Free Republic

Agents for Sen. Hillary Clinton, trying desperately to keep alive her presidential campaign, are privately telling Democrats that she is so "tight" with a dollar that she would not continue her contest against Sen. Barack Obama if she did not have a chance to win. That was a reference to Clinton pulling $11 million out of her family's newfound personal fortune to maintain her candidacy. Saying that she would not waste money on a futile effort, her supporters imply she will still find a path to the presidential nomination. With not enough primary elections left for Clinton to close the...

With gasoline prices hitting new records daily, oil companies are not the only ones raking it in. New York City is profiting, too. The city’s 4 percent sales tax on motor fuel sold brought in $26.4 million in December, January and February, or 8.6 percent... --snip-- The idea of switching from a percentage-rate tax to a flat fee on each gallon is not new: Two years ago, a law change invited counties in New York to do just that and cap their sales taxes on motor fuel at 8 cents a gallon. Fourteen counties — but not New York City...

There is no doubt that Anthony D. Weiner wants to be mayor of New York. And there is no doubt, to that end, that he has seen an opening to wound a rival: criticizing Christine C. Quinn and the City Council he once was a member of for doling out money to favored groups in their districts. “We should get rid of earmarks altogether, get rid of these member items altogether,” Mr. Weiner said last week, saying such a move would “restore public confidence” in government. Of course, as a congressman, Mr. Weiner has his own earmarked funds to spread...

ALBANY — A bill offering thousands of additional city workers early retirement has been gaining support in the Legislature in recent weeks. New York City officials have protested, saying it would cost the city $200 million annually. Not so, lawmakers countered. It won’t cost a cent, they said, pointing to the review of a highly credentialed actuary to prove it. But what the legislators did not disclose, as they cited the expert analysis of the actuary, Jonathan Schwartz, was that Mr. Schwartz had not been paid by the state to conduct his analysis. His work was bankrolled by unions, including...

The leader of the Democratic National Committee came to Rochester Thursday night, but the "elephant in the room" went ignored.Howard Dean helped raise money for Congressional candidate Eric Massa and spoke at the Monroe County Democratic Committee’s Convention. However, many Democrats wanting to hear Dean talk about party unity didn't get as much as they were hoping for.Dean spent a great deal of his time at the podium focusing on President Bush and John McCain."Republicans want change too, and they're not going to get it with John McCain, who means four more years of George W. Bush," he said.Dean also...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in New York is part of a task force sent to Afghanistan to train and mentor the Afghan national security forces, a military official said yesterday. “Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix 12 consists of active, Guard, reserve, all services, components, coalition partners -- for a total of 8,500-plus soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen,” Army Col. Brian Balfe, commander of the U.S. Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, told online journalists and “bloggers.” While Task Force Phoenix is only on a nine-month tour as opposed...

The media have been telling us to watch the gun-control case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, where we await a decision about Americans' Second Amendment rights. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just handed down an equally important gun decision that has additional implications against judicial supremacy. The court, which convenes in New York City, shot down the longtime liberal dream of achieving gun control by suing gun manufacturers for crimes committed by firearms. In a remarkable decision, this federal appellate court dismissed City of New York v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp. and protected gun corporations against frivolous...

The cooperation agreement reached between prosecutors and an employee of the call-girl ring known as Emperors Club VIP will come in handy should the Manhattan U.S. attorney, Michael Garcia, decide to charge Governor Spitzer with a crime. The woman, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, who entered a guilty plea to money laundering and prostitution-related charges yesterday, would be a key witness against Mr. Spitzer if the former governor is charged in connection with patronizing an Emperors Club prostitute... Lewis, who booked clients for the call-girl service, had several phone conversations with Mr. Spitzer to hammer out the logistics of payment and...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for his part in a fake-check scheme. Montgomery hung his head as New York Judge Kenneth Karas imposed the sentence Friday. The 33-year-old former track star pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy in a multimillion-dollar bank fraud and money laundering plot. Prosecutors said he had a hand in depositing bogus checks worth $1.7 million. Montgomery retired in 2005 after he was banned from track and field for doping. Montgomery has a child with Marion Jones, the track superstar who is now in prison...

AIG shareholders gathered for the big insurer's annual meeting in New York on Wednesday, and the mood wasn't cheery. After a three-year experiment in Eliot Spitzer-imposed management that has cost them billions, more than a few shareholders were pining for the days of former CEO Hank Greenberg. "He did a heck of a job," said one shareholder heading out of the meeting... ...while AIG is suing him for the accounting restatements it took after his departure, he is taking the highly unusual step of suing back. He claims the accounting changes were never justified... A careful and lengthy look at...

The endorsement of Senator Barack Obama by former Senator John Edwards is a signal, though not an absolutely decisive one, of a shift in the commitment of the Democratic Party's unpledged centre. It is partly a result of sheer momentum - Edwards said as much when he said that the voters had evidently made their choice "and so have I" - but partly also a feeling of alarm at the way in which Mrs Clinton has polarised the campaign, and gone so far as to polarise it along ethnic and racial lines. Edwards himself ran a campaign very much along...

New York's expansive new online sales-tax requirements are drawing mixed responses from major e-tailers that haven't previously collected such fees in the Empire State. Despite a pending lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality, Amazon.com has said on its Web site that it still plans to abide by the law and add sales tax to orders shipped to New York when the mandate kicks in June 1. But online outlet store Overstock.com wants nothing to do with collecting the new tax, according to reports at the Affiliate Tip blog and The New York Times. A few weeks ago, New York's governor signed...

In my experience, many people believe that New Yorkers are smarter than other Americans, and this may actually be true. The majority of people who live in New York City were not born here. Indeed, more than a third were not born in the United States. New Yorkers, then, are people who left another place and came here, looking for something, which suggests that the population is preselected for higher energy and ambition. Also for a willingness to forgo basic comforts. I grew up in California, where even middle-income people have a patio on which they can eat breakfast and...

This was the last chance. This was the last swing at the pinata, the final turn at bat, the lone opportunity to put a possible serial killer behind bars. The way I see it, the criminal-justice system blew it twice with Dennis Donohue. The third time had to be the charm. It was. Thanks to the connect-the-dots legwork of Buffalo’s renowned Cold Case Squad. Thanks to arguments from prosecutors Frank Sedita III and Kristen St. Mary. Thanks to a jury who listened and learned. Thanks to all of them, Dennis Donohue — who may have killed three people — will...

New Law: Contractors Must Prove Workers Are Legal Suffolk County Passes Legislation Tuesday HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) ― A new law has been passed requiring all of Suffolk County's 17,000 licensed contractors to prove their workers are in the United States legally. Critics claim the legislation -- passed by the county Legislature Tuesday night -- is aimed at thousands of undocumented workers. The proposal builds on legislation enacted in 2006 that requires any company doing business with the Suffolk County government to verify its employees are in the United States legally. Now every contractor, regardless of whether they have government contracts,...

ROME, N.Y., May 13, 2008 – While North American Aerospace Defense Command celebrates its rich and historic 50-year history, one unit will remain diligently watching the skies just as it did on Sept. 11, 2001. Master Sgt. Thomas Whiteman, an Air National Guardsman with Northeast Air Defense Sector, salutes as Master Cpl. Bob Peldjak, a Canadian member of NEADS, stands at attention while the Canadian national anthem is played and the Canadian flag is raised on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2007. The binational, joint ceremony is held every year at the Veterans Memorial Park in Rome, N.Y., honoring the...

American Superconductor said it's the longest high temperature superconductor cable that's ever been installed. A piece of Long Island, N.Y.'s power grid has received an upgrade, with Devens, Mass.-based American Superconductor (Nasdaq: AMSC) announcing today that a section of high temperature superconductor cable was installed at a major interconnection point in the system. The 2,000-foot long cable, made with wire produced by American Superconductor, is the longest installation of high temperature superconductor, or HTS, cable in the world, according to the company, and the only HTS installation running at transmission voltage. The Long Island Power Authority has already flipped the...

Why the same things that attract millions of happy visitors to New York—the glamour, the skyline, the anonymity—also draw people from around the world to kill themselves here. Stephen was no stranger to New York. He’d been to the city as a boy, and regularly came here for work now that he was in his twenties. A consultant, he’d take the train from his hometown several hours south of the city, stay from Monday to Friday, then return on the weekends. He loved New York, his mother, Judith, says. The energy, the people, figuring out the streets and subways. He...

NEW YORK—A popular restaurant has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit with a lesbian who said a bouncer chased her out of the women's bathroom and forced her to leave because she looked masculine. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund announced the settlement Tuesday on behalf of Khadijah Farmer. The Caliente Cab Company, while denying the allegations, also agreed to add gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy, amend its employee handbook with a section on customer restroom use and adopt a gender-neutral employee dress code. Farmer said the confrontation at the Greenwich Village eatery occurred June 24...

How to Commit Marriage by: Malcolm A. Kline, May 13, 2008 A couple of professors from the University of Chicago think they have found a way out of what they see as a national impasse over state marriage laws. “To respect the liberty of religious groups while protecting individual freedom in general, we propose that marriage, as such, should be completely privatized,” Richard A. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein write in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. “Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered...

NEW YORK -- Remy Ma's wedding plans are up in the air. But a judge has made definite plans for the Grammy-nominated rapper: eight years in prison for shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub. The state Supreme Court sentence was handed Tuesday to the 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Remy Smith, for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion. The defendant, who could have faced up to 25 years in prison, was teary-eyed as she heard the sentence. She says the shooting last summer was an accident; an appeal is planned. After the sentencing, a man identified by court...

MARGARETVILLE _ Seven second-graders at Margaretville Central School were arrested last week for allegedly plotting an attack on one of their classmates. The boys aged 7 to 9 were charged by state police as juveniles with fifth-degree conspiracy, a misdemeanor. A parent of the student allegedly targeted by the children learned about the plot Wednesday and informed school officials Thursday that the child felt threatened, Margaretville Superintendent John Riedl said Monday. State police in Margaretville were contacted at about 1 p.m. and seven arrests were made by 1:30 p.m., according to troopers. In a letter sent home to parents the...

As a state senator, Gov. Paterson spent $4,500 in campaign money on a woman who bills herself as a "life coach." Sandra Tate, who calls herself a "life coach" and is sometimes known as "Reclaimurlife Diva," got the money in 2006. Paterson aides said she did campaign work; her Web site version is a little more vague. Tate's site says she talks with people who are stressed and - for a fee - gets them to "find out what is holding you back." She describes her sessions like this: "You will get cozy and comfortable, perhaps with a cup of...

Errol Flynn Leads His Merry Men to the Music Hall in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, from a screen play by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller fashioned after the Robin Hood legends; musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold; directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley; a Warner Brothers production. At the Radio City Music Hall. Robin Hood - - - Errol Flynn Maid Marion - - - Olivia de Haviland Sir Guy Gisbourne - - - Basil Rathbone Prince John - - - Claude Rains Richard the Lion-Hearted - - - Ian...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ― In a flash, a police officer draws a handgun from its holster. Less than two seconds later, a red laser and bright light shine at whatever is in the gun barrel's path while a mini-camera records it all. That's how mini-cams on police handguns would work under a proposal gaining support in New York, which would be the first state in the nation to require the technology. State police were briefed on the technology and are reviewing it for a possible pilot program, said Michael Balboni, the state's deputy secretary for public safety. The device could...

Homeowners in the some of the toniest ZIP codes in the Hamptons are facing a frightening reality - they can't afford to foot the bill for their high-priced homes... In the first three months of this year, banks have launched preliminary foreclosure actions - known as lis pendens proceedings - against a record 120 borrowers ... "This problem didn't even exist before," said John Brady, a broker with Coldwell Banker in East Hampton. "They used to pop up once in a while, and you wouldn't even pay attention. Now you expect to see new ones every week." A total of...

Harlem was once the only place in the nation where Hillary Rodham Clinton could count on black support. Now it's hard to find any Clinton backers there, even in the shadow of her husband's 125th Street office.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ― In a flash, a police officer draws a handgun from its holster. Less than two seconds later, a red laser and bright light shine at whatever is in the gun barrel's path while a mini-camera records it all. That's how mini-cams on police handguns would work under a proposal gaining support in New York, which would be the first state in the nation to require the technology. State police were briefed on the technology and are reviewing it for a possible pilot program, said Michael Balboni, the state's deputy secretary for public safety. The device could...

After listening carefully to the two policemen, the judge had a problem: He did not believe them. The officers, who had stopped a man in the Bronx and found a .22-caliber pistol in his fanny pack, testified that they had several reasons to search him: He was loitering, sweating nervously and had a bulge under his jacket. But the judge, John E. Sprizzo of United States District Court in Manhattan, concluded that the police had simply reached into the pack without cause, found the gun, then “tailored” testimony to justify the illegal search. “You can’t have open season on searches,”...

NEW YORK - The Brooklyn Bridge is 125 years old this month and New York City is getting ready to celebrate. The city on Monday announced an array of activities including a special bridge lighting, concerts, lectures, film series and family events. The five-day festivities will kick off on May 22 with a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, and a Grucci fireworks presentation. The bridge connects Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River, and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the country. It will be lit up in an array...

Situated within a dense forest at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains on the outskirts of Hancock, New York, Islamberg is not an ideal place for a summer vacation unless, of course, you are an exponent of the Jihad or a fan of Osama bin Laden. The 70 acre complex is surrounded with "No trespassing" signs; the rocky terrain is infested with rattlesnakes; and the woods are home to black bears, coyotes, wolves, and a few bobcats.

By CARL CAMPANILE May 11, 2008 -- Defying disgusted constituents and angry Republican leaders, disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella has told pals he plans to seek re-election. And, shockingly, the Staten Island pol is feeling "pretty good," he confided to friends. "I got every indication that he's planning to run again," said Guy Molinari, Fossella's mentor, who's been in close contact with the embattled, 43-year-old politician. Fossella, a 10-year incumbent, is up for re-election in November. "He's not just inclined to run. He plans on running," said Molinari, a former congressman and Staten Island borough president who was succeeded by Fossella...

Albany, N.Y.- New York environmental officials have proposed a statewide ban on open burning, to reduce pollution and the risk of wildfires. Current rules exempt the state's 850 towns with fewer than 20,000 people. The Department of Environmental Conservation says burn barrels release 17 times more dioxin and 40 times more ash than permitted incinerators. The proposed ban would make some exceptions, including small campfires and cooking fires, ceremonial fires and certain types of agricultural waste burning. The DEC has scheduled seven public hearings across the state between June 23 and July 2.

Friends and close associates of both Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are now convinced that, assuming she loses the race for the presidential nomination, she is probably going to fight to be the vice presidential nominee on an Obama-for-president ticket. Clinton "is trying to figure out how to land the plane without looking like surrender," a prominent figure in the Obama camp said Friday. This means, in all likelihood, bringing her campaign to a close in the next few weeks and trying to leverage her way onto an Obama ticket from a position of maximum strength, said several knowledgeable...

Rep. Vito Fossella returned quietly from Washington to Staten Island yesterday to a bleak political and personal landscape and growing calls for his resignation. It was a stark contrast to the day before his arrest, when the lawmaker took his children to see the Super Bowl champion New York Giants feted by President Bush on the South Lawn of the White House, according to Long Island GOP Rep. Peter King, a close friend. Earlier that same day, Fossella and his father-in-law went to see the outgoing Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern deliver a speech to Congress, King said. "He was...

News Corp. has revoked its bid for Tribune Co.'s Newsday, a company spokesman said, leaving Cablevision Systems Corp. the likely victor of the auction for the Long Island daily. News Corp., which publishes the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, had bid $580 million for Newsday and already had an informal agreement to acquire the paper, but was unwilling to match the $650 million subsequently offered by Cablevision, a cable systems operator. New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman also bid $580 million for the newspaper but it wasn't immediately clear whether he would submit a higher offer....

ALBANY — Hundreds of lawyers across the state have been illegally granted state pension benefits by school districts, towns and other governmental entities, according to Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who has opened an investigation into the abuses. The problems stretch back decades and may have cost the state millions of dollars in pension payments, Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference on Thursday, where he announced settlements involving lawyers at firms in Buffalo and Albany. Many of the cases involve politically connected lawyers who work as independent contractors for regional school districts but are classified by the regional officials...

Two Democrats are seeking the nomination. Stephen A. Harrison held Fossella to the lowest winning percentage of his House career in 2006, despite being outspent 10 to 1. Also running is New York City Council member Domenic M. Recchia Jr. Recchia is on track to outraise Harrison; as of April 1, the date of the most recent campaign finance report, Recchia reported raising $350,000 while Harrison reported raising $151,000. Fossella reported raising $851,000. Several Republican names have been floated as possible replacement candidates should Fossella resign or retire, including Staten Island District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr., state Sen. Andrew...

The State of New York has been ordered to recognize homosexual "marriages" performed in U.S. states and foreign countries where the practice is legal. New York's highest court – the Court of Appeals – refused to review a lower-court ruling that ordered recognition of so-called foreign "same-sex marriages" performed outside the State of New York. Such unions must now be honored in New York if they were created legally -- for example, in Massachusetts or Canada. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality says activist judges are now forcing homosexual marriage on New York citizens. "[T]his is a very...

Ever since my congressman, Vito Fossella, was arrested on a DWI last Thursday, the local papers were spreading gossip about Fossella's love child with the woman who bailed him out of jail.

TVNewser Exclusive: A 24-year-old Fox News Channel production assistant was fired this morning for something she said during the red carpet arrivals at the Time 100 Gala last night. Insiders tell us the assistant, identified as Jennifer Locke, was on assignment with a camera crew to cover the entertainment angle of the event. When Sen. John McCain walked by, the assistant said, "I voted for you in the primary, you're going to win." McCain was overheard saying to her, "You're not supposed to reveal that." Locke apparently continued to explain that she is the daughter of Vietnam veteran. Insiders who...

Students Test Public Reactions To Hijab Scarves By ELIZABETH DORAN   Senior Katie Yates, 18, left, and junior Hannah Fuller, 16, students at Manlius Pebble Hill High School in DeWitt, N.Y., wear hijab scarves in a grocery store as a part of an exercise in an 'Introduction to Islam' class. (Photo by Michelle Gabel)     DEWITT, N.Y. — Manlius Pebble Hill teacher Haleh Seraji explained to her students studying Islam about her personal decision not to wear the hijab, telling them she thinks it identifies her instantly as a Muslim woman and could subject her to harassment.Born in Iran,...

SOUTHEAST, NEW YORK. New York State Assemblyman Greg Ball, an Air Force Captain and former business executive, says he "welcomes the challenge" after acquiring his first challenger for reelection yesterday. John Degnan, former Mayor of the Village of Brewster, New York, received the ceremonial endorsement of a group led former Assemblyman Willis Stephens Jr., whom Ball ousted in 2006. Degnan is remembered for his failed 2007 sanctuary city initiative to grant ID cards to illegal aliens, when he invited the Guatemalan consulate to come to the village to offer its mobile ID card service to distribute identification cards to illegal...

(Rochester, N.Y.) - Three convenience stores in Rochester were fronts for a money laundering operation to fund an Islamic terrorist organization according to the FBI Mohammed Muthana said federal agents are unfairly targeting the convenience store he's run for 13 years. "We are citizens almost 8 years but we don't feel it. After September 11, no, they treat me the wrong way." In carefully timed raids, FBI agents hit five locations seizing boxes of records and computer components. Experts from the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS examined financial documents. According to search warrants, they were looking for evidence of large,...

New York City police officers fire their weapons far less often than they did a decade ago, a statistic that has dropped along with the crime rate. But when they do fire, even at an armed suspect, there is often no one returning fire at the officers. Officers hit their targets roughly 34 percent of the time. When they fire at dogs, roughly 55 percent of shots hit home. Most of their targets are pit bulls, with a smattering of Rottweilers and German shepherds. Officers’ guns go off unintentionally or by accident for a variety of reasons: wrestling with suspects,...

Governor Paterson announced $109 million in funding for stem cell research yesterday as part of a $600 million initiative approved in last year’s budget. ... Yesterday’s announcement coincided with a convocation ceremony at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. “Human embryonic stem cells offer an unprecedented opportunity to study all aspects of human development,” the hospital’s president, Dr. Harold Varmus, said in a statement.

Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity. “Apparently Mayor Bloomberg has a problem with both the First and the Second amendments,” Lawrence Keane, the general counsel of a firearms industry association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said. The trial, set to begin May 27, involves...

The once-formidable fund-raising machine of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun to sputter at the worst possible moment for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, Clinton advisers and donors said Thursday, with spending curtailed on political events and advertising as Mrs. Clinton seeks to compete in the last six nominating contests. Mrs. Clinton’s diminished political momentum, following Tuesday’s loss in the North Carolina primary and her narrow victory in Indiana, appears to have had a dampening effect on her fund-raising, aides said, increasing the likelihood that Mrs. Clinton will lend her campaign more of her own money beyond the $11 million...

Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter announced on May 7 at a ceremony in Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y., the name of the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be USS Michael Murphy. Designated as DDG 112, the name honors Lt. Michael Murphy who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during Operation Red Wing, in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. "Michael Murphy's name which will be forever synonymous with astonishing courage under fire will now be associated with one of the U.S. Navy's most technologically advanced, most powerful and most capable warships," Winter said. Michael Murphy's...

By the time Hillary Clinton figured out how to beat Barack Obama, it was too late. When she began the race in 2007 thinking she was in for a coronation, she claimed the center in order to position herself for the real fight, the general election. She simply assumed the party activists and loony left would fall in behind her. However, as Obama began to rise, powered by the party's Net-roots activists, she scurried left, particularly with her progressively more explicit renunciation of the Iraq war. It was a fool's errand. She would never be able to erase the stain...