Free Republic

A Long Island Rail Road worker who raked in more than $280,000 in pay last year — more than half from overtime — was busted hanging out at home while on the clock, according to a report obtained by The Post. But he was allowed to retire before he could be punished — and collect his full pension on the public dime. Raymond Murphy, a foreman with the LIRR’s Buildings and Bridges department who’d been at the agency since 1996, was caught by the MTA’s Inspector General at or near his home on 10 occasions when he was on duty...

LONG ISLAND, New York (WABC) -- Friday marks the 25-year anniversary of a deadly shooting on a Long Island Rail Road train. A man from Brooklyn named Colin Ferguson opened fire inside the commuter train to Hicksville on December 7, 1993. Six passengers were killed and 19 others were hurt. Ferguson is serving a 315-year prison sentence. Survivors of the deadly shooting are still comforting each other a quarter of a century later to talk about the day the gunfire rang out and how their lives have changed.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says inward-facing cameras should be installed on all New York City metropolitan area railroad systems to avoid accidents such as the recent New Jersey Transit crash. The New York Democrat says cameras will help deter bad behavior, improve safety and help investigators determine crash causes. …

BULLETIN -- NEW YORK POLICE AND FBI RAID HOMES IN QUEENS IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

SNIPPET: "TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf has been linked to a fresh Al Qaida plot to launch attacks on the US. The Birmingham-born extremist has been named by witnesses due to testify against Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for plotting suicide bombings in New York. MI6 officers have linked the plot to a complex terror network said to be directed from Pakistan by Rauf and fellow jihadists. Zazi, 24, was identified through an intercepted communication, and was further implicated by US national Bryant Neal Vinas, who was captured in Pakistan last November. Vinas, 26, allegedly admits meeting Rauf and receiving training...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. man has been charged with giving al Qaeda details about the New York City transit system and the Long Island Railroad, as well as firing rockets on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to court papers unsealed on Wednesday. Bryant Neal Vinas, 26, is also accused of receiving military-type training between March and August last year from the Islamist extremist group headed by Osama bin Laden. Vinas provided al Qaeda with "expert advice and assistance, including assistance derived from specialized knowledge of the New York transit system and Long Island Railroad, communications equipment and personnel,...

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) -- Like many commuters, Ron Marino is incredulous about revelations that nearly every employee who asked for disability benefits after retiring from the nation's largest commuter railroad was granted them. But Marino isn't the only one who is venting these days about the Long Island Rail Road. Four separate investigations are under way after it was reported last month that more than 90 percent of Long Island Rail Road employees were granted disability payments by an obscure federal board, allowing them to collect huge payments every year. The New York Post has dubbed this the ''Gravy Train...