The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I can only compare

it to a hot, hearty meal after a very cold day.” Slava Botamanenko, after attending a church service in Darrington, Wash., close to Oso, where a March 22 mudslide killed at least 21 people Article, this page

Schumer: Step up security at tower

NEW YORK - U.S. Sen.

Charles Schumer stood by the new World Trade Center on Sunday, demanding that federal officials review security after daredevils twice sneaked to the top of the site’s signature 104-story skyscraper.

Schumer’s request comes after a teenager was charged with climbing to the top of the 1,776-foot spire of 1 World Trade Center, three skydiving enthusiasts surrendered to face charges in a September jump off the building, and a newspaper published a photo of a guard apparently sleeping on the job.

“What is going on here?” Schumer asked.

The New York Democrat wants the Homeland Security Department to monitor the performance and training of trade center security guards, in addition to testing surveillance equipment and checking the perimeter for possible illegal entry points.

Schumer said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16-acre site, is responsible for any security breaches.

Interviews said left on Christie, bridge

The chairman of a New Jersey Legislature investigative committee said it’s too early to reach a conclusion about what Gov.

Chris Christie knew about lane closings on the George Washington Bridge last year.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski, co-chairman of the Select Committee on Investigation, said staff members haven’t conducted key interviews about the decision to shut New York-bound bridge approach lanes from Fort Lee.

A report by Christie’s office last week that cleared the governor and blamed staff members included “conclusions and speculations,” Wisniewski, a Democrat, said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.

The internal review by a law firm hired by Christie said the Republican governor had no prior knowledge of the lane closings that snarled traffic in Fort Lee for four days.

Hundreds protest N.M. police slaying

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

  • Hundreds of protesters marched past riot police in downtown Albuquerque on Sunday, days after a YouTube video emerged threatening retaliation for a recent deadly police shooting.

The video, which bore the logo of the computer-hacking collective Anonymous, warned of a cyberattack on city websites and called for the protest march.

Albuquerque police said their site had been breached early Sunday afternoon but was back up Sunday night.

Investigators had not uncovered the source of the hack, police spokesman Simon Drobik said.

The demonstrators arrived at Civic Plaza and marched through the city. Activists called on various city officials to resign.

By about 7 p.m. CDT, a few hundred demonstrators had gathered downtown near police headquarters, where they confronted about three dozen officers in riot gear.

In the shooting March 16 that led to the YouTube posting Tuesday, a homeless man was killed in east Albuquerque. The shooting was captured on video and followed a long standoff.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 03/31/2014

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