Dignitaries, Celebs to Help Dedicate MLK Jr. Memorial

After a seven-week postponement caused by Hurricane Irene, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will be dedicated Sunday morning, and the weather will be quite different.

A crowd of more than 50,000 is expected, and they should be dry and comfortable if they bring a coat or sweater. The forecast is for a pleasant morning and sunny skies for the event, which begins at 9 a.m.

A wooden stage was being set up Friday. President Barack Obama will address the crowd from it Sunday, and a huge Jumbotron will broadcast it to most of the crowd. He is expected to speak in the 11 a.m. hour.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond and members of King’s family also will speak.

Aretha Franklin will be the headlining entertainer.

Officials urge the public to take Metro and avoid driving anywhere near the Tidal Basin Sunday morning. Metro will open at 5 a.m. Sunday -- two hours early -- to accommodate the crowd. There will be extra cars and track work was suspended.

Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and water.

The memorial closes at 10 p.m. Saturday night to prepare for Sunday's program. The memorial foundation expects the memorial to be closed to the public all day Sunday and reopen at 5 a.m. Monday morning.

Click here for a list of street closures.

Memorial to Plane Crash Victims Unveiled in Des Plaines

More than 1,000 people watched as a memorial to the 273 victims of the American Airlines Flight 191 crash was unveiled.

The May 25, 1979, crash was the deadliest, non-terror-related airplane disaster in U.S. aviation history. The crash of the DC-10 killed all 271 aboard and two on the ground.

The memorial in Lake Park in Des Plaines isn't far from where the aircraft went down shortly after takeoff from O'Hare International Airport. The curved stone wall has all of the victims' names.

It was covered with flowers, cards and framed photos at the dedication ceremony.

Nancy Howell traveled from Knoxville, Tenn., for the ceremony. Her mother Elaine was on the flight.

She says the memorial allows her to think of something else when she comes to the area.

 

Long Island Dad Drove Drunk With Kids in Car: Cops

A 46-year-old Suffolk County man was arrested Saturday, charged with driving drunk while he had two young children in the car.

Reynaldo Jackson, of Copiague, was driving southbound on Deer Park Avenue in Babylon when he rear-ended a Mazda stopped at a light at Simon Street, said Suffolk County police. The Mazda then struck a Jeep.

Jackson's 12-year-old son and 2-year-old grandson were in the car with him during the accident, according to police. The children were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center to be checked out. No one else was treated.

Police said a responding officer who interviewed Jackson determined his ability to drive was impaired by drugs, and arrested him.

Jackson was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child, a felony while under Leandra's Law; driving while ability impaired by drugs; and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Jackson was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Oct. 16.

Latest Brooklyn Sex Attack Confirmed as 14th in Pattern

A sexual assault in Windsor Terrace has been linked to pattern of sex attacks in that neighborhood and surrounding areas bringing the total in that disturbing pattern to 14 cases.

The latest victim is a woman in her 20s who was walking her dog in Windsor Terrace Thursday night when a man approached her from behind, claimed he had a knife and groped her, according to police.

The victim's alleged attacker apparently ran off after she started screaming. The incident happened on 17th Street near Seventh Avenue at about 10 p.m., police said

This latest attacks has Windsor Terrace, Bay Ridge  Park Slope and Sunset Park residents on edge.

Meanwhile, police released a new poster showing sketches of five suspects wanted for the other attacks in the borough.

On Tuesday, police arrested a 26-year-old man for groping a woman on Monday night near the subway station at 36th Street and Fourth Avenue.

Adolfo Martinez, 26, was charged with forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse for allegedly groping an 18-year-old woman near the Sunset Park station.

Sources told USA LOCAL NEWS that investigators are looking at his possible connections to some of the other assaults.

He's being held without bail. It wasn't immediately clear if Martinez had an attorney.

Cops Seek Suspect in Rape of Woman in Queens

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect in the rape of a 20-year-old woman in a public area of Jamaica, Queens.

Police said the victim was walking in the area of 108 Drive and Merrick Blvd. at around 2 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, when she was approached by a man armed with a box cutter.

The man took her to a secluded area and raped her, police said.

The suspect is described as about 20 to 23 years old, with a Caeser-style haircut. He was wearing a black bandana across his face, a black waist-length leather jacket and dark jeans, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.

Upper West Side Woman Questioned in Teen Son's Fatal Stabbing

Police are questioning a New York City woman in the fatal stabbing of her 18-year-old son.

Media outlets report Yvonne Hines was being questioned Saturday in the death of her son Sean at the family's apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Police said the woman and her son had fought violently in the past. According to The New York Times, Commissioner Raymond Kelly says both were arrested after a fight in June.

Authorities say the stabbing was reported late Friday night by the victim's stepfather. Witnesses told The New York Post that Yvonne Hines denied killing her son as she was led away and blamed her husband, who was also being questioned.

More Than 22,000 Participate in Komen Dallas Race for the Cure

About 15 years ago, only about 500 people would meet in a small field near NorthPark Center to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Times have changed.

On Saturday, the event attracted 22,334 participants with 992 teams signing up, according to the Komen website.

Jennifer Legere, executive director of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Dallas, told The Dallas Morning News a little more than $2 million has been raised and fundraising will continue through Nov. 11.

The first Race for the Cure in Dallas was in 1983.

Officials say Komen, founded in 1982, has contributed $685 million to breast cancer research and $1.3 billion to community programs that help with mammograms, transportation and other needs.