The Newark Star Ledger
Bruce Springsteen performs at the Meadowlands Izod Center live blog
by Jay Lustig/The Star-Ledger
Thursday May 21, 2009, 6:12 PM
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2009/05/bruce_springsteen_performs_at.html
National political group airing ads targeting N.J. GOP gov. candidate Chris Christie
by Claire Heininger and Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau
Thursday May 21, 2009, 7:14 PM
TRENTON -- The ad wars in the New Jersey governor's race escalated today, as national Democrats launched a television campaign targeting Republican frontrunner Chris Christie just a few weeks before the June 2 GOP primary.
Using a familiar Democratic line of attack against the former U.S. attorney, the anti-Christie ad blasts him for practicing "pay-to-play justice" by awarding lucrative monitoring contracts to his "political allies." It singles out David Kelley, former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who investigated a stock fraud case involving Christie's brother but did not indict him.
Complete coverage of the New Jersey Governor's Race
Kelley later became one of five attorneys selected by Christie to perform 18 months of oversight of major orthopedic implant companies accused of violating federal anti-kickback laws.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/national_political_group_airin.html
Two men shot by off-duty Newark cop in Linden charged with attempted robbery
by Julie O'Connor/The Star-Ledger
Thursday May 21, 2009, 7:36 PM
LINDEN -- The shooting of two men by an off-duty Newark police officer Monday at a Linden motel was the result of a robbery gone awry, authorities confirmed today.
The shootings happened when Newark officer, Daniel DeAmorin, attempted to enter his room at the Swan Motel on East Edgar Road around 10:40 p.m. when two men approached and attempted to rob him, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow. DeAmorin, who was carrying his service weapon, fired several shots at the men, striking them both.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/two_men_shot_by_offduty_newark.html
Gov. Corzine proposes tax amnesty program to balance budget
by Claire Heininger/Statehouse Bureau
Thursday May 21, 2009, 8:21 PM
TRENTON -- Attention tax cheats: New Jersey is willing to forgive and forget.
Again.
With the recession chewing a gaping hole in tax revenues, New Jersey is one of several states turning to a tax amnesty program to raise extra cash.
The proposal, one of several budget-balancing steps announced by Gov. Jon Corzine last week, would allow deadbeat taxpayers to settle up with the state without paying the usual penalties. Interest charges of 5 percent would still apply for individuals and businesses, officials said.
It's the third time New Jersey is going to the tax amnesty well since 1996.
Corzine is hoping the tried-and-true method -- New Jersey's last two tax amnesties raised a cool half-billion combined -- produces $100 million this spring. He is trying to plug a budget deficit of $3.6 billion for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/gov_corzine_proposes_tax_amnes.html
Essex County to review cases by embattled defense lawyer Paul Bergrin
by Joe Ryan/The Star-Ledger
Thursday May 21, 2009, 8:10 PM
ESSEX -- County Prosecutor Paula Dow said today her office plans to review dozens of cases handled by Paul Bergrin, the prominent defense lawyer who was charged this week with intimidating and plotting to kill witnesses, to determine whether any should be reopened.
Bergrin, who has represented some of Newark's most notorious street gang members, was charged in federal court Wednesday with derailing prosecutions by silencing those scheduled to testify against his clients. According to a 14-count indictment, he tried to arrange the murder one witness, hired a hit man to kill a second and encouraged others to lie to authorities or flee.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/essex_county_to_review_cases_b.html
New Jersey state budget: Billions gone bye-bye
Posted by The Star-Ledger Editorial Board May 21, 2009 5:54AM
Maybe we should hire that guy who announces the Megamillions jackpots for the New York Lottery to keep us updated on our state finances.
"The New Jersey budget gap now totals: Three! Billion! Dollars!
"That's three billion dollars!"
Specifically, tax revenue is running nearly $3 billion behind the estimates Gov. Jon Corzine used in March to devise his budget for the year that begins July 1. Presenting the numbers to the Assembly Budget Committee on Tuesday, David Rosen of the Office of Legislative Services used phrases like "worst ever" and "extraordinarily and unbelievably bad."
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/
N.J. Assembly Republicans to oppose Gov. Corzine's budget
by The Associated Press
Thursday May 21, 2009, 3:33 PM
Joe Epstein/The Star-LedgerAssembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (26th Dist.) speaks to the Assembly in this 2007 photo.
TRENTON -- New Jersey Assembly Republicans say they will unanimously oppose the state budget unless Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine adjusts the spending plan.
The Republicans, led by Assemblyman Alex DeCroce (R-Morris), want to see restoration of property tax rebates to homeowners and structural changes in the way government operates.
With 32 of 80 Assembly seats held by Republicans, their opposition is largely symbolic.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/nj_assembly_republicans_to_opp.html
Newark Mayor Cory Booker rapidly gains following on Twitter
by Ralph R. Ortega/The Star-Ledger
Thursday May 21, 2009, 7:35 PM
Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerCory Booker, taking advice from celebrity Ashton Kutcher, has exploded on Twitter, attracting about 65,000 followers, making him the most popular New Jersey politician on the social networking site.
NEWARK -- Mayor Cory Booker, a man who tends to go on a bit during speeches, is in the midst of a Twitter explosion.
In recent weeks Booker has dramatically increased the number of messages, or Tweets, he posts through the social networking website -- in some cases sharing his thoughts more than two dozen times a day. That has translated into a legion of new followers who subscribe to the mayor's feed, reading his Tweets on Twitter.com or on cell phones.
Booker has opined on social issues, posted inspirational quotations, touted his beloved city, shouted out to his mom and invited folks to watch the new "Star Trek" movie with him. All of it in 140 characters or fewer.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/newark_mayor_booker_increases.html
Hearing on GOP candidate Chris Christie's involvement in fraud settlement is delayed
by Claire Heininger/The Star-Ledger
Friday May 15, 2009, 6:23 PM
Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie will not be asked to testify at a Congressional hearing before the June 2 Republican primary, officials said today.
Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat and chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, said he postponed the hearing -- initially scheduled for next Tuesday -- after Republicans on the committee worried "it might appear to have an effect on or it might be intended to influence the election in New Jersey."
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/hearing_on_gop_candidate_chris.html
N.J. Department of Corrections chief responds to critical report on gangs in prisons
by Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
Thursday May 21, 2009, 7:23 PM
The Department of Corrections says it is "dealing proactively" with gangs in prisons, part of its response to criticism from the State Commission of Investigation, which released a report Tuesday saying it's too easy for incarcerated gang members to continue criminal activity behind bars.
Corrections Commissioner George Hayman said he welcomed the SCI's involvement in dealing with gangs.
"The challenge of dealing with gangs ... is formidable, and having the responsibility for more than 22,000 inmates, some of whom are gang-affiliated, is a heavy one," Hayman said in a statement. He also said Corrections isn't getting enough credit.
"We continue to house an offender population -- bent toward violence and power struggles -- with a minimum of disturbances," Hayman said.
The SCI had said New Jersey prisons are lucky not to have suffered a "catastrophic incident" due to the influx of gang members. It also said gangs are able to exploit corrupt guards to smuggle in drugs and cell phones, another allegation with which Hayman took issue.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/nj_department_of_corrections_c.html
The New Zealand Herald
Storm-lashed regions get no rain respite
4:00AM Friday May 22, 2009
By Greg Ansley
Gold Coast homeowner Andrew Breadmore was lucky to be out when a 30m gum tree split his home in Nerang. Photo / Gold Coast Bulletin
Violent storms that cut a devastating swathe through southeast Queensland and into New South Wales are expected to dump more rain into swollen rivers and hammer homes, roads and power supplies today.
Powerful winds and high seas are also expected to pound the eastern seaboard down to South Australia, and new fronts began striking Western Australia yesterday with thunderstorms, high winds and flash floods.
But while many Queensland dams reached their highest levels in years and rain soaked into drought-stricken plains, little benefit is expected to flow south into the dehydrated Murray-Darling basin.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573778
US lawmaker offers cash to see Bush waterboarded
9:05AM Friday May 22, 2009
WESTERLY, Rhode Island - A Rhode Island Democratic lawmaker says he'll donate $100 (NZD$164) to charity for every second former President George W. Bush withstands waterboarding.
State Rep. Rod Driver also included former Vice President Dick Cheney and ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in his offer. He sent letters to all three.
Bush's administration allowed the interrogation technique, which simulates drowning, to be used on terror suspects. Driver says that, if Bush is so confident it isn't torture, he should try it for himself. His offer was first reported Thursday in The Westerly Sun.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573859
UN puts security zone idea
6:15AM Friday May 22, 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon recommended yesterday that security zones be established for 12km on both sides of the ceasefire line between Georgia and the breakaway region of Abkhazia where military forces and equipment would be banned.
Beyond the security zones, Ban called for "restricted zones" to be established for an additional 12km on each side where heavy military equipment including tanks, missile systems, artillery and mortars of more than 80mm would also be banned.
The only exception would be up to 10 armoured personnel carriers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573805
Twitter's latest microblogging megastar is a pussy
9:06AM Friday May 22, 2009
Sockington has amassed a half-million strong following on microblogging site Twitter. Photo / twitter.com
Your Views Is Twitter overrated or just misunderstood?
NEW YORK - He's one of the most popular users on Twitter. More than 500,000 follow his growing celebrity, his every adventure and, well, his cat naps.
Meet Sockington. Twitter's latest star is a microblogging cat who regales more than half a million with his musings on meal time, personal hygiene and the view from the top of the stairs.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10573860
UK adventurer adds Everest to achievements
8:49AM Friday May 22, 2009
By Cahal Milmo
Photo / Jim Eagles
Exhausted and fearful for his health, Sir Ranulph Fiennes turned his back on the summit of the world's highest mountain for a second time a year ago and declared: "I won't try Everest again. The first time I got a heart attack. This time, bad timing and weather scuppered my chances. I think any third attempt would be bad luck."
Never one to be restricted by such trifles as fate or his own wellbeing, the 65-year-old explorer and survivor of heart bypass surgery yesterday set aside his vow by trudging for seven hours in oxygen-depleted darkness to finally stand on top of the world.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573853
$6m runaways have head start
Updated 8:47AM Friday May 22, 2009
By Rachel Tiffen
The business shut the day after it received millions. Photo / Alan Gibson
Leo Gao and his business partner, Huan Di Zhang, were struggling.
Staffing at their modest BP Barnetts station on Old Taupo Rd, Rotorua, was at a minimum. Gao's girlfriend, Cara Young, was working for free and had a 7-year-old daughter to think about. The shop's shelves were partly unstocked and it was often closed during business hours.
And the receivers were knocking at the door.
Then - with an apparent slip of a bank employee's finger - their fortunes changed dramatically.
Gao - believed to be originally from China and in his 30s - applied to Westpac bank for a $10,000 overdraft.
Instead, it put $10 million into his account. Now, he is the subject of an international manhunt.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10573818
Angler fined for $10 fish sale
5:00AM Friday May 22, 2009
A New Plymouth man is angry after being prosecuted for selling a mate $10 of gurnard to cover his petrol costs.
Roger Maine's home was raided by Ministry of Fisheries staff who confiscated his dinghy, outboard motor, ute and fishing gear, the Taranaki Daily News reported.
In New Plymouth District Court this week he admitted selling "recreational catch" and was fined $300.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10573825
Students sign up for random drug tests
4:00AM Friday May 22, 2009
Andrew Laxon
One high school had used sniffer dogs, like Murphy, but tried Rubicon because of the counselling links. Photo / Otago Daily Times
Your Views Are we losing the war against the drug P?
Today is the final of a six-part series on the damage methamphetamine is doing to New Zealand and what we can do to fix it.
Students at some Northland schools are signing up for voluntary random drug testing to prove they can stay clean for a year.
Under the Rubicon drug education programme, students who get into trouble for using drugs can sign a contract to attend counselling sessions and stay drug and alcohol-free for 12 months.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10573807
American had a 'vision' that Suu Kyi's life was under threat
8:44AM Friday May 22, 2009
By Peter Popham
John Yettaw. Photo / AP
The american man who swam across Inya Lake to Aung San Suu Kyi's villa earlier this month did so because he had "had a vision" that her life was in danger.
Speaking inside the court in Rangoon's Insein prison yesterday, where the democracy leader Ms Suu Kyi is on trial, John Yettaw told his lawyer to ask a Burmese policeman who was giving evidence at the trial if he remembered the mention of "a vision".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573851
Indonesia: Military defends planes
7:15AM Friday May 22, 2009
Indonesia's military insisted yesterday that a C-130 Hercules plane that crashed and killed nearly 100 people was in good condition, passing a flight test the day before it nose-dived into a village and erupted in flames.
The accident on Wednesday, during clear weather, has put a spotlight on the country's Air Force.
Survivors said they heard at least two loud explosions and felt the transport plane wobbling from left to right as it plummeted to the ground.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573808
Egyptian tycoon sentenced to hang for singer's murder
8:36AM Friday May 22, 2009
Daniel Howden
Hisham Talaat Moustafa (left) and popular Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim. Photos / AP
A murder mystery that began last year with the discovery of a Lebanese pop star stabbed to death in her Dubai apartment ended in a courtroom in Cairo yesterday with a death sentence for one of Egypt's richest and most influential men.
There was pandemonium in the court when Hisham Talaat Moustafa was sentenced to hang for paying an employee $2m (NZD$3.2m) to murder his estranged lover, Suzanne Tamim. The killer, Muhsin Sukkari, who had worked for Moustafa at one of his hotels, was also sentenced to death.
The uproar that followed the verdict was in keeping with a murder that has gripped the Middle East, sometimes resembling a gaudy Egyptian soap opera. Moustafa's relatives jostled with photographers trying to snap the tycoon seated inside a metal cage in a white jumpsuit.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573850
Gordon Brown retreats on Gurkhas
5:15AM Friday May 22, 2009
Gurkha veterans will win the right to settle in Britain after an embarrassing climb-down by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The change of heart was forced on the Government by a vigorous campaign led by actress Joanna Lumley and a humiliating Commons defeat on the issue.
Lumley was to discuss the new rules with the Prime Minister at Downing St today.
Ministers had previously refused to allow thousands of Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 to settle in Britain, claiming it would cost £1.4 billion ($3.6 billion) to give residency rights to all 36,000 Nepalese ex-soldiers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573804
Tamil civilians face two years in refugee camps
4:00AM Friday May 22, 2009
By Andrew Buncombe
Thousands of Tamil civilians forced from their homes by the conflict in Sri Lanka could be interned in refugee camps for up to two years before they are permitted to return home, authorities in Colombo said.
And in a further revelation that will spark concern among the international community, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had been forced to suspend its aid supply to the refugees after it was refused access to the camps.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573755
Civilian trial for Guantanamo detainee
4:00AM Friday May 22, 2009
WASHINGTON - A top al Qaeda suspect held at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to New York for trial, an Obama Administration official has said.
Ahmed Ghailani will be the first Guantanamo detainee brought to the United States and the first to face trial in a civilian criminal court - a major step in President Barack Obama's plan to close the detention centre by early next year. It was not immediately clear when the transfer will occur.
Ghailani was indicted in New York for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa - attacks that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573814
Eleven charged in US mafia takedown
10:58AM Friday May 22, 2009
Curt Anderson
MIAMI - An FBI agent posing as a crooked businessman with ties to shady bankers was key to the indictment announced yesterday of 11 people on charges they ran a South Florida racket for New York's Bonanno organised crime family.
The unidentified agent was able to gain the trust of the crew and its leader, Thomas Fiore, by seeming to provide them with access to foreign bank accounts to launder criminal cash as well as help with drug trafficking and sale of stolen goods, according to the indictment.
All the while, the undercover agent wore a hidden recording device that captured their conversations. The FBI also recorded numerous telephone conversations between Fiore, other members of the crew and senior Bonanno bosses.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573895
Tight security as Suu Kyi goes on trial
1:59PM Monday May 18, 2009
A Myanmar anti-government activist dressed as a Myanmar soldier protests outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, and (inset) Aung San Suu Kyi. Photos / AP
YANGON, Myanmar - Riot police behind barbed wire barricades ringed a notorious prison where pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was to go on trial today for allegedly harbouring an American man who swam to her lakeside home.
The tight security came as activist groups, which spearheaded a bloody uprising against Myanmar's military rulers in 2007, called for protest rallies in front of the Insein prison until Suu Kyi is freed.
On the eve of the trial, her defence lawyer said Suu Kyi was innocent of the charges, which could put her into prison for up to five years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10573049
US demands Myanmar release San Suu Kyi
9:47AM Friday May 15, 2009
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo / AP
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday urged Myanmar to immediately release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, even as Malaysia's foreign minister warned of isolating the military-run country.
Clinton, in tough language, told reporters at the US State Department that she was deeply troubled by Myanmar's decision to charge Suu Kyi for a "baseless crime" against the Nobel Peace laureate, who faces new charges less than two weeks before her house arrest was due to end after an American man swam across a lake and entered her home.
"We oppose the regime's efforts to use this incident as a pretext to place further unjustified restrictions on her," Clinton said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10572469
Proposed 'poo tax' for island dumping
4:00AM Monday May 18, 2009
By Eloise Gibson
Maori groups oppose the dumping of sewage on Puketutu Island. Photo / Dean Purcell
Auckland's wastewater company is fighting a suggestion it should have to pay a "poo tax" to local iwi for sewage dumped on Puketutu Island.
The Auckland Regional Council and the Manukau City Council are this week considering plans by Watercare Services to drop 4.4 million cubic metres of Auckland's treated sewage on the island over the next 35 years.
The Manukau Harbour island is marked as a wahi tapu (area sacred to Maori) in the Manukau district plan, and many Maori groups oppose putting sewage there.
In a report to the Manukau City Council, planning consultant Barry Kaye said Watercare should be allowed to go ahead, but should pay $2 to a trust set up by local iwi for every cubic metre dumped.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10572954
US bans insecticide from food use
4:00AM Wednesday May 13, 2009
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned the use of the insecticide carbofuran on food crops.
The insecticide, sold under the brand name Furadan, has been under EPA review for years. Its granular form was banned in the mid-1990s because it was blamed for killing millions of migratory birds.
International efforts to remove it from sale began in 2006. It was transferred into New Zealand's hazardous substances regulations in that year, but a spokeswoman for the Environmental Risk Management Authority said yesterday there was no record of it being included in any crop pesticides still on sale.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10571966
Anthony Doesburg: Real-life journey to the centre of the earth
3:55AM Monday May 18, 2009
By Anthony Doesburg
New Zealand drilling technologists collecting Antarctic rock samples are having to overcome unique challenges in the name of climate change research.
As if the polar chill isn't enough to contend with, drill crews and scientists also have to drill 1000m or more into the Earth's crust from a moving ice platform.
It's a unique problem. And at this stage, with drilling due to take place during the 2012-13 summer, they haven't yet worked out how to solve it.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10572450
Scientists' race against time to stop frog-killing fungus
4:00AM Thursday May 14, 2009
Workers on the Caribbean island of Montserrat swab a mountain chicken frog for chytrid fungus. Photo / AP
WASHINGTON - Zoos in the United States, Panama and Mexico are deploying researchers in Central America to develop new ways to fight a fungus blamed for wiping out dozens of frog and amphibian species.
The Smithsonian Institution is leading six other zoos and institutes in the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, which aims to raise US$1.5 million ($2.4 million) to fight the fast-spreading chytrid fungus.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10572126
Talks tackle climate change finds
4:00AM Friday May 15, 2009
New Zealand weather patterns mean the Fox Glacier is still growing despite global warming.
Researchers at a three-day science conference starting in Wellington today are looking at implications of new work on climate change.
More than 150 scientists from around the world will look at past climates in New Zealand, Australia and Antarctica, the causes and effects of climate change specifically in the Southern Hemisphere, and their relationships with global climates.
At the weekend, the scientists will hold workshops on climate in Australasia and the Southern Hemisphere looking at analysis of ice-core, marine and terrestrial records as well as computer modelling of past climates.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10572369
Do you think New Zealanders are being overcharged for electricity?
9:56AM Thursday May 21, 2009
Updated: 11:49AM Friday May 22, 2009
Power generators overcharged customers more than $4 billion over six years by using market dominance, according to a Commerce Commission report due out tomorrow.
The study will find that the country's main electricity generators, state-owned Meridian Energy, Genesis and Mighty River Power and privately owned Contact Energy, effectively used their market power to maximise profits, including withholding power at peak times, The Dominion Post has reported.
However, it was not expected to find their actions were illegal, so no prosecutions were likely.
Do you think New Zealanders are being overcharged for electricity? Here is the latest selection of Your Views:
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2009/5/21/do-you-think-new-zealanders-are-being-overcharged-electricity/?c_id=466&objectid=10573649
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