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Blind NJ gun owner fights to keep weapons
Testimony has ended and a judge is expected to soon make a ruling in a nearly two-year legal battle over whether a blind man in New Jersey can keep his gun collection.
Morris County prosecutors say Steven Hopler is unfit to safely maintain his handguns because he abuses alcohol and was taking an antidepressant when he accidentally shot himself while cleaning a pistol in 2008.
The Daily Record of Parsippany reports (http://dailyre.co/Ks1OXV ) the 49-year-old, who is blind because of complications from diabetes, denies abusing alcohol and says he has completed a firearms safety course.
A court in 1994 allowed Hopler to purchase firearms and shoot them under strict conditions.
The judge expects to issue a written ruling by the end of the week.
Panel to discuss NYPD’s spying on upstate Muslims
The New York Police Department’s intelligence-gathering program that scrutinized Muslims included surveillance of students at the University at Buffalo.
Members of Buffalo-area law enforcement agencies are joining civil liberties advocates for a public discussion of the questions raised by the NYPD’s aggressive domestic intelligence efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The gathering is being held Tuesday evening at the Student Union Theater on UB’s North Campus in suburban Amherst. The event is hosted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council-Western New York.
Panelists include Buffalo-based U.S. Attorney William Hochul Jr., Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard and John Curr of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The Associated Press last month won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for stories revealing the NYPD’s spying on Muslim businesses, mosques and student groups.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Yankees OF Swisher expected to miss a week
Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher is expected to miss a week because of a strained left hamstring.
New York manager Joe Girardi gave the update on Swisher before Monday night’s game against Baltimore. Girardi said the team hoped Swisher would be ready to play a week from Tuesday at home against Tampa Bay, and did not need to put him on the disabled list.
Swisher says he felt a “little pinch” in his hamstring when he took his first swing Sunday against Detroit. He was pulled in the third inning for a pinch runner.
Swisher says an MRI exam did not show any extensive damage. He says he had a similar injury in 2007 that sidelined him for nine or 10 days. He is hitting .284 with six home runs and 23 RBIs.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Knicks will evaluate Lin further later this week
Jeremy Lin took part in another practice with the New York Knicks on Monday, and the team says it hopes to know more later this week about when the guard might be able to return to the lineup.
Lin participated in the team’s gameday shootaround before its playoff matchup with the Heat, the fourth straight day that Lin did some on-court work in Miami.
The guard who was the biggest story in the NBA after putting up big numbers in February had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee four weeks ago.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson says the team will “have a better feel” about Lin’s recovery when it returns to New York for practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game 3 of the Knicks-Heat series is Thursday night.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Rondo-less Celtics try to even series vs. Hawks
Rajon Rondo lost his cool in the final minute of Game 1, and that means he won’t be on the court for Game 2.
The NBA announced Monday that the Boston Celtics’ star point guard has been suspended one game without pay in the opening-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Rondo will sit out Tuesday’s contest in Atlanta after sticking out his chest to bump referee Marc Davis while disputing a foul call with 41 seconds left in Boston’s Game 1 loss.
The NBA’s assist leader scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists before he was tossed, leaving Boston with a huge hole in its lineup. But the Celtics insist they’re ready to move on without Rondo. Second-year player Avery Bradley will likely take over at the point.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Stoudemire hurt postgame, Heat beat NY, 104-94
Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire is apologizing “to the fans and my team” for an incident after New York’s 104-94 loss to Miami in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night that left him with a cut on his left hand.
At least one of Stoudemire’s teammates says the cut is bad enough to keep him out of at least Game 3 of the series in New York on Thursday night.
Stoudemire posted a message on Twitter saying he is “so mad at myself” and that he is “not proud of my actions.”
The Knicks did not say exactly what happened, though a fire-extinguisher case near the locker room was damaged and drops of blood stained the carpet.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
