Long Island

• Suffolk County attorney wants comptroller included in probe

  Suffolk's County Attorney Christine Malafi shot back at Comptroller Joseph Sawicki for seeking a prosecutor's probe over what he called the use of public money on a "private lawsuit" for two top police officials over their ouster from police unions.

• Prayer service held for teen shot in Brentwood park

  The Bautista family has prayed for a miracle since last month when Wilson Bautista Jr. was shot in the eye while playing hoops in a Brentwood park.

• State paying for egg donors stokes debate

  While researchers applaud the move, New York State's decision to use public money to pay women who donate their eggs for stem cell research is stoking debate among ethicists and critics who suggest it's an inappropriate way to spend tax dollars.

• Man, 23, dies in Hicksville house fire

  A fire at a Hicksville house without working smoke detectors claimed the life of a 23-year-old man Wednesday, officials said.

• Dan Janison: For Paterson, court is where resolution may lie

  Trying to figure out Gov. David A. Paterson's end game has become an Albany pastime. But in this crisis it seems clear he is determined to push the monthlong, first-of-its-kind State Senate deadlock toward a resolution in court. And for his immediate purposes, winning or losing in court may even be beside the point, just so long as it gets decided.

• Corbin's income tax evading trial set for October

  A federal judge set Oct. 19 as the start date of Nassau Legis. Roger Corbin's trial on charges of evading income taxes on $225,000 he received from a developer, despite pleas from his defense attorney for more preparation time.

• Driver shoots himself after crashing van into two cars

  A man who crashed his minivan into two vehicles and then fatally shot himself left despondent notes and had an open bottle of liquor in his vehicle, Suffolk police said.

• Dozens visit crash site where 1 brother died, 1 was hurt

  BY ANDREW STRICKLER

• Report: Drivers in NY rush hour wasted 380 million hours

  Drivers in the New York area wasted nearly 380 million hours stuck in rush-hour traffic in 2007 - second only to those in Los Angeles - according to a traffic study released Wednesday.

• Schumer pushes giving newborns $500

  Sen. Charles Schumer is proposing a federally subsidized savings plan that would give every newborn a $500 tax-free savings account and annual matching contributions for those from low-income families.

• Albany stalemate cancels NYPD recruit's first day

  Anthony Johnson Jr. spent Wednesday sitting around the house, doing absolutely nothing. He's no slacker, but rather a 22-year-old Air Force veteran who had been counting on the day being his first as a member of the NYPD.

• GOP: Judge suspends NY lieutenant governor plan

  At the request of Senate Republicans, a Nassau County judge issued an order shortly after midnight Thursday effectively suspending Gov. David A. Paterson's appointment of a lieutenant governor, a Senate GOP official said.

• Cops: Driver, high on drugs, crashes into garage

  A driver was hospitalized and arrested after he crashed his car into a garage Wednesday morning in Lake Grove, Suffolk police said.

• Sarah Palin's moves perplex LI Republicans

  With Sarah Palin giving no clues as to her political future, Long Island Republicans say they remain uniformly baffled as to reasons behind the soon-to-be-former Alaska governor's resignation.

• Paterson announces plan to reduce Nassau property taxes

  A road to lower property taxes was laid out Tuesday by Gov. David A. Paterson, who said total or partial consolidation of local government - including school districts - would reduce their expenditures and increase their efficiency.

• Feds: Brooklyn attorney defrauded East End immigrants

  A Brooklyn man, who many Ecuadoreans in the East End reportedly believed was their connection to legal residency, has been arrested on a federal immigration fraud charge, in a case that local lawyers say could involve dozens of immigrants.

• LIers react to Michael Jackson memorial

  As you walked in the door of the Modern Unisex Beauty Salon in Freeport, everyone but the stylist was watching the Michael Jackson memorial on the TV mounted behind the cash register.

• Pol defends Jackson at memorial

  Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D- Texas) defended the legacy of Michael Jackson at the pop star's memorial service Tuesday, two days after Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) called Jackson "a pedophile."

• Rising gun sales make some LIers uneasy

  Local politicians and activists expressed concern Tuesday about reports that handgun sales and permit applications have increased in recent months.

• USDA may regulate all food sold in schools

  The U.S. Agriculture Department would regulate all food sold in schools - not just cafeteria meals - when Congress reauthorizes child nutrition programs, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee said Tuesday.

• Nassau layoffs, office closings put on hold

  Nassau County officials have put layoffs and office closings on hold as they met Tuesday with an arbitrator to discuss whether they can unilaterally impose a cost-cutting plan.

• School board gives Joel Klein full authority

  A reinstituted city Board of Education, in one of its first official acts, voted to give Schools Chancellor Joel Klein supreme authority to run the country's largest public school system.

• Maloney's Senate run potentially bruising to Gillibrand

  WASHINGTON - Rep. Carolyn Maloney's decision to run for U.S. Senate in next year's Democratic primary sets up a potentially bruising challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at a time when the New York State Democratic Party is reeling.

• Elmont property owners sue over 'blight' designation

  Two Elmont landlords are suing the Town of Hempstead over its decision to designate their properties as blighted in order to bring in a new supermarket, part of an effort to revitalize the area.

• Again, no progress in Senate stalemate

  ALBANY - No progress was reported Wednesday in breaking the State Senate deadlock as only one side showed up to a public negotiating session.

• Sewer victims mourned as investigations begin

  The father and son killed by toxic fumes at a Queens waste transfer plant were mourned Tuesday at an emotional funeral.

• Fans gather to pay tribute to Jackson at the Apollo

  Outside the Apollo

• Michael Jackson tribute at Apollo draws thousands

  Michael Jackson's memorial at the Apollo Theater yesterday was, like nearly everything else in his life, a singular spectacle, filled with sing-alongs and stomping feet, lots of dancing and a few tears.

• East Northport residents: Intersection is unsafe

  A few years ago, Thea Mansuetto was so fed up with - and frightened by - vehicles whizzing by her driveway on Bread and Cheese Hollow Road, just 200 feet north of Pulaski Road, that she doubled the width of her driveway so she would have enough room to turn around and exit front end first.

• Suozzi in talks with Paterson for OK on cigarette tax

  Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, in an attempt to gain support for a $2 per pack cigarette tax, said he is negotiating with Gov. David A. Paterson to give nearly half of any county revenue earned from the tax to the cash-strapped state to make up for any anticipated loss of revenue from sales.

• LI photographer: Michael Jackson looked great recently

  LONDON - Michael Jackson looked in perfect health and gave an electrifying performance two days before his death during rehearsals for his planned comeback concerts, a Long Island photographer said Tuesday.

• Source: Bernard Madoff did not act alone

  As Bernard Madoff cools his heels in a Manhattan jail cell waiting to begin his 150-year prison sentence, legal sources believe that a number of new indictments may develop as a result of Wall Street's biggest Ponzi scheme.

• LI hospitals fare well in state infection report card

  Long Island hospitals generally fared well in the state's report card on hospital-acquired infections, a problem that affects nearly 2 million people nationwide and causes an estimated 100,000 deaths.

• Nassau deal to defer month's pay for correction officers

  Nassau County correction officers will defer a month's pay over the next 18 months as part of a tentative new labor contract, officials said Tuesday.

• Dan Janison: Citizens are the losers in Albany's political games

  Suspicions between Team Democrat and Team Republican have grown so thick by now that it took only seconds for a surreal drama to develop over what a veteran senator called his casual stroll through the chamber of New York's upper legislative house.

• Cops: Truck driver not to blame in fatal accident

  The dump truck that tipped over and killed a Fort Salonga woman is being inspected for a possible brake failure, and Suffolk police said they don't expect to charge the truck driver.

• Cold Spring Harbor Lab eyes Sudoku in DNA research

  Sudoku, an 81-box numerical sequence puzzle, may be just a coffee-table conundrum to some, but for Cold Spring Harbor scientists it is the guide to hastening the way DNA is coded.

• J.D. Power report: JetBlue tops in customer satisfaction

  For the fourth consecutive year, JetBlue Airways has earned the highest marks in customer satisfaction for low-cost airlines from J.D. Power and Associates.

• After crash, expectant mom has baby

  Mom and baby are doing fine.

• GOP in court in Albany in new challenge to Dems

  ALBANY - A State Supreme Court judge Wednesday refused to grant Republicans' request for a temporary restraining order against an ally of Democratic leader Sen. Malcolm Smith.

• Mastic man killed in collision with truck

  A Mastic man was killed Wednesday in a motorcycle accident when he collided with a tractor-trailer in Yaphank, Suffolk police said.

• Cops: West Islip men had 75 cases of fireworks in van

  New York City police arrested two 26-year-old West Islip men Tuesday afternoon when they found 75 cases of fireworks in their van, police said.

• USGA begins moving out of Bethpage

  In front of the Bethpage Golf Course clubhouse Tuesday, workers tore down the tall, green-mesh fences that herded the massive crowds during the eight-day U.S. Open event. And behind the large white tents where corporate sponsors once entertained their guests, drivers in rental trucks began reclaiming food machines, tables and chairs, and other equipment.

• Lawyer seeks 12-year sentence for Madoff

  The thirst for "mob vengeance" should be ignored and Bernard Madoff sentenced to 12 years in prison, an effective life sentence for a man of his age, the Wall Street swindler's defense attorney said Tuesday.

• Dan Janison: Albany power war may be headed for court showdown

  ALBANY - The Senate power war, now in its third week, may be headed for a new and potentially explosive court showdown.

• After golf, Open's about shoppers snagging bargains

  It was all over but the shopping Tuesday at the now-sunny Bethpage State Park golf course, where the 2009 U.S. Open was dismantling itself on the still rain-muddied grounds. The big white Merchandise Pavilion drew the crowds with offers of half-price golf shirts, towels and teddy bears.

• Suffolk lawmakers table proposed police cuts

  The Suffolk Legislature balked Tuesday at authorizing seven police layoffs and a $5.5- million cut in police salaries to force the Suffolk PBA to make $6.8-million in concessions.

• Melville man sentenced in fatal shooting

  A man who shot two men within two hours in July 2007 - killing one - was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for second-degree murder and weapon possession Tuesday in Riverhead.

• Poll: Support growing for same-sex marriage

  ALBANY - More than half of voters now back same-sex marriage, according to a poll released Tuesday.

• Police: Cop drove at 'excessive speed' before crash

  Skid marks and damage done to the tree hit by Quogue Village police officer Richard Kappel indicates he was going at "an excessive speed" when he crashed a borrowed sports car, killing himself and a passenger, according to Det. Sgt. Randy Hintze of the Town of Southampton Police.

• Wife of crash-victim professor taken off life support

  Psychologist Ilene Wasserman was a slight woman, so petite that her colleagues jokingly nicknamed her "Birdie."

• From newsrooms to living rooms, kidnapping stunned all

  The day Steven Damman vanished from an East Meadow market in 1955, Joan Bookbinder remembers, terror invaded her life and that of countless young mothers.

• Some scenes from the U.S. Open in Bethpage

  Nelson Sedano was born in a country where children dream of stardom in soccer, but he's hoping to groom his 3-year-old son to be a professional golfer.

• John Barnes: I'm waiting to hear if I'm Steven Damman, LI tot missing since 1955

  A Michigan man who claims he was abducted from in front of an East Meadow store 54 years ago said Wednesday that online photographs led him to believe he found his birth mother.

• Detective: I was 'always bothered' by 1955 disappearance

  It was a case that always dogged him.

• Islanders radio voice Bob Lawrence dies at 70

  On April 26, Bob Lawrence and his wife, Rebecca, made the trip from their South Jersey home to Long Island for a reunion at WGBB-AM in Freeport, where Lawrence served as the longtime voice of the Islanders and program director. He let little on about his three-year battle with lung cancer, opting instead to address the crowd and tell them how honored he had been to know them.

• Unfinished business in the gridlocked Senate

  The Senate leadership fight has endangered dozens of bills affecting local governments on Long Island.

• Timberline Park in Brentwood has a history of violence

  Timberline Park, one of few recreation spots in Brentwood, is a neighborhood gem, with baseball diamonds, basketball courts, a playground and a swimming pool. But as a 13-year-old boy lay in critical condition Tuesday night, officials acknowledged that the park has a history of violence.

• Steven Damman, lost since 1955, may have been found

  A Michigan man who claims he was the toddler snatched from in front of an East Meadow store in 1955 probably is the boy, according to the father of the child who disappeared.

• Partisan wrangling grinds Senate to a halt

  ALBANY - Even though a judge dismissed the lawsuit seeking to void last Monday's coup, the State Senate remained stalled by partisan wrangling.

• From newsrooms to living rooms, kidnapping stunned Island

  The day Steven Damman vanished from an East Meadow market in 1955, Joan Bookbinder remembered, terror invaded her life and that of countless young mothers.

• New mother becomes Nassau's first swine flu death

  A young woman with swine flu who had just given birth died Tuesday, becoming the first death in Nassau County linked to the outbreak. Meanwhile, New York City announced seven more swine flu-related deaths.

• Boy, 13, in grave status after he's shot playing ball

  A 13-year-old Brentwood seventh-grader remained in grave condition late Tuesday night after he was shot in the eye as he played basketball in a park with friends.

• Autograph hounds try to collect their favorites

  Nick Tangredi stuck out his white U.S. Open flag, already covered with some two dozen signatures, as two players walked from the 18th hole to the clubhouse.

• Locals hope Bethpage Black stumps pros

  Before being awarded the 2002 U.S. Open, the Black Course at Bethpage State Park was overgrown, underused by golfers who didn't care for its no-carts policy, and unknown to out-of-towners who now sleep outside the course in their cars to snag a tee time.

• Report cites Levittown schools for poor budgeting

  A scorching new state audit report cites Levittown school officials for "a history of poor budgeting practices" - including repeated annual operating deficits, routine use of cash reserves to pay operating expenses and millions of dollars in cost overruns.

• Dan Janison: Breaking the deadlock in Albany is no game of chance

  ALBANY

• Sergio Garcia winning over crowds at Bethpage Black?

  In his return Tuesday to Bethpage Black, Sergio Garcia hit nothing but grace notes. On the course, he did the walk-and-sign for autograph seekers between holes, smiling when they shouted encouragement in Spanish, even if it was tinged with a Brooklyn accent. In his media interview, Garcia praised New York crowds for their passion and made note of his success in the area, finishing fourth in the 2002 Open and winning twice in the old Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club.

• City: Death of frail Rikers inmate was a homicide

  The New York City medical examiner's office ruled the death of a frail Rikers Island inmate who had been subdued by several guards a homicide, Newsday has learned.

• Cop admits helping Wyandanch crack dealer

  A New York Police sergeant admitted Tuesday that he illegally used a city police computer to get registration information on two cars for a Wyandanch crack dealer in return for a pair of sneakers worth $20 and a discount on several other pairs.

• PCB worries spur warnings on eating local weakfish

  For the first time, the state Health Department has added local weakfish to its list of fish it cautions people not to eat too often because of concerns about the chemicals known as PCBs.

• Beatrice E. Smith, lifelong Babylon resident, dies at age 106

  Beatrice Ethel Smith, a lifelong Babylon resident, died at her home at age 106, a relative said Tuesday.

• LIRR fare hike begins Wednesday for daily tickets

  Starting Wednesday, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad customers will pay about 10 percent more for daily tickets, as the first fare hike enacted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to plug its $1.8-billion budget deficit takes effect.

• Sharpton: We'll march if Albany doesn't get act together

  After calling for "an emergency leadership summit" Wednesday morning, the Rev. Al Sharpton didn't offer any concrete ideas on settling the chaos in Albany, but he did threaten to lead a protest march there next week if state government leaders don't sort things out.

• Driver who injured Nassau cop testifies at trial

  Rahiem Griffin said Wednesday that he remembers seeing a police car with its lights on on the side of the highway as he drove home from a night out with friends in May 2008.

• Pilots had trouble executing water landing in simulator

  Other pilots had trouble safely executing a water landing in a simulator under conditions like those that faced the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 when it crash-landed in the Hudson River, a test pilot told safety investigators Wednesday.

• Billionaire businessman helped GOP take back Senate

  ALBANY - In the end, it was Malcolm Smith's BlackBerry that did him in.

• Teens win spot in science finals with fire alarm device

  The fire alarm blares, but finding a path to safety can be difficult in a room blackened with thick smoke.

• Injured Nassau cop takes stand but does not speak

  Nassau Police Officer Kenneth Baribault smiled weakly Tuesday at his parents as he sat on the witness stand, demonstrating to a jury what he can and cannot do since an accused drunken driver slammed into his patrol car on the Long Island Expressway more than a year ago.

• 2 Suffolk programs will help Alzheimer's sufferers

  Following the disappearance of a Floral Park man with Alzheimer's who was discovered two days later in a Queens hospital, Suffolk officials are promoting two programs they say can help quickly locate people who wander away.

• Legislator Corbin pleads not guilty to fraud

  Nassau County Legis. Roger Corbin pleaded not guilty at a brief arraignment Tuesday in federal court in Central Islip to an indictment charging him with three counts of fraud for filing false income tax returns and one count of lying to a federal agent.

• Dan Janison: Bronx senator has led tumultuous career

  Standing before news cameras in Albany the other night, Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx) recalled that his 30 Republican colleagues had asked "many times" in recent months: "Are there some brave citizens and senators on the other side of the aisle?"

• New GOP majority may be locked out of chamber

  ALBANY - The new majority in the State Senate may find itself locked out of its ornate chamber Wednesday, which would force it to meet in a nearby office building or park.

• River landing the buzz at Flight 1549's NTSB hearing

  In the minutes before a bird strike crippled his Airbus A320 jet, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles were admiring the view of the Hudson River during takeoff from LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15.

• Carousel escapes another brush with closure

  After being told of a "shocking list of alleged deficiencies" at the Hicksville school where a 2-year-old girl choked to death, a Nassau judge Tuesday ordered more monitors to ensure that the troubled facility complies with health and safety regulations.

• LI Cares to provide food for needy pets

  Aiming to stop hunger among pets as well as people, the Long Island Cares food bank Wednesday will begin distributing pet food to those in need.

• Cops make arrest in 2-year-old fatal shooting

  A Bellmore man accused of ending a barroom fight with three bullets that left one man dead and another critically wounded has pleaded not guilty to the 2-year-old shooting.

• Cops: Selden mom left four kids home alone

  A Selden mother was arrested Tuesday after leaving her four children, aged 2 to 8, alone at home overnight, police said.

• Air France wreck reminds LIers of TWA crash

  Television pictures about the crash of Air France Flight 447 sent Msgr. James McDonald's thoughts spinning back to July 17, 1996, when TWA Flight 800 exploded and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off East Moriches.

• Schumer, Paterson eye loan modification rules

  Sen. Charles Schumer said Tuesday he will amend the Borrowers Protection Act, a bill he introduced earlier this year, to include loan modification companies, mortgage brokers and others who collect fees from financially troubled homeowners.

• Child younger than 2 becomes city's 5th swine flu death

  A child younger than 2 became the fifth person with confirmed swine flu to die in New York City, which led the nation Tuesday in deaths linked to the new virus strain, health officials said.

• Despite bailout, MTA still looking at fiscal woes

  "Doomsday" may have been avoided but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is not out of the woods yet, according to a state comptroller's report released Tuesday that predicts a remaining deficit for the agency over the next two years and alarmingly mounting debt.

• Shirley store's patrons: owner's a man of compassion

  Everybody knows Mo.

• Sex abuse victims lobby in Albany for limitations bill

  ALBANY - Beth McCabe is a smiling 12-year-old with wavy dark hair in the photograph on display in the Legislative Office Building.

• Widow: Man killed in Wyandanch not the target

  A Wyandanch man gunned down in front of his daughter's home was "well-liked by everybody" and likely not the intended target of the shooters, his widow said.

• Casinos and communities: Pros and cons

  The Shinnecock Indian Nation is scheduled Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to make its case to the U.S. Department of Interior that it should be a federally recognized tribe. If granted, the status would enable the tribe to build a gambling casino. Here are pros and cons for surrounding communities when such facilities are built:

• Cold Spring Harbor Lab gets 'dream team' cancer grant

  A scientific "dream team" that includes a Cold Spring Harbor researcher will attempt to answer persistent questions that have vexed breast cancer specialists' efforts to successfully treat advanced cases of the disease.

• Slain cop's colleagues overcome with emotion at wake

  Officers who wouldn't flinch when facing down New York City's most ferocious criminals wept into handkerchiefs like young boys Tuesday as they stood over an open casket and looked at the calm countenance of one of their own fallen brethren.

• Federal grand jury indicts Roger Corbin

  Nassau County Legis. Roger Corbin was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Central Islip on four felony charges.

• Central Islip group surveys neighborhood foreclosures

  A member of the Central Islip Civic Council knocked Tuesday at the door of a Central Islip house with its side gate ajar and a window screen in the yard. No one was home.

• LI student, others face life in R.I. sex case

  A teen from North Bellmore and two others accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated college classmate could face the rest of their lives in a Rhode Island prison if convicted, authorities said.

• Group: Doonesbury creator 'maligns Judaism' in comic

  The Anti-Defamation League is demanding Garry Trudeau, the creator of the popular Doonesbury comic strip, apologize for a feature that the group says "maligns Judaism" and "promotes a Christian heresy."

• 6 arrested, 3 cops hurt in Wyandanch melee

  Five teens, three of them students at Wyandanch High School, were among six arrested following an afternoon melee involving about 100 people on South 27th Street in Wyandanch, police said.

• Sotomayor meets with Schumer, Gillibrand

  WASHINGTON - Be yourself.

• Sources: Cop shooting probe to focus on sergeant's role

  The probe of the fatal East Harlem shooting of Officer Omar Edwards will focus in part on what role the sergeant at the scene played in the confrontation, police sources said Tuesday.

• Shirley store owner's compassion for would-be robber

  When a bat-wielding masked man walked into a Shirley convenience store and demanded cash, store owner Mohammad Sohail pulled out a rifle, ordered the man to get on the floor - and then, he says, found himself overcome with compassion.

• Hempstead's Murray agrees to Lighthouse meeting

  After several contentious months - and some pointed exchanges Tuesday - Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Lighthouse development principal Charles Wang said they have agreed to meet to discuss the approval process for Wang's mixed-use proposal for 150 acres around a renovated Nassau Coliseum.

• 'Zoloft defense' may be part of LI case

  Zoloft, a widely prescribed antidepressant, has taken on the role of a shadow defendant in a Nassau County domestic violence case.

• Trial begins in shooting of four men in Westbury

  Four young men were shot like fish in a fishbowl as they sat in a Honda Civic outside a Westbury night club, Nassau prosecutors said Tuesday as a murder trial in the case began.

• Suspect in fatal road rage 'glad to be out' of jail

  After a court appearance Wednesday morning, the Queens College student accused in a deadly road rage in Long Beach said he was 'glad to be out' of jail while his criminal case proceeds.

• Cops: Homeless man caught breaking into Dune Road bar

  A homeless man from Texas was arrested in Westhampton on Wednesday, when police said they found him burglarizing a restaurant on Dune Road.

• Shinnecock Nation moves closer to federal recognition

  With a judge's signature, the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton moved closer than ever to securing long-elusive recognition from the federal government that would mean money for schools and health clinics and the right to open a long-sought gambling facility.

• Cops: Students talking, distracted before fatal accident

  BY SOPHIA CHANG

• Lattingtown's Skunks Misery Road makes a Top 10 list

  We can't mention the two, er, unmentionable streets in England that top the list of "Most Unique Street Names" featured Wednesday on the Internet site WalletPop.

• East End man says charge is Giuliani retaliation

  An Amagansett man insisted at an impromptu news conference Wednesday that the only reason he got arrested over the holiday weekend is because he is being set up by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in retaliation for making a documentary that will expose the former mayor's "real role" after 9/11.

• Shellfishing in Huntington Town bays banned due to toxin

  About 2,200 acres of shellfish harvest areas in Huntington Town waters have been temporarily closed after a potentially lethal toxin was found in mussels there, state environmental officials said Wednesday.

• Nassau Democrats delay choice for Corbin's seat

  The Democratic leadership in Nassau County has decided to delay a decision on who it will nominate for the 2nd Legislative District seat now held by Legis. Roger Corbin (D-Westbury), who is awaiting trial on federal tax charges.

• Cops: Metal bottle cap key to solving Starbucks bombing

  The key to finding the Starbucks bombers could lie in a critical piece of evidence found at the scene - a metal bottle cap inscribed with the capital letters VET that was found amid the bomb remnants, police said Wednesday.

• LI teen makes National Spelling Bee semifinals

  Long Island's top speller swept through preliminaries at the Scripps National Spelling Bee Wednesday and will be competing for the championship on national TV Thursday.

• Agreement allows Carousel school to remain open

  The Hicksville school where a 2-year-old girl died after choking in March will be allowed to remain open until the end of the academic year as long as three independent monitors are there at all times, a Nassau judge ruled Tuesday.