Teenager Is Arrested in May Starbucks Bombing

clipped from cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com Teenager Is Arrested in May Starbucks Bombing By Dominick Tao AND Sewell Chan Tina Fineberg for The New York Times The Memorial Day bombing of a Starbucks shop on the Upper East Side damaged a sidewalk bench and shattered windows, but no one was injured. Updated, 2:09 p.m. | A Manhattan teenager has been arrested in the May 25 bombing of a Starbucks coffee shop on the Upper East Side, and the explosion appears to have been modeled on a scene from the 1999 film “Fight Club,” the New York Police Department said on Wednesday. The predawn Memorial Day blast, from an explosive device, damaged a sidewalk bench and shattered windows at the shop, at 1642 Third Avenue, at East 92nd Street, but no one was injured. The teenager, Kyle Shaw, 17, of 250 West 27th Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, was arrested at 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday and charged with arson, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said at a news conference.

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Sotomayor pledges impartial justice if confirmed Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 03:30:45 PM CDT Her confirmation all but assured, Sonia Sotomayor pledged Monday to serve the “larger interest of impartial justice” rather than any narrow cause …Obama nominated the South Bronx-born and Ivy League-educated veteran …child of the South Bronx, to replace retiring Justice … Read the full story »

Sotomayor vows impartiality if confirmed to court Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 11:12:58 PM CDT Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee in history, vowed loyalty to “the impartiality of our justice system” Monday, confronting Republican skeptics at Senate hearings suffused with racial politics but …childhood in a south Bronx housing project. “I want … Read the full story »

Boston zoos may get funds after euthanasia scare Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 07:16:51 PM CDT Massachusetts lawmakers said Monday they would try to restore $4 million in state funds for two local zoos after operators suggested that without the money, animals might have to be destroyed …zoo — the 114-year-old Bronx Zoo in New York … Read the full story »

Teachers urge Obama to collaborate to fix schools Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 07:01:39 PM CDT A teachers’ union challenged the Obama administration Monday to live up to its promise of working with teachers and not against them. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, …Charter School in the Bronx, a high school run … Read the full story »

Millions in payroll at stake in NY Senate talks Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 05:23:38 PM CDT Republican and Democratic leaders said Monday they’ll meet this week to try to work out more equitable staffing in the deeply divided state Senate, where millions of dollars in payroll are …a Democrat representing the Bronx and Westchester County, said … Read the full story »

Sotomayor afirma que la ley siempre será su norte Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 04:56:49 PM CDT En el primer día de las audiencias para solicitar su confirmación, la juez Sonia Sotomayor se comprometió a servir “el interés superior de una justicia imparcial” si se convierte en la …el condado de El Bronx y educada en las … Read the full story »

White House starts urban policy outreach Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 04:26:35 PM CDT President Barack Obama says federal policy has encouraged growth and sprawl around urban areas, hurting city residents and the environment. To remedy this, Obama on Monday asked political leaders and city …sight. On Monday, former Bronx New York Borough President … Read the full story »

Sotomayor promete ser imparcial si es confirmada Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 02:58:35 PM CDT Con su confirmación al puesto prácticamente asegurada, Sonia Sotomayor se comprometió el lunes a servir al “interés más amplio de la justicia imparcial” si llega a ser la primera hispana en …el condado de El Bronx y educada en las … Read the full story »

Text of Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 02:40:25 PM CDT Text of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, as delivered. ___ Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to thank Sens. Schumer and …modest circumstances in a Bronx housing project. My father, … Read the full story »

Sotomayor pledges impartial justice if confirmed Associated Press Mon, July 13, 2009 01:57:36 PM CDT Her confirmation all but assured, Sonia Sotomayor pledged Monday to serve the “larger interest of impartial justice” rather than any narrower cause if she becomes the first Hispanic on the Supreme …Obama nominated the South Bronx-born and Ivy League-educated veteran … Read the full story »

Racial Gap in Testing Sees Shift by Region

clipped from www.nytimes.com WASHINGTON — Historically, the achievement gap between America’s black and white students was widest in Southern states, where the legacies of slavery and segregation were reflected in extremely low math and reading scores among poor African-American children. But black students have made important gains in several Southern states over two decades, while in some Northern states, black achievement has improved more slowly than white achievement, or has even declined, according to a study of the black-white achievement gap released Tuesday by the Department of Education. As a result, the nation’s widest black-white gaps are no longer seen in Southern states like Alabama or Mississippi, but rather in Northern and Midwestern states like Connecticut, Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin, according to the federal data.

READ MORE@http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/education/15educ.html

Under Age and Alone, Immigrants See a Softer Side of Detention

clipped from www.nytimes.com Under Age and Alone, Immigrants See a Softer Side of Detention DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — Jose was 14 when he left his home in Oaxaca, Mexico, and paid a smuggler $1,200 to sneak him across the border. He made it to Phoenix and started on a long and familiar odyssey as he scratched out a living, first picking oranges in Florida, then cooking in restaurants in Connecticut. But his modest existence was upended in March after he was stopped for speeding in Connecticut and the police discovered that he did not have a driver’s license. Eventually, officials determined he was in the United States illegally, and he was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security. Because Jose told a judge he was 21, he was held in an adult detention center in Massachusetts. After Jose’s brother, with the help of the Mexican government, was able to prove to immigration officials that Jose was just 17, he was transferred in April to a shelter for immigrant youths in Westchester County.

READ MORE @ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/nyregion/15minors.html