Six people indicted on charges related to kidnapping and sex trafficking of 15-year-old girl
Five men and one woman have been indicted in New York City on charges relating to the kidnapping and sex trafficking of a 15-year-old runaway. Prosecutors say the girl was picked up in Brooklyn on Feb. 6, taken to a house in Ozone Park, Queens and told she could not leave. Read More: New York Post
Boy, 12, in Harlem ‘cart-shove’ gets 6 months in group home
A troubled 12-year-old who sent a shopping cart hurtling onto a woman from a fourth-floor mall walkway was sentenced Thursday to at least six months in a therapeutic group home, with a judge calling his problems grave but not insurmountable. Biting his lip and hugging an uncle before being led out of court, the boy headed for up to 16 months in the residential program, closing a case that spurred soul-searching about out-of-control children. Read More: New York Post
Morgan Stanley puts broker allegedly tied to UES ‘madam’ on leave, source says
The Morgan Stanley broker who has been identified as the possible financial backer of an online prostitution business with the accused Upper East Side madam has been placed on administrative leave, a source told FOX Business Thursday. David Walker, who works in the firm’s wealth management unit, will remain on leave until an investigation is concluded, the source said. The firm will wait until the investigation is finished before taking any further action. Read More: New York Post
Attorney General Holder Finds Reports On NYPD Muslim Surveillance Programs “Disturbing”
Speaking at a Senate hearing today, Attorney General Eric Holder said he found some reports about the New York City Police Department’s surveillance of Muslim communities throughout the Northeast to be “disturbing.” Holder said he empathized with Governor Chris Christie after it was revealed the NYPD was keeping track of mosques and Muslim student groups in New Jersey. The NYPD has come under fire for the practice and now the Justice Department says it is reviewing the matter. Read More: NY1
Teen Smoking Rates Drop But Surgeon General Wants More Efforts To Combat Youth Tobacco Use
Fewer teens in the United States are smoking, but the U.S. Surgeon General wants more done to combat the addiction among young people. Government data shows the country’s rate of high school smokers has dropped to 19.5 percent. This is the surgeon general’s first report on youth smoking since 1994, when over 27 percent of high school-aged teens were smoking, but the rate of decline has slowed. The city Department of Health notes that teen smoking rates have dropped even more dramatically in the five boroughs, from 17.6 percent in 2001 to only 7.2 percent in 2010. Read More: NY1
