Salon.com > Samantha Henry

Bomb suspects’ sister “heartbroken,” skeptical

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:13:00 +0000

WEST NEW YORK, N.J. (AP) — The FBI on Friday removed a computer from the New Jersey home of a sister of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. Police said she was cooperating with the investigation and was "heartbroken, surprised and upset," though she told reporters she wasn't sure the accusations against her brothers were true.

The woman, identified by local police as Ailina Tsarnaeva, told federal agents she had not been in contact with her brothers for years, according to Police Director Michael Indri.

"The main concern was to confirm that there was no contact made one way or the other, and I'm confident that the FBI has confirmed that," he said.

The woman's three-story brick building, across the Hudson River from New York City, remained cordoned off as federal agents searched the home and left with a computer and other electronics.

Early in the day, she spoke through a barely open door to News12 New Jersey and The Star-Ledger, telling them she was sorry for the families that lost loved ones "the same way I lost my loved one."

"I'm hurt for everyone that's been hurt," she told the TV station and newspaper.

Her brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed overnight in a shootout with police outside Boston. Her younger brother remains at large.

Tensions linger in US over “comfort women” plaques

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:05:00 +0000

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — Four years ago, noticing plaques at the county courthouse commemorating slavery, the Holocaust and other atrocities, Korean-American community leader Chejin Park struck upon the idea of adding a tribute to the "comfort women" of World War II.

To his surprise, the seemingly small, local gesture — to honor the more than 200,000 mostly Korean and Chinese women forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers — would make a tiny northern New Jersey town a flashpoint in an international controversy.

Local officials would rebuff a request by Japanese officials to take down the first plaque put up just over two years ago in the town of Palisades Park, a square-mile borough outside New York where a majority of residents are of Korean descent.

But now the dedication of a second marker, this one at the courthouse whose memorials had inspired Park, has been held up until the wording can be changed to remove a reference to the Japanese government.

The top government official in Bergen County, Kathleen Donovan, said the delay is due to a mix-up, not any new pressure from Japanese officials.

Flights resume at New York airports following blizzard

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:58:00 +0000

Planes have begun landing again in the New York metropolitan area after a blizzard clobbered the Northeast and closed the region's three airports.

Steve Coleman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airports, says the first flight arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly before 7 p.m. Monday. It's a Royal Jordanian flight.

An Air Canada flight from Toronto landed at LaGuardia shortly before 7:40 p.m.

Passenger Patrick Wacker, who had been stranded in Toronto for a day, said everybody aboard was clapping by the end of the flight.

Thousands of travelers trying to get home after the holiday weekend have been stranded by the storm, which dropped more than 2 feet of snow on parts of the Northeast.

Flights were expected to begin arriving at Newark and airport later in the evening.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Planes began landing again Monday at one of the nation's busiest airports after a blizzard clobbered the Northeast with more than 2 feet of snow and closed the New York metropolitan area's three airports, stranding thousands of travelers trying to get home after the holidays.