J. Andrews, others to get special Grammys

Bloomberg's aides provided support for Ground Zero mosque, emails show
Mayor Bloomberg's top deputies went to great lengths to help those trying to build a Mosque at Ground Zero - even drafting a letter to the community board for them, newly released documents show. City Hall on Thursday released a flurry of emails between its brass and Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam pushing to build a Mosque near the sensitive site, and his supporters. At one point, Community Affairs Commissioner Nazli Parvizi drafted a letter for Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, to send to Community Board...

Harvard Law grad pleads guilty in 9/11 remains tent fire
NEW YORK — A Harvard Law School graduate admitted Wednesday to setting a fire at a temporary repository for Sept. 11 Victims’ remains, though he said he had been so drunk he barely recalled his actions. "I cannot explain why I acted the way I did, but I take responsibility for my actions. I am sorry," Brian Schroeder said, his voice cracking slightly, as he pleaded guilty to Arson, cemetery desecration and all the other charges against him in the Halloween 2009 fire. Over prosecutor...

Tree That Survived 9/11 Attack Is Replanted At Ground Zero
"A modest-looking tree that survived the collapse of the twin towers during the 9/11 attacks was replanted at the Sept. 11 Memorial plaza Wednesday," New York's Daily News writes. The Survivor Tree, at the World Trade Center site on Wednesday. The Survivor Tree, at the World Trade Center site on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal notes that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg "said the tree symbolizes the city and country's resilience. ... It was discovered in the rubble in October 2001 with s...

Tree That Survived 9/11 Attack Is Replanted At Ground Zero
"A modest-looking tree that survived the collapse of the twin towers during the 9/11 attacks was replanted at the Sept. 11 Memorial plaza Wednesday," New York's Daily News writes. The Survivor Tree, at the World Trade Center site on Wednesday. The Survivor Tree, at the World Trade Center site on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal notes that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg "said the tree symbolizes the city and country's resilience. ... It was discovered in the rubble in October 2001 with s...

New emails reveal Bloomberg one of biggest GZ mosque supporters
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has never been shy about sharing his far-left opinions, though politically he has cloaked them in the guise of being, first, a Republican and, more recently, an independent. When the subject turned last summer to the building of an Islamic house of worship on a site not only near Ground Zero but struck by a section of fuselage from one of the jetliners flown into the World Trade Center, Bloomberg scolded those who opposed the project. “It is a shame th...

Soybeans, corn rise on Argentina weather concerns
NEW YORK — Grain prices rose Wednesday as investors worried that a drought in Argentina might damage soybeans and corn growing in that country. Argentina is the world’s second-largest exporter of corn and the third-largest exporter of soybeans. The country has had dry weather for the past seven weeks. If that keeps up, it could reduce the size of the country’s harvest. "The fear is the pattern is going to continue," said Tim Hannagan, senior grain analyst for brokerage PFG Bes...

Oil hovers near 2-year high on cold snap, tighter stocks
By Randolph Fabi Singapore | Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:02am EST Singapore (Reuters) - Oil Prices climbed toward a two-year high on Thursday as cold weather in the United States boosted demand, slashed stockpiles and contributed to a stronger-than-expected rise in fuel consumption in 2010. U.S. crude for February rose 25 cents to $90.73 a barrel by 0714 GMT (2:14 a.m. ET), after settling at the highest level since October 2008 on Wednesday. ICE Brent Crude traded 14 cents higher at $93.79. Abnormally...

Stock index futures unchanged
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange December 3, 2010. PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat opening on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.01 percent and NASDAQ 100 futures up 0.01 percent at 0917 GMT (4:17 a.m. ET). Energy shares will be in the spotlight as Oil Prices climbed to near a two-year high on Thursday, boosted by an unexpected surge in global demand that has fueled the biggest drop ...

Gas prices top $3 a gallon
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gas Prices surpassed the milestone $3 mark Thursday for the first time since Oct. 17, 2008, as the national average compiled by motorist group AAA reached $3.013 a gallon. Gas prices have risen more than 4% from $2.872 a month ago and are nearly 16% higher than the $2.585 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures. Email Print Comment Prices have been climbing steadily since bottoming out at $1.616 in December 2008. However, the average price is down $1.101 -- ...

Diesel, jet fuel made from natural gas
Image by philipbouchard via Flickr NY Times: Diesel and jet fuel are usually made from Crude Oil. But with Oil Prices rising even as a glut of Natural Gas keeps prices for that fuel extraordinarily cheap, a bit of expensive alchemy is suddenly starting to look financially appealing: turning Natural Gas into liquid fuels. A South African firm, Sasol, announced Monday that it would spend just over 1 billion Canadian Dollars to buy a half-interest in a Canadian Shale Gas field, so it can explore...

Crude Market Perspectives As WTI Passes $90
Heating Oil Prices followed the lead set by Gasoline prices on Monday, by breaking out over their critical resistance at 251.61 on Tuesday, finishing three points over that, at 251.64. Crude Oil Prices did not finish over $90.76, but they did finish at their highest level in two years at $89.82. And, now that Gasoline and heating Oil Prices have both broken their critical levels, we expect that crude Oil Prices will follow rather soon. The main factors pushing prices higher were optimism over ...

Stock index futures unchanged
PARIS | Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:37am EST PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat opening on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.01 percent and NASDAQ 100 futures up 0.01 percent at 0917 GMT (4:17 a.m. ET). Energy shares will be in the spotlight as Oil Prices climbed to near a two-year high on Thursday, boosted by an unexpected surge in global demand that has fueled the biggest drop in U.S. Crude Oil stockpiles in more ...

New Interest in Turning Gas to Diesel
By MATTHEW L. WALD NYT WASHINGTON — Diesel and jet fuel are usually made from Crude Oil. But with Oil Prices rising even as a glut of Natural Gas keeps prices for that fuel extraordinarily cheap, a bit of expensive alchemy is suddenly starting to look financially appealing: turning Natural Gas into liquid fuels. A South African firm, Sasol, announced Monday that it would spend just over 1 billion Canadian Dollars to buy a half-interest in a Canadian Shale Gas field, so it can explore turning...

Oil prices trade near two-year highs...
Oil prices traded close to recent two-year highs on Thursday, as traders continued to absorb news that US crude reserves fell by more than double market expectations last week. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February rose eight cents to 93.73 dollars per barrel after soaring on Wednesday to 93.94 dollars -- a level last seen in early October 2008. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February, gained 10 cents to 90.58 dollars on Thursday, after touching a similar peak of 90.8...

Ground zero workers celebrate political victory
From left, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Deputy Chief Richard Alles, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., raise take part in a news conference, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010, after Senate passage of a bill to assist 9/11 First Responders. The politicians who wrangled a last-minute compromise to provide billions of dollars in aid to 9/11 survivors and responders have gathered at the World Trade Center site to declare victory, even while others say the bill didn't go far...

Marin County sewage spills may be sabotage
As much as a million gallons of sewage has poured into Marin County's Corte Madera Creek this week - including sludge from a pipe that ruptured Wednesday - following a series of mishaps that officials believe could be sabotage. The raw sewage bubbled out of a badly clogged pipeline in Kentfield Friday. Then, about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a large pipe apparently burst underneath a berm used by locals as a jogging trail next to the creek, about three-quarters of a mile west of Sir Francis Drake Bo...

Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband glues own eye shut
The husband of ailing Hollywood Socialite and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized after accidentally gluing one of his own eyes shut. Gabor, 93, has been in and out of Hospital in recent months. But this time, it was self-proclaimed Prince Frederic Von Anhalt who was rushed to Hospital after he mistakenly picked up a bottle of nail glue he mistook for Eye Drops and sealed his eye shut, according to celebrity website TMZ.com. The colorful 66-year-old German Socialite underwent a procedure at...

Zsa Zsas husband glues his eye shut
The husband of ailing Hollywood Socialite and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized after accidentally gluing one of his own eyes shut. Gabor, 93, has been in and out of Hospital in recent months. But this time, it was self-proclaimed Prince Frederic Von Anhalt who was rushed to Hospital after he mistakenly picked up a bottle of nail glue he mistook for Eye Drops and sealed his eye shut, according to celebrity website TMZ.com. The colorful 66-year-old German Socialite underwent a procedure at a...

Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband glues own eye shut
The husband of ailing Hollywood Socialite and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized after accidentally gluing one of his own eyes shut. Gabor, 93, has been in and out of Hospital in recent months. But this time, it was self-proclaimed Prince Frederic Von Anhalt who was rushed to Hospital after he mistakenly picked up a bottle of nail glue he mistook for Eye Drops and sealed his eye shut, according to celebrity website TMZ.com. The colorful 66-year-old German Socialite underwent a procedure at a...

Zsa Zsa Gabor's prince glues own eye shut
The husband of ailing Hollywood Socialite and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized after accidentally gluing one of his own eyes shut. Gabor, 93, has been in and out of Hospital in recent months. But this time, it was self-proclaimed Prince Frederic Von Anhalt who was rushed to Hospital after he mistakenly picked up a bottle of nail glue he mistook for Eye Drops and sealed his eye shut, according to celebrity website TMZ.com. The colorful 66-year-old German Socialite underwent a procedure at a...

Zsa Zsa Gabor's prince glues own eye shut
The husband of ailing Hollywood Socialite and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized after accidentally gluing one of his own eyes shut. Gabor, 93, has been in and out of Hospital in recent months. But this time, it was self-proclaimed Prince Frederic Von Anhalt who was rushed to Hospital after he mistakenly picked up a bottle of nail glue he mistook for Eye Drops and sealed his eye shut, according to celebrity website TMZ.com. The colorful 66-year-old German Socialite underwent a procedure at...

Hardcore 9/11 Tree Survivor Gets Back to Its Roots at WTC
(NYC Mayor's Office Flickr) NEXT » Several weeks after the attack on the Twin Towers, a Callery Pear tree with lifeless limbs, snapped roots and blackened trunk was discovered and saved from the piles of smoldering rubble in the plaza of the World Trade Center. The tree was originally planted in the 1970s near buildings four and five in the World Trade Center; when it was rescued after 9/11 it measured just eight feet high. Horticulturists nursed it back to life at the Parks Department&#...

Ground zero workers celebrate political victory (AP)
NEW YORK – The politicians who wrangled a last-minute Compromise bill giving 9/11 survivors and responders with five more years of Health Care and billions of dollars in compensation gathered at the World Trade Center site Thursday to declare a patriotic victory, though others disagree over whether the bill goes far enough. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer joined other New York politicians and some Ground Zero workers beneath the rising construction at the site to celebrate t...

Emails: Bloomberg Aides Went To Political Bat For Mosque Near Ground Zero
Mayor Bloomberg's top deputies went to great lengths to help those trying to build a Mosque at Ground Zero - even drafting a letter to the community board for them, newly released documents show. City Hall on Thursday released a flurry of emails between its brass and Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam pushing to build a Mosque near the sensitive site, and his supporters. At one point, Community Affairs Commissioner Nazli Parvizi drafted a letter for Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, to send to Communit...

After Passage of 9/11 Health Bill, NY Lawmakers Take Victory Lap
New York's senators, members of Congress, mayor and speaker of the State Assembly gathered at Ground Zero today to crow about passage of the Zadroga Bill. "Today is a victory lap," said Senator Chuck Schumer. "But unlike a victory lap when you run a race, when you just feel good, this one matters. This victory lap saves lives. There are people today who feel a whole lot better than they did two days ago, knowing that they will get the medical care that they need, knowing that their heroism is ...