Headlines that caught my eye

Police: Parent had gun at school

RENSSELAER — Police on Monday arrested a Hudson man they say displayed a concealed handgun to Doane Stuart School officials inside the school Monday.

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Overlooked evidence leads to mistrial

Roberts asked Judge Andrew Ceresia to declare a mistrial with prejudice, alleging prosecutorial misconduct had permanently tainted his client's case.

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Hugo Chavez Dead: Venezuela's President Dies At 58, Vice President Nicolas Maduro Says

Chavez had been fighting cancer since 2011, and had chosen Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro as his heir-apparent when it became clear that health concerns might force him from office.

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106-year-old Mass. man gets high school diploma

BEVERLY, Mass. (AP) — Fred Butler was married for 65 years, raised five children, served in the Army during World War II and worked for years for the local water department, but the fact he never earned a high school diploma always bothered him.

Not anymore.

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State Trooper Stabbed At Empire State Plaza

Sunday, March 3 2013, 04:33 PM EST

Updated: Sunday, March 3 2013, 11:15 PM EST

UPDATE : 9:45 p.m.
ALBANY - A state trooper patrolling the concourse of the Empire State Plaza was stabbed in the neck Saturday afternoon after a man approached him and began a conversation.
State and local police, including police dogs, were searching for the man.

According to state police, the attacker struck Trooper Rodney Smith with a steak knife several times around 3:15 p.m. while he was checking the man’s identification.

Smith was cut on the left side of his neck, his face, arms and hands. After a brief struggle the man ran off with Smith’s radio.

Police say Smith called for help on a phone and was rushed to Albany Medical Center where he had surgery and is expected to fully recover.

"Our troopers can find themselves in dangerous and sometimes life threatening situations on any given day,” said State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Trooper Smith’s family."

Trooper Smith is a 15-year veteran of the New York State Police.

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ALBANY - Police and K-9 units are searching for a homeless they believe stabbed a State Trooper with a large kitchen knife.

It happened on the Concourse level of the Empire State Plaza this afternoon.

Police say the Trooper, identified as Rodney Smith, is out of surgery.

He's listed in stable condition at Albany Medical Center.
Officers believe the homeless man has the Trooper's radio in his possession.

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ALBANY - State Troopers and Albany Police have closed the Concourse at the Empire State Plaza after a state trooper was stabbed in the neck. 

He has been transported to the emergency room. His condition has not yet been released.

Albany Police are investigating. Extra officers have been called to the scene to assist. 

Jennifer Lewke is on the scene. You can follow her on twitter at @CBS6Jennifer

State paid $1M to settle gov't sex harassment cases

Posted: Mar 04, 2013 5:25 PM EST

Updated: Mar 04, 2013 5:25 PM EST

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Records obtained by The Associated Press show that state officials spent more than $1 million in public money over the past four years to settle sexual harassment claims against state workers.

Almost half of the cases were settled in court last year as Albany was embroiled in a scandal over a $103,000 settlement paid to women who accused Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment. Lopez has denied harassing anyone and was easily re-elected to his Brooklyn seat in November.

The records obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law show 13 women and one man brought cases against several agencies.

The largest payout was for $650,000.

Records from the state comptroller show millions more in cash settlements, but don't identify which cases involved sexual harassment claims.

Film Screening: The Economics of Happiness

Thursday, March 7 at 7 PM @ the Castleton Library

"The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, an unholy alliance of governments and big business continues to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, people all over the world are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power, they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization." 

Visit www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org for more information about the film.

Opponents of NY’s new gun-control law rally outside the Capitol

ALBANY — Thousands of angry opponents of New York’s new gun-control law rallied outside the Capitol yesterday to vent their anger at Gov. Cuomo and demand a repeal of the state’s strict new rules on guns.

Shannon DeCelle

“What’s happened in New York is outrageous,” Keene said after the rally. “Nothing in the legislation that he’s passed is going to prevent another Newtown.”

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For Immediate Release

Contact:  Nina Martino 732-7023

Subject: Friends of the Castleton Public Library’s Annual Meeting

The Friends of the Castleton Public Library will hold their Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 17th at 7pm in the upstairs Library Programming Room. This meeting will review 2012, plan for 2013 and elect Officers and Trustees. If you are interested in one of these positions, please emailfriendsofcastletonlibrary@yahoo.com for details.  

  

Sequester Deadline All But Blown, Obama Hopes For Big Deal

Automatic spending cuts set to go into effect at midnight.

The president has summoned the top bipartisan congressional leadership to the White house, a meeting designed to give all sides a chance to stake out their fiscal positions with a new threat of a government shutdown less than four weeks away. There were no expectations of a breakthrough.

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BACK IN THE BLAME GAME

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday that Republicans were right to feel hurt after President Barack Obama gave speeches on the looming sequester.

"Well, no one can think that's been a success for the president. He didn't think the sequester would happen. It is happening," Romney said...

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DWI charge for TV director

David Ciliberti, in charge of news at WTEN, WXXA, arrested early Thursday

By Jordan Carleo-Evangelist

Updated 8:47 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013

City Court Judge Rachel Kretser released Ciliberti on his own recognizance and ordered him to return to court on March 21.

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