The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Rutt's Rumor: Much a-Chew About Nothing ; 'Rippers' Restaurant Staying Put in Clifton

Nobody knows for sure where the rumor started, but it was spreading faster than mustard on a deep-fried hot dog. Clifton's famed Rutt's Hut was boxing up its buns after nearly eight decades as top dog on North Jersey's relish circuit, the rumor claimed. Even worse, the tale went, condominiums would soon replace condiments where the wiener wonderland once stood.

Counties Want More for Bridges ; Call for Another $267m From State for Upkeep

County officials are calling on the state to step up funding for bridge maintenance and repairs to the tune of $267 million per year for the next decade. County governments are responsible for maintaining more than 7,000 bridges throughout the state, more than half of which are on municipal roads, according to the New Jersey Association of Counties.

3 N.J. Pastors Among 82 Lutheran Clergy in Mass Coming-Out ; Biennial Assembly Confronts Thorny Issue of Gay Rights

The Rev. Robert Kriesat rarely discussed his sexual orientation while serving Protestant churches in Ridgefield Park and Tenafly. But on Tuesday, Kriesat, a Teaneck pastor and one of his predecessors joined dozens of ministers across the country in acknowledging their homosexuality to a divided denomination - the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Commuters Struggle to Park, and Ride ; Shortage of Spots Makes It Tough to Use Mass Transit

Alise Connolly should have caught the 8:29 a.m. train to New York on a recent Tuesday. Equipped with a parking permit, she pulled into the Radburn station with 14 minutes to spare. The parking lot closest to the station was full. So was every space on an adjacent street. Finally, she gave up and drove to a different station.

Governor's Chief of Staff to Step Down ; Shea to Be Consultant Paid Personally by Corzine

TRENTON A longtime aide to Governor Corzine is leaving the public payroll, but will remain as a consultant with a salary paid from his boss's vast personal fortune. Tom Shea, Corzine's chief of staff and a veteran of his days in the U.S. Senate, will leave the job Sept. 1, his office announced Tuesday. Shea's replacement will be another from the inner circle that Corzine started assembling in a prior career at Goldman Sachs: Bradley Abelow, the investment house veteran plucked from retiremen...

People in the News

MTV award nominees Justin Timberlake and Beyonc lead the pop parade of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards with seven nods apiece, it was announced Tuesday.

Public's Help Sought in Killings ; $50,000 Reward in Newark

NEWARK Security cameras failed to record the execution-style slayings of three college students in a schoolyard, so investigators are pleading for someone to step up with clues to the vicious crime. "I don't believe there were a lot of witnesses, but people who do these things tend to talk," said Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow. "I don't believe they kept silent, and we're hoping anyone with any information, however tangential, will come forward."

Police Say Ex-Boyfriend Admits to Killing Woman ; Victim Was Nyu Professor's Daughter

NEW YORK The former boyfriend of a woman whose badly decomposed body was found in a New York University apartment tried to commit suicide Tuesday night and was taken to a hospital, where, police said, he told workers, "I tried to kill myself because I killed my girlfriend." The former boyfriend, Michael Cordero, 23, was being sought by detectives for questioning Tuesday when he went to the roof of a Manhattan housing project and slit his wrists, police said. When his relatives found him and ...

Police Want to Question Boyfriend in Woman's Death ; Victim Is Daughter of Nyu Professor

NEW YORK Detectives want to question a former boyfriend of a woman whose badly decomposed body was found wrapped in a sheet in the locked bedroom of a New York University apartment, police said Tuesday. The body of Boitumelo McCallum, 20, described as a "bright and talented" student at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., was identified through fingerprints provided by the South African embassy. Police have said they are investigating the death of McCallum, the daughter of an NYU professor and ...

Paying Respects to Sacrifices for the Purple Heart ; 3 Vets Honored at Medal's Anniversary

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. Gen. George Washington created a heart-shaped award made from purple fabric as his battle-weary troops camped here 225 years ago. Since then, soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy have received Purple Hearts, as have sailors and Marines hurt in Vietnam and now increasingly such veterans as Aaron Moquin, who had the award pinned to his chest Tuesday for wounds suffered in Iraq.

Principal Accused of Santeria to Be Fired ; Allegedly Had School Ritually Cleansed

NEW YORK A public school principal accused of performing religious rituals with candles, incense and chicken blood in an effort to cleanse her high school of negative energy has been reassigned and will be fired, the Department of Education said Tuesday. Maritza Tamayo, principal of the Unity Center for Urban Technologies, paid a woman named Gilda Fonte to lead several Santeria rituals at the Manhattan school during midwinter break in 2006, when students were not there, said Richard Condon, ...

Foot-and-Mouth Spreads to 2nd Farm ; Human Movement Probed in Outbreak

NORMANDY, England Britain's health and safety agency said Tuesday there was a strong probability that a foot-and-mouth outbreak in southern England originated at a vaccine lab and was spread by human movement. The outbreak was discovered on a farm just 4 miles from the Pirbright vaccine laboratory, which is shared by the government's Institute for Animal Health, or IAH, and a private pharmaceutical company, Merial Animal Health, the British arm of Duluth, Ga.-based Merial Ltd.

Forces Roust Settlers From Hebron ; Protesters Answer with Stones, Oil

HEBRON, West Bank Israeli security forces armed with sledgehammers, chain saws and power clippers smashed through the fortified doors of a building in the holy city of Hebron on Tuesday to evict two Jewish settler families and hundreds of supporters. The military operation was meant to reduce conflict between settlers and Palestinians in the volatile West Bank town, but it also highlighted the growing schism between some religious soldiers and an army command that orders them to carry out ev...

Pope Meets with Priest Accused of Jewish Slurs

ROME Pope Benedict XVI met briefly this week with a Polish priest who has been accused of making anti-Jewish comments. Photos showing the pope at his summer residence with the Rev. Tadeusz Rydzyk and two other priests were published in Polish newspapers Tuesday.

Giuliani, in Iowa, Deflects Questions About His Catholicism ; Republican Presidential Hopeful Calls for Zone of Privacy

DAVENPORT, Iowa Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that whether he was a practicing Catholic was a personal matter as he declined to answer questions about his religion. Addressing a town-hall meeting in Iowa, the former New York mayor was asked whether he considered himself a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic."

Navy Divers Search for Bridge Collapse Victims ; Raise Hopes of Speeding Recovery Effort

MINNEAPOLIS An elite team of Navy divers joined the search for victims of the interstate bridge collapse Tuesday, bringing to the job lessons learned from such disasters as TWA Flight 800 and the loss of the space shuttle Columbia. The team of 16 divers and a five-member command crew arrived Monday. Once their gear arrived before dawn Tuesday, several divers immediately entered the Mississippi River even though local officials encouraged them to wait until daybreak.

Utah Mine Rescue Could Take 3 Days ; Crews Hope to Contact 6 Trapped Inside

HUNTINGTON, Utah Rescuers bulldozed a mountain path Tuesday to erect a seismic listening device outside a mine where six miners had been trapped for more than a day, hoping to establish contact, one of the mine's owners said. Once the device is in place, crews will set off dynamite, a sign to the stranded men to tap the ceiling with hammers, said Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp. of Cleveland, a part owner of the Crandall Canyon mine.

Around the World

Pakistani leader assails strike talk ISLAMABAD, Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday that talk of U.S. military strikes against al-Qaida in Pakistan only hurts the fight against terrorism.

Psychedelic Mushrooms Face Ban in Netherlands ; Implication in Teen Girl's Death Stirs New Studies On Their Risks

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands The famously liberal Netherlands has been swinging toward the right, cracking down on immigration, religious freedoms and the freewheeling red-light district. The next possible target? Magic mushrooms. The death of a 17-year-old French girl, who jumped from a building after eating psychedelic mushrooms while on a school visit, has ignited a campaign to ban the fungi sold legally at so-called "smartshops" as long as they're fresh.

Experts Worry As Hospitals Shut Burn Centers ; Concern About Terror Casualties

U.S. hospitals are increasingly shutting down their burn centers in a trend experts say could leave the nation unable to handle widespread burn casualties from a fiery terrorist attack or other major disaster. Associated Press interviews and an examination of official figures found that the shrinking number of beds is a growing cause for concern in this post-Sept. 11 world.