In the months after 9/11, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly reached out to the city's Muslim population. WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly explains how that strategy has worked and what those relationships have meant during the current controversy surrounding the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.
Long-term debt obligations. Bond interest rates. Pension liabilities. These words may make your eyes glaze over, but it might be time to sit up at attention. State governors from across the country met in Boston last weekend at the National Governors Association meeting, and their fiscal woes were at the top of the agenda.
Two American citizens were arrested yesterday at New York's JFK airport. The young men from New Jersey, both in their 20s, had been under surveillance since 2006. Law enforcement laid low, gathered evidence and waited until this weekend when the two men were trying to board separate flights to Egypt, and then to Somalia where they were allegedly planning to join al-Shabab, a terrorist group allied with al-Qaida.
While we're all celebrating the capture of the alleged would-be Times Square bomber, there's story of another bomber that has been lost in the mix. This bomber successfully detonated a bomber in Times Square, in front of an army recruiting station back in 2008. He is also suspected of setting off explosives in front of the U.K. and Mexican Consulates in New York City. Why has this man not been caught? WNYC's Bob Hennelly has been following this story and knows the answer.
Federal authorities arrested a suspect allegedly responsible for a car bomb that was left to detonate in New York's Times Square on Saturday. The 30-year-old man, Faisal Shahzad was apprehended while trying to board an airplane to Dubai. NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne explains the arrest.
Federal authorities arrested an American citizen of Pakistani origin, who is alleged to be behind the failed bomb attempt at Times Sq. on Saturday. Faisal Shahzad is a 30-year-old man living in Bridgeport, Conn. He was arrested early Tuesday morning as he tried to board a plane at New York's Kennedy airport.
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday that the bomb found in an S.U.V. Saturday evening in Times Square was amateurish and flawed, but could have been deadly.
President Obama's nuclear summit in Washington has brought together leaders of 47 nations in pursuit of an elusive goal: to lock down unsecured nuclear material within the next four years and prevent it from getting into the hands of terrorists. That agenda would be difficult enough if nuclear material weren't already circulating on the black market, but it is.
As economists declare the country to be officially heading out of recession, many are looking around them and still seeing severe economic troubles. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter joins us; he says American cities are in serious trouble, can expect little help from cash-strapped state governments, and need direct action from Washington. (click through for a full interview transcript)
Despite President Obama’s repeated appearances on the campaign trail, Democrats lost both of the gubernatorial elections up for grabs yesterday. Does this mean that the president has lost some of his political clout? Or were local voters simply interested in local concerns? To assess the political implications of the Republican wins in historically blue New Jersey and purple Virginia, we speak to WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly and Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney.
In New York's 23rd, however, weeks of drama culminated in a Democrat taking the historically red congressional district. We speak again with Brian Mann, a reporter with North Country Public Radio.
Tomorrow will bring three off-year elections that have garnered national attention: New Jersey and Virginia will elect governors, and a special election – which grew more special over the weekend as the Republican candidate suspended her campaign and endorsed her Democratic opponent – is scheduled for New York's 23rd Congressional District. For more on the New York race we turn to Brian Mann, reporter for North Country Public Radio. WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly has been covering the New Jersey governor's race. And Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney is watching the Virginia governor's race.
WNYC political reporter Bob Hennelly joins us with a look at the race for the New Jersey governor's seat. Incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine has faced a steep battle to retain his seat, and President Barack Obama has joined in his fight. But is Corzine's struggle a sign of decreased popularity for the president?
President Obama hits the campaign trail this week, stumping for some vulnerable Democrats. He starts his trip fundraising among Wall Street bankers, a group the White House is simultaneously chastising. Also, with his overall approval rating down to 51 percent, how much will the president's appearances help other candidates? We speak to New York Times Washington correspondent David Kirkpatrick; Bob Hennelly, who covers New Jersey for WNYC; and Ted Mann, political reporter for New London Day in Connecticut.
President Obama campaigned in New Jersey yesterday, but not for himself. He was out supporting New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who faces a tough re-election bid. Come November, Corzine will be the only incumbent Democratic governor in the nation to face voters and the results could be a barometer of the nation's approval of the president. WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly was there in New Jersey.
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