QUOTE OF THE DAY “The incompetence in building this website is staggering.” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on glitches that have marred the rollout of federal health-insurance markets and will be the focus of hearings held by the panel this week Article, 1A
Macy’s denies discrimination claim
NEW YORK - No Macy’s employees were involved in the detention or questioning of a black actor who claims he was stopped because of his race while shopping at the flagship Manhattan store, Macy’s officials said Sunday.
Rob Brown, a black actor who works on the HBO series Treme, has said he was detained nearly an hour by police June 8 after employees contacted authorities about possible credit-card fraud. The actor has filed a lawsuit.
In a statement, Macy’s said there was no record of any employee contacting authorities about Brown’s purchase.
The store said police officers requested use of a room in the building and that request was granted.
The store said it was reaching out to Brown and continuing to investigate the situation.
Brown’s account comes after claims from two black shoppers who said they were racially profiled at Barneys New York.
Barneys said it has retained a civil-rights expert to help review its procedures. The chief executive officer of Barneys, Mark Lee, offered his “sincere regret and deepest apologies.”
Phoenix man kills 4 neighbors, self
PHOENIX - Authorities released details Sunday from a weekend shooting attack that left four family members and two dogs dead at a central Phoenix townhouse before the gunman turned the weapon on himself.
Michael Guzzo, 56, killed his next-door neighbors in a deadly confrontation Saturday that may have been touched off by loud barking, police said.
Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said there is “some indication that perhaps that was a problem.” But he added that because of the deaths, a motive may never be known.
The victims have been identified as Bruce Moore, 66; his daughter, Renee Moore, 36; her husband, Michael Moore, 42, who took his wife’s name; and Renee’s son, Shannon Moore, 17.
After the killings, Guzzo shot at another townhouse before returning to his unit and killing himself, police said.
Police said they found a pump shotgun, apparently the weapon used in the killings, next to his body. Thompson said there was no indication he had a violent past.
Woman sentenced to life to be free
LOS ANGELES - A Southern California woman who received a life sentence as a teenager for killing her former pimp will be allowed to go free after Gov. Jerry Brown decided against blocking a parole board’s ruling that grants her freedom.
Sara Kruzan was 17 when she was sentenced to die in prison for the 1994 shooting death of George Gilbert Howard in a Riverside motel room. She contended that he had sexually abused her and groomed her for six years to work as a child prostitute.
Kruzan’s case became a high-profile example for advocates seeking to soften harsh prison sentences for youths.
“It is justice long overdue,” said state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who sponsored the law that allows youths sentenced to life in prison without parole to seek new sentencing hearings.
Indiana students charged in stabbing
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Two Indiana University students were charged Sunday morning in connection with a stabbing that injured another student at a campus apartment building, school officials said.
University police arrested Zesen Shen, 18, and Kaiyu Lao, 21, university spokesman Mark Land said in a news release.
Shen has been charged with intimidation and battery, and Lao was charged with intimidation, Land said.
Police said Shen, Lao and a 20-year-old university student were in the Tulip Tree apartment’s parking lot about 3:30 a.m. Witnesses told campus police the three were there “to resolve a dispute when the suspects began chasing victim and wounded him with a knife,” Land said.
University police Lt. Craig Munroe told the Indianapolis Star the student was stabbed in the back. The victim was taken to Indiana University Health hospital in Bloomington with an injury that isn’t life-threatening, Land said.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 10/28/2013