QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It looked like an infirmary from World War I.”

Jeremy Shapiro, 73, of Manhattan, who became stranded at New York’s Kennedy Airport and slept on a cot alongside about 150 others Thursday night after a snowstorm hit the Northeast Article, 1A

Move flat-lined girl at own risk, mom told

OAKLAND, Calif. - A judge said Friday that the mother of a 13-year-old girl who was declared brain dead after tonsil surgery can remove her daughter from a California hospital if she assumes full responsibility for the consequences.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo said Jahi McMath can be transferred under a deal with Children’s Hospital Oakland that will hold Nailah Winkfield accountable for developments that could include Jahi going into cardiac arrest.

The hospital has declared the girl brain dead and wants to disconnect her from a ventilator. Winkfield has gone to court to stop the move and wants to transfer her daughter to another facility after forcing the hospital to fit Jahi with breathing and feeding tubes or allowing an outside doctor to perform the surgical procedures.

It was unclear when the girl might be moved, and a transfer could depend on the outcome of a separate hearing Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu involving the dispute.

Jahi went into cardiac arrest while recovering from the Dec. 9 surgery and shows no signs of brain activity, court records say.

Spy court reauthorizes phone-data grab

WASHINGTON - A secretive U.S. spy court has ruled again that the National Security Agency can keep collecting every American’s telephone records every day, in the midst of dueling decisions in two civilian federal courts about whether the surveillance program is constitutional.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Friday renewed the NSA data-collection program, said Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Such periodic requests are somewhat formulaic but required since the program started in 2006.

The latest approval was the first since two conflicting court decisions about whether the program is lawful and since a presidential advisory panel recommended that the NSA no longer be allowed to collect and store the phone records and search them without obtaining separate court approval for each search.

Also Friday, government lawyers turned to U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block one federal judge’s decision that threatens the NSA phone-records program. The Justice Department filed a one-page notice of appeal asking the appeals court to overturn U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s ruling last month that the program was likely unconstitutional.

Detroit manager says rate pact a burden

DETROIT - Detroit’s state-appointed emergency manager said Friday that an agreement to pay off banks and settle millions of dollars in debt tied to an interest-rate swap deal resolves a “sordid tale” and fuels a recovery plan for the broke city.

Kevyn Orr testified in federal court that the proposal to terminate the deal for $165 million is best for Detroit, adding that it removes significant financial and legal risks and allows the nation’s largest public bankruptcy restructuring to proceed.

“It finally resolves this issue - the whole sordid tale of the swaps - and provides the city with an opportunity to finally do some reasonable, strategic planning for years to come,” he said.

Detroit, which filed for bankruptcy in July, pledged casino tax revenue in 2009 as collateral to avoid defaulting on pension-debt payments. The swaps allowed Detroit to get fixed interest rates on pension bonds with UBS and Bank of America.

2nd body found in Minneapolis rubble

MINNEAPOLIS - The body of another victim was found Friday in the ruins of a Minneapolis apartment building, increasing the death toll to two from the explosion and fire that gutted the building.

The Wednesday morning fire also injured 14 people, some seriously.

The second victim was found around 10 a.m. Friday and the body was turned over to the medical examiner, the Fire Department said in a statement. The body of the first victim was found Thursday. Authorities have not released the identities of either victim.

The demolition of the building was completed Friday, and fire officials said they believe everyone who was in the building at the time of the fire has been accounted for.

Fire Chief John Fruetel said an investigation into the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire was ongoing. Investigators are focusing on a gas explosion as a possible cause due to the nature of the debris field and because some witnesses spoke of an odor, he said Thursday.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/04/2014