Teenage Subway Robbers Sought by Cops

Police are searching for a group of teenagers they say have been robbing subway riders in Lower Manhattan since August.

The suspects have worked in groups of four to five, approaching other small groups of men and threatening them with box cutters and guns, said police.

In the latest incident, on Saturday, Oct. 1, the five suspects approached a group of three men on the southbound subway platform of the Broadway and Lafayette subway station, according to police. The robbers gestured as if they had a knife and threatened to cut the victims, then stole an amount of property from the victims before running away, said police.

The suspects are also accused of robbing a group of four men on a staircase inside the Broadway and East Houston Street subway station on Aug. 15. They showed box cutters and stole property from the victims before fleeing.

On Sept. 24, the group approached another group of three men while entering the Broadway and Lafayette station, showed a gun and again stole property.

No one was injured in the incidents.

Police say the suspects are about 17 to 20 years old, and all but one are male. One is a female with tattoos containing the word "Hated" with a picture of a rose and the word "Love."

Another is a male with an Eye of Horus tattoo on his neck and a spider web tattoo on his left arm.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or at usa-local-news.blogspot.com.

NYPD said last month subway crime was up nearly 17 percent over the same period last year, much of it attributed to grand larcenies.

NYC Cabbie Says Passenger Bit Him, Cops Let Assailant Go

A New York City cab driver says he was punched and bitten by a passenger and then told by a police officer that he would also be arrested if he made a complaint against the other man.

Haroon Rashid says he called 911 last Sunday night because a male passenger started hitting him through the partition in his cab, going so far as to bite him behind his ear.

In a press conference held by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Thursday, Rashid told reporters his passengers, a man and a woman, apparently didn't want to pay the fare, which was under $10, he said.

"They started arguing with me for nothing," he said. "They told me they are not going to pay me."

Rashid said he called police, and the woman then urged the male passenger to pay the fare.

"The guy gave me the money and just started punching me," Rashid said. He said the passenger grabbed him from behind, put him in a chokehold, and repeatedly punched him in the face and shoulders and bit him behind the ear.

Rashid says he didn't get help from the officers who responded. He said one of the cops told him that if he filed a complaint, he would be arrested, too. When Rashid then declined, the officer let the man go.

Rashid received 10 stitches at the hospital.

The attack happened at 57th Street and 10th Avenue, he said.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is calling for an investigation. The executive director of the union, Bhariavi Desai, added that the group has also been pressing Albany to pass a bill making it a felony to assault a taxi driver, giving them the same protection afforded to bus and subway operators.

NYPD said it was investigating.

NYC Soldier, 19, Killed in Afghanistan

A 19-year-old soldier from New York City died in Afghanistan early Monday, the U.S. Army says.

Pvt. Danny Chen died in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, according to an Army spokesman. He was an infantryman out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and had trained at Fort Benning, Ga.

Chen entered the Army in January of this year in New York.

Chen deployed to Afghanistan in August as a replacement in the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment.

The Army has not released details on how Chen died in Afghanistan. His family was notified earlier this week, the spokesman said.

Al-Qaida Propagandist Killed in Airstrike Went to High School in Long Island

An al-Qaida propagandist killed last week in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen went to a high school on Long Island.

Newsday reports on its website Thursday that 25-year-old Samir Khan lived in Westbury for about a decade and attended W.T. Clarke High School in the East Meadow school district from 1999 to 2003.

The paper says classmates portray Khan as someone who started school as a normal kid playing video games and junior varsity football, but then became increasingly fanatical in his faith and hatred of America.

Rep. Peter King, who held controversial hearings on Muslim extremism in the U.S., said Khan "shows how radical Islam has even penetrated our communities."

Khan's killing along with another al-Qaida-linked U.S. citizen has raised major questions about the limitations of presidential power.

Social Media Continues to Fuel Wall Street Protest

On day 20 of the Occupy Wall Street protests, the crowd that says it wants major social and economic change got the attention of the mayor and the police commissioner.

Mayor Bloomberg acknowledged the purpose of the movement, saying Thursday, "People are upset. They don't quite know where to go."

But he also said the Wall Street protests has occupied his police department with too much overtime in the past three weeks.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the clashes and arrests seen worldwide were provoked.

"When you have a confrontation, which is what these individuals wanted, they're not pretty," said Kelly. "Physical force is going to be used."

But the gathering in Lower Manhattan doesn't seem likely to fade away -- not when the one thing virtually all the protesters have in common is a smartphone and a knack for social media to spread the word.

"It allows people to see that other people are feeling the same dismay and provides a forum to create new democratic structures," said Ingrid Feeney, a protester.

"I use social media, Facebook, Twitter, and going through the friends I have here is basically what brought me here," said Zach Cooper.

The Occupy Wall Street protests started last month with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp nearby in Zuccotti Park and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper.

In fact, so many people were e-mailing, tweeting and texting about Thursday night's gathering, it was easy to see how more people could join the crowd in the coming weeks.

"I can't imagine such a big turnout without social media," said Dara Silverman of Brooklyn. "I grew up with social media so I can't imagine it."

The protesters have varied causes but have spoken largely about unemployment and economic inequality, reserving most of their criticism for Wall Street. "We are the 99 percent," they chant, contrasting themselves with the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

RELATED:

• Obama Says Wall Street Protests Show Widespread Frustration
• Wall Street Protesters Join With Labor Groups, Thousands March
• Wall Street Protesters: We're in for the Long Haul
• 700 Protesters Arrested on Brooklyn Bridge

Major Sinkhole Opens in La Jolla

A large sinkhole opened up suddenly in the middle of a La Jolla street late Thursday morning.

Images from a helicopter camera show the hole on Campus Point Dr. filling with a glowing green liquid.

The hole spans over two lanes just before the intersection of Campus Point Dr. and Campus Point Ct., just north of Scripps Memorial Hospital.

The sinkhole was caused by a rusty 24-inch storm drain pipe that broke under the street, said Bill Harris, the San Diego storm water department spokesman.

Harris said the pipe that broke was unreliable, and the city hasn't installed them since 1992. As for the green liquid, Harris said if it's not vegitation, it will be a "major concern."

Authorities say they will be shutting off water for nearby residents.

Check back soon for more information.

 

Halvorson Challenges Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congressional Primary

Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson on Thursday announced her congressional run for the 2nd District, and she wasted no time taking jabs at the current congressman.

"We need a congressman that doesn't have ethical distractions," Halvorson said of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., still ailing from ties to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the testimony given during Blago's retrial.

Halvorson served as a representative for the 11th from 2009 to 2011, when Adam Kinzinger unseated her. She and Jackson have gone head-to-head in the past, namely over the third airport Jackson wanted near Peotone.

She brought up the airport right away on Thursday, saying, "This has been his pet project for 15 years, where is it?"

Jackson, for his part, isn't a fan. In a March press release he opposed Halvorson’s attempted appointment to as the state’s Transportation Secretary.

“Any consideration of her for that post would be an outrageous slap in the face to voters in the south suburbs who overwhelmingly supported Gov. Quinn for re-election because of his promise to build a third airport,” Jackson said.

But Halvorson appears ready for a fight.

She said it took her some time to decide to throw her hat in for the Democratic primary in the redrawn district, which extends from 53rd in Chicago to Kankakee. In the end, she said, she wants to "stand up for the people who need me."