Bridge expenses are nearly $750 million this year from new borrowing.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The New York Thruway Authority's $2 billion budget plan for next year includes nearly $1 billion to keep building a new Tappan Zee Bridge in the lower Hudson Valley.

Executive Director Thomas Madison says by the end of 2015 the authority and Canal Corp. will reduce operating costs more than $200 million with personnel reductions and expense controls and refinance old debt to save $100 million. He says that will help "keep tolls as low as possible" while advancing the project.

Bridge expenses are nearly $750 million this year from new borrowing.

The fiscally conservative Empire Center says the toll revenue targets in the budget adopted Friday equate to a roughly 4 percent system-wide toll increase in 2015.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says tolls depend on the level of state subsidy.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the campaign is part of the state's larger effort to "push back" against drug use.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Moviegoers in New York state will now see public service announcements warning of the dangers of heroin use.

The state began airing the announcements Friday in movie theaters across New York. They will appear before select movies rated PG-13 or R through early January.

The spots include testimonials from recovering users who share personal stories about how heroin abuse affected their lives and families.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the campaign is part of the state's larger effort to "push back" against heroin and prescription drugs.

In 2013, there were 91,000 medical admissions for heroin and prescription opiate abuse in New York state. That's up from 76,000 five years ago.

Super Saturday is slated to be the No. 1 shopping day of 2014.

SYRACUSE, NY, -- People wearing neon traffic vests directed throngs of vehicles with last-minute holiday shoppers around Destiny USA Saturday afternoon.The food court had no available seating left, escalators were full from top to bottom and people drove behind shoppers walking back to their vehicle to get a parking spot.

This year, the weekend before Christmas, known as Super Saturday, is expected to be the No. 1 shopping day of the year with over $10 billion of sales. Black Friday brought in $9.1 billion this year, reports show.

Friends Tanika Delee, 20, and Shana Lucas, 21, took a break from looking for the perfect gift for the most difficult people to shop for on their list -- the men -- and were in a woman's clothing store.

"I always shop last minute," they said simultaneously. Despite going Black Friday shopping, they said their list of kids and family members they shop for is long enough to spend the month thinking about.

"I try to get it done early, but I never know what people want," Delee said.

The women said that even though they usually wait until the last minute to shop, they still find good deals. Lucas said she bought a coat for $10, and Delee said she bought a shirt for 97 cents.

Mother and daughter Beverly Kelley, 76, and Cathy Kolod, 52, both agreed that the men in their life were the hardest to shop far, especially their husbands.

But every time the Syracuse women come to the mall, they said they buy more than they planned.

Kelley said she came to the mall with her daughter thinking most of her shopping was done. Her hands were full of shopping bags though, some from children's clothing stores.

"I see things and I buy them," she said, adding that it's hard to resist the urge to get extra things for her grandchildren.

Peter Cipriano, 48 was leaving the mall with his 19-year-old daughter, Katerina Cipriano, and her 21-year old boyfriend Alec Suits. Peter Cipriano carried multiple bright yellow bags from Forever 21, a store targeting primarily female teens and young adults. He said the bags had extra presents for his nieces.

He said he considers the weekend before Christmas a chance to cross out the last few items on his shopping list.

Diana DeFilippo, 58, said it's the first time in her life she has waited so long to do her Christmas shopping.

"I changed jobs and travel a long way to work," she said.

DeFilippo said the drive left her too exhausted to go shopping, but knew she had to make it to the mall on her day off.

She said she can sum up her first Super Saturday shopping experience in one word: exhausting.

Police said the man fled the scene on a bicycle.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man is in jail after a woman found him in her basement stealing copper pipes Saturday morning, police said in a news release.

Zachary Hart, 21, of 105 Mary St., is charged with felonies for second-degree burglary and third-degree criminal mischief. He's also charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor.

Police said a woman heard a banging noise coming from her basement around 8:25 a.m. and noticed an unfamiliar bicycle in her yard on the 1200 block of Carbon St.

She found a man in her basement when she investigated the noise and quickly ran upstairs to call 911 with a description of him, police said.

An officer saw a man matching the woman's description on their way to her home. He was on his bike entering a driveway at 1106 Carbon St.

When police arrived at the woman's home, they realized the man stole a copper water pipe from the home after he snuck in through a window.

They returned to speak with the man on Carbon Street and arrested Hart after conducting an investigation, police said.

Hart is in custody at the Onondaga County Justice Center as of Saturday night.

Burglaries in the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County as a whole have continued their downward trend, according to the Syracuse.com Crime Database

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Last month sheriff's detectives used surveillance to catch a teen they say is responsible for breaking into several homes in Clay.

City police nabbed a copper thief and caught another man fleeing a store he had just burglarized.And hundreds of people packed a meeting in DeWitt over concerns about recent burglaries.

There is, however, some bright news: burglaries in the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County as a whole have continued their downward trend.

According to the Syracuse.com Crime Database, burglaries in Syracuse ticked up slightly month over month, from 124 in October to 136 in November. According to the database, however, burglaries in November also dropped 19 percent compared to the same month last year. City burglaries decreased from 167 during November 2013 to 136 last month.

Burglaries in the city have continued to trend downward this year. Burglaries decreased 21 percent this year, from 1614 between January and the end of November in 2013, to 1268 during the same period this year.

Across all of Onondaga County, including Syracuse, burglaries have also trended downward.

So far this year 1,928 burglaries have been recorded countywide, down 16 percent from the same period in 2013 when 2,288 burglaries occurred. Burglaries countywide in November were down about 3 percent from last November.

Burglary cases handled by the New York State Police are not included in the Crime Database. State police operate on a different system that crosses county lines and is not compatible with the system used by other law enforcement agencies in Onondaga County.

The database includes records of aggravated assaults, arsons, burglaries, all larcenies, murders or attempted murders, robberies and vehicle thefts as reported by police. These crimes are so-called "Part I felonies." This means crimes that are reported to the FBI for use in its annual crime index.

Here is a breakdown of recent reported burglaries in Syracuse and Onondaga County.

Syracuse Burglaries
Nov 2014: 136
Nov 2013: 167
Nov 2012: 195

Jan-Nov 2014: 1268
Jan-Nov 2013: 1614
Jan-Nov 2012: 1707

Onondaga County Burglaries (not including state police)
Nov 2014: 202
Nov 2013: 209
Nov 2012: 266

Jan-Nov 2014: 1928
Jan-Nov 2013: 2288
Jan-Nov 2012: 2597

Note: The Crimes Database does not include every serious crime, but provides a snapshot of crime in the area. Many law enforcement agencies take days or weeks to compile their reports. The crime statistics are updated weekly back to Jan. 1 of this year.

Contact Ken Sturtz anytime: 315-766-7833 | Email | Twitter | Facebook | Google+

Our weather Sunday will by cloudy with a mild chance for snow in the morning. Temperatures will range from the low 30s to the mid 20s.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- We'll have some cloudy weather Sunday in Central New York before rain moves into the area heading into the holiday.

Our weather Sunday will by cloudy with a mild chance for snow in the morning. Temperatures will range from the low 30s to the mid 20s.

A complex storm system will move up the Ohio Valley and into the Great Lakes early next week, bringing rain and wind in time for Christmas, the National Weather Service said. A mix of snow and rain is possible Monday and into Tuesday.

Christmas Eve will see a lot of rain. Rain is expected to switch over to snow on Christmas as cooler air moves into Central New York.

Your Forecast

• Sunday: Cloudy with a slight chance of snow early in the day. Cloudy later in the day. Highs in the low 30s. Lows in the mid 20s.
  
• Monday: Partly sunny with southeast winds up to 15 mph and gusts up to 30 mph. Cloudy in the evening. Highs in the high 30s. Lows near 30.
  
• Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with a fair chance for rain and freezing rain during the day and evening. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows near 40.
  
• Christmas Eve: Rain likely during the day. Rain or snow possible in the evening. Highs in the low 50s. Lows in the mid 30s.
  
• Christmas Day: Cloudy with a 50/50 chance for snow throughout the day. Highs around 40. Lows in the low 30s.

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.

The $20 million Yellow Brick Road Casino is slated to open in spring 2015.

By Elizabeth Doran and Michelle Breidenbach

CHITTENANGO, N.Y. -- The Oneida Indian Nation will open a $20 million casino in Chittenango in 2015, expanding its gaming empire as New York welcomes its first non-Indian casinos.

Oneida Indian officials say they don't need approvals from any governments to launch the Yellow Brick Road Casino, which will have 436 Vegas-style slot machines and a Bingo hall in Tops Chittenago Plaza on Route 5, 14 miles east of downtown Syracuse.

The Oneidas - whose sprawling Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona has dominated gaming in Central New York for two decades - plan to open the new casino in the spring.

The Oneidas announced their plans just four days after a state panel recommended licensing three non-Indian casinos in Upstate New York.

Rochester developer Thomas Wilmot is planning to build one of those, a $425 million casino and hotel, 42 miles west of Syracuse in Seneca County. Wilmot promises his casino will have 2,000 slot machines and 85 table games - about the same number as Turning Stone.

The Oneidas' Chittenango casino looks like their first counter-punch in what promises to be a high-stakes fight for gamblers' dollars. At 67,000 square feet, it will be much smaller and less glitzy than Wilmot's proposed resort or Turning Stone, but located closer to Syracuse.

Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation representative and chief executive officer, said the new casino would be opened whether or not New York approves Wilmot's Lago Resort & Casino. He said the decision to build the Chittenango casino was not influenced by Wilmot's plan.

"Competition isn't anything new to us - we have Vernon Downs,'' he said, referring to the harness race track with video lottery machines. "And there are casinos in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

"From the day we opened, we told our management to always make your decisions as if a competing casino was right across the street,'' Halbritter said.

A rendering of what the exterior of the new Yellow Brick Road casino will look like.Provided photo 

No limit on Oneida casinos

The terms of the 1993 Oneida Nation Gaming Compact with New York and a 2013 compact permit the Oneida Nation to operate casino games on nation lands, Halbritter said.

Because the Chittenango casino is on Oneida reservation land, no permission is needed from federal, state or local governments to open the casino and the Oneidas don't need a license from New York, Halbritter said.

Halbritter said there is no legal limit on the number of casinos the Oneidas could open on their reservation land, adding "the only limit is good business sense."

The National Indian Gaming Commission allows Class 3 gaming, including slot machines, on tribal lands held in federal trust within the terms of compacts between states and independent Indian nations like the Oneidas.

The 2013 gaming compact signed by the Oneidas and Gov. Andrew Cuomo also settled outstanding land claims and gave the nation the exclusive right to gaming activity in a 10-county area around the Turning Stone Casino.

The agreement puts a cap of 25,370 acres of Oneida land within the boundaries of Madison and Oneida counties.

The compact spells out the kinds of casino games allowed on that land, but it does not appear to mention the need for any more approval from the state.

The New York State Gaming Commission did not respond to questions about its role in any oversight or approval of new Oneida nation gaming.

The federal government does not have to approve the opening of an Indian casino, but does play a role in reviewing gaming ordinances and licenses approved by the Indian nation's own governments, according to a spokesman for the NIGC.

The Oneidas' Yellow Brick Road Casino will be located in a shopping plaza the nation owns on property that is part of 25,000 acres of trust land.

In exchange for exclusive casino rights in the 10 counties, the Oneida nation agreed to share, for the first time, 25 percent of its slot revenues with state and local governments. The Oneidas said then they expected to pay about $50 million per year from Turning Stone slots for the exclusive 10-county casino rights. Revenues from the Yellow Brick Road Casino will be part of that, said Oneida nation spokesman Joel Barkin.

Wilmot plans to open his casino in 2015 just outside of the 10-county region if he succeeds in obtaining a license from New York. He'll have to pay New York $35 million for the license. He'll also be required to pay an annual tax to New York estimated to be $79 million in the first year.

What prompted the development of the Yellow Brick Road casino now was the trust land settlement and 2013 compact that ended decades of legal battles between the nation and the state and counties, Halbritter said. That settlement was upheld by a federal judge in March.

The Oneidas didn't want to invest millions in the new casino if there were ongoing disputes about the land, the Oneidas say.

"The settlement resolved issues and helped bring some security to us,'' Halbritter said.

The Oneidas can only open a casino without seeking state approval if it's on their reservation land, which is only in Madison and Oneida counties. If they wanted to open a casino in Onondaga County, for example, they would need to follow the same procedures and get the same approvals as any outside developer, Halbritter said.

The Chittenango casino is the only one planned at this time, Barkin said.

A rendering of the interior of the Yellow Brick Road Casino, to be opened by the Oneida Nation in spring 2015.Provided photo 

Inside the Chittenango casino

The new casino, just one mile from the Onondaga County line, will be in the vacant portion of the Tops plaza off West Genesee Street, or Route 5, in the village of Chittenango. It will not have table games, but will feature a 500-seat Bingo hall. There will be two casual dining restaurants, a country-western bar, and the Oz General Store, which will sell tobacco products, pre-packaged food and beverages, bingo supplies and other items.

The Oneida nation plans to apply to the New York State Liquor Authority for a license to serve alcohol at the new casino.

The casino's name has been selected to reflect Chittenango's identity as the birthplace of L. Frank Baum, author of the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz," nation officials said. It also will have "Wizard of Oz" themes throughout the interior.

The casino will employ about 250 people once it opens.

Market research conducted by the Oneida nation pointed to "a definite demand" for this type of gaming in this region. It will likely attract people from local counties and statewide, Barkin said.

The new casino will provide customers with a different experience than Turning Stone Resort Casino, Barkin said. Turning Stone, the fifth-largest tourist attraction in the state, offering gaming, golf courses, hotels, entertainment, spas, 20 dining choices and in 2016 luxury retail outlet shopping.

The Yellow Brick Road Casino will be aimed at people who aren't staying overnight, as there will be no hotel as part of the project, and it will offer convenient gambling.

"It will be a different experience than Turning Stone,'' Halbritter said. "It will be more of a casual venue, and one that will pay respects to the community's identity. It will be an exciting, fresh look."

The casino will be open 24 hours a day.

Support from Chittenango mayor

Chittenango Mayor Ronny Goeler, one of the few local officials whom the Oneidas have told about their plans, said the casino will help revitalize the area, and bring tourists to the area who will then frequent local businesses.

Goeler said he and the Nation are working cooperatively on cross-marketing the casino and businesses in the village.

"This is going to be really good for Chittenango,'' he said. "It will create jobs, and may even get people to move here."

The casino will offer a counter-service restaurant offering a variety of grill and deli-style options including burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, French fries, deli sandwiches, soups and salads, as well as dinner entrees. There also will be a pizza restaurant.

The country-western style bar will feature live entertainment from local musicians.

Hayner Hoyt Corp. of Syracuse is handling general contracting and construction management for the new casino and Hnedak Bobo Group, who designed the Seneca Indian Nation's Buffalo Creek Casino, is handling the design work.

Members of the Central and Northern Building Trades Council union will be called on to provide dozens of construction jobs while the renovation takes place.

The Chittenango project comes on the heels of last month's announcement that Turning Stone Resort Casino will build a $100 million, 250-000-square-foot luxury retail, dining and entertainment center on its grounds. It is slated to open fall 2016.

Contact Elizabeth Doran anytime: email | Twitter | 315-470-3012. Contact Michelle Breidenbach anytime: email | Twitter | 315-470-3186.

Police have charged a 43-year-old man with second-degree murder, CNY Central reported.

Updated: Cortland police say they have no record of any sibling named Diamond.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man was found dead Saturday in Cortland, the victim of a stabbing, according to Cortland city police.

Terry Walker, 36, was found dead at 10 Northcliffe Road, Apt. 107, police said today.

Randy Wilkinson, 43, of Cortland, was charged Saturday with second-degree murder and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to police. He was arraigned in Cortland City Court and remanded to the Cortland County Jail without bail, according to police.

Police were called to the apartment at about 2:15 p.m. Saturday. Police found Wilkinson at the scene. It appears the two men had an argument, and Walker was stabbed with a knife, Lt. Rick Troyer said. No other details were released this morning.

Cortland police said they have no information that Walker had a sister named Diamond. A woman earlier today called syracuse.com and identified herself as Walker's sister.

Wilkinson is due in court on Dec. 22.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

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

Florida authorities say a police officer was shot and killed in Tarpon Springs early Sunday.

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) -- Florida authorities say a police officer was shot and killed in Tarpon Springs early Sunday.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the shooting occurred at around 3 a.m. in the Tampa Bay-area city and that a suspect has been taken into custody.

Authorities say the suspect fled the scene of the shooting in a vehicle and crashed into a pole and another vehicle. He was then apprehended by police at that location.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said the officer was a member of the Tarpon Springs Police Department, though no names have been released.

A news conference is to be held later today, the statement said.

The fight happened during an argument about control of the television, according to Utica police.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Utica man was charged Saturday with punching an infant and mother during a fight over control of the television, according to Utica city police.

The baby, 4 months old, suffered a fracture to his orbital eye socket and bleeding on the brain, according to police.

Gregory Lee, 35, of Miller Street, was charged with second-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree harassment, police said.

Police responded at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday to the 800 block of Waverly Place. Lee and the infant's mother had argued over control of the television, according to police. The man wanted to play video games; the mother wanted to watch a movie, according to police.

During the argument, the baby awoke. The mother picked the baby up. Then Lee swung and punched the woman; he swung again and punched the baby in the face, police said.

Lee fled the home after the incident and was later arrested by officers, according to police.

The infant was transported to St. Luke's Hospital and then transferred to Upstate Medical for medical treatment.

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

Florida authorities say a police officer was shot and killed in Tarpon Springs early Sunday.

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) -- Florida authorities say a police officer was shot and killed in Tarpon Springs early Sunday.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the shooting occurred at around 3 a.m. in the Tampa Bay-area city and that a suspect has been taken into custody.

The Tarpon Springs Police Department identified the fallen officer as 45-year-old Charles Kondek, a 17-year veteran of the local police department. Originally from New York, Kondek had previously served on the New York City Police Department for more than five years, authorities said.

Authorities say Kondek responded to a call for service shortly after 2 a.m. Police said the suspect shot at the officer and then fled the scene in a vehicle and crashed into a pole and another vehicle. He was then apprehended by police at that location.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Kondek was the father of five children.

A news conference is to be held later today.

While environmental groups are doing a victory dance over New York's decision to ban fracking, farmers such as apple grower David Johnson are grieving for dashed hopes and dreams.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- While environmental groups are doing a victory dance over New York's decision to ban fracking, farmers such as apple grower David Johnson are grieving for dashed hopes and dreams.

"I'm devastated," Johnson said after Gov. Andrew Cuomo's health and environmental commissioners announced Wednesday that they were recommending a fracking ban. "I have concerns about how to continue this farm that's been in the family for 150 years."

Energy companies denied the chance to drill in New York can simply raise their rigs in other states. That's what they've done since the Marcellus Shale gas drilling boom began in 2008 and New York launched an environmental review that effectively put a moratorium in place. But landowners in the state's Southern Tier region who had hoped to reap royalties from gas production don't have that option.

"Frankly, my heart breaks for all those families in the Southern Tier who were denied the opportunity to develop their mineral resources," said Karen Moreau, executive director of the New York branch of the American Petroleum Institute.

New Yorkers have watched other states that sit atop the Marcellus Shale - Ohio, West Virginia and neighboring Pennsylvania - ride the fracking boom and reap profits from one of the world's largest natural gas deposits. Some New York landowners signed lucrative leases with energy companies and received multi-million-dollar signing bonuses before the natural gas market and the state's regulatory climate soured. But many landowner coalitions never got the chance to sell their leases.

That's fine with landowners who don't want drilling on their land or their neighbors'. Their ranks include many organic farmers, vineyard owners, tourist business operators and town residents who agree with environmental groups that the health risks and changes to the rural landscape outweigh the financial benefits.

Johnson, who runs a 30-acre pick-your-own apple farm on his mostly wooded 400 acres in Binghamton, said drilling money would help keep struggling farms in business and create new jobs for the next generation.

"We're just falling apart in the Southern Tier," Johnson said. "I make a living from people coming to my farm. But we're losing population. The people who are left have less money to spend. Every year my business decreases. We try new things, I raise prices, but the trend continues no different from any other industry in the Southern Tier."

Johnson said he'd be more accepting of the Cuomo administration's decision if Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens and Acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker had presented some clear scientific basis for a ban. Instead, Martens based part of his decision on the low price of gas and the fact that 63 percent of New York's share of the Marcellus region was off-limits to drilling because of local bans and prohibitions intended to protect water supplies and other features. Zucker emphasized the need for long-term studies to rule out adverse health impacts.

"It was economic and emotional, not technical," Johnson said. "We're good ol' boys down here, just tell it to us straight. This political wishy-washiness is going to put us out of business."

Dan Fitzsimmons, president of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, was also critical of the health study findings. "Is our health department ignoring impacts of other energy options and suggesting that we continue with our reliance on coal and nuclear energy? Did our health department consider the health effects of poverty and unemployment?"

Other farmers are resigned to the state's decision.

Judi Whittaker, who has a 550-cow dairy in Whitney Point, had hoped to use gas-lease money to pay property taxes.

"If we had been able to get some gas drilling going it would have made our lives a little easier and taken a few of the stresses away," Whittaker said. "We'll just have to rethink what we're doing and move ahead. Agriculture has ups and downs all the time. You just have to go along for the ride."

Online court records show that 28-eight-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley was indicted on a robbery charge in Clark County in June 2009.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- The man accused of ambushing and shooting to death two New York City police officers before killing himself had charges in southwest Ohio in 2009.

Online court records show that 28-eight-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley was indicted on a robbery charge in Clark County in June 2009. The charge was dismissed several days before Brinsley was scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 3, 2009.

The Springfield News Sun reports that Brinsley's address was initially listed as "at large" but was later changed to Union City, Georgia. Brinsley's attorney in the Ohio case could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Police say Brinsley on Saturday approached the passenger window of a marked New York City police car and opened fire. He then went into a subway station and killed himself.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that police have arrested 23-year-old Marco Antonio Parilla Jr. on suspicion of first-degree murder.

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. -- Florida authorities say a police officer was shot and killed in Tarpon Springs early Sunday.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that police have arrested 23-year-old Marco Antonio Parilla Jr. on suspicion of first-degree murder.

The Tarpon Springs Police Department identified the fallen officer as 45-year-old Charles Kondek, a 17-year veteran of the local police department. Originally from New York, Kondek had previously served on the New York City Police Department for more than five years, authorities said.

Authorities say Kondek responded to a call for service shortly after 2 a.m. Police said the suspect shot at the officer and then fled the scene in a vehicle and crashed into a pole and another vehicle. He was then apprehended by police at that location.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Kondek was the father of five children.

A news conference is to be held later today.

The White House says Obama called New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Sunday from Hawaii, where the president is vacationing and offered condolences.

HONOLULU -- President Barack Obama is offering full support and federal assistance to the New York Police Department in the wake of the killing of two officers.

The White House says Obama called New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Sunday from Hawaii, where the president is vacationing and offered condolences.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz says Obama also said Americans must reject violence and instead turn to prayer and sympathy for the victims' relatives. He says the administration will work with leaders across the country to echo that message.

The new delivery service is available in one zip code in Manhattan, for now.

Ever wish you could get that awesome pair of boots right away from Amazon.com? With the online marketplace's new delivery service, you may be able to get them in an hour or less.

Boasting super-speedy deliveries, Prime Now debuted on Thursday for one zip code in Manhattan, The Wall Street Journal reports. The service runs in New York between 6 a.m. and midnight, and is looking to expand to other cities in 2015.

For one-hour delivery, Amazon charges $7.99, and two-hour delivery is free, the Journal continues to report. So far, more than 25,000 items can be delivered via Prime Now, and the option is only available to those who have a Prime membership.

The New York Daily News says the addition of Prime Now allows Amazon to be more competitive with local retailers, giving customers a delivery option versus going to a store.

The new service is available through the app "Prime Now," the Daily News says.

However, pulling off instant deliveries isn't easy, Wired warns. Just last month eBay rid of its eBay Now app and put the service in its main app and website.

Additionally, Google offers same-day delivery service through Google Express, but only for certain products in select U.S. cities, Wired adds.

The new Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango, announced Sunday by the Oneida Indian Nation, will open in the spring. Reaction is mixed from government officials and the public.

The Oneidas' decision to open a $20 million casino in Chittenango is a "brilliant" strategic move that will set them up as a formidable competitor against the proposed casino in Tyre, the owner of Vernon Downs said Sunday.

"People will go where it's most convenient to gamble,'' said Jeff Gural, owner of Vernon Downs. "The casino in Chittenango will now be the closest one to Syracuse, which they (the Oneidas) are hoping will give them a bigger piece of the Syracuse market."

The Oneida Nation announced plans Sunday to open this spring a casino with 436 slots and a 500-seat bingo hall off Route 5 in the unused portion of the Chittenango Tops plaza. It will be open 24 hours a day.

Lee Park, speaking for the New York State Gaming Commission, said New York has no regulatory role in the Oneida Nation's plan whatsoever.

"The Oneida Nation has indicated plans to open Class II gaming,'' he said. "Such gaming activities are regulated by the tribe in conjunction with the National Indian Gaming Commission. New York plays no regulatory role in Class II gaming. "

The Oneidas received approval for the casino, which is on Oneida Nation land, through the New York State gaming compact in 1993, which was negotiated with the state and approved by the U.S. Secretary of Interior. The casino is on Oneida Nation land.

The Chittenango casino announcement came just days after a state panel recommended licensing three non-Indian casinos in Upstate New York. Rochester developer Thomas Wilmot plans to build one of those - a $425 million casino and hotel - 42 miles west of Syracuse in Seneca County.

The 67,000-square-foot Chittenango casino, to be called the Yellow Brick Road casino in honor of author L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz," will employ 250 people.

Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation representative and chief executive officer, said the new casino would be opened whether or not New York approves Wilmot's Lago Resort & Casino. He said the decision to build the Chittenango casino was not influenced by Wilmot's plan.

Still, the new casino will be positioned to compete against Lago, Vernon Downs' Gural said.

While it will be a competitor to Vernon Downs, a harness race track with video lottery machines, "it will have more impact on Lago,'' he said.

He said having five casinos within 80 miles of each other is oversaturation, and believes the state panel made a mistake in its recommendations.

Gary Greenberg, minority owner of Vernon Downs Hotel and a casino gaming expert, said this will be end of Vernon Downs.

"In the saturation environment we are in now, this will kill Vernon Downs,'' Greenberg said. "Lago and this new announcement are sending chills down the back of worried employees at Vernon in the holiday season. It is not good for anyone to have casinos on every street corner."

Greenberg said he predicted this would happen when he opposed the 2013 agreement between the Oneidas and the state.

The 2013 compact signed by the Oneidas and Gov. Andrew Cuomo settled outstanding land claims and gave the nation the exclusive right to gaming activity in a 10-county area around the Turning Stone Casino.

In exchange, the Oneida Nation agreed to share, for the first time, 25 percent of its slot revenues with state and local governments. Revenues from the Yellow Brick Road Casino will be part of that, said Oneida nation spokesman Joel Barkin.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said the Chittenango casino "will clearly benefit" residents in both counties, particularly with revenue-sharing agreement.

"Anything they do as far as expansion and growth will benefit us in terms of jobs, tourism and revenues,'' he said. "It is a positive all around."

Assemblyman William Magee, a Democrat who represents the 121st Assembly district which includes Chittenango, said he's not so sure.

He called the announcement "unbelievable" and said the Oneidas "are doing a good job of taking advantage of everybody."

Magee said he also thinks it's a strategic move to help compete against the Lago casino, but is surprised it is so close to Turning Stone Resort Casino. The new casino will be 20 miles west of Turning Stone.

"I see it (the new casino) as competing against other local businesses,'' he said.

Here is what some people are saying on Twitter:

If Chittenango can figure out a way to manage the traffic of the new 2015 casino this will probably be what saves this dying town's economy.

— Ryan Colligan (@RyanJColligan) December 21, 2014

No matter what anyone says, I will always think a casino in Chittenango is a bad idea...

— Scott Mohr (@SMohr11) December 21, 2014

There's a specific group of people l have in mind who are probably ridiculously happy that there is going to be a Casino in Chittenango

— Sarah Beagle (@SarahhBeagle) December 21, 2014

New Casino Coming to Chittenango in the Spring. Heck Yeah!!

— Sammy Da Bull (@SDLOVE77) December 21, 2014

Oneida Nation to open new casino in Chittenango. http://t.co/MGhdNJmVZB. Shocking, troubling part: no buffet!

— MarvK (@MarvK) December 21, 2014

"Cops across the county have to be more vigilant today than they were yesterday when someone is approaching them," said Jeff Piedmonte, the president of the Syracuse Police Benevolent Association.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The city's police union leader said today that the killings of two New York City officers on Saturday would put more law enforcement on guard - a situation not likely to help ease tensions on any side of the continued debate about police and violence and race.

"Cops across the county have to be more vigilant today than they were yesterday when someone is approaching them," said Jeff Piedmonte, the president of the Syracuse Police Benevolent Association. "And that isn't going to do anybody any good."

Piedmonte said there was likely nothing the two officers could have done Saturday afternoon to stop the shooter, a man from Maryland who went to New York City to seek revenge for the death of Eric Garner. The shooter ambushed the officers in their patrol car in Brooklyn, an act some have called an assassination.

"Everybody has to be extra-cautious in everything that we do now," said Piedmonte. "It certainly isn't going to help any police relations with anyone."

But Piedmonte said he believes New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other politicians contributed to rhetoric in recent days that did little to support law enforcement officers and or calm protesters, some of whom continue to disrupt urban centers.

"They are crying they want dead cops," Piedmonte said of some protesters who are angry that two separate grand juries did not issue charges against police officers in the deaths of Eric Garner in Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

"We're talking about a handful of cases across the country from millions of millions of police calls," Piedmonte said.

Police, of all races, were called on to handle the protesters, some of whom are angry at the very officers trying to monitor the marchers, Piedmonte added.

"That's what makes it hard," said Piedmonte, the PBA's president for two decades and a Syracuse police officer for 29 years. "I think a lot of the society is blaming the police for a lot of things that have occurred for decades and decades. Now we're being the scapegoats."

Piedmonte said some Syracuse police officers would attend the funerals of Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, the two New York Police Department officers killed on Saturday. No arrangements have been announced.

Piedmonte said he wished the protests would stop. He said he'd rather see community leaders, police officers and ministers begin talking. He also said he wished the politicians and activists, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, would stop protesting.

Without that, he said, "nothing is going to get resolved."

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

Ismaaiyl Brinsley approached people on the street moments before opening fire and asked them to follow him on Instagram, then told them to "watch what I'm going to do," Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said.

NEW YORK -- The gunman who fatally ambushed two New York City police officers in their squad car had a long criminal record, a hatred for police and the government and an apparent history of mental instability that included an attempt to hang himself a year ago, police said Sunday.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley approached people on the street moments before opening fire and asked them to follow him on Instagram, then told them to "watch what I'm going to do," Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said.

A portrait of the shooter emerged as big-city police departments and union leaders warned officers to change up their routines and insist on extra backup a day after Brinsley carried out what he portrayed online as retaliation for the slayings of black men at the hands of white police.

Investigators were trying to determine if Brinsley had taken part in any protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, whose names he invoked in his online threat, or simply latched on to the cause for the final act of a violent spree. Police said he had no gang affiliation.

Brinsley, 28, had at least 19 arrests in Georgia and Ohio and a troubled childhood so violent his mother was afraid of him, police said. Brinsley had also ranted online about police and government and expressed despair about his own life, Boyce said.

Boyce said Brinsley's mother believed he had undiagnosed mental problems and may have been on medication later in life but detective said they were still trying to determine if he had a mental illness.

Brinsley approached a squad car from behind and fired four shots, fatally wounding officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, before running into a subway station and ultimately killing himself.

Hours earlier, Brinsley had shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend at her home outside Baltimore then made threatening posts online, including a vow to put "wings on pigs," and references to a pair of police-involved deaths that have sparked racially charged protests across the country.

The killings dramatically escalated tensions that have simmered for months over the deaths of young black men.

The siege mentality was evident in several memos circulating among the rank and file at the 35,000-officer New York Police Department, the nation's largest.

A union-generated message warned police officers they should respond to every radio call with two cars -- "no matter what the opinion of the patrol supervisor" -- and to not make arrests "unless absolutely necessary." The president of the detectives' union told members in a letter to work in threes when out on the street, wear bulletproof vests and keep aware of their surroundings.

"Cowards such as yesterday's killer strike when you are distracted and vulnerable," the letter read.

Another directive warned officer in Newark, New Jersey not to patrol alone and avoid people looking for confrontations with them. A the same time, a memo from an NYPD chief asked officers to avoid fanning rage within the ranks by limiting comments "via all venues, including social media, to expressions of sorrow and condolence. ... Even in our most difficult times, we will remain consummate professionals."

Brinsley traveled by bus to New York City on after wounding his girlfriend. Before the shootings, Brinsley wrote on an Instagram account: "I'm putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let's take 2 of theirs," officials said. He used the hashtags Shootthepolice RIPErivGardner (sic) RIPMikeBrown -- references to the police-involved deaths of Garner and Brown.

The slayings come at a tense time; Police in New York and nationwide are being criticized for their tactics, following the July death of Garner, who was stopped on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. Amateur video captured an officer wrapping his arm around Garner's neck and wrestling him to the ground. Garner was heard gasping, "I can't breathe" before he lost consciousness and later died.

Demonstrators around the country have staged die-ins and other protests since a grand jury decided Dec. 3 not to indict the officer in Garner's death, a decision that closely followed a Missouri grand jury's refusal to indict a white officer in the fatal shooting of Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old.

Court records in Georgia show that Brinsley had several run-ins with the law there in recent years. Charges included gun possession, shop-lifting and theft.

Bratton and De-Blasio attended Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Cardinal Timothy Dolan called for calm. He asked the police commissioner to tell his troops that "we love them very much, we mourn with them, we need them, we respect them, we're proud of them and we thank them."

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams visited a makeshift memorial at the site of the slayings, calling on protest organizers to "hold off on any type of protest until these officers are laid to rest in a peaceful manner."

At an appearance with the Rev. Al Sharpton where he denounced violence against police, Garner's mother expressed her dismay.

"I'm standing here in sorrow about losing those two police officers that was definitely not our agenda," Gwen Garner said.

"We are going in peace and anyone who's standing with us we want you to not use Eric Garner's name for violence because we are not about that," she said. "These two police officers lost their lives senselessly and our condolence to the family and we stand with the families."

 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- About two dozen people gathered this afternoon to remember the 35 students who were killed on Dec. 21, 1988, when Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. "It is on this day, the very darkest of them all, that we come to remember those lives who were lost in a tragic act of terror 26 years ago,"...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- About two dozen people gathered this afternoon to remember the 35 students who were killed on Dec. 21, 1988, when Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland.

"It is on this day, the very darkest of them all, that we come to remember those lives who were lost in a tragic act of terror 26 years ago," said the Rev. Tiffany Steinwert, the dean of Hendricks Chapel.

Two hundred and seventy people died when the plane exploded at 2:03 p.m. Eastern Standard Time over Lockerbie.

Thirty-five were students enrolled in Syracuse University's study abroad program. Twenty-five of those were Syracuse students. A town of Clay couple was also killed in the explosion.

Chancellor Kent Syverud attended the intimate ceremony, which began at Hendricks Chapel. People offered prayers and reflections on the day. Each of the each of the students' names was spoken aloud. Then the group proceeded to the Wall of Remembrance with a candle to lay flowers. The school's Crouse Chimes sounded 35 times.

Steinwert mentioned more recent tragedies, including the deaths of two New York City police officers and the killings at a school in Pakistan. Today, she noted, is the Winter Solstice, the day with the least amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere.

But Monday, the sun will shine seconds longer, she said. And the day after that, even longer. "We can not stop the light from coming," she said.

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