TOKYO (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday the evidence is "overwhelming" that a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean warship and the communist country must face international consequences for its actions. Speaking in Tokyo at the outset of a three-nation Asian trip, Clinton said the U.S., Japan, South Korea and China are consulting...

TOKYO (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday the evidence is "overwhelming" that a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean warship and the communist country must face international consequences for its actions.

Speaking in Tokyo at the outset of a three-nation Asian trip, Clinton said the U.S., Japan, South Korea and China are consulting on an appropriate reaction to an international investigation that blamed North Korea for the incident.

She said the report proves a North Korean sub fired a torpedo that sank the ship, the Cheonan, in March and that it could no longer be "business as usual" in dealing with the matter.

While it was "premature" to discuss exact options or actions that will be taken in response, Clinton said it was "important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences."

"The evidence is overwhelming and condemning. The torpedo that sunk the Cheonan and took the lives of 46 South Korean sailors was fired by a North Korean submarine," she told reporters at a joint press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.

"We cannot allow this attack on South Korea to go unanswered by the international community," she said. "This will not be and cannot be business as usual. There must be an international, not just a regional, but an international response."

North Korea denies it was responsible for the sinking and has threatened to retaliate against any attempt to punish it with "all-out war."

North Korea "will regard the present situation as the phase of a war and handle all problems in inter-Korean relations accordingly," Ri Chung Bok, deputy director of the Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, said in an interview with broadcaster APTN in Pyongyang.

Clinton's Asian tour, which will also take her to China and South Korea, was supposed to focus on U.S.-China economic issues. But that was before Thursday's release of the report which concluded that a North Korean sub had torpedoed a South Korean corvette on March 26, splitting the vessel in two and killing 46 sailors.

Input from the three countries will be key to determining an appropriate response, especially with fears that too tough a reaction could provoke new hostilities or spark chaos in the region. The Obama administration has said it wants South Korea to lead the way in coming up with possible responses.

Underscoring the concern, U.S. officials have refused to call the North's attack on the ship an act of war or state-sponsored terror, warning that an overreaction could cause the Korean peninsula to "explode." They said they would explore diplomatic steps through the U.N. or increase Washington's unilateral sanctions against North Korea's Soviet-style state.

Clinton's main task during her time in Beijing may be trying to persuade the Chinese to support U.N. Security Council action against North Korea. The Chinese have the most leverage over the reclusive regime, and Beijing's support for any international response to Pyongyang will be critical to its success.

At an emergency national security meeting Friday in Seoul, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his country was caught in a "perfect military ambush" but called for a cautious response to the sinking. Lee said the attack violated the U.N. Charter as well as the truce that ended the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.

After meeting with her Japanese counterpart Okada, Clinton said Tokyo and Washington were seeking to resolve a dispute over the relocation of a key Marine base on the southern island of Okinawa by the end of May - a deadline set by Japan's prime minister that looks increasingly unlikely.

According to a 2006 agreement, the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma was to be moved to a less crowded part of Okinawa, which hosts more than half the 47,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan. But the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama - who met with Clinton later Friday - has said it would like to move Futenma off the island, an idea widely supported by the local population.

However, Tokyo hasn't found a viable alternative site, and Hatoyama earlier this month said it was likely that at least part of Futenma's operations would remain on Okinawa. One idea floated is to build a replacement airstrip on pilings off the coast to reduce its environmental impact on nearby coral reefs.

"We both seek an arrangement that is operationally viable and politically sustainable," Clinton said. "We have committed to redoubling our efforts to meet the deadline that has been announced by the Japanese government."

Okada said the two sides were working together and that Tokyo would "make the utmost efforts to gain the understanding of the Okinawan people."

Related links
» How Did N.Korea Sink the Cheonan? [Chosun.com]

» Rep. Gary Ackerman: Put North Korea back on terrorism list [Politico]

» North Korea threatens 'all-out war' over warship sinking report [The Telegraph]

Syracuse, NY -- Republican candidate for governor, Rick Lazio, will stop by Syracuse’s this afternoon to introduce his choice for lieutenant governor, Greg Edwards, to Central New York. Edwards is Chautauqua County executive. Lazio announced his choice for lieutenant governor Thursday at his headquarters in Manhattan. Other Republican officials are expected at the 1 p.m. press conference in Hanover...

APNew York Republican candidate for governor Rick Lazio, right, introduces his pick for lieutenant governor, Greg Edwards, left, in New York.Syracuse, NY -- Republican candidate for governor, Rick Lazio, will stop by Syracuse’s this afternoon to introduce his choice for lieutenant governor, Greg Edwards, to Central New York.

Edwards is Chautauqua County executive. Lazio announced his choice for lieutenant governor Thursday at his headquarters in Manhattan.

Other Republican officials are expected at the 1 p.m. press conference in Hanover Square.

Edwards, 49, is a Jamestown attorney and has been Chautauqua County executive since 2006.

Auburn NY -- A Cayuga County man who was imprisoned for raping a child 20 years ago is heading back to prison for molesting another child. In Cayuga County Court Thursday, Maxwell S. Coapman, 64, of 528 Turnpike Road, Aurelius, was sentenced to 27 years in prison plus 27 years post-release supervision, Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Valdina said....

Maxwell S. CoapmanAuburn NY -- A Cayuga County man who was imprisoned for raping a child 20 years ago is heading back to prison for molesting another child.

In Cayuga County Court Thursday, Maxwell S. Coapman, 64, of 528 Turnpike Road, Aurelius, was sentenced to 27 years in prison plus 27 years post-release supervision, Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Valdina said.

A jury in March convicted Coapman of raping the victim in the summer of 2008 before and after the child turned 13 years old.

“Repeat child molesters like this defendant are every parent’s worst nightmare….As long as he remains incarcerated he will never be able to hurt another child,’’ Valdina said in a statement.

In 1990, Coapman was sentenced to two and one-third years to seven years for raping an 11 year old. He was released from prison in 1994.

In March, Coapman was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, seven counts of second-degree criminal sexual act, two counts of second-degree rape, eight counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, according to Valdina.

You can reach Scott Rapp at srapp@syracuse.com or 289-4839

Ontario, NY – A longtime church school teacher and Boy Scouts leader in this Wayne County town was charged Thursday with felony course of conduct against a child following an investigation involving a 5-year-old victim, state police said. Samuel W. Langley, 72, of 5716 Route 350, Ontario, is being held on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond at the Wayne...

Ontario, NY – A longtime church school teacher and Boy Scouts leader in this Wayne County town was charged Thursday with felony course of conduct against a child following an investigation involving a 5-year-old victim, state police said.

State PoliceSamuel W. Langley, of Ontario, Wayne County.Samuel W. Langley, 72, of 5716 Route 350, Ontario, is being held on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond at the Wayne County Jail pending his next court appearance, troopers said.

The charge is made when there has been sexual conduct with a child on more than one occasion over an extended period, Investigator Frank D’Aurizio said.

One child was involved in this investigation, which began this week, D’Aurizio said. There is no reason to suspect there may be other victims, but because of Langley’s scouting and church activities the state police issued a phone number – (315) 589-8288 – for people with concerns or information to call, he said.

According to D’Aurizio, Langley was a longtime Boy Scout leader in Ontario and a volunteer youth Bible studies teacher at the Bible Baptist Church in Sodus.

Seen on TampaBay.com: TAMPA — A Middleton High assistant principal was arrested Thursday after she sent a naked picture of herself to a 14-year-old boy in Manatee County, authorities said. Lauren S. Tilo, 30, was charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor. She was arrested at her Tampa home about 6 a.m. Thursday and later released on...

The Associated PressPresident Obama speaks about Wall Street reform Thursday as a vole dashed in front of the podium. Can you see it in the lower right?Seen on TampaBay.com:

TAMPA — A Middleton High assistant principal was arrested Thursday after she sent a naked picture of herself to a 14-year-old boy in Manatee County, authorities said.

Lauren S. Tilo, 30, was charged with transmission of material harmful to a minor. She was arrested at her Tampa home about 6 a.m. Thursday and later released on $10,000 bail.

Here's what deputies say happened:

Tilo, who is married, met the boy in February while playing World of Warcraft, a multiplayer online game. They became friends and aware of their age difference. On March 7, Tilo sent the victim a photo of herself in a "provocative and sexual pose" in a text message from her cell phone.

» Read the full story: Middleton High assistant principal sent nude photo to teen, authorities say

» There’s a mole in the White House [NY Post] | Mole (or Vole) Spotted at White House [NBC]

» Best hair you'll see all day, brought to you by Allen E. Brown. [nj.com]

» Allen E. Brown? Isn't he the same guy who ratted out his 73-year-old mom? [nj.com]

» Watch "Work" below. You might not want to come back from lunch today.

Work from Michael Rianda on Vimeo.

Event was caught on security camera outside Crouse Hospital.

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse teenager was sentenced today to serve 1 1/3 to four years in state prison for running down a nurse outside the hospital where she worked and leaving the scene of the crash.

"I'm sorry," Andre Escobar told state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti in court.

Escobar, 17, of 326 N. Beech St., pleaded guilty April 9 to a felony charge of second-degree assault in the Dec. 2 hit-run crash that seriously injured Rebecca Forsythe.

Forsythe, 61, was working as a temporary nurse at Crouse Hospital and was crossing the street in front of the hospital to retrieve something from her car in the parking garage when she was run down by a passing vehicle.

"It was surreal," Forsythe wrote of the crash in a statement read to the court today by Senior Assistant District Attorney Christopher Bednarski.

She wrote of hearing the approaching car accelerating to her "horror and surprise" and then finding herself facing two onrushing headlights.

The first thought that occurred to her as she lay on the wet pavement after being tossed over the hood and roof of the car was "I can't believe I'm alive," Forsythe wrote.

Forsythe also wrote of her injuries - broken bones in her neck and her leg - and the physical therapy she has undergone and will continue to face as she recuperates at home in Florida.

She noted she may never be able to return to work as a nurse, but remained hopeful about her future nonetheless.

Forsythe also wrote that she had no animosity toward Escobar, adding she hoped he would use the time in prison to "reconsider his direction in life."

Defense lawyer Aurora Flores told Brunetti Escobar had been remorseful from the outset and had hoped to be able to apologize personally to the victim. Forsythe, however, was unable to be in court for the sentencing, Bednarski said.

The hit-run crash was caught on a hospital security camera which Crouse Hospital made available to police. Police then released the tape to the media in seeking the public's help in locating the hit-run driver.

An anonymous tip led police to the hit-run vehicle in the yard of a vacant house on West Newell Street Dec. 10. Escobar surrendered to police the following day.

Brunetti sentenced Escobar as a youthful offender, removing the felony conviction from his record and sealing the case file.

The judge also sentenced Escobar to a concurrent one-year penalty for an unrelated drug charge. Escobar pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in that matter.

Highlighting your comments to keep the discussion going on topics that affect you.

Frank Ordonez / The Post-Standard A Nissan Pathfinder SE is pulled out of the entrance of Pier 57 Restaurant on Route 57 in Liverpool after it crashed into the restaurant Wednesday afternoon.
When news broke that a Lysander man was airlifted to Upstate University Hospital after the man responsible for crashing into the Pier 57 Restaurant on Wednesday collided with his car on Thursday, syracuse.com users were outraged. Many wondered how the driver could be on the road driving at high speeds 36 hours after crashing into the restaurant while driving intoxicated. Others questioned their own safety on the roads if the driver was allowed to drive again. Here’s what syracuse.com user LMK had to say:

“Two times in two consecutive days - this man should be locked up. Telling him he can't drive, especially since he does not have a valid license, just doesn't seem to sink in to him. The first incidence was a blessing where no one in the other vehicle or in the restaurant was injured. Hopefully Mr. Zimmerman, the young man injured in the second accident, will recover fully - my prayers are with him. To the law enforcement agencies involved - GET THIS MAN OFF THE ROAD - We do not need to read about him in the papers a third time - we do not want to hear that this person was responsible for the serious injury or even death of another innocent party by his actions. A car is no less a weapon when used recklessly by a selfish, unstable person as is Mr. Reynolds. If it was a gun - he would be off the streets.”

»Read the original story and leave your comments

»Check out what else LMK has to say on syracuse.com

»Become a public blogger on syracuse.com

»Connect with syracuse.com

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man admitted his guilt today in the fatal shooting of another man that police said stemmed from a feud between the two rival drug dealers. Curtis N. Henderson, 18, of 545 W. Ostrander Ave., pleaded guilty before state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti to a felony charge of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Raymond...

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man admitted his guilt today in the fatal shooting of another man that police said stemmed from a feud between the two rival drug dealers.

Curtis N. Henderson, 18, of 545 W. Ostrander Ave., pleaded guilty before state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti to a felony charge of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Raymond Johnson Jr.

Brunetti promised Henderson a sentence of 12 years in state prison and set sentencing for June 25. Henderson could have faced a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

But Chief Assistant District Attorney Christine Garvey said the victim's family was satisfied with the plea deal worked out by the prosescution to resolve the case.

Police said Henderson and Johnson were rival drug dealers who had been involved in an ongoing feud before the dispute turned deadly the morning of Jan.8.

Johnson, 26, was sitting in a sport utility vehicle in the 100 block of Richardson Avenue when Henderson walked up and fired six to seven shots at him from close range, officials said.

Johnson was found dead behind the wheel of the vehicle after it ran off the street, through a yard and crashed into a tree behind 148 Richardson Ave., police said.

Henderson originally was charged with second-degree intentional murder in Johnson's death. But a county grand jury indicted him only on the lesser manslaughter charge.

In pleading guilty to that charge, Henderson admitted he was acting only with the intent to seriously injure Johnson, not with any intent to kill him.

Update: Syracuse, NY -- Three people were taken away by ambulance this afternoon from an accident at South Salina Street and East Beard Avenue involving an Able Medical Transport van and a Ford Focus, witnesses said. Police at the scene are making no statements as the investigation continues, but witnesses Shykier Summerhill and Willie Rouse said they saw the...

Peter Chen/The Post-StandardAn Able Medical Transportation van is hit by a Ford Focus at South Salina Street and Beard Avenue in Syracuse.Update:

Syracuse, NY -- Three people were taken away by ambulance this afternoon from an accident at South Salina Street and East Beard Avenue involving an Able Medical Transport van and a Ford Focus, witnesses said.

Police at the scene are making no statements as the investigation continues, but witnesses Shykier Summerhill and Willie Rouse said they saw the accident unfold about 1:10 p.m. and helped rescue the victims.

According to Summerhill, the Able van was traveling north on South Salina when the Focus, traveling east on West Beard, sped through the stop sign into the intersection and struck the van.

The van rolled over and landed on the passenger side with its nose facing south west. Its back end pushed into the rear corner of a Dodge Stratus parked on the east side of South Salina Street. The Dodge appeared in turn to have been nudged forward into a Chevrolet Equinox parked in front of it. Neither of the parked cars appeared to have sustained more than minor damage.

Summerhill and Rouse said they and other witnesses helped remove the van's passenger, a disabled woman, from the vehicle, using a hammer tossed to them by another witness to smash out the vehicle's windshield.

Police said the passenger and the drivers of the van and the Focus were taken to Upstate University Hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries. The victims' names were not immediately available.

The parked cars probably prevented the accident from being worse, Summerhill said.

"If the van hadn't hit the Stratus, it would have kept rolling," he said.

Authorities blocked South Salina at East Colvin Street and East Borden Avenue as the investigation and cleanup progressed. The street remained closed an hour after the accident. It reopened about 2:25 p.m.

Earlier:

Syracuse, NY -- Emergency responders are at the scene of an accident at South Salina Street and East Beard Avenue involving an Able Medical Transportation vehicle and at least one other vehicle, Onondaga County E-911 officials confirm.

The call came into E-911 at 1:10 p.m, agency records indicate.

A reporter is heading to the scene and will update as information becomes available.

Clifton Reynolds was arrested Friday afternoon after being released from University Hospital.

View full sizeFrank Ordoñez / The Post-StandardOnondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh looks at the Nissan Pathfinder that crashed in the Pier 57 Restaurant in Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon.
The driver who caused two spectacular crashes on consecutive days was arrested six months ago for driving under the influence of methamphetamine.

Onondaga County sheriffClifton Reynolds of Gaskin Road, Clay.Clifton R. Reynolds, 35, of 8406 Gaskin Road, Clay, pleaded guilty April 29 to driving while ability-impaired by drugs. He was fined $500 and had his driver's license suspended.

On Wednesday, Reynolds rear-ended a car at a high speed, then rolled 100 yards into the front of the Pier 57 restaurant, deputies said. On Thursday night, he drove left of center into the path of a driver who was seriously hurt, deputies said.

On Nov. 13 of last year, Oswego city police pulled Reynolds over in his car at 5:40 p.m. and found a bag of methamphetamine, according to a police report. He was on his way to the SUNY Oswego area to pick up his paycheck, he said in the report.

He was charged with felony drug possession, driving while ability-impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana and driving without a seat belt.

The DWAI charge was a felony because he'd had a previous DWI conviction in less than 10 years. He was convicted in 2001 of DWI, according to police records.

A spokesman said Reynolds did not work for or attend SUNY Oswego but may have had a job with a contractor there.

In Thursday's crash, Reynolds was speeding when he tried to pass a car on River Road in Lysander -- crossing a double-solid line in a curve, Sheriff Kevin Walsh said this morning. He collided head-on with a car driven by Richard Zimmerman, 23 of 8744 Cramer Road, Lysander.

A check for skid marks shows Zimmerman jammed on his brakes, but Reynolds never hit his, Walsh said.

Reynolds was arrested by deputies this afternoon when he was released from Upstate University Hospital. Reynolds was arraigned in Clay Town Court and Judge Christopher Gaiser sent Reynolds to the Justice Center in lieu of $35,000cash/$60,000 bond for the Clay charges and $15,000 cash / $30,000 bond on the Lysander charges.

Read our previous coverage here.

Weaver will receive $50,000 from outside sources for her appearance.

Harry Hamburg / APActress Sigourney Weaver is seen at a global environmental policy conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg) She'll be at the Founder's Day celebration in Auburn in 2010
Auburn NY -- Guess who’s coming to Auburn’s second annual Founder’s Day celebration?

A year after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stole the show last June, movie star Sigourney Weaver is waiting in the wings to grace this year’s event, which will celebrate Auburn as the birthplace of talking movies.

Weaver, probably best known for her starring role in the 1986 movie, “Aliens,’’ has committed to appearing in the June 12 city celebration, City Manager Mark Palesh said today.

“I believe visiting Auburn is on Sigourney Weaver’s ‘bucket list’ and we’re going to make her dreams come true,’’ Palesh said with a laugh.

Weaver, who has appeared in dozens of movies and stage performances, will receive $50,000 for her appearance, Palesh said. Most of that money will come from outside sources, according to Palesh.

Auburn was the home of Theodore W. Case who developed and recorded the first talking movies at his home in 1916. His work is preserved at the Cayuga Museum’s Case Research Laboratory.

You can reach Scott Rapp at srapp@syracuse.com or 289-4839

Also, Joanie Mahoney backs Rick Lazio for governor, and how Texas is trying to rewrite history.

» The National Geographic Channel has released footage showing the oil platform collapse into the gulf as it burns:

» BP oil spill reaches delicate wetlands of Louisiana [The Guardian]

» BP May Owe U.S. $1 Million a Day in Royalties on Spilled Oil [Business Week]

» Obama spokesman defends White House efforts to stem Gulf 'blowout' [USA Today]

» New estimates on Gulf spill rate due Saturday, BP says [MarketWatch]

In other news:

» Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney backs Rick Lazio for governor [centralny.ynn.com]

» Panera Bread, car dealer eye Sennett sites [The Auburn Citizen]

» Immigration Law in Arizona Reveals GOP Divisions [The New York Times]

» How Texas is trying to rewrite history

» Google unveils its best doodle yet: Playable Pac-Man! [USA Today]

ALBANY, N.Y. — Despite a deal in the works to save the state’s thoroughbred racing season, the New York Racing Association is still warning employees they could face layoffs as early as June 9 if it has to shut down. NYRA said Friday a legally required notice was sent to more than 1,400 workers as the cash-strapped racing operator said...

ALBANY, N.Y. — Despite a deal in the works to save the state’s thoroughbred racing season, the New York Racing Association is still warning employees they could face layoffs as early as June 9 if it has to shut down.

NYRA said Friday a legally required notice was sent to more than 1,400 workers as the cash-strapped racing operator said it might have to close the Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga tracks after the Belmont Stakes. NYRA told The Associated Press it had no comment.

Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday he expects the Legislature to approve a loan of $15 million to $25 million to keep NYRA operating until it gets a share of revenue from video slot machines planned for Aqueduct. Lawmakers return to session next week.

NYRA, plagued for years by poor management and sinking revenues, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008 with the help of a $105 million state bailout that sent $75 million to creditors and $30 million to help NYRA until the Aqueduct “racino” opened. At the same time, its state franchise to run racing was renewed for 25 years.

But the long-delayed plan to put 4,500 video slots at Aqueduct foundered again earlier this year after criticism of how the contract for the project was awarded. The Paterson administration dropped its support of the winning bidder and state officials reopened the selection process. Paterson has said a new developer is expected to be chosen by Aug. 1.

NYRA has run Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga since 1955.

The Belmont meet ends July 18. Racing then shifts upstate to the lucrative Saratoga session from July 23-Sept. 6.

BERLIN — A dark cloud has settled over the world’s financial markets, as growing numbers of people are concluding the debt crisis in Europe could hammer global growth — and even bring back recession barely a year after a patchy recovery took hold. Government officials — whose job it is to boost confidence — downplay that risk, but many...

View full sizeLefteris Pitarakis / APPeople walk past the Bank of England in London's City financial district on Friday. A dark cloud has settled over the world's financial markets, as growing numbers of people are concluding the debt crisis in Europe could hammer global growth -- and even bring back recession barely a year after a patchy recovery took hold. Government officials downplay that risk, but many economists are warning that the much-feared "double-dip" recession could be starting in Europe.
BERLIN — A dark cloud has settled over the world’s financial markets, as growing numbers of people are concluding the debt crisis in Europe could hammer global growth — and even bring back recession barely a year after a patchy recovery took hold.

Government officials — whose job it is to boost confidence — downplay that risk, but many economists are warning that the much-feared — “double-dip” recession could be starting in Europe.

It would be the next ugly chapter in the global financial and economic turmoil that began three years ago. And now as then, what is striking is the inter-connectedness of everything — how near-default in Greece and weeks of dithering in Germany have affected commodities like oil and gold and, with demand and confidence waning, have bludgeoned stock markets around the world in a way that rattles ordinary people saving for retirement from Korea to California.

In 2007, the bad debt connected to repackaged subprime mortgages started undermining banks and hedge funds, and by early 2008 confidence in the system was slipping fast.

This time it is the exposure of banks everywhere to sovereign debt — the IOUs of governments — whose value has been falling for months. The sheer size of the European economy is a factor, said Mauro F. Guillen, director of the Lauder Institute at The Wharton School in Pennsylvania. “If European demand goes down, global growth will slow down,” he said.

“A European economy that lags is not necessarily enough to put the world economy back into recession. But a European economy that cannot stabilize its currency and capital markets certainly will push the global economy back into the red.” Nicholas Colas, ConvergEx Group chief market strategist, told The Associated Press. “A double dip is a possibility.”

It is a daunting prospect, because having already deployed their best countermeasures — stimulus spending and central bank interest rate cuts — governments everywhere may be out of ammunition.

Stephen Lewis, a London-based economist with Monument Securities, spoke for many of the pessimists Friday after a week of market turmoil in Europe when he saw “no guarantee that the upswing in the global economy from 2009’s low point will be sustained.”

At the heart of the crisis are fears that indebted eurozone governments will not be able to pay what they owe. Those fears have sent the prices of government bonds — many of them held by big banks in Germany and France — plummeting. Europe also faces low growth prospects because governments must cut back on spending to pay down heavy debt loads.

If banks in Europe and beyond suffer losses on marked-down government bonds, this would then make them afraid to lend the money that businesses need to operate and expand, choking off growth — a replay, in a sense, of the freezing of credit markets after the Sept. 2008 collapse of the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers which led to a worldwide recession. The global economy shrank by 0.6 percent in 2009, its first dip since World War II.

“If sovereign debt concerns are accompanied by worries over bank liquidity any more significant than those currently influencing the credit market, another dip in world economic activity would seem a sure thing,” Lewis said.

As fear spreads, stocks and the price of oil, both signs of expectations for future economic growth, have been drawn into the downdraft. And gold, traditionally a safe haven, has hit ominous all-time highs. Most of the world’s leading stock markets are below where they started the year as investors revise down their growth expectations for the global economy.

Reflecting the optimism that held sway until recently, the IMF in April slightly raised its 2010 global growth forecast to 4.2 percent, although eurozone growth was forecast at only 1 percent. Now even that looks optimistic.

Daniel Tarullo, a governor with the U.S. Federal reserve, told a Congressional House subcommittee Thursday that Europe’s crisis was a “potentially serious setback.” Tarullo said that the worst case financial turmoil — possible but still unlikely — “could lead to a replay of the freezing up of financial markets that we witnessed in 2008.”

The latest crisis erupted in October, when the new government in Greece admitted its predecessors had lied about the size of their budget deficit. Instead of a manageable 3.7 percent of gross domestic product, it was a destabilizing 12.7 percent, since revised up to 13.6 percent.

Fears spread for a similar scenario in other countries like Spain and Portugal, and that shattered confidence in the euro, which has in recent months lost some 20 percent of its value. A bailout seemed necessary — but eurozone leaders struggled to agree, with opposition especially strong in Germany, where the idea of paying for the profligacy of Greeks and other partners is extremely unpopular.

As Europe dithered Greece faced skyrocketing borrowing rates driven by fear of default and ultimately was shut out of bond markets. Eurozone governments — with an assist from the International Monetary Fund — eventually produced a euro110 billion bailout for Greece, followed two weeks ago by a euro750 billion backstop for other shaky governments.

The huge injection was surprising and impressive and seemed to halt the slide, at least temporarily. But while the sum might not be too little, it could still have come too late. Talk that would have been taboo a few years ago, of the eurozone breaking up, is starting to spread. And even if it is only talk for now, such words can have ripple effects around the world.

World markets have always affected each other, but instant and constant connectivity and real-time trading and instant information have taken things to a new level; bad news in Milan can trigger instant selloffs in Tokyo or Chicago.

In China, the world’s top exporter and the biggest economic engine in Asia, there is renewed fear that a slowing in exports — its lifeblood — could reverberate through the economy, squeezing manufacturers already grappling with rising costs and narrow margins, Commerce Minister Chen Daming warned this week.

A sell-off in the stock market this week signaled, among other things, a belief that the economy is headed for a slowdown later this year, after having expanded by nearly 12 percent in the first quarter from the same quarter the year before.

Guillen noted that as the euro sinks against the dollar, it also falls against Asian currencies linked to the dollar such as China’s yuan, also called the renminbi. That makes it tougher on China’s exporters. And it makes China more reluctant to let its currency rise against the dollar, a longstanding hope of U.S. administrations.

“A weaker euro makes it harder for China to agree to an appreciation of the renminbi relative to the dollar because China’s exports to Europe would be taking a double flow,” Guillen said.

The Fed’s Tarullo said the direct effect on U.S. banks of losses on exposure to overextended governments in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy “would be small.” But if problems were to spread more broadly through Europe, U.S. banks would face larger losses as the value of traded assets dropped and loan delinquencies mounted.

U.S. money market mutual funds, which are major suppliers of short-term cash to European banks through their holdings of commercial paper, would likely also be affected, Tarullo said.

Neil Mackinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital in London, said it would be a mistake to think the problems on Europe’s periphery represented only a local crisis. “The problems in the eurozone debt markets, which many people thought was a regional problem, has morphed into a major global problem,” Mackinnon said.

Germany’s embattled Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government is widely blamed for the dithering that so amplified the collapse of confidence, suggested this week that she understood the heavy stakes. “The euro is in danger,” she told lawmakers, urging them to approve Germany’s portion of the wider bailout plan. “If we do not avert this danger, then the consequences for Europe are incalculable, and then the consequences beyond Europe are incalculable.”

The lawmakers did as she asked.

The Greater Syracuse Labor Council, a union organization that represents 40,000 workers, called on the Syracuse Common Council Friday to rescind its vote forgiving a nearly $217,000 electric bill owed to the city by the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. “In these tough economic times, when people’s taxes are increasing and services are being cut, forgiving a debt to an...

The Greater Syracuse Labor Council, a union organization that represents 40,000 workers, called on the Syracuse Common Council Friday to rescind its vote forgiving a nearly $217,000 electric bill owed to the city by the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.

“In these tough economic times, when people’s taxes are increasing and services are being cut, forgiving a debt to an organization who can afford to pay for it is egregious,” said Dr. Dennis Nave, president of the council.

He said the council’s 350 delegates, who represent the Labor Council’s 40,000 members, unanimously voted Wednesday to demand that the Common Council rescind its vote forgiving the bill run up by the chamber-owned Syracuse Technology Garden, a downtown office building with 30 technology company startups for tenants.

With Mayor Stephanie Miner’s support, the Common Council voted 7-2 in March to forgive the debt as long as the chamber or its successor does not sell the building at 235 Harrison St. for a profit within 10 years, something city officials have said they do not expect to happen.

Terms of the arrangement were incorporated into a no-interest leasehold mortgage on the property. Only councilors-at-large Lance Denno and Jean Kessner voted against it. Councilors-at-large Kathleen Joy and Bill Ryan, and district councilors Matthew Rayo, Patrick Hogan, Ryan McMahon, Thomas Seals and Nader Maroun voted for it.

The bill was run up over five years during the administration of then-Mayor Matt Driscoll because of a mix-up over an electric meter in the city-owned parking garage under the Tech Garden. The city leases the land under the Tech Garden to the chamber for $1 a year.

Nave said the Labor Council’s members were particularly angered at the deal in light of the fact that the chamber paid its former president, Darlene Kerr, more than $260,000 a year. Kerr resigned when the chamber merged recently with the Metropolitan Development Association and adopted a new name, CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity.

“If an organization can afford to pay that kind of money, I think they can afford to pay the bill,” Nave said.

Kevin Schwab, communications director for CenterState, said financial problems at the chamber made it impossible to pay the bill. He said those problems are being addressed by the new organization, starting with the elimination of $650,000 in salaries.

He declined to say what CenterState President Robert Simpson is being paid, but he said it was “not even close” to the $263,000 salary the chamber paid Kerr, who now holds an unpaid position on the new organization’s board of directors.

Joy, the Common Council’s majority leader, defended the council’s vote. She said the city benefits from having the Tech Garden and the 100 people employed at it downtown.

She also said she did not view the debt as being “totally forgiven” because it will have to be paid if the building is sold for a profit within 10 years.

Ryan said he has no interest in revisiting the arrangement, which he said solved "a mess" that the Miner administration inherited from the Driscoll administration.

Ken Mokrzycki, city director of administration, said Miner also stands by the arrangement. Without it, the merger of the Metropolitan Development Association and the chamber could not have occurred, he said.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.

Manlius, NY -- The six Fayetteville-Manlius High School students charged in connection with the library vandalism incident May 2 are facing disciplinary consequences at school as well as in court, according to James Chupaila, the high school’s executive principal. The disciplinary actions include suspension and, in some cases, restitution, he said. The length of suspensions is based on the...

Manlius, NY -- The six Fayetteville-Manlius High School students charged in connection with the library vandalism incident May 2 are facing disciplinary consequences at school as well as in court, according to James Chupaila, the high school’s executive principal.

The disciplinary actions include suspension and, in some cases, restitution, he said. The length of suspensions is based on the individual’s level of involvement in the incident, he said.

The teens caused more than $4,000 worth of damage to the school library, when they entered the school after hours, broke the glass doors leading into the library, flipped over chairs, knocked over bookcases and tossed books around. The library was closed for several days following the vandalism.

Two teens, Preston H. Harris, 17, of 4658 Glencliffe Road, Manlius, and Michael J. Longstreet, 18, of 415 Elm St., Fayetteville, were charged with burglary and criminal mischief, both felonies, and conspiracy, a misdemeanor.

Scott A. Billington, 18, of 8774 E. Genesee Turnpike, Fayetteville; Evan H. Galat, 17, of 7760 Salt Springs Road, Fayetteville; Ryan W. Godfrey, 18, of 8407 Brae Leure Road, Manlius; and a 16-year-old Manlius girl were all charged with conspiracy, a misdemeanor.

Manlius police say the four waited outside and acted as lookouts.

Contact Elizabeth Doran at edoran@syracuse.com or 470-3012.

ISLAMABAD — The co-owner of a catering company that organized events for the U.S. Embassy is among six men detained by Pakistan for allegedly helping the failed Times Square bombing suspect, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said Friday. In a statement on its website, the U.S. Embassy warned that the catering company was suspected of ties to terrorist groups and...

ISLAMABAD — The co-owner of a catering company that organized events for the U.S. Embassy is among six men detained by Pakistan for allegedly helping the failed Times Square bombing suspect, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said Friday.

In a statement on its website, the U.S. Embassy warned that the catering company was suspected of ties to terrorist groups and said American diplomats had been instructed to stop using the firm.

Like Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American accused in the failed New York bombing, the six Pakistani detainees were all members of their country’s urban elite, including several who were educated in the United States. One was a former army major.

The suspects were a loose network motivated by hatred of America and the West, the Pakistani official told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.

One of the men often traveled to the tribal areas close to the Afghan border where U.S. officials have said Shahzad received explosives training under the Pakistani Taliban, the official said. At least two allegedly helped Shahzad with funding, the official and another Pakistani security officer said, although the exact nature of their link to the Times Square bombing suspect was still being investigated.

The co-owner of the Hanif Rajput Catering Service, Salman Ashraf Khan, was recruited because two other suspects “wanted him to help bomb a big gathering of foreigners” whose event his company was catering, the Pakistani intelligence officer said. He said a U.S. tip led to the first arrest — a computer engineer, Shoaib Mughal, who runs a large computer dealership in Islamabad.

Mughal is accused of telephoning Shahzad soon after the failed May 1 bombing in New York’s Times Square and urging him to return to Pakistan. He also visited the Afghan border region several times to meet with top Taliban commanders, including Hakimullah Mehsud, and give them money, the official said.

A biography on the catering service’s website said Salman Ashraf Khan was educated in Houston before returning home to help run his family’s business. The company founder is his father, Rana Ashraf Khan. “I am shocked at what I am hearing,” Rana Ashraf Khan told the AP in an interview on Friday.

He said his son was a devout Muslim who went to the United States in 1997, first to study hotel management in Florida and then to Houston, where he majored in computer science. “If there is any suspicion about my son of some links, put him on trial, but do not blame my company for involvement in this kind of heinous crime,” Rana Ashraf Khan told a local TV station.

The catering company works for foreign embassies and many of Pakistan’s wealthiest companies and individuals. The website features inspirational quotes by basketball star Larry Bird and poet John Keats.

The U.S. Embassy warning about the company was e-mailed to all Americans registered with the embassy under rules that require threat information to be shared with the wider American community, said Rick Snelsire, an embassy spokesman.

It was unclear when the six suspects were arrested. All but one was picked up in the capital, Islamabad, said the intelligence official, who was involved in the interrogations. He said one suspect had an MBA from the United States and knew Shahzad from his time there. He was working for a cell phone service provider in Pakistan at the time of his arrest.

Also picked up was a former army major and his brother, a computer engineer, the official said. He said investigators had yet to determine what role the major and his brother had played in the botched bombing.

The suspects are believed to be in the custody of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, which has been known to hold people for months — if not years — without trial. It cooperates closely with the CIA, which is often given access to detainees.

Shahzad is accused of leaving an SUV rigged with a homemade car bomb in New York’s Times Square on May 1 that failed to explode. The 32-year-old was born in Pakistan and moved to the United States when he was 18. The son of a former air force officer, he led a privileged life. He has family roots in the northwestern city of Peshawar and grew up in at least one other city, Karachi, relatives and officials have said.

Syracuse, NY -- Divisions in the Republican Party were on display Friday as the state party chairman and the leading GOP contender for governor held separate news conferences in Syracuse, one hour and one mile away from each other. State party chairman Ed Cox, who supports Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy for governor, spoke at noon at Onondaga County Republican...

Syracuse, NY -- Divisions in the Republican Party were on display Friday as the state party chairman and the leading GOP contender for governor held separate news conferences in Syracuse, one hour and one mile away from each other.

State party chairman Ed Cox, who supports Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy for governor, spoke at noon at Onondaga County Republican headquarters on West Onondaga Street. County Chairman John DeSpirito, who also endorses Levy, stood at Cox’s elbow.

An hour later, gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio held a news conference in Hanover Square. County Executive Joanie Mahoney, a Republican who often differs with DeSpirito, stood at Lazio’s side.

Cox portrayed the lack of unity among Republicans is a good thing, a sign that candidates will be chosen by rank-and-file party members at the state convention beginning June 1. “We in the Republican Party are going to have a fair and open convention, at which the grassroots of the party . . . are going to be able to choose the candidates that they want,” he said.

Lazio, a banker and former congressman, predicted the delegates will choose him. Recent polls have shown Lazio well ahead of Levy and another GOP hopeful, Carl Paladino, among Republican voters.

Lazio was accompanied to Syracuse by his choice for lieutenant governor, Greg Edwards, county executive of Chautauqua County in Western New York. Mahoney, who introduced Lazio, said she was happy he had chosen a county executive as running mate because programs launched in Albany often have a big impact on county costs.

After the news conference, Mahoney deflected questions about whether Lazio had initially tried to recruit her as a running mate. “There were private conversations that I wouldn’t want to compromise,” she said. “But he has known from the very beginning that I like my job here.”

One thing all the Republicans agreed on: New York is a mess and it’s the fault of Democrats. Cox said the GOP would change the “culture of corruption in Albany,” which he blamed on Democratic control of each branch of government.

What about Joe Bruno? The former state Senate majority leader, a Republican powerhouse, was sentenced earlier this month to two years in prison after his conviction on federal corruption charges. “Senator Bruno is the past,” Cox said. “We’re talking about the present situation.”

Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 470-3023.

COVINGTON, La. — Day by day, the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is adding up to mind-boggling numbers. Using worst case scenarios calculated by scientists, a month’s worth of leaking oil could fill enough gallon milk jugs to stretch more than 11,300 miles. That’s more than the distance from New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and back....

View full sizePatrick Semansky / APOil is seen on an island near the South Pass of the Mississippi River on the coast of Louisiana on Friday.
COVINGTON, La. — Day by day, the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is adding up to mind-boggling numbers.

Using worst case scenarios calculated by scientists, a month’s worth of leaking oil could fill enough gallon milk jugs to stretch more than 11,300 miles. That’s more than the distance from New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and back. That’s just shy of 130 million gallons.

If the government’s best case scenario is used — and only 5.25 million gallons have spilled — those milk jugs would cover a bit more than a roundtrip between New York and Washington. But the government is revising that number, with a team of scientists working around the clock to come up with a more realistic and likely higher figure.

Here’s another way to think of just how much oil has gushed out since April 20: At worst, it’s enough to fill 102 school gymnasiums to the ceiling with oil.

That’s nothing compared to the vast expanse of the Gulf of Mexico, where there are 643 quadrillion gallons. Even under the worst case scenario, the Gulf has five billion drops of water for every drop of oil. And the mighty Mississippi River pours 3.3 million gallons of new water into Gulf every second.

Under the rosiest scenario, little more than four gyms would be filled. That’s how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration visualizes oil spill volumes on one of its websites.

At worst, the amount of oil that has already spilled is a dozen times more than the Exxon Valdez disaster. At best, it’s only half as bad. Realistically, it’s probably somewhere in that huge middle in between.

No matter what, it already is way too much oil for the delicate parts of the Gulf ecosystem, said Darryl Felder, a biologist at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. “A lot of this is diffused now in deep layers,” said Felder, who is coordinating a seven-volume scientific encyclopedia on the Gulf. “It’s like it’s under the rug. You can’t see it on the surface, so it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind. But it’s not out of mind to most of the biologists who are concerned about its long-term effects.”

There are many uncertainties about how much has spilled. It’s not even clear if the leak began on April 20, when the rig exploded, or April 22 when the rig sank, or on April 24 when the Coast Guard first noticed two leaks.

Originally, BP and the federal government said 42,000 gallons were flowing per day. Then the number was upped to 210,000 and that’s been the best case scenario, with calculations that the spill didn’t start until April 24.

The best case scenario seems increasingly unlikely. On Thursday, BP acknowledged more oil than that is pouring into the Gulf. The company said its makeshift tube put in place to suck up the leak is siphoning 210,000 gallons a day into a barge — the full amount of oil the company said was leaking. Yet, there’s still lots of oil flowing out into the Gulf that can now be seen live on a webcam.

“Anyone can look at that and determine that even though it can’t be metered or measured, it’s significantly less than it was,” said company spokesman Steve Rinehart. “That suggests pretty clearly that taking 5,000 barrels a day (210,000 gallons) out of that stream puts a real dent in it.”

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said Friday the tube is now sucking about 92,400 gallons of oil a day to the surface. It was much less than the figure the company used several times a day earlier, but Suttles said the higher number is the most the tube had been sucking up at any one time, while the lower number is the average over 24 hours.

Federal officials acknowledge their 210,000 gallons-a-day figure for the total amount spilling needs to be revised. NOAA director Jane Lubchenco said the old estimate was based on a long-held international scientific formula based on surface slick observations. But the way this oil slick changed makes that calculation no longer useful, she said.

The worst-case scenario is based on the upper end of broad estimates from several scientists for the daily flow rate of the leak based on video observation — somewhere between 840,000 gallons a day and 4.2 million gallons a day.

New live video of the oil spill — along with criticism from BP — had scientists altering those estimates in both directions.

Tim Crone of Columbia University said that he was “really saddened” when he looked at the new video. He said he had hoped his estimate of 840,000 to 4.2 million gallons a day was wrong, but the video showed it wasn’t. Crone upped his lower estimate to 1.68 million gallons and is sticking with his higher estimate for the main oil leak.

But Purdue University professor Steve Wereley said he will likely cut his estimate of 3.9 million gallons a day after BP said about half of what is flowing out of the pipe is gas, not oil. His estimate has a 20 percent margin of error and includes about 1 million gallons coming from a leak at the blowout preventer, away from the main leak.

Some experts say the 4.2 million gallon rate is probably way too high, just like the government figures are way too low. That’s because somewhere around 1.2 million to 1.6 million gallons a day is all that can realistically be expected from that type of well if it were working right, they said.

Ian McDonald, a Florida State University oceanographer and expert tracking the spill, said both estimates were wrong, but the government figure is especially wrong. “We don’t know how bad this is,” McDonald said Thursday. “One of the problems is it’s going to be very hard to know.”

McDonald said the spill’s surface slick is now more than 14,600 square miles, larger than the states of Maryland and Delaware combined.

Syracuse, NY -- City firefighters made quick work of a small but smoky fire on Hiawatha Boulevard Friday evening. Firefighters were called to Roth Steel, a recycling facility, after hot metal shavings ignited some plastic, said Syracuse police Sgt. Gary Bulinski. The blaze was put out soon after firefighters arrived, he said.

Syracuse, NY -- City firefighters made quick work of a small but smoky fire on Hiawatha Boulevard Friday evening.

Firefighters were called to Roth Steel, a recycling facility, after hot metal shavings ignited some plastic, said Syracuse police Sgt. Gary Bulinski.

The blaze was put out soon after firefighters arrived, he said.