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Sandy Hook memorial.

A Bronx resident who prosecutors say set up a Paypal for donations in the wake of the Newtown massacre has been charged with identity theft and scheming to defraud by the state. In January, Nouel Alba had already been indicted for lying to FBI agents, but on Tuesday she was slapped doubly by the Bronx District Attorney's office.

According to the federal complaint, the same day that 26 teachers and children were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, Alba posted to Facebook that she was the aunt of one of the victims. The following day, December 15, Alba allegedly posted on her Facebook that she had set up a funeral fund.

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Sam Levin

Christine Quinn, with her father standing behind her, tells story of her grandmother's escape from the Titanic.

In the race to be the next mayor of New York City, there's one thing that definitely makes City Council Speaker Christine Quinn unique: Her grandmother survived the Titanic.

Though she's been making the rounds telling the story this month, for many years, it was a secret.

Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor in 2013, today held an official ceremony commemorating the Titanic Centennial at Titanic Park at the South Street Seaport, which has a new exhibit called "Titanic at 100: Myth and Memory."

"Clearly, the Titanic is a bit of a fascination for people," she said. "I think in part people are interested so significantly in the story of the Titanic, because it's such a human story. There was a ship that was supposed to be the greatest thing ever, unsinkable, the most wonderful luxury liner ever, and it went down...Within that, there's all the different struggles of human sacrifice, people giving their lives for others."

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Yesterday Jerome Isaac was arraigned on murder charges in Brooklyn Supreme Court for the death of 73-year-old Deloris Gillespie, who, in December, he allegedly sprayed with flammable liquid and set on fire in her elevator in Prospect Heights. He was caught on video doing all of this, which led rather quickly to police finding him. Of course, he also burned half of his face in the awful act, and, oh yes, he turned himself in to cops. But, apparently, he forgot that part because at his arraignment he announced, "If the video wasn't there, you would still be looking for me."

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Following up on the elevator tragedy that caused the death of Suzanne Hart, a Y&R ad executive working at 285 Madison Avenue, the New York Post reports that Transel, the elevator maintenance company responsible for the elevator (work was reportedly done hours before the accident that killed Hart), has been sued at least eight times from people who say they were injured in its various -- some 2,500 in the city -- elevators.

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gigmasters.com

The victims of the Stamford fire.

Yesterday we brought you the tragic story of the five people -- three girls and their grandparents -- who died when a fire engulfed their Stamford, Conn. home. Now, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia has told the Associated Press that the fire "fireplace-related," according to the New York Times. Pavia also said that there was no foul play.

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via

A Christmas tragedy struck Stamford, Conn. early yesterday morning, three children and their two grandparents died in a fire that overtook a Victorian house, the New York Times reported. The owner of the house -- advertising executive Madonna Badger -- escaped from the flames that killed her children and parents. A family friend also got out.

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There are some updates in the truly awful story of a man who burned an elderly woman to death in her elevator at 203 Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights this weekend. Jerome Isaac, 47, was arrested yesterday after he turned himself in, 8 hours after he killed 73-year-old Deloris Gillespie. Cops say that Isaac, who does not have a prior criminal record, claimed Gillespie owed him money ($2,000) -- a matter over which he'd apparently been harassing her for a while. Gillespie, who was described by her son as "the mother of the community" and by a neighbor as a "community activist," had hired Isaac to help clean out her apartment but fired him when she discovered he was stealing.

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Salim Virji

Two more NYC cyclists were killed in traffic this week.

Two more bicyclists were killed in New York City traffic this week. Last night a 60-year-old man was killed near Rockaway Beach as he attempted to change lanes. The cyclist, whose identity hasn't yet been released, was taken to the hospital, where he died. Police arrested Jonathan Rincon, the 21-year-old behind the wheel of the Acura that struck the man, for driving with a suspended license.

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​Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right Christian extremist who killed at least 93 people in two coordinated attacks in Norway yesterday, has admitted to his crimes and says he acted alone. He has commented via a lawyer, Geir Lippestad: "He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," Lippestad told Norwegian public TV. However, "he feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment." Breivik, whose manifesto detailing his racist anti-Islam, Christian fundamentalist views runs to 1500 pages, has not pled guilty to criminal charges and his claim of acting alone conflicts with some eyewitness accounts.

Norway mourned the victims of the Oslo bombing and Utoya massacre at a church memorial service in Oslo; King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were in attendance. "This represents a national tragedy," Stoltenberg said. According to reports, King Harald wept openly during the service.

[Reuters, CNN]

[@_rosiegray]

According to Norwegian TV, this is the YouTube manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the suspect charged with killing over 90 people in two coordinated attacks in Norway yesterday. Be warned: it contains extremely racist content.

There's also a written version; it runs over 1500 pages, and you can read it here. It's by "Andrew Berwick" (also the name of the YouTube account, "BerwickAndrew"), which could be an anglicized version of Breivik's name. Both detail Breivik's extreme-right, anti-Islam and anti-immigration views.

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