Newt Gingrich is well behind Mitt Romney in the polls for tonight's Florida primary, so the former Speaker has an ingenious method of invoking Godwin's law, politics-style. Robo-calls paid for by Gingrich's campaign have been calling voters and telling them that Romney axed Kosher meals for Holocaust victims during his tenure has Massachusetts' governor. more ›

The man who confessed to killing and dismembering 8-year-old Hasidic boy Leiby Kletzky this past fall has already been found mentally competent to stand trial—but his lawyer is still arguing that he is insane. Lawyer Howard Greenberg laid out his case in defense of 35-year-old Levi Aron to reporters outside Brooklyn Supreme Court this morning: "He suffered a severe head injury as a young man. There's a history of schizophrenia," the lawyer said. "There's inbreeding in that community." more ›

Last night's GOP debate centered on foreign policy and national security, and a Politico headline sums up the mood pretty well: "Newt Shocks By Endorsing Mercy." Because "compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm" has become taboo within the Republican party with respect to illegal immigration, Newt Gingrich risked alienating primary voters by not acting like an unreasonable jingoist. "Let's be humane about enforcing the law," Gingrich said, telling the audience that he wouldn't automatically kick out immigrants who are "law abiding citizens." more ›

Devi Silvia, the 34-year-old woman who threw her 19-month-old baby into the Hudson last year in a botched murder-suicide attempt, is being offered the chance to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, DNAinfo reports. Silvia had already been diagnosed as being bipolar after being taken into police custody. more ›

In yet anther example of why we don't drive, a retired corrections officer opened fire on a man after a road rage-induced scuffle near JFK. The Daily News reports that 66-year-old Jose Aponte had been arguing with a man in a "green Toyota camera" when the two pulled over on South Conduit Avenue and 155th street. After "the man slugged the former officer and signaled that he had a gun in his pants," Aponte pulled out his own gun and opened fire. more ›

Maksim Gelman pleaded not guilty yesterday to four counts of murder after being accused of going on a 28-hour stabbing rampage, and court papers revealed he is confident he'll go free. The day after cops arrested him in February, he allegedly told a cop, "It's OK. I'll beat this. I'll go to a mental hospital for a few years and then I'll get out on the street again. You'll see." Unfortunately, he may be right. more ›

81-year-old Maria Cartagena may be readying an insanity defense, after shooting Latin jazz king Eddie Palmieri's wife last month. The granny drew a gun from her fanny pack, said "Move over or I'm gonna kill ya," and shot at her target... but only grazed her head. She later claimed Iraida Palmieri had been armed with scissors. Cartagena didn't show up to her day in court yesterday, and according to the Daily News, her lawyer Michael Mays said she was in the hospital seeking psychiatric treatment. He also added that there had been threats "or some physical altercation" which made her fear for her safety. In the past her husband said that noise coming from the Palmieri's above their apartment put his wife "on the brink of a nervous breakdown." more ›

The Long Island mother accused of torturing and killing cats and dogs and forcing her children to take part in the abuse might plead not guilty by reason of insanity. After getting hit with additional felony charges of animal cruelty and child endangerment yesterday, the lawyer representing Selden resident Sharon McDonough said he is "considering an insanity defense" for his client, who so far has pleaded not guilty, according to 1010WINS. Investigators uncovered the remains of 42 animals in her backyard after her son alerted authorities, claiming his mother "would buy the dog, treat it like it was the greatest dog in the world for a few days, then they would sit in the cage until she decided to kill them." more ›

If you're a politician who has opposed Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, watch out! At a Crain's business breakfast, Bloomberg said, regarding Representative Anthony Weiner's suggestion that congestion pricing would mean less federal funding (did Weiner forget the feds are offering $354 million), "That is one of the stupider things I’ve ever heard said." more ›