The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Prosecutor Asks Churches for Help Against Gangs

Authorities in North Jersey have taken their campaign against gangs to houses of worship and already are finding allies, especially in the urban towns. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office plans to meet with the influential Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey, which represents some 600 churches, early next year to hammer out how police and parishioners can work together to quell youth gangs.

Surgeons Got Millions From Manufacturers

Two Hackensack orthopedic surgeons received $1 million each and three other North Jersey surgeons received smaller amounts from manufacturers of artificial joints, according to court-ordered disclosures of the payments. Michael A. Kelly, chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, and Mark Hartzband, director of its Total Joint Replacement Service, were among the highest-paid consultants nationwide at Zimmer Inc. They also were the highest- paid N...

Fresh From Our Farms ; Why Eating Locally Raised Foods Makes Sense

Thousands of families across North Jersey will eat Thanksgiving dinner with a real local flavor with fresh-killed turkeys from Wyckoff, rutabagas from an organic farm in Emerson and Jersey-grown cranberries and squash. "Thanksgiving is the perfect time for sharing locally grown foods with friends and family," says Carol Rice, a Ridgewood resident who has been trying to "eat local" to support area farmers for about five years. "Isn't that what the holiday has always been about?"

People in the News

Music to his ears Chris Daughtry may not have won "American Idol," but his band, Daughtry, earned high enough honors at the American Music Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles to share the spotlight with Carrie Underwood and Justin Timberlake.

They All Want to Give a Child a Good Home ; Potential Parents Pepper Adoption Experts at Conference

The questions came at a furious pace Sunday from couples looking to adopt for the first time. How much does it cost?

Damaged Overhead Wire Causes Massive Rail Delay ; Officials See No Problems with Today's N.Y. Commute

Rail passengers on the Northeast Corridor traveling between Newark and New York's Penn Station should not expect delays today after service was suspended for six hours Sunday, rail officials said. Damaged overhead electrical wires disabled a northbound passenger train just outside Penn Station at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, causing the service disruption, said NJ Transit spokeswoman Courtney Carroll.

Talks Collapse in Strike by Broadway Stagehands

NEW YORK Talks broke down Sunday between striking Broadway stagehands and theater producers, with the producers' league announcing it has canceled performances through Nov. 25, the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday weekend. "We are profoundly disappointed to have to tell you that talks broke off tonight, and that no further negotiations are scheduled," Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, said in a statement.

Ordinary Folks in Trump's Tony Encap Condos? ; Meadowlands Rules Require Low-Cost Homes Be Built

A Donald Trump residential project might evoke, for many, thoughts of exclusive and expensive high-rise condominiums. But if the Manhattan real estate mogul is to achieve his goal of turning a struggling EnCap project into a dazzling Trump National golf and residential development, he'll have to obey the same affordable housing regulations as any other project in the Meadowlands district, officials say.

Year Later, Prostitute Killings Remain Unsolved

Letters Offer Look Into Life and Times of Adams Family ; Valuable Insights On Early America

BOSTON In a flirtatious courtship letter to his future wife, Abigail, John Adams addresses her as "Miss Adorable." After she died 56 years later, the nation's second president writes his son that his capacity for grief was so exhausted that death "has no sting left for me." In between, the remarkable relationship between one of early America's most important couples is chronicled in more than 1,100 letters.

Report Crowns Detroit As Nation's Crime Capital

DETROIT In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's controversial analysis, released Sunday, of annual FBI crime statistics. The study drew harsh criticism even before it came out. The American Society of Criminology launched a preemptive strike Friday, issuing a statement attacking it as "an irresponsible misuse" of crime data.

Re-Imagining the Far West Side ; 5 Proposals for Hudson Yards Are On Display

NEW YORK Still smarting from a failed bid to build a New York Jets stadium on Manhattan's far West Side, city and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials are inviting the public to examine models of five proposals to develop the 26-acre site atop rail yards on the edge of the Hudson River. "This development will allow us to expand our central business district," Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff said Sunday at an event to introduce the five development teams and their models. "And what w...

Around the World

Iran calls dollar 'worthless' RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper."

Clinton Library's Green Image Goes to the Top ; Rooftop Garden Improves View, Adds Insulation

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Bill Clinton likes to brag about his presidential library being an eco-friendly building. Now even the roof is going green.

Rhodes Scholars Include Princeton Pair

WASHINGTON Thirty-two men and women from across the United States have been selected as Rhodes scholars for 2008, the scholarship trust announced Sunday. The scholars were selected from 764 applicants endorsed by 294 colleges and universities. The scholarships, the oldest of the international study awards available to American students, provide two or three years of study. The students will enter Oxford University in England next October.

$50m Deal Reported in Case Involving Jesuits, Sex Abuse

ANCHORAGE, Alaska A Roman Catholic religious order has agreed to pay $50 million to more than 100 Alaska Natives who allege sexual abuse by Jesuit priests, a lawyer for the accusers said Sunday. The settlement with the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus is the largest one yet against a Catholic religious order, said Anchorage lawyer Ken Roosa, who called it "a great day" for the 110 victims.

Dry Winds Due in Calif.; Fire Crews Readied

LOS ANGELES Officials in Southern California began deploying firefighting crews and equipment Sunday as meteorologists predicted a return of the dry winds that stoked last month's devastating brush blazes. The preparations came after criticism that the state did not effectively marshal available air resources at the start of last month's blazes, which consumed 780 square miles, killed 10 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

Ex-Rebel 'S Party Poised to Form Kosovo's Next Government

PRISTINA, Serbia A former rebel leader who says he will declare independence from Serbia next month is likely to become Kosovo's next prime minister, but will have to strike a deal with a rival party after failing to win a majority, officials said Sunday. Unofficial vote tallies from Saturday's parliamentary elections in the province gave ex-rebel Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo the lead with 34 percent of the vote. The League of Democratic Kosovo, or LDK traditionally the provinc...

Bangladesh Storm Deaths Hit 2,300 ; Authorities Fear Toll Could Climb to 10,000

BARGUNA, Bangladesh The death toll from Bangladesh's most devastating storm in a decade climbed to at least 2,300 on Sunday and relief officials warned that the figure could jump sharply as rescuers reach more isolated areas. Teams from international aid organizations worked with army troops in a massive rescue effort that drew help from around the world. Rescue workers cleared roads of fallen trees and twisted roofs to reach remote villages, but tents, rice, water and other relief items wer...

Scores of Miners Die in Ukraine Blast ; Dozens Remain Missing As Fire Rages

DONETSK, Ukraine A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine early Sunday, killing at least 63 miners in the ex- Soviet nation's worst mining accident in years, emergency officials said. More than 360 miners were rescued but 37 others remained trapped inside the mine one of Ukraine's largest and deepest with a raging fire hampering efforts to save them, officials said.