Man slips off platform, hit by NJ Transit train

RED BANK, NJ — New Jersey Transit says a man suffered a broken leg when he slipped off a train station platform and was struck by a train.

The accident occurred around 6:15 a.m. Sunday in Red Bank.

NJ Transit spokesman John D'Urso Jr. says the man apparently slipped and fell on to the tracks. He was soon hit by North Jersey Coast Line train No. 7208.

No passengers or crew members aboard the northbound train were injured in the accident. The passengers were soon transferred to another train to complete their journey.

The injured man's name was not released. He was being treated at a hospital, but further details on his injuries were not disclosed.

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State of Union to focus on economy

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will focus his State of the Union address on boosting job creation and economic growth at a time of high unemployment, underscoring the degree to which the economy could threaten his ability to pursue second-term priorities such as gun control, immigration policy and climate change.

Obama also may use Tuesday's prime-time address before a joint session of Congress to announce the next steps for concluding the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Obama's State of the Union marks his second high-profile speech to the nation in about three weeks, after his inaugural address Jan. 21 that opened his second term. White House aides see the two speeches as complementary, with Tuesday's address aimed at providing specifics to back up some of the Inauguration Day's lofty liberal rhetoric.

The president previewed the address during a meeting Thursday with House Democrats and said he would speak "about making sure that we're focused on job creation here in the United States of America." Obama said he would try to accomplish that by calling for improvements in education, boosting clean energy production, and reducing the deficit in ways that don't burden the middle class, the poor or the elderly.

While those priorities may be cheered by some Democrats, they're certain to be met with skepticism or outright opposition from many congressional Republicans, especially in the GOP-controlled House. The parties are at odds over ways to reduce the deficit. Republicans favor spending cuts; Obama prefers a combination of spending cuts and increasing tax revenue.

The president said he would address taxes and looming across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, in the speech. The White House and Congress have pushed back the automatic cuts once, and Obama wants to do it again in order to create an opening for a larger deficit reduction deal.

"I am prepared, eager and anxious to do a big deal, a big package that ends this governance by crisis where every two weeks or every two months or every six months we are threatening this hard-won recovery," he said last week.

The economy has rebounded significantly from the depths of the recession and has taken a back seat for Obama since he won re-election in November. He's instead focused on campaigns to overhaul the nation's patchwork immigration laws and enact stricter gun control measures following the massacre of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn., in December.

The president also raised expectations for action this year on climate change after devoting a significant amount of time to the issue in his address at the inauguration.

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Jesse Jackson Jr. signs plea deal, may face jail time: report

Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has signed a plea deal regarding the inappropriate use of official funds, according to a Fox News report.

Details of the deal are unclear, but the network says the deal also pertains to a "social acquaintance" of the former Illinois Democratic congressman.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the deal -- at least one being considered earlier in the week -- includes "significant jail time."

Jackson resigned last November shortly after being reelected to the House. The son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Sr. had been treated for bipolar disorder, but also has been the subject of an ongoing federal investigation over campaign funds.

AP

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., is seen during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. A spokesman at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota said Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012, Jackson has left the clinic, where he was being treated for bipolar disorder for the second time since taking a leave of absence in June. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

The Sun-Times reported that the probe has split into two separate investigations, with one into Jackson's wife Sandi. Sandi recently resigned as a Chicago city alderman.

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Lawmaker: Subway deaths a 'wake-up call'

A lawmaker says a spate of recent deaths on New York City subway tracks should be "a wake-up call to our transit system."

City Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca made the remark at a hearing Thursday on safety in the nation's busiest subway network.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority runs the subways that carry 5 million riders on an average weekday. Officials say they're working toward testing barriers on platform edges and technology that sounds alarms when someone or something is on the tracks.

The subway drivers' union has suggested lower speed limits for trains entering stations. The MTA says that would lengthen commutes and make platforms more crowded.

Fifty-five people died last year after falling, jumping or being pushed onto the tracks. Two recent pushing deaths have drawn attention.

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Internet pal of slain Sarai Sierra claims he slept with Staten Island mom

An Istanbul Internet pal of Sarai Sierra claims he had a tryst with the murdered Staten Island mother of two in Turkey, according to published reports.

“Taylan K” – who has been interviewed at length by Istanbul police in the disappearance and killing of Sarai Sierra, 33 – admitted he had consensual sex with the married photographer the day before she went missing, Turkey’s daily Vatan reported today.

He is one of 22 people that Turkish police have taken sperm and/or blood samples from as they hunt Sierra’s killer.

Sierra was found dead of a single blow to the head in a seedy area of Istanbul Feb. 2, weeks after she failed to show up for a Jan. 21 flight home to New York.

EPA

Sarai Sierra.

Taylan has previously told police he and Sierra first met in person Jan. 13 but initially insisted they were just friends. The pair met online several months ago, when he commented on a photograph Sierra posted on Instagram, authorities have said.

Taylan has denied any role in her disappearance or murder.

Police said Taylan sent Sierra a message the day she vanished, asking her to meet at an Istanbul tourist area. Taylan has said the meeting never happened because Sarai never responded.

US authorities told The Post yesterday that Sierra had kept company with a “criminal element” on her overseas trip, which began Jan. 7 in Istanbul and also included side trips to Amsterdam and Munich.

A tipster has told Istanbul police that Sierra was spotted with a group of rogue hustlers known for harassing women and tourists.

Sierra’s casket is scheduled to be flown home tomorrow on a Turkish Airlines flight.

Sierra’s family and friends have said repeatedly that she would not have run off with anyone and made the trip to indulge her love of photography.

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Ex-beauty queen gets early rehab release to aid job hunt

Elegant ex-beauty queen and recovering Vicodin addict seeks high-end, Manhattan retail sales employment — rap sheet provided upon request. Russophiles a plus!

Former Miss Russia Anna Malova — still hoping to shake off her 44-count prescription theft indictment from 2011— was sprung early from her rehab program today so she can get a job.

"We're flipping over backwards to help you," Manhattan Criminal Court Richard Weinberg told the one-time Miss Universe finalist in a court proceeding today.

"I'll do my best!" the svelte blonde answered in her Russian accent.

Steven Hirsch

Former Miss Russia Anna Malova leaves a court hearing in Aug. 2011.

"Do more than your best," the judge warned, telling her that one bad toxicology test and the deal is off.

Malova has been in a Bronx rehab program for 20 months courtesy of the Manhattan Drug Court's judicial diversion program, under which her record will be expunged and she will not face deportation providing she successfully completes drug treatment.

Ordinarily, she would have had to stay in her Bronx-based, in-patient program until she found a job. But the program, Argus Community, rigidly limits computer and telephone use, making job searching difficult, said her lawyer, Robert Gottlieb.

"She's just been stuck — she wants to find a job and get on with her life," the lawyer said.

Now Malova — crowned Miss Russia in 1998 and a physician back in her homeland — can pursue her dream American job.

"I would love to have a sales or reception job at a boutique store, or a salon," Malova said.

"Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Barneys, Bloomingdales, Frederic Fakai," she said, flashing perfect, beauty queen teeth. "I wouldn't mind working at my favorite spots!"

The road to sobriety has been bumpy for Malova, who had been linked romantically to billionaire hedge-fund big George Soros and comedian Garry Shandling.

In 2011, she was nearly yanked from the program after slapping a female patient and making unauthorized trips to the refrigerator. Last year, officials accused her of hoarding and binging on her prescription meds.

"I'm really proud that I've stood up for myself without falling down, without going to jail, without [getting deported] back to Russia, without relapsing, and without even one positive toxicology report," she said as she left court.

Malova must report back to court next month for an update.

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Bonnie Hammer wins control of all NBCU cable channels

NBCUniversal boss Steve Burke is handing sole oversight of the company’s lucrative stable of cable entertainment channels to Bonnie Hammer, The Post has learned.

The move, which will give Hammer new control over NBCU’s women-focused channels Bravo, Oxygen and Style — properties that were overseen by Lauren Zalaznick — in the latest shake-up at the media conglomerate.

Hammer had overseen USA, Sci-Fi, E! and a handful of other channels since a November 2010 split of duties with Zalazick instituted by Burke not long after the Comcast-NBCU merger.

Under the most recent changes, Zalaznick’s will oversee NBCU’s digitial properties.

WireImage

Chairwoman of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Bonnie Hammer

Comcast is bringing someone new in to run Telemundo, its broadcast and cable Spanish language asset.

News of Hammer’s big promotion will be official Feb. 5, sources said.

Zalaznick and Hammer were known to have a “competitive” relationship and both had angled for the complete cable entertainment portfolio as new boss Burke surveyed his management team back in 2010.

Burke didn’t want to lose either executive and carved up cable between them.

Hammer’s enlarged role, sources added, is a reward for progress at E! Entertainment, the cable network that had struggled to grow under Comcast ownership before it became part of NBCUniversal.

Comcast owns 51 percent of NBCU — with GE holding the balance.

Hammer had also harbored ambitions to run the struggling NBC Network, but that job went to Bob Greenblatt.

The move continues a busy week of management gyrations at 30 Rock — as days ago NBC News boss Steve Capus announced he was leaving.

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Deadly deserts

Ralph Peters

Violence in Allah’s name in northern Africa won’t end in my lifetime — and probably not in yours. The core question is: To what extent can the savagery be contained?

From the Atlantic coastline to the Suez Canal, struggling governments, impoverished populations and frankly backward societies struggle to find paths to modernization and to compete in a ruthless global economy. Religious fanatics for whom progress is a betrayal of faith hope to block development.

Still, if the only conflict was between Islamist terrorists and those who want civilized lives, the situation could be managed over time. But that struggle forms only one level in a layer cake of clashing visions and outright civil wars bedeviling a vast region. Much larger than Europe, the zone of contention encompasses the Maghreb, the countries touching the Mediterranean, and the Sahel, the bitterly poor states stretching down across desert wastes to the African savannah.

AFP/Getty Images

Figthers of the Islamic group Ansar Dine

The Sahel is the front line not only between the world of Islam and Christian-animist cultures in Africa’s heart, but between Arabs and light-skinned tribes in the north, and blacks to the south. No area in the world so explicitly illustrates the late, great Samuel Huntington’s concept of “the clash of civilizations.”

If racial and religious differences were not challenge enough, in the Maghreb the factions and interest groups are still more complicated. We view Egypt as locked in a contest between Islamists and “our guys,” Egyptians seeking new freedoms. But Egypt’s identity struggle is far more complex, involving social liberals, moderate Muslims, stern conservative Muslims (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) and outright fanatics. The military forms another constituency, while the business community defends its selfish interests. Then there are the supporters of the old Mubarak regime, the masses of educated-but-unemployed youth and the bitterly poor peasants.

Atop all that there’s the question of whether the values cherished by Arab societies can adapt to a globalized world.

The path to Egypt’s future will not be smooth — yet Egypt’s chances are better than those of many of its neighbors. Consider a few key countries in the region:

Mali

Viva la France! (Never thought I’d write that in The Post.) Contrary to a lot of media nonsense, the effective French intervention in Mali demonstrates that not every military response to Islamist terror has to become another Afghanistan: The French are welcome.

As extremists invariably do, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its allies rapidly alienated their fellow Muslims — after hijacking a local uprising. The local version of Islam is far more humane and tolerant than the Wahhabi cult imposed by Islamist fanatics. To the foreign extremists, the Malian love of Sufi mysticism, ancient shrines and their own centuries of religious scholarship are all hateful — as is the Malian genius for music that’s pleased listeners around the world.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Etch A Sketch creator has died

BRYAN, Ohio — An Ohio toy maker says the inventor of the Etch A Sketch, the famous red toy that generations of children drew on, shook up and started over, has died in France.

The Ohio Art Co. based in Bryan in northwest Ohio says 86-year-old Andre Cassagnes died Jan. 16 in a Paris suburb. The cause wasn't disclosed Saturday.

Ohio Art president Larry Killgallon says the company will always be grateful for an invention that brought joy to so many.

The Toy Industry Association says Cassagnes came upon the Etch A Sketch idea in the late 1950s. He peeled a translucent decal from a light switch plate and found pencil mark images transferred to the opposite face.

The toy, with its gray screen and red frame, has two knobs that are twisted to create drawings. A shake erases the image.

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Clinton formally resigns as secretary of state

Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waves goodbye after delivering her farewell address to the staff with Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Tomas Nides, left, and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns in the C Street lobby of the State Department today.

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton formally resigned Friday as America's 67th secretary of state, capping a 4-year tenure in the office that saw her shatter previous records for the number of countries visited.

In a letter sent to President Obama shortly before she was to leave the State Department for the last time in her official capacity, Clinton thanked her former foe for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination for the opportunity to serve in his administration. Clinton said it had been an honor to be part of his Cabinet and that she remained convinced of the "strength and staying power" of American global leadership.

"I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good in the world," she said in the letter.

Her resignation will be effective on the swearing-in of her successor, John Kerry, who was to take the oath of office in a private ceremony later Friday.

Clinton left office with a slap at critics of the Obama administration's handling of the September attack on a US diplomatic mission in Libya. She told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that critics of the administration's handling of the attack don't live in an "evidence-based world," and their refusal to "accept the facts" is unfortunate and regrettable for the political system.

Clinton told the AP that the attack in Benghazi was the low point of her time as America's top diplomat. But she suggested that the furor over the assault would not affect whether she runs for president in 2016.

Although she insisted that she has not decided what her future holds, she said she "absolutely" still plans to make a difference on issues she cares about in speeches and in a sequel to her 2003 memoir, "Living History," that will focus largely on her years as secretary of state.

Clinton spoke to the AP Thursday in her outer office on the seventh floor of the State Department less than 24 hours before she walks out for a final time as boss. She was relaxed but clearly perturbed by allegations from Republican lawmakers and commentators that the administration had intentionally misled the public about whether the attack was a protest gone awry or a terrorist attack, or intentionally withheld additional security for diplomatic personnel in Libya knowing that an attack could happen.

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Authorities: Teen wounded in Ga. school shooting

ATLANTA — An Atlanta fire official says a 14-year-old has been shot in the head at a middle school and has been taken to a hospital.

Atlanta Fire Cpt. Marian McDaniel also says a teacher suffered minor cuts and bruises but was treated on the scene at Price Middle School. Earlier, a police spokesman said he was headed to the school about 2 miles south of downtown following reports of a shooting.

TV news helicopters show a swarm of Atlanta police officers at the school.

McDaniel says the shooting victim was taken to Grady Hospital but information on the teen's condition was not immediately

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Ex-Sen. Huntley pleads guilty to mail fraud

Former New York state Senator Shirley Huntley pleaded guilty today to mail fraud charges after admitting to embezzling more than $87,000 in taxpayer funds earmarked for a non-profit.

The Queens Democrat said that she used funds from a charitable non-profit education organization to buy personal items and benefit family members.

The embattled ex-legislator was initially indicted on Aug. 27 by state authorities on charges that she falsified documents to conceal the fact that her niece and an aide allegedly siphoned $30,000 from a sham charity she created.

But Brooklyn federal prosecutors quietly opened a mail fraud case against Huntley.

The ex-legislator did not speak to reporters and declined to answer questions as she left the Brooklyn federal courthouse.

It's not clear whether today's plea will resolve a state corruption case against Huntley that's still pending in Nassau County Supreme Court.

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Violent parolee sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering Brooklyn liquor-store clerk

A violent parolee who killed a beloved Brooklyn liquor-store clerk was sentenced to 35 years in prison today.

Eion Klass, 36, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter and robbery for the 2010 killing of Yoseph Robinson at his shop in Midwood.

Robinson, 34, was shot three times during a struggle with a robber at MB Vineyards, where he worked when he wasn’t lecturing about Judaism and studying the Torah.

The clerk was a former small-time criminal and record label worker who converted to Orthodox Judaism over 10 years ago.

“Your senseless cowardly act cost us way too much,” Robinson’s girlfriend, Lahavah Wallace wrote in a victim impact statement. “[Yoseph] ran the streets but left that alone to make something of himself.”

“When you walked in that night you stopped being a man, but Yoseph never will. I pity you. Enjoy the rest of the miserable existence you think is a life.”

Robinson was behind the store's counter, chatting with Wallace and a friend, when Klass, wearing a mask, entered and demanded money and jewelry.

Wallace handed over her jewelry, but Robinson lunged across the counter, and struggled with Klass, who shot him.

Judge Neil Firetog sentenced Klass to 25 years for the shooting and 10 years for the robbery.

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48-year-old man found dead with bag over head in Hamilton Heights

A 48-year-old Hamilton Heights man was found dead in his apartment this morning -- tied up with a bag over his head, law-enforcement sources said.

The victim’s home attendant found him inside the Manhattan pad on Hamilton Place near West 142 Street at 10:20 a.m., cops said.

The dead man's name has not been released pending proper family notification, cops said.

The investigation is ongoing, cops said.

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Weekend death toll in Egyptian riots rises to 40

AP

Egyptians pray during a mass funeral in Port Said today.

PORT SAID, Egypt — Clashes flared anew in the turbulent Egyptian city of Port Said on Sunday, killing at least three more people as a mass funeral was held for most of the 37 people who died during intense riots in the city a day earlier.

The three were killed when police exchanged fire with gunmen trying to storm two police stations and the local prison, according to the city's director of hospitals, Abdel-Rahman Farah. A total of 418 people were injured, some of them with gunshot wounds, he said.

Tens of thousands of mourners poured into the streets for the mass funeral of those killed a day earlier, chanting slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

"We are now dead against Morsi," said Port Said activist Amira Alfy. "We will not rest now until he goes and we will not take part in the next parliamentary elections. Port Said has risen and will not allow even a semblance of normalcy to come back," she said.

Violence in the city, about 140 miles northeast of Cairo, erupted on Saturday after a court convicted and sentenced 21 defendants to death for their roles in a mass soccer riot in a Port Said stadium on Feb. 1, 2012 that left 74 dead. Most of those sentenced to death were local soccer fans from Port Said.

The clashes in Port Said were the latest in a bout of unrest across the country that has left more than 50 people dead since Friday. That death toll includes 40 dead in Port Said and 11 killed in clashes in other cities between police and protesters marking the second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew Mubarak after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.

The riots stemmed mostly from animosity between police and die-hard Egyptian soccer fans, known as Ultras, who have become highly politicized. The Ultras frequently confront police and were also part of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime two years ago.

They were also at the forefront of protests against the military rulers who took over from Mubarak and are now again on the front lines of protests against the Morsi, the country's first freely elected leader.

A prominent Islamist leader delivered a thinly veiled warning that Islamist groups would set up militia-like vigilante groups to protect public and state property against attacks.

Addressing a news conference, Tareq el-Zomr of the once-jihadist Gamaa Islamiya, said:

"If Security forces don't achieve security, it will be the right of the Egyptian people and we at the forefront to set up popular committees to protect private and public property and counter the aggression on innocent citizens."

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Justin Bieber being investigated for Nerf Gun 'assault'

A Canadian security guard claims pop star Justin Bieber assaulted her with a Nerf Gun.

Cops in Ottawa are investigating the baby-faced singer on charges that he pelted the guard with foam bullets backstage on Nov. 23, according to TMZ.

Biebs and his 3-and-4-year-old siblings were reportedly goofing around with the toy guns after a performance, when the guard got caught in the squishy “crossfire” at Scotiabank Place.

She then threw a tantrum and filed a police report, prompting cops to question several employees at the popular hockey and music arena, TMZ reports.

FilmMagic

Justin Bieber performs at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

An Ottawa Police Service officer on Saturday said he had no information immediately about the incident.

“I haven’t heard anything about it — but then again, I’m not a fan,” the sergeant said.

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Ex-Senator Huntley will cop to mail fraud; pol still faces charges in $30G charity 'sham'

Former New York state Sen. Shirley Huntley is planning to plead guilty to mail fraud charges in a new federal case leveled against her, The Post has learned.

The Queens Democrat is expected to admit that she used funds from a non-profit organization to benefit herself and family members, a source said.

The embattled ex-legislator was indicted originally on Aug. 27 by state authorities on charges that she falsified documents to conceal the fact that her niece and an aide allegedly siphoned $30,000 from a sham charity she created. She pleaded not guilty to those state charges.

Ellis Kaplan

Former Sen. Shirley Huntley.

But Brooklyn federal prosecutors working in the US Attorney's Office's public corruption unit quietly opened a mail fraud case against Huntley — and now she is poised to surrender to authorities soon with the intention of entering a guilty plea, sources said.

A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn declined to comment on the case against Huntley.

Several months ago, Huntley was bounced out of office by voters who rejected her in a Democratic primary vote.

The Queens lawmaker was trounced by Councilman James Sanders, who got 4,979 votes, or 57 percent of the tally, to 3,477 votes, or 40 percent, for Huntley, records show.

On her way out the door, Huntley paused long enough as a lame-duck legislator, however, to showered loyal staffers with lucrative pay raises.

The Queens Democrat promoted several pet staffers and granted them salary hikes, records show.

mmaddux@nypost.com

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Family of slain highway worker 'saddened' by drunk driver's easy sentence

Loved ones of a highway worker who was killed by a drunk and unlicensed driver on the Grand Central Parkway last summer said they were “saddened” by his assailant’s lenient sentence.

"This is still fresh to me," said Israel Rosario, who witnessed Abdullah Munshi slam a 2002 Audi A6 into his 63-year-old co-worker, Frank Avino as they were setting up traffic cones near the Jewel Avenue exit of the highway on July 10.

"We were preparing to repair the lights on the highway, the car passed me first and hit Frank. I heard a very short shriek and Frank was gone," said an emotional Rosario as a fellow co-worker consoled him outside of Queens Criminal court.

Munshi, 26, dodged up to 15 years in prison when he plead guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter -- a non-violent felony -- and will be sentenced to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison on March 12, said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

"I understand vehicular manslaughter is a non-violent crime and we need to change that. My husband was killed...it is saddens me," said Avino's heartbroken wife, Patricia.

"It's hard for me to hear a kid before [Munshi's] case was called get threatened to be put into jail for 1 1/2 to 3 years for a marijuana charge and he didn't kill anyone, yet this guy gets almost the same amount time, its not fair," said Rosario, who worked with Avino, an electrician for Welsbach Electric Corp for seven years.

Patricia is hoping to work with the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) in order to help with "changing the laws" when intoxicated drivers are charged.

Munshi, a citizen of Qatar, admitted to prosecutor, John Kosinski, that he drank alcohol before he got into the car with his friends and also "purchased beer" at a corner store before the 11 a.m. crash.

The reckless driver was unable to produce a valid NYS driver's license and also admitted that he was driving a "friend's car" because "they were too drunk to drive," said Brown.

At the scene, Munshi's blood alcohol content read .21 percent -- well above the legal limit of .08 percent in New York.

Following Munshi's release from prison he is ordered to a three-year conditional discharge and install an ignition interlock into any car he owns for five years -- at his own expense.

Munshi also faces deportation.

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Thief hits two banks in Morningside Heights

A bank bandit hit two banks in Morningside Heights -- 15 minutes apart, authorities said.

He first tried to rob an HSBC bank on Broadway near West 102nd Street around 2:10 p.m. and fled without getting any cash, police said.

Then, 15 minutes later, the thief went to a Bank of America just six blocks north of his attempted heist and passed a demand note to the teller, cops said.

In the second robbery, he fled with an unknown amount of dough, cops said.

No one was injured in either incident and no weapons were displayed, police said.

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NYPD can temporarily resume stop-and-frisk: Fed judge

A federal judge is allowing the New York Police Department to temporarily resume some controversial Bronx residential trespass stops.

Judge Shira Scheindlin decided Tuesday to lift the order she issued earlier this month while the city appeals.

The judge said she still believes she was correct. She found that the city acted unconstitutionally in making trespass stops without reasonable suspicion at thousands of privately owned buildings.

She said the city had shown it would be expensive to immediately implement an order that could be reversed.

A trial in March is set to decide the fate of a lawsuit challenging more broadly the city's stop-and-frisk practices. The judge refused a request by the city to delay that trial.

Warzer Jaff

The NYPD practices the controversial stop and frisk technique at a training facility.

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