New York, New Jersey, Connecticut News: December 2012

Thursday 20 December 2012

Owner protests to get well-dressed Ikea monkey back

TORONTO -- A woman whose pet monkey was found wandering in an Ikea parking lot protested Wednesday with some 15 other people at a Toronto Animal Services office Wednesday in an effort to get him back.

Yasmin Nakhuda alleges the Japanese macaque, named Darwin, was illegally taken from her by animal control officials and moved to a sanctuary in Sunderland, Ontario, where he now lives.

Nakhuda is due in court Thursday to try to get an interim order to have returned to her.

Her lawyer, Ted Charney, says he has been told the sanctuary plans to ask for the case to be adjourned Thursday.

"Nakhuda has no claim of ownership over a wild animal that is no longer in her possession," the sanctuary said in its response to her filing to have Darwin returned.

A filing from the sanctuary asks for an adjournment on several counts, including a request that it be given more time to gather evidence.

The sanctuary also claims that it now owns Darwin, arguing that unlike domestic animals, wild animals are owned by the person that possesses them and Nakhuda voluntarily turned the monkey over to Toronto Animal Services.

The young monkey captured worldwide attention earlier this month when he was spotted wandering the store parking lot in a little coat.

Nakhuda, a real estate lawyer, said she was never given the chance to remedy the situation after being fined $240 for breaking the city's prohibited-animal bylaw.

"I've spoken to a number of people in the legal community and they do agree that there is no statute allowing the city to take an animal away based on the circumstances," Nakhuda said at the protest.

In court documents, Nakhuda says she, her husband and their two kids would be willing to move to a city that allows monkeys in order to keep Darwin, whom they consider part of the family.

Nakhuda said she hopes to have Darwin back by Christmas.

The primate sanctuary has said the monkey is doing well and the agency was prepared to fight any legal challenges for its return.

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Funerals become sad routine after Newtown tragedy

by DAVID KLEPPERNEWTOWN, Conn. -- A season that should be a time of joy has been marked by heart-wrenching loss in Newtown, as more victims from the massacre of 20 children and six adults are laid to rest.

At least nine funerals and wakes were held Wednesday for those who died when gunman Adam Lanza, armed with a military-style assault rifle, broke into Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday and opened fire. Lanza killed his mother at her home before the attack and committed suicide at the school as police closed in.

On Thursday, six funerals and five wakes were planned, and more tributes were scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

"The first few days, all you heard were helicopters," said Dr. Joseph Young, an optometrist who attended one funeral and would go to several more. "Now at my office all I hear is the rumble of motorcycle escorts and funeral processions going back and forth throughout the day."

At St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church on Wednesday, mourners arrived for Caroline Previdi, an auburn-haired 6-year-old with an impish smile, before the service had even ended for Daniel Barden, a 7-year-old who dreamed of being a firefighter.

"It's sad to see the little coffins," said the Rev. John Inserra, a Catholic priest who worked at St. Rose for years before transferring to a church in Greenwich.

"It's always hard to bury a child," Inserra said of the seemingly unrelenting cycle of sorrow and loss. "God didn't do this. God didn't allow this. We allowed it. He said, 'Send the little children to me.' But he didn't mean it this way."

Hundreds of firefighters formed a long blue line outside the church for Daniel's funeral. Two of his relatives work at the Fire Department of New York, and the gap-toothed redhead had wanted to join their ranks one day.

At Caroline's funeral, mourners wore pink ties and scarves - her favorite color - and remembered her as a New York Yankees fan who liked to kid around. "Silly Caroline" was how she was known to neighbor Karen Dryer.

"She's just a girl that was always smiling, always wanting others to smile," Dryer said.

Across town, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, hundreds gathered for the funeral of Charlotte Helen Bacon, many wearing buttons picturing the 6-year-old redhead. Speakers, including her grandfather, told of her love of wild animals, the family's golden retriever and the color pink.

She was "a beautiful little girl who could be a bit stubborn at times, just like all children," said Danbury resident Linda Clark as she left the service.

And in nearby Stratford, family and friends gathered to say goodbye to Victoria Soto, a first-grade teacher hailed as a hero for trying to shield her students, some of whom escaped. Musician Paul Simon, a family friend, performed "The Sound of Silence" at the service.

"She had the perfect job. She loved her job," said Vicky Ruiz, a friend since first grade.

In Woodbury, a line of colleagues, students and friends of slain Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, wrapped around the block to pay their respects to the administrator, who rushed the gunman in an effort to stop him and paid with her life. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan attended the service.

"She loved kids. She'd do anything to help them and protect them," said Joann Opulski, of Roxbury.

The symbol of Christmas took on a new meaning in Newtown, where one memorial featured 26 Christmas trees - one for each victim at the school.

Edward Kish said he bought a Christmas tree two days before the shooting but hasn't had the heart to put it up or decorate it.

"I'll still put it up, probably," he said. "It doesn't seem right, and it doesn't seem like Christmas."

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed, Helen O'Neill, John Christoffersen, Katie Zezima and Pat Eaton-Robb in Newtown; Michael Melia in Hartford; and Larry Margasak in Washington and AP Business Writer Joshua Freed in Minneapolis.

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Feds: Teen, 17, hired to strip at bar, paid in alcohol

Eyewitness NewsNATIONAL PARK (WABC) -- Regulators have suspended the alcohol license for a southern New Jersey bar after managers were caught hiring a 17-year-old to strip and paying her with alcohol.

Park Place Bar and Grill in National Park cannot serve alcohol for 50 days as a result of the decision announced Thursday by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Officials say an investigator in February 2011 found the minor being served drinks by a bartender, who told officials she was directed to give her as many drinks as she wanted "to loosen her up."

A bartender, manager and owner were charged with serving alcohol to a minor. The girl and two others were charged with underage drinking.

"The division aggressively sought the suspension of this license, and we will continue to look for licensees who serve alcohol available to persons under the legal age," said Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Michael Halfacre. "This case was particularly troubling because the licensee used alcohol to exploit a minor for financial gain."

In addition to admitting the underage violations, Park Place Bar and Grill also conceded they had been purchasing alcohol from a nearby liquor store for sale at their establishment, which is also a violation.

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The Trend: Mayans, Miss Universe and Rewind Style

Good morning!

Google's hot searches list of 2012 is out. Whitney Houston was the top trending search, according to the Zeigeist report - Google's 12th annual round up of top internet trends. Korean rapper PSY's Gangnam Style music video was the second most searched term. The video has nearly a billion views on YouTube. Superstorm Sandy ranked third. Round out the top 10: iPad 3, Diablo 3, Kate Middleton, the 2012 Olympics, Amada Todd, Michael Clarke Duncan and BBB12 (also known as Big Brother Brasil, a reality show featuring barely dressed men and women living together).

Wait there's more!

The top memes (a way to spread addictive ideas and phrases) are out. Facebook says its top memes included TBH (To Be Honest), YOLO (You Only Live Once), SMH (Shake My Head) and Big Bird, thanks to Mitt Romney.

Yahoo's top searched memes include Kony 2012 (the short film and campaign against Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony), "stingray photobomb" (a vacation photo that went viral) and "binders full of women," thanks again to Mitt Romney.

And last but not least, the most popular retweets of 2012 according to Twitter are President Obama's "For more years" and Justin Bieber's "RIP Avalanna. i love you." Avalanna was a six-year-old girl who died from a rare form of brain cancer. She was one of Bieber's biggest fans.

Speaking of Tweets, the Pope has tweeted for the first time. "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart," Pope Benedict tweeted early this morning. He actually has 8 Twitter accounts, so he can tweet in different languages.

Two giant asteroids passed close to Earth today. The asteroids 2012 XE54 and 4179 Toutatis did not pose any danger to the planet, experts say. Toutatis was the much larger of the two, often described as a “malformed potato.” Well, this potato is about 3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. By comparison, the asteroid suspected of wiping out dinosaurs is estimated to have been about 6 miles wide. Close, of course, is a matter of perspective, but Toutatis came within 4.3 million miles of Earth, or about 18 times the distance between planet rock and the moon. That was close enough to be picked up by telescopes and streamed live on various space watching sites. Toutatis passes by Earth about every four years.

An outpouring of remembrances for Pandit Ravi Shankar is a trending topic on Twitter this morning. Shankar's music transcended cultural barriers, bringing Indian music to the west, during a life that lasted nearly a century. Shankar, already famous in India at the time, taught Beatle George Harrison to play the sitar in the sixties and took Eastern music mainstream, performing at Monterey in 1967 and at Woodstock in 1969. One of his daughters is jazz singer Norah Jones. Shankar, who was 92, had been in failing health over the past year, but continued to perform. He shared a stage with another daughter Anoushka, who is also a sitar virtuoso, just last month. It was his last public performance.

Actress Amy Adams continues to pick up honors ahead of Oscar season. She will receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Cinema's Vanguard Award for her performance in The Master. The honor comes on the heels of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association naming Adams as best supporting actress for her performance as the wife of a charismatic spiritual leader in the 1950s. She has been nominated for Oscars three times, but has never won.

Ask Men's annual list of 99 most desirable women is out and the bigger winner is Jennifer Lawrence, the star of The Hunger games. Desirability is determined by attractiveness, personality, talent and other factors, according to Ask Men. Mila Kunis and model Kate Upton round out the top 3. Kim Kardashian, who ranked in the top 10 on the list last year, has dropped to 98.

From YouTube, Silent Night 2012 at Taylor University. It's one of the coolest traditions in college sports. Fans remain silent until Taylor U scores its 10th point of the game. Then, the crowd goes wild.

It appears that catfish like bird hunting, at least in this viral video.

So this guy was apparently babysitting and having some fun with the kids, but he didn't think it through. Check out the video.

Finally, be careful on the road if visiting New Zealand. Dogs can drive.

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

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IIHS releases crash tests for midsized family cars

Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON (WABC) -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is reporting on new crash tests for a group of 18 midsize family cars.

The testing checks how the cars do when just the front corner hits another vehicle or a roadside object, like a tree or pole.

Two cars, the Honda Accord and Suzuki Kizashi earned good ratings, while 11 models were in the acceptable range. But two cars from Toyota were rated poor. Those were the Camry and the Prius V, which sustained major structural deformation in the test.

As a group, the midsize family cars outperformed the midsize luxury cars tested earlier.

The Institute implemented the new tests after research showed that about a quarter of serious injuries and deaths in frontal crashes occur in these small overlap impacts.

CLICK HERE to read the full report from the IIHS.

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All LIE lanes reopened after deadly 35-vehicle crash

Eyewitness NewsUPTON (WABC) -- All lanes reopened on the Long Island Expressway Thursday morning following a deadly chain-reaction crash that shut down the highway in both directions for more than 15 hours.

Crews worked through the night to try to clean up what was left of the 35 vehicles involved in the accident, which happened just before 3 p.m. on an eastbound lane at exit 68 near Upton in Suffolk County.

The fiery crash killed one and injured more than two dozen people. Police say Raymond Simoneau, 42, of Rockingham, Vermont, was driving a tractor-trailer eastbound on the LIE when his vehicle struck a number of cars.

The initial collision led to several chain-reaction crashes involving 33 other vehicles.

The tractor-trailer, which was carrying storm debris, and two additional vehicles caught fire and were extinguished by fire department personnel.

A car involved in the initial collision with the tractor-trailer was incinerated beyond recognition, with its tires punctured and paint burned off its body. Some SUVs and cars suffered extensive damage while others appeared to have barely a scratch; all were haphazardly stopped across the highway, which is up to six lanes in parts.

A Blue Point woman, 68, was driving a Toyota Camry eastbound on the LIE when her vehicle was involved in the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Approximately 33 people were injured and were transported to area hospitals, including Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in East Patchogue, Stony Brook University Hospital and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson.

At least one of those injured, a 57-year-old man, is in serious condition.

The LIE was closed eastbound at exit 66 and westbound at exit 69. All lanes reopened just before 6 a.m.

The cause of the accident hadn't been determined, and no charges had been filed related to it. Investigators were working to sort out the sequence of events that led to the accident.

"Anybody rolling up on this scene you would think there would be definitely more than just one fatality," said John Mirando, chief of the Ridge Fire Department. "It's just lucky that it's only one, but it could have been a lot worse."

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT ON THE LIE

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Miss USA wins 1st Miss Universe crown since 1997

HANNAH DREIERLAS VEGAS -- An American university student is the new Miss Universe, defeating dozens of contestants from six continents to bring the crown back to the U.S. after a drought of more than a decade.

Twenty-year-old Olivia Culpo won the title Wednesday night at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip, replacing outgoing champion Leila Lopes of Angola.

CLICK HERE to see images from the pageant

The Boston University sophomore's coronation ends a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC. An American had not won the Miss Universe title since Brook Lee won in 1997.

Culpo, who beat out 88 competitors, wore a tight navy blue mini-dress with a sequined bodice as she walked on stage for the event's opening number. Later in the night, she strutted in a purple and blue bikini, and donned a wintery red velvet gown with a plunging neckline.

No one was more surprised than Culpo's family when told them she was entering the Miss Rhode Island contest last year, her father Peter recalled.

"We didn't know a thing about pageants," he said.

She won that contest in a rented $20 dress with a hole in it and then began working out, dieting, and studying current events on flashcards to compete for the Miss USA crown.

Culpo was good enough during preliminary Miss Universe contests to be chosen as one of 16 semifinalists who moved on to compete in the main show. Her bid lasted through swimsuit, evening wear, and interview competitions that saw cuts after each round.

She won over the judges even after tripping slightly during the evening gown competition. Telecasters pointed it out but also noted her poised recovery.

Moments before she won, Culpo was asked whether she had she had ever done something she regretted.

"I'd like to start off by saying that every experience no matter what it is, good or bad, you'll learn from it. That's just life," she said. "But something I've done I've regretted is probably picking on my siblings growing up, because you appreciate them so much more as you grow older."

One of those siblings, 17-year-old Gus, was cheering from the front row with his sister's glittering Miss Rhode Island sash wrapped around his shoulders Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third. All the contestants spent the past two weeks in Sin City, where they posed in hardhats at a hotel groundbreaking, took a painting lesson, and pranked hotel guests by hiding in their rooms.

After the show, Culpo appeared wearing a white gold crown atop her long brown hair and told a group of reporters she hoped to bring the country some good news in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Connecticut.

"It's such an honor to be representing the USA in an international beauty contest in spite of all the tragedy that's happened in this country lately," she said. "I really hope that this this will raise everybody's spirits a little."

The daughter of two professional musicians, Culpo grew up in Cranston and spent her summers at band camp. She has played the cello alongside world-renowned classical musician Yo-Yo Ma, and followed in her parents' footsteps with performances at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Her father called her the "nerdiest" of her siblings, and her brother recalled that she was "really chubby and sort of weird when she was younger."

They speculated that the same single-mindedness that helped her master the cello in second grade propelled her rapid rise through the beauty pageant ranks.

With her promotion, Miss Maryland Nana Meriwether becomes the new Miss USA.

The Miss Universe pageant was back in Las Vegas this year after being held in Sao Paulo in 2011. It aired live on NBC and was streamed to more than 100 countries.

The panel of 10 judges included singer Cee Lo Green, "Iron Chef" star Masaharu Morimoto and Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants.

Asked on the red carpet whether he found playing in the World Series or judging the beauty pageant to be more difficult, Sandoval said both were hard.

As Miss Universe, Culpo will receive an undisclosed salary, a wardrobe fit for a queen, a limitless supply of beauty products, and a luxury apartment in New York City.

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Cory Booker to explore senate run

Eyewitness NewsNEWARK (WABC) -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker has announced via Twitter that he will explore a run for U.S. Senate in 2014.

Booker's tweet linked to a statement on his website in which he writes, "Let there be no doubt, I will complete my full second term as mayor. As for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for The United States Senate in 2014."

Sources tell Eyewitness News reporter Dave Evans that Booker will only run if Lautenberg declines. Lautenberg will be 90 in 2014.

"As I explore a run for the United States Senate, I look forward to consulting with Senator Lautenberg," he wrote in his statement. "During my lifetime, he has been one of New Jersey's most important leaders. It would be a privilege to continue his great legacy of service."

The decision means that Booker will not be challenging Governor Chris Christie next year. Booker was considered the best chance for Democrats against the popular Republican governor.

CLICK HERE TO READ CORY BOOKER'S FULL STATEMENT

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NYC Marathon runners have options after canceled race

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Marathon runners can receive a refund of their entry fee after this year's race was canceled because of Superstorm Sandy.

Officials said when the event was called off last month they had a no-refund policy but had not made a final decision on whether to make an exception. Organizer New York Road Runners informed entrants Thursday that they had three options to choose from - one of them a refund.

Below is the official release from the NYRR:

Option #1 - Refund. While NYRR has always had a no-refund policy for the Marathon, given these extraordinary circumstances, we are offering runners who were entered in the 2012 Marathon, and were unable to run due to the cancellation 1, the opportunity to obtain a full refund of their 2012 Marathon entry fee (excluding the $11 processing fee); OR

Option #2 - Guaranteed entry to the ING New York City Marathon for 2013, 2014, or 2015. Entrants in the 2012 Marathon who choose this option will be granted guaranteed entry to the Marathon for the year they choose. Runners will be required to pay all processing and entry fees at the time of application (in the given year), with fees maintained at the same rate as those paid in 2012; OR

Option #3 - Guaranteed entry to the NYC Half 2013. Entrants in the 2012 Marathon who choose this option will be granted guaranteed entry to the NYC Half 2013, to be run on March 17, 2013. Runners will be required to pay all processing and entry fees at the time of application. Availability will be limited.

More information about the options is available on ING NYC Marathon website at www.ingnycmarathon.org/resolution.htm

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