Fla. sinkhole gets bigger amid concerns swallowed man dead, house could collapse

APJeff Bush's family and friends hug outside of the house where a sinkhole swallowed Bush in his bedroom.SEFFNER, Fla. — Engineers worked gingerly Saturday to find out more about a slowly growing sinkhole that swallowed a Florida man in his bedroom, believing the entire house could eventually succumb to the unstable ground.Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom...

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Families at Long Beach elementary schools getting $1,000 each in Sandy aid from Cantor Fitzgerald

The Long Island town of Long Beach was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. Now families at the town's five elementary schools are getting $1,000 each in storm relief from the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick announced in January that the firm would give a total of $10 million to families in 19 schools affected by...

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Violent homeless crowd attacking patrons at Think Coffee shop

A violent homeless crowd is plaguing a popular Chelsea coffee shop — repeatedly attacking customers and each other with chairs and tables, the store’s management said. Think Coffee manager Matt Fury told cops yesterday that he’s concerned with a lack of police response to his company’s 8th Avenue location, near 14h Street, where 911 calls are constant.“One...

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Subway push gal fires family attorney, found fit for trial again

REUTERSErika Menendez in police custody.Now taxpayers are footing the bill for the self-proclaimed Muslim hater who pushed an innocent man to his death in front of a subway train. Erika Menendez, 31, was found fit for trial today for a second time. And she also fired her family-retained attorneys because she distrusts them and chose court-appointed attorney...

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Apple to hand out iTunes credits in settlement

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple has agreed to give more than $100 million in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that the iPhone and iPad maker improperly charged kids for playing games on their mobile devices.The federal case centers on allegations that Apple didn't create adequate parental controls to prevent children from buying extra features...

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Jury hears openings in 'cannibal cop' case

APGilberto Valle is seen in federal court today.Gilberto Valle's mind is full of sick thoughts — and he wants a jury to know it.His own lawyer has shown prospective jurors a kinky staged photo of a woman trussed up in a roasting pan to test their tolerance for the officer's "weird proclivities."Prosecutors say an NYPD officer wanted to kidnap, torture and...

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Man nearly hacks wife to death with meat cleaver

Gregory P. MangoCrime tape at the scene of today's fightA meat cleaver-wielding maniac attacked his wife in front of two New York firefighters, who had been trying to break up their fight, officials said.The man and woman were loudly arguing in front of Fong’s Trading at 74 Canal St. at 10:24 a.m. when two of New York’s Bravest—stationed across the street...

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Off-duty transit worker busted for drunk driving

An off-duty transit worker was busted for drunk driving in Brooklyn early today, authorities saidCops spotted MTA employee Rosario Luis, 49, sleeping in a black 2010 Acura in Bedford Stuyvesant shortly before 1:30 a.m. today.Half of his car was on the sidewalk at the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Vernon Avenue, police sources said.The vehicle was still...

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'Latin American Idol' winner busted smuggling 2.9 lbs of heroin stuffed into high heels

REUTERSA combination photo shows (clockwise top L) Martha Heredia , 22, the drugs which were found on her possession, the shoes in which the drugs were hidden in, Heredia's luggage and other personal items.SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A winner of the TV talent show "Latin American Idol" who was once loved by thousands in her native Dominican Republic...

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Brooklyn Heights woman steals $33K from child

A Brooklyn Heights woman stole $33,000 meant for a child whose grandmother had died, authorities said. Katrina Perry, 56, took benefits meant to support her own niece who had been adopted by Perry’s mother and the child’s grandmother, investigators said. The grandmother received checks to support her granddaughter, who is also Perry’s niece, but she died...

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'I did these things' : Jesse Jackson Jr. in tearful guilty plea

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., holding back tears, entered a guilty plea Wednesday in federal court to criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison under a plea deal with prosecutorsBefore entering the plea to the conspiracy charge, Jackson told...

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Hackers hit Apple in latest cyber attack from China

Apple Inc computers were attacked by the same hackers who targeted Facebook Inc, but no data appeared to have been stolen, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented admission of a widespread cyber-security breach.Facebook revealed on Friday that unidentified hackers traced to China had staged a sophisticated attack by infiltrating its employees' laptops,...

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Burger King's Twitter account hacked, becomes mouthpiece for McDonald's

@BurgerKing via TwitterBurger King's official Twitter page shortly after being hacked.At noon today, Burger King's official Twitter account announced that the Whopper-slinging burger chain had been sold to McDonald's.Unfortunately for McDonald's fans, the announcement was the result of Burger King's account being hacked.The unknown hackers changed the background...

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Car bombs in Baghdad leave at least 37 dead, more than 100 wounded

BAGHDAD — Car bombs tore through shopping areas within minutes of each other in mainly Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital on Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 100.The attacks come amid rising sectarian discord in Iraq and appear aimed at shaking Iraqis' confidence in the Shiite-led government. The explosions struck at the...

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Playgrounds to honor Newtown massacre victims being built in communities recovering from Hurricane Sandy

TRENTON, NJ — The state's largest firefighter union is remembering the 26 victims of December's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre in Connecticut by building a playground to honor each one in a community recovering from Superstorm Sandy.New Jersey and New York will get 10 playgrounds each, and Connecticut will get six. Each playground will link...

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NJ Sen. Lautenberg says he's 'not announcing a retirement,' but won't seek sixth term

PATERSON, NJ — A day after announcing he would not seek a sixth term, Democratic US Sen. Frank Lautenberg said he will spend his last two years in office fighting for the same causes he always has, including tougher gun control laws."I am not announcing a retirement," Lautenberg said in a speech in his hometown of Paterson. "I am announcing today I will...

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Baldwin 'stalker' rejects no-jail plea deal in harassment case

The perky French Canadian model accused of stalking Alec Baldwin is saying "Non!" -- for now -- to the Manhattan DA's no-jail offer, insisting she will not jump through all of the prosecutorial "hoops" being required of her."There are some hoops that they want my client to jump through, that we're trying to resolve," the defense lawyer for pretty, blonde...

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Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson's love letters to be released on Valentine's Day

AUSTIN, Texas — The entire collection of nearly 100 love letters written between Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson during their 2½-month courtship in 1934 is being made available to the public for the first time beginning on Valentine's Day.The letters at the LBJ Presidential Library at the University of Texas show an impatient Johnson, then a 26-year-old congressional aide, eager to marry 21-year-old...

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Mom tells Dr. Phil son saw shooting of standoff suspect in bunker

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. — The mother of an Alabama boy held hostage in an underground bunker for days says her son witnessed officers fatally shoot his kidnapper.Jennifer Kirkland's comments about her son, Ethan, came in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw for the "Dr. Phil Show." It's set to be aired Wednesday; a clip already is posted online.Kirkland says her son saw officers shoot the gunman identified...

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'Spidey' claims self-defense after allegedly hitting woman in Times Square

A Times Square Spider-Man claimed he was acting in self-defense when he slugged a woman who refused to tip him him yesterday.Philip Williams, 35-year-old Williamsburg resident, was released without having to post bail this morning after he was charged with assault and harassment. Williams had posed for pictures with the 44-year-old woman's kids but didn't...

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