President Barack Obama last week pushed his plan to tie federal student loan interest rates to the market, and criticized a Republican plan passed by the House of Representatives that he said would cost borrowers more.

The mounting burden of student loan debt, now pegged at more than $1 trillion, with an average borrower owing $27,000, is seen as a drag on the economy and a barrier to people getting educations needed for better jobs.

Currently students pay the same fixed rate for federal student loans, set by the government at 3.4 percent, regardless of changes in other interest rates in the economy. If Congress does nothing, those rates are scheduled to rise to 6.8 percent on July 1.

“Higher education cannot be a luxury for a privileged few. It is an economic necessity that every family should be able to afford, every young person with dreams and ambitions should be able to access,” Obama, flanked by college students, said at an event in the White House Rose Garden.

In Obama’s plan, rates for subsidized federal student loans would be set every year based on the market plus 0.93 percent, but remain fixed for the life of the loan. His plan, for instance, would lock in rates for next year’s borrowers at 2.9 percent for the life of the loan.

He also would fully fund the Pell Grant program that helps low-income students, expand work-study programs and include an income-based repayment option.

Students who take out private student loans face more stringent repayment terms, making government-backed options a more attractive alternative.

But Obama’s plan eliminates a cap on interest rates, which critics say puts students at risk of paying higher rates on government student loans in the future.

The Republican plan, passed by the House last week, requires rates for subsidized and unsubsidized loans, known as Stafford loans, to be recalculated every year and pegged to 10-year Treasury notes, plus 2.5 percentage points. The plan caps interest rates for the loans at 8.5 percent.

Veto threat

Under that plan, a student who borrows the maximum amount of subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans over five years would pay $14,430 in interest, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. If rates double on July 1, a student would pay $12,598, compared with $7,965 at current rates.

“It could actually cost a freshman starting school this fall more over the next four years than if we did nothing at all and let the interest rates double on July 1,” Obama said. “The House bill isn’t smart and it’s unfair.”

The White House last week threatened to veto the House version of the bill. Democrats who control the Senate want to extend the current lower rates for another two years while they work on a more comprehensive long-term rate system.

Republicans including as House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline of Minnesota accused the president of politicizing the student loan issue, rather than ironing out the differences between the two plans.

“With time so short and the differences between our proposals so slight, today’s event was misguided and deeply disappointing,” Boehner said.

The Institute for College Access and Success opposes both plans, saying such market-based options could force borrowers to pay more later or turn to riskier private student loans at time when young people still face a tight job market amid a tough economy.

“Students and families need the assurance that federal student loans will remain affordable,” the institute’s president, Lauren Asher, told Reuters.

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Celebrities are no strangers to social media. They have a strong web presence. They tweet, the share personal photos on Instagram and update their Facebook pages. One thing they usually don’t do, is Skype with their fans.

A 45-year-old Connecticut man took advantage of the web to attract young, underage girls.

John Eastman is being accused of posing as pop sensation Harry Styles from One Direction online and convincing girls, some as young as 5 years old, to pose naked and perform sex acts.

Eastman’s charges include first-degree possession of child pornography, employing a minor in an obscene performance and using a computer to entice a minor, according to the Associated Press.

Eastman allegedly used the screen name Harry.Styles888 on Skype. He also had pictures of the pop star on his computer, which he used to convince children he was singer.

“My hope is that the girl will show me herself on camera and then pose in a sexual manner, or perform some kind of sex act for me to see,” Eastman told detectives, according to his arrest warrant.

According to the AP, Eastman would sometimes offer concert tickets in exchange for children posing naked or performing sex acts online.

Eastman’s computer reportedly contained more than 500 images of child pornography. He spent 10 years on the Connecticut sex offender registry but was taken off the list in 2009.

He is due back in court next Thursday.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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An Idaho man who admitted to breaking into a Boise zoo last year and killing a monkey was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Michael Watkins, 22, of Weiser, Idaho, in March pleaded guilty to attempted grand theft, a felony, and misdemeanor animal cruelty stemming from the break-in and beating death of the monkey at Zoo Boise in November.

The primate was one of the zoo’s two Patas monkeys, ground-dwelling animals from Africa that stand more than 2 feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds. They are rare in zoos but not endangered in the wild.

The case shook officials at the zoo and triggered an outpouring of sympathy and donations from animal lovers worldwide.

Watkins scaled the security fence at Zoo Boise in the pre-dawn hours of November 17 and attempted to steal the monkey, which bit him, police said. Watkins then kicked and hit the animal, severely wounding it, according to police. The monkey later died of blunt force trauma, zoo officials said.

Zoo Boise Director Steve Burns said on Thursday the sentencing of Watkins closed a particularly devastating chapter for the facility.

“We’re moving on,” he said. “The court has done its job and we’re continuing to do our job.”

In the days after the death, zoo staff sought to boost the spirits of the companion-less Patas monkey and considered shipping it to another zoo with primates since they are exceedingly social, Burns said.

Instead, Zoo Boise in December gained two female Patas monkeys donated by the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

News about the monkey’s death brought donations from across the United States and overseas, allowing the zoo to begin construction on Monday of a $250,000 exhibit for the three Patas monkeys, Burns said.

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Mayor Michael Nutter on Wednesday proposed tax increases on cigarettes and on liquor by the drink to raise money for the city’s school district.

Nutter’s proposal includes a $2 tax hike on cigarettes, and an increase on the liquor-by-the-drink tax from 10 percent to 15 percent. Along with plans for improved tax collections, the city expects to raise an estimated $95 million for the school district, which faces a $300 million deficit.

The liquor tax, which is expected to raise an estimated $22 million, would go into effect July 1.

The cigarette tax, which would begin Jan. 1, 2014, is expected to generate $45 million. Cigarettes are not included in the city’s current tobacco tax.

Tougher collections on delinquent real estate, liquor by the drink, lease and occupancy, and school income taxes would result in an additional $28 million, Nutter said.

“I propose these two use taxes, because we have raised general, broad-based taxes twice in the last two years on our residents and business owners and we cannot, and should not, keep asking them for more,” Nutter said.

Superintendent William Hite originally asked for $60 million from the city, $120 from the state and $133 million in union and non-union contract concessions to close the deficit. Hite said this announcement would not change the district’s request from the state.

Hite said he was “thrilled” the city “identified a path” to fixing the budget hole.

Nutter said the city would need a “shared sacrifice” to help fund the schools. “We have to look at this in a comprehensive fashion. Everyone has to be all-in on this one.”

Nutter said there are approximately 280,000 smokers in the city, and 2,100 smoking-related deaths each year, making it the leading cause of death in the city.

The new taxes will require approval from the State Assembly and Philadelphia City Council.

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Yahoo Inc plans to ramp up advertising and marketing efforts as it seeks to break its reliance on an “aging demographic” and become more relevant among young adults, the company’s finance chief said on Tuesday.

The struggling Web portal’s brand will be more visible on outdoor billboards and at sporting events, among other places, as it seeks to woo 18-to-34-year-olds and get the word out about new products, CFO Ken Goldman said at the conference in Boston on Tuesday.

“Part of it is going to be just visibility again in making ourselves cool, which we got away from for a couple of years,” said Goldman.

He noted that the efforts will require spending to advertise across various mediums. Goldman gave no specifics on budget or expenditures.

Yahoo is trying to reverse a multi-year decline in revenue and user engagement on its website, amid competition from new social networking and mobile websites such as Facebook Inc and Twitter, and from search giant Google Inc.

“One of our challenges is we have had an aging demographic, if you will,” said Goldman.

Marissa Mayer, who became Yahoo’s chief executive in July, was one of Google’s earliest employees and is respected in technology circles for her online product-design expertise. Since taking over, Mayer has launched new versions of key products, such as Yahoo’s Web email and its Flickr photo sharing service, and acquired several small start-up companies.

Yahoo shares have surged roughly 70 percent since Mayer took over, though analysts say much of the rise is due to stock buybacks and the growing value of Yahoo’s Asian assets.

Goldman hinted that Yahoo could buy back more shares once its current stock repurchase authorization is completed. He added, however, that any future buybacks would depend on the stock price.

“I do like the idea of buying back stock,” he said. “So I don’t necessarily suggest at all that the fact that we’ve got a little bit more to go on the existing purchase does not mean that we would not go beyond that and buy more.”

Goldman said the company continues to explore the best course of action for its 35 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, including everything from working with the company more closely to potentially selling the stake. He described Yahoo’s 2012 sale of half of its 40 percent stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group as “unfortunate” and a result of Yahoo’s unstable situation at the time.

Shares of Yahoo were up 1.4 percent at $26.75 on the Nasdaq at midday on Tuesday.

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Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, apologized on Monday for allowing journalists “limited” access to sensitive data about how clients used Bloomberg terminals, saying it was “inexcusable”, but that important customer data had always been protected.

His statement came as the European Central Bank said it was in “close contact with Bloomberg” about any possible breaches in the confidentiality of data usage. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, said they were examining whether there could have been leaks. A source briefed on the situation said the U.S. Treasury Department was looking into the question as well.

The practice of giving reporters access to some data considered proprietary – including when a customer looked into broad categories such as equities or bonds – came to light in media reports last week. In response, the parent company, Bloomberg LP, said it had restricted such access last month after Goldman Sachs Group Inc complained.

Winkler, in an editorial posted on Bloomberg.com, said: “Our reporters should not have access to any data considered proprietary. I am sorry they did. The error is inexcusable.”

Goldman flagged the matter to Bloomberg after the bank found that journalists had access to more information than it had known and argued the information was sensitive and should not be seen by reporters.

The news triggered fears at Wall Street firms about the privacy of sensitive data, as well as at the Fed and other U.S. government departments that use Bloomberg terminals.

In the editorial, Winkler sought to clarify what exactly Bloomberg journalists could see. He said they had access to a user’s login history, as well as “high-level types of user functions on an aggregated basis, with no ability to look into specific security information.”

He said the practice dates back to the early days of Bloomberg News in the 1990s, when reporters used the terminal to find out what kind of news coverage customers wanted.

“As data privacy has become a central concern to our clients, we should go above and beyond in protecting data, especially when we have even the appearance of impropriety,” Winkler wrote. “And that’s why we’ve made these recent changes to what reporters can access.”

BLOOMBERG’S BOOK

Data security was an issue that company founder Michael Bloomberg wrestled with in his 1997 book, “Bloomberg by Bloomberg.” In general, he wrote, restricting access to proprietary information can be an ineffective exercise.

Often “the whole data security issue is overblown at most corporations that think they have a lot to guard,” wrote Bloomberg, who has been mayor of New York City since 2002. “Pilferage and leakage are costs of doing business. Live with them. While some restrictions make sense, many are ridiculous.”

In his statement, Winkler emphasized that Bloomberg News “has never compromised the integrity of that data in our reporting” and said Bloomberg journalists are subject to standards that are among the most stringent in the business.

“At no time did reporters have access to trading, portfolio, monitor, blotter or other related systems,” he said. “Nor did they have access to clients’ messages to one another. They couldn’t see the stories that clients were reading or the securities clients might be looking at.”

Even though the information available to Bloomberg reporters was limited, senior Goldman executives argued that a trader could profit just by knowing what type of securities high-profile users were looking at, or what questions a government official raised with Bloomberg’s help desk, people with direct knowledge of their views said.

The issue made people inside the bank uncomfortable with even the Bloomberg marketing and sales team’s access to information, the sources said.

In disclosing the new restrictions set last month, Chief Executive Daniel Doctoroff said Bloomberg had created the position of client data compliance officer to ensure that its news operations never have access to confidential customer data.

Closely held Bloomberg, which competes with Thomson Reuters , the parent of Reuters News, gets the bulk of its revenue from terminal sales to financial institutions.

Bloomberg has more than 315,000 terminal subscribers globally, with each Bloomberg terminal costing more than $20,000 a year. Last year it posted revenue of $7.9 billion.

In a statement on Friday, Thomson Reuters said its news division operates “completely independently, with reporters having no access to non-public data on its customers, especially any data relating to its customers use of its products or services.”

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Warren Buffett accumulates Twitter followers even faster than he makes money.

The 82-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” joined the service and sent his first tweet on Thursday, picking up more than 45,000 followers in just under 45 minutes and 140,000 in the first three hours.

“Warren is in the house,” Buffett said under the handle “@WarrenBuffett.”

The handle was not officially verified by Twitter, but was confirmed by Fortune magazine, which hosted Buffett for a live webcast Thursday. It was billed as the first social media event for the notoriously technology-averse billionaire.

If followers were dollars, Buffett is having even more success on Twitter than he had with one of his best investments ever, his 2008 stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

That deal gave him preferred stock that paid dividends at $900 a minute. On Twitter, he has gathered 1,000 followers a minute.

By joining Twitter, the Berkshire Hathaway Inc chief executive officer now stands in good mogul company. Other relatively recent converts to the service include News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch (@RupertMurdoch) and former U.S. President Bill Clinton (@BillClinton).

(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa Von Ahn)

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Gas prices will drop to a national average of between $3.20 and $3.40 for the summer driving months, according to AAA.

Regular gas averaged $3.55 per gallon nationally in April–a three-year low for the month. That cost represents a roughly 13-cent decrease from March.

On Tuesday, gas averaged $3.51 across the country. One year earlier, on April 30, 2012, a gallon of gas cost $3.82.

Low oil costs and ample refinery production are expected to continue to drive down the cost of gas in the coming months, according to Jenny M. Robinson, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s manager of public and government affairs.

“Gas prices in much of the country have declined this spring because of lower oil costs, ample refinery production and continued weak demand,” Robinson said. “Gas prices have fallen faster and earlier than ever before for this time of year, and it is saving motorists millions of dollars per day in lower fuel costs.

“Families taking trips this summer can expect to pay lower gas prices than recent years as long as there are not any refinery problems or significant international news events,” she added.

The current average gas price for New Jersey is $3.313; Pennsylvania, $3.461; and Delaware, $3.383.

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A phony news report sent shock waves throughout social media, and eventually the stock market Tuesday when a hacker got a hold of the Associated Press’s Twitter account.

A little after 1 p.m., a false tweet sent out by the Associated Press’s twitter handle, “@AP,” reported there were two explosions in the White House, and that President Barack Obama was injured.

The Associated Press’s account was quickly suspended, and a spokesman called the tweet “bogus.” The AP has nearly 2 million Twitter followers.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the president was fine.

According to Reuters, a group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army, which is supportive of that country’s leader, Bashar Al-Assad, on Tuesday claimed responsibility on its own Twitter feed for the AP hack.

The group has also claimed it was behind past hacks of Twitter accounts for National Public Radio, BBC and CBS’s “60 Minutes” program, among others.

The fraudulent tweet sent the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging sharply before they recovered. Stock and bond futures also were affected, according to Reuters.

The AP said the tweet came after hackers made repeated attempts to steal the passwords of AP journalists.

A glimpse at the momentary financial frenzy:

In what one trader described as “pure chaos,” the three-minute plunge triggered by the tweet briefly wiped out $136.5 billion of the S&P 500 index’s value, according to Reuters data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average temporarily dropped 143.5 points, or 0.98 percent.

Follow Morgan Rousseau on Twitter: @MetroMorgan
Follow Metro Boston on Twitter: @MetroBOS

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Medford woman Krystle Campbell, 29, was identified as the second victim of the Boston Marathon explosions.

Initially told she had survived but her daughter had been misidentified as her friend.

Campbell’s mother, Patty, tearfully remembered her daughter on the porch of their Park Street home this evening.

“We are heartbroken at the death of our daugther,” she said. “She was a wonderful person. Everyone that knew her loved her. She had a heart of gold. She was always smiling.”

Following Monday’s blasts, Patty Campbell reportedly received news that Krystle had been injured but was OK. She was later notified that Krystle’s identity had been mixed up with her friend’s.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she told reporters. “She was such a hard worker in everything that she did, it just doesn’t make any sense”

Yahoo! News spoke with her father, who said: “My daughter was the most lovable girl. She helped everybody and I’m just so shocked right now. We’re just devastated. She was a wonderful, wonderful girl. Always willing to lend a hand.”

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  PHOTOS: Explosion during Boston Marathon

Campbell was a 2001 Medford High School graduate. 

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  VIDEO: Boston Marathon headquarters locked down after explosion, two reported dead

She was the second victim to be identified after Monday’s attack that claimed three lives and injured more than 170 people.

Eight-year-old Martin Richard, of Dorchester, was also killed. His mother and sister were also badly injured in the attack. Martin and his family were waiting by the finish line for his father to finish running the marathon race.

The third victim has yet to be identified, pending notification of next of kin.

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The White House  this morning proposed a budget that sharply trims the U.S. deficit over three years by forcing millionaires to pay more in taxes and enacting spending cuts that replace the sequester reductions that went into place last month.

President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2014 budget blueprint ensures that those making $1 million a year or more would have to pay at least 30 percent of their income, after gifts to charity, in taxes, officials said.

That increase, along with spending cuts and a 28 percent cap on tax deductions for high earners, would bring the U.S. budget deficit down to 2.8 percent of GDP by 2016, senior administration officials told reporters. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in February projected the U.S. deficit to be 5.3 pct of GDP this year.

The president’s budget stands little chance of being enacted into law. However, senior administration officials said that, in spite of Republican leaders’ resistance to tax increases, they hoped it could lead to a deficit reduction accord.

“There continue to be people who are on the Republican side … in the Senate at least, who are saying things that would give you some hope that there is a path to a deal,” a senior administration official told reporters.

The president is breaking from the tradition of using the largely symbolic budget release to outline his ideal tax and spending proposals. Instead, he is trying to relaunch talks to resolve a long-running fiscal battle with his Capitol Hill adversaries.

To do so, Obama is offering a concession that has enraged many of his supporters: adopting a less generous measure of inflation to calculate cost-of-living increases for the beneficiaries of many federal programs. One result would be diminished benefits for most recipients of the popular Social Security retirement program.

Although Obama has pledged to shield some of the most vulnerable beneficiaries, the proposal has drawn strong opposition from Democrats and groups representing labor and the elderly.

At the same time, his budget proposal faces seemingly insurmountable opposition from Republican leaders, who reject any new tax revenues.

Obama’s hope is to build a coalition of lawmakers willing to compromise, although most observers see that as unlikely. He has invited 12 Republicans to dinner at the White House on Wednesday in an effort to soften resistance.

“The question is, are Republicans going to be willing to come to us to do the serious thing that they say is so important in terms of reducing our deficit,” a senior administration official said in a conference call with reporters the day before the budget release.

Both sides are so dug in that they were unable to prevent some $85 billion in across-the-board sequestration cuts from going into effect March 1.

Obama’s budget proposal would replace those cuts with his original deficit reduction proposal from December. That offer included $930 billion in spending reductions and some $580 billion in tax revenues.

The president’s budget includes spending on policy priorities such as infrastructure and early childhood education. He would pay for those programs with additional new taxes and the elimination of some tax breaks for the well-off.

The budget also includes a 10 percent tax credit for small businesses that raise wages or hire new workers.

The president’s advisers said the budget proposal would achieve $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. Added to the $2.5 trillion in deficit cuts from past efforts, the total would be above the $4 trillion reduction both Republicans and the White House have said would be an acceptable goal.

Obama’s budget is a clear contrast with a rival blueprint put forward by Representative Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee and potential 2016 presidential candidate.

“You can invest in the middle class, create jobs and reduce our deficits,” a senior administration official said. “We don’t have to choose between deficits as far as the eye can see and the sort of austerity that’s in the Paul Ryan budget.”

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Cypriot banks reopened Thursday morning with tight controls imposed on transactions to prevent a run on deposits after the government was forced to accept a stringent EU rescue package to prevent the country from going bankrupt.

Banks were shut almost two weeks ago as the government negotiated a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout package, the first in Europe’s single currency zone to impose losses on bank depositors.

Bank staff turned up for work early in Nicosia as cash was delivered by armored trucks.

Authorities said the emergency rules imposed to limit withdrawals and prevent a bank run will be temporary, but economists say they will be difficult to lift as long as the economy is in crisis.

In Nicosia there was relief that the banks were reopening, but some apprehension about what might happen.

Yorgos Georgiou, who owns a dry cleaning business, said: “Finally people’s mood will be lifted and we can start to trust the system again.”

But he added: “I’m worried about the poor kids working in the cashiers today, because people might vent their anger at them. You can’t predict how people will react after so many days.”

One man, Kostas Nikolaou, a 60-year-old pensioner, said the uncertainty of the past two weeks had been “like a slow death”.

He added: “How can they tell you that you can’t access your own money in the bank? It’s our money, we are entitled to it.”

The Cyprus stock exchange said it would remain closed Thursday.

On Wednesday night, container trucks loaded with cash pulled up inside the compound of the central bank in the capital Nicosia to prepare for the reopening, a Cyprus central bank source said. A helicopter hovered overhead, and police with rifles were stationed around the compound.

As in all countries that use the euro, Cyprus’s central bank supplies cash for its banks from the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Officials have promised that enough funds will be on hand to meet demand. The ECB did not comment on reports it had sent extra cash to the island.

A Finance Ministry decree imposes strict controls limiting cash withdrawals to no more than 300 euros per day and banning the cashing of cheques.

The island’s central bank will review all commercial transactions over 5,000 euros and scrutinize transactions over 200,000 euros on an individual basis. People leaving Cyprus can take only 1,000 euros with them. An earlier draft of the decree had put the figure at 3,000.

With just 860,000 people, Cyprus has about 68 billion euros in its banks — a vastly outsized financial system that attracted deposits from foreigners as an offshore haven but foundered after investments in neighboring Greece went sour.

The European Union and International Monetary Fund concluded that Cyprus could not afford a rescue unless it imposed losses on depositors, seen as anathema in previous euro zone bailouts.

‘Cyprus euro’

Cyprus’s financial difficulties have sent tremors through the already fragile single European currency. The imposition of capital controls has led economists to warn that a second-class “Cyprus euro” could emerge, with funds trapped on the island less valuable than euros that can be freely spent abroad.

The finance ministry decree said the measures had been imposed for seven days, after a central bank official had initially said the period would be four days, subject to review.

Many experts are skeptical. In a Reuters poll of economists this week 30 out of 46 said the controls would last months, while 13 expected they would endure a matter of weeks. Three said they could last years.

“This is a typical set of exchange control measures, more reminiscent of Latin America or Africa,” said Bob Lyddon, General Secretary of the international banking association IBOS.

“These are permanent controls until the economy recovers.”

The bailout, agreed in Brussels on Monday, looks set to push Cyprus deeper into an economic slump, shrink the banking sector and cost thousands of jobs.

Cyprus Popular Bank will be closed and its guaranteed deposits of up to 100,000 euros transferred to the biggest bank, Bank of Cyprus.

Deposits of more than 100,000 euros at both banks, too big to enjoy a state guarantee, will be frozen, and some of those funds will be exchanged for shares issued by the banks to recapitalize them.

While big depositors will lose money, the authorities say deposits up to 100,000 euros will be protected. The Cypriot parliament had vetoed an earlier plan that would also have hit small depositors.

European leaders said the bailout deal averted a chaotic national bankruptcy that might have forced Cyprus out of the euro. Many Cypriots say the deal was foisted upon them by Cyprus’s partners in the 17-nation euro zone, and some have taken to the streets to vent their frustration.

On Wednesday, some 2,500 people rallied outside the offices of conservative President Nicos Anastasiades, waving banners and flags. They chanted: “I’ll pay nothing; I owe nothing.”

For now, residents said they are confused and worried by the capital controls, and wonder how they will affect daily life.

A 42-year-old Romanian hotel maid, who gave her name as Maria, said she was worried she would not be able to cash her pay cheque due Friday. The hotel, she said, was unable to pay staff in cash because most guests paid by credit card.

“What shall I do?” she asked. “Hold up the cheque and look at it?”

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Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders to shut down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians, in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout.

The agreement came hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system in fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Swiftly endorsed by euro zone finance ministers, the plan will spare the

Mediterranean island a financial meltdown by winding down the largely state-owned Popular Bank of Cyprus, also known as Laiki, and shifting deposits below 100,000 euros to the Bank of Cyprus to create a “good bank”.

Deposits above 100,000 euros in both banks, which are not guaranteed under EU law, will be frozen and used to resolve Laiki’s debts and recapitalize Bank of Cyprus through a deposit/equity conversion.

The raid on uninsured Laiki depositors is expected to raise 4.2 billion euros, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijssebloem said.

Laiki will effectively be shuttered, with thousands of job losses. Officials said senior bondholders in Laiki would be wiped out and those in Bank of Cyprus would have to make a contribution.

An EU spokesman said no across-the-board levy or tax would be imposed on deposits in Cypriot banks, although the hit on large account holders in the two biggest banks is likely to be far greater than initially planned. A first attempt at a deal last week collapsed when the Cypriot parliament rejected a proposed levy on all deposits.

Cyprus government spokesman Christos Stylianides said: “We averted a disorderly bankruptcy which would have led to an exit of Cyprus from the euro zone with unforeseeable consequences.”

Asked about the level of losses on uninsured depositors on Bank of Cyprus, he told state radio it was not possible to be specific at this stage. “The assessment is that it will be under or around 30 percent. But that is a bit of an arbitrary estimate.”

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Cypriot lawmakers would not need to vote on the new scheme, since they had already enacted a law setting procedures for bank resolution.

“It can’t be done without a bail-in in both banks … This is bitter for Cyprus, but we now have the result that the (German) government always stood up for,” Schaeuble told reporters, saying he was sure the German parliament would approve.

Lefteris Christoforou, vice-chairman of the ruling Democratic Rally party, said it was important that Cyprus had avoided a chaotic bankruptcy.

“It is a bad deal, but the extreme scenario we had to contend with was worse.”

Former central bank government Afxentis Afxentiou added: “It’s a new day for Cyprus … I believe that in two or three years Cyprus will find its feet.”

A senior source in the Brussels talks said Anastasiades threatened to resign at one stage on Sunday if he was pushed too far. He left EU headquarters without making any comment.

Conservative leader Anastasiades, barely a month in office and wrestling with Cyprus’ worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, was forced to back down on his efforts to shield big account holders.

Diplomats said the president had fought hard to preserve the country’s business model as an offshore financial centre drawing huge sums from wealthy Russians and Britons but had lost.

The EU and IMF required that Cyprus raise 5.8 billion euros from its banking sector towards its own financial rescue in return for 10 billion euros in international loans. The head of the EU rescue fund said Cyprus should receive the first emergency funds in May.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the agreement was “a comprehensive and credible plan” that addresses the core problem of the banking system.

“This agreement provides the basis for restoring trust in the banking system, which is key to supporting growth,” she said in a statement.

With banks closed for the last week, the Central Bank of Cyprus imposed a 100-euro daily limit on withdrawals from cash machines at the two biggest banks to avert a run.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici rejected charges that the EU had brought Cypriots to their knees, saying it was the island’s offshore business model that had failed.

“To all those who say that we are strangling an entire people … Cyprus is a casino economy that was on the brink of bankruptcy,” he said.

The euro gained against the dollar on the news in early Asian trading.

Analysts had said failure to clinch a deal could cause a financial market sell-off, but some said the island’s small size – it accounts for just 0.2 percent of the euro zone’s economic output – meant contagion would be limited.

The abandoned plan for a levy on bank deposits had unsettled investors since it represented an unprecedented step in Europe’s handling of a debt crisis that has spread from Greece to Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

ORDINARY PEOPLE

Among ordinary Cypriots, there was a mood of wariness about the deal.

“How long will it last?” asked Georgia Xenophontos, 23, a hotel receptionist in Nicosia. “Why should anyone believe anything this government says?”

Cyprus’s banking sector, with assets eight times the size of the economy, has been crippled by exposure to Greece, where private bondholders suffered a 75 percent “haircut” last year.

Without a deal by the end of Monday, the ECB said it would have cut off emergency funds to the banks, spelling certain collapse and potentially pushing the country out of the euro.

Under the bailout agreement, Laiki’s ECB funds will pass to Bank of Cyprus, and the central bank will “provide liquidity to BoC in line with applicable rules”.

Anticipating a run when banks reopen on Tuesday, parliament has given the government powers to impose capital controls.

About 200 bank employees protested outside the presidential palace on Sunday, chanting “Cyprus will not become a protectorate”.

On Tuesday, the 56-seat parliament had rejected a levy on depositors, big and small. Finance Minister Michael Sarris then spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens and companies have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

On Friday, lawmakers voted to nationalize pension funds and split failing lenders into good and bad banks – the measure to be applied to Laiki. The plan to tap pension funds was shelved due to German opposition, a Cypriot official said.

The tottering banks held 68 billion euros in deposits, including 38 billion in accounts of more than 100,000 euros – enormous sums for an island of 1.1 million people that could never sustain such a big financial system on its own.

The post Cyprus deal reached at last minute appeared first on Metro.us.

The 5 miles per second rock shooting through the Eastern sky Friday could unlock vast wealth, or spell destruction. The 150-foot wide asteroid 2012 DA14 is the largest to ever be detected passing this close and will provide lessons for space exploration.

“This is a unique opportunity,” Dwayne Brown, a spokesman for Nasa’s science department, told Metro. “This can tell us about asteroid trajectories, how the Sun affects them, and their origin in nature.”

2012 DA14 will pass just 17,000 miles away – within communication satellite orbit – and although it is not considered a threat, it will influence disaster preparation. “If we can better understand the approach, that helps us with an asteroid on collision course,” says Brown, adding that a strategy already exists based on deflection. “You can nudge it onto another course with even a light touch.”

Nasa have made asteroid study a top priority, and an army of robotic telescopes and sky surveyors helped to spot 2012 DA14 in February 2012. It is significant progress given that many asteroids are only seen as, or after, they pass.

Citizen astronomers have key to the advance, and thousands of enthusiasts will be watching the skies Friday. “Some amateur astronomers have observatories that would make a university jealous,” said David Dickinson, editor of the Astroguyz website. “Websites allow you to calculate co-ordinates for accurate location, how to watch and monitor events – and we’re constantly exchanging information live on Twitter.”

Civil society groups are increasingly partners in asteroid exploration and have been heavily involved in the 2016 launch of the OSIRIS-REx satellite, the first mission to mine samples from moving asteroids. 2012 DA14 has an estimated value of $200 billion in precious metals, hinting at a lucrative future in asteroid mining.

Yet over half of all Near-Earth Objects (NEO) remain undetected and a threat. “We need to find objects down to at least 100m, the vast majority of which we haven’t found yet,” Richard Crowther, chief engineer at the UK Space Agency, told Metro. A sudden, catastrophic event remains a possibility.

How to watch

2012 DA14 will be closest at 1924 GMT Friday and will be visible from parts of Europe and Africa. David Dickinson recommends being somewhere as dark as possible with telescope or binoculars and a wide field of vision. Calculate its route beforehand and focus on one position, the asteroid will resemble a shooting star and will be clearest when passing in front of the Moon. Check out Astroguyz.com or b612foundation.org to find out more, or http://www.nasa.gov/ntv to watch live.

The post 150-foot asteroid passing by Earth is warning and goldmine appeared first on Metro.us.

“No New Yorker has – or likely ever will – voice their love for New York City in such a passionate and outspoken manner than Ed Koch,” Cuomo said. “New York City would not be the place it is today without Ed Koch’s leadership over three terms at City Hall.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called him a champion for the city.

“Ed helped lift the city out of its darkest days and set it on course for an incredible comeback,” Bloomberg said. “We will miss him dearly, but his good works – and his wit and wisdom – will forever be a part of the city he loved so much.”

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance remembered Koch as someone with “wise advice” who helped reform the criminal justice system.

“Every New Yorker has the right to walk the streets of our city without fear, and all New Yorkers deserve equal access to justice,” Vance said. “We’d be far, far further from these goals today if not for Mayor Ed Koch’s foresight and vision and courage.”

Others remembered him as a legendary New Yorker, the man Bloomberg called “an irrepressible icon.”

“He was a quintessential New Yorker, a clever man and politician and possessed the chutzpah that truly made him one of the best mayors in this city’s history,” Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carlo Scissura said.

The post New Yorkers remember former mayor Ed Koch appeared first on Metro.us.

As mayor from 1978 to 1989, the forceful, quick-witted Koch, with his trademark phrase “How’m I Doing?,” was a polarizing figure and the city’s constant promoter.

Koch died at about 2 a.m. (0700 GMT) at New York-Presbyterian hospital, the spokesman for Koch said.

Koch was credited with lifting New York from crushing economic crises to a level of prosperity that was the envy of other U.S. cities. Under his leadership, the city regained its fiscal footing and undertook a building renaissance.

But his three terms in office were also marked by racial tensions, corruption among many of his political cronies, the rise in AIDS and HIV, homelessness and a high crime rate. In 1989, he lost the Democratic nomination for what would have been a record fourth term as mayor

The post Former New York mayor Ed Koch dies at 88 appeared first on Metro.us.

City Councilman Bill Greenlee on Thursday introduced legislation that would require the city’s indoor tanning facilities to issue customers written warnings about the danger of artificial sunlight and to restrict minors’ access to sun beds.

“There is a clear and ever increasing risk of cancer over the years for those who are exposed to indoor tanning beds,” Greenlee said.

The legislation would require tanning salons to have customers sign warnings outlining the risks of repeated artificial UV ray exposure, including premature aging, skin cancer and damage to unprotected eyes.

Greenlee pointed to statistics he called “staggering” – 71 percent of the one million people who use tanning beds each day are females between the ages of 16 and 29, and studies show that young people who patronize tanning salons have a 69 percent increased chance of a common form of early-onset skin cancer.

“Teenage girls and young women make up the growing number of tanning bed customers,” Greenlee said. “And they often feel pressure to look tan for proms and other events without considering the risks, thinking they are not vulnerable to skin cancer.”

The Center for Disease Control estimates that those who begin tanning younger than the age of 35 have a 75 percent higher risk of melanoma.

Greenlee’s legislation would require tanning facilities to obtain written permission from legal guardians to allow minors to tan, as well as ban all those under the age of 14 from tanning beds without a note from a licensed doctor.

Billboard fight suspended

In other City Hall news, after two years of legislative battles over the issue, City Council has for now given up its fight to erect a 10,000 square-foot digital wall wrap on the Electric Factory building at 8th and Callowhill streets.

Councilman Mark Squilla on Thursday announced that, following Mayor Michael Nutter’s veto of a bill allowing the signage – a portion of which revenue would have gone to fund local schools – he would not seek an override vote.

“The self-serving interest of the billboard industry have never been stronger in this city and we are extremely grateful to the mayor for doing the right thing,” said Mary Tracy of anti-blight nonprofit Scenic Philadelphia. “This has been a tough issue for Councilman Squilla and we are grateful to him for not requesting an override vote.”

The post City Council may soon regulate indoor tanning in Philly appeared first on Metro.us.

“The mayor has called for a premier cycling event and the team we have pulled together intends to deliver nothing less for the city of Philadelphia in 2013,” Brady said in a statement. “As long as there is a wall in Manayunk, there will be a world class cycling event in Philadelphia.”

The newly-titled Philly Cycling Classic will be directed by Robin Morton of G4 Productions. The leadership team also includes Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon founder Alan Morrison, Philadelphia Triathlon head Richard Adler, co-founder of Cadence Cycling Foundation Ryan Oelkers, businessman Bob Clowry, Jane Lipton of the Manayunk Development Corporation and Karen Bliss of Marketing for Advanced Sports International.

More information regarding sponsorship and scheduling is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

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“Those who seek to game the system by refusing to follow the rules need to be held accountable by the rule of law they swore to uphold,” U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a statement.

The 77-count indictment said “the ticket fixing was pervasive and frequent,” continued from July 2008 until September 2011 and cost the city an untold amount.

“For years, even beyond the dates of the conspiracy charged, there existed a culture of ticket fixing at Traffic Court,” it said.

The indictment said that local politicians, including ward leaders, politically connected individuals, and those with influential positions in business, labor, industry or society, asked Traffic Court judges or administrators for preferential treatment for constituents, relatives, friends, and associates who had been issued citations.

One business owner, Henry Alfano, 68, described in the indictment as the owner of an automotive business and the landlord for two gentlemen’s clubs, is accused of fixing tickets for his friends. In exchange, he paid a judge with free car repairs, car maintenance, car towing, videos and seafood.

Another businessman, Robert Moy, 56, owner of a translation service, sometimes guaranteed his customers favorable results on their traffic tickets, and did so by working through a traffic court judge, the indictment said.

William Brennan, a lawyer who represents former judge Willie Singletary, told Reuters on Thursday that he will enter a plea of not guilty for his client.

“I’m pleased after reviewing this lengthy document, this indictment, that the government does not allege that my client took one thin dime,” Brennan said.

Charges and penalties

All defendants are charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting, mail fraud and wire fraud.
Some also face allegations of perjury and making false statements to the FBI.

– Administrative Judge of Traffic Court Michael Sullivan faces up to 440 years in prison and a $5.5 million fine.

– Traffic Court judge Michael Lowry faces a maximum sentence of 205 years in prison and a $2.75 million fine.

– Former Traffic Court judge Robert Mulgrew faces up to 145 years in jail and a $2 million fine.

– Former Traffic Court judge Willie Singletary faces a maximum sentence of 490 years in jail and a $6.5 million fine.

– Former Traffic Court judge Thomasine Tynes could receive up to 230 years in prison and a $3.25 million fine.

– Chester County magisterial district judge Mark Bruno faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.

– Former Traffic Court director of records William Hird could receive up to 315 years in jail and a $4.5 million fine.

Other defendants include business owners Moy and Alfano, senior Traffic Court judge Fortunato N. Perri Sr., Bucks County senior magisterial district judge H. Warren Hogeland and Delaware county senior district judge Kenneth Miller.

– METRO / AW

Cleaning court

Political watchdog Committee of Seventy on Thursday suggested several steps to start rebuilding the public’s trust in the city Traffic Court.

CEO Zack Stalberg pointed out that the primary election for three open Traffic Court seats is less than four months away and suggested concerned voters let their ballots do the talking – or that Gov. Tom Corbett step in and appoint three judges who have demonstrated transparency and integrity.

Seventy also suggested that the First Judicial District mandate ethics training for Traffic Court employees, the Philadelphia Bar Association should evaluate and publicly rate all 2013 Traffic Court Candidates and the city Democratic and Republican committees endorse candidates based on those ratings.

Stalberg said that in the long term, Traffic Court needs to be either dissolved or completely overhaul the Philadelphia Traffic Court.

“Today’s indictments are not isolated episodes that can be fixed by getting rid of several bad actors,” he said. “There has been one scandal after another in Traffic Court. This pattern must end.”

– METRO / AW

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The bell, cast in the same London foundry that in 1751 created the Liberty Bell, was a 1976 gift from Queen Elizabeth II celebrating the country’s 200th birthday. Her trip to Philadelphia that year marked the first time a British monarch visited the city.

The tower that until Thursday housed the bell is being demolished for the National Museum of the American Revolution. The bell will reportedly be relocated in Independence National Historic Park.

The post PHOTOS: Philly’s Bicentennial Bell moved into storage appeared first on Metro.us.

The iconic station has experienced its share of difficulties over the years, most notably when it fell into disrepair and was nearly wrecked to make way for a skyscraper.
But with the help of renovations, it has reemerged as a beloved architectural gem, visited by roughly 750,000 people each day.

“The design is impeccable,” said MTA spokeswoman Marjorie Anders. “The feeling that you get when you walk into the main concourse with its soaring arched ceiling and its magnificent monumental windows and the stars coming down, it has a visceral effect on people.”

Most visitors to the terminal ride the subway or Metro-North trains, check out the 35 eating establishments or 68 shops, take a walking tour or self-guided audio tour, or just pass through to avoid bad weather outside.

Others are content simply to gawk up at the ceiling in wonder, much the same way people did when Grand Central Terminal first opened in 1913.

In fact, shipping tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt completed the first Grand Central, called Grand Central Depot, even earlier.

“When he built the original one (in 1871), it was far out of town,” said Anthony W. Robins, co-author of “Grand Central Terminal: 100 Years of a New York Landmark.” “The city was concentrated much further south.”

In 1900, the depot was renamed Grand Central Station following a large expansion effort. Two years later, however, a train collision in a smoke-filled tunnel killed 15 and injured 38, prompting demands for electric trains to replace steam-powered ones.

That’s exactly what the station’s owners decided to do. During the construction of Grand Central Terminal from 1903 to 1913, they electrified and buried the tracks, which used to look somewhat like Sunnyside Yards in Queens.

“It really created East Midtown,” Robins said in reference to the new buildings that popped up on site.
People originally flocked there in droves. In addition to the train tracks, a movie theater, an art school, CBS’ television studios and tennis courts could all be found there at various points.

Nonetheless, it eventually began to deteriorate as focus shifted from train to car and air travel.
“It was dangerous, it was filthy and there was a huge homeless population,” Robins said.

In the 1970s, the city – with the help of celebrities like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis – narrowly averted an attempt to essentially replace the structure with a 55-story skyscraper.
Renovations have since restored its former splendor.

“It’s come through all of these hard times,” Robins said. “In a way it’s mirrored the progress of the city over the last 40 years.”

Grand Central Timeline

-1903: Construction begins on Grand Central Terminal. Three churches, an orphan asylum, 120 houses and a number of other structures are demolished to clear space.

-1913: The station, which cost over $2 billion in today’s dollars, opens to the public at midnight on Feb. 1. The first train leaves 20 minutes later.

-1967: New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which formed soon after the destruction of nearby Pennsylvania Station, designates Grand Central as a landmark.

-1976: Croatian nationalists plant a bomb in a Grand Central locker, which kills a police officer during a botched disarming operation.

-1978: The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Grand Central’s landmark status, thereby thwarting efforts to replace it with a skyscraper.

-1991: Amtrak moves its operations from Grand Central to Penn Station.

-1998: A major renovation to restore the station’s former splendor is (mostly) completed.

Nooks and crannies of Grand Central

-The world’s largest clock made with Tiffany glass, measuring 14 feet in diameter, stands near Grand Central’s 42nd Street entrance next to statues of Minerva, Hercules and Mercury.

-Carved acorns and oak leaves found throughout the terminal are the family symbol of the Vanderbilts, who played a major role in the station’s development.

-A hidden spiral staircase connects the main concourse information booth with a lower level information booth.

-A whispering gallery, located near the Oyster Bar & Restaurant, carries the tiniest bit of sound from one corner of a 50-foot-wide domed chamber across the ceiling to another corner.

The post Grand Central Terminal Turns 100 appeared first on Metro.us.

“Here in Philadelphia, we know that there are a few people – no, make that many people – that get in their cars and travel across those bridges or travel down 95 and over to Delaware or New Jersey to buy their alcohol,” Corbett said. “I want a system that gives our people the flexibility to have their purchases here in Pennsylvania.”

Corbett’s plan would over the next four years allow customers to purchase beer and wine from grocery stores and big box retailers, buy six-packs from convenience stores and obtain takeout bottles of wine from restaurants and taverns.

It would also allow beer distributors that obtain the proper licenses to become “one-stop shops” slinging wine, liquor and six-packs. Distributors can currently only sell beer by the keg or case.

The number of alcohol retailers in the state would double. “This proposal would allow the number of establishments to be naturally driven by the free market, as it is in other states,” Corbett said.

Aside from Utah, Pennsylvania is the only state that controls its own liquor sales.

“Simply put, I am proposing that Pennsylvania join the ranks of those 48 other states and once and for all get out of the business of selling wine and liquor, get out of the business of being a monopoly,” Corbett said.

An estimated $1 billion in revenue from the auction of retail and wholesale liquor licenses, as well as from stepped-up enforcement and penalties of alcohol sale violations included in the plan, will go to block grant to fund public schools and childhood enrichment education.

“It is time for Pennsylvania to lift the rules put in place 75 years ago,” Corbett said. “Because the selling of alcohol is clearly not a core responsibility of government, but education is.”

Reactions

Some stakeholders decried what they say are threats to middle-class unionized jobs and small businesses, as well as a blow to state revenue.

“We all know what will become of our distributors and taverns that rely on beer sales and have adapted in order to compete in a closed system. They will fail and those local businesses that support our little league teams and volunteer firefighter organizations will be lost, replaced by indifferent big box stores run by huge corporations.”

– State Sen. Jim Ferlo

“It’s nice that the governor has acknowledged that he created a school funding crisis, but our students shouldn’t have to count on liquor being available on every corner in order to have properly funded schools. We need to restore the nearly $1 billion in education cuts made by Governor Corbett with an adequate and sustainable funding plan, not with money that doesn’t exist.”

– Pennsylvania State Education Association president Mike Crossey

“The governor is targeting 5,000 family-sustaining jobs and more than $500 million a year in taxes and profits that this valuable, publicly held asset provides.”

– President of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776 Wendell W. Young IV

“The governor’s fixation with privatization now includes a bizarre and unhealthy attempt to tie education achievement to what can only be described as a one-time alcohol funded stimulus package.”

– State Sen. John Yudichak  

Consumers, for the most part, rejoiced over the prospect of the increased convenience and choice the plan would offer.

“PA liquor stores potentially going away? F––k yeah welcome to the rest of America!”

– @robothero

“I’m very excited about Governor Corbett’s plan to privatize the liquor board. The government shouldn’t be the only seller in a free market.”

– @darin22b

“PA bout to have a one stop shop, liquor beer grocery store all in one.”

– @_StackzXo

Though not everyone was so happy.

“Ya know who loves @GovernorCorbett’s cynical plan to sell off our liquor stores? CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and Walmart.”

– @tettemer

The post Gov. Tom Corbett serves up plan to privatize Pa. liquor sales appeared first on Metro.us.

“Happy hour” will not be coming to Massachusetts.

After a series of public hearings held throughout the state last year that sought input on a possible change to the state’s “happy hour” regulations to prevent “unfair competition” from future casinos, the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission issued its final report today.

The commission cited concerns over public safety as one reason why they were not recommending bringing back “happy hour.”

“The record of comments shows a clear and convincing concern that any change to the Happy Hour Regulation will have a negative impact on the public safety in the Commonwealth,” the commission wrote in its report.

When the expanded gambling bill was passed, it allowed for free drinks to be offered to patrons of the gaming establishment. The law also required the ABCC to examine whether that was negatively impact restaurants and bars who were prohibited from doing so. Commission members wrote that they found no basis for unfair competition.

“The Commission has found no factual basis and no basis compelled by applicable law to amend (the Happy Hour Regulation) in order to protect on-premises alcoholic beverages Licensees from unfair competition with proposed gaming establishments,” the report said.

During a hearing on the issue in August, most of the restaurant and bar owners in attendance opposed reinstating “happy hour” citing concerns about over consumption and a potential increase in new, inexperienced establishments seeking to cash in on it.

State Treasurer Steve Grossman, who oversees the ABCC, said he strongly supports the commission’s findings.

“Public safety was a key factor in conducting this review, and the overwhelming sentiment is that scaling back the Happy Hour Regulation would compromise the lives and well-being of the residents of the Commonwealth,” he said in a statement. “The Regulation is supported by bar and tavern owners, the law enforcement community, and public safety officials, who all believe that it has played a substantial part in preventing unthinkable tragedies.”

The post State board: Happy hour regulations should not change despite free drinks at casinos appeared first on Metro.us.

33-year-old Yoel Malik was arrested last night and charged with several counts of sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, based on reports that he molested at least four teenage boys.

Malik and the four victims are all members of the Satmar sect and part of the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, officials said. Malik was a teacher at the Yeshiva Ohr-Hamier, which is reportedly closed for financial reasons. All of the victims were students at the school for the 2011-2012 school year.

Nechemya Weberman, an unlicensed therapist jailed for molesting a young girl sent to him for counseling, was also a member of the Brooklyn Satmar Hasidic community.

The NYPD rape hotline received an anonymous call on Sunday reporting an alleged victim of sexual assault, and naming Malik as the assailant. According to the caller, Malik took the victim to a motel at 400 Washinton Avenue in Brooklyn for seven hours.

Police say video footage from the location shows Malik and the victim entering the motel, and the room, as well as leaving the hotel seven hours later.

Police say the victim agreed to discuss the allegations after a pre-planned two-week trip to Israel, but refused to say more over the phone because his parents were present. He is 16 years old.

The caller reported three other victims. Two are 16, the other is 15.

Malik allegedly engaged in various acts with the boys, ranging from fondling to oral and anal sex. The alleged incidents took place in motels and Malik’s car, and a few reportedly occurred in Monticello, NY. The fourth victim reported one experience in a synagogue in Williamsburg.

Cops say Malik told them he was a victim of sexual abuse at age 12 as well, at the hands of a family friend, but refused to produce further information on the incident.

Police report he admitted hotel encounters with the first two victims. The second victim told police Malik massaged his back and neck, and provided him with cigarettes as they watched TV together for three hours in a motel on Shore Parkway. Police say Malik confessed to the massage, but denied providing cigarettes or alcohol.

Malik also confirmed the encounters reported by the third victim, though denied any sexual activity took place, police said. The third victim told police Malik drove him home from school on two occasions and molested him in the car the first time. A week later Malik allegedly performed oral sex on another teenager in the backseat while the third victim was in the passenger seat. When the boy told Malik to stop on the first occasion, he reportedly did; when he asked to be taken home immediately on the second occasion, Malik complied as well.

Malik accused the victims of making sexual advances toward him, which he told police he refused.
 

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ office said Malik has not yet been arraigned. His lawyer, Stacey Richman, was reportedly in court and could not be reached for questions.

In 2009, the DA’s office set up a hotline specifically for sex abuse victims in the Orthodox Jewish community, referred to as Kol Tzedek. Spokesman Sandy Silverstein said they’ve “gotten a number of calls” but did not provide exact figures. Silverstein said that since it was established in 2009, the hotline has resulted in more than 100 cases (not necessarily convictions).

The call reporting the allegations against Malik did not go through Kol Tzedek, according to Silverstein.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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Most people cringe when authorities rummage through their belongings, but they deal with it. But on Saturday, a group of people who are fed up with the inspections will descend upon the MBTA to voice outrage over what they call “un-warranted bag checks in subways.”

Organizers have dubbed the protest “TSA out of MBTA Day of Action.”

The MBTA has been conducting the random security inspections regularly since October 2006, the same year a federal appeals court ruled that random bag searches do not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Passengers are selected on a random basis through the use of a computer generated sequence of numbers. Inspectors brush the exterior of carry-on bags with a swab that is placed in explosive trace detection equipment.  

The process should take about 20 seconds if no positive reading occurs, according to Transit Police.

“They are not searches. These random, non-intrusive inspections take place every week at various stations,” MBTA Spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.

Organizers of Saturday’s event said in a press release that they planned to reach out to the MBTA, Governor Deval Patrick, The Dept. of Homeland Security and Mayor Thomas M. Menino to demand an end to the inspections.

According to Pesaturo, “There have been very few complaints in six years.”

Saturday’s demonstration will start at noon, with protesters gathering at five points in the city – Harvard Square, South Station, Lechmere Station, Kenmore Square, and Ruggles Station.

At 3 p.m., protesters will band together at the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common.

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probably cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.”

In August 2006, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York upheld a decision that bag inspections on the MTA do not violate the Fourth Amendment if they are based on a “special need” to conduct inspections without a warrant and are tailored to protect the rights of individual riders.

According to the ruling, inspections are legal as long as:

1) Riders get general notice of the program
2) The inspections focus on baggage large enough to carry explosives
3) It’s quick
4) It’s conducted in the open
5) Persons to be inspected are selected via a predetermined cycle – i.e. one out of every five

Details about Saturday’s event can be found at OccupyBoston.org.

Route information is available below:

The post Protesters to demand an end to MBTA’s random bag inspections appeared first on Metro.us.

Anything in Return is the artist’s third full-length release, out this month on Carpark.  The striking thing about Toro Y Moi is the focused way the artist presents himself vocally and on camera; sort of zen with panache.  Bundick comes across centered, laid-back, and forthright.  A young artist with style, Chaz is the attractive nerd you want to get to know.   

Toro Y Moi plays Webster Hall Feb 13 and Music Hall of Williamsburg Feb 14.

The post Toro Y Moi: Pop cruise appeared first on Metro.us.

Mark Sargent, 45, and Jeanmarie Louis, 23, are so far charged with burning a building and attempt to burn a public building, according to the Plymouth district attorney’s office.

The office scheduled a news conference this afternoon with the state fire marshal to release more information.

During their arraignment in Brockton District Court this morning, a prosecutor said authorities have linked Sargent to nearly two dozen other fires in recent months, according to the Globe.

The post Suspected South Shore serial arsonists arrested appeared first on Metro.us.

Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, today announced the Boston Healthy Childcare Initiative, a program of Boston Moves for Health  that promotes  physical activity and healthy nutrition among the city’s childcare programs.

Tomorrow Franklin Square House Children’s Center in Roxbury, Cribs & Cradles Family Child Care in Dorchester, and Small Fry Fun House Daycare, also in Roxbury, will be recognized as the city’s first programs to adopt the initiative’s “best practice standards,” according to health officials.

Menino’s Boston Moves for Health program was created in the hopes of improving the health and wellness of the city by increasing access to free and low-cost physical activities and healthy living resources.  Menino has challenged Bostonians to lose one million pounds and move ten million miles together. 

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In an effort to make street users safer, the Department of Transportation announced today that they will give 1,500 cyclists safety gear.

The safety initiative, called SaferHood, will distribute bells, bike lights and reflective vests.

The equipment will be given out at forums around the city, where business owners and cyclists can learn about bike safety laws.

Many people have complained that some delivery cyclists can be reckless as they rush to fill orders.

DOT instructors visit businesses – 3,530 since July, according to the city – to tell them that they must provide helmets, bikes, vests and identification numbers to all delivery bikers.

Fines for not following these requirements can be as much as $250.

About 57 percent of businesses comply, according to the DOT.

Beginning in April, DOT employees will enforce rules requiring delivery cyclists to complete an online safety course covering the laws.

“New Yorkers want their deliveries in a New York minute, but the businesses that employ bike riders need to be as up to speed safety as they are on making fast deliveries,” DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said.

The eight forums will be in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn beginning Feb. 21, with a 3 p.m. event at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange.

The post City gives safety vests to delivery bikers, hoping to make streets safer appeared first on Metro.us.

System-wide ridership for the year was 2.3 percent higher than 2011, according to T officials.

When the fare increase was first proposed, analysts projected a ridership decrease of as much as 5.5 percent.  Last year marked the first time that average daily ridership was above 1.3 million for an entire calendar year.

The post MBTA officials report 2.3 percent ridership increase in 2012 appeared first on Metro.us.