Woman Charged With Hate-Crime in Queens Subway-Push Murder

She hadn't been charged at the time of my earlier report, "Thirty-One Year Old Homeless Woman in Custody in Queens Subway-Push Death."

But now the New York Times reports, "Woman Accused of Hate-Crime Murder in Subway Push."

Robert Stacy McCain relates this story to the left's depraved gun control exploitation, "New York City Needs Subway Control."

And the sickening ghouls of the radical left fever swamps bubbled up to blame Pamela Geller for the murder, "WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN NY SUBWAY SHOVE DEATH, CLAIMS 9/11/01 WAS HER MOTIVE." (Via Memeorandum.)

It never ends with these scumbags.

Thirty-One Year Old Homeless Woman in Custody in Queens Subway-Push Death

At the New York Post, "Cops nab suspect in Queens subway-push death":

A suspect in the subway-pushing death of a Queens immigrant is in custody, police said.

Cops picked up a 31-year-old homeless woman in Brooklyn early this morning after spotting her wearing the same jacket seen in surveillance video the night that Sunando Sen, 46, was fatally shoved into the path of the 7 train at the elevated 40th Street-Lowery stop in Sunnyside, law-enforcement sources said.

The woman, who has not been charged yet, was grabbed around 5 a.m. on the corner of Empire Boulevard and Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights, the sources said.
The incoherent suspect was mumbling as cops questioned her, and at one point asked where the R train was, the sources added.

Her relatives called cops last night after seeing her on the news, law-enforcement sources said.

More at that top link.

Faces of Addiction, Hunts Point, Bronx

At London's Daily Mail, "The faces of poverty, despair and addiction inside 'New York's Red Light District' captured by an ex-Wall Street banker."

Photos by Chris Arnade, on Flickr.

Cheering U.N. Palestine Vote, Synagogue Tests Its Members

At the New York Times:

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, a large synagogue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, is known for its charismatic rabbis, its energetic and highly musical worship, and its liberal stances on social causes.

But on Friday, when its rabbis and lay leaders sent out an e-mail enthusiastically supporting the vote by the United Nations to upgrade Palestine to a nonmember observer state, the statement was more than even some of its famously liberal congregants could stomach.

“The vote at the U.N. yesterday is a great moment for us as citizens of the world,” said the e-mail, which was sent to all congregants. “This is an opportunity to celebrate the process that allows a nation to come forward and ask for recognition.”

The statement, at a time when the United Nations’ vote was opposed by the governments of the United States and Israel, as well as by the leadership of many American Jewish organizations, reflected a divide among American Jews and a willingness to publicly disagree with Israel.

Clergy at several Jewish congregations have, in various ways, spoken out sympathetically about the United Nations’ vote. But B’nai Jeshurun stood out because of its size and prominence, and reaction from congregants was swift. Allan Ripp, a member, said he and his wife were appalled.

“We are just sort of in a state of shock,” he said. “It’s not as if we don’t support a two-state solution, but to say with such a warm embrace — it is like a high-five to the P.L.O., and that has left us numb.”

Other congregants, however, said it was a bold move that they welcomed.

“I thought it was very courageous of them,” said Gil Kulick, a congregant. “I think as of late there has been a reluctance to speak out on this issue,” he added, “and that’s why I was really delighted that they chose to take a strong unequivocal stand.”

American Jews have long had a vigorous, and sometimes vitriolic, debate about the positions of the Israeli government and the peace process with the Palestinians. But the tendency has been to keep critical views within the fold.

“At most times we impose a kind of discipline upon ourselves — nobody imposes it on us — particularly on a matter that the Israeli government has asked for unanimous support from the Jewish community,” said Samuel Norich, the publisher of The Forward, a Jewish affairs weekly based in New York. “When they speak out, that is rare,” Mr. Norich said of mainstream congregations.

Gary Rosenblatt, the editor and publisher of The Jewish Week, the largest-circulation Jewish newspaper in the country, said, “I think the sense of a need for a unified front in the American Jewish community is breaking down.”

Well, the times they are a-changin'.

But RTWT, via Theo Spark, "USA Jews Don't Have Israel's Back..." (Actually, I think progressive Jews don't have Israel's back. Conservative Jews are at the ramparts of freedom for the West.)

New York Post Subway Death Cover Controversy

From photographer R. Umar Abbasi, "Anguished fotog: Critics are unfair to condemn me":

(Post freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi captured the dramatic moments before Ki Suk Han was struck by a downtown Q train. A day after the pictures were published, a flurry of criticism erupted — from other media and over social media like Twitter. He recounted the or deal to The Post yesterday.)

I was on an assignment, waiting for a train at the 49th Street subway platform, when I suddenly heard people gasping.

The announcement had come over the loudspeaker that the train was coming — and out of the periphery of my eye, I saw a body flying through the air and onto the track.

I just started running. I had my camera up — it wasn’t even set to the right settings — and I just kept shooting and flashing, hoping the train driver would see something and be able to stop.

I had no idea what I was shooting. I’m not even sure it was registering with me what was happening. I was just looking at that train coming.

It all went so quickly; from the time I heard the shouting until the time the train hit the man was about 22 seconds.

At the same time, the perp was running toward me. I was afraid he might push me onto the tracks.

The victim was so far away from me, I was already too far away to reach him when I started running.

The train hit the man before I could get to him, and nobody closer tried to pull him out.

Keep reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Man Pushed to Death on Subway Tracks."

And the backlash at Mediagazer and Memeorandum.

Man Pushed to Death on Subway Tracks

At the New York Times:

A 58-year-old subway passenger was killed on Monday after he was pushed onto the tracks of an onrushing train in Manhattan by a man who had been mumbling to himself as he walked along the platform, the police said.

The passenger, identified by the police as Ki-Suck Han of 52nd Avenue in Queens, tried to climb back onto the platform but did not make it; he was struck by a southbound R train in the 49th Street station. He was pronounced dead at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, the police said.

The assailant fled and remained at large on Monday night, the police said. Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, described the attacker as a black man in his mid-20s in a tan shirt and black pants who was carrying a black jacket and wearing a woolen hat.

On Monday night, two police officials and a priest were seen escorting a woman believed to be the victim’s wife from a Queens apartment to a van. They made no comment to reporters outside.

The police released a brief video from a surveillance camera in which the attacker is seen and heard cursing at the victim and telling him to stand in line “and wait for the R train.”

And see London's Daily Mail, "Caught on video: The moment 58-year-old man argued with 'deranged' stranger before being 'pushed' to death on New York."

The Forgotten Borough

I can't tell you how heart wrenching this is, "A Starting Line and a Dump: Staten Island, the Forgotten Borough":

“This is all Staten Island is to them – a starting line and a dump,” Chris Rich, a Staten Island firefighter tells us as he cleans up debris and mud from his gutted house. Throughout his neighborhood today, New York City marathon runners prance through decimated streets, leaping over piles of donations yet to be distributed, bringing severe congestion to a community just beginning to regain its senses after the catastrophe. To place it in even sharper relief, according to Rich, it was only that very morning that authorities had gotten around to removing three bodies floating in Bay Street Marina. One was tied to a pier to avoid it washing down shore. The person who reported the bodies was told that they would be left for the time being as efforts were to be exclusively “rescue” oriented, eschewing “recovery.” While the Staten Islanders were, and are, still counting their dead, they felt as if they were expected to indulge catastrophe tourism.

An amazing post, a classic of citizen's journalism.

RTWT at the link (via Instapundit).

'I voted to fix it, you voted for the stupid short sighted @ssh0les who broke it...'

Here's this must-read ass-stomping comment at Small Dead Animals:

Featured Comment:

Davenport said: "I'm going to head off The Phantom here, who doubtless will show up shortly with some rant about how this is all FEMA's fault'."

I love it:

Do you want to know why the power is STILL off on Long Island, Davenport? Read this here: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sandy-LIPA-Outages-Power-Long-Island-Defense-Military-178115341.html

In it you will find reference to a report from 2006, SIX YEARS AGO, which found that Long Island Power Authority had not done the basic maintenance required to secure the power grid from weather damage. The maintenance they're talking about here is tree cutting mostly, and replacing bad power poles.

I lived in New York in the 1990's. I could have written that report. The f-ing power went off every time it snowed because they didn't cut trees and the trees ripped the lines down. They also didn't plow the roads, but that's a story for another day.

You want to know why they don't cut the f-ing trees Davenport? It isn't because they are stupid, it isn't because they don't know, it isn't because private enterprise is inherently corrupt, it isn't even because union workers are a bunch of rent-seeking layabouts. Its because every time they go to cut down a tree, some local Greenies get up a petition or a court order to make them stop. So they stop. So the trees break and knock down the power lines. Same thing all over the North East until you get up into snow country, where even the f-ing tree huggers know better.

Well -this- time it all came home to roost the same day, and every overhanging branch from New Jersey to Connecticut took out a line.

UPDATE: My good friend Norm Gersman comments: "This post is absolutely incorrect. I live in an area as leftie as any. our trees by the wires are annually cut , and look ridiculous, no one says a bad word because it must be done. the present problem of down wires was caused mostly by falling trees a good distance from the wires. what are we going to do? Clear cut every tree for 100 feet on either side of the wires?"

Norm's in Great Neck, which is the focus of this story cited by the writer at SDA, "Officials Want Military to Take Over Power Restoration on Long Island":

LIPA [Long Island Power Authority], which had earlier set a goal of restoring 90 percent of all customers by Wednesday, has declined to respond to the withering criticism. Officials say the company was focused on restoring power and not engaging in a debate with politicians.

Newsday reported Friday that LIPA was warned as long ago as 2006 that it was not prepared to handle a major storm, that it badly needed to replace outdated technology and did not keep up with critical maintenance.

Among the issues the utility was warned about include a 25-year-old computer system not capable of tracking outages, and failures to keep up with basic tasks like replacing rotting poles and trimming trees near power lines, the paper said.

Well, LIPA isn't taking interviews at the moment, so I'll come back to this debate, LOL!

No Hurricane Bounce for 'Bronco Bamma'

Folks are getting tired of that mofo.

At Lonely Conservative, "Looks Like #Sandy Won’t Help Obama After All."

And at Instapundit, "MICHAEL RAMIREZ: Oceans of Red Ink."

PREVIOUSLY: "Staten Island Angry Over Delayed Storm Response."

Staten Island Angry Over Delayed Storm Response

At Time, "The Island That New York City Forgot:

The headline of Thursday’s Staten Island Advance screamed in bold “14 DEAD SO FAR — HOMES RAVAGED, LIVES RUINED.” But many people here feel no one is listening to their pleas for help or coming for support. Only after one horrific tale emerged did the rest of the city and country pay attention to Staten Island. That event took place in one of the most devastated areas on the island, along Father Capodanno Boulevard. There, a young mother named Glenda Moore tried to reach a shelter and lost her two sons, Brandon, 2, and Connor, 4, after their car stalled in the suddenly rising floodwaters and they tried to escape.

No FEMA response. President "I" Candy had to fly out to Las Vegas for more important business.

But RTWT.

And at the New York Post, "Flood of tears: Bodies of SI boys found after being swept away by Sandy."

ADDED: At the New York Times, "Staten Island Was Tragic Epicenter of Storm’s Casualties" (via Memeorandum).

New Jersey Reels From Storm's Punch

The video's from Megyn Kelly's opening segment yesterday.

And at the New York Times, "New Jersey Is Reeling From Punch by a Storm":

HOBOKEN, N.J. — New Jersey was reeling on Wednesday from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused catastrophic flooding here in Hoboken and in other New York City suburbs, destroyed entire neighborhoods across the state and wiped out iconic boardwalks in shore towns that had enchanted generations of vacationgoers.

Though the storm raged up the East Coast, it has become increasingly apparent that New Jersey took the brunt of it. Officials estimated that the state suffered many billions of dollars in property damage. About a quarter of the state’s population — more than two million people — remained without power on Wednesday, and more than 6,000 were still in shelters, state emergency officials said.

At least eight people died, and officials expressed deep concerns that the toll would rise as more searches of homes were carried out.

On Wednesday, President Obama visited the state and viewed the destruction with Gov. Chris Christie.

“The entire country has been watching what’s been happening,” Mr. Obama said at a stop in Atlantic County at the Brigantine Beach Community Center in Brigantine. “Everybody knows how hard Jersey has been hit.”

Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property.

Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.

Two days after Hurricane Sandy struck, such distress was not limited to New Jersey.

Continue reading.

Obama to Tour Storm-Damaged New Jersey

At the Hill, "Odd couple Christie and Obama to tour devastated NJ shore." (Via Memeorandum.)

Christie said he couldn't care less about politics right now. Interesting, because Obama couldn't care more. See Howard Kurtz, "President Obama’s New Jersey Gambit Centers on Hurricane Sandy Relief."

And see Rick Moran, at American Thinker, "Left sees Sandy as an opportunity to push for bigger government,"

Image: People's Cube.

Sandy's Death Toll Now 50

The Los Angeles Times reports, "Northeast faces long road back; death toll at 50":

BEACH HAVEN, N.J. -- Sandy’s departure from the Northeast on Tuesday brought no hint of relief, revealing instead a tableau of splintered trees, severed beaches, shuttered businesses and the harsh reality that the storm will test even the most hardened resolve in weeks to come.

The U.S. death toll rose to 50, including three children, and estimates of the property damage soared to $20 billion, which would make Sandy among the nation’s costliest natural disasters. More than 8 million homes and businesses in 17 states were without power, half of them in New York and New Jersey. Some outages could stretch into next week.

And see the Wall Street Journal, "Power Outages May Last Over a Week," and "State-by-State Toll, Including Power Outages."

Big Storm Opportunism

At the Wall Street Journal:

Our former editor Robert Bartley once quipped (fondly) about the writer Jude Wanniski that he thought a capital-gains tax cut could intercept a Soviet SS-20 missile in mid-flight. We were reminded of that monomania Tuesday as the political left more or less declared in unison that the ravages of Hurricane Sandy prove that America needs bigger government.

We know liberals are worried that President Obama might lose next week, but are they so panicky that they want to suggest even before the storm has passed that Mitt Romney and Republicans are against disaster relief? Apparently so. It's an especially low-rent tactic, akin to blaming the tea party for Jared Lee Loughner's shooting of Gabby Giffords. But it's equally absurd to argue that a once-in-a-century storm means you can't block-grant Medicaid.

The rap on Mr. Romney seems to be that he once said emergency management could be done well and perhaps better at the state level, and he also endorsed Paul Ryan's House Republican budget.

Let's look at the record. Regarding the budget for FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), Mr. Obama's own fiscal 2013 budget sought $10.008 billion. That was a cut of $641.5 million, or 6.02%, from fiscal 2012. We couldn't find an apples-to-apples comparison in the Ryan budget resolution, because FEMA spending was part of a larger category and the Senate never did pass its budget. But if budget cuts to FEMA are the liberal standard, their beef is with Mr. Obama. By the way, Mr. Romney says he doesn't want to abolish FEMA.

None of which means that FEMA is above reform. Matt Mayer of the Heritage Foundation has found that annual FEMA disaster declarations have multiplied since the Clinton years and have reached a yearly average of 153 under Mr. Obama. That compares to 129.6 under George W. Bush, 89.5 under Mr. Clinton, and only 28 a year under Reagan. Mr. Mayer argues that taxpayers and storm victims would be better served if FEMA devoted itself to helping out in the biggest disasters, such as Sandy, and not dive in at every political request for assistance.

As for Mr. Romney and FEMA, the liberals are excavating remarks from one of the early GOP debates. CNN's John King asked if "the states should take on more" of a role in disaster relief as FEMA was running out of money.

Mr. Romney: "Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better.

"Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut—we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we're doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we're doing that we don't have to do? And those things we've got to stop doing, because we're borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we're taking in."

This isn't an argument for abolishing FEMA so much as it is for the traditional federalist view that the feds shouldn't supplant state action...

Exactly.

I wrote about those exact comments earlier, and the asshat response from the lame brains at MSNBC: "MSNBC Hate-Trolls Attack Mitt Romney's Relief Efforts for Hurricane Sandy Victims."

Mind-Boggling Photos from Hurricane Sandy

Astonishing.

See Atlas Shrugs, "DAMAGE."

MSNBC Hate-Trolls Attack Mitt Romney's Relief Efforts for Hurricane Sandy Victims

Noel Sheppard offers an outstanding analysis, "MSNBC Ridicules Romney for Collecting Food and Supplies for Sandy Victims":

This one is really hard to believe, even for the most biased so-called "news network" in the nation.

MSNBC on Tuesday totally trashed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for collecting food and supplies at a storm rally event in Ohio to be sent to victims of Hurricane Sandy (video follows with transcript and commentary)....

When the clip concluded, Bashir said, “Mayor Reed, so the Red Cross knows what it’s doing. Did he, did you detect perhaps a subtle dig there on Mr. Romney who spent today going against the guidelines established by the Red Cross and holding a campaign rally in Ohio that was dressed up like a charity drive collecting food and other supplies when the Red Cross expressly asked people not to do that?”

Imagine that. A presidential candidate who gives millions of dollars a year to charity does a storm relief event in Ohio, and an MSNBC anchor is disgusted by it because the Red Cross would prefer people donating cash.

Yet according to the Washington Post:

The stop was billed as a “storm relief” event, and attendees were asked to bring non-perishable foods and other items for those affected by the storm. Long white tables to one side of the cavernous James S. Trent Arena were piled high with flashlights, batteries, diapers, toothbrushes, mini-deodorants, fleece blankets, cereal, toilet paper and canned goods.

Two large TV screens at the front of the venue bore the logo of the American Red Cross and the message: “Sandy: Support the Relief Effort. Text ’REDCROSS’ to 90999 to make a $10 donation.”

So besides the food and supplies that Ohioans generously donated, two large television screens asked participants to send money to the Red Cross.

But this didn’t make Bashir happy. Ditto his Obama-supporting guests.

“I think that this is just another moment where you see the clear striking difference between a president who has a heart for the American people and someone who simply wants to be president of the United States,” said Mayor Reed.

“Indeed,” replied Bashir who then asked for Peterson’s input.

“I would agree,” echoed Peterson. “It’s compassion that shows through in times like these. It’s humanity that shows through in times like these, and it just seems clear that the President, in addition to stepping up and doing what he does as Commander-in-Chief, demonstrates compassion in these remarks and in his approach to this kind of serious disaster.” “All we’ve seen from Romney and from his surrogates is all kinds of politicizing and misdirection,” Peterson continued, “and I think the American people in this sort of disastrous moment can really see in bold relief the differences between President Obama and former Governor Romney.”

There's more at the link, but note at the YouTube clip above that Bashir also slams Romney for comments he made during the GOP primary debates. Romney argued that the states could handle disaster relief, and then ultimately private businesses. This really set off the MSNBC clowns off. These idiots haven't a clue. Of course there are any number of ways to deliver disaster relief along the lines suggested by Romney. The federal government can work cooperatively with the states, helping to finance relief efforts that are performed by state and local agencies. That's hardly controversial. The progressive idiots are trying to argue that Romney just doesn't care. In fact, Romney's making the case to improve both efficiency and cost. We know from Katrina that Louisiana should have acted sooner to request federal assistance from Washington. The states have emergency contingency planning. They are the first responders. The federal government responds at the request of a state's governor. Moreover, the idea that it's always the federal government that provides relief and services is ridiculous. Private contracting for all kinds of public sector operations are routine. William Jacobson has more, at the New York Times, "Only When the States Can’t Handle a Problem":

The issue of FEMA versus states and private enterprise is not an either/or choice. The question should be how to most efficiently allocate resources both before and after unpredictable major disasters.

We currently use a model that relies on state and local government, together with private contractors, in a wide variety of situations.

Snow removal is a good example. Even in times of severe, multistate blizzards, private contractors play a critical role. State and local governments cannot put enough plows on the roads on short notice, so they maintain contractual relationships with private companies to provide the service as needed.

Similarly, in times of widespread power outage, as we have now, utility companies, not state or local governments, provide relief for downed power lines and electricity and phone interruptions. Throughout the Northeast the relief will come from these contractors, many on loan from other regions, to provide this relief.

The state/private model makes sense precisely because large-scale disasters are infrequent and unpredictable. Does it make sense to maintain a large federal inventory of personnel, equipment and supplies in this scenario?
FEMA doesn’t think so. FEMA itself maintains a registry of contractors and private resources that can be used depending on the situation, and relies on states and local governments for preparedness.

The most efficient role for the federal government is to fill in where states cannot, for example, where the damage is of such a nature that it is not amenable to state or local solutions. Hurricane damage typically is localized, and requires a street-by-street response which the federal government is ill prepared to provide. A large oil spill, by contrast, is not capable of local relief alone, and that is where federal coordination can be most effective.

So where is the controversy in Governor Romney’s statement?

There is no controversy. Romney was governor of a state on the East Coast. He knows about these kinds of public/private relationships by experience. And he knows from his private sector background that efficiency is improved by contracting and cooperative planning at different levels of government. The radical MSNBC hacks haven't the foggiest idea of these notions. Everyone's talking about this is the kind of emergency where we MUST HAVE big government. Now that's some politicization. Amazingly dishonest too, since it was the president today on television urging people to make contributions to the Red Cross, which is a private organization. See also Russell Sobel, "The Free Market Can Do a Better Job."

Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

At the New York Post, "At least 18 people dead, nearly 1 million without power in New York metro area in Sandy's aftermath":

New Yorkers dug out from Hurricane Sandy’s carnage today, following the hellish reign of death and destruction brought on by the killer storm.

Gotham residents today, about 750,000 of them without any power, had to carefully navigate streets littered with uprooted trees, and avoid dangerous spots with downed power lines.

Sandy also sucker punched Long Island, leaving 900,000 customers -- 90 percent of Nassau and Suffolk Counties -- in the dark, according to Gov. Cuomo. Two million statewide are without power, the governor added.

“We expected an unprecedented storm impact here on New York City and that’s what we got,” Mayor Bloomberg said earlier today. “So while the worst of this storm has passed, the conditions are still dangerous.”

The mayor added: “Clearly the challenges our city faces in the coming days are enormous.”

Continue reading.

I'm going to have more in a little bit, on the politics of the hurricane. Check Memeorandum for some of the controversies. And then check back in here throughout the night.

Hurricane Sandy Carves Path of Destruction Across U.S. East Coast

At the Wall Street Journal, "Millions Are Without Power and Thousands Are Stranded; Atlantic City Is Submerged; Death Toll Is Expected to Rise":

Superstorm Sandy carved a harrowing path of destruction through the East Coast on Monday, inundating Atlantic City and sending cars floating through the streets of lower Manhattan.

Accelerating Monday evening as it made landfall on the New Jersey coast, the storm promised a legacy as one of the most damaging ever to menace the Northeast, from North Carolina to New England.

Some 3.1 million people were left without electricity across the region Monday evening—the most since the 2003 blackout. In New York, more than 250,000 Con Ed customers from 39th Street south were left without power. One of the city's major hospitals was forced to evacuate patients late Monday when its backup power system failed.

"It's sure shaping up to be a storm that will be historic in nature," said Louis Uccellini, director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, a federal government agency.

The storm left a trail of death, and the toll is expected to mount. Two people perished in Mendham, N.J., when a tree struck their car, officials said. In New York state, at least six were killed, including a 30-year-old man who died when a tree fell on his home.

Continue reading.

And at CNN, "Sandy ravages N.Y., N.J."

'Deranged' Nanny Stabs to Death Two Kids of CNBC Media Executive in New York

Here's the report from yesterday at the New York Daily News, "Deranged nanny allegedly kills two children of CNBC media executive Kevin Krim and wife Marina; Kids, 2 and 6, are found by mom in bathtub at luxury upper West Side apartment building: NYPD."

On cue, the New York Times provides the sympathetic victim's treatment of the suspect, Yoselyn Ortega, "Life Was in Chaos for Nanny Accused of Killing 2 Children." Life is hard. Go ahead and take it out on the children you were hired to protect. Call it the revenge of the 99 percent.

But see London's daily Mail, thank goodness, "Brave six-year-old girl tried to fight off killer nanny: Tragic last moments of the children stabbed to death by carer in New York apartment":

Brave six-year-old Lucia Krim tried to fight off her crazed nanny as the woman allegedly stabbed her and her brother Leo, 2, repeatedly with two kitchen knives before leaving their small bodies covered in blood in the bathtub for their mother to find.

As shocking new details emerge, neighbours have revealed that Yoselyn Ortega, 50, was visibly unravelling before the heinous slayings in the Upper West Side apartment on Thursday night and appeared to have 'aged seven years in a few months.'

Beautiful Lucia, who had been playing in the elevator moments before the horrifying slaying, suffered defensive wounds as she attempted to fend off the woman who her parents paid to protect her and her siblings.

She was eventually stabbed multiple times in the stomach and the neck while little Leo suffered two punctures to the neck, a law enforcement source told The New York Post.

'They both suffered. They bled out,' the source said, adding that Ortega used two kitchen knives in the alleged attack. 'The little girl tried to protect herself.'

A Dominican immigrant, and so depraved. God help the Krim family. Nothing should ever befall a family like that.

Baby Walrus Adapts to Life in City

I'm a sucker for these animal stories, at the New York Times:

A team of 15 is caring for him around the clock. His favorite toy is a plastic bucket. He has taken swimmingly to a large pool. And on Friday, he had his first taste of solid food — surf clams.

“He’s hitting every milestone we’re hoping to see,” said Jon Forrest Dohlin, director of the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn, part of the Wildlife Conservation Society. “He still has some issues with his bladder, but they are trending in the right direction. Behaviorally, he’s doing great and we’re feeling good about his progress.”

He was describing Mitik, or Mit for short, one of two walrus calves separated from a herd in the Artic Ocean and orphaned in Alaska in July. The Alaska SeaLife Center took them in and found new homes for each. (The other walrus, Pakak, went to the Indianapolis Zoo.) The New York Aquarium, eager for a young companion for its two older walruses, stepped up, flying a staff member, Martha Hiatt, to Alaska to work with Mit for a month.

On Oct. 11, Ms. Hiatt, the aquarium’s behavioral husbandry supervisor, along with a veterinarian, accompanied Mit on a FedEx cargo jet from Anchorage to Newark. The walrus, believed to be about 16 weeks old, stayed in his crate during the six-hour flight. “It was loud,” Ms. Hiatt said of the trip. “He pretty much sang to us the entire time. We stayed with him, talked to him and hosed him off now and then.”

At the aquarium, Mit has adapted to his new environment, a state-of-the-art medical facility built in 2008 that was designed for marine mammals. There is a large, eight-foot-deep pool that is a considerable leap from the one he used in Alaska. “He’s in it from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep,” Ms. Hiatt said this week. “He’s a big swimmer. He plays and swims literally until he falls asleep.”

RTWT.

Trainers are worried the walrus will not warm up to his own species when they prepare him for exhibition at the zoo. I guess they should have thought more about that when they decided not to return him to the wild.