American military officials now believe that Staff Sergeant Robert Bales committed the murder of 17 Afghan civilians in two separate incidents, sources told the AP. While this scenario would mean that Bales had more time to commit the alleged crime, it also implies that Bales somehow left the base undetected twice. An Afghan parliamentary team still believes that as many as 20 American soldiers were responsible. more ›

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was formally charged with the premeditated murder of 17 Afghan civilians and the attempted murder of six others yesterday. Though initial reports stated that Bales may have stabbed and set fire to several of his victims (photos lend credence to these claims) the military's "charge sheet" only mentions a firearm. Bales' wife's attorney told ABC that her husband called her shortly after the alleged attacks occurred. "[Bales] told her something terrible had happened," and spoke with her for around three minutes before the call was disconnected. more ›

The attorney for the staff sergeant who is accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians told reporters yesterday that the military's case is thin. I don't know if the government is going to prove much," John Henry Browne said. "There's no forensic evidence, there's no confessions." Browne also denied that his client was drunk ("A couple of sips of somebody else's bottle. But that's not drinking,") and that financial troubles caused him to "snap," as the military has suggested. "99 percent of America has financial problems. You don't go and kill women and children because you have financial problems." He added, "Nothing really justifies killing women and children in a non-combat situation. But there may be explanations." more ›

Who believes that carrying a firearm into iconic, highly secured New York landmarks is a good idea? Metal detectors are designed to expose weapons, not belt buckles, yet clueless tourists keep getting hauled into court for packing heat at the Empire State Building. Now some Marines are claiming that Indiana native Ryan Jerome, himself a Marine who was arrested for trying to check his .45 Ruger with authorities in September, is more equal than others who have made the same mistake. more ›

Relatives and friends of the 87-year-old man killed by a marked NYPD vehicle while taking his morning stroll in Brooklyn last Friday have trouble believing the department's claim that there was no criminality involved in the accident. Theauther Love was a WW II veteran and Baptist minister, and started to cross Eastern Parkway around 7 a.m. when he was struck and killed by the patrol car. "He walked every day and I just know he knew what he was doing," Love's pastor Reverend John Quincy Adams told NY1. "I know there is something more to this story and it just hurts my heart that he had to die like this." more ›

An 87-year-old Baptist minister and World War II veteran was killed Friday morning after an NYPD patrol vehicle struck him on Eastern Parkway between Dean and Bergen Streets in Brownsville. According to the Post, Theauther Love was taking his morning walk at around 7:20 a.m. when the westbound vehicle hit him. "I saw him this morning. It was a regular day," his widow, Annie Love, told the paper. "He put out the trash and went for his walk. And then…this happened. I will miss him so much." more ›

Today is Memorial Day. There are various parades around the city, as well as a ceremony on the deck of the Intrepid. Government offices are closed and mass transit is running on a Sunday schedule. more ›

Today is Veterans Day, which means government offices and courts are closed, as well as NYC public schools. There's no regular mail delivery or garbage pickup; additionally alternate side of the street parking regulations are suspended today. The Veterans Day Parade starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fifth Avenue at 26th Street, and heads up to 52nd Street. The opening ceremony is at the Eternal Light Monument at Madison Square Park, where there will be a 21 gun salute. Metro-North also has an 11 a.m. ceremony at Grand Central with the MTA Police Pipe and Drum Band. more ›

Even though it hit the presses nearly three weeks ago that Sgt. Anddy (Angel) Moreno, currently serving in Iraq, had lost his job as a Bx55 driver, it's news to him. Moreno learned just yesterday that he would be returning to America unemployed, and told the Daily News he is "going nuts." "It's not fair," he said. "I'm over here fighting for everyone." more ›

Yesterday, Prince Harry arrived in New York for his weekend visit. The prince, who is third in line to the British throne, first headed to West Point Military Academy, where he joined cadets in different training drills and exercises. According to the Daily News, he "fired an M4 rifle alongside cadets at popup, silhouette targets as far as 300 meters away." more ›

The story reads like a Bruce Springsteen song: hardworking Americans sent to fight for their country, only to come back and find they don't have jobs. That happened to Sgts. Alvin Taylor and Anddy (Angel) Moreno, who both lost their jobs as bus drivers when the MTA began downsizing. TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen called the layoffs "despicable." He told the Daily News, "[The MTA] should honor their military service and not lay them off." more ›

Today is Memorial Day, the federal holiday where U.S. men and women who have died in military service are remembered. Federal and state offices are closed, as well as post offices, schools, financial markets, and banks. Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended and mass transit is running on weekend schedules (though there's additional weekend service on some lines, like the LIRR). more ›

Two disabled Vietnam veteran street vendors and one mounted police officer have emerged as the media darlings in the wake of Saturday's "amateurish" attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square. Last night Mayor Bloomberg hosted a congratulatory dinner at Blue Fin in Times Square, personally thanking Officer Wayne Rhatigan, a 19-year NYPD veteran, and Duane Jackson, one of the street vendors who first noticed the Nissan Pathfinder parked on Broadway by 45th Street with its emergency flashers on, its motor running, and a small amount of smoke was coming out of it. A third vendor, Lance Orton, declined the dinner invitation, but he did chat with The Today Show this morning. more ›

Thousands of people gathered along Fifth Avenue for the 90th annual Veterans Day Parade. The Daily News reports it was the largest turnout for the parade in years; a 64-year-old Vietnam vet from Queens said, "I'm sure it means a lot to the troops to see this turnout. I think people are finally realizing they have an obligation to come out and support the troops." more ›

For today's 90th Veterans Day Parade, the city alerts us that "a 21-gun salute and a military flyover featuring two military helicopters are scheduled to occur on Nov. 11 starting at 11:00 am on East 26th, 27th, & 29th Streets between Park Avenue South, Broadway, & Madison Avenue." This year, organizers are expecting 27,000 people for the parade, which starts at 11 a.m. at Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street and heads north to 57th Street; there is a wreath-laying commemoration ceremony at 10 a.m. in Madison Square Park. Among the parade participants will be Navajo Code Talkers from World War II. more ›

Since Mayor Bloomberg was robbed of his chance to engage in Weiner Wars this election year, he's settling for the next best thing—the Wars! Yesterday on his weekly radio show, Bloomberg was asked about the recent crackdown of illegal vendors outside the Met. Since it was reported that veteran Dan Rossi was taking advantage of a 19th Century law that allowed vets to vend without paying, more veteran have been making their way to Fifth Ave, many employed by vendors who use them to beat the law and allow them to sit idly nearby. The mayor said, "They hire a vet to stand there and [he] has nothing to do with [it]. That's as much fraud [as] minority and women-owned businesses where you just hire somebody that's a minority or woman and say, 'Oh, you're the name person.'" As for Pasang Sherpa, after being evicted from his $600K lease to vend at the Met, Rossi hired him to man his stand after seeing Sherpa crying on the Met stairs. Now Sherpa simply joined in on the "rent-a-vet" system, paying disabled Leo Morris Jr. $100 a day to nap in his car near Sherpa's new cart. more ›

The "Wiener Wars" taking place outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art may have sparked a debate over just how much money food cart vendors rake in, but one thing seemed agreed upon—Met vendor Dan Rossi was raking in the dough. Well not any more, the city says. A loophole for veterans allowed Rossi to park his cart in the high profile spot without having to (frank) foot the bill of $600k in rent paid to the city by Pasang Sherpa. But now the Vietnam Vet tells the Post that the city has declared the strip along Fifth Avenue "a street," meaning that his special privileges no longer fly there. Nonetheless Rossi tells the paper that he "would be back [today], even if it means getting arrested." He also tells them that he is the only veteran who owns his cart, but that other carts utilized the exception by hiring vets to man their stands. More concerning to us: if Rossi gets tossed, where will the recently evicted, overbidding Sherpa turn now?? more ›