New York News Blog

On Thursday Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot up Fort Hood, killing 12. Though a soldier for 12 years, Hasan apparently demonstrated, out loud, loyalty and affection for global jihad. It's appropriate to ask what such a person was doing in the U.S. Army.

Rightbloggers saw a bigger problem, though: the liberal media. Though they got nearly all of their information about Hasan from such sources, they yet accused them of trying to cover up his Muslim roots, and even of excusing his massacre.

In the aftermath of the shooting, mainstream sources hustled to get the facts quickly, but not quickly enough for the Media Research Council, which complained, "CBS and NBC Fail to ID Hasan as Muslim," while celebrating ABC's Charlie Gibson, who "wasn't cowed by political correctness" and revealed Hasan was "a Muslim convert" -- though Hasan was apparently born into a Muslim family.

MRC did note with approval that "all three morning shows on Friday identified the man who killed 12 at an Army base in Texas as a Muslim," but was disturbed that Diane Sawyer quoted a person who said "I wish his name had been Smith." Disturbed also was C. Edmund Wright who, in a 1,100-word peroration on Sawyer's reference, said, "Hasan -- had some decidedly un-Smith like beliefs... And that's the real story here. He was not named Smith. He didn't act like a Smith or talk like a Smith or have allegiances like a Smith. He was so not-a-Smith that someone should have noticed." It's an interesting analysis, but to remain at full combat strength, the Army will probably have to at least consider allowing soldiers named Jones to serve as well....

​The NYPD's Most Wanted Fugitive, according to the police Crimestoppers.com website, was caught in Rocky Mount NC over the weekend by New York and Rocky Mount police, and the U.S. Marshals service.

Rasheem Williams, known to the Post as the "Red Sox bandit" after the hat he was wearing for one crime, was wanted for 15 subway robberies in which he showed a knife or said he had a gun, and then demanded victims' valuables, bank cards, and PIN numbers. Williams struck one female victim in the face when she didn't cooperate.

Williams was arrested with Jamal Williams and Michael Lewis. Lewis was also wanted by New York for parole violations.

​Rescue Ink, a group of extremely large animal rights activists with their own TV show, helped uncover a gruesome case of animal torture and killing on Long Island yesterday.

​Mayor Bloomberg announced today that travel information questions which were previously handled by MTA call centers will now be handled at 311. Previously, 311 was forwarding the 370,000 MTA-related calls they already get to MTA operators, and people calling directly had to choose from sixty different contact numbers on the MTA website.

Service bulletins for NYCTA are also available online here.

​The Rev. Andrew O'Connor, who serves in what he describes as "the parish of Jennifer Lopez," has an untraditional sideline. O'Connor, who has been making patterns since he was 16, designs and manufactures high-priced hand-sewn clothing out of hand-woven organic cotton fabric. Anna Wintour is a fan.

​The city has started renovation work on the Philip Johnson-designed New York State Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadow Park. Volunteers have begun clearing weeds and debris from the inside of the space so that workmen can put down a layer of sand and gravel to protect the terrazzo map of New York State on the floor of the circular Tent of Tomorrow structure. The Pavillion also included the towers used as space ships in Men in Black.

​The Port Authority has announced plans to evict the Open Door Drop In Center, which provides showers and health services for homeless people, to make way for either the planned westward extension of the 7 line or additional space for bus terminal employees, depending who you ask.

A Florida man whose defense said that he was too fat to have killed his former son in law was convicted of murder in Hackensack Superior Court. Edward Ates' lawyers argued that at almost 300 pounds, he would have been too winded after climbing the stairs from the basement of Paul Duncsak's home where the first shot was fired to the first floor where the rest of the six shots were fired to aim a gun. He admitted on the stand to being a good enough marksman to have shot a snake after the murder.

​Ellis Island was evacuated yesterday after a transformer fire shut off electricity, trapping visitors in elevators. Jersey City Fire and Emergency Services Department responded to a call about the elevator problem at 12:50, and discovered a failed transformer in the mechanical room of the Immigration Museum. The National Parks Service plans to reopen the island today.

Most of the Immigration Museum is on New York land, but a 1998 Supreme Court decision gave control of the portion of the island made up of landfill to New Jersey.

​The Bronx Zoo is celebrating its 110th birthday today, with cake, performances by their house performance troupe, and the rollout of three clydesdale horses.

The Zoo, which back then was called the New York Zoological Park, was opened on November 8, 1899 by what was then called the New York Zoological Society, which included Teddy Roosevelt and other wildlife-minded rich people.

It's since been renamed the Wildlife Conservation Society, in an attempt to reflect their role in global wildlife conservation research. Their facilities were supposed to be renamed Wildlife Conservation Centers, to get away from the word "zoo," which was thought to have negative connotations (they seem to have given up on that, at least as far as what they refer to on their webpage as their four zoos are concerned).

Ranger, Jesse, and Monty, the clydesdales, are giving carriage rides ($5) as part of a more eco-friendly holiday celebration to replace the popular but energy-intensive holiday lights.