New York, New Jersey, Connecticut News: April 2012

Monday 30 April 2012

Former Miss New Hampshire Arrested

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The Appellate Courts in New York: Where to Bring A Criminal Appeal

Jury to weigh fate of accused subway bomb plotter

A jury will begin deliberations in the trial of Adis Medunjanin, charged with plotting to bomb New York City subways.

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- A jury in Brooklyn is expected to begin deliberations Monday in the case of a man accused of a 2009 subway bombing plot.

Closing arguments came Thursday in the trial of Adis Medunjanin.

A prosecutor told jurors that a U.S. citizen went to Pakistan in 2008 with two others determined to kill American troops in Afghanistan, but a defense lawyer said the men were "immature, na?ve and clueless" and easily manipulated by both al-Qaida and U.S. investigators.

Both versions of Adis Medunjanin's trip abroad were offered before a federal jury in Brooklyn begins deliberating the fate of the Bosnian-born Muslim who became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Medunjanin is charged with nine crimes, including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaida by prosecutors who say he returned to New York weeks after he left to begin planning a martyrdom operation to set off explosives in the city's subway.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Berit Berger said Medunjanin and the other two men quickly ditched their original plan to fight for the Taliban against Americans in Afghanistan when they connected with al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan who wanted them to return to America on a terrorism mission.

"This is Terrorism 101," she said. "The goal of this conspiracy was to kill as many people as possible."

Medunjanin has pleaded not guilty to charges he became an al-Qaida operative who discussed bombing movie theaters, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and the New York Stock Exchange before settling on the city's subways.

The defense has argued that federal agents unfairly coerced Medunjanin into making incriminating statements after they intimidated his family.

The prosecution's case "brought to the surface the worst fears about our future ... A plot to bomb subways," but is not as clear-cut as the government claims, defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb told jurors.

Medunjanin traveled to Pakistan in 2008 with Najubullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay. Zazi and Ahmedzay both pleaded guilty and cooperated against him.

Gottlieb called his client and the two other men "immature, na?ve and clueless" when they set out for Afghanistan to fulfill some "romantic version of jihad. ... His plan and intent was to join the Taliban and stand up for what he believes in. That was his purpose."

Zazi, who testified as a government witness, learned about explosives at an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan. Berger showed the jury pictures of a rocket propelled grenade and a bazooka, saying the defendant won a special lottery to shoot a bazooka.

She said al-Qaida leaders told them that "if you can't make a bomb, make something smaller" because in other missions, "people have failed because they tried to do something big and ended up not doing anything."

Medunjanin returned to New York, where he studied and worked as a doorman in a Manhattan building, in September 2008 while the other two came back the following January.

Zarein returned to his family in Queens while Zazi went to Colorado.

Zarein testified that the three agreed the New York subways would be a good target.

Berger said Zazi assembled a bomb out of household products in a Colorado hotel room before driving across America, arriving in New York on Sept. 10, 2009. She said the men realized they were being followed by law enforcement so Zazi dumped his bomb ingredients into a mosque toilet and flew back to Colorado.

Berger said Medunjanin loved Osama bin Laden more than himself - a claim the defense contested.

The prosecutor said the defendant was so frustrated that he could not carry out his suicide mission with the others that he finally got in his car on Jan. 7, 2010, and decided to crash it and kill other motorists. She said Medunjanin was speeding down the Whitestone Expressway at more than 90 mph when he wrecked.

"He was hoping to die and in the process to kill as many people as he could," she said, adding that the air bags in his car kept him from getting even a scratch and no other motorists were injured.

She played for the jury a 911 call the defendant made from his cellphone as he drove. He could be heard shouting: "We love ... We love death!"

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Yacht debris, bodies found off US-Mexico coast

Coast Guard crews searching for a missing yacht racer after the accident that killed three crew members.

By ELLIOTT SPAGATLOS ANGELES -- A 37-foot racing yacht was reduced to debris that looked it "like it had gone through a blender," a searcher said Sunday after the boat apparently collided with a larger vessel, killing three sailors and leaving a fourth missing.

The U.S. Coast Guard, the Mexican navy and civilian vessels scoured the waters off the shore of both countries for the missing sailor from the Aegean, which was taking part in a 124-mile race that began Friday from Newport Beach, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico. The sailboat, carrying a crew of four, was reported missing Saturday.

It was California's second deadly accident this month involving an ocean race.

Race officials said they had few explanations for what may have happened to the Aegean other than it must have collided with ship like a freighter or tanker that did not see the smaller vessel. The Coast Guard said conditions were fine for sailing, with good visibility and moderate ocean swells of 6-to-8 feet.

If the smaller boat was bobbing around in light wind, the crew might not have been able to get out of the way of a larger ship, perhaps a freighter, said Rich Roberts, a spokesman for the Newport Ocean Sailing Association, the race organizer.

The race goes through shipping lanes and it's possible for a large ship to hit a sailboat and not even know it, especially at night, Roberts said.

A race tracking system indicated the Aegean disappeared about 1:30 a.m. PDT (4:30 a.m. EDT) Saturday, he added.

Searchers were focusing on an area about 10 miles off the Mexican coast and about 10 miles south of U.S. waters, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Henry Dunphy.

Other yachts near the Coronado Islands in Mexico - four small, mostly uninhabited islands - reported seeing debris Saturday morning.

Two of the dead were William Reed Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance, Calif., and Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office was withholding the name of the third sailor pending notification of relatives.

Calls to Johnson's and Stewart's homes went unanswered Sunday.

The Aegean is registered to Theo Mavromatis, 49, of Redondo Beach, Calif. The race association didn't know if he was aboard, but Gary Gilpin at Marina Sailing, which rents out the Aegean when Mavromatis isn't using it, said the 49-year-old skipper took the yacht out earlier in the week for the competition.

Gilpin said Mavromatis, an engineer, was an experienced sailor who had won the Newport to Ensenada race in the past. A woman answering a call at a number listed for Mavromatis declined to answer questions.

Eric Lamb was the first to find debris of the boat - most no larger than six inches - scattered over about two square miles Saturday as he worked safety patrol on the race. He saw a small refrigerator, a white seat cushion and empty containers of yogurt and soy milk.

"We pulled a lot of boats off the rocks over the years and boats that hit the rocks, they don't look like that. This was almost like it had gone through a blender," said Lamb, 62.

A Coast Guard helicopter circling overhead directed him and a partner to two floating bodies. Both had severe cuts and bruises, and one of them had major head trauma.

Two race participants who were in the area at the time the Aegean disappeared said they saw or heard a freighter.

Cindy Arosteguy of Oxnard, Calif., remembers hearing on her radio someone say, "Do you see us?" as she saw a tanker about a half-mile away.

"I got back on the radio and said, 'Yes, I see you,'" she said. "It was definitely a freighter."

In Ensenada, several hundred people held a minute of silence for the victims at an awards ceremony that spilled out in a courtyard from a large white canopy at a hotel that served as race headquarters.

Chuck Iverson, commodore of the sailing association, said in an interview that the collision was a "fluke," noting how common night races are along Mexico's Baja California coast.

"We're all shocked by this whole event," he said.

The deaths are the first fatalities in the race's 65 years, the sponsor said.

Racing boats are required to use lights at night, Iverson said, although the boats are not inspected unless a competitor suspects a problem and tells race officials.

The race attracts sailors of all skills, including some who are new to long distances.

"You get world-class sailors and you get first-timers. That's the good thing about it. ... It's kind of a safety-in-numbers thing," said Lamb, who has worked safety patrol for eight years.

The Newport Beach Patch website posted a photo of the Aegean's crew at the start of the race Friday. Four men in royal blue T-shirts are on the deck as the boat cuts through calm waters.

A total of 213 boats were registered, and the winner, Robert Lane of Long Beach Yacht Club, finished Saturday in 23 hours, 26 minutes, 40 seconds. Some boats still were arriving Sunday morning in Ensenada, and about 50 people gathered in the morning fog at a marina to watch. A notice tacked to a bulletin board alongside the racing times informed spectators of the tragedy.

The deaths come two weeks after five sailors died in the waters off Northern California when their 38-foot yacht was hit by powerful waves, smashed into rocks and capsized during a race. Three sailors survived the wreck and the body of another was quickly recovered. Four remained missing until one body was recovered Thursday.

The deadly accident near the Farallon Islands, about 27 miles west of San Francisco, prompted the Coast Guard to temporarily stop races in ocean waters outside San Francisco Bay. The Coast Guard said the suspension will allow it and the offshore racing community to study the accident and race procedures to determine whether changes are needed to improve safety. U.S. Sailing, the governing body of yacht racing, is leading the safety review, which is expected to be completed within the next month.

In 1979, a freak storm in the Irish Sea led to the deaths of 15 sailors in the Fastnet Race. In the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race off Australia, a freak storm with hurricane-force winds struck the fleet in the Bass Strait, sinking several boats and killing six sailors.

Gary Jobson, president of the U.S. Sailing Association, said there have been too many accidents during races in the past year, and that the association is working to make the sport safer.

"I'm horrified. I've done a lot of sailboat racing and I've hit logs in the water, and I've seen a man go overboard, but this takes the whole thing to a new level," Jobson said. "We need to take a step back and take a deep breath with what we're doing. Something is going wrong here."

Jobson said U.S. Sailing will appoint an independent panel to investigate the Ensenada incident, as it has done in the Farallon Islands accident.

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World Trade Center is back on top in New York City

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- One World Trade Center, the giant monolith being built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, will lay claim to the title of New York City's tallest skyscraper on Monday

CLICK HERE TO SEE 31 PHOTOS OF ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER

Workers will erect steel columns that will make its unfinished skeleton a little over 1,250 feet high, just enough to peak over the roof of the observation deck on the Empire State Building.

The milestone is a preliminary one. Workers are still adding floors to the so-called "Freedom Tower" and it isn't expected to reach its full height for at least another year, at which point it is likely to be declared the tallest building in the U.S., and third tallest in the world. Those bragging rights, though, will carry an asterisk.

Crowning the world's tallest buildings is a little like picking the heavyweight champion in boxing. There is often disagreement about who deserves the belt.

In this case, the issue involves the 408-foot-tall needle that will sit on the tower's roof.

Count it, and the World Trade Center is back on top. Otherwise, it will have to settle for No. 2, after the Willis Tower in Chicago.

"Height is complicated," said Nathaniel Hollister, a spokesman for The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, a Chicago-based organization considered an authority on such records.

Experts and architects have long disagreed about where to stop measuring super-tall buildings outfitted with masts, spires and antennas that extend far above the roof.

Consider the case of the Empire State Building: Measured from the sidewalk to the tip of its needle-like antenna, the granddaddy of all super-tall skyscrapers actually stands 1,454 feet high, well above the mark being surpassed by One World Trade Center on Monday.

Purists, though, say antennas shouldn't count when determining building height.

An antenna, they say, is more like furniture than a piece of architecture. Like a chair sitting on a rooftop, an antenna can be attached or removed. The Empire State Building didn't even get its distinctive antenna until 1952. The record books, as the argument goes, shouldn't change every time someone installs a new satellite dish.

Excluding the antenna brings the Empire State Building's total height to 1,250 feet. That was still high enough to make the skyscraper the world's tallest from 1931 until 1972.

From that height, the Empire State seems to tower over the second tallest completed building in New York, the Bank of America Tower.

Yet, in many record books, the two skyscrapers are separated by just 50 feet.

That's because the tall, thin mast on top of the Bank of America building isn't an antenna, but a decorative spire.

Unlike antennas, record-keepers like spires. It's a tradition that harkens back to a time when the tallest buildings in many European cities were cathedrals. Groups like the Council on Tall Buildings, and Emporis, a building data provider in Germany, both count spires when measuring the total height of a building, even if that spire happens to look exactly like an antenna.

This quirk in the record books has benefited buildings like Chicago's recently opened Trump International Hotel and Tower. It is routinely listed as being between 119 to 139 feet taller than the Empire State Building, thanks to the antenna-like mast that sits on its roof, even though the average person, looking at the two buildings side by side, would probably judge the New York skyscraper to be taller.

The same factors apply to measuring the height of One World Trade Center.

Designs call for the tower's roof to stand at 1,368 feet - the same height as the north tower of the original World Trade Center. The building's roof will be topped with a 408-foot, cable-stayed mast, making the total height of the structure a symbolic 1,776 feet.

So is that needle an antenna or a spire?

"Not sure," wrote Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the building.

The needle will, indeed, function as a broadcast antenna. It is described on the Port Authority's website as an antenna. On the other hand, the structure will have more meat to it than your average antenna, with external cladding encasing the broadcast mast.

Without that spire, One World Trade Center would still be smaller than the Willis Tower in Chicago, formerly known as the Sears Tower, which tops out at 1,451 feet (not including its own antennas).

Debate over which of those buildings can truly claim to be the tallest in the U.S. has been raging for years on Internet message boards frequented by skyscraper enthusiasts.

As for the Council on Tall Buildings, it is leaning toward giving One World Trade the benefit of the doubt.

"This is something we have discussed with the architect," Hollister said. "As we understand it, the needle is an architectural spire which happens to enclose an antenna. We would thus count it as part of the architectural height."

But, he noted, the organization has also chosen to sidestep these types of disputes, somewhat, by recognizing three types of height records: tallest occupied floor, architectural top, and height to the tip.

Hollister also pointed out that, technically speaking, One World Trade Center isn't a record-holder in any category yet, as it is still unfinished.

"A project is not considered a building until it is topped out, fully clad, and open for business or at least occupiable," he said.

The debate doesn't quite end there.

Neither of the Willis Tower nor One World Trade are as high as the CN Tower, in Toronto, which stands at 1,815 feet. That structure, however, isn't considered a building at all by most record-keepers, because it is predominantly a television broadcast antenna and observation platform with very little interior space. The tallest manmade structure in the Western Hemisphere will continue to be the 2,063-foot-tall KVLY-TV antenna in Blanchard, N.D.

As for the world's tallest building, the undisputed champion is the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, which opened in 2010 and reaches 2,717 feet.

Not counting about 5 feet of aircraft lights and other equipment perched on top, of course.

Some information from ABC News.

See the full time-lapse video on ABCNews.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE 31 PHOTOS OF ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER

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7 dead in Bronx River Parkway crash

BRONX (WABC) -- An out-of-control van careered across several lanes of traffic on a New York City highway overpass Sunday, then plunged more than 50 feet off the side of the road and landed in a ravine on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo, killing all seven people aboard, including three children.

Police identified the dead adults as 85-year-old Jacob Nunez and 81-year-old Ana Julia Martinez, both from the Dominican Republic, and their daughters, 45-year-old Maria Gonzalez, and 39-year-old Maria Nunez, both from the Bronx. Police say Gonzalez was driving. The children were identified as 10-year-old Jocelyn Gonzalez, the daughter of the driver, and 7-year-old Niely Rosario and 3-year-old Marly Rosario, both daughters of Nunez.

In one horrific moment, their Honda Pilot went from the family car to a mass coffin.

All 7 victims inside suffered the same last breath together.

12:30 Sunday afternoon, when many families are on the road, somehow the SUV lost control, bounced off the barrier, screamed across the southbound lanes of the Bronx River Parkway and kept going...right over the guardrail.

Experts believe it flew another 75 feet in the air before it began the sickening, fatal plunge: a fast free fall about 60 feet down into a wooded section of the Bronx Zoo.

Thankfully, it is a remote area where visitors are not allowed and where there are no animals.

Even the most experienced emergency crews who raced to the scene were shaken by what they found inside.

"Sometimes you come across events that are horrific," said FDNY Deputy Chief Ronald Werner. "And this was one of them."

"Everybody was taken back by it because everybody has a relative," said FDNY Deputy Chief Howard Sickles.

"Everybody knows a child, everybody has a grandparent. And you can see the emotion on everybody. It's very upsetting."

This is the family portrait rescue workers carried from the wreckage:

An elderly man and woman in their 80's, a 45 year old female in the driver's seat, a 39 year old female and 3 young girls, ages 10, 7 and 3.

Officials say all the victims were buckled in which explains why their bodies were not thrown from the Honda.

But crews did check the surrounding area just in case there were more passengers.

In the end, the medical examiner needed a caravan to remove all the victims.

It was a bitter procession followed by the crumpled pieces of the car.

As accident investigators try to find out why and how Maria Gonzalez lost control, one family is left mourning 3 generations of their own.

"Obviously the vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed," said Werner. "It hit something that caused it to become airborne. It travelled over the railing and a distance of maybe 75-80 feet before it came down and hit the ground."

The vehicle lay mangled hours later, its right doors ripped off and strewn amid the trees along with items from the car. Next to the heavily wooded area are subway tracks and a train yard.

The southbound side of the highway was closed briefly Sunday afternoon while police investigated but later reopened.

The medical examiner's office said it expected to release the victims' causes of death on Monday.

The accident was the second in the past year where a car fell off the same stretch of the Bronx River Parkway. Last June, the driver of an SUV heading north lost control and the SUV hit a divider, bounced through two lanes of traffic and fell 20 feet over a guardrail, landing on a pickup truck in a parking lot. The two people in the SUV were injured.

City agencies will be asked to look at safety issues on the highway including guardrail height, Bronx borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said in a statement Sunday.

"My prayers, as well as those of my office and all Bronxites, go out to the families of the seven victims," he said.

The wreck was the deadliest in New York City since the driver of a tour bus returning from a Connecticut casino in March 2011 lost control and slammed into a pole that sheared the bus nearly end to end, killing 14 passengers.

In 2009, just north of New York City in suburban Westchester County, a woman carrying a vanload of children drove nearly two miles in the wrong direction on a highway before colliding with an SUV. Eight people were killed, including four children.

An autopsy determined that the woman, Diane Schuler, had downed at least 10 drinks and had smoked marijuana as recently as 15 minutes before the wreck.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE BRONX ZOO CRASH

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Will and Kate spend their anniversary at friend's wedding

Posted 04/29/2012 3:46 PM PT by Kristina Lopez

Prince William and Kate Middleton, known as The Duchess of Cambridge, celebrated their first anniversary weekend at the wedding of Middleton's friend.

The royal couple, who tied the knot on April 29, 2011, attended the quiet ceremony of Hannah Gillingham and Robert Carter on April 28, according to Us magazine.

Middleton's sister Pippa was also at the wedding, which was held at St. Andrews Church in Wingfield, England.

After the wedding was over, Prince William, 29, and Middleton, 30, reportedly returned to their home in Anglesey, Wales. The magazine reports that a royal aide said the two have "been looking forward to a very special day at home" for their anniversary.

Earlier this month, Middleton made her Madame Tussauds wax museum debut. The wax museum made three different figures for each royal. The duchess' figures wear three different dresses that are replicas of outfits she has worn in real life at public events.

The company had said last year that it planned to book a meeting between its sculptors and the duchess to create a figure for her. Each one costs about $200,000 and is molded and painted over the course of about four months.

The duchess is considered by many to be a fashion icon was voted as one of the "Most Trusted Celebrities" last year. She also made the list of the Most Desirable Woman of 2012.

See photos of the Royal couple's figures at Madame Tussauds in London, New York and Amsterdam.

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Sunday 29 April 2012

Report: 3 NJ state police commanders reassigned

Eyewitness NewsTRENTON, N.J. (WABC) -- Three state police commanders have been reassigned as officials continue to probe allegations that a caravan of luxury sports cars received an unauthorized, high-speed police escort down the Garden State Parkway, according to a published report.

Maj. Robert Catullo, the commander of the troop overseeing northern New Jersey, was among those reassigned late Friday, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/IkIyAC), citing three unidentified people with knowledge of the moves. Also moved were Catullo's deputy commander, Capt. Michael Cerisano, and a region commander, Capt. Warren Moore.

It wasn't clear what role, if any, the transferred troopers might have played in the escorts or where they will now be stationed.

State Police Lt. Stephen Jones said 10 commanders were transferred overall Friday in "a re-alignment aimed at the Operations Branch." Jones said the transfers came in light of recent ongoing internal investigations, but did not say how many of the transfers related to the high-speed escorts. He also declined to identify the troopers involved.

Two troopers were suspended without pay last Monday after news reports recounted witnesses who said they saw the caravan of a few dozen high-performance luxury cars speeding down the Garden State Parkway at 100 mph on March 30, escorted by two state police cars. A station commander also was reportedly reassigned Monday.

The 54-year-old Catullo, a 30-year veteran of the force, must retire by year's end because he will reach the state police's mandatory retirement age. The 53-year-old Cerisano has been a trooper for about 27 years while Moore, 51, has been a trooper for about 24 years.

Catullo is one of 16 majors in Fuentes' command staff, according to the state police website. The majors are overseen by four lieutenant colonels who report directly to Fuentes.

Catullo led Totowa-based Troop B, which covers 2,807 square miles and about 5 million people in northern Jersey. The job of commander there is one of the most powerful and coveted jobs within the state police and includes overseeing the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

The troop is also responsible for working closely with the U.S. Secret Service to escort and protect dignitaries, including presidents, cabinet members and military generals, according to the agency's website. _

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A new color for New York City cabs: apple green

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City will see a new kind of taxi on its streets this summer - and it won't be yellow.

Apple green was announced Sunday as the official new color for the 18,000 livery cabs that will serve Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and northern Manhattan.

The head of the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission, David Yassky, says the new cabs will be licensed to pick up passengers by street hail.

It's currently illegal for livery cabs to be stopped on the street, though it's common practice.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the Boro Taxis he proposed will bring safe, comfortable, less costly service to areas outside Manhattan.

The first of 6,000 annual batches of cab permits will be issued in June.

The cabs will be a very bright apple gree.

You won't be able to miss it and that's the point.

Soon, getting a cab in the outer boroughs and Upper Manhattan will be as easy as putting your arm in the air.

The green taxis now have the green light to pick up street fares in those areas where yellow cabs don't travel.

There's no missing the bright neon color and the fare signal on top.

They will all be painted Apple Green, have a meter - so no more haggling over rates - and best of all, they'll be allowed to pick up street hails.

"I won't be considered a hoodlum, an illegal, a thief," said Jose Altamireno of El Barrio's Car Service. "

We're now like a legitimate part of the industry."

This change in street rules will affect 7 million New Yorkers who live in the outer boroughs and northern Manhattan.

Meaning north of 96th street on the East Side and north of 110th on the West.

Until now, passengers in those areas always had to call a car service in advance or hope a gypsy cab would give them a ride.

Those livery drivers risked big fines and possible seizure of their cars if caught picking up street hails.

The city estimates 100,000 illegal fares take place each and every day.

Meaning, there is a huge need for cabs in the outer boroughs.

Officials are hoping this will address that demand in a legal and standardized way.

"So the yellows will stay in central Manhattan where the business is best," said Yassky.

"And the borough taxis will be available to serve the other 80 percent of the city."

A major critic of this new system: yellow cab drivers.

Despite their objections, plans are to allow 18,000 borough taxis to begin roaming the streets this summer.

20 percent of the new cabs will be wheelchair accessible.

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Big Apple Greeter: New York City's Fabulous Free Way of Welcoming Visitors & Showing Them Around

Obama, Bill Clinton team up on campaign trail

By JULIE PACEWASHINGTON -- Once a tense rivalry, the relationship between President Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton has evolved into a genuine political and policy partnership. Both sides have a strong incentive in making the alliance work, especially in an election year.

For Obama, Bill Clinton is a fundraising juggernaut, a powerful reminder to voters that a Democrat ran the White House the last time the economy was thriving. For the spotlight-loving former president, stronger ties with the White House and campaign headquarters mean he gets a hand in shaping the future of the party he led for nearly a decade.

Obama's re-election campaign has put Bill Clinton on notice that he will be used as a top surrogate, further evidence of how far the two camps have come since the bitter days of the 2008 Democratic primary between Obama and Hillary Clinton, now his secretary of state.

The current and former president teamed up to address supporters in Virginia Sunday night, the first of three joint appearances at fundraisers for Obama's campaign. The Obama campaign expected more than 500 people at a reception at the home of Terry McAuliffe, a close adviser to both Clintons and one of the most ardent protectors of their political brand, with tickets starting at $1,000. Eighty people paid $20,000 a head for a dinner afterward.

Clinton told the crowd that Obama is "beating the clock" to restore the economy to health. Digging out of similar financial holes has historically taken five to 10 years, Clinton said.

"Barack Obama deserves to be re-elected president of the United States," Clinton said, because he has clear objectives for the country and is meeting them.

Neither Clinton nor Obama mentioned presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney by name, but both Democrats zinged Romney for his economic plan and foreign policy credentials.

Romney "basically wants to do what they did before, on steroids," Clinton said, "which will get you the same consequences you got before, on steroids."

Obama said he and Hillary Clinton have "spent the past three-and-a-half years cleaning up after other folks' messes."

He ridiculed "the presumptive nominee on the other side" for "suddenly saying our No. 1 enemy isn't al-Qaida, it's Russia."

"I didn't make that up," Obama said to loud laughter. "I suddenly thought maybe I didn't check the calendar, and we're back in 1975."

Obama stood smiling as Bill Clinton spoke. The two men appeared relaxed and cordial. Clinton guffawed when Obama made gentle fun of him, and himself, by noting that every presidential candidate always says the next election is crucial.

Obama acknowledged that he was about to make the same argument. "Well, let me tell you," he said to laughter and applause, "this one matters."

Clinton's willingness to be a good soldier for the Obama campaign could end up paying political dividends for his wife, who is frequently talked about in party circles as a potential presidential candidate in 2016 despite her repeated denials. Hillary Clinton has benefited enormously from her partnership with Obama, with her popularity skyrocketing during her time in his Cabinet.

Democrats say the overt signs of unity between the Clintons and Obama put the president at a distinct advantage over Romney. The former Massachusetts governor must soothe the wounds from his GOP primary fight and figure out whether the last Republican president, George W. Bush, will have a role in the 2012 race.

"It makes absolutely clear that, to the extent that there were different wings of the Democratic party, there is now one wing of the Democratic party," said Chris Lehane, a Clinton backer. "And it's the president's party."

Discussions are under way at Romney's Boston headquarters about the degree to which Bush will participate, if at all, in the general election. Many Republicans are reluctant to publicly associate with Bush, who left office deeply unpopular, especially as the Obama campaign seeks to tie Romney to Bush's economic and foreign policy positions.

While Obama and the Clintons are rarely described as friends, people close to them say the relationship has warmed significantly since the 2008 nomination contest. In that race, the former president slammed Obama's candidacy as a "fairy tale" while Obama sarcastically told Hillary Clinton that she was "likable enough."

The thaw started as a matter of political necessity: Their party was desperate to retake the White House after eight years of Republican rule. Hillary Clinton offered Obama a gracious endorsement, both Clintons campaigned for Obama, and the newly elected president picked his former rival to be America's chief diplomat.

It took longer for Obama's relationship with Bill Clinton to soften as the two men found common ground in the pressures of the presidency.

When Obama's health care bill was in trouble, he and his staff, which included several veterans of the Clinton White House, called on the former president for help. In late 2009 and early 2010, Bill Clinton went to Capitol Hill to rally support and worked the phones with wary Democratic lawmakers.

After the Democratic party was battered in the 2010 elections, Obama called in Clinton for an Oval Office meeting. Afterward, the two made an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room to talk to reporters. When Obama had to leave for a holiday party, Clinton stuck around, relishing in the attention and the give-and-take with the press.

That day in the briefing room underscored what some Democrats see as their one major worry in pairing Obama with Clinton too often. The ease with which Clinton connects with a range of audiences can call attention to the challenge Obama sometimes faces in doing the same thing.

But that certainly hasn't stopped the Obama campaign from seeking Clinton's help in winning a second term, and Clinton has made it clear he is ready and willing.

Obama's campaign advisers have sat down with Clinton for strategy and advice-seeking sessions, and the former president had a prominent role in movie produced by the campaign in which he promoted, among other things, Obama's decision to order the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

"There is no better Democratic ally than President Clinton," said Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager.

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Knicks blown out by Heat in Game 1

Eyewitness NewsMIAMI -- LeBron James took the fourth quarter off. And Miami's postseason got off to a flying start.

James scored 32 points after shooting 10 for 14 from the field, Dwyane Wade added 19 points in his first game back after dislocating his left index finger and the Heat rode the strength of a 32-2 run to easily beat the New York Knicks 100-67 in Game 1 of the teams' Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday.

It was physical, it was heated - and it was one-sided, too.

Mario Chalmers added 11 points and nine assists for Miami, which turned 27 New York turnovers into a franchise playoff-record 38 points. The Knicks were called for 21 fouls in the first half, Miami enjoying a 28-5 advantage in free throws attempted in the first 24 minutes alone, and center Tyson Chandler sent James flying with what was called a flagrant foul as the Heat were blowing the game open in the first half.

"Our guys had a noticeable look in their eyes the last 24 hours," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We wanted to get back to the basics and play to our identity. For the most part, we were able to do that by being aggressive."

J.R. Smith scored 17 for the Knicks, who lost Iman Shumpert to a knee injury and have dropped 11 straight playoff games dating back to 2001. Carmelo Anthony missed 12 of 15 shots and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Baron Davis added 10 points for New York.

It was the worst playoff loss for the Knicks since a 126-85 defeat at Chicago on April 25, 1991.

"This series is not over," Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire said. "We've got to learn from our mistakes today and get ready for Monday."

A 3-pointer by Smith midway through the second quarter got the Knicks within 30-29. And then the tone changed in a hurry.

After all, this is a Heat-Knicks playoff series. It's almost required to have emotions boil over.

With Jeff Van Gundy and Alonzo Mourning in the building - remember, the Knicks coach once tugged on the Heat center's leg during one memorable Miami-New York playoff dustup - along with Knicks assistant general manager Allan Houston, he of the game-winner to eliminate the Heat from the last playoffs following a lockout-shortened season of 1999, things got heated once again.

There were early hints that tensions were high, like Stoudemire and Udonis Haslem getting double-technicals after jawing back and forth with 4:10 left in the opening quarter. A few minutes later, after Shane Battier committed a hard foul on Anthony - who missed his first seven shots - Davis ran about 50 feet to give Battier a light shove.

That was all little stuff, compared to what was coming.

"All hell broke loose," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

Mike Miller's 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the half capped a run of 13 straight points by the Heat, and they were just getting started.

Chandler - who helped Dallas win the 2011 title over Miami - set a back pick near midcourt with 1:36 left in the half, one that James never saw coming. James went down holding his neck and gritting his teeth in pain, and the original call was a flagrant-2 against Chandler, which would have meant an automatic ejection.

Referees reviewed the play, downgraded it to a flagrant-1, and during the stoppage James apparently recovered quickly.

He made both free throws awarded for the Chandler shot, then banked in a 20-footer from the left wing while getting hit by Smith 10 seconds later for what became a five-point possession for Miami.

And James still wasn't done, first hitting a fadeaway with 48 seconds left, then a layup while getting hit by Jared Jeffries with 3 seconds left in the half.

"Spectacular," Spoelstra said of James' flurry to end the half. "His play spoke for itself. It seemed on both ends of the court he had his hands on every single play, in some form or another."

The run then was 24-2. The lead was 54-31. For good measure, the Heat scored the first eight points of the third quarter as well, making it 62-31, and with Woodson along with Anthony getting assessed technicals in the opening 1:39 of the second half.

"Tyson got me pretty good," James said in a televised halftime interview. "Got a little whiplash in my neck but I'm OK. I mean, it's playoff basketball."

A bad day got even worse for the Knicks midway through the third.

Shumpert - who started the final 17 games of the regular season after Jeremy Lin went down with a knee injury - was carried off the court by teammates after going down in almost the exact spot as where the Chandler-James collision took place.

Shumpert was bringing the ball up the right sideline and tried to dribble behind his back when he pulled up and immediately grabbed at his left knee. He was brought into the Knicks' locker room for evaluation, and as he was lifted from the floor Anthony looked at the scoreboard, shaking his head in disbelief.

James provided the exclamation point with 1.4 seconds left in the third quarter.

He made a 3-pointer over Anthony for his 32nd - and final points - of the day. Through three quarters, the entire Knicks roster had only outscored James by 15, and Miami took an 81-47 lead into the final 12 minutes.

"I think the Miami Heat right now are feeling great about their performance," Stoudemire said. "Which they should."

NOTES: Toney Douglas (virus) was inactive for the Knicks. ... Lin had a lengthy shooting workout before the game, as he continues to try to recover from knee surgery. ... All fans sitting courtside were to receive a version of the Nike sneakers James is wearing in this year's playoffs. ... Woodson was captured by television cameras before the game telling his team in a huddle, "It is a process to win an NBA title."

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Calls for justice in case of Brooklyn man hit by police car

The Rev. Al Sharpton at a rally in Harlem with the mother of Tamon Robinson

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The family of Tamon Robinson joined the Reverend Al Sharpton at a rally Saturday morning, calling attention to the police chase that left the young man dead.

Robinson died earlier this month after being hit by a squad car as police chased him in Canarsie, Brooklyn for allegedly stealing paving stones.

His family says he was unarmed, and they are demanding an investigation as to why police ran him over.

They want to know why the officer who hit him has not been punished.

"The officer that hit this young man rushed to judgment," said Sharpton.

"We deserve justice because my son did not deserve to die like that," said the victim's mother, Laverne Dobbinson.

The family is planning to pursue a wrongful death suit.

The N-Y-P-D has said it is conducting an internal investigation into the officer's role in Robinson's death.

The 27-year old was in a coma for a week before he died.

His funeral was Friday evening.

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New Rules for Secret Service Agents

No more exotic strip clubs and nights of heavy drinking for Secret Service personnel on foreign trips. And inviting foreign nationals back to the hotel room is now definitely off-limits.

In the wake of a scandal involving prostitutes on a presidential trip to Colombia, Secret Service management this afternoon issued new regulations for agents on a foreign assignment.

The new rules say:

"Patronization of non-reputable establishments is prohibited.

"Alcohol may not be consumed at the protectee hotel once the protective visit has begun.

"Foreign nationals, excluding hotel staff and official counterparts, are prohibited in your hotel room."

"Alcohol may only be consumed in moderate amounts while off-duty on ... assignment and alcohol use is prohibited within 10 hours of reporting for duty."

Several Secret Service agents on a presidential trip to Colombia have lost their security clearances or their jobs over alleged misbehavior said to include heavy drinking at a sex club and hotel, and the use of prostitutes.

The behavior raised ethical and security questions about the agency charged with protecting the president.

House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., told ABC News the Secret Service is making it clear to agents that, "if you have any doubt, don't do it."

"They are putting regulations into writing that they thought agents should have known all along," King said.

King praised Secret Service director Mark Sullivan for his "swift and certain" action, and expressed confidence in the ongoing investigation into the scandal.

The new regulations also will require all agents to complete ethics training before being eligible for travel assignments.

In addition, agents will be briefed on standards of conduct before departing on a trip, and a supervisor from the Secret Service's Office of Responsibility will travel with all agency teams to make sure standards are observed.

Finally, the new regulations say that the laws of the United States shall apply to Secret Service personnel while abroad.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been pushing for an independent investigation of the Colombia misbehavior, and suggested the new rules aren't a substitute for such an investigation.

"New conduct rules are necessary to preventing more shenanigans from happening in the future, and whether these are the best, and most cost effective, rules to stop future misconduct remains to be seen," he said in a written statement. "That's why a sheet of paper with new rules doesn't negate the previous actions, and why it remains necessary to hold the agency and the agents accountable, following a complete and independent investigation."

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New York City: An Overview

Police hunt for suspects in Bronx subway stabbing

BRONX (WABC) -- Police are searching for two suspects in connection with the stabbing of a man early Saturday morning at a Bronx subway station.

The victim of the stabbing is in critical but stable condition at St. Barnabas hospital.

The incident happened in the Fordham section of the Bronx.

Police have released security camera of the two suspets they're looking for.

It shows a man and woman in an apartment building in the Bronx, shortly after the assault on the platform of the number 4 train.

Police say a 19 year old man was stabbed at least six times after confronting a man who stole his smartphone.

According to investigators, the victim and a friend were riding the train just before 4 a.m., when they fell asleep.

The victim woke up and noticed that his pocket had been slashed and his phone, gone.

He then spotted a man with his phone on the train car.

They all got off, and the victim confronted the suspect, who in turn, pulled out a knife.

The victim's friend ran for help.

When he came back to the platform, his buddy had been stabbed in his head, neck, chest and torso.

In surveillance video from another nearby store, detectives are seen arriving to the scene just minutes after the stabbing.

The victim left a trail of blood down three levels of the station, from the platform to the landing near the token booth, and all the way down the stairs to the exit on Fordham.

Number 4 trains were bypassing the Fordham Road Station while police investigated.

The suspect was with a woman on the train.

He was wearing a baseball hat with the letters "LA" on it.

Police have been looking through surveillance video from the subway and nearby stores to track him down.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

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Rangers defeat Capitals in Game 1, 3-1

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Chris Kreider is six games into his NHL career and days shy of his 21st birthday.

And yet the Stanley Cup playoffs are anything but overwhelming for the newest New York Rangers forward who has quickly become a hit on Broadway.

Kreider scored the go-ahead goal and then set up Brad Richards' insurance tally 90 seconds later in the third period to lift New York to a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday in the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Kreider, who earlier this month helped Boston College win the NCAA championship, scored the second goal of his NHL career - and these playoffs - and he did it at the perfect time to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead 7:00 into the third.

Both Kreider's goals have been playoff game-winners. He also had the deciding marker in New York's Game 6 victory at Ottawa when the Rangers played the first of two potential elimination games in the first round.

"I'm kind of at a loss for words," Kreider said. "I'm just trying to keep my head down and work hard. Whether or not the puck goes in, I'm just trying to play the same role I play every night and be consistent and be defensively reliable."

Kreider got into the Rangers lineup only because fellow rookie Carl Hagelin was suspended for three games when he elbowed Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson in Game 2. Kreider's play kept him on the ice even after Hagelin returned, and he is just one goal off the team lead through eight games of the playoffs.

Despite not yet playing a regular-season game, Kreider is already hearing his name celebrated at Madison Square Garden. He is the first player to win an NCAA title and make his NHL debut in that year's playoffs since John Byce did it with Boston in 1990.

"It's a surreal experience," said Kreider, whose birthday is on Monday - the same day as Game 2. "I got goose bumps, obviously. I was really tired after the goal, but I didn't feel so tired when they started chanting."

Richards made it a two-goal lead off a feed from Kreider, and gave a two-fisted punch into the glass behind goalie Braden Holtby to celebrate his third goal of the playoffs. It marked the first time that Washington trailed by two goals in the playoffs.

Henrik Lundqvist earned the win, and needed to make only 17 saves to do it. The Rangers mustered just 14 shots on Holtby, but scored on two in a row to put the game away.

Artem Anisimov scored in the first period for the Rangers, who played without injured forwards Brian Boyle and Brandon Dubinsky. Boyle missed his third straight game because of a concussion sustained in Game 5 of the first-round series against Ottawa. Dubinsky was hurt in the third period Thursday night when New York edged the Senators 2-1 to win Game 7.

Defenseman Steve Eminger returned from injury to fill in, and saw limited action as a forward.

Jason Chimera scored the lone goal for the Capitals to tie it 1-1 in the closing seconds of the second period. Washington was coming off a seven-game victory over Boston in the first round.

The Rangers are trying to exact a measure of revenge against the Capitals, who eliminated New York from the playoffs last year and in 2009. The seventh-seeded Capitals have won four of the six previous postseason meetings, and they split four regular-season games this season against the East's top-seeded team.

Capitals star Alex Ovechkin felt the brunt of the venom from the fans, who booed him and sent derisive chants in his direction several times during the game. "Two mistakes cost us in goals," Ovechkin said. "We talk about how we have to play much better and we have to step up. It's only one game. (Monday) it's going to be a new day, and we have to stay tight." Derek Stepan made a crisp pass out of his end to Kreider. Capitals defenseman Mike Green aborted a trip to the bench and raced to get back into position, but Kreider ripped a drive past Holtby before Green could stop him. "We need to be more aggressive," Green said. "We were a little bit on our heels." Kreider changed his game plan because he was at the end of an exhausting shift. "There was an opening, so I thought I'd hit it, and Stepan made a nice pass," he said. "The minute I got it, I would usually try to take that to the net, but I had to pull up since I was so tired. I was just trying to get it on net." Holtby said he was fooled by Kreider's release on the shot. Then Kreider foiled the Capitals with a pass. Richards dived to keep the puck in the Washington end at the left point and then took a feed from Kreider from along the side boards. Richards made a shifty move in front of Holtby and put a shot past him to make it 3-1. Washington nearly got that one back, but Green's long drive was deflected by teammate Nicklas Backstrom off the post soon after. The Capitals had grabbed momentum with only 5.1 seconds left in the second period and silenced the rocking crowd when Chimera took a cross-crease pass from Brooks Laich and deftly sneaked the puck between Lundqvist's pads. Chimera has quieted the Garden crowd before. He netted the winning goal in double overtime of last year's Game 4 that gave the Capitals a 3-1 series lead en route to a victory in five games. His latest goal knocked out the remaining buzz created by Anisimov's series-opening tally with 7:22 remaining in the second. "That could have hurt us big time, but we came in here, regrouped, talked about staying patient and just let the game come to us," Lundqvist said. "Coming from that Game 7, such an emotional and big win, it was important for us to regroup and start all over. This team doesn't give up much so we have to be smart with pucks. They kind of wait for mistakes, so the key for us is not to make too many." Anisimov's goal was reminiscent of the one scored by Stephane Matteau that ended the 1994 Eastern Conference finals against New Jersey, the last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. Matteau was in attendance Saturday and was shown on the center ice video board - flashing his championship ring - just moments before Anisimov made it 1-0. NOTES: New York has won Game 1 in five of its past eight series. The Rangers are 31-11 when winning the opener, including six of the past seven. ... The Rangers managed only eight shots through two periods, compared to 13 for Washington, and just three were recorded by forwards. ... Eminger, who logged 4:25 of ice time in four shifts, missed the previous 19 games because of an injury sustained on March 15 against Pittsburgh. ... Washington won three road games in its first-round series against Boston. All seven games of that series were decided by one goal.

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Romney, Gingrich, GSA: Obama tweaks them all

Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON -- This year's primaries, the 2008 primaries, the General Services Administration scandal, even the Secret Service and Donald Trump were targets for President Barack Obama's scattershot humor at Saturday night's celebrity studded White House Correspondents Dinner.

Even the entrance to his speech was part of his schtick. The president walked off stage just before he took the podium with an alleged "hot mic," making fun of getting caught last month on an open microphone with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"What am I doing here," he asks off stage. "I'm opening for Jimmy Kimmel and telling knock-knock jokes to Kim Kardashian."

Once on stage, the president revisited last year's dinner.

"Last year at this time, this very weekend, we finally delivered justice to one of the world's most notorious individuals," Obama said, a seeming reference to the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden.

Instead, a picture of Trump appeared on the room's television monitors. Obama last year delivered a scathing roast of Donald Trump, the real estate mogul who flirted with running for the Republican nomination and claimed he has solved the "mystery" of Obama's birth certificate.

He took a shot at the Republican congressional leadership, whom he thanked "for taking time from their exhausting schedule of not passing any laws" to attend the dinner.

Four years ago, he recalled, he was locked in a tough primary fight with Hillary Clinton, now his secretary of state. "She can't stop drunk texting me from Cartagena," he said, referring to their recent trip to the Summit of the Americas in Columbia.

This year, Obama is the incumbent, but the dinner was far from a campaign-free zone. The president pointed out his similarities with the presumed nominee, Mitt Romney.

"We both think of our wives as our better halves, and the American people agree to an insulting extent," the president said.

"We both have degrees from Harvard. I have one, he has two. What a snob."

The crack drew a thumbs up from former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who dropped out of the presidential primary campaign earlier this month. Santorum had called Obama a snob for encouraging young Americans to attend college.

But Obama touched on serious themes as well, remembering The New York Times' Anthony Shadid and Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times of London who died while covering the uprising in Syria.

"Never forget that our country depends on you to help protect our freedom, our democracy and our way of life," Obama said.

Then he returned to the lighter side: "I have to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew."

Among those who attended Saturday night's dinner were former Secretary of State Colin Powell, the cast of the hit TV show "Modern Family," singer John Legend, actor George Clooney, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., director Steven Spielberg and actress Zooey Deschanel.

Proceeds from the dinner go toward scholarships for aspiring journalists and awards for distinction in the profession.

The association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner. Some of the proceeds from the dinner pay for journalism scholarships for college students.

Several journalists will also be honored at the dinner:

- Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of The Associated Press, for winning the Edgar A. Poe Award for their stories about the New York City Police Department's widespread surveillance of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It's the fourth major prize for the series, which has also won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and a George Polk Award.

- ABC's Jake Tapper and Politico's Glenn Thrush, Carrie Budoff Brown, Manu Raju and John Bresnahan, for winning the Merriman Smith Award for excellence in presidential coverage under pressure. Tapper won in the broadcast category for breaking the news that rating agency Standard & Poor's was on the verge of downgrading the federal government's triple-A credit rating because of concerns over political gridlock in Washington. In the print category, Thrush, Budoff Brown, Raju and Bresnahan of Politico won for their report on the deal between Obama and congressional Republicans to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

- Scott Wilson, of The Washington Post, for winning the Aldo Beckman award. Wilson was recognized for his "deeply reported and nuanced stories, his evocative writing and his clear presentation of complex issues, particularly on the foreign policy front."

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1 dead after storm blows St. Louis beer tent over

By JIM SALTERST. LOUIS -- High winds swept through a beer tent where 200 people gathered after a Cardinals game Saturday, killing one and seriously injuring at least five others, authorities said.

The owner of the bar where the tent was set up said firefighters told him that the patron who died was struck by lightning, but Deputy Fire Chief John Altmann and Public Safety Director Eddie Roth said they didn't know what killed the man.

At least 17 people were hospitalized, including five who were initially in critical condition but are now said to be in serious condition. Up to 100 people were treated at the scene, mostly for minor injuries such as cuts and bruises.

Officials said straight-line winds whipped through the large tent outside Kilroy's Sports Bar, near Busch Stadium. The crowd was celebrating after the Cardinals beat Milwaukee 7-3 earlier in the afternoon.

Roth said winds of about 50 mph shattered aluminum poles that held up the tent, which was located south of the stadium. The force of the wind blew the tent onto an adjacent railroad bridge.

"It was crazy, scary," said Annie Randall, whose family owns Kilroy's. "We're just so sorry this happened."

Kilroy's owner Art Randall described a short burst of a storm - perhaps five seconds, he said - with a massive wind that lifted the huge tent, threw it perhaps 100 feet into the air and sent the aluminum poles and most everything in the tent airborne.

When he heard the boom, he initially thought a train had derailed into the tent.

As the wind blew, a bolt of lightning crashed into the bar, Randall said. He said firefighters told him it was a lightning strike - not flying debris - that killed the man.

"At some point in that five seconds, we were getting lightning strikes, and apparently one of our customers got hit by lightning right in the middle of the dance floor," Randall said.

The bar owner said he screamed for help and three customers ran over to administer CPR, but they couldn't save the man.

Randall said he looked around "and saw 50 bodies scattered everywhere."

The man who died appeared to be in his 50s, Roth said. His name has not been released.

Roth said the tent had passed inspection and it didn't appear there would be any violation, although the investigation is ongoing.

Randall described a scene in which barstools, pedestals and a 100-pound bass amplifier were flying through the air. The disc jockey working the party was struck by the amp and knocked unconscious, the bar owner said, and people were scurrying to help one another.

"My wife had people in the beer cooler - we had the beer cooler loaded with injuries," Randall said. "It was a triage deal."

Kilroy's is among several bars near Busch Stadium, and many bars set up tents for the excess business after Cardinals games. Crowds were also large because the St. Louis Blues were playing against the Los Angeles Kings Saturday night in the first game of the NHL's Western Conference semifinals.

The St. Louis area was under thunderstorm and tornado warnings several times Saturday. About two hours after the incident at Kilroy's, tornado sirens blared throughout the city after a funnel cloud sighting. There were several reports of tree damage, power lines down and damage from hail that in some parts of the region reportedly was as big as tennis balls.

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Brookhaven crash kills former high school football star

Eyewitness NewsBROOKHAVEN (WABC) -- Former high school football star Willie Davis of Bellport was killed when the car in which he was riding went out of control and crashed Friday night on the Montauk Highway in Brookhaven.

Dozens of grief-stricken friends and family gathered for a vigil Saturday night to mourn Davis's death.

"He was my uncle. I'm never going to see him again and that's hard to digest for me," said Davis's niece, Daejianna Claiborne.

"He had a great personality," said a friend, Lauren Demas.

"He walked into the room and it lit up no matter what the mood was in the room."

Davis was in the car with his cousin Jasheem Trent, who was driving when the car went spiraling out of control.

It happened around 3:30 Saturday morning on Montauk Highway in Brookhaven.

Investigators say Trent was speeding when his vehicle crossed over the double yellow line, left the roadway and overturned.

He's in the hospital with serious injuries.

Meanwhile Davis's former teammates from the Bellport high school football team also came to the vigil.

Joe Cipp Jr. coached Davis, but become more of a mentor to him.

"He came over to see me Easter Sunday and he gave me a hug," said Cipp.

"Unfortunately that was the last time I saw him, will see him."

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Mel Gibson on recent rant: I've got a little bit of a temper

Mel Gibson opened up about his most recent controversy on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and joked with the late night host about his short fuse.

"Maybe you don't know this about me, but I've got a little bit of a temper," Gibson told Jay Leno. "It's been kind of weird over the past few years - it's like living in a bad B-movie... how did I get here? It is bizarre."

Gibson recently made headlines for a rant made against screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who was attached to the actor's upcoming controversial film about the ancient Jewish hero Judah Maccabee.

Eszterhas, who also wrote the scripts for the movies "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls," accused the 56-year-old actor of anti-Semitism in a 9-page letter and has posted to the website The Wrap an audio tape of what is supposedly Gibson, yelling and hurling expletives.

"The guy writes a nine-page letter. I mean if he put half as much time and effort and creativity and imagination into a screenplay, which he was supposed to write, as he did into that letter, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Gibson said on the show. "It's kind of like you build a house, you hire a guy to put a roof on it. He comes over and eats lunch and talks about the roof and then you get rained on all night. Wouldn't you get kind of peeved."

The actor's spokesperson declined to comment about the recording. Gibson has struggled to resurrect his career following a 2006 drunk driving arrest, during which he ranted against Jews. He says Eszterhas' description of his "statements and actions" are "utter fabrications."

This wasn't the first Gibson rant to go viral. A taped phone conversation between him and Oksana Grigorieva, which also featured him hurling expletives as well as racist comments, was released to the tabloid website RadarOnline in August 2010 as the two were engaged in a custody battle over their daughter. The actor claims that tape was edited, which his ex-girlfriend denies.

Gibson was charged with misdemeanor battery over a past confrontation with Grigorieva and made a plea deal. He was sentenced to informal probation for 36 months and was also ordered to undergo counseling for anger management and domestic violence prevention, which he completed last month. If he violates his probation, Gibson could face up to a year in prison.

Gibson issued an apology after his infamous 2006 arrest, during which he allegedly said: "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." He pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and was sentenced to three years of probation and underwent alcohol rehabilitation.

Gibson's newest film "Get The Gringo" is slated for release on May 1. In the movie, the actor plays a man who gets himself locked up in a rough Mexican prison and learns to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy.

Watch Gibson's appearance on "The Late Show with Jay Leno" and a trailer for "Get the Gringo" below.

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Saturday 28 April 2012

Clemens prosecutors sought to preclude evidence

In this Feb. 13, 2008 file photo, former New York Yankees baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, left, listens to the testimony of his former personal trainer Brian McNamee, right, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The New York Times reported on its website Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010, that federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified under oath at a hearing before a House committee and contradicted each other about whether Clemens had used the banned substances. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh)

FREDERIC J. FROMMERWASHINGTON -- A motion partially unsealed late Friday shows that prosecutors in the Roger Clemens case sought to keep out allegations made against the government's key witness by his ex-wife.

In the motion, prosecutors urge the judge to prevent the former star pitcher from using the damaging information concerning the witness, Brian McNamee - including that as a police officer, McNamee once placed a beer can in a dead woman's hand at a crime scene. The prosecutors argue the information is irrelevant to the trial.

The government had originally filed the motion under seal last month, arguing its contents would subject potential jurors to prejudicial information about McNamee.

In a pretrial hearing, an attorney representing The Associated Press and The New York Times urged U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to unseal the motion. He declined to do so, saying he shared the prosecutors' fears that the information, if publicly disclosed, would complicate getting an impartial jury.

But when the jury was picked, Walton told the prosecutors that they would have to unseal information in the motion that wasn't already sealed in the New York divorce proceeding.

Walton has not yet ruled on the government's motion to keep the information out.

Clemens is accused of lying to Congress when he said he never used performance-enhancing drugs. McNamee, the pitcher's former strength coach, says he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone multiple times, which Clemens denies.

In a motion to "preclude evidence, comment and argument regarding government witnesses' prior bad acts," the government seeks to exclude the following:

-A 2001 incident during a Yankees road trip to Florida in which police reports said McNamee was seen having sex with an incoherent woman in a St. Petersburg hotel pool. The woman told police she could not remember what happened, and the date rape drug GHB was found in her system. McNamee, who was never charged, denied he assaulted the woman but instead told police he was trying to pull her out of the pool and rescue her from drowning. But he lied to investigators, including denying he worked for the Yankees, and falsely denying knowing how the woman became incoherent. The prosecution says that with the exception of the false statements to police, the 2001 incident is inadmissible.

-McNamee's "purported misconduct" as a New York City police officer. The prosecution says that in his unpublished manuscript, McNamee admits to being docked 30 days' pay for losing his gun. He also says he "tried to create some humor to get a good laugh" by placing a discarded beer can in a dead woman's hand at a crime scene. While he wasn't disciplined, he admitted falsely telling a supervisor he didn't touch anything at the scene.

"While distasteful conduct, Mr. McNamee's action of posing the dead woman's body with the beer can does not in any way relate to Mr. McNamee's ability to tell the truth," the prosecutors argue in their filing. McNamee admits that he was disciplined for an incident that remains blacked out in the pleading but that he said he "did everything by the book that night" and that a desk sergeant failed to adequately oversee the prisoner.

Other areas the government seeks to keep out are McNamee's alleged drug abuse, past financial difficulties and potential tax liabilities.

The Clemens team has said it will try to undermine McNamee's credibility as a witness, including suggesting he had financial motives for his claims about injecting Clemens with steroids and HGH.

The trial resumes Monday after a five-day break.

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Clifton, NJ cop seen on tape slapping teenager

CLIFTON, New Jersey (WABC) -- A Clifton, New Jersey police officer is facing questions after appearing on tape throwing a punch at a teenage boy.

The video shows 15-year-old Alex Cruz going at it with a Clifton police officer in a video plastered all over YouTube.

First he's pushed to the ground, but he gets up and runs at the officer and appears to slap him across the face and an all out altercation breaks out.

"He pushed me and hit me and the other cop came and choked me," said Cruz.

Alex has a cut under his eye and a court ordered electronic monitor around his ankle.

Telling his story Exclusively to Eyewitness News, he says he was just trying to break up a fight between his girlfriend and another girl when the officers showed up.

"He said I hit him before everything happened and I didn't," adds Cruz.

Clifton police have seen the video and are investigating but so far standing by the officer's use of force.

"Whatever force is reasonable in overcoming the force the suspect is using against the officer," said Det. Robert Bracken.

And what's more, police say once they finally got him cuffed, his attitude didn't get any better.

"Upon arrival at headquarters he continued his belligerent aggressive behavior toward officers... He began spitting on the floors of the police department," adds Cruz.

Even though Alex says he did nothing wrong, he would do something different next time.

"I could have let them do what whatever," he adds.

No one involved says the officer didn't hit Alex, the question is, was he justified in doing so.

Alex will face his charges in juvenile court. The Internal Affairs investigation continues, but the officer remains on active duty.

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Tigers OF Delmon Young arrested at NYC hotel

COLLEEN LONGNEW YORK -- Detroit Tigers left fielder Delmon Young was arrested Friday on a hate crime harassment charge after police said he got into a fight with a group of men and yelled anti-Semitic epithets.

Young was standing outside of the Hilton New York at about 1:30 a.m., where he was staying ahead of a series with the New York Yankees that starts Friday night. Nearby, a group of about four Chicago tourists staying at the hotel were approached by a panhandler wearing a yarmulke and a Star of David around his neck. After, as the group walked up to the hotel doors, Young started yelling anti-Semitic epithets, police said.

It was not clear whom Young was yelling at, but he got into a tussle with the Chicago group, and a 32-year-old man sustained scratches to his elbows, according to police.

Both Young and the group went inside the hotel, and at some point, police were called, and Young was arrested, police said. He was arrested on a charge of aggravated harassment as a hate crime.

Young was first taken to a hospital because he was believed to be intoxicated, police said. He was at a police precinct and may be facing arraignment later.

Young says in a statement "I sincerely regret what happened last night." He apologizes to the Tigers owners and organization, his teammates, family and Detroit fans.

Young adds, "I take this matter very seriously and assure everyone that I will do everything I can to improve myself as a person and player."

Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski had no comment. The team said in a statement that it was aware of the incident. Because of a provision in baseball's labor contract, the team said any allegation involving alcohol is referred to baseball's employee assistance program.

"It would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time," the Tigers said.

It was not clear whether Young would play Friday at the 7:05 p.m. game. The Tigers were home Thursday afternoon, where Young went 0-for-3 with a walk in a 5-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Young is hitting .242 with one home run and five RBIs, is signed to a one-year contract for $6,725,000 and can become a free agent after the season.

In 2006, Young was suspended for 50 games without pay by the International League for throwing a bat that hit a replacement umpire in the chest. Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 amateur draft, was ejected in the first inning after taking a called third strike. He lingered in the batter's box, walked away and then threw his bat end over end at the umpire, hitting him in the chest.

Young has played for the Tigers since last season, spending two seasons before with the Minnesota Twins. He's the younger brother of former outfielder and first baseman Dmitri Young.

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Shuttle Enterprise arrives in New York City

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The space shuttle Enterprise arrived in New York City on Friday morning, treating residents and visitors to a remarkable sight in the sky.

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIEWER PHOTOS OF THE ENTERPRISE OVER NEW YORK CITY

Enterprise zoomed around the city, riding piggyback on top of a modified jumbo jet. Its trip included flyovers over parts of the city and landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan's west side.

As the shuttle passed Manhattan, people gathered on rooftops to gawk. It was chased through the air by a NASA plane, and in the Hudson River by numerous ferries and other boats.

The shuttle had been scheduled to arrive earlier in the week, but NASA pushed it back because of bad weather.

The Enterprise is being brought to the city where it has a new permanent home waiting at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. While the Enterprise did not have the capability of heading to space, it served as a research and training model for other shuttles. What NASA learned from The Enterprise forced design changes on the shuttles that did achieve orbit. For the last thirty years, she has sat in the Smithsonian Museum.

The Enterprise departed from Washington DC's Dulles International Airport on the back of a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) shortly after 9:30 a.m., the same way it and its sister shuttles have made their way around the country during the decades of the Space Shuttle Program.

The flight landed at JFK Airport shortly before 11:30 a.m.

The shuttle will be moved by barge to the Intrepid museum for public display in June. The museum is at a decommissioned aircraft carrier moored off Manhattan. It's been making room for the shuttle on its flight deck. It's scheduled to open to the public in mid-July.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF ENTERPRISE AND THE INTREPID

ONLINE: Click here for a look at the space shuttles and their transition from space travel to museums at NASA.gov

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Baby security breach closes Newark terminal

SAMANTHA HENRYNEWARK -- A terminal at Newark Liberty International Airport was shut down for over an hour Friday after officials discovered that a baby hadn't been properly screened, Transportation Security Administration officials said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, described the incident as a security breach that occurred at around 1:15 p.m. at a security checkpoint. Terminal C was evacuated and passengers had to go through security screening again.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said a mother and baby went through a metal detector when the machine sounded an alarm. The mother handed the child to the father, who had already been screened. The mother was cleared, but the baby hadn't been properly screened. The parents and baby left the checkpoint and headed to their gate, Farbstein said.

TSA officers searched for the family in the secure area of the terminal and notified Port Authority police as per protocol, but they emphasized that it was a low-risk situation, Farbstein said.

A TSA official said they had explained the circumstances of the breach to the Port Authority police and recommended against evacuating the terminal since it was a low-risk situation.

Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman, said that it took the TSA more than 30 minutes to notify police of the lapse and that officers "took immediate action to make sure the breach did not endanger passengers or our facility."

"We're not going to second-guess a real-time decision made by our police department to err on the side of caution and protect passenger safety," he said.

The terminal and checkpoint were closed from 1:30 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.

Passenger Jennifer Pallanich said she was on a Houston-bound flight scheduled to depart at about 2 p.m. and boarding had been completed, but because of the breach, the passengers had to evacuate and go through security screening again.

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Gwyneth Paltrow on post-partum depression: I felt like a zombie

Gwyneth Paltrow said that her husband Chris Martin helped her come to terms with her post-partum depression.

Paltrow made her comments in an interview during the premiere of the new Lifetime series, "The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet," telling the host, "I couldn't connect with my son the way that I had with my daughter and I couldn't understand why. I couldn't connect to anyone. I felt like a zombie. I felt very detached."

The 39-year-old Oscar winner and Martin, 35 welcomed their first child, a daughter named Apple, in May 2004. Their son Moses was born in April 2006.

"I just didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't figure it out. It never occurred to me," the actress continued. "My husband actually said, 'Something's wrong. I think you have postnatal depression.' I was mortified. 'No I don't!' And then I started researching what it was and the symptoms and I was like, 'Oh, yes I do.'"

"We think that it makes us bad mothers or we didn't do it right, but it's like, we're all in this together," Paltrow said. "I never understand why mothers judge other mothers, like, 'What do you mean you didn't breastfeed? What do you mean you didn't do this?' It's like, 'Can't we all just be on each other's side?' It's so hard anyway. Can't we all help each other get through it?"

Paltrow married Martin, the front man for the British band Coldplay, in December 2003. The couple met shortly after Paltrow's father, who she was very close to, died due to complications from oral cancer and pneumonia. Paltrow told Cadenet that she felt like she never needed a man before her father died because he was everything to her.

"The Conversation" premiered on Lifetime on April 26 and featured intimate celebrity interviews with Jane Fonda, Paltrow, Sarah Silverman and Zoe Saldana, hosted by British TV personality and photographer Amanda de Cadenet. Executive producer Demi Moore joined Cadenet at the series premiere earlier this month.

Paltrow recently finished filming "Thanks for Sharing" opposite Mark Ruffalo, Pink, Tim Robbins and Joely Richardson. The dramatic comedy follows a group of sex addicts who bond over their determination to recover from their addiction.

The actress is also set to reprise her "Iron Man" role as Pepper Potts in "Iron Man 3" and in the spinoff film "The Avengers," which is set for release on May 4, 2012.

Watch a preview for Gwyneth Paltrow's appearance on "The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet" below or the entire episode on Lifetime's website.

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