Manhattan, NY - President Barack Obama has called former New York City Mayor Ed Koch in the hospital to ask how he's doin'. The 84-year-old Koch is currently in an intensive care unit at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital after having quadruple bypass surgery last week. The mayor's former press secretary, George Arzt, says the president called on Wednesday afternoon and said ``I'm just...

Morgantown, WV - Brushing teeth and flossing may not only reduce gum disease and stroke but memory loss, U.S. researchers suggest. In an ongoing study, researchers at West Virginia University in Morgantown gave oral exams, memory tests and, if subjects agreed, a blood test to 270 people age 70 or older in more than a dozen West Virginia counties. The researchers found about 23 percent of the...

Ramapo, NY - A six-year legal battle by a retired school bus driver to regain ownership of a Decatur Avenue house appears nearing an end. A four-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court has unanimously ruled against Venera Held and in favor of Michael Goldstein. Held accused Goldstein of tricking her into signing an agreement to sell the house during a meeting in a...

New York - A former New York state tax department worker admits he stole the identities of taxpayers and ran up more than $200,000 in fraudulent charges on their accounts. Walter Healey of Troy pleaded guilty today to four charges including identity theft and tampering with public records. Prosecutors say he took information from tax department files that he used to illegally get credit cards...

Manhattan, NY - A man impersonating a dead salesman pleaded guilty to scamming city transit officials and potentially imperiling commuters by selling knockoff engine parts capable of causing a subway derailment. The scheme "raised the prospect of accidental injuries to (transit) passengers and employees," District Attorney Robert Morgenthau told reporters. Morgenthau said that some of the...

Brooklyn, NY - Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the conviction of a 31-year-old teacher, for Seven Counts of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree and Two Counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, for sexually abusing two boys. The Flatbush Bar Mitzvah tutor and licensed social worker, will be sentenced September 9. He faces up to a two years in jail. The...

Manhattan, NY - The judge who will sentence financier Bernard Madoff next week says the sentencing will take place as scheduled but the complexity of the fraud means he cannot order restitution yet. Federal Judge Denny Chin said in an order today that he must delay restitution because of the number of victims and problems caused by faulty record-keeping and the scope, complexity and length of...

Brooklyn, NY - The New York City Council delivered over $5 million in funds to Jewish organizations and neighborhoods in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget passed last Friday at City Hall. Despite the tough economic times, the City Council was able to direct funding to dozens of neighborhood organizations such as the Masbia, Bonei Olam, Shomrim Safety Patrol, Chaverim, and Chai Lifeline and to vital...

Albany, NY - Gov. David Paterson has ratcheted up pressure on New York's warring, deadlocked Senate, saying he will take lawmakers to court to enforce compliance with a special session. In a fiery press conference, Paterson said the Senate will convene tomorrow or "we will be in court tomorrow afternoon." He also threatened to withhold paychecks, saying "if you're not going to work, you...

Washington - A group of 25 US lawmakers urged Lithuania and Poland to enact laws this year to address restituting property the Nazis stole during the Holocaust. Democratic Representative Robert Wexler and 24 colleagues wrote to prime ministers Donald Tusk of Poland and Andrius Kubilius of Lithuania to push for action on the legislation during a June 26-30 conference on Holocaust-era assets to...

Wasington - Car-donation groups are keeping a wary eye on the Cash for Clunkers bill, fearful that it will dry up a key supply of used cars. The bill is adding insult to injury for these groups, as it comes on top of a painfully bad economy that has already slowed donations. "It's hard to say; I think [the bill] will have an impact," said Marty Schloss, cofounder of CarsHelpingAmerica.org. "I...

Washington - The White House has rescinded the invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at U.S. embassies around the world. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said nobody from Iran RSVPed to come, and at this point, the invitations are no longer valid. "Given the events of the past many days, those invitations will no longer be extended," Mr. Gibbs said. ...

South Carolina - SC Gov. Mark Sanford apologizes to wife, staff after mystery trip to Argentina During an emotional news conference, SC Gov. Stanford also said he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Sanford also apologized to his family, friends and the state after suddenly leaving to Argentina without informing his staff Ones considered a rising star in the...

New York - The Federal Reserve, as expected, dampened expectations for interest rate hikes this year, while holding steady on its plans for asset purchases. The US central bank decided to hold its target for the federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, in the zero to 0.25 percent range reached in December. That means commercial banks' prime lending rate...

Moscow, Russia - The Polish government has sharply criticized a Russian TV program it said blames Poland in part for World War II's outbreak. A statement from the Polish Embassy in Moscow is the latest development in a rash of contentious disputes between Russia and its neighbors over portrayals of 20th Century history. Tuesday's statement says assertions aired during a prime-time weekly...