WLIU: NYC Area News (2009-11-20)

AP-NYC--Right Now,1217

Latest news, sports, business and entertainment:

NY GOVERNOR'S RACE
GOP advisers: Giuliani leans toward a Senate race

NEW YORK (AP) - Two state Republican advisers say Rudy Giuliani
has not decided whether to run for governor of New York but is
becoming more interested in running for the U.S. Senate.
The advisers spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity
because they weren't authorized to speak for the state Republican
Party or Giuliani.
Republicans have been watching polls showing that Giuliani, the
former New York City mayor, would beat Democratic Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand in a hypothetical matchup in the Senate race next year.
The polls also show that Giuliani would lose in a run for
governor to the popular attorney general, Andrew Cuomo.

OFF-DUTY OFFICER-SHOOTING
Police: Off-duty NYPD cop shoots man outside bar

NEW YORK (AP) - Authorities are investigating a shooting outside
a bar on Long Island involving an off-duty New York City police
officer that left a man in critical condition.
Suffolk County Police say the shooting happened during an
altercation between a group of men leaving Napper Tandy's Pub in
Miller Place just after 1 a.m. Thursday.
Police say the off-duty officer drew his 9 millimeter service
weapon and shot 23-year-old Atiba Watkins, of Central Islip, once
in the torso. Watkins was taken to Stony Brook University Medical
Center where he was listed in critical but stable condition.
Police say witnesses said Watkins brandished a knife at the time
he was shot. A knife was recovered at the scene. No arrests have
been made.
Authorities have not released the officer's name. The Suffolk
County District Attorney's Office is investigating. An NYPD
spokesman declined comment.

JUNIOR GOTTI
NYC 'Junior' Gotti jury goes home for weekend

NEW YORK (AP) - Jurors deliberating racketeering charges against
John "Junior" Gotti say they're unable to agree on a verdict.
The judge presiding over the trial in Manhattan federal court
sent the jurors home Thursday and told them they would return
Monday to keep deliberating. They have been doing so for more than
a week.
The trial is the fourth time prosecutors have sought a
conviction against Gotti. Three previous trials ended in hung
juries.
In the latest case, the government linked Gotti to murders in
the 1980s and 1990s and to drug trafficking. He claims he quit the
mob more than a decade ago.
His father died in prison while serving a life term for a 1992
murder and racketeering conviction.

STUDENT SHOT
5 NYC suspects arraigned in student shooting

NEW YORK (AP) - A baby-faced 16-year-old and four other young
men have been arraigned on attempted murder charges in a Bronx
shooting that left an innocent bystander in critical condition.
The suspects did not enter pleas on Thursday. They are being
held until their next court date, on Nov. 23.
Prosecutors say 15-year-old Vada Vasquez was shot as she walked
home from school. She is in a medically induced coma.
Prosecutors say the suspects had targeted 19-year-old Tyrone
Creighton after his brothers got involved in a fight at Rikers
Island prison. He has a bullet in his lung.
Defense attorneys did not return calls seeking comment. The
mother of two of them said outside court her sons were innocent.
The defendants are also charged with assault and criminal
possession of a weapon.

FLIGHT DELAYS
Senator: FAA needs resources to prevent glitches

ATLANTA (AP) - New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer says the Federal
Aviation Administration needs more resources to prevent problems
like the computer glitch that's causing cancellations and flight
delays nationwide.
The Democrat says in a statement that the previous FAA's neglect
and poor management has left the current FAA and the public with an
aviation system "in shambles."
He says without more resources, glitches that cause delays and
chaos across the country will happen more regularly.
The FAA says the glitch has been fixed but it's unclear how much
longer flights might be affected.

CONCRETE TESTING PROBE
Jury selection begins in NYC concrete-test trial

NEW YORK (AP) - Jury selection has started for the racketeering
trial of a company accused of doctoring concrete strength tests for
ground zero's signature tower, the new Yankee Stadium and other
major New York City-area buildings.
A Manhattan judge told prospective jurors Thursday that the case
against Testwell Laboratories Inc. and four executives could take
until early March.
Prosecutors say the company altered and outright invented
concrete and steel test results for more than 100 projects. The
defendants say the disputed results reflect minor adjustments,
mistakes or common industry practices.
The stadium, ground zero's Freedom Tower and some other projects
have been retested and declared safe. Authorities are awaiting
results for at least 71 more.

POSTAL MUSEUM DONATION
NYC stamp auction raises $3.2 million for museum

NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City gallery has auctioned over 200
rare postage stamps to raise $3.2 million for the Smithsonian
National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wall Street money manager William Gross' collection of Civil
War-era Confederate states and early Canadian stamps sold Thursday
at the Spink Shreves Galleries of New York and Dallas.
Gross recently pledged $8 million to build a new gallery at the
museum. A $3.2 million check was presented to the museum's director
after the auction as part of that donation.
A gallery spokesman says a record price of $260,000 was paid for
a single Canadian stamp, a black 12 pence stamp of Queen Victoria
from 1851.
The winning bids do not include an additional buyer's premium of
fifteen percent.

FASHION-VICTORIA'S SECRET
Heidi Klum wows crowd at Victoria's Secret show

NEW YORK (AP) - Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade
at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show, which returned to New
York with some fresh faces after four years on the road.
The lingerie retailer inducted five more women into its
"Angel" ranks - a designation reserved for top models - in front
of a packed house Thursday night at the Lexington Avenue Armory.
But Klum, who gave birth to a daughter five weeks ago, was the
audience favorite in her purple corset covered with a half gown
with poufs of tulle.
Musical guest The Black Eyed Peas - especially Fergie, its only
female member, who wore a black, jeweled bodysuit - was another
crowd-pleaser.
CBS will broadcast the show on Dec. 1.

BROOKLYN ARENA
NYC groups sue to block deal for Nets arena

NEW YORK (AP) - Opponents of the Brooklyn arena planned for the
New Jersey Nets have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a state
agency's approval of a modified plan for the project.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Manhattan state Supreme Court.
It seeks to block a Sept. 17 move by the Empire State Development
Corp. to approve a delayed construction plan for the Atlantic Yards
project.
The suit was filed by several elected officials and Brooklyn
neighborhood groups.
The Empire State Development Corp. had no immediate comment.
The lawsuit is the latest of several legal challenges to the
22-acre Atlantic Yards project.
Developer Forest City Ratner said, "It should not surprise
anyone that opponents who pledged to sue early and often are still
suing."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-11-20-09 0332EST