September 8, 2013

Arkansas SWAT officers kill man, 107, in standoff


Posted: Sep 08, 2013 10:53 AM EDTUpdated: Sep 08, 2013 4:03 PM EDT
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - A 107-year-old man was killed after SWAT officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home, police in the southeastern Arkansas city of Pine Bluff said Sunday.
Police were called to the home Saturday afternoon about a disturbance and say officers arrived to find Monroe Isadore had threatened two people by pointing a weapon at them.

September 7, 2013

Obama Rejects G20 Pressure To Abandon Syria Air Strike Plan

By Matt Spetalnick and Alexei Anishchuk

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama resisted pressure on Friday to abandon plans for air strikes against Syria and enlisted the support of 10 fellow leaders for a "strong" response to a chemical weapons attack.

Obama refused to blink after Russian President Vladimir Putin led a campaign to talk him out of military intervention at a two-day summit of the Group of Twenty developed and developing economies in St. Petersburg.

He persuaded nine other G20 nations plus Spain to join the United States in signing a statement calling for a strong international response, although it fell short of supporting military strikes, underscoring the deep disagreements that dominated the summit.

A senior U.S. official said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the only European leader at the summit who did not sign the statement, held off because she wanted to let the European Union have a chance to weigh in first.
Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, made clear on Thursday that the United States had given up trying to work with the Security Council on the issue, and accused Russia of holding it hostage.

September 6, 2013

Two startups find a home in a Schodack middle school basement

Reporter- The Business Review

The Schodack Central School Districtmoved in its first twostartup companies this fall, and Bob Horan is expanding the reciprocal arrangement.
Horan, Schodack’s superintendent, sees dual benefits to giving free space to the two fledgling energy companies, MICROrganic Technologies and Tumalow.
In exchange for the free space (both companies are miles away from generating revenue yet), the owners will give their time to students, and their expertise to faculty members who will develop curricula and experiments based on the companies’ technologies.
Horan said both companies’ technologies fit well with Schodack’s biotech, semiconductor and energy programs.
“It’s a great trade-off,” said Horan, who is preparing to sign on a third startup. The companies’ first introduction to the school community drew 50 faculty members.

Wrecks stop Route 7 traffic

GREEN ISLAND — A two-car accident involving a school bus full of football players halted rush-hour traffic leaving Troy on Route 7 westbound Friday evening, officials and a witness said.
Tom Nastars, who drove by the accident just before the exit for Interstate 787, said it appeared that an East Greenbush Central School District bus had been involved in an accident with a car that "looked like it was completely smashed and had spun around" before coming to rest in the middle of the westbound lanes.
The bus was full of Columbia High Schoolfootball players and coaches heading to a game against Shenendehowa, and Nastars said no one appeared to be injured in the accident. A Colonie Emergency Services dispatcher said one minor injury had been reported shortly after the accident.
The bus reportedly arrived at the field shortly before 6:30 p.m., pushing back the start time by one hour.
The Department of Transportation shut down Route 7 westbound shortly after the accident. The road was reopened at 6:40 p.m., with continued delays, according to the DOT.
Nastars said when he passed the accident just before 6 p.m., traffic had come to a standstill.
Meanwhile, Nastars said a fender-bender on the eastbound side of Route 7 across from the westbound accident had slowed traffic to a crawl. The DOT announced at 5:45 p.m. that the eastbound lanes were closed and motorists should expect long delays.


The exhaust pipe of the bus went right through the car!" said one witness.

Word is everyone is fine.  The team made it to the game, just a little late! 

September 4, 2013

Ariel Castro found dead in prison cell

Tribune staff and wire reports

Ariel Castro, sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape and beatings of three Cleveland women he held captive for years in his house, was found hanged in his prison cell Tuesday night, a state corrections official said.
The former school bus driver, who was under protective custody and isolated from other inmates at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, was found dead at about 9:20 p.m. when prison staff were making their rounds, Rehabilitation and Correction Department spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.
After prison medical personnel tried to resuscitate him, Castro, 53, was transferred to an area hospital and pronounced dead about 90 minutes later, she said.
Castro was sentenced on Aug. 1 to life plus 1,000 years in prison without the possibility of parole for abducting his three victims and keeping them imprisoned in the dungeon-like confines of his house, where they were starved, beaten and sexually assaulted for about a decade.

Read more... 


CLEVELAND, Ohio — It's been just four months since Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were found in the Seymour Avenue home of Ariel Castro.
Now, the swift-moving story that caught the attention of the world has taken another staggering turn. Castro, 53, was found dead in his prison cell Tuesday night at theCorrectional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, south of Columbus.