The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- NY nanny attempted suicide in front of dead children's mom - police
- In echoes of Obama, Romney seeks to adopt mantle of change
- U.S. Senator Reid treated for minor injuries in car crash
| NY nanny attempted suicide in front of dead children's mom - police Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:46 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The nanny suspected of slaying a Manhattan professional couple's two young children began stabbing herself as the mother entered the bathroom and began screaming when she saw the dead bodies in the bathtub, New York's police commissioner said on Friday.
The nanny, YoSelyn Ortega, had been employed by the family of Kevin and Marina Krim for two years before she killed their children and attempted suicide on Thursday in the family's luxury apartment, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. Ortega, who lived with her son and sister near the Krims' apartment off Central Park, has been a naturalized U.S. citizen for a decade, Kelly said, adding that she had been referred to the Krims by another family. New York police were hoping to interview the critically wounded nanny later on Friday, said an NYPD official who requested anonymity. Ortega, 50, has not been charged because police have not been able to interview her. "We know now that the nanny began to stab herself as the woman entered the bathroom," Kelly said. "We initially thought it was, it had already been done, but now information is coming out that she did it as the mother entered the room." Ortega remains the prime suspect in the stabbing death of the two children, Leo, 2, and Lulu, 6, Kelly said. Marina Krim had entered the apartment at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday with her 3-year-old daughter, returning home after Ortega failed to meet her as planned at a local dance studio with the two other children. Krim saw that the apartment was dark and returned to the lobby to ask the doorman if the nanny and kids had gone out, Kelly said. The doorman said no, and she returned to the apartment and went into the bathroom, he said. Police spokesman Paul Browne said the children suffered "multiple stab wounds," and were pronounced dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital. Kevin Krim, the children's father and an executive with CNBC, had been heading home from a business trip, He was met by police at the airport and notified of the killings, police said. A spokesman for CNBC released a statement Friday expressing the "sadness we all feel" for Krim and his wife. The couple's "unimaginable loss ... is without measure." Marina Krim, whose Facebook page lists her as originally being from Manhattan Beach, California, taught art classes to children, according to a website for the Hippo Playground Project, a New York organisation where she volunteered. She also maintained a photograph-laden blog to document her daily life with her children, with the final entry dated Thursday, three hours before the discovery. "Leo speaks in the most adorable way possible," she wrote. "And he does things like, '(I) want a fresh bagel' and 'Lito (what he calls himself) wants cold milk' and most adorable of all, 'No thank you' - he never uses 'No' alone, it's always paired with 'thank you.'" The blog was later blocked from public view. A source at NBC News confirmed that the blog - which contains pictures of the Krim family - was Krim's. (Editing by Dan Burns, Doina Chiacu and Philip Barbara) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| In echoes of Obama, Romney seeks to adopt mantle of change Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:45 PM PDT AMES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney attempted to adopt the mantle of change on Friday in an economic speech in which he vowed to bring a fresh start to Washington to generate stronger job growth.
Romney's address in the swing state of Iowa was an effort to take on the role President Barack Obama played in 2008, that of an outsider who would represent an abrupt change if he wins the tight 2012 presidential race. The threat of Hurricane Sandy swirling toward the East Coast disrupted the campaign, with Romney forced to cancel a Sunday rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was unclear what impact the storm might have on early voting taking place in states in the potential storm zone. In his speech, Romney dismissed Obama as a shadow of his former self, one who wants to protect the status quo and has no plan to repair the weak U.S. economy. "This election is a choice between the status quo - going forward with the same policies of the last four years - or instead, choosing real change, change that offers promise, promise that the future will be better than the past," he said. Billed by his campaign as a major speech, Romney's address was a summing up of his economic argument aimed at voters who have yet to make up their minds, with the November 6 election only 11 days away. Romney has frequently dropped the words "change" or "big change" into campaign speeches in recent days, although he has not made the theme as central to his argument as Obama did in the 2008 election. In this speech, he used the word "change" at least 16 times, including five times in one breath. "What this requires is change, change from the course of the last four years. It requires that we put aside the small and the petty, and demand the scale of change we deserve: we need real change, big change," he said. ECONOMIC GROWTH U.S. gross domestic product growth for the third quarter of this year was reported at 2 percent on Friday, a figure that both campaigns seized on to support their arguments. The Obama camp said it was proof that economic growth is taking place, albeit slowly. "While we have more work to do, today's GDP growth report, showing the 13th straight quarter of growth, is more evidence that our economy continues to come back from the worst recession since the Great Depression under President Obama's leadership," the Obama campaign said. Romney, on the other hand, said the report was discouraging. "Slow economic growth means slow job growth and declining take-home pay. This is what four years of President Obama's policies have produced," he said. His speech lacked specifics on what exactly Romney would do to boost the economy other than his five priorities of boosting energy production and trade, improving education, cutting debt and deficits and building small businesses. Instead, he focused on the big picture, the challenges that await the next president, and stressed he would not replicate Obama's 2009 $787 billion job stimulus package. "This is not the time to double down on the trickle-down government policies that have failed us. It is time for new, bold changes that measure up to the moment, that can bring America's families the certainty that the future will be better than the past," he said. Polls show a race that is too close to call. Romney, the underdog all year, made up ground during three presidential debates with Obama this month and vaulted into an even position with the Democratic incumbent. RACE TO THE FINISH The latest Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll had Obama leading Romney among likely voters by 47 percent to 46 percent. An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Romney up 3 percentage points nationally, by 50 percent to 47 percent for Obama. In battleground states where the election will be decided, a dogfight was still unfolding. An NBC/Marist poll had Obama up 3 points in Nevada, 50 percent to 47 percent, while in Colorado - which Obama won in 2008 - the two men were tied at 48 percent apiece. Romney sought to reassure those who fear he would simply cut the federal budget regardless of the consequences. He said he and his vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, would tackle intractable problems like overhauling Medicare and Social Security, but would do so in a way that protects the programs for current and near retirees. He said he would "reform healthcare to tame the growth in its cost," a reference to the overhaul Obama conducted of the U.S. healthcare system that Romney wants to repeal and replace. But he insisted he would preserve popular parts of the Obama healthcare law such as ensuring consumers with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be denied insurance coverage. (Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell and Todd Eastham)
Obama shrugs off Romney adviser's comment on Powell endorsement Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| U.S. Senator Reid treated for minor injuries in car crash Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:15 PM PDT LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was treated for minor rib and hip injuries on Friday after the vehicle in which he was riding was involved in an accident on a Las Vegas interstate highway, his office said.
The 72-year-old Democratic senator, who was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident, walked in on his own to the University Medical Center Hospital, his office said in a statement. Reid was released from the hospital later on Friday. "He's fine," said University Medical Center spokeswoman Karen Gordon. Some of Reid's security detail and a staffer also had minor injuries and were evaluated at the hospital, the statement said. Reid has been campaigning for President Barack Obama and fellow Nevada Democrats in recent weeks ahead of the November 6 elections. The Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper said the accident involved six vehicles, including four that were part of Reid's motorcade. The newspaper said Reid was due at its offices on Friday afternoon for an editorial board meeting with its Spanish-language publication. Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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