Alleged 9/11 conspirators to be tried in New York

 Cnn.com is reporting that there are mixed reactions to the decision to try the five Guantanamo Bay detainees, with alleged ties to the 9/11 attacks and conspiracy, in New York.

 United States Attorney General Eric Holder has just announced that the five detainees will be transferred to New York to go on trial in civilian court.  Among the five detainees is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the whole attack.  

Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi are the other four men being tried. The decision to bring the men to New York has sparked both outrage and approval.

 Some are concerned about bringing the world’s top terror suspects to New York due to security concerns, and are outraged that the men are being treated as “common criminals.”

  Others, especially those personally affected by the attacks, are happy to try the men in New York.  Kristen Breitweiser, who lost her husband in the attacks, said having the trial in New York would allow many to attend the trial.

The alleged five conspirators are among 215 men currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.  The Obama administration has promised to close the facility by the end of January 2010, although that appears unlikely to happen.

UPDATE 11:33 a.m. – Prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty for the five men, says attorney general Holder.

My Take: This is such an important story because it affected and is still affecting so many people.  This is a story that will be followed closely as it progresses.  I think it will be interesting to see if all five men are actually sentenced to death.

The VA Hospital breaks ground on new spinal cord injury center

According to Syracuse.com, the Syracuse Veteran Affairs Hospital broke ground today on its newest endeavor.

The VA Hospital will be building a six-story Spinal Cord Injury and Disease Center.

The new center will treat veterans across New York State who have previously had to travel all the way to New York City or out of state for spinal cord treatment or care.

The addition will be built facing I-81 and is expected to create over 70 new jobs.

The center will hold a 30-bed inpatient unit as well as an outpatient program.  It will also have a therapeutic pool, seven operating rooms, and a dialysis unit, among other primary care services.

The price of the center and the recent expansion to the parking garage will cost over $90 million.

The Clark Construction Group is building the addition.  The project should be completed by spring of 2013.

My Take: I think this is an important story for two reasons.  It will bring some more jobs to Syracuse and is also an economic help. However, it will also inconvenience many people – especially students.  There are 5 dorms by the VA’s hospital – the BBB complex, Sadler, and Lawrinson – so it will be interesting to see how construction will affect both traffic by the VA Hospital and the students who live near it.

Harry Potter or Harry Pothead?

According to people.com, Daniel Radcliffe, famous for playing teenage wizard Harry Potter, is in the spotlight, but not for a good reason.

The Daily Mirror, a British tabloid, had Radcliffe on the front page – showing him in what is described as “a high-spirited party mode.”

The picture, which is blurry, shows Radcliffe smoking what the Daily Mirror refers to as a spiff, better known as a hand-rolled marijuana cigarette to Americans.

Radcliffe’s representative has already released a statement claiming that Radcliffe is “not smoking what the paper says he’s smoking.”  The representative claims that Radcliffe occasionally smokes roll-up cigarettes, but nothing else.

The Daily Mirror says the picture was from a party in North London hosted by a friend of Radcliffe’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, Laura O’Toole.

My Take:  I think this is an interesting story because Daniel Radcliffe is such a popular actor, especially in the younger population. I think it’ll be interesting to see how much backlash Radcliffe gets for this picture due to him being a “role model” for younger kids who idolize Harry Potter.