Suspect in subway death known to cops

Suspect in subway death known to cops

new york

The family of a woman accused of shoving a man to his death in front of a subway train called police several times in the past five years because she had not been taking prescribed medication and was difficult to deal with, authorities said Monday.

Erika Menendez, 31, was being held without bail on a murder charge in the death of Sunando Sen. She told police she pushed the 46-year-old India native because she thought he was Muslim, and she hates them, according to prosecutors.

It wasn’t clear whether Menendez had a diagnosed mental condition.

Blasts kill 23 in Iraq

baghdad

Insurgents launched a wave of attacks across Iraq on Monday, primarily targeting Shiite communities and pilgrims and killing at least 23 people, officials said.

The attacks appeared aimed at undermining security and confidence in the government by fomenting sectarian conflict. Overall violence has dropped since the nation neared a civil war several years ago, but attacks of a sectarian nature come almost daily.

The deadliest blasts Monday were in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of the capital, where militants planted bombs around two houses.

Governor pardons Wilmington 10

raleigh, n.c.

Outgoing North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue issued pardons Monday to the Wilmington 10, a group wrongly convicted 40 years ago in a notorious Civil Rights-era prosecution that led to accusations that the state was holding political prisoners.

Perdue issued pardons of innocence Monday for the nine black men and one white woman who received prison sentences totaling nearly 300 years for the 1971 firebombing of a Wilmington grocery store during three days of violence that included the shooting of a black teenager by police.

The pardon means the state no longer thinks the 10 — four of whom have since died — committed a crime.

Restrictions on Gaza are eased by Israel

jerusalem

In a major concession to Gaza’s Hamas leaders Monday, Israel dropped its five-year ban on construction materials crossing into the territory and raised hopes there that rebuilding could begin following a damaging eight-day Israeli air campaign.

The easing of restrictions is an outgrowth of the cease-fire that ended the airstrikes and months of daily rocket fire from Gaza at Israel.

Contacts mediated by Egypt to follow up the truce produced the concession.

Police: NYC couple had terrorist book

new york

A woman who gave birth under arrest and her boyfriend were facing weapons charges Monday after authorities said they found a substance used to make bombs and papers titled “The Terrorist Encyclopedia” in their apartment in a picturesque Manhattan neighborhood.

Morgan Gliedman, the 27-year-old daughter of a prominent New York City physician, and Aaron Greene, 31, were arrested Saturday after officers with a search warrant discovered a plastic container with 7 grams of HMTD, a highly explosive white powder used in bomb making, police and prosecutors said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Monday the substance was powerful, but it was difficult to speculate how much damage it would do in that amount.

Associated Press