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New York police disband unit that spied on Muslims

 
Published April 16, 2014

New York

Police disband unit that spied on Muslims

A special New York Police Department unit that sparked controversy by tracking the daily lives of Muslims in an effort to detect terror threats has been disbanded, police officials said Tuesday. Police spokesman Stephen Davis confirmed that detectives assigned to the unit had been transferred to other duties within the department's Intelligence Division. A review of the division by new police Commissioner William Bratton found that the same information collected by the unit could be better collected through direct contact with community groups, officials said.

Detroit

Deal reached on retiree pensions

The city of Detroit reached a deal with a group of retired police officers and firefighters that would protect pensions but trim annual cost-of-living payments — the first major agreement with retirees in the bankruptcy case, mediators announced Tuesday. The city retreated from an earlier proposed 6 percent cut in pensions and the elimination of the 2.25 percent cost-of-living payment. Leaders of the Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association, which has more than 6,000 members, endorsed the deal.

Washington

Obama commutes sentence over typo

President Barack Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentence of a drug convict who was mistakenly sentenced to an extra 31/2 years in prison based on a typographical error, the White House said. The convict, Ceasar Huerta Cantu of Katy, Texas, pleaded guilty in 2006 in Virginia to drug charges and money laundering. But a mistake in his presentence report — the number 36 was typed where it should have been 34 — meant he could receive a longer term under U.S. sentencing guidelines. As a result, his sentence was increased by 42 months. Obama commuted the sentence from 15 years to 11½ years.

Elsewhere

Washington: The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to former Army Sgt. Kyle White for courageous actions in Afghanistan.

Australia: A robotic submarine looking for the lost Malaysian jet continued its second seabed search today in the Indian Ocean.

Nigeria: Suspected Muslim extremists kidnapped about 100 girls Tuesday from a school in northeastern Nigeria, less than a day after militants bombed a bus station and killed 75 people in the capital.

Times wires