Health officials have been tracing Dr. Craig Spencer's contacts to identify anyone who may be at risk.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A doctor who became New York City's first Ebola patient was praised for getting treatment immediately upon showing symptoms, and health officials stressed that the nation's most populous city need not fear his wide-ranging travel in the days before his illness began.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged residents not to be alarmed by the doctor's diagnosis Thursday, even as they described him riding the subway, taking a cab and bowling since returning to New York from Guinea a week ago. De Blasio said all city officials followed "clear and strong" protocols in their handling and treatment of him.

"We want to state at the outset that New Yorkers have no reason to be alarmed," de Blasio said. "New Yorkers who have not been exposed are not at all at risk."

The doctor, Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, reported Thursday morning coming down with a 103-degree fever and diarrhea. He was being treated in an isolation ward at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, a designated Ebola center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will do a further test to confirm the initial results, has dispatched an Ebola response team to New York. President Barack Obama spoke to Cuomo and de Blasio on Thursday night and offered the federal government's support. He asked them to stay in close touch with Ron Klain, his "Ebola czar," and public health officials in Washington.

Health officials have been tracing Spencer's contacts to identify anyone who may be at risk. The city's health commissioner, Mary Bassett, said Spencer's fiancee and two friends had been quarantined but showed no symptoms.

Health officials say the chances of the average New Yorker contracting Ebola, which is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, are slim. Someone can't be infected just by being near someone who is sick with Ebola. Someone isn't contagious unless he is sick.

Bassett said the probability was "close to nil" that Spencer's subway rides would pose a risk. Still, the bowling alley was closed as a precaution, and Spencer's Harlem apartment was cordoned off. The Department of Health was on site across the street from the apartment building Thursday night, giving out information to area residents.

Still, the news rankled some New Yorkers. "Oh my gosh!" said Charles Kerr, 60, as his friends gathered on a Harlem sidewalk murmured. "This changes the situation. The guy must be coughing, sitting against people. Now you've got to think."

Kerr said he wasn't afraid, but he wants a stricter approach to anyone coming from the Ebola-affected countries.

"Stay in their apartment," he said. "Especially now, when it's so rampant. Especially if they know they've been in contact."

Other neighbors expressed concern for the doctor's health.

"I feel sorry. I just hope they can nip this in the butt and find something to cure it because this is terrible," said Joyce Harrison.

Juan Sanchez said he wasn't concerned for himself, but would be worried if it spread.

"The first time I've seen him (Spencer) is on T.V. I barely see that guy around here," he said.

Another neighbor, Jose Gomez, said the congregation at his nearby Meeting With God Church was praying for Ebola as a world issue. He said he did not personally feel vulnerable.

"I think that God will cover this community. But other people, psychologically it will create a big problem for them," he said.

The epidemic in West Africa has killed about 4,800 people. In the United States, the first person diagnosed with the disease was a Liberian man, who fell ill days after arriving in Dallas and later died, becoming the only fatality. None of his relatives who had contact with him got sick. Two nurses who treated him were infected and are hospitalized. The family of one nurse said doctors no longer could detect Ebola in her as of Tuesday evening.

According to a rough timeline provided by city officials, in the days before Spencer fell ill, he went on a 3-mile jog, went to the High Line park, rode the subway and, on Wednesday night, got a taxi to a Brooklyn bowling alley. He felt tired starting Tuesday, and felt worse on Thursday when he and his fiancee made a joint call to authorities to detail his symptoms and his travels. EMTs in full Ebola gear arrived and took him to Bellevue in an ambulance surrounded by police squad cars.

Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization, said per the guidelines it provides its staff members on their return from Ebola assignments, "the individual engaged in regular health monitoring and reported this development immediately." Travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone must report in with health officials daily and take their temperature twice a day, as Spencer did. He also limited his direct contact with people, health officials said.

Spencer, 33, works at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. He had not seen any patients or been to the hospital since his return, the hospital said in a statement, calling him a "dedicated humanitarian" who "went to an area of medical crisis to help a desperately underserved population."

Four American aid workers, including three doctors, were infected with Ebola while working in Africa and were transferred to the U.S. for treatment in recent months. All recovered. Health care workers are vulnerable because of close contact with patients when they are their sickest and most contagious.

In West Africa this year, more than 440 health workers have contracted Ebola and about half have died. But the Ebola virus is not very hardy. The CDC says bleach and other hospital disinfectants kill it. Dried virus on surfaces survives only for several hours.

Spencer is from Michigan and attended Wayne State University School of Medicine and Columbia's University Mailman School of Public Health.

According to his Facebook page, he left for West Africa via Brussels last month. A photo shows him in full protective gear. He returned to Brussels Oct. 16.

"Off to Guinea with Doctors Without Borders," he wrote. "Please support organizations that are sending support or personnel to West Africa, and help combat one of the worst public health and humanitarian disasters in recent history."

Researchers also found a merchant ship sunk by the Germans at the same scene.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- In the aptly named Graveyard of the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast, researchers have found the wrecks of a Nazi U-boat and the ship it sank during a World War II convoy.

"That whole battlefield scene is there," said Joe Hoyt of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, chief scientist for the expedition. "Both sides of the story are represented as a memorial to history."

A research team using sonar found the wrecks of U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields on Aug. 30 in waters off Cape Hatteras, just 240 yards apart. The U-boat had attacked the Bluefields, which was operating under the flag of Nicaragua and was part of a convoy of 19 merchant ships.

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard were escorting the ships from Norfolk, Virginia, to Key West, Florida, when the U-boat attacked on July 15, 1942, sinking the Bluefields and damaging two other ships. A U.S. aircraft bombed the U-boat and a merchant ship attacked with a deck gun.

All 45 men aboard the U-boat died and are believed entombed in the shipwreck; no one on the Bluefields was killed, Hoyt said.

NOAA delayed releasing information about the discovery until Tuesday to give the German time to track down and notify any survivors of the 45 men, Hoyt said.

The German Foreign Office told NOAA that it's not interested in recovering the remains but asked the U.S. to view the wreck as a war grave. "As such, they are under special protection and should, if possible, remain at their site and location to allow the dead to rest in peace," the foreign office said in a statement provided by NOAA.

The shipwrecks are in such deep water, about 700 feet, that it's unlikely divers would be able to reach the site, Hoyt said. The wrecks are protected by international law.

The shipwrecks show how close the Battle of the Atlantic came to the United States, he said, even though many people think of it as a "North Sea-type story."

Dixie Burrus Browning of Buxton on Hatteras Island knows better, however. Browning, 84, wasn't quite a teenager when World War II was being fought close to her home.

"I remember waking up in the middle of night in our flimsy wooden house, hearing the rattle of dishes" when ships attacked each other, she said.

Wrecks of U-boats are unusual because most were scuttled as WWII was ending, Hoyt said. Still, the wrecks of three other U-boats sit in more shallow waters off the North Carolina coast and have been used for fishing and diving, even though they're also considered war graves.

But what's most interesting about this new site is that two shipwrecks sit there, he said. "That is much more unique and more interesting than just a single vessel," Hoyt said.

NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management began working together in 2008 to find vessels lost off the North Carolina coast during World War II. Researchers used archival information for an initial survey earlier this year, then used sonar on a research vessel to confirm the shipwrecks.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Dr. Craig Spencer acted responsibly, even though he rode the subway.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the New York doctor who has tested positive for Ebola sought help with a 100.3-degree fever, not a higher temperature.

In appearance on CNN, the governor said Spencer "presented himself" to the hospital when he had a 100-point-3 fever ... not 103 ... as has been reported." He repeated the comment on another morning program.

Cuomo says Dr. Craig Spencer acted responsibly, even though he rode the subway, bowled and rode a cab. The governor said the doctor obviously felt he wasn't symptomatic" when he went out "in a limited way."

Spencer recently returned to the city after treating Ebola patients in West Africa.

As a doctor, Cuomo said Spencer knew you're not contagious until you're symptomatic.

Spencer tested positive for the virus on Thursday. He is the first case in the city.

The Microsoft co-founder is supporting the development of two medevac containment units.

SEATTLE (AP) -- Billionaire Paul Allen says he'll contribute at least $100 million to the fight against Ebola.

The Microsoft co-founder said Thursday that among the initiatives he's supporting is the development of two medevac containment units that the U.S. State Department can use to safely evacuate health workers who become infected.

Allen said he's working with the World Health Organization to increase its capacity for handling the logistics of transporting international aid workers, and he's establishing a fund to help cover the costs of emergency transportation of the workers.

Paul AllenDouglas C. Pizac | The Associated Press 

Money will also go to the University of Massachusetts Medical School to help provide decontamination and lab equipment to Liberian hospitals, as well as community outreach and education in Liberia.

Allen's foundation previously pledged $26.5 million. He's urging people to give to the cause at tackleebola.com

North Korea also closed its borders in 2003 during the scare over SARS.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- North Korea has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus into the reclusive country, state media reported Thursday, while a travel agent that specializes in North Korean tours said it has been informed that Pyongyang may ban foreign tourists from visiting.

Koryo Tours posted an announcement on its Twitter and Facebook accounts saying it has been told that no foreign tourists would be allowed into North Korea beginning Friday. It said it was not clear how long the ban would last and did not provide further details. Officials in Pyongyang had no immediate comment.

A Koryo company official said the measures did not appear to be a blanket ban on travel to North Korea, adding that business and government visits would be allowed to continue. He said Koryo Tours was also hoping to go ahead with a tour scheduled to begin on Saturday.

"The situation seems to still be in flux, and while the early news from our partners in Pyongyang was that all tourists would be barred from entering (North Korea) we are still hopeful of taking in three groups we have scheduled to travel for the rest of 2014," said Nick Bonner, the company's co-founder.

North Korea also closed its borders in 2003 during the scare over SARS.

North Korea's official media reported Thursday that no cases of Ebola have been detected in the country. The official Korean Central News Agency said travelers and cargo are now subject to stricter monitoring at airports, seaports and border railways crossings.

Efforts are also being made in North Korea to increase public awareness of the disease and its symptoms. Television news on Wednesday evening showed a video of Ebola patients and explained the dangers of the disease.

Katko says taxpayers spent $1.2 million for Maffei to "work and live" in DC; Maffei says taxpayers spent $1.5 million on Katko.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A heated campaign for Congress between Rep. Dan Maffei and Republican John Katko escalated this week with a new ad in which Katko claims taxpayers spent $1.2 million for Maffei to "work and live" in Washington, D.C.

In the 30-second TV ad that began airing Tuesday, Katko also accuses Maffei, D-Syracuse, of lying to voters and deceiving women.

The ad did not cite a source for its $1.2 million figure. But when asked, the Katko campaign said the figure is an aggregate amount based on Maffei's federal salary over more than a decade as a Capitol Hill staffer and two terms in Congress.

The Katko campaign said it was not suggesting that extra payments were made for the cost of Maffei's second home in a Washington suburb, or his primary residence in Syracuse's Valley neighborhood.

"How obsessed is Dan Maffei with staying in Washington?" a narrator asks in the ad. "We've paid him over a million dollars to work and live in D.C., but Maffei thinks taxpayers should pay for his negative campaign too."

The narrator adds, "Deceiving women...lying about his opponent... just so he can cling to office and help Nancy Pelosi. Dan Maffei can't change Washington. He is Washington. It's time to fire Dan Maffei for good."

The comment about taxpayers picking up the bill for a negative campaign is a reference to Maffei's support for public financing of election campaigns as a means to eliminate the influence of money in politics.

The Maffei campaign said the ad is dishonest and proof of Katko's hypocrisy, since Katko spent 20 years working for the U.S. Justice Department as a prosecutor in a post paid for by federal taxpayers.

"After receiving over $1.5 million in taxpayer-funded salary during his time as a government employee, Katko is attacking Rep. Maffei for his record of working for Central New York," said Kane Miller, Maffei's campaign manager.

Miller said the $1.5 million figure is an estimate based on Katko's salary over his career.

Katko's campaign said the ad will air on Syracuse broadcast and cable television stations. A spokeswoman declined to disclose the cost of the advertising buy or say how long the ad will remain on the air.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751

See John Katko's new TV ad

Sun News contributor Vandon Gene had to be educated about why the scene of a deadly shooting is a bad place for a selfie.

A Canadian reporter got himself fired for pestering Anderson Cooper for a selfie, then attacking the CNN host of "Anderson Cooper 360" on Twitter.

Sun News contributor Vandon Gene, 26, asked Cooper for a picture while he was in Ottawa covering the deadly shooting at the National War Memorial. In video uploaded to YouTube, Cooper can be heard educating the young reporter on why he wasn't going to take a photo with him.

"Have a little respect for what happened here today," Cooper says to Gene, who is off camera in the video. "I will not take a photo with you on a day where someone was killed. It seems wildly inappropriate."

Instead of backing off, Gene uploaded the video to YouTube, and sent out several tweets bashing Cooper. The tweets have since been removed, but The Daily Mail took several screenshots beforehand to preserve the exchange.

"@andersoncooper exploits #OttawaShooting by flying to #Ottawa, but has decency to criticize me for asking for a photo?" Gene tweeted, followed by "So @andersoncooper is an ass. Told me to give him a "[expletive] break" then went on a rant."

Cooper responded to the attacks on Twitter:

.@vandongene dude, you were rude and asking for a selfie near where a soldier was killed. It was completely inappropriate. Think about it

— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) October 23, 2014

.@vandongene I can't believe any station employs you, and if you want to be a journalist, learn how to behave when covering a story

— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) October 23, 2014

Gene wasn't finished, replying to Cooper, "I can't believe CNN would employ you when you SWEAR at your fans. I covered this story properly. Check my tweets...," then, "you have no right to be rude. I was actually affected by #OttawaShooting. YOU came here to exploit it...#AC360."

Unfortunately for Gene, Sun News executive producer Matt Wolf decided the reporter had gone too far.

CTV News Vancouver reported that Wolf apologized to Cooper before announcing that Gene is no longer employed at Sun News.

FYI: @vandongene no longer has any association with @SunNewsNetwork. Now time to focus on the bigger issues @andersoncooper

— Matt Wolf (@mw_wolf) October 23, 2014

Gene later removed his previous tweets, and issued an apology to Cooper via Twitter:

Again, I unreservedly apologize for my actions yesterday. It was completely inappropriate, disrespectful, and distasteful. @andersoncooper

— Vandon Gene (@vandongene) October 23, 2014

A follower congratulated Gene for admitting his mistake, to which he responded:

Thanks @SimonDingleyCBC. I acted like a fool.My feelings got the better of me.It was a long,emotional & tiring day.Not the professional I am

— Vandon Gene (@vandongene) October 23, 2014

According to CTV News, Gene had been a contributor at Sun News for six months, and hosted a weekly show on the Tea Party News Network. His personal website reportedly went offline on Thursday.

Watch the video of Cooper reacting to Gene's photo request below:

Unlike users on Facebook itself, Rooms encourages users to use any identity they want to communicate to others with similar interests.

Facebook announced Thursday the launch of Rooms, a new "messageboard" mobile app that allows users to communicate anonymously with others in online chat rooms.

Called "a nostalgic throwback to Internet 1.0, updated for the mobile Web" by Reed Albergotti of The Wall Street Journal, Rooms is a product of Facebook but operates separately and doesn't require users to provide any revealing details like a name or location. The Journal points out that in the early days of the Internet, online chat rooms lured people to connect with others on the Web, but social media eventually replaced these rooms. "Now, the biggest social network wants to resurrect them - on your phone," Albergotti writes.

Facebook's Josh Miller, who created the app, explained in a blog post the benefits of online messageboards.

"One of the magical things about the early days of the web was connecting to people who you would never encounter otherwise in your daily life. Forums, message boards and chatrooms were meeting places for people who didn't necessarily share geographies or social connections, but had something in common."

Whereas Facebook promotes itself as "a place for friends," Rooms seems to be the opposite. "We don't want this to be a place where you talk to friends," Miller told The New York Times. "There are many people out there that you didn't go to high school with that you want to connect with."

According to the Rooms website, users can create a "room" tailored for any topic they want. The company says rooms already exist for beat boxing videos, parkour and photos of home-cooked meals. A user creates a room and then customizes the look and feel of it. Moderators can restrict rooms to users 18 years of age or older.

To enter a room, users must be invited. Invitations are created in the form of QR codes and can be shared on social media, email or printed on paper. Moderators can ban users from rooms if they choose to do so.

The most intriguing aspect of the new app is the ability for users to use any name, nickname or pseudonym they want. "From unique obsessions and unconventional hobbies, to personal finance and health-related issues - you can celebrate the sides of yourself that you don't always show to your friends," Facebook's Miller writes. He adds that users can use whatever name they are most comfortable with and can even create different identities for different contexts. So users can use their first name for a room dedicated to their hometown and "Wonder Woman" for a room dedicated for superheroes. "Sometimes I want to go with my real name and sometimes I prefer a nickname," Miller adds. "It depends."

While Rooms says it's ok for users to use fake names, Facebook has largely required its users to stick to their actual names as a way to combat spammers, trolls and cyberbullies, The New York Times reports. The company's real name policy caught heat recently when it deleted several hundred accounts belonging to self-described drag queens and other members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Facebook changed its real name policy so users don't have to use their legal name but instead "the authentic name they use in real life."

Rooms is the latest endeavor in Facebook's plan to create standalone apps, The Wall Street Journal reports. This year, it launched the news aggregator Paper, a photo-sharing product called Slingshot and a video-capture app called Hyperlapse.

Rooms is currently only available to download for the iOS operating system on iPhones. Miller told USA Today that the company is planning Android and desktop versions.

Astorino said today he's talked to doctors and "average-sense, common people" to shape his opinions about how to react to the Ebola virus. Watch video

SALINA, N.Y. - Republican Rob Astorino today called Gov. Andrew Cuomo's response to the Ebola virus "gross negligence," one day after the first diagnosed case was reported in New York City.

Astorino repeated his call for a travel ban from Western African countries. Cuomo, in recent days, has also urged federal officials to consider a ban, Capital New York reported. Today, Astorino said that wasn't enough.

"It was preventable," Astorino said after speaking to a group of African American church members outside the Holiday Inn on Electronics Parkway. "And this is a complete and utter breakdown by the federal government and New York state and Gov. Cuomo."

Cuomo's staff did not immediately response to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, Cuomo launched a response plan to the virus, designating eight hospitals including Upstate Medical University as treatment centers. The state's Department of Health has been training healthcare workers on response protocols. John F. Kennedy Airport started advanced screenings of people traveling from West Africa.

Read this to learn more about how Ebola does and does not spread

Astorino is the Westchester County executive challenging Cuomo,
a Democrat, in the Nov. 4 elections. Astorino said today he's talked to doctors
and "average-sense, common people" to shape his opinions about how to react to
the Ebola virus.

Cuomo appeared on four nationally-televised news shows this morning to discuss the patient, a doctor who had returned to Manhattan after treating Ebola patients in Guinea. The patient is in an isolation ward at Bellevue Hospital. Before he fell ill, the doctor rode the subway, jogged and bowled in the New York City area. Cuomo today pledged to ride the subway in New York to tamp down safety concerns.

Astorino, who is trailing Cuomo in the polls by double-digits, characterized Cuomo's actions so far as "gross negligence."

"This is a public health crisis in the making, internationally," Astorino said. "Act now, while we still have plenty of time to deal with this, before it becomes a crisis. And hopefully it never will."

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The fees have increased to adopt the dogs seized from a Tully home in September. Watch video

The first 30 to 40 dogs seized from the Tully home of Pompey's former dog control officer will be ready to adopt Monday.

The dogs were taken from Susan Snavlin's Tully home and Snavlin was charged with animal cruelty Sept. 30. The SPCA of Central New York seized 222 dogs and 23 cats, according to executive director Paul Morgan. SPCA officials said the animals were found in filthy conditions, and covered in urine and feces.

Snavlin, who resigned from her position as dog control officer, has said she kept the dogs because she thought she could give them a good home.

Several of the dogs taken were pregnant, and since they arrived at the SPCA 48 puppies have been born. They will stay with their mothers for some time before they can be adopted, Morgan said.

The fee to adopt the dogs will be $250, Morgan said. Typically, it costs $180 to $205 to adopt a dog, depending on the dog's age.

The fee increase is due to the costs the SPCA has incurred to vaccinate, spay or neuter and groom the dogs.

The SPCA has received donations of food and about $6,000 in cash, but it's not enough to cover the agency's costs, Morgan said.

People who want to adopt one of these dogs can either stop by the SPCA Monday at 5878 E. Molloy Road, or fill out a form online, Morgan said.

"Many of the dogs we have ready for adoption are terrier/chihuahua breeds," Morgan said.

Two local veterinarians are coming in to examine all the animals, but it takes time to get the dogs ready for adoption. All of the dogs seized are small.

All of the dogs seized are small, and that should make it easier to adopt them, he said.

SPCA officials say they after the dogs are adopted, they will move onto the cats.

Dron and Quincy Lundy are facing 25 years to life in prison for the shooting death of Walter Belle III.

Dron Lundy (left) and Quincy Lundy.Douglass Dowty | ddowty@syracuse.com 

Syracuse, NY -- An Onondaga County jury found one brother, Dron Lundy, 27, guilty Thursday afternoon of murdering Walter Belle III in a 2012 shooting on Syracuse's North Side.

But they told County Court Judge Thomas J. Miller they were having a hard time deciding the guilt of Lundy's younger brother, Quincy, 21. The judge sent them back for one more try.

Around 10:30 a.m. today, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Quincy Lundy. The defendant cradled his head in his hands, covering his eyes, as the jury came back and announced its verdict.

His mother, Jeanette Lundy, who testified that Quincy Lundy was home on her couch during the murder, left the courtroom in tears before the verdict and only returned after her son's fate was announced.

Walter Belle III, 30, of South Carolina, was killed in October 2012 in Syracuse. He is seen in this photo with his fiancee, Latia Dockery, and their children.Submitted photo 

Prosecutor Melinda McGunnigle convinced the jury that the Lundys retaliated after their mother's and grandmother's houses were shot up during an ongoing feud. Police experts testified that at least two guns were used at the Catherine Street scene, though only one bullet ended up in the victim.

The Lundys didn't help themselves. Dron Lundy lied to the grand jury and only admitted being in the area of the shooting after a parole-mandated ankle bracelet put him there. He claimed to be selling drugs nearby when he heard the shots.

And only the Lundys' mother vouched for Quincy Lundy's whereabouts. In an odd twist, a jail deputy also testified that Quincy Lundy described shooting from up a hill while discussing the case with his brother after trial one day.

Reacting to the verdict, Quincy Lundy's lawyer, Don Kelly, repeated his criticism of the prosecution's eyewitness, who was an enemy of the Lundys. That witness didn't come forward until after he was arrested later in a burglary spree.

In exchange for his testimony, he avoided a prison term for the burglaries, Kelly said.

McGunnigle said she was very happy at both verdicts. Sentencing is set for Nov. 21.

The driver was on his last stop during a drive from Texas to Pompano Beach, Florida, when he discovered his truck full of beer was stolen.

A big rig full of Miller High Life was stolen from a truck stop in Florida on Monday, leaving the driver stranded and reduced to tears.

Van Thomas purchased his semi truck three weeks ago after spending years as a driver, WFTV reports. On a drive from Texas to Pompano Beach, Florida, Thomas was on his last stop in Orlando on Monday when his truck was stolen.

The contents of the big rig: 44,000 pounds of Miller High Life, which WFTV reports comes out to about 9,700 four-packs.

In an emotional interview with WTFV, Thomas began to tear up while recalling the incident. "I don't mean to cry about it but I'm just trying to do the best I can and make a better life," Thomas said. "It's just so devastating to me."

Thomas' truck is the latest in a string of semi trucks stolen in Florida recently, WFTV reports.

* About 180,000 eggs were stolen earlier this year in Fort Myers
* A truck with Hershey chocolate was also stolen in December in Volusia County
* A truck with Slimfast was swiped near downtown Orlando

Luckily for Thomas, detectives called him shortly after the incident and said the truck had been found in Miami. Most of the cargo remained in the vehicle.

"Oh, my God. That's beautiful," Thomas said when received the good news, WFTV reports.

WFTV reports that there's no indication if the robbers knew Thomas' truck contained beer before they stole it. Detectives are still investigating if this theft is connected with the other stolen trucks.

"I believe very strongly in Jesus," Astorino said. "I was raised Christian. And I'm not afraid to say that."

SALINA, N.Y. -- When Rob Astorino took over as the Westchester County executive four years ago, he brought pictures of his family for his desk and a religious cross to adorn his government office wall.

That raised eyebrows and concerns, the Republican candidate for governor told the Empire Baptist Missionary Convention of New York here today. But he put the cross on the wall directly across from his desk.

"All day, I can ask for support," he said. "And that cross has stayed up every day since."

Astorino, a white, Catholic, Republican, acknowledged he might not be preaching to his choir while addressing more than 200 African American members of Baptist, Pentecostal and other evangelical churches at the Holiday Inn on Electronics Parkway.

"I know," he said, after repeating his party affiliation. "You're sometimes Republicans too," he said, to laughter.

Astorino is challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and Catholic. The election is Nov. 4.

Astorino told the crowd about his empowerment program, a proposal to help inner city families, schools and parents. He called Cuomo's plans to codify abortion laws an expansion that would allow late-term procedures, something the governor denies.

Cuomo spoke to the same crowd on Thursday night by phone, according to attendees. An inquiry to Cuomo's campaign was not immediately returned.

The governor told the crowd about his entire women's equality agenda, which includes strengthening workplace laws to ensure women and men working the same jobs make the same money.

That's an idea Roosevelt Odoms, of Syracuse, likes.

Roosevelt Odoms, of Syracuse, said Friday he hasn't decided who to support in New York's governor's race. He's waiting to hear more from Andrew Cuomo and Rob Astorino about jobs, the minimum wage rate and helping teachers instill more discipline in schools. Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.c 

But Odoms, a registered Democrat, said he's still undecided. He wants to hear more about what Cuomo or Astorino will do to address homicides in Syracuse, raise the minimum wage and help teachers dole out more discipline so students behave better in schools.

"We have too much killing in the city," said Odoms, whose church and home is on Syracuse's South Side.

When asked what he wants most from a governor, Odoms said: "More jobs. The minimum wage should be more. When you got a single person trying to take care of a whole family, it's not enough."

Cuomo, in a new policy plan released Thursday, called for a higher minimum wage. A state wage board, under Cuomo's direction, is studying whether to raise wages for tipped workers. Astorino's jobs plan does not call for a higher wage rate.

This morning, Astorino didn't talk specifically about jobs or the economy. He stayed on message: religion.

"I believe very strongly in Jesus," Astorino said. "I was raised Christian. And I'm not afraid to say that."

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

Tomas Zavalidroga has lost his power of attorney over his mother, Margaret.

Tomas Zavalidroga, the man charged with leaving his 83-year-old mother in the woods in July, has lost his power of attorney status over his mother, according to a report in the Oneida Dispatch.

After a hearing in Oneida County Supreme Court, Judge Samuel Hester ruled that Tomas Zavalidroga no longer has power of attorney status over Margaret Zavalidroga, his mother, the report said.

Victor and Jon Zavalidroga, brothers of Tomas, took legal action to have the power of attorney status taken from him. Tomas Zavalidroga had used his power of attorney status to transfer two parcels of land on Forward Road in Blossvale that belonged to his mother.

The court said a court-appointed power of attorney will be named soon, according to the report.

The case against Tomas Zavalidroga continues in court. He is charged with reckless endangerment and making a false report to police, both misdemeanors, in connection with the July 18 incident. She was later found after Zavalidroga had reported her missing.

Everything you need to know to grab a carload of the last china made by Syracuse China.

Salina, N.Y. — OK, it's not exactly a giveway. But it might as well be, because for a mere 10 bucks, anyone can drive off with a carload of the last china made by Syracuse China.

The event is scheduled for two days in November. For $10, the public can help themselves to the piles of dishes, bowls and cups left behind by the Libbey Inc. when it closed the Syracuse China factory on Court Street in 2009, ending 138 years of pottery making in the Syracuse area.

Our story earlier this week generated a lot of interest from people looking to grab some of the leftover china. So here are 11 of the most common questions people have asked us about the giveaway and answers to all of them.

1. When and where can I pick up this china?

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at the former Syracuse China factory, now named Lyndale Commercial Park, at 2801 Court St. in Salina.

2. Who gets the $10?

All of the money will go to the Eastwood Neighborhood Association and the Over The Rainbow Daycare at St. Matthews Church in East Syracuse.

3. Why isn't the money going to an organization in Salina's Lyncourt neighborhood, where the former factory is located?

The Eastwood Neighborhood Association and Over The Rainbow Daycare, both nonprofits, pitched the idea for the fundraiser to the site's managers and agreed to provide the personnel to run it. By the way, Eastwood is part of Syracuse, but it's not much more than a stone's throw from Lyncourt.

4. Is it $10 per person or $10 per vehicle?

It's $10 per vehicle. It doesn't matter how many people are in the vehicle.

5. Can I bring my pickup truck or is this only for cars?

You can bring whatever vehicle you want, including pickup trucks. There is no limit to how much china you can take.

6. I can't make it until the second day. Is there a chance all of the china will be gone by the time I arrive?

There's little chance of that happening. Libbey left tens of thousands of pieces of china behind, packed in wooden crates. It's very unlikely all of it will be taken during the two days of this event.

If there is more demand than can be accommodated on the two days, the organizers say they will consider scheduling more giveaways events.

7. Can people eat off this china?

That's not recommended. The dinnerware is unglazed, so bacteria from food might get into the plates.

8. Can I glaze the china myself and use it for food service?

Sure, if you have a kiln to fire the glaze.

9. If it's unglazed, what could I use the china for?

Arts and crafts mostly. Children, in particular, love painting pottery, but many adults do, too. One organizer of the event suggested filling the cups with candle wax, creating Syracuse China candle holders to give away as gifts.

Some people may want to keep a few pieces just for nostalgia purposes. Syracuse China employed generations of Central New Yorkers and was a part of the local scene for almost a century and a half.

10. When I flip the plates over, will I see the famous Syracuse China stamp?

Yup. All of the plates and bowls have a stamp on the bottom that says:

View full sizeThe china left over when Libbey Inc. closed its factory in Salina in 2009 contains the Syracuse China stamp and a code denoting when the dinnerware was made.Rick Moriarty / rmoriarty@syracuse.com 

They also contain a code that reveals when the china was made. The most common code on the plates is "38-A," which means it was made sometime in the first three months of 2009, just before Syracuse China closed. (The 38 is the number of years after the company's 100th anniversary in 1971. The letter "A" denotes the first quarter of the year.)

11. Will I have to load the china into my car myself?

Yes. No one will be available to load it for you. So bring gloves and boxes. And since the china is stored in a field behind the former factory, wear appropriate footwear and attire.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148

The indoor farmers' market will be held from 12 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

BALDWINSVILLE, NY -- The operators of the Greater Baldwinsville Farmers' Market are going to try something new this weekend by moving their popular market indoors.

Mike and Michelle Samoraj, who also own the Willow Health & Wellness Center in Baldwinsville, have invited their vendors to come back to Baldwinsville Sunday for an indoor farmers' market at the wellness center. The regular market, which was held in Baldwin Square on Wednesdays, ended earlier this month.

"Grab some cider and donuts, listen to some acoustic guitar by the talented Steven Pfanenstiel while gathering up some of your favorite products," Mike Samoraj said.

Some of the items for sale include Hahn's Produce, bagels, maple syrup, granola, honey and various jams, sauces, soaps, candles and jewelry. Gypsy Girl Wood-Fired Pizza will be selling slices.

The market will be held from 12 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Willow Health & Wellness Center is located on 3090 Belgium Road, behind Physical Therapy Plus, in Baldwinsville.

Samoraj said if the market is well attended they will make it a regular event.

For more information, visit the Greater Baldwinsville Farmers' Market's website or Facebook page.

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

CareerBuilder reports that employees will check social media and even drive past an employees' houses to see if they're really sick.

Either American workers have had some "sitcom-worthy misadventures" this year, or they've become more creative when creating sick day excuses. That's what online employment website CareerBuilder had to say when it released this year's list of the most "unbelievable" excuses for calling in sick.

In a survey conducted with Harris Poll from Aug. 11 to Sept. 5, CareerBuilder sampled 3,103 workers and 2,203 hiring managers and human resources professionals across industries and company sizes about employees calling in sick.

The poll found that over the past year, 28 percent of employees have called in to work sick when they were feeling well, down from 32 percent last year. Of that 28 percent, 30 percent said they skipped work simply because they didn't feel like going in, while 29 percent said they wanted a day to relax. Other reasons why employees missed work were to attend a doctor's appointment, catch up on sleep and bad weather (like snow).

CareerBuilder says the majority of employers don't question their employees when they call in sick, but nearly a third of them do check to see if employees are telling the truth. Two-thirds employers who do check the validity of their employee's excuse ask for a doctor's note, while almost half call the employee. Fifteen percent of employers actually drove past an employee's home.

But some employees have actually busted themselves through the Internet. CareerBuilder found that one in four employers have caught an employee faking being sick through social media. Of those, 22 percent have fired the employee, but 54 percent only reprimanded the employee for lying.

While half of employees say they have a Paid Time Off program that allows them to use their time off however they choose, almost a quarter of workers say they still feel obligated to make up an excuse for taking a day off.

Here's CareerBuilder's list of the 10 most "unbelievable," actual excuses employers said their employees gave for missing work:

1. Employee just put a casserole in the oven.
2. Employee's plastic surgery for enhancement purposes needed some "tweaking" to get it just right.
3. Employee was sitting in the bathroom and her feet and legs fell asleep. When she stood, up she fell and broke her ankle.
4. Employee had been at the casino all weekend and still had money left to play with on Monday morning.
5. Employee woke up in a good mood and didn't want to ruin it.
6. Employee had a "lucky night" and didn't know where he was.
7. Employee got stuck in the blood pressure machine at the grocery store and couldn't get out.
8. Employee had a gall stone they wanted to heal holistically.
9. Employee caught their uniform on fire by putting it in the microwave to dry.
10. Employee accidentally got on a plane.

What are some of the most outrageous excuses you've heard for someone missing work? Share with us in the comments.

A school shooting has been reported at a high school north of Seattle.

Update: Hospital says 3 victims in critical condition after school shooting near Seattle.

MARYSVILLE, Wash. -- A lone student shooter was dead Friday after an attack at a high school north of Seattle, police said.

Marysville Police Commander Robb Lamoureux said he did not have any additional information on where the shooting took place or if anyone else was killed or wounded.

Students and staff members were seen walking out of Marysville Pilchuck High School after police and ambulance crews surrounded the large campus of more than 2,000 students.

Police were going room by room, searching the school about 30 miles north of Seattle, to make sure it was safe.

"It is an active scene," Lamoureux said. "We do ask parents to please stay away."

Adam Holston, 14, a freshman, was just leaving the lunch room when the gunfire broke out.

"Everyone just started running," he told The Seattle Times. "I could hear the gun shots and my heart was racing and we didn't know what was going on."

There were conflicting reports about the number of possible injuries. Susan Gregg, a spokeswoman at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said the facility was expecting one patient but had no other information.

A crowd of parents waited in the parking lot outside a nearby church where they were being reunited with their children.

Buses pulled up periodically to drop off students evacuated from the school, with some running to hug their mothers or fathers. Some parents were sent back to their cars to get their identifications before they could leave with their children.

Ayn Dietrich, an FBI spokesperson in Seattle, said the agency had personnel on their way to the scene to help authorities with the investigation.

The latest school shooting in the region happened at Seattle Pacific University, where a gunman killed one student and wounded two others on June 5.

Judge sets court date for Gary Thibodeau's lawyer, DA to argue request to overturn 1995 kidnapping conviction.

MEXICO, N.Y. -- Two more cadaver dogs this week indicated that human remains were once in the area of a cabin where a man allegedly confessed to hiding 1994 kidnapping victim Heidi Allen's body.

Two dog handlers each brought a search dog to the site off Rice Road separately on Thursday and each dog lay down in the same spot -- indicating human remains were once there, according to court papers filed today by a lawyer for Gary Thibodeau.

The lawyer, Lisa Peebles, brought in the cadaver dogs and their handlers to look for evidence that could corroborate claims that someone other than Thibodeau kidnapped Allen in 1994 and hid her remains.

Acting Oswego County Court Judge Daniel King today scheduled a hearing for Jan. 12 to hear arguments over Thibodeau's request to overturn Thibodeau's kidnapping conviction.

James "Thumper" Steen told his wife and a friend, Tonya Priest, in 2006 that he and two other men kidnapped Allen from a New Haven convenience on Easter 1994, brought her to a garage on Rice Road then disposed of her body under the floorboards of a cabin in the woods across the street, Priest has said.

Steen and the two other men, Roger Breckenridge and Michael Bohrer, have denied any involvement in Allen's kidnapping. None has been charged.

The dog handlers, from Massasauga Search and Rescue Team near Rochester, wrote reports on the dogs' indicating the scent of human remains. One of them was filed today and the other will follow, according to Peebles' court papers.

"He stopped and sniffed intensely at the ground and then performed his trained indication that he detected the odor of human remains (his trained indication is a down)," Bamford wrote.

In July, a state police cadaver dog alerted twice in the same spot near the cabin, District Attorney Gregory Oakes said then. Investigators searched for four days but found no evidence that any human remains were ever at the site, Oakes said.

The fact that no human remains were found "does not detract from the fact one was clearly there at one time," Peebles wrote in a filing with King.

"We believe that the fact that two separate human remains detector dogs alerted to the presence of human remains in the exact spot where suspect Steen admitted he took Ms. Allen's body is corroborative and reliable evidence that a body was buried there at one time," Peebles said

Oakes declined to comment on Peebles' filing.

Well-trained cadaver dogs are 95 percent accurate, according to experts.

In her court papers, Peebles cited a court case in which a dog's sniff alert alone was used by police to obtain a search warrant.

Peebles has asked King to overturn Thibodeau's kidnapping conviction based on newly discovered evidence, including Steen's alleged confession to Priest.

Thibodeau, 60, is serving 25 years to life in prison. He maintains he had nothing to do with Allen's kidnapping.

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.

Peebles Filing 10-24-14

Protesters say gas storage could push salt into an already salty lake.

Watkins Glen, N.Y. -- About 150 people today protested a plan to store compressed gas in empty salt caverns on the west shore of Seneca Lake.

"Why take the most dangerous storage technology known, requiring millions of gallons of salt brine storage, and put it next to one of America's most beautiful lakes?" asked former Schuyler County legislator Bob Fitzsimmons at the rally just outside the gates of Crestwood Corp.'s Seneca Lake Compressor Station. "You do not use this dangerous technology to store gas in the midst of a thriving tourist economy. It's a bad idea -- a real bad idea."

Thirty of the protestors, wearing red arm bands, were prepared to block the gates and be arrested by police. No one was today, although protesters for Gas Free Seneca said they will be back next week if Crestwood attempts to begin construction of the compressor needed for the gas storage.

The Federal Energy Regulation Commission last month swept aside the arguments of Gas Free Seneca and gave Crestwood permission to begin construction of the compressor that will be needed to store some of the gas. Crestwood has said the technology to store 8.8 million gallons of liquefied petroleum gas is safe.

The "established track record of underground storage activities within the Finger Lakes/Southern Tier further demonstrates that gas storage activities can be done safely and in an environmentally-responsible manner," Crestwood said in a presentation earlier this month.

The caverns were created over the past century when salt was mined deep underground. They are now full of highly salty brine, which would be pumped into a lined pit when the gas was pushed into the caverns under high pressure.

Activists said today Seneca Lake is already the saltiest of the Finger Lakes, and fear that the gas under high pressure would push salt out into the lake. They also say the caverns are unstable and there is a 40 percent chance of a serious gas spill in the next 25 years.

"There are better places to store gas and there are better places to store gas," said Joseph Campbell, one of the founders of Gas Free Seneca.

The federal agency's approval is only for the portion of the project that involves storage of natural gas. Crestwood also plans to store compressed propane and butane, which is under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The DEC has said it wants more information on the plan and will hold another hearing, which has not been scheduled.

"DEC will not grant a permit unless it can be demonstrated that the permit is in compliance with all legal requirements and that the proposed activity can be done safely in New York state," the agency said.

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