The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Trial Begins for Author Accused of Defaming Islam

ROME The trial of Italian author and veteran journalist Oriana Fallaci, accused of defaming Islam in a 2004 book, opened Monday in northern Italy and was quickly adjourned, a lawyer said. Fallaci, who lives in New York, did not attend the hearing in Bergamo, northern Italy.

Senator Questions Geico Pricing Tactics

TRENTON Auto insurance companies that use a person's education and occupation to set rates are discriminatory and circumvent laws against using race and income to calculate prices, a state senator said Monday. After listening to testimony from insurance companies and the state's Banking and Insurance commissioner, state Sen. Nia Gill said such practices pose "a serious economic consequence to working- class families."

Unburied Treasure for Work Crews

Program Helps Veterans Find Work After Serving ; N.J. Becomes 21st State to Join 'Helmets to Hardhats'

TRENTON New Jersey military veterans looking for work can now get a helping hand through a national program designed to help them find construction jobs. Governor Corzine signed a proclamation during a Monday morning ceremony detailing the state's role in the "Helmets to Hardhats" program, making New Jersey the 21st state to participate.

No Injuries in Derailment of Freight Train

NEWARK Part of a CSX Corp. freight train derailed Monday as it was heading toward Port Newark, a Conrail spokesman said. No one was injured, and passenger trains were not affected because the Conrail track involved is used only by freight trains, said the spokesman, John Enright.

Corrections

A quote in a June 9 article about Violet Cherry, the suspended Englewood health officer, was incorrectly attributed. State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, made the statement: "Violet is one of the best health officers in Bergen County." It was not said by John Hopper, health officer for Paramus and president of the New Jersey Health Officers Association. ***

People in the News

Damon a dad Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Bozan, are the parents of a baby girl, Isabella, their first child, the actor's publicist said Monday.

Burglary Suspect Jumped 2 Stories Trying to Flee

RIDGEFIELD Police responding to a frightened resident's call Monday nabbed a man who they said jumped from a second-story bedroom window after taking $5,000 worth of jewelry from her home. David Kavinski of 29th Street in Union City, was being held on $50,000 bail late Monday in the Bergen County Jail, charged with burglary and theft.

U.S. Workers' Social Security Numbers Stolen ; Hacker Hit Energy Agency Computer

WASHINGTON Energy Department officials have informed nearly 1,500 individuals that their Social Security numbers and other information may have been compromised when a hacker gained entry to a department computer system eight months ago, a spokesman said Monday. The workers, mostly contract employees, worked for the National Nuclear Security Administration, a semiautonomous agency within the department that deals with the government's nuclear weapons programs.

3 Test Blasts Conducted at Freedom Tower Site ; Use of Controlled Explosives Could Hasten Construction

NEW YORK Test blasts to remove bedrock from the World Trade Center site were conducted Monday for the construction of the Freedom Tower. The three tests were to be reviewed later Monday by the Port Authority, the Fire Department and Tishman Construction, the company blasting the bedrock.

Bias Claim Won't Deter English-Only Restaurant

PHILADELPHIA An English-only ordering policy at one of the city's most famous cheese-steak joints has drawn an official discrimination complaint, but the owner said Monday he won't back down. The city's Commission on Human Relations alleges that the policy at Geno's Steaks discourages customers of certain backgrounds from eating there, said Rachel Lawton, acting executive director.

Around the Nation

San Francisco ban on guns overturned SAN FRANCISCO A California judge on Monday overturned a voter- approved city law that banned handgun possession and firearm sales, siding with gun owners who said the city did not have the authority to prohibit the weapons.

Eight-Term Sen. Byrd Sets Record for Service ; Democrat Favored to Win Reelection

WASHINGTON Robert C. Byrd became the longest serving U.S. senator in history Monday. And, with almost 48 years of service, he's not finished yet. Byrd, D-W.Va., surpassed the record of Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and has spent 17,327 days in the body,.

Hurricane Warning in Florida ; Approaching Land, Alberto Gains Intensity

CEDAR KEY, Fla. More than 20,000 people along Florida's Gulf Coast were ordered to clear out Monday as Alberto the very first tropical storm of the new hurricane season unexpectedly picked up steam and threatened to come ashore as a hurricane. Forecasters posted a hurricane warning for the Gulf Coast and a tropical storm warning from north of Daytona Beach to the Georgia- South Carolina line, saying Alberto could begin battering the coast early Tuesday. Gov. Jeb Bush signed a declaration o...

Girl in Hiding After Foiled Myspace Rendezvous ; Mich. Teen Was On Way to Meet Man in Mideast

CARO, Mich. The Michigan teen who made her way from her tiny home in Gilford Township to Amman, Jordan, last week first stopped in Bay City, Mich., then New York on her way to see a man she met on MySpace.com. With the Tuscola County Courthouse as a backdrop Monday, Renee Wood, an attorney for Katherine Lester's mother, Shawn Lester, said the teen is now staying with her father in an undisclosed location to escape media attention.

Researchers Buoyed by Animal Testing of Alzheimer's Vaccine ; Could Be Ready for Humans in Six Years

WASHINGTON An experimental vaccine is showing promise against Alzheimer's disease, reducing brain deposits that are blamed for the disorder. The deposits have been cut by between 15.5 percent and 38.5 percent in mice, with no major side effects, researchers said Monday in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Deal Possible On Secret Papers ; Libby, Prosecutor to Negotiate What He Can Use in Perjury Defense

WASHINGTON The special prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation said Monday he doesn't expect the White House to attempt to block Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide from using classified intelligence material in his defense to perjury charges. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald told U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton that the White House has designated certain documents that it is concerned about being made public during a trial.

U.S. National Guard Troops Deter Mexico Border Crossings ; Detentions Down 21 Percent for Early June, Sources Say

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Mexico The arrival of U.S. National Guard troops in Arizona has scared off illegal Mexican migrants along the border, significantly reducing crossings, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. U.S. authorities said Monday that detentions along the U.S.- Mexico border decreased by 21 percent, to 26,994, in the first 10 days of June, compared with 34,077 for the same period a year ago.

Hamas Buildings Shot at, Set Afire ; Abbas Allies Lash Out Against Government

RAMALLAH, West Bank Palestinian forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas-led government Monday, riddling the parliament and Cabinet buildings with bullets and setting them afire to protest an attack on their comrades in the Gaza Strip. The violence was the most serious in the West Bank since Hamas defeated Abbas' Fatah movement in legislative elections in January and raised doubts about calls for Palestinian unity by the rivals.

Gi Medic Attempted to Save Terrorist

BAGHDAD, Iraq A medic spent about 20 minutes trying to save Abu Musab al-Zarqawi even as blood ran from the terrorist's mouth after the airstrike that mortally wounded him, the U.S. military said Monday. But the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was not wearing the suicide belt he vowed to use if American soldiers ever caught him.