NYPD assures New Year’s revelers

NYPD assures New Year’s revelers

NEW YORK

With the nation still jittery over shooting massacres in California and Paris, New York City officials sought to assure revelers Tuesday that the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will be the safest place in the world — heavily secured by thousands of New York Police Department officers, including a new specialized counterterrorism unit.

“Leave the worrying to the NYPD,” said James O’Neill, chief of the department. “People should feel safest this New Year’s Eve because we’re there.”

Police Commissioner William Bratton said there were no credible threats to the city ahead of the holiday. Yet officials also acknowledged that there were limits to what they could do to ensure security, especially outside the tightly controlled blocks at the heart of the celebration. In much of the city, the focus will be on fast responses to any emergency rather than preventive measures such as security checkpoints.

Magnitude-4.4 quake in S. Calif.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.

A moderate earthquake shook an inland area of Southern California near San Bernardino on Tuesday night, giving a start to thousands across a heavily populated area.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries, however.

The U.S. Geological Survey says in a preliminary report that the magnitude-4.4 quake hit in foothills northwest of San Bernardino about 5:38 p.m. at a depth of about 3 miles. Minutes later, it was followed by aftershocks of magnitude 3.8 and 3.2.

Suicide bombing kills 26 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a government office in a northwestern Pakistani city Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 45 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban group.

The bombing took place in the city of Mardan, outside the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority, or NADRA, which issues identity cards, according to senior police officer Saeed Khan Wazir.

WHO declares Guinea free of Ebola

CONAKRY, Guinea

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak over in Guinea Tuesday, a huge step in the fight against the world’s largest epidemic and the first time there are no known cases anywhere since the virus emerged in Guinea two years ago.

The West Africa-concentrated outbreak last year spread to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. Liberia is on a countdown to become Ebola-free on Jan. 14, which could mark a final end to the epidemic. Sierra Leone, the third West African country to be hammered by the epidemic, was declared free from transmissions Nov. 7. No new cases have been reported anywhere in the world in at least 21 days, according to WHO.

Chicago cop pleads innocent of murder

CHICAGO

A white Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Jason Van Dyke, 37, faces six counts of first-degree murder and one of official misconduct in the death of 17-year-old McDonald. The officer, wearing a dark suit and blue striped tie, appeared in court Tuesday as his lawyer entered the plea on his behalf.

Judge Vincent Gaughan set the next hearing for Jan. 29.

Associated Press