or alarm� an on duty police officer by subjecting them to any physical contact. A press release from the NYS Senate originally stated, “The bill (S.2402), sponsored by Senator Joe Griffo (R-C-I, Rome) would make it a felony to harass, annoy, or threaten a police officer while on duty.� However, as the bill...

Yesterday the New York state Senate passed Bill S.2402, which officially makes it illegal to "annoy" police officers. Now the bill must go on to the State Assembly. "Annoying" or "harassing" a police officer would be a "Class E" felony, which, in the eyes of New York State, is equal to aggravated assault upon a person less than 11 years of old, female genital mutilation, promoting a suicide attempt, and cemetery desecration, among other laws. There is no specification in the law as to what will be considered "annoying" or "harassing" an officer besides "subjecting them to physical contact." The...

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) - Adam Arroyo has lived in his Breckenridge apartment for three years but has never experienced a day like this past Monday; when police busted down his door in search of drugs, shooting and killing his dog in the process. "She's over here, chained up, and look at all these bullet holes man. Look at the blood right here," Arroyo explained as he showed Eyewitness cameras where his pit bull mix Cindy had been shot. "She was tied up in the kitchen like I tie her up every single day, and they shot her for no reason."...

A brutal beating of a Buffalo, N.Y. senior was caught on video. WGRZ-TV was given a video of a Buffalo man who was brutally beaten by a group of high school student. The incident happened in North Buffalo at Shoshone Park two weeks ago as James LeGrand, who is a part of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s Impact Team, was in the park’s parking lot when he noticed two girls arguing with a bunch of student who surrounded them and were encouraging them to fight. He tried to break up the fight several times and then got a camera and started...

Upstate New York is in economic crisis. And New York's moratorium on hydrofracturing, or "fracking," is impeding recovery. In New York City, private sector wages grew by 4 percent in real terms between 2000 and 2011. But in New York State's Southern Tier, in counties such as Broome, Chemung, and Tioga, wages declined by 1%. Over the past decade, employment in New York City has grown by 9 percent. But in Binghamton and its surrounding suburbs, in Broome County, employment has declined by 11 percent over the same period. Elmira, Chemung County, has seen a decline of 8%. These counties...

Anthony Weiner had it all. Had. And will never have again. As a powerful progressive congressman who never had a serious election challenge before 2010, he was considered the heir to Senator Chuck Schumer’s throne. He also had an early lead for the 2013 mayoral election–a position he had been vying for since his 2005 defeat in the Democrat primary. And with one tweet it was all gone. Despite Weiner’s ambition to rise again to become New York’s mayor, the electoral and demographic math simply isn’t there... --snip-- What Weiner and all the other non-Quinn candidates are hoping for is...

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) said Monday that she had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer, and would soon begin treatment for the disease.

'As a mayor, I know that legalising same-sex marriage has sharpened New York City’s competitive edge, because it has made us an even more attractive place to live and work.' Across Europe and the US support for same-sex marriage is growing, and for a simple reason: it is consistent with democracy's promise of equal rights for all people. As long as government is in the business of handing out marriage licences, all couples – regardless of their sexual orientation – deserve equal status in the eyes of the law. I believe that it is only a question of when –...

In 35 years as Manhattan DA, Robert Morgenthau has gotten along with every mayor of New York -- except the current one. Mike Bloomberg, says Morgenthau, "doesn't want anybody around who doesn't kiss his ring, or other parts of his body." In a wide-ranging interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 90-year-old, who leaves office Thursday, addresses everything from his feud with the mayor to the international crimefighting role his office has played during his tenure. As usual, he pulls no punches: On enforcing economic sanctions against Iran and its business partners: "The president is smoking pot or something if...

She’s an American who survived her own “Argo”-style daring escape from the Middle East. And last week, Nashwa el-Sayed, 22, added a New York coda to her thrilling tale that shows this tenacious, young woman is dedicated to more than just her own personal freedom. We have a stateswoman in the making here. “I was born on Dec. 26, 1990, in Columbia Presbyterian to a Puerto Rican-New Yorker mom and an Egyptian-born father named Mohamed el-Sayed,” she says. “My mom was 30. My dad was like 33.” She had no siblings. Sayed learned to creep and toddle in a home...

CARSON CITY, Nev. — John W. Griffin is a fast-talking, whiskey-loving, fifth-generation Nevadan who spends his days as a lobbyist courting lawmakers in Stetsons. He advocates for luxury casinos, once brokered a dispute between a brothel and a nightclub, and has helped feuding families resolve tussles over cattle crossings. Now he is representing the ultimate city slicker, Michael R. Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, who, undaunted by defeat in Congress, is taking his campaign for stricter gun laws to the nation’s state capitals, including here, where a bill to expand the use of criminal background checks is before the...

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are usually bitter rivals, competing for lucrative banking and trading business. But one day in April, the Wall Street titans found common ground: frustration with the Bloomberg news and financial data empire. Goldman’s public relations chief, Jake Siewert, a former Treasury official, called his counterpart at JPMorgan Chase, Joe Evangelisti, with a simple question: “Do you have any issues with Bloomberg?” Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Evangelisti began rattling off his grievances, say people briefed on the call. At the top of the list was a Bloomberg News article in 2011 that likened...

It’s the creepy alternative to a beach cooler. The state Office of Mental Health is selling a morgue refrigerator from a Manhattan psychiatric ward on eBay — calling it “used” but “in good condition.” The bizarre ad lists the huge silver appliance, equipped with four doors for body storage, as having “signs of cosmetic wear” but being “fully operational.” The fridge looks plucked from the set of “Law & Order: SVU.” At 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide, it could fit nearly 2,000 12-ounce cans of beer. And the weirdest part? People are actually bidding on it. This fridge,...

Lou Reed, the US songwriter, poet and vocalist with the Velvet Underground, had a liver transplant last month, according to his wife, the musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson. “It’s as serious as it gets. He was dying. You don’t get it for fun,” said Anderson, who added that her husband was now on the road to recovery following the life-saving surgery. Reed, 71, canceled a number of concerts in April and had surgery in Cleveland rather than in his native New York due to what Anderson described as the “dysfunctional” hospitals in his home town. …

NJNR: What are your thoughts on the Minnesota Independence party backing Mayor Bloomberg for president in 2012? JV: He's a bright man. He's done an outstanding job here in N.Y. to the best of my knowledge. I mean New Yorkers would know better than me. Whenever I come here it seems he's done a great job with the city. If he runs as a true independent he gets my full support because I don't vote for Democrats or Republicans. I refuse to vote for them and I encourage everyone else in this country to do the same. The problem with...

Old Man Bloomberg ignored the opinions of medical professionals and various other data today on his weekly radio address to deem any non-recreational use of the nation's favorite herb fake. "Yeah, right, medical, come on," he said. "There's no medical. This is one of the great hoaxes of all time." While the mayor famously said, "You bet I did. And I enjoyed it," when asked if he'd ever smoked weed, he insisted, "I don't have any personal experience in terms of today," before reverting to his recycled talking points like, "marijuana is much stronger today than it was 20 or...

While locals fled in anticipation of the annual celebration of violence and chaos during Black Beach Week over the Memorial Day holiday in Miami Beach, large-scale black mob violence erupted in Jacksonville, Rochester, West Bloomfield, and Baltimore. A lot of it on video. The Jacksonville Beach riot started much like the other examples black mob violence documented in “White Girl Bleed a Lot: The return of racial violence and how the media ignore it.” When initial reports came in that police closed a section of the shore at Jacksonville Beach, police assured the media that it wasn’t much: Just a...

There’s often magic and meaning in round numbers: The Dow index passes 15,000, a baseball player hits .300, crime falls to 50-year lows. Here’s a milestone that tells a different kind of story: The number of people on Medicaid in New York City has passed 3 million. As records go, this one carries a dubious distinction — and a red alert about the future. The rise in enrollment, from 2.5 million in 2005, to 2.9 million in 2011, to 3.1 million today, adds another headache for the next mayor. In a city of 8.3 million people, that over 37 percent...

Anthony Weiner recently announced his intention to run for mayor of New York City. As a resident living in Manhattan, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was right on the money when he said “shame on us” if New York City voters elect Weiner as their mayor. Governor Cuomo now says he was just kidding. But even the possibility of a Weiner victory is no joke. Weiner’s foolish sexting, which brought an abrupt and disgraceful end to his congressional term, displays a serious lack of judgment that alone should disqualify him. But that is only a side show to the main...

The NYC city council has just passed a resolution allowing religious groups to worship in public schools, taking a stand on a decades-old controversy. Since 1994, state legislators and activists with a radical interpretation of the First Amendment have been trying to evict New York City churches from public schools. The official New York City Board of Education policy forbids religious institutions from renting public schools, a restriction that applies to no other type of organization. Churches and their supporters have been fighting back, and the battle over the enforcement of this policy has taken a serpentine path though both...

In the first poll since his announcement, Weiner places second with the support of 19% of the city’s registered Democrats. New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn still leads but with only 24% of Democrats’ support, the lowest she has had in this race. Among registered Democrats in New York City, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, if the Democratic primary were held today, here is how the contest would stand: 24% Christine Quinn 19% Anthony Weiner 12% Bill de Blasio 11% Bill Thompson 8% John Liu 1% Sal Albanese <1% Erick Salgado 1% Other 23%...

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner has slashed away at front-runner Christine Quinn’s lead in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, according to a poll released Tuesday, cutting her advantage in half in a little over a month. Weiner, who formally entered the race last week, now draws 19 percent of the vote in the crowded primary field, according to the Marist University poll. Quinn, the city council speaker who is trying to become the city’s first openly gay mayor, draws 24 percent of the vote. Quinn’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error. In April, she held an 11-point lead...

Michael Bloomberg obviously knows a lot about making money, even about the politics of Manhattan, where his money speaks in the loud and unctuous voice liberals love. But he doesn’t know diddly about life where the rest of us live it. He threw a tantrum after Barack Obama’s gun-control bill crashed and burned in Congress, stamping his polished wingtips on his Persian carpets, nursing a pout and behaving like a 3-year-old with a broken toy. This was excusable in a 3-year-old, but it’s not the behavior you expect of the nanny. When the wah-wah and the bitter tears subsided, the...

New York Daily News reporters went to church on Sunday with disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is seeking the redemption brand as he runs for mayor of New York City. Pastor Phil Craig, it appears, welcomed the candidate with open arms to the Greater Springfield Memorial Church in Queens: Weiner picked the modest church with about 30 people in the pews for his Sunday morning debut over the megachurches that are often popular campaign stops. Pastor Phil Craig welcomed Weiner with notes of redemption. “I made mistake after mistake,” he said in introducing the candidate. “Moses wasn’t qualified …...

Huma Abedin is back in the spotlight again, as her husband Anthony Weiner has announced that he is running for mayor of New York City. The Daily Mail of the United Kingdom claims that "Huma Abedin [is] deemed her husband's greatest political asset." Michael M. Grynbaum, et al. of the New York Times claim that "it is Ms. Abedin, a seasoned operative well versed in the politics of redemption, [who] has been a main architect of her husband's rehabilitative journey[.]" The word "operative" is a word that needs careful examination. If Weiner were to win the mayoral election in New...