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Sentencing in dating scam case postponed again

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Authorities are trying to find Donald Van Valkenburg in the "black hole" of the federal prison system.

Syracuse, NY - A Fayetteville man's sentencing in a dating scam case was postponed again today because he's currently in federal custody someplace else.

County Judge Anthony Aloi said Donald Van Valkenburg was "in the black hole of the federal jurisdiction."

Authorities are trying to determine exactly where in federal custody Van Valkenburg is so he can be brought back to Syracuse to be sentenced, the judge said.

Van Valkenburg, 43, pleaded guilty in May to third-degree grand larceny, admitting he stole more than $3,000 from a woman in what authorities said was part of a relationship scam.

The plea also satisfied charges Van Valkenburg never paid for flowers and jewelry he purchased at businesses in Manlius, DeWitt and Skaneateles by using a false business name in the transactions.

He is to be sentenced to five years' probation and time served.

He was to have been sentenced last month, but his lawyer reported in court that day that Van Valkenburg had recently been sentenced in federal court in Virginia for charges there that predated the charges here.

After defense lawyer Scott Brenneck called Aloi's office this morning to postpone the sentencing again, the judge agreed to adjourn the case to Sept. 30.

But Aloi also said he was signing a bench warrant so Van Valkenburg won't get out of prison wherever he is before being sent back here for sentencing.

"I'm going to issue a bench warrant for his arrest so wherever he's gone, he'll come back to us," Aloi said.


Mexico woman accused of smuggling pills and tobacco to Oswego County inmate

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Lorraine M. Bartlett, 49, of Mexico, brought Oxycodone pills, cigarette papers and tobacco to the inmate, deputies said.

Bartlett, Lorraine.JPGLorraine M. Bartlett

Oswego, NY -- A Mexico resident is facing two felony charges after she was accused Thursday of bringing drugs and tobacco to an inmate of the Oswego County Correctional Facility, Oswego County sheriff’s deputies said.

Lorraine M. Bartlett, 49, of 3588 state Route 104, Mexico, was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and promoting prison contraband.

Bartlett gave Oxycodone pills, tobacco and cigarette papers to the inmate of the correctional facility Thursday during a visit, deputies said.

Bartlett was arraigned in Oswego City Court and remanded to the correctional facility in lieu of $1,000 bail or $2,000 bond.

Fulton man accused of pointing a shotgun at another person

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Wesley D. Lewis Jr., 40, pointed a shotgun at another person Thursday in Hastings, deputies said.

Hastings, NY -- A Fulton man is accused of pointing a shotgun at another person after an incident Thursday in Hastings, Oswego County sheriff’s deputies said.

According to deputies, Wesley D. Lewis Jr., 40, of county Route 35, Fulton, got out of his vehicle on French Street in Hastings, began yelling at a person and then pointed the shotgun at the person.

Lewis was charged with menacing, a misdemeanor.

Today's obituaries: Allen D. Krassenbaum, visited local schools as 'Captain Safety' to teach children about drug prevention

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See all of today's obituaries published in The Post-Standard

o318495kressenbaum.JPGAllen D. Krassenbaum

Allen David Krassenbaum, 69, died Wednesday evening at Crouse Hospital. Allen will forever be remembered for his love of life, music, and political discourse. He was a devoted father who was so proud of each of his children's uniqueness. Allen was a graduate of Colombia University School of Pharmacy. He was a former partner of Kress Drugs, and owner of Kress Medical Supplies before joining K Mart as the supervising pharmacist of the DeWitt store, in 1988. He was a recipient of the Pharmacist of the year award, as well as the Caring Award from K Mart. Allen was a former vice president of the NYS Pharmacist Society. He was a frequent guest on the WTLA-99 Phil Markert radio program Ask your Pharmacist, the editor of the K Mart pharmacy newsletter, a frequent contributor to channel 9 WSYR news, and for many years was Captain Safety, visiting area schools and teaching children about drug prevention.

Contributions may be made to Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, or The Oncology Unit at Crouse Hospital. Sisskind Funeral Service LLC 3175 E. Genesee St. 446-4848

» Read Allen D. Krassenbaum's full obituary on syracuse.com

» View and sign Allen D. Krassenbaum's online guest book

» See all of today's obituaries from The Post-Standard

» Read local and national obituaries on syracuse.com

Today's obituaries

Lunchtime Links: 2 men drive around with dead friend, use his ATM card and visit strip club

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They are being charged with identity theft and criminal impersonation.

DENVER (AP) -- Two men accused of driving around with a dead friend, using his ATM card and visiting a strip club are charged with abusing a corpse, identity theft and criminal impersonation.

Robert Jeffrey Young and Mark Rubinson are free on bond but they couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

It's unclear how Jeffrey Jarrett died, but the men are not charged in his death.

The Denver Post reports that in a less amusing real-life version of the film "Weekend at Bernie's," an affidavit accuses Young and Rubinson of leaving Jarrett's body in the car while they drank at a bar on his tab Aug. 27.

Investigators allege the men stopped at a restaurant, returned Jarrett's body to his home, used Jarrett's ATM card and withdrew $400 at a strip club before reporting Jarrett's death.

In other news:

» Arkansas town searching for toe-sucking assailant [Reuters]

» No more dancing around issues in feminine hygiene [AP]

» 'I'm guilty. Arrest me,' woman says after cucumber-salad attack [Sun Sentinel]

» Amish men ordered to jail for refusing to follow horse-drawn buggy safety [Courier Journal]

Libyan fighters press into Gadhafi strongholds

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Libyan revolutionary forces escalated offensives Friday into two key strongholds of Moammar Gadhafi's rule, but met stiff resistance from snipers and loyalist gunners in Gadhafi's hometown and a mountain enclave where a pro-regime radio station urged followers to fight to the end.

rebel fighter.jpgView full sizeA former rebel fighter sits in his vehicle moments before heading to the frontline in Bani Walid, at a checkpoint in Wadi Dinar, Libya, Friday, Sept. 16, 2011. Libyan fighters are signing up for a final assault on one of the last remaining bastions of Moammar Gadhafi. The volunteers are pouring in by the dozens, coming in pickup trucks from cities as far as Tripoli and Tobruk, as a deadline expired on Saturday for the pro-Gadhafi loyalists holed up inside the town of Bani Walid to surrender.

SIRTE, Libya (AP) — Libyan revolutionary forces escalated offensives Friday into two key strongholds of Moammar Gadhafi's rule, but met stiff resistance from snipers and loyalist gunners in Gadhafi's hometown and a mountain enclave where a pro-regime radio station urged followers to fight to the end.

The assault on Gadhafi's Mediterranean birthplace of Sirte and the strategic mountain town of Bani Walid appeared to be a coordinated campaign to break the back of regime holdouts. The attacks came as powerful revolutionary backers from the West and Muslim world urged on the anti-Gadhafi forces.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined Friday prayers in the heart of the capital Tripoli a day after the French and British leaders traveled to Libya. Supporters of Libya's interim government have stepped up calls to establish legitimacy and start rebuilding the country even as Gadhafi remains on the run and his followers try to hold their ground.

In Sirte — the hub of a loyalist belt across Libya's central coast — revolutionary units pressed their attack on two fronts with convoys that include vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Loyalist responded with sniper attacks and rocket barrages.

Smoke rise from parts of the city, where the green flags of Gadhafi's regime flew from mosques and buildings. The Misrata Military Council, which is coordinating the revolutionary offensive, said anti-Gadhafi forces had control of the old airport on the western edge of Sirte.

But the battle was fierce along one of Sirte's main boulevards, 1st of September St., a date that marks the anniversary of Gadhafi's more than 40-year rule.

"There are lots of snipers on rooftops and mosque minarets," said a revolutionary commander, Hadi Farjani

A pickup truck with his forces rushed back covered in blood and with the body of a machine gunner dangling over the side.

NATO warplanes swept overhead, but is was unclear whether there were fresh airstrikes to help the anti-Gadhadi advance.

The military alliance said it struck multiple rocket launchers, air missile systems, armored vehicles and a military storage facility in Sirte on Thursday when revolutionary units launched the offensive.

Abdel Salam, a fighter on the frontline near Sirte, said his side lost 11 men late Thursday when their bus drove over a roadside bomb. He said at least 18 fighters were detained by Gadhafi loyalists after they were ambushed at the entrance of Sirte.

"We reached inside Sirte and then retreated," Salam said before anti-Gadhafi forces mobilized a stronger offensive Friday.

About 150 miles (250 kilometers) to the west in Bani Walid, revolutionary fighters using pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons tried to break through strong defensive lines. Explosions and gunfire reverberated across the area.

One of the fighters, Hisham Nseir, said the frontline is "very heated and chaotic" and his troops were meeting with heavy resistance from Gadhafi's men.

Commander Abdullah Abu-Asara told The Associated Press that his men were just over a mile (two kilometers) from the heart of Bani Walid, which is ringed by mountains and only accessible through a valley that is watched over by pro-Gadhafi marksmen.

As the revolutionary forces advanced, the fighters erected the new Libyan flag over an abandoned electricity building and a military headquarters in the northern part of Bani Walid. Around the buildings lay a huge Gadhafi poster bent in half and torn billboards with pictures of the ousted dictator. The walls were still sprayed with graffiti reading, "Long live Moammar."

Anti-Gadhafi forces also took strategic mortar positions, firing shells at the central square in Bani Walid that include a Gadhafi residence built on the former site of an Ottoman-era fort.

"Today is the first day that we have completely taken over this part of Bani Walid," said fighter Abul-Asara. "We are staying here."

Inside the town — about 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli — a radio station believed linked to one of Gadhafi's main propagandist kept up a steady stream of appeals to fight and rants that demonized the revolutionaries as traitors against the country and Islam.

"Run from Bani Walid and you run straight to your graves," shouts one man over the radio.

Another portrayed the revolutionaries as trampling Muslim values.

"These revolutionaries are fighting to drink and do drugs all the time and be like the West, dance all night," the announcer claimed. "We are a traditional tribal society that refuses such things and must fight it."

On a third front, British warplanes conducted airstrikes Thursday in and around Sabha in Libya's southern desert, including a military vehicle depot used by pro-Gadhafi units.

Maj. Gen. Nick Pope, a British military spokesman, said a dozen missiles were fired on a "large concentration of former regime armored vehicles" that had been located by NATO surveillance.

As battles intensified, Libya's interim leadership has been pushing forward with efforts to form a new government.

Erdogan was greeted at the airport by Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the head of the National Transitional Council, the closest thing Libya has to a government. He traveled to Libya as part of a tour of the Arab world, including Egypt and Tunisia, that is aimed at offering help for the countries and advancing his growing status as a regional leader.

He was expected to discuss how to resume investments in Libya, where Turkish contractors were involved in 214 building projects worth more than $15 billion before the rebellion that ousted Gadhafi.

Erdogan's tour comes as once-strong ties between Turkey and Israel are unraveling due to Israel's refusal to apologize for its raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists last year.

The flotilla incident and Turkey's desire to broaden its influence in the Middle East and the Arab world could dramatically affect the power dynamics in the region since the revolutions now known as the Arab Spring.

Turkish companies have been involved in lucrative construction projects worth billions of dollars, building hospitals, shopping malls and five-star hotels in Libya before the uprising began in mid-February.

The bilateral trade with Libya was $2.4 billion in favor of Turkey before the chaos and the two countries had waived travel visas to boost that trade.

The United States and more than 30 other nations formally recognized Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government in a July meeting in Istanbul, giving the rebel movement a major boost. The move came after Turkey escalated its pressure on Gadhafi despite its long-standing ties to the Libyan leader.

Erdogan has said that Gadhafi ignored calls for change in Libya and instead preferred "blood, tears and pressure against his own people."

Related news:

» LIVE - Libya Conflict [BBC News]

» Officials: US ramps up weapons search in Libya [AP]

» Skirmishes Flare Around Qaddafi Strongholds [The New York Times]

Unemployment rates: New York lost 22,700 net jobs in August to lead the nation

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The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates increased in 26 states.

ny unemployment rates.jpgView full sizeJay Kober, 60, of Portland, who has been unemployed for 10 months, waits in line with others during the 2011 Maximum Connections Job and Career Fair Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, in Portland, Ore. Unemployment rates rose in a majority of states in August for a third straight month, further proof that job growth is weak nationwide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates rose in a majority of states in August for a third straight month, further evidence that the depressed job market is widespread.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates increased in 26 states. They fell in 12 and remained unchanged in 12.

Nationwide, the economy added no new net jobs in August, and the unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent for the second straight month.

Many employers pulled back on hiring after the economy barely grew in the first half of the year. The economy added an average of just 39,500 jobs per month from May through August, down from an average of 178,500 jobs per month in the first four months of the year.

Nevada had the nation's highest unemployment rate among states for the 15th straight month. The rate there rose from 12.9 percent in July to 13.4 percent in August. The state has been hampered by foreclosures, a depressed construction industry and a decline in tourism.

California had the second-highest rate, at 12.1 percent, followed by Michigan, at 11.2 percent.

North Dakota had the nation's lowest unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent. That's up from 3.3 percent in July. Booming oil, agriculture and manufacturing industries have helped the state keep the lowest unemployment rate since November 2008.

It was followed by Nebraska (4.2 percent) and South Dakota (4.7 percent).

In August, 30 states and the District of Columbia reported job losses.

New York lost 22,700 net jobs to lead the nation. It was followed by Georgia, with 18,200 lost jobs, and the District of Columbia, with 12,500 fewer jobs. Both Georgia and D.C. saw big declines in government jobs.

Minnesota posted the biggest job gain in August: 28,400. But that was mainly because the state rehired workers who were temporarily laid off during the government's July shutdown.

North Carolina added 16,500 net jobs, the second highest. Arizona had 15,400 more jobs. Both states added public workers after governments shed thousands of employees.

But North Carolina's unemployment rate rose despite the gain in jobs. The unemployment rate can increase even if jobs are added because people are counted as unemployed only if they are actively looking for work.

Fort Drum soldier still on the loose after multi-county police chase

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Pfc. Russell Marcum spent three months in Afghanistan. He was out on bail on a burglary charge when he assaulted another soldier and stole his parents' vehicle.

russell marcum[1]_2.JPGRussell Marcum

Richfield Springs, NY -- A Fort Drum soldier who served in Afghanistan is still at large this afternoon following a police chase overnight through Onondaga, Madison, Oneida, Herkimer and Otsego counties.

Troopers are looking for Pfc. Russell C. Marcum, 20, who they said is considered armed and dangerous and has been trained for surviving in adverse conditions.

Marcum abandoned the 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche he was driving near Cole Hill Road in the town of Richfield. Marcum drove the vehicle on at least one rim after troopers attempted in Sangerfield to stop the vehicle with a "stop stick," a device studded with sharp points thrown in front of cars to deflate tires, state police said.

Marcum was charged with burglary Monday by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, accused of breaking into a Watertown storage facility, Trooper Jack Keller said today.

Marcum posted bail Thursday night, Keller said.

Marcum was released from bail to the custody of his unit, the 1-71 Cavalry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum spokeswoman Julie Cupernall said today. Marcum was not in custody of military police, she said, but was ordered to stay in his barracks and to have a member of his unit with him at all times.

Marcum's parents drove up to Fort Drum to help Marcum face the charges, Keller said. While Marcum was being escorted by a soldier, he assaulted that soldier and took his parents' vehicle, the 2003 Avalanche, Keller said.

Marcum drove south on Interstate 81 and the chase began in Onondaga County, Keller said. Marcum drove east on Route 20 and stayed on the state highway during the chase.

The Onondaga County sheriff's helicopter, Air One, kept track of the vehicle in Onondaga and Madison counties, Keller said.

Marcum, of Morgantown, W. Va., joined the Army in August, came to Fort Drum in January and was immediately sent to Afghanistan to be with his unit, Cupernall said. He returned with his unit to Fort Drum in March after the unit's deployment was over, Cupernall said.

The area Marcum abandoned the vehicle is wooded and dotted with hunting camps, Keller said.

Marcum is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing camouflage clothing.


Former Syracuse University football player facing prison for burglary spree

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Malcolm Cater to serve one to three years in state prison for three South Campus burglaries.

Syracuse, NY - A former Syracuse University football player is facing state prison for a South Campus burglary spree last December.

Malcolm Cater, 20, pleaded guilty this week before County Judge William Walsh to three felony counts of third-degree burglary.

He admitted breaking into two residences on Small Road and one on Farm Acre Road on Dec. 11.

Cater, a freshman from Long Island who played in all 12 games last season, was dropped from the team following his arrest. He was the heir apparent at middle linebacker for the Orange before his dismissal from the team.

The District Attorney's Office and defense lawyer James McGraw initially were trying to draw up a plea deal calling for Cater to be sentenced to five years' probation and a year in jail locally. Walsh would not agree to that, indicating he thought Cater deserved a state prison sentence.

Cater originally was facing second-degree burglary charges carrying a maximum penalty in each case of 15 years in state prison. Third-degree burglary carries a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison.

With Cater's guilty plea this week, Walsh agreed to sentence him to serve one to three years in state prison. Sentencing is set for Oct. 11.

Walsh ordered Cater taken into custody to wait in jail for that sentencing date.

Not just science fiction: Astronomers discover planet orbiting 2 suns

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They are calling the new planet Tatooine (tah-too-WEEN') after the fictional body in the "Star Wars" films that boasts a double sunset.

planet.jpgView full sizeThis image provided by NASA shows an artist's depiction showing a discovery by NASA's Kepler mission of a world where two suns set over the horizon instead of just one. The planet, called Kepler-16b, is the most "Tatooine-like" planet yet found in our galaxy and is depicted here with its two stars. Tatooine is the name of Luke Skywalker's home world in the science fiction movie Star Wars. In this case, the planet it not thought to be habitable. It is a cold world, with a gaseous surface, but like Tatooine, it circles two stars. The largest of the two stars, a K dwarf, is about 69 percent the mass of our sun, and the smallest, a red dwarf, is about 20 percent the sun's mass.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Astronomers say a bit of science fiction is now reality. They've spotted a planet orbiting two suns.

The discovery was made by NASA's planet-hunting telescope Kepler. Scientists describe the find in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

They are calling the new planet Tatooine (tah-too-WEEN') after the fictional body in the "Star Wars" films that boasts a double sunset.

The alien world, about the size of Saturn, is frigid and inhospitable. It orbits two stars 200 light-years from Earth.

Though there have been past hints of the existence of other planets that circled double stars, scientists said this is the first confirmation.

Kepler was launched in 2009 to find out how common other planets — especially Earth-like planets — are in the universe.

Related news:

» 36 Light-Years From Here, New Hope for an Earth-Like Planet [The New York Times]

» Space Satellite UARS Adrift and Heading for Earth [ABC News]

TACNY's award banquet set for Monday

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TV's Deanne Bell will be guest speaker

Syracuse, NY -- TACNY, the Technology Alliance of Central New York, will hold its Celebration of Technology awards banquet Monday in Salina.

The banquet, will feature awards in seven categories including a lifetime achievement award for Judson Gostin, the founder of Sensis, now Saab Sensis.

The will also feature guest speaker Deanne Bell, a mechanical engineer who hosts Design Kids on PBS and can also be seen on the Discovery Channel, DIY Network and the National Geographic Channel.

The banquet begins with exhibits and networking at 5:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Salina.

For more information or to register, see www.tacny.org.

Report: New York Power authority to halt Great Lakes wind project

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Decision stems from high price, potential appearance of the wind turbines.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A published report says New York energy officials are shelving plans for a major offshore wind project in Lake Erie or Lake Ontario.

The Buffalo News reports that state Sen. George Maziarz doesn’t believe the New York Power Authority is moving forward with the $1 billion project. Maziarz, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, says he’s heard concerns about the high price and potential appearance of the turbines.

NYPA two years ago said it wanted between 40 and 200 turbines in one or both lakes producing 120 to 500 megawatts of electricity by 2015. The authority accepted five bids from prospective developers.

NYPA spokeswoman Connie Cullen says the agency continues to review the project. The NYPA board is scheduled to meet Sept. 27.

Syracuse police investigating shooting on West Colvin Street

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An 18-year-old male was taken to Upstate University Hospital with a wound to his ankle, a spokeswoman for Rural/Metro Medical Services said.

Syracuse, NY -- An 18-year-old male was wounded in the ankle in a shooting about 3:30 p.m. today on West Colvin Street, according to a spokeswoman for Rural/Metro Medical Services.

The shooting occurred on West Colvin Street between Hope Avenue and Kirkwood Place, according to the Onondaga County 911 Center.

The wounded man was taken by Rural/Metro ambulance to Upstate University Hospital, said Melissa Fleischmann of Rural/Metro. The injury was thought not to be life threatening, she said.

Syracuse police are investigating the incident. This story will be updated as more details become known.

What's going on: Joe Biden arrives in Pennsylvania to see flood damage

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Also, Cayuga Heights deer control plan gets a green light, and Tuscon Air Force base is locked down after security alert.

2011-09-16-ap-Lee-Biden1.JPGView full sizeVice President Joe Biden (center) look a debris pile as they walk through a heavily damaged neighborhood in Duryea, Pa., with Mayor Keith Moss (left) and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., on Friday. The homes were damaged by flood waters from the Lackawanna River, which was swollen by heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee.

From The Associated Press:

DURYEA, Pa. (AP) — Returning to the area where he spent his childhood, Vice President Joe Biden on Friday promised the federal government will help residents beleaguered by record flooding that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage after the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee inundated northeastern Pennsylvania with a foot or more of rain.

Biden, who grew up in nearby Scranton, toured a heavily damaged neighborhood in Duryea, where homes were inundated by flooding that surpassed records set by Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

“There is nothing we can do to make you whole in the sense that a piece of your life and a chunk of your heart had got ripped out here,” Biden said in brief remarks after the tour. But he told residents not to give up hope, promising that federal aid would help get them back on their feet.

“We’re not leaving. The federal government is not stepping away, we’re stepping in,” said Biden, who was joined by Gov. Tom Corbett, Sen. Bob Casey, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate and other officials.

Flooding along small streams and the Susquehanna River damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in central and eastern Pennsylvania. The deaths of at least a dozen people have been attributed to the flooding.

Biden wove his way around piles of debris that line Chittenden Street, popping in and out of damaged homes and comforting residents. A musty smell hung in the air, a week after the Lackawanna River went over the levees and flooded 339 homes in Duryea.

Biden put his hands on the shoulders of Gertrude Yachna, 79, who lives with her two elderly sisters and a disabled nephew in a home that’s been in the family for a century. They had only 15 minutes’ warning before the river began to flood. The water got halfway up the first floor.

2011-09-16-ap-Lee-Biden2.JPGView full sizeVice President Joe Biden (right), accompanied by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (center), talks with Barbara Miller during a walk through a heavily damaged neighborhood in Duryea, Pa., on Friday.

Gertrude said she was comforted by Biden’s presence, but remains worried about the future. She and her sisters are living in a hotel temporarily, but don’t yet have a long-term place to live. “Right now, we’re desperate,” said Gertrude, sobbing.

Her sister Johanna Yachna, 75, quipped that Biden “would have made it really good if he got a shovel to help us.”

Across the street, Biden struck a hopeful note as he encouraged homeowner Jimmy Pliska to rebuild the twin home that had likewise been in his family for generations. “Hang on,” Biden told him. “This is no time to give up.”

Pliska, an auto mechanic, said before the vice president’s arrival that he didn’t see any reason to rebuild the large twin with gray siding, wrap-around porch and antique chestnut woodwork, which has been stripped to its studs after being swamped with five feet of water. “Why? It’s going to happen again,” he said.

Pliska broke down as he pointed to a black and white photo of his father as a young boy sitting on the steps of the family home. Nearby, his 11-year-old daughter, Julia, and 12-year-old son, James, wore masks as they milled about the house.

Some 600 to 800 tons of debris have already been hauled away from Duryea, but the job is by no means complete. Even as Biden walked around, residents continued lugging water-logged belongings out to the street.

In his remarks, Biden praised some construction workers who were helping to haul debris. “These guys over here in the hard hats, by the way, what’s the name of the outfit?” Biden said.

Reminded they were from Mericle, a commercial real estate developer, Biden said, “I tell you, it’s appropriately named. I’m told by the mayor and congressman and senator you guys have done a heck of a job so far.”

Mericle’s owner, Robert Mericle, recently pleaded guilty to federal charges related to one of the biggest courtroom scandals in U.S. history. Prosecutors say Mericle paid a $1 million kickback to a judge related to the construction of a for-profit juvenile detention center. He awaits sentencing.

2011-09-16-ap-Lee-Biden3.JPGView full sizeVice President Joe Biden holds up Kai Hubert after walking through a heavily damaged neighborhood in Duryea, Pa., on Friday.

The vice president’s office said Biden didn’t know anything about the company or its owner. “The vice president was praising the workers who were volunteering their time to help a community in urgent need,” said spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff.

There were a few moments of levity mixed with the despair. Biden lifted 6-year-old Kai Hubert to the microphone and asked him to repeat the question he’d just asked the vice president.

“Can you help us fix my grandma and grandpa’s house?” the youngster asked, drawing laughter.

“Yes I can, yes I can,” Biden said.

Related stories:

» Biden visits flood-hit Pa. as residents beg for protection [MSNBC]
» Biden Visiting Pa., Where Flood Protection Sought [ABC News]
» Video: Vice President Joe Biden visits Duryea [The Scranton Times-Tribune]
» Flood cleanup poses major mess for Southern Tier farmers [pressconnects.com]

In other news:

» Deer control plan in Cayuga Heights gets green light with important restriction [CNYcentral.com]
» Tucson Air Force base locked down after security scare [MSNBC]
» Meridian throat slasher pleads guilty in Cayuga County Court [WSYR-TV Channel 9]
» Kindles start in DeRuyter, Fabius-Pompey, LaFayette, Tully classrooms [centralny.ynn.com]
» Central New York apple farmers create online directory for pickers [centralny.ynn.com]
» Air Force personnel from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., are training with live munitions at Fort Drum this week [Watertown Daily Times]
» What Petco CEO says about trip to Johnson City where nearly 100 animals died [CNYcentral.com]

Syracuse man convicted of murder in fatal stabbing

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Jury rejects Denys Almeida's self-defense claim in case where Alexis Madera-Duenas was stabbed 33 times.

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man who claimed he acted in self defense in stabbing another man 33 times was convicted this afternoon of second-degree murder.

Denys Almeida, 28, of Kellogg Street, now faces a maximum penalty of 25 years to life when he is sentenced by County Judge Joseph Fahey.

In finding Almeida guilty, a County Court jury rejected his contention he was justified in stabbing Alexis Madera-Duenas at the Bellevue Avenue residence of Carmen Cajiga Sept. 29, 2010.

Almeida was Cajiga's former boyfriend. Madera-Duenas was her current boyfriend, authorities said.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Doran contended Almeida went to the residence to start trouble over some of his belongings that he had left behind when he moved out and found a new girlfriend.

The prosecutor said Almeida and Cajiga had had some trouble after they broke up and a city police officer had actually advised Almeida several weeks earlier that if he wanted to retrieve any further belongings from Cajiga's home that he should arrange for a police escort to avoid any trouble.

Almeida didn't do that, the prosecutor said.

"He went there and started all the trouble," Doran said.

When Cajiga handed over some clothing, papers and tools Almeida demanded, he still refused to leave her home and Madera-Duenas intervened to try and get Almeida out of the house, the prosecutor said.

Doran said he did not believe Almeida's story that he managed to grab the knife away from Madera-Duenas after Madera-Duenas first grabbed the weapon. The extensive injuries to the victim's hands and the minimal injuries to Almeida's hands were consistent with the victim struggling to protect himself against the defendant, the prosecutor said.

While Almeida gave police a confession admitting to stabbing Madera-Duenas, he minimized his own blame in the incident, Doran said.

But even if Almeida's story that Madera-Duenas first grabbed the knife was true, the defendant lost any right to use the weapon against the victim once he had control of the weapon and Madera-Duenas was trying to flee down the stairs to get out of the house, Doran said.

Almeida also had a legal duty to retreat if he could do so safely and he easily could have fled from another exit from the residence, Doran said.

Instead, the evidence showed Almeida pursued Madera-Duenas down the stairs, repeatedly stabbing him in the back, the prosecutor said. Once Madera-Duenas was trapped at the bottom of the stairs, the prosecutor contended, Almeida continued to stab the victim in the chest and neck before kicking the injured victim down another flight of stairs into the basement where he was found when police and rescue personnel arrived.

Doran said he believed the extensive nature of the injuries Madera-Duenas suffered from the 33 stab wounds -- including one to the neck that penetrated almost to his spine -- was the critical factor in convincing the jurors to convict Almeida of intentional murder.

Fahey had given the jurors the option of considering a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter under the theory the defendant was acting only with the intent to seriously injure -- not kill -- the victim.

And defense lawyer George Hildebrandt argued vigorously for an outright acquittal on the theory Almeida was defending himself against an attack by Madera-Duenas.

After a full day of deliberations -- and just as Fahey was about to send the jurors home for the weekend -- the jury reported it had reached its guilty verdict on the murder charge.

Fahey set sentencing for Oct. 14. Almeida will be held in the Justice Center jail without bail until then.


Syracuse police ask public's help in identifying three suspects

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Two of the three incidents occurred at ATMs and the third happened in an Syracuse University dorm. Watch video

Syracuse, NY -- The perpetrators of three recent crimes were caught on video and Syracuse police is seeking the public's help in identifying them.

The first is a grand larceny at an ATM at the Wegmans, 4722 Onondaga Boulevard. At about 2:50 p.m. on Sept. 6, a woman used the automated teller machine, but walked away and left her wallet at the machine, Sgt. Tom Connellan said.

The suspect is the next person to use the machine, Connellan said. The suspect, who was wearing a blue shirt, pants and sandals, found the wallet and walked out the front door with it in his left hand. The wallet contained credit cards, identification and cash, Connellan said.

The second incident occurred about 11:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at an ATM at the M&T Bank, 3640 James St., in Eastwood. A woman withdraws money from the machine but does not close out the transaction or take her card. The next person enters within 30 seconds of her taking her money and finds the machine asking for the next transaction, Connellan said.

The suspect makes a second withdrawal on her card from her account, Connellan said. The suspect is wearing a white shirt, red shorts and sneakers.

In the third incident, a man tries to enter Shaw dormitory, 775 Comstock Ave., on the Syracuse University campus, but finds the door locked. He waits and then goes into the dorm when a group of residents unlocks the door to enter.

The man, wearing a white T-shirt and a Yankees hat remained in the dorm for an hour before he was discovered in a dorm room while one of its residents slept. Asked what he was doing in the room, the suspect replied he was dropping off a book for the sleeping resident's roommate, but couldn't give the roommate's name.

After the man left the room, an X-box video game player, video games and other pieces of property on a bed in the room covered by a blanket.

If anyone has any information about any of the suspects in the videos is asked to call Syracuse University Police at 442-5222.

CEO at nonprofit with ties to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo quits

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In August, Cuomo ordered an investigation of the compensation that nonprofit groups provide their top executives.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The CEO of a nonprofit group Andrew Cuomo founded in the 1980s resigned the same month that Cuomo, now governor, opened a probe of high salaries at charitable groups.

The New York World, a project of Columbia University journalism students, reported that HELP USA’s chief executive resigned from his $500,000 job in August. Laurence Belinsky ran the charity founded by Cuomo to build affordable housing for the homeless. Cuomo’s sister, Maria Cuomo Cole, is chairwoman of the nonprofit.

Neither the governor nor HELP USA had any immediate comment Friday. Cuomo has no role in the charity now. A spokesman for HELP USA told The Wall Street Journal the departure had nothing to do with the governor’s review of nonprofits.

The newspaper reported that Belinsky is married to one of the governor’s cousins and is a former housing official for Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, when he was governor. The reports state that the nonprofit’s board of directors includes Andrew Cuomo’s campaign manager and one of his closest health care advisers.

In August, the governor ordered an investigation of the compensation that nonprofit groups provide their top executives. Many nonprofits carry out social services using government grants and other benefits and Gov. Cuomo said the public needs to know if the compensation is justified.

The Wall Street Journal stated Belinsky was paid $546,000 in 2008, including a $157,000 bonus. The charity operates on a $71 million budget that includes government grants.

President Obama to nominate Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle as delegate to United Nations

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Buerkle would be one of two congressional delegates to the U.N. She wants more control over U.S. funding to the international body.

2011-09-01-jc-BUERKLE3.JPGView full sizeRep. Ann Marie Buerkle speaks at a Sept. 1 town hall meeting at Clay Town Hall. On Friday, President Obama nominated Buerkle as a delegate to the United Nations.

Washington -- President Barack Obama said today he intends to nominate U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle to serve as one of two delegates from Congress to the United Nations.

Buerkle, a conservative Republican, has been critical of the United Nations in the past, and this week co-sponsored legislation that threatens to withhold annual dues the United States pays to support its operations. Last year, the U.S. support totaled more than $7.7 billion.

If approved, Buerkle would attend the opening session of the 66th U.N. General Assembly, which begins business next week in New York City and continues through April.

President Obama is expected to address the U.N. on Wednesday as the international body heads toward a showdown over a possible vote on Palestinian statehood later in the week. Buerkle is vehemently opposed to the statehood vote, a position that is in line with U.S. policy.

Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, will serve as the Republican representative of the House and Senate. The president intends to nominate U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, of Missouri, as the Democratic delegate.

The one-year appointments do not require Buerkle or Carnahan to resign their House seats. But they will have to participate in sessions of the U.N. General Assembly and U.N. Secretariat.

The bipartisan U.S. Congressional Delegation to the U.N. rotates each year between the House and Senate.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, recommended Buerkle to the White House. Traditionally the president accepts the advice from the opposing party for such bipartisan appointments.

Buerkle, a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, said she was asked several weeks ago by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the committee chairwoman, if she was interested in the post.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Buerkle said after hearing the news of her pending nomination Friday. “I’m honored.”

Buerkle said she was awaiting a package of information from the State Department that will spell out her official duties.

Buerkle and Carnahan would not cast votes at the U.N. unless U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice is unable to fulfill her duties. Even then, those votes would have to reflect the policy of the White House.

Buerkle said her concerns about the U.N. focus on accountability, and the legislation she co-sponsored does not seek to diminish the role of the organization.

“I think the intent of the bill is to make our contribution to the United Nations voluntary instead of mandatory,” Buerkle said. “If they were spending the money that was not consistent with the principles of the United States, we would withhold the money.”

One of her top priorities is the role of the U.N. in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which she said would be derailed by a Palestinian statehood vote.

“I think a lot of the U.N.’s hostilities toward Israel are a concern,” Buerkle said. “This (possible vote) is an attempt to circumvent the peace process. Everyone agrees both parties need to sit down at the table and figure out a peace process that will work in the Middle East.”

Buerkle and other congressional conservatives say the U.S. should withhold some $500 million in aid to the Palestinians if they insist on going forward with the statehood vote at the U.N.

U.S. and European allies are working diplomatic channels to avert that vote, and place the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track.

Even if the 193-member U.N. General Assembly approves the statehood vote, the move would be largely symbolic. The Obama administration has signaled that the U.S. would veto such a vote in the U.N. Security Council.

Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.

NASA: Satellite pieces to hit Earth in a week

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Scientists have calculated the satellite will break into 26 pieces as it gets closer to the planet.

2011-09-16-ap-NASA-UARS.JPGView full sizeThis conceptual image shows the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, which was launched Sept. 15, 1991, by the space shuttle Discovery. Originally designed for a three-year mission, UARS measured chemical compounds found in the ozone layer, wind and temperature in the stratosphere, as well as the energy input from the sun. Together, these measurements helped define the role of Earth's upper atmosphere in climate and climate variability. The 35-foot-long, 15-foot-diameter UARS was decommissioned on Dec. 14, 2005, and is expected to fall to Earth next week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. space officials say they expect a dead satellite to fall to Earth in about a week.

NASA has been watching the 6-ton satellite closely. On Friday officials moved up their prediction for its arrival to Sept. 23, give or take a day.

NASA scientists have calculated the satellite will break into 26 pieces as it gets closer to Earth. The odds of it hitting someone anywhere on the planet are 1 in 3,200. The heaviest piece to hit the ground will be about 350 pounds, but no one has ever been hit by falling space junk in the past.

NASA expects to give the public more detailed information early next week. For now, all continents except Antarctica could be hit by satellite debris.

Link to NASA's Web page about the satellite for updates.

Navy clears gay WWII veteran's record 70 years after his dishonorable discharge

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The 89-year-old will now be eligible for benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial.

2011-09-16-ap--WWII-Gay-Veteran.JPGView full sizeMel Dwork wears his Navy cap as he poses for a picture at his home in New York City. Nearly 70 years after Dwork was expelled from the Navy for being gay, the military is changing his discharge from “undesirable” to “honorable, ” marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Nearly 70 years after expelling Melvin Dwork for being gay, the Navy is changing his discharge from “undesirable” to “honorable” — marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The Navy notified the 89-year-old former corpsman last month that he will now be eligible for the benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial.

Dwork spent decades fighting to remove the blot on his record. “I resented that word ‘undesirable,’” said Dwork, who was expelled in 1944, at the height of the war, and is now a successful interior designer in New York. “That word really stuck in my craw. To me it was a terrible insult. It had to be righted. It’s really worse than ‘dishonorable.’ I think it was the worst word they could have used.”

For Dwork, victory came with a heartbreaking truth: Last year, when the Navy finally released his records, he learned that his name had been given up by his own boyfriend at the time.

The decision to amend his discharge papers was made by the Board for Corrections of Naval Records in Washington. In its Aug. 17 proceedings, obtained by The Associated Press, the board noted that the Navy has undergone a “radical departure” from the outright ban on gays that was in place in 1944. The board pointed out Dwork’s “exemplary period of active duty” and said that changing the terms of his discharge was done “in the interest of justice.”

Navy officials declined to discuss Dwork’s case, citing privacy reasons.

“I think that with the end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ there is a growing realization within the military that not only gays be allowed to serve openly now but this was probably the wrong policy all along,” said Aaron Belkin, an expert on gays in the U.S. military at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He added: “This illustrates, at least in the case of one person, that the military is trying to set things right.”

About 100,000 troops were discharged between World War II and 1993 for being gay and lost their benefits as a result, Belkin said. Under the more relaxed “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which allowed gays to serve as long as they kept their sexual orientation to themselves, about 14,000 troops were forced out, but most were given honorable discharges that allowed them to draw benefits. The repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” officially takes effect Tuesday.

Since Congress voted last year to repeal the Clinton-era law, dozens of gay veterans who were given undesirable, dishonorable or less-than-honorable discharges before 1993 have stepped forward, seeking to have the stain removed from their records, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

The SLDN, which provides free legal representation to gays in the military, said Dwork is the first World War II veteran they know of to succeed in getting his records changed. Many of the other cases involve veterans from the Gulf War era of the early 1990s. Next to Dwork, the oldest veteran is from the Vietnam era, the SLDN said.

Navy officials said that legally, they could have amended the discharge records of gay veterans even during the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era. But they could not say for certain whether that was ever done. And the SLDN said it could not recall any such cases.

“As the military progresses and the culture progresses, people should not be left with the inaccurate characteristic of their service with words like ‘unfitness’ or ‘undesirable’ on their paperwork,” said David McKean, SLDN legal director and Dwork’s attorney. “That paperwork has consequences for people throughout their lives.”

Dwork was not allowed to draw GI benefits to continue his studies as a young man and was denied medical care in his later years. He said he needs a hearing aid that he cannot afford. Over the years, he filed countless requests with the Navy, traveled to Washington, lobbied lawmakers and hired a law firm to help.

The Board for Corrections of Naval Records said it would reinstate Dwork’s benefits retroactively. But exactly what that means — whether, for example, the Navy will write him a check for the benefits he missed out on over a lifetime — is unclear, his attorney said.

The son of open-minded, liberal parents, Dwork grew up in Kansas City, Mo. He said he realized at 18 that he was gay and had his first serious relationship soon afterward with a man he met while studying at the Kansas City Institute of Art. Both joined the Navy hospital corps in 1943. “I had heard that the hospital corps was simpatico to gay people,” Dwork said. “Being in the hospital, you took care of people who were in trouble.”

While working at the Marine base on Parris Island, S.C., Dwork sent letters to his boyfriend, stationed in New Orleans, declaring in one: “I love you, love you, love you incessantly.” But after his gay friends warned him to be careful, he stopped writing love letters.

Later, Dwork was sitting in class, training to be an officer at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, when MPs showed up, whispered something in his instructor’s ear and marched him out of the room. His teacher told the class that if he were Dwork’s father, he would cut off Dwork’s genitals. He was thrown in the brig, then transferred to a psychiatric ward in Charleston, S.C., where he said he spent a couple of weeks being peppered with “stupid” questions.

“This patient is a 22-year-old male who keeps his robe tightly wrapped around him and speaks in a slightly effeminate manner,” the doctors wrote in their report. They said Dwork took an “avid interest in female attire, household furnishings and shopping.”

Dwork said he had assumed his love letters had fallen into the wrong hands and led to his discharge. After he recently learned the truth, he contacted his former boyfriend, who had long ago married and had children. The man did not want to discuss the matter, Dwork said.

Dwork said he does not blame his former boyfriend; he said the young man was pressured into giving up names as part of a “witch hunt.” “It was confusing to me that anything like that could happen,” Dwork said. “I always knew I was innocent, and I wasn’t ashamed of what I was or what I am. It was just a sad period. I didn’t know frankly at that point it would affect the rest of my life.”

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