For Columbia Radio News, I’m Matt Collette.
In East Harlem, Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano says it looks like everyone missing in Wednesday’s building explosion is accounted for. Eight people were killed by the blast. The cause remains unknown, though it’s suspected to have been a gas leak.
Mayor Bill de Blasio visited the shelter where people displaced by explosion have been staying. He announced a plan to get people whose homes were damaged or destroyed into apartments.
DEBLASIO_NEWSCAST: We know a number of families have registered for help, but we also know there may be dozens who have not. We can’t get them all the help they deserve unless they register. (0:08)
Anyone who needs help should register with city officials, who are at the Salvation Army on 125th Street today.
The Federal Railroad Administration issued a report earlier today blasting Metro North for a culture where punctuality comes before safety. Joseph Szabo led the federal review:
SZABO1_NEWSCAST: There was a clear over-emphasis on on-time performance to the detriment of safety. (0:06)
The report focuses on the December 1st derailment of a train in the Bronx that left four people dead and another 59 injured. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said top officials at Metro North should lose their jobs.
BLUMENTHAL1_NEWSCAST: I’m calling for those changes in management because people who are incompetent need to be shown the door. (0:06)
Blumenthal said Congress will hold hearings on commuter train safety in the coming months.
The state Senate today advanced a 142 billion dollar budget today, which sets up more than two weeks of negotiations between legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo. There are still disagreements over issues including tax cuts, campaign finance reform, and funding for universal pre-K. Those will need to be resolved before the new fiscal year starts April 1st.
Lawyers made their final arguments to jurors in the criminal trial of five former employees of Bernard Madoff. It’s the first criminal case related to Madoff’s fraud since he pleaded guilty back in 2009. The jury begins its deliberations on Monday.
[And the NYPD says Surrender Dorothy — or whoever it was that took off with an iconic prop from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”
WITCH_NEWSCAST: They’re gone! The ruby slippers – what have you done with them? Give them back to me or I’ll… (0:09)
Police say surveillance footage shows a woman stealing an original pair of ruby slippers from a display case at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Staten Island. They’re asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.]
It’s ___ degrees out right now in New York. It should be a few degrees warmer tomorrow, with a slight chance of rain. [And stock markets in New York held steady today, closing almost exactly where they opened.]
For Columbia Radio News in New York, I’m Matt Collette.