Expect clouds on Wednesday with a strong breeze and temperatures struggling to reach well into the 50s.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Cool and rainy weather will continue for the region Wednesday.

Clouds, cool air and periods or rain are in store for Central New York throughout the remainder of the week, the National Weather Service said.

Expect clouds on Wednesday with a strong breeze and temperatures struggling to reach well into the 50s. Pockets of rain during the day are likely, so don't forget a jacket and umbrella.

(View live radar map of New York state here.)

Our chances for rain will increase on Thursday. A slow-moving low pressure system moving into our area will mean unsettled weather and heavy rain at times, Time Warner Cable News said. The unsettled weather will continue until at least Friday.

Temperatures will tick up slightly over the weekend into the 60s.

Your Forecast

• Wednesday: Cloudy throughout the day with a fair chance for rain. North winds up to 15 mph. Highs in the low 50s. Lows in the low 40s.
  
• Thursday: Rain very likely during the day and evening. Northwest winds up to 15 mph. Cloudy. Highs in the low 50s. Lows in the mid 40s.
  
• Friday: Partly sunny with a 50/50 chance of rain. Highs in the low 50s. Lows in the mid 40s.
  
• Saturday: Partly sunny during the day. Cloudy in the evening. Highs in the low 60s. Lows in the mid 40s.
  
• Sunday: Partly sunny. Mostly clear. Highs near 60. Lows in the low 40s.

You can also follow us on Facebook or visit http://www.syracuse.com/weather/ for more on the weather.

To send in weather info, or especially photos: Use the Twitter or Instagram hashtag: #cnyweather Also, please let us know where the images are located.

Howie Hawkins slim but solid following could keep Cuomo from the landslide win he had four years ago, poll finds.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins' slim support with likely voters could keep Gov. Andrew Cuomo from the same landslide victory he claimed four years ago, according to a new poll out this morning.

Hawkins, a UPS worker from Syracuse, isn't a serious threat to Cuomo, a Democrat, or Rob Astorino, the Republican candidate for governor, the poll shows.

But, with two weeks to go, Hawkins is pulling 9 percent of the statewide vote, according to the poll from Siena College Research Institute.

And that could be more than enough to push the Green Party to "Row C" on the ballot, a political maneuver that would knock the Conservative Party down a notch and mark the largest victory for Hawkins and his party in New York state.

To win the coveted Row C, Hawkins would have to get more votes than Astorino on the Conservative Party line. That appears within reach, considering the Conservatives got just 5 percent of the gubernatorial vote four years ago.

"I think it's absolutely possible that Hawkins could get five percent of the vote," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.

Overall, Cuomo leads Astorino by 21 points, a smaller lead than this summer. Of those surveyed, 54 percent they'd vote for Cuomo and 33 percent for Astorino, the poll found. Among likely Upstate voters, Cuomo leads Astorino by 9 points, the poll found.

Astorino is on track to win about as many votes on Nov. 4 as Carl Paladino, Cuomo's challenger four years ago, the poll found.

In 2010, Cuomo's win was much larger. The difference this time is Hawkins, according to Greenberg.

"If Hawkins does that well on Election Day - something third party candidates often don't do - then it will almost certainly make this year's race closer than four years ago and keep Cuomo well below his total vote from 2010," Greenberg said in a news release.

Hawkins' showing comes as some progressives in New York are unhappy with Cuomo, a Democrat running for a second term.

The governor won over the union-backed Working Families Party endorsement earlier this year in part by pledging to back an all-Democratic state Senate. In recent days, he's made good on that pledge by backing Democrats in tight Senate races. This season, he's been promoting a women's equality act that includes codifying abortion case law into state statutes, another key issue among some progressives.

But Cuomo took an unexpected denting in this fall's Democratic primary from Zephyr Teachout, who challenged the governor to more boldly embrace progressive ideals. She ended up winning half of the state's counties.

Hawkins' platform includes a call for a $15 hourly minimum wage rate, a ban on hydrofracking, using government money to hire unemployed workers for public projects, a single-payer healthcare program, rejecting the Common Core teaching standards (and the federal money that came with them), refiguring school aid to give more help to poorer districts and raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers.

Today's poll comes just hours before the only gubernatorial debate this fall between all four candidates: Cuomo, Astorino, Hawkins and Libertarian candidate Michael McDermott. The debate begins at 8 p.m.

Other interesting findings from Siena's poll:

• 84 percent of those polled believe Cuomo will win, no matter who they are personally supporting.


• John Cahill, the Republicans' best shot at wining a state-wide office, is 20 points behind incumbent Democrat Eric Schneiderman for the attorney general seat.


• Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci is trailing 27 points behind state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who is running for re-election.

Contact Teri Weaver anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2274

Romeo Williams could get up to 25 years in prison on top of his 15-year sentence in an unrelated weapons case.

Romeo Williams  

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man found guilty of killing an elderly man for no reason outside the Elmwood 7-Eleven is due to be sentenced today.

Romeo Williams, 19, could face up to 25 years in prison for the death of Jim Gifford, 70, last September. A jury took only 90 minutes last month to find him guilty of manslaughter in Gifford's death.

Williams is looking at 40 years in prison after today's sentencing before County Court Judge Joseph Fahey. That's because he was convicted in an unrelated weapons case this summer and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In the trial on Gifford's death, Williams' lawyer Eric Jeschke never tried to excuse what his client had done. But he tried to convince the jury that his client never meant to seriously hurt Gifford, the basis for a manslaughter charge.

"You're not going to like Romeo Williams," Jeschke told the jurors. "You shouldn't like him."

But, he said, "what you have to pay attention to is...what was going through his head at that time. One punch. One punch. There's not a gun, not a knife."

Prosecutor Robert Moran said Williams clearly meant to seriously injure the victim. But he said there was no known motivation for the homicide.

"If you're looking to find out an answer to that question, you're going to be disappointed," the prosecutor told the jurors.

The officers will serve diners from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at eight area Applebee's restaurants. The tips they receive will benefit Special Olympics New York.

View full sizeApplebee's restaurantGary Walts | gwalts@syracuse.com 

Law enforcement officers will serve food to diners throughout Upstate New York today at Applebee's restaurants, and donate the tips they receive to Special Olympics.

The officers, along with local Special Olympics athletes will help greet customers, bus tables and serve diners from 5 to 9 p.m. at eight Applebee's restaurants in Central New York and the Southern Tier, according to the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which raises money for the Special Olympics New York.

The tips they collect will benefit Special Olympics New York and the Law Enforcement Torch Run. Last year, the event raised nearly $10,000 locally.

This year's "Law & Orders" event will take place at the following Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants:

Auburn
221 Grant Ave., Auburn (Auburn Correctional Facility)

Binghamton
842 Upper Front St., Binghamton (New York State University Police at Binghamton University)

Camillus
5241 W. Genesee St., Camillus (New York State University Police at Upstate Medical University)

Clay/Liverpool area
3975 Route 31, town of Clay (Onondaga County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police)

Cortland
856 state Route 13, Cortland (Cortland Police Department)

Ithaca
2300 N. Triphammer Road, Ithaca (Tompkins County Sheriff's Department and Ithaca Police Department)

North Syracuse
628 S. Main St., North Syracuse (New York State University Police at Upstate Medical University)

Vestal
3701 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal (New York State University Police at Binghamton University)

The Rhode Island native contracted the virus while working in Liberia.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- An American video journalist who has recovered from Ebola will be released soon from an Omaha hospital.

The Nebraska Medical Center says Ashoka Mukpo is scheduled to be discharged Wednesday morning from the hospital's biocontainment unit. Medical staff involved in his care plan to speak about his recovery at a news conference Wednesday morning.

The hospital said Tuesday that Mukpo's blood tested negative for the virus. He arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 6 and was the second Ebola patient to be treated there. The first, Dr. Rick Sacra, has also recovered.

Mukpo, of Providence, Rhode Island, contracted the virus while working in Liberia as a freelance cameraman for NBC News and other media outlets.

Just got my results. 3 consecutive days negative. Ebola free and feeling so blessed. I fought and won, with lots of help. Amazing feeling

— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014

The knowledge that there's no more virus in my blood is a profound relief. I'm so lucky. Wish everyone who got sick could feel this.

— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014

Still thinking about those nurses. Look forward to the day you two get news like this too...

— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014

Will the kids have to wear rain boots?

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Halloween is still 10 days away, but we thought we'd take a peek at the extended forecast. It's never to early to start planning whether the kids will wear sneakers or rain boots (or even -- gasp! -- snow boots.)

At this point it looks like temperatures around 50 at trick-or-treat time, with a chance of rain. Check our newly redesigned syracuse.com weather page for daily updates.

Here's a sampling of forecasts from a variety of meteorological sources.

AccuWeather.com: Partly cloudy, a chance of about 0.1 inches of rain. High 53, low 35.

The Weather Channel: A 40 percent chance of rain showers. High 56, low 42.

Weather Underground: Chance of rain, up to 0.16 inches. High 55, low 42.

Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251

Hillary Clinton to campaign for Andrew Cuomo, Rob Astorino's ideas on helping inner city families, and Howie Hawkins' influence in the gubernatorial race.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Happy Debate Day. The gubernatorial debate starts at 8 p.m. on WCNY and other public television and radio stations throughout the state. Until then, your background reading:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a four-year effort to win the hearts and votes of Western New York, the only part of the state he lost in 2010. Will the Buffalo Billion and the Buffalo Bills be enough?

It's debate night for the gubernatorial race. Jimmy Vielkind has six things for us to watch.

Cuomo plans to rally supporters outside the debate site. Anti-hydrofracking protesters plan to join him.

One Buffalo-area Democrat is still waiting for the Cuomo love.

Republican Rob Astorino will talk at 1 p.m. in Buffalo about his ideas to help inner city families by offering "last resort" scholarships to allow students attending failing public schools to switch to local private ones.

Cuomo's lead is down to 21 points in a new poll out this morning from Siena College. The slight erosion of support for the governor isn't necessary helping Astorino. But it is making a difference for Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, who could move his party up on the ballot for future elections.

Check out the candidates' forum today in Central New York.

Preet Bharara, the second-most powerful man in Albany (according to the Observer), is on "The Capitol Pressroom" with Susan Arbetter at 11 a.m.

Cuomo on Tuesday announced a settlement in a court case that accused the state of failing to adequately provide legal defense for poor defendants.

Hillary Clinton will campaign in Manhattan with Cuomo on Thursday.

Bill Clinton will be in Syracuse on Friday to campaign for U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei.

BREAKING: Anthony Weiner admits political career over.

Cuomo's book publisher is paying his campaign to use its email list to urge supporters to buy "All Things Possible."

Speaking of things possible....the state's former comptroller, who went to jail on public corruption charges, plans to speak on money in politics.

RIP Ben Bradlee.

Tweet of the Day

Ben Bradlee was a good enough guy to respond to fan mail I sent him almost 20 years ago. This young reporter was thrilled.

— Aileen Gallagher (@aegallagher) October 22, 2014

Contact Teri Weaver anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2274

State police said the 27-year-old was intoxicated, and they drove him from Nedrow to his home in Camillus.

NEDROW, N.Y. -- A visiting Cornell University scientist and his wife were on their way home from a Sunday shopping trip at Destiny USA when -- out of nowhere -- a man walks in front of their car on Interstate 81, south of Syracuse.

Two cars in front of the scientist swerved or slowed to avoid the pedestrian as he crossed the highway. The scene is caught by the Ithaca man's dashboard camera.

At first, there's nothing but a few vehicles and a long stretch of highway. Suddenly, a man wearing a blue knit hat walks onto I-81, just past exit 16 in Nedrow.

To the driver with the dashboard camera, it looked like the man was pointing something at him and other drivers. He thought maybe the man was trying to hijack passing motorists. Several people called 911 to report a man acting erratically on I-81 in Nedrow.

State police found the man nearby, on Route 11. He was still wearing the blue knit hat. He didn't have anything illegal on his possession and no one had stopped to file a report against the man, who state police said was intoxicated and disoriented. The 27-year-old man was not charged. Instead, troopers gave him a ride home to Camillus.

"Under the circumstances, we thought it would be best to get him home safely," said state police Sgt. Susan Lockyer, of the LaFayette barracks.

The driver who provided the video to syracuse.com asked to remain anonymous, but said he has been driving with the dashboard camera for the last year after someone dented his car. Sunday was the first time he captured anything of this magnitude.

Jurors were shown gruesome photos of Jodi Arias' dead boyfriend during her trial.

PHOENIX (AP) -- Jurors at the sentencing retrial of convicted murderer Jodi Arias saw a series of gruesome photos that showed her boyfriend's dead body crammed into a shower at his house with his throat slit.

Lawyers warned jurors that they would see graphic crime-scene photos and sexually explicit images that Arias and former boyfriend Travis Alexander took of each other after a tryst but before Arias fatally attacked him.

"She loved him so much that this is what she did to him," prosecutor Juan Martinez said of one ghastly photo. He urged jurors to sentence Arias to death.

The opening statements came as a jury was seated and testimony began in a retrial to determine whether Arias lives or dies for her crimes.

It was less of a spectacle than the initial case in early 2013, when onlookers from around the country traveled to Phoenix and lined up outside court for the trial that became a tabloid TV sensation. Still, some of the people who regularly attended the first trial were back in court on Tuesday.

Arias has acknowledged killing Alexander but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her. Prosecutors said it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage after the victim wanted to end their affair and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman.

Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said Tuesday that Arias was the victim of profound sexual humiliation by Alexander, and that she is mentally ill and a victim of child abuse.

He urged jurors to sentence her to life in prison, saying she is remorseful about killing the man who never acknowledged to others that she was his girlfriend.

"Jodi Arias was always the girl behind the closed door in the bedroom," Nurmi told jurors.

He suggested his client would testify during the proceedings expected to last until December.

"She will tell you how horrified she is that she killed the man she loved," Nurmi said.

Arias, sporting shoulder-length hair and wearing a beige blouse, often looked at the jury while her lawyer laid out his case. She turned away, however, as the prosecutor detailed the crime that included shooting Alexander in the head and stabbing him nearly 30 times.

Members of the Alexander and Arias families looked on from the front rows of the courtroom during the opening statements.

Jurors were shown naked photographs that Alexander and Arias took of each other shortly before Alexander was killed. Alexander's sister turned away from the images and wept as the photos were being shown.

Arias, a 34-year-old former waitress, was convicted of murder last year in the killing of Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home. Authorities said she slit his throat so deeply that she nearly decapitated him and left his body in his shower where friends found him after about five days.

Jurors couldn't agree on a sentence then. Prosecutors have one more chance with a new jury to secure the death penalty. If the jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, the judge will then sentence Arias to spend the rest of her life behind bars or to be eligible for release after 25 years.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens told the new jury that they had to accept the guilty verdict on the murder charge.

The first trial was broadcast live, but Stephens imposed restrictions on the sentencing retrial. Cameras are allowed at the retrial, but no footage can be broadcast until it's finished.

Schools in the Poconos have reopened after police found them to be safe after reported nearby sightings of Pennsylvania trooper ambush suspect Eric Frein.

SWIFTWATER, Pa. -- Schools in a northeastern Pennsylvania district have reopened after authorities did a precautionary search to make sure they weren't harboring Eric Frein, the suspect in last month's deadly ambush of a state police barracks.

The Pocono Mountain School District was closed Tuesday while police searched the district's campus in Swiftwater. Police scoured the elementary, junior and high school buildings but found no sign of the 31-year-old suspect, Eric Frein (freen).

The district says additional police officers will be on hand Wednesday, and students will remain indoors. Athletic practices and games will take place off-site.

Police say there have been two reported sightings of Frein in near the Swiftwater campus.

Frein is charged with opening fire outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks on Sept. 12, killing one trooper and injuring another.

Nine out of 10 police officers reside outside the city, Councilor Helen Hudson said.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Many Syracuse police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers do not live in the city that pays them. Councilor-at-Large Helen Hudson says they should.

Hudson, the council majority leader, will introduce a resolution today asking the state Legislature to exempt Syracuse from a state law that prevents the city from imposing its residency requirements on police, fire and sanitation workers.

At least two similar resolutions from the city council in the past have fallen on deaf ears in Albany, and Hudson anticipates this one will meet the same fate. But she said it's a vital issue that must be discussed.

"I'm hoping that at some point they'll hear us in Albany,'' Hudson said. "You just have to keep trying. I can't watch my city die.''

Hudson said requiring employees of the three city departments to reside in the city would boost the local tax base and the economy. Perhaps more importantly, she said, it would generate a stronger bond between employees and the community they serve.

"There's no ownership here,'' Hudson said. "You have to have ownership of your city and your community."

Some 92 percent of Syracuse police officers live outside the city, Hudson said. She hopes to obtain statistics for the other departments later today.

Hudson said she has spoken to members of Syracuse's state delegation about her proposal, and she does not expect most of them to support it. Similar requests, from Syracuse and other municipalities, have been ignored by the state Legislature for years. The Syracuse council approved similar resolutions in 1992 and 2002.

Local law requires Syracuse employees to reside in the city, but state law exempts police, fire and sanitation employees. That means Syracuse's policy applies only to a few hundred of the city's roughly 1,800 employees. The policy does not apply to the school district.

The state's exemption was put in place years ago, because New York City firefighters, police officers and garbage collectors couldn't afford to live in the city. It was later extended to cities statewide.

Hudson's resolution calls for the exemption to be lifted only for new employees in Syracuse. She would not force existing employees to move into the city.

Bill Ryan, Mayor Stephanie Miner's chief of staff, said he sponsored a similar resolution when he was a city councilor. Miner has not taken an official position on Hudson's resolution, he said. But Ryan said he still agrees that city residency would give police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers a bigger stake in Syracuse neighborhoods.

Jeff Piedmonte, president of the Syracuse Police Benevolent Association, said city officials could accomplish more by offering incentives for employees to voluntarily move into the city. During negotiation with previous administrations, the police union recommended offering employees property tax breaks or other incentives, but city officials rejected the idea, Piedmonte said.

He said the police department might have trouble recruiting new officers if residency were a requirement.

"People are in school districts that they want to live in, that they want their kids to go to school in,'' he said. "I think that would be a huge issue for us.''

Contact Tim Knauss anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3023

Wegmans has secured the permission it needs from the town to start serving alcohol in its cafe.

Wegmans' proposal to serve alcohol in the food court/cafe at its DeWitt store got a green light this week.

The DeWitt Zoning Board of Appeals agreed to grant Wegmans the special-use permit modifications it needs in order to serve wine, beer and liquor in ts food court.

Wegmans plans to double the number of seats in its Market Cafe from 200 to 400 and serve wine, beer and liquor in the food court.

DeWitt planners say the expansion would likely be built off the east side of the store, into the parking lot facing a liquor store and Hobby Lobby.

Wegmans still needs to apply to the state Liquor Authority for a license.

Romeo Williams will spend 40 years in prison after being sentenced today in Jim Gifford's death.

Romeo Williams: Guilty of first-degree manslaughter in Elmwood attack. Syracuse police 

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the one-punch death of an Elmwood man.

Romeo Williams, 19, was found guilty of manslaughter last month after the jury deliberated for 90 minutes. He attacked Jim Gifford, 70, for no reason outside the Elmwood 7-Eleven shortly after dawn last September.

Williams will spend a total of 40 years in prison after being sentenced to 15 years in prison in an unrelated gun case this summer.

Under law, Williams must spend at least 6/7 of his prison sentence before becoming eligible for parole. In this case, that's about 34 years.

This is an AP News alert. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

Alert: Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned people in downtown Ottawa to stay away from windows and rooftops.

Original Story

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) -- A gunman shot a Canadian soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday, police said. Video shot by a reporter for the Globe and Mail showed police officers walking slowly through Parliament toward the entrance with weapons drawn. The sound of a gunshot ran out, followed by the sounds of multiple shots.

Police would not confirm reports that the gunman had been shot and killed.

People fled Parliament by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations, witnesses told the Canadian Press news agency. The top spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Harper was safe and had left Parliament Hill.

Tony Clement, a senior government member of parliament, at least 30 shots were heard inside the building, where Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings. He said he was safe but still at risk.

"Shots fired inside centre block during our caucus meeting. I'm safe locked in a office awaiting security." Kyle Seeback, a member of Parliament, tweeted.

Emergency responders are still on the scene and paramedics took the wounded soldier away in an ambulance. His condition was not known.

The shooting Wednesday comes two days after a recent convert to Islam killed one Canadian soldier and injured another in a hit-and-run before being gunned down by police.

The suspect had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

While some claim the lightning bolt pattern resembled a Nazi insignia, others say people are just being over sensitive.

Spanish retailer Mango has recalled a blouse from their European stores after customers complained that the lightning bolt pattern resembled an insignia worn by soldiers in Nazi Germany.

Shirt featuring Nazi symbol recalled by Spanish company Mango after online outcry http://t.co/CABQuDKBq1 pic.twitter.com/VLNwkXSiZQ

— Fox News Latino (@foxnewslatino) October 20, 2014

The white blouse, priced at $59.99, contained a tiny lightning bolt pattern that Twitter users, especially in Germany, said resembled the "Siegrune," a symbol sported by Nazi SS officers on their uniforms during World War II, The Local reports.

One Twitter user called the blouse an epic design shirt, while another one labeled it "Nazi chic," The Daily Mail reports.

Some shoppers noted the resemblance, but said the lightning bolt symbol is used is many other instances, including the logos for the bands Kiss and AC/DC.

"So is Harry Potter antisemetic?" wrote one Twitter user, referring to the scar on the fictional character's forehead that's often used for marketing purposes.

Mango recalled the blouse Monday and apologized in a statement. "The RAYO blouse belongs to a collection inspired by mini-motifs. In the range there are two other models which feature hearts and stars," Mango told The Local via email. "This design shows one of the designs. Mango regrets the unfortunate association that has come about because of this design."

Screenshot from YouTube 

The incidents are part of a string of popular retail stores releasing controversial clothing in the past few months. In September, Urban Outfitters apologized for selling a red Kent University sweatshirt that many believed referenced to the 1970 shooting of four unarmed college students by an Ohio National Guardsmen during a Vietnam War protest. Last month, H&M defended its fall/winter collection after some claim that a jumpsuit resembled the uniform worn by female Kurdish fighters.

Judge sentences Romeo Williams to maximum punishment allowed under law for death of Jim Gifford.

Romeo Williams: Guilty of first-degree manslaughter in Elmwood attack. Syracuse police 

Syracuse, NY -- Prosecutor Robert Moran has repeatedly said that Romeo Williams was charged with the harshest crime possible under law for the death of Jim Gifford.

And District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said there was no proof that Williams intended to kill Gifford, 70, outside the Elmwood 7-Eleven last year. That meant he could only be charged with manslaughter, not murder.

Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey did not dispute that during sentencing today. But he wished the law allowed him to send Williams, 19, away for life in prison.

"I'm not going waste a lot of words on you, Mr. Williams," Fahey told Williams. "You're a barnacle on society. What you did was vicious, senseless, cowardly, disturbing. If I could keep you off the street forever, I would."

But the best Fahey said he could do was send Williams to prison for 25 years in the death of Gifford. That's on top of 15 years in prison for an unrelated gun case. All told, Williams will have to serve 6/7 of his 40-year sentence, or about 34 years, before he's eligible for parole.

Moran called the punishment appropriate, calling Williams a "ticking time bomb." And even Williams' own lawyer, Eric Jeschke, tried to distance himself from the killer.

Jeschke said he expected the maximum sentence and described his relationship with his client as "clinical," not personal. Jeschke told jurors they could hate Williams during the trial.

A jury took only 90 minutes last month to convict Williams of manslaughter in the one-punch death of Gifford. Though Williams later came back to kick the limp victim, it was the initial punch that led to Gifford's death.

Afterward, Williams went into the convenience store, doffed his cap, and told witnesses: "I just knocked that (N-word) out." He later continued the attack before being pulled away by people with him.

Williams' father is black. His mother is white.

Jeschke said that he's seen killers do much more than Williams did. There was no gun, no knife. Just Williams's fists and feet.

But that was plenty to spark concern and outrage in the community. Moran said people realized that Williams could have attacked anyone.

"When people heard this story, read in newspapers, saw on TV, we all reacted in a way that this could have been us," Moran said in court. "Any one of us could have crossed paths with the time bomb that was Romeo Williams."

He stressed that Williams "stands now convicted of the highest possible charge under law."

Marcellus building project rejected 598 to 416.

Voters Tuesday rejected an $18.5 million proposal to renovate and expand the high school and make upgrades to C.S. Driver Middle School and K.C. Heffernan Elementary School.

The proposal failed 598 to 416, according to district officials.

The proposed renovation plan called for a major makeover for Marcellus Senior High School ($17,685,863), with a new entrance, auditorium lobby and restrooms, as well as new classroom wings.

The work included improvements to the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) annex on the first floor, and creating a similar second-floor humanities wing for English and social studies classes.

C.S. Driver Middle School ($40,000) and K.C. Heffernan Elementary School ($769,185) would have also received upgrades.

For an owner of a $100,000 home, the annual cost would have been extra $57 a year. Of the total $18,495,048, an estimated 72 percent would have been covered by the state, officials said.

A fire destroyed Richard and Marion Kilts home in December 2013 and three months later their adult son was killed in a logging accident.

The Kilts family pose for a family photo (from top left to right) Tim Kilts, Richard Kilts Jr., Jeff Kilts, Andrew Kilts, (from bottom left to right) Linda Nichols, Marion Kilts, Richard Kilts Sr. and Jennifer Bisbo. Andrew Kilts was killed in a logging accident earlier this year. Provided photo 

HASTINGS, NY -- Richard and Marion Kilts raised six children in their town of Hastings home, which was the same house that Richard had lived in since he was a toddler.

The Kilts are now in their late 70s and their home was a place for their adult children and grandchildren to meet on holidays and for Sunday dinners, said Jennifer Bisbo, their daughter.

"The house was the hub of our family," she said.

On Dec. 13, 2013, a fire ripped through the home in the middle of the night and everything the family owned was destroyed. Three months later, tragedy would strike the family again when Richard and Marion's 47-year-old son, Andrew Kilts, was killed in a logging accident.

"It's been a rough 10 months to say the least," Bisbo said. "There are no words to describe how terrible things have been."

Richard and Marion Kilts' home in the town of Hastings in Oswego County burned down in December 2013.Provided photo 

Richard, 79, a retired logger, and Marion, 77, a retired nurse, are currently living in a borrowed camper on their property as volunteers with Operation Northern Comfort are building the family a new home. Their goal is get the couple in the house by Thanksgiving, said volunteer Larry Gibbens. The project is called "Operation Rebuild."

Bisbo said to have her parents back in a home by the holidays would mean that she could stop worrying about them.

"To know they are in a safe place before the winter weather arrives is all I want," she said.

The house is framed, has a roof and windows, but still needs a lot of work in the interior, Gibbens said. For that work, volunteers are still seeking donations. They also need appliances and home furnishings.

Richard Kilts Sr. and Marion Kilts are currently living on their property in a borrowed camper.Provided photo 

Bisbo described the last 10 months as "crazy and chaotic" and she said it would mean the world to the family to be able to celebrate the holidays in their parents' home again.

Bisbo said she is already very thankful for the generosity of the community to help build her parents' new house.

"The gratitude that we feel is equal to the extreme sadness that we feel," she said. "There aren't words. It's just incredible."

To learn more about Operation Rebuild, visit The Kilts House Facebook page. To make a donation, visit the The Kilts House on gofundme.com or mail a check to Operation Rebuild at 9280 Caughdenoy Road, Brewerton NY 13029.

Sarah Moses covers the northern suburbs of Onondaga County and Oswego
County. Contact Sarah at smoses@syracuse.com or 470-2298. Follow @SarahMoses315

Romeo Williams had planned to plead guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a total of 25 years in prison. But a judge balked.

Romeo Williams  

Syracuse, NY -- Onondaga County prosecutors had agreed to give Romeo Williams a 25-year prison sentence if he pleaded guilty to the one-punch death of Jim Gifford.

But County Court Judge Joseph Fahey rejected that deal, leading Williams, 19, to spend 40 years in prison after today's sentencing.

The revelation today shows how wary lawyers are about going to trial, where they often get all or nothing. Had the jury acquitted Williams of manslaughter in Gifford's death, the district attorney's office would have sustained a serious black eye.

As it turned out, prosecutor Robert Moran won a guilty verdict against Williams after the jury deliberated only 90 minutes.

Defense lawyer Eric Jeschke said in court today that Williams would have pleaded guilty before trial if he had been offered 25 years in prison. Moran confirmed the DA's office had accepted the proposal.

But Fahey refused to sign off on it. That's what forced both sides to take the case to trial. And now, Williams will spend at least 34 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Fahey said today he wished he could sentence Williams to prison for the rest of his life, but the law didn't allow that.

Prosecutor: For some, nothing is good enough

Moran said he understands why people are so upset about Williams' actions: he was a "time bomb" that could have gone off on anybody. No one could seem to straighten this young man out.

But Moran maintained that there was no chance, under state law, to charge Williams with murder. And he was willing to accept a guaranteed 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter over the risk of Williams walking after trial. Juries are notoriously unpredictable, he said.

"Prior to the verdict, 25 years seemed like a good, long time," Moran said.

Moran criticized what he described as overreaction by some about the charge and possible sentence.

He pointed specifically to comments on Syracuse.com suggesting that Williams should be dead or executed. He called those remarks "horrible," noting they may not represent overall public opinion.

"There's a small, vocal segment of community for whom nothing is good enough," the prosecutor said.

How does Williams get 40 years?

The law here is tricky. Williams got the most he could have faced for killing Gifford, a 25-year sentence for manslaughter. But he was also convicted this summer of possessing an illegal gun, which carries a 15-year sentence.

The proposed plea deal would have run both of those sentences at the same time, meaning he would be done after 25 years. But the judge balked at that. Instead, he appeared to want to sentence Williams to consecutive time, meaning the two sentences would be added up.

Assuming Williams wasn't going to accept a plea deal that didn't offer him any benefit, the only way to make that happen was take both cases to trial and let a jury find Williams guilty of both crimes.

And that's how Williams got his 40-year prison term after today's sentencing in Gifford's death.

The program starts Monday in six states where 70 percent of people arrive from West Africa.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stepping up their vigilance against Ebola, federal authorities said Wednesday that everyone traveling into the U.S. from Ebola-stricken nations will be monitored for symptoms for 21 days. That includes returning American aid workers, federal health employees and journalists, as well as West African travelers.

The program will start Monday in six states that represent 70 percent of people arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone and New Guinea, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC Director Tom Frieden said monitoring would extend to other states in coming days and reach "every person coming back to the country for the 21 days they are at risk for Ebola," and would continue until the outbreak in West Africa is controlled.

"We have to keep our guard up," Frieden told reporters on a conference call.

Local and state officials will perform the daily health checks, which may consist of keeping up with people daily by phone or visits. The first states are New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Georgia.

Individuals arriving from West Africa will receive "care kits" that include thermometers, detailed information on how take their temperature twice a day, and logs for recording the information. Temperatures must be reported to health officials at least once per day, he said.

Frieden said the message to travelers is: "If you become sick, get care quickly because that could save your life and protect your family."

The kits also will include information on whom to call if symptoms occur and a card the traveler can present to health care providers if they need medical attention.