Groundhog Day confusion: More winter, says Phil; nope, say rivals

Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog famous for making midwinter weather forecasts, had his moment in the spotlight early Thursday and declared that winter is far from over. But the competition begs to differ.

From Canada to Staten Island to the tiny town of Dunkirk, N.Y., on the shores of Lake Erie, other groundhogs competing for the title of grand prognosticator offered differing opinions on this Groundhog Day, which marks the midway point of winter. Perhaps they were confused by the unseasonably warm weather across much of the eastern half of the country. The temperature Wednesday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport hit a record for the day: 64 degrees. That's more than 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.

Bob Will, who cares for Dunkirk Dave -- a groundhog in upstate New York -- along with many other sick and wounded marmots that he nurses back to health, calls the rivalry among groundhogs "a friendly competition." But he also pointed out that while Phil, the most famous of the woodchucks, is actually pulled from his hole and paraded in front of a crowd, Dunkirk Dave is allowed to slowly emerge on his own from a hibernation spot under the ground in Will's yard.

"That's what they do -- they pick them up by the neck and hold them up," Will said of the event at Gobbler's Knob, Pa., which was unfolding as Dunkirk Dave poked his head above ground and apparently didn't spot a shadow, promising early spring weather. "But ours is in the ground. We always kid them and say ours is more accurate."

Still, Punxsutawney Phil remains the big star in this competition, and as the sun slowly began creeping above the hills and trees of rural Pennsylvania on Thursday, thousands crowded Gobbler's Knob to await his annual prediction. Legend has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow, winter weather will last another six weeks. If no shadow appears, an early spring is on the way. 

After Phil was held aloft by a member of the elite Inner Circle of groundhog protectors and handlers, he was placed on a podium. Members of the Inner Circle, dressed in top hats, tuxedos and bow ties, leaned in close and stared intently at Phil, who stared out at the anxious crowd.

Finally, the marmot made his decision.

A handler held him aloft and declared: "After casting an appreciative glance to the thousands of faithful followers in attendance, Phil proclaimed, 'As I look at the crowd on Gobbler's Knob, many shadows do I see. Six more weeks of winter it must be.'"

A few boos emerged from the spectators.

A similar event at the Staten Island Zoo in New York City yielded a far happier outcome. There, Staten Island Chuck did not see his shadow, and springtime weather was declared just around the corner. Perhaps best of all for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had the task of holding Chuck up for all to see, there was no repeat of the 2009 performance during which the animal bit the mayor's finger.

Still, Bloomberg wasn't taking any chances. He wore protective gloves.

-- Tina Susman in New York

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Photo: Handler Ron Ploucha holds Punxsutawney Phil during the 126th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Credit: Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

Police raid 5-story New York pot farm, an indoor marijuana jungle

Urban gardening has become a trend in New York City, but police sniffing around a five-story building in the Bronx found an urban garden of a different type: an indoor jungle of marijuana plants growing on every floor, some far taller than the cops who raided the unusual jungle.

On Tuesday evening, police carted 593 towering plants from the otherwise unremarkable brick building, as well as 75 pounds of marijuana cut, dried and packaged in plastic, ready for distribution. Authorities said that by a "conservative estimate," the operation did at least $3 million in business last year. Three men were arrested in connection with the case.

It certainly wasn't the biggest marijuana bust in New York City, not by a long shot. In 2009, 50,000 pounds of marijuana was found stuffed in a home in Queens, and there have been plenty of other bigger busts in the region.

What made Tuesday's discovery unusual was the location of the farm: a busy urban area on a block lined with similar five-story walk-up buildings occupying people, not leafy trees thriving under a sophisticated air filtration, irrigation and lighting system with fans and sprinklers to ensure healthy crops.

Police said they began investigating the building two months ago after at least one complaint from an area resident about shady activities there. But it was not clear if most neighbors knew what was going on inside the structure. Most of those who spoke with local media as they watched police carting out sacks of pot plants said they were stunned.

"It's terrible. Too close to  home," one woman told the local ABC TV affiliate, WABC. "I've walked through here for maybe three or four years and I never, ever would have thought that they would have a pot factory in this building," a man said.

Others, however, told reporters that the odor wafting from the urban farm was noticeable and sometimes got innocent people into trouble. "Cops come on the block and smell weed and pull us over and harass us, and no one is smoking," Andre Cardona told the Daily News. 

-- Tina Susman in New York

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Photo: A police officer stands amid a pot farm found in the Bronx. Credit: New York Police Department

Shopping cart hurled from above at Bronx mall injures 2

 

A shopping cart hurled from an overhead walkway at a New York City shopping mall seriously injured two men in a case reminiscent of an October incident that left a woman brain-damaged after a pair of youngsters pushed a heavy cart over a ledge onto pedestrians below.

One of the victims in Monday's incident, identified only as a 52-year-old man, is in critical condition, local news reports said. The other, a 30-year-old man, is in stable condition.

No suspects were in custody, but police were reviewing surveillance video at the Gateway shopping center in the Bronx, which is near Yankee Stadium.

"There was a gash on his forehead, you could literally see his skull," one witness told NY1 news. "I just ran in, grabbed his hand, tried to comfort him as much as I can, but the second one was not conscious at all. We had to actually wake him up. It was just, wow. One cart that hit both of them at the head."

The attack occurred outside a Home Depot store, and the cart apparently was pushed onto crowds from an upper level of an attached parking structure serving the store and the rest of the mall. 

A Home Depot cashier, Julie Ross, told the Daily News she heard a "thud" and then ran outside.

"It was pretty bloody," Ross said. "They were laying on the ground. One guy was trying to sit up, and the other guy was just laying there -- he wasn't moving."

Last Oct. 30, two boys pushed a shopping cart onto shoppers at a Manhattan mall, hitting a woman in the head and leaving her in a coma. She regained consciousness, but her husband has said she faces months of rehabilitative therapy to recover. Both boys pleaded guilty in family court to assault.

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-- Tina Susman in New York

Photo: Rows of shopping carts at a Home Depot store in New York. Credit: Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg

East Haven, Conn., police chief resigns amid Latino-abuse scandal

The police chief of East Haven, Conn., where four officers were arrested last week and accused of violating the rights of Latinos, is resigning under pressure, as calls continued for the mayor who appointed him to step down as well.

Chief Len Gallo's resignation was announced Monday at a news conference, with Mayor Joseph Maturo saying he was putting together a search committee to find a replacement, the Hartford Courant reported.

Gallo's lawyer, Jonathan J. Einhorn, said Gallo decided to step down to avoid becoming a "distracting element" in East Haven's efforts to recover from the scandal. The issue has enveloped the city since the Department of Justice in 2009 began investigating allegations that the police force targeted Latinos for abuse.

That probe led last week to the arrests of four officers in connection with harassment and abuse of Latinos, federal officials said. Einhorn said Gallo also could be charged in the case. "He is not guilty of any wrongdoing. He should not be arrested; if arrested, he will be acquitted of any charges," the lawyer said.

Gallo and Maturo have been hammered by demands from the Latino community that they step down, and those calls reached a crescendo last week after Maturo cracked that he would show his support for the Latino community by going home and eating tacos. Maturo, who made the quip to a reporter, has since apologized for it -- but that hasn't lessened the cries for his resignation.

A Facebook page calling for his ouster has 1,106 "likes." A petition launched on Change.org calling for Gallo's ouster had more than 15,000 signers by Monday morning.

-- Tina Susman in New York

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Photo: East Haven, Conn., Mayor Joseph Maturo appears at a news conference Monday to announce the departure of Police Chief Len Gallo. Credit: Jessica Hill/Associated Press

Uggs banned at Pennsylvania school to deter cellphone smugglers

Uggs may be ugly in some fashionistas' eyes, but should they be banned?

Yes, according to a Pennsylvania school principal who says the ubiquitous fur-lined, comfy boots and their imitators have become the hiding place of choice for cellphones and other gadgets that aren't supposed to be brought to class.

The ban takes effect Monday at Pottstown Middle School outside Philadelphia, where the principal, Gail M. Cooper, announced the rule last week in a letter to parents. The ban applies to boots that do not fit tightly around the calf or ankle, such as open-top Uggs. Boots with zippers or laces may still be worn, as long as they remain zipped and tied.

“We have been experiencing problems with some students wearing open top boots and carrying items in their boots that are prohibited in school,” Cooper's letter read, according to the Mercury newspaper. "Following several problems with these items, I have banned the outdoor, open top boots from our classrooms,” she wrote.

Under the school's policy, pupils who bring cellphones to school must leave them in their lockers and keep them turned off until the school day ends. But some boots fit in a way that allows kids to evade the rule, John Armato of the Pottstown School District told the Mercury. Fashion-conscious students may wear their Uggs to campus, but they'll have to change shoes before entering class.

The Mercury said the reaction to the ban had been overwhelmingly negative, and some of the comments on the newspaper's Facebook fan page reflected a mix of anger and amused incredulity. "Crazytown!!!" wrote one woman. "Ban their clothes and make them go to school naked," another said, pointing out that pants pockets also offer good hiding spots for gadgets.

But the school said it would not back down and noted that it had received support from some parents, such as Gail Beasley, who told the Mercury that "rude and ignorant" children got what they deserved. "Those kids ought to be glad that's all she's banning," Beasley said.

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-- Tina Susman in New York

Photo: Uggs have been banned by a suburban Philadelphia middle school principal after some kids smuggled cellphones into class with them. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Greg Kelly, New York police chief's son, faces rape allegation

The New York police chief's son, who is an anchorman on the local Fox TV affiliate, is under investigation after a woman accused him of rape, his attorney and the news station said Thursday.

Greg Kelly, the son of Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, did not appear in his usual anchor's chair on "Good Day New York" on Thursday. Co-anchors at WNYW attributed his absence to local media reports saying that the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., had been asked to look into accusations that Kelly raped a woman in October.

Kelly's lawyer, Andrew Lankler, confirmed the probe and in a short statement said his client "strenuously denies any wrongdoing."

"Mr. Kelly is aware that the New York County district attorney's office is conducting an investigation.  Mr. Kelly strenuously denies any wrongdoing of any kind, and is cooperating fully with the district attorney's investigation.  We know that the district attorney's investigation will prove Mr. Kelly's innocence," the statement emailed to the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations read.

Kelly, 43, is a longtime New York-based journalist who has covered the White House and the Iraq war, according to his biography. He also spent nine years as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot; his missions included enforcing a United Nations-imposed no-fly zone over Iraq. 

Local media reported that a woman claimed to have met Kelly on the evening of Oct. 8, had drinks at the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan, and then went to her office. It was there that the assault is alleged to have occurred. 

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-- Tina Susman in New York

Photo: New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, left, and his son, Greg Kelly, on March 3, 2009. Credit: Charles Sykes/Associated Press

New York elbows past Los Angeles as America's rudest city

New Yorkers are the rudest people in America, but they glower with glamour, according to the latest survey of Travel & Leisure magazine readers, who ranked New York more boorish than Los Angeles -- last year's champ -- but who also praised New Yorkers as the country's most stylish jerks.

All that rude behavior clearly hasn't discouraged tourists from flocking to Gotham. The results of the annual survey coincided with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's announcement that the city ended 2011 having hosted a record 50.5 million visitors, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year.

Travel experts say there are several factors that make New York the country's biggest tourist destination: the weak dollar; an increase in budget hotels; its unrivaled energy. The not-so-sweet disposition of its residents apparently is not one of the city's draws. The roughly 40,000 people who responded to the Travel & Leisure online survey rated New York dead last of 35 metropolitan areas in friendliness.

As one might expect, New Yorkers asked about the survey by the local all-news channel, NY1, argued against the findings -- if they bothered to respond at all. "I think it's wrong," said one man, adding that he always helps people who need directions. "That's all I do is give directions," he griped. Others said visitors mistook New Yorkers' typically frenzied pace for unfriendliness.

The city also ranked last for affordability, cleanliness and noise levels, but the fashion center of the country was tops in style and diversity.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, which was rated the rudest last year, moved into a warmer spot at No. 32 in that category, proving itself also nicer than Miami and Washington, D.C. But its improved behavior apparently didn't do much for the city's fashion sense: It was ranked fifth in the style category.

And for travelers looking for a friendly place to visit, the survey ranked New Orleans at the top of that list, followed by San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Nashville.

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-- Tina Susman in New York

Photo: It's not as mean as it looks. New York was ranked the rudest city in America in an online survey. Credit: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency

 

'Headless body in topless bar' convict denied parole

The inmate whose gruesome crime led to the famous 1983 tabloid headline "Headless body in topless bar" lost his bid for freedom Tuesday when a parole board concluded that he still was a danger to society.

Charles Dingle, who is 53, was convicted in the murder of a Queens bar owner and the rape of one of the bar employees, a topless dancer. During his drug-crazed rampage, Dingle also forced another woman whom he had taken hostage to cut off the slain bar owner's head, which was found in a box with Dingle when he was arrested.

This was Dingle's third attempt at parole, but the three-person parole board said Dingle had exhibited "continued poor behavior" behind bars as well as a "disturbing criminal history" that made him unsuitable for parole.

In 2010, Dingle told the New York Post -- which ran the famous headline -- that he was innocent. He is serving a 25-years-to-life sentence.

"Everything is not as it appears," Dingle said in the 2010 interview, saying the parole board in the state capital, Albany, wanted him to take responsibility for the crime. "I can't do it because I didn't do it," he said, vowing to keep fighting for his freedom.

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-- Tina Susman in New York

Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel seeks reduced murder sentence

Michael Skakel, the Kennedy family cousin  convicted of the murder of a teenage girl more than 25 years after the killing, goes before a Connecticut court Tuesday in hopes of having his sentence reduced.

Skakel was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for beating Martha Moxley to death with a golf club in 1975, when they were neighbors in the tony suburb of Greenwich, Conn. Skakel, who is a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, was 15 at the time of the crime, as was the victim.

The Halloween eve killing confounded police for decades, prompting allegations that the Kennedy family's clout had hampered the investigation. Skakel was 41 by the time he was convicted. His trial relied on circumstantial evidence and featured recollections of former Skakel classmates who testified about incriminating statements the defendant had made years earlier.

Skakel, who has always maintained his innocence, failed in a 2010 attempt to get his conviction overturned by the Connecticut Supreme Court after the justices said his allegations that two other men could be responsible were not credible. He also has alleged that his first defense attorney was incompetent.

The Hartford Courant reported that Skakel's attorneys would offer several arguments to a three-judge panel in Middletown, Conn., including the position that because Skakel was a juvenile when the crime was committed, he should have been sentenced under laws that capped juvenile sentences.

-- Tina Susman in New York

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Photo: Michael Skakel is escorted from court after a hearing on Aug. 17, 2000, before his trial in the slaying of Martha Moxley 27 years before.. Credit: Michael McAndrews / Hartford Courant

Court-martial recommended in U.S. soldier's death in Afghanistan

 

A U.S. military investigating commission has recommended that one of eight soldiers accused in the death of a fellow serviceman in Afghanistan be court-martialed on charges that include negligent homicide, battery and reckless endangerment, but not on the most serious allegation of manslaughter.

The recommendation was announced Monday following an Article 32 hearing in Afghanistan to determine whether Spc. Ryan Offutt should face charges in the death last October of Pvt. Danny Chen of New York.

Chen died of a gunshot wound at a base in southern Afghanistan, and military officials have said he shot himself. But they launched an investigation into his death amid allegations that Chen had faced relentless taunts and physical abuse by fellow soldiers.

Offutt, 32, of Greenville, Pa., is one of eight soldiers who were accused of mistreating Chen, who complained of abuse in messages to friends before he died. The other seven soldiers face their own Article 32 hearings in the next few weeks. Military commanders in Afghanistan will make the final decision on whether to follow the investigating officer's recommendations.

Elizabeth OuYang of the Organization of Chinese Americans, which had led calls for a probe of Chen's death, said the family was "very disappointed" that the involuntary manslaughter charge against Offutt, which carried a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, had been dropped.

"There is a big difference between a three- and a 10-year prison sentence," she told the New York all-news channel, NY1.

The Army has identified the other accused soldiers as 1st Lt. Daniel Schwartz, the only officer accused in the case; Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas of Port Arthur, Texas; Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel of Aberdeen, S.D.; Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb of Youngstown, Ohio; Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst of Brooklyn, Iowa; Spc. Thomas P. Curtis of Hendersonville, Tenn.; and Sgt. Travis F. Carden of Fowler, Ind.

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-- Tina Susman in New York

Video credit: Democracy Now, via YouTube