Witness testifies Gov. Christie ‘happy’ about bridge gridlock
NEWARK, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie was told about the epic 2013 traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge while it was underway, seemed happy about it and joked sarcastically that there was nothing political going on, a former loyalist testified Tuesday in the scandal that helped destroy Christie’s White House ambitions.
David Wildstein, a former executive at the agency that oversees New York-area bridges and tunnels, took the stand for the prosecution at the trial of two one-time Christie allies accused of engineering the four days of gridlock to punish a Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie. Mr. Wildstein has pleaded guilty.
Christie has repeatedly denied that and has not been charged with a crime.
Wife filed for protection
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A year before Keith Lamont Scott was shot to death by police in an incident that has convulsed Charlotte, his wife filed an application for a protective order against him that said he owned a firearm and had threatened to kill family members with it.
The document was filed by Rakeyia Scott in October in district court in Gaston County, which is near Charlotte. In a handwritten complaint, Rakeyia Scott asserted that Keith Scott had “hit my 8-year-old in the head a total of three times with his fist” and “kicked me and threaten to kill us with his gun.”
Gunman was ‘reserved’
HOUSTON — The man who authorities say randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood, injuring nine before he was fatally shot by officers, seemingly did his best to not stand out, according to friends and neighbors.
Nathan DeSai, a lawyer whom police identified Tuesday as the gunman, was described as polite, quiet and someone who kept mostly to himself, though he also sang and played guitar for a rock cover band years ago. A friend who had worked with him as a prosecutor in Dallas said a few years after 9/ 11, DeSai changed his first name from Niren so it would sound more American and he could blend in.
Explosion injures 6, kills 1
NEW YORK — One firefighter was killed and at least six other people were injured in an explosion that destroyed a residential building and damaged others in the Bronx early on Tuesday, city officials said.
The firefighter was one of several emergency workers responding to a report of a gas leak at the building in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx.
Also in the nation ...
The United States admitted 12,500 refugees from Syria over the past year, surpassing President Obama’s target, and expects to admit even more next year, a State Department official said Tuesday . ... 300 homes were evacuated in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Calif., while fire crews continued to battle a wildfire burning close to a massive geothermal power producing facility in Sonoma County, officials said Monday . ... The Dallas Police Department is facing a new crisis as its pension fund approaches insolvency and scores of officers, including Chief David Brow, announce unexpected retirements.