Uptown Radio

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John Light brings us the news at 5:00 p.m.

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Jackie Mader brings us the news at 4:00 p.m.

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BY WILL SLOAN

Opening statements were made today in the trial of Dharun Ravi, a 19-year-old former Rutgers student who illicitly recorded roommate Tyler Clementi having sexual relations with another man. Clementi committed suicide after Ravi posted information about the recording online. Cassandra Cicco, who lived in Riva’s dorm, was a defense witness: “He said he didn’t have an issue with homosexuals, and in fact he had a good friend who was a homosexual and he had no issue with him at all,” said Cicco.

Ravi faces 15 criminal charges, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation. If convicted, Ravi could spend up to 10 years in prison.

New York regulators passed legislation today forbidding insurance companies from collecting interest on money owed to family of military members killed in action. Under the previous law, insurance companies could place money in checking accounts, and keeping the accumulating interest, instead of paying families directly. New York is the first state to enact legistlation of this sort.

26-year-old Jose Rojas was convicted of assault today for shoving a stranger into an oncoming subway train. Rojas, who has been jailed since the incident in August 2010 was acquitted on the charge of attempted murder, after lawyers successfully argued that his actions were a drunken accident.

Patrick Foye, the head of the New York Port Authority, has called out the docks of New York and New Jersey as “bastions of deliberate racial and gender discrimination.” Statistics from the Waterfront Commission reveal that dock workers are approximately 85 percent white, and over 90 percent male. The Port Authority owns the docks, and Foye promises to use “every tool at his disposal” to enact diversity hiring plans.

Weather will be overcast today, with scattered rain and a high of 46 degrees, with a low of 35 degrees at night.

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BY ANDREW PARSONS

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has ordered troops not to retaliate for the death of two American soldiers. The two were killed yesterday in riots over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. air base in Bahgram. President Obama apologized for the burnings but protests

continue, leaving at least 7 dead.

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Today, leaders from about 60 nations met in Tunisia and called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to immediately end the violence in his country and to allow humanitarian aid into areas hit by his regime´s crackdown.

BY MACKENZIE ISSLER

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was at the meeting, which is being called “The Friends of Syria.”

Clinton describe Assad´s crackdown as QUOTE an affront to the international community, a threat to regional security and a grave violation of universal human rights.

The group vowed to step up ties with the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group. It also asked the United Nations to begin planning a civilian peacekeeping mission, however Russia and China resisted such calls.

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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney outlined his economic plan in Detroit today, just days before Michigan´s primary. Among his new ideas were tax cuts and changes in social security. He also criticized the president´s economic record.

“Now everywhere I´ve gone in this campaign I´ve met Americans who were suffering as a result of the Obama economy,” the candidate said. “You can see it in their faces and you can hear it in their voices. They´re anxious, they´re scared about the future.”

Michigan is Romney´s home state but polls show him in a tight race there with former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. Voters go to the polls on Tuesday.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew to Cuba today for surgery to remove a potentially cancerous growth. This will be his second cancer-related operation. Chavez spoke on Venezuelan state TV for four hours yesterday, assuring the country he is healthy. The firey President is up for re-election this year and says he will see his campaign through.

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Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire are pushing legislation to overturn a 12-year old law requiring health insurance companies to provide contraception to women – even if they insure Catholic organizations. State House Speaker William O’Brien says the measure promotes religious freedom.

“The Obama administration is trying to divide this country and to divide women against Catholics,” O’Brien said. “The amendment before you, however, is a way of guaranteeing religious freedom by ensuring that we are not forcing employers to purchase health care coverage that violates their belief.”

New Hampshire Democrats say that the move is an election year ploy since the original law was passed by a Republican legislature.

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Sales of new homes dropped last month but the Commerce Department says that the despite the dip, housing market is growing. The department released new numbers on last year´s sales – showing a ten percent increase at the last quarter of 2011.
Today, leaders from about 60 nations met in Tunisia and called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to immediately end the violence in his country and to allow humanitarian aid into areas hit by his regime´s crackdown. Mackenzie Issler reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was at the meeting, which is being called “The Friends of Syria.”

Clinton describe Assad´s crackdown as QUOTE an affront to the international community, a threat to regional security and a grave violation of universal human rights.

The group vowed to step up ties with the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group. It also asked the United Nations to begin planning a civilian peacekeeping mission, however Russia and China resisted such calls.

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News headlines for February 17, 2012

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News headlines for February 17, 2012

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Residents in Lousiana’s rural Cajun country are evacuating today.

The Army Corp of Engineers will open a Mississippi River spillway into thousands of acres land in order to save more densely populated areas like New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The spillway could be opened as early as this weekend.

Exiled former Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff now says he will return to his country in March 2012.

The announcement comes after a twin bomb attack on a Pakistani military academy this morning. 80 people were killed, at least 120 wounded.

In a phone call to the Associated Press, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said the attacks were an attempt to avenge the death of Osama Bin Laden.

“We will not only wait for targeting Obama, rather we will take revenge upon any of his allies whether he is Pakistani, Afgani or American,” said Ahsan.

He also said the Taliban would take responsibility for whatever repercussions came from the attack.

The journal seized at Osama Bin Laden’s Abbaddabad compound shows that he planned to assassinate Barack Obama during the 2012 U.S. Presidential race.

He also wanted to execute 9/11 style attacks on smaller U.S. cities like Los Angeles, and to foment political unrest in Washington D.C.

The Syrian government announced that it would begin a national dialogue with citizens and regional leaders.

President Bashar al Assad ordered soldiers to depart from the cities of Banias and Deraa.

But witnesses report that they can still see tanks on the outskirts of Deraa. And activists say 3 were killed in today’s demonstrations.

The United Nations estimates that as many as 850 people have been killed since the protests began two months ago.

In the midst of all of this unrest in the Middle East, the United States will need to find a new Diplomat to lead peace talks. Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced today that he would step down from his post. Willow Belden reports.

White House Officials are confirming that former Senator George Mitchell will step down from his post as special Middle East envoy after two years in the position.

His resignation comes the week before President Obama delivers a major speech on U.S. policy in the region. The 77 year-old Mitchell is known as the broker of the 2007 Northern Ireland peace agreement.

The White House has not yet announced a successor.

The European Central Bank says Euro-zone countries are rebounding from the global recession faster than expected. Their economies grew at a rate of .08

That is twice the rate of the United States. Economists say that the high rate is due to major growth in Germany and a surprise rebound in Greece.

It’s 64 degrees and cloudy in New York. The weekend will be rainy with temperatures in the mid to high 60s.

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A closing argument was held today in the trial of two New York City police officers charged with raping a woman inside her East Village apartment. Officer Kenneth Moreno’s lawyer told jurors this morning “the evidence was not there” to convict him. Prosecutors say Moreno raped the woman in December 2008 while his partner Franklin Mata acted as a look out. The court is expected to resume on Monday with Mata’s lawyer’s closing argument.

A longtime New York legislator who admitted evading taxes and trying to influence a grand jury has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison. Former state Senator Vincent Leibell was sentenced Friday in White Plains. He pleaded guilty in December, resigning after 28 years in the state Legislature.

Prosecutors said today that one of the terror suspects arrested for planning to attack New York synagogues used to work as a make-up salesman for Saks Fifth Avenue. 27-year-old Ahmed Ferhani was caught with 20-year-old taxi dispatcher Mohammad Mamdouh on Tuesday night. They were trying to acquire weapons from an undercover NYPD officer.

Two former Galleon Group traders accused of insider trading lost motions seeking to introduce evidence or delay their trial, which is set to begin next week. They worked with co-founder Raj Rajaratnam who was convicted this week on 14 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

The state schools chancellor, Merryl Tisch says she would take New York governor Andrew Cuomo up on his proposal of implementing a tougher teacher evaluation plan. Cuomo had written a letter to the Sate Board of Regents earlier today, proposing more extensive use of student performance on tests and more rigorous classroom observation of teachers. This comes only a day after New York City Teachers Union rallied against a proposal to eliminate more than 6000 education jobs.

In his weekly radio address, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his administration is trying to raise private money so City kids can have summer jobs. He said usual funding for the program was lost in budget cuts. “The state severely cut the funding and at one time, federal stimulus money turned out to be one time,” Bloomberg said. So far, 18 groups have signed up to contribute. The Summer Youth Employment Program is for students and recent graduates aged 14 to 24. More than 80 thousand applicants have signed up.

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With just hours to go, a government shut down hangs in the balance as President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders remain at a stalemate with no signs of compromise.

Democrats say they made concessions to reach $37 billion in cuts, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Friday morning that a dispute over women’s health services – namely a rider that would cut funding for Planned Parenthood has prevented a deal.

Senator Harry Reid said: “The debate has nothing to do with the number. It has every thing to do with women’s health. That was the only issue that was left undone when we left the White House last night.”

House Speaker John Boehner didn’t mention the women’s issue in his own brief statement this morning. Instead, he blamed Democrats and the White House for not being serious about cutting government spending:

As the deadline gets closer the Obama Administration has readied furlough notices for hundreds of thousands of federal workers that are deemed non essential. Willow Belden explains what that means.

The precise definition of an “essential service” is a bit of a gray area. Each government agency essentially gets to choose which employees are indispensible. But some things are definite. Services protecting national security or public safety, keep going.

Federal prisons will remain open. Air traffic controllers will stay on the job. And our troops will keep fighting overseas.

People receiving social security or unemployment benefits will get their checks. And since the post office has a separate budget, you’ll still get your mail.

But here’s what will change:

The IRS won’t process tax returns. And if you’re trying to go to a national park … or get a new passport, that’s not going to happen.

Union leaders have filed suit, saying that making some federal employees work without pay violates the U.S. Constitution.

France’s embassy in Ivory Coast says the ambassador’s residence was hit by two mortar shells and a rocket fired from positions held by forces supporting the country’s strongman, Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to emerge from a bunker at his residence next door to the embassy.

A French statement says it is the second such attack in 48 hours. It did not say if there were any casualties

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $70 million to settle civil and criminal charges for bribing doctors in Europe and paying kickbacks to the Iraqi government to illegally obtain business.

The government accused Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries of providing money and travel gifts to doctors in Greece, Poland and Romania in exchange for their prescribing Johnson & Johnson products to patients.  Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries also allegedly paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government to obtain contracts under the United Nations Oil for Food Program.

NATO has acknowledged that its airstrikes hit rebels tanks in eastern Libya, but insisted that no one told them the rebels used tanks.

British Rear Admiral Russell Harding, the deputy commander of the NATO operation, said he regretted the accident, but did not apologize.

“I am not apologizing. The situation on the ground, as I said was extrememly fluid and remains extremely fluid.”

NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, however, expressed regret over the loss of life, saying alliance forces were doing everything possible to avoid harming civilians.