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New York, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – NBA players filed an unfair labor practices charge against the league Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board.

In the complaint the players accuse the league of “harsh, inflexible and grossly regressive ‘takeaway’ demands.”

The National Basketball Players Association is seeking an immediate investigation by the NLRB, plus an injunction to stop the league’s threatened lockout of players when the current collective-bargaining agreement expires June 30.

The league responded by saying it is working toward putting a new deal in place.

“There is no merit to the charge filed by the players association as we have complied, and will continue to comply, with all of our obligations under the federal labor laws,” The NBA said in a statement. “It will not distract us from our efforts to negotiate in good faith a new collective bargaining agreement with the players association.”

Players association head Billy Hunter sent out a memo to players earlier this month that stated that the league is seeking a hard salary cap that would be a 22% reduction from the current $58-million soft-cap figure.

The union argued in its NLRB claim that the NBA has engaged in “classic ‘take it or leave it’ bargaining that is “intended to delay action on a renewal [collective bargaining agreement] until the NBA locks out the employees in order to coerce them into accepting the NBA’s harsh and regressive demands.”

The league and players have a bargaining session scheduled during the NBA Finals in Dallas or Oklahoma City.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a $65.7 billion budget on Friday that continued to rely on slashing thousands of teaching positions despite opposition.

The budget aims to fix a record a $4.58 billion deficit deficit and a $6.1 billion decrease in state and federal funding without increasing taxes. The mayor stood firm on education cuts, proposing to lay off 4,278 teachers and remove 1,500 more through attrition.

Bloomberg said his administration had shown “continued, strong financial commitment” in education, increasing spending from city funds from $5.9 billion in 2002 to $13.6 billion in 2012. He said there was no recourse but to eliminate jobs, an argument the United Federation of Teachers shot down by saying the city had alternatives such as paring down contracts by 20 percent or ending bank subsidies.

The mayor backtracked on a plan to eliminate 16,000 child-care slots. He said his revised budget will ensure that all children will continue to receive care services. The slots will be maintained by using $40 million in city funds to compensate for reductions in state and federal aid.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew dismissed the revised proposal, saying, “Same smoke, same mirrors, same attempt to blame others for his decision to lay off thousands of teachers, despite increased state aid, hundreds of millions in new revenues and a surplus that has grown to more than $3.2 billion.”

The group this week proposed an alternative budget that identifies savings worth $1.5 billion. Apart from reducing contracts with J.P. Morgan Chase and other banks, the group proposed to close tax loopholes for the wealthy and for private equity firms.

City Comptroller John Liu similarly urged the mayor to focus reductions on contracts.

“While the Mayor’s Budget presents a picture reflective of the lingering effects of the recession, it should be noted that throughout the economic crisis, City agencies have spent billions of dollars on high-priced outside consultants resulting in runaway spending on technology-related

contracts. Unfortunately, the Executive Budget offers no respite,” Liu said.

Before we commit critical funding towards more technology contracts, we must consider the necessity of these projects when compared to the proposed service and personnel cuts the Mayor has put forth,” the comptroller added.

The budget requires approval from the city council. It is due on July 1.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Toyota said on Friday it would maintain limited production until the end of the year. The automaker is working to resolve supply chain issues and a crisis triggered by a tsunami in Japan.

Production levels in domestic plants are currently at 50 percent, while operations outside Japan are at 40 percent. The company plans to begin restoring normal production in local facilities in July. Overseas operations will ramp up a month later due to the time it takes to deliver parts abroad.

Regular operations are set to resume November and December.

President Akio Toyoda apologized to consumers in a press conference and assured them of “unprecedented customer service.” He told dealers and suppliers, “I feel terribly sorry for the hardships we may have caused you.”

Toyota will continue obtaining parts from its usual suppliers but is considering substituting parts from other companies. There are about 150 parts affecting assembly lines for new cars. The parts are mostly electronics, rubber and paint-related.

The North America unit, which is operating at 30 percent, said there are no plans for layoffs in plants. Production in North America was not suspended after the March 11 quake in Japan. But the unit took steps to conserve parts. It also suspended overtime work and stopped operations for five days last week.

Parts for the dozen Lexus and Toyota models built in the United States are sourced from 500 suppliers in North America. The automaker last month resumed shipments of parts to the United States and began production in Japan of Prius and Lexus hybrids, for which U.S. demand is high.

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Rochester, NY, United States (AHN) – Authorities are expected to confirm on Monday whether remains found in New York are those of a missing Rochester Institute of Technology student.

New York State Police were due to hold a press conference just before noon about the discovery of human remains Sunday night in the town of Cohocton in Steuben County. The body may be that of George Delany, a 21-year-old student who has been missing for more than a month.

The Leader reported that two hikers found the body in a wooded area. The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office is performing an autopsy.

According to state police, Delany was last seen on the evening of March 12 walking away from his car in Wayland, another town in Steuben County. His car was found near the area the next day.

Delany was a junior political science major from Maryland. He lived off-campus with fellow students, who have held rallies and canvassing events since he disappeared.

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Mount Pleasant, NY, United States (AHN) – The family of Danroy “D.J.” Henry, a Pace University student who died last year, is up in arms over the decision of a police union to honor with an award the officer responsible for the fatal shooting.

“It just shows their inhumanity and their arrogance,” the mother of Henry, Angela Henry, told the New York Daily News on Thursday.

The Westchester County Police Benevolent Association named the officer who shot Henry, Aaron Hess, officer of the year earlier this month.

A spokesman for the union, Matthew Listwan, told the Journal News the award was not meant to be made public. He explained that the union “unanimously voted to present the award… as an expression of support for the dignified and professional manner in which Officer Hess has conducted himself throughout his career and this ordeal.”

The county district attorney earlier this year said that a grand jury found no reasonable cause to charge Hess in the death. The jury decided after hearing testimony from 46 civilians, including some Pace University students and Hess himself, who testified without protection of immunity from prosecution.

Hess shot Henry Oct. 17 when he and fellow Mount Pleasant police officers responded to a bar brawl in Thornwood.

According to police, Henry, who was black, allegedly struck officers, who are white, with his car after an officer knocked on one of the windows of his vehicle.

The family of Henry, a business management junior who played wide receiver and defensive back for the Pace football team, has asked the Justice Department to investigate the case. They say Henry was murdered after he tried to move his car from the fire lane.

Two officers, including Hess, suffered minor injuries after the shooting. Four teammates of Henry were taken into custody after the incident for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstruction. The quarterback of the football team, Joseph Romanick, was charged with felony criminal mischief.

But according to the four friends, they had tried to aid Henry after he was shot. One allegedly told officers he was certified in CPR but was beaten by police and threatened “he would be next” when he insisted. All four were cleared of charges last month following a motion from the district attorney to dismiss the allegations against them.

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Mount Pleasant, NY, United States (AHN) – Prosecutors on Thursday dropped charges against teammates of a Pace University football player fatally shot by police responding to a bar brawl last year.

The Westchester County district attorney had filed a motion last month to dismiss charges against Yves Delpeche, Joseph Garcia, Daniel Parker and Joseph Romanick.

The four were arrested Oct. 17 when Danroy “D.J.” Henry was shot by a Mount Pleasant police officer. The business management junior, who is black, allegedly struck the officers, who are white, with his car. His family believes he was murdered and has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the case.

Police said that during the night of Henry’s death, an officer had knocked on the window of a car parked in a fire lane outside the bar in Thornwood. The car, driven by Henry, sped off and hit the officer, who ended up on the hood of the vehicle.

A second officer tried to pull the first officer from the hood but was also mowed down by the car. The first officer then shot at the vehicle and another officer fired into the car before it crashed into a police cruiser.

Two officers suffered minor injuries after the shooting. Henry died and one of his two passengers in the car, who was also a Pace University player, sustained a minor gunshot wound.

Henry’s four teammates were arrested after the incident for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstruction. Romanick, the quarterback of the football team, was charged with felony criminal mischief.

However, according to an account by family and the four friends, the four had tried to aid Henry after he was shot.

Parker allegedly told officers he was certified in CPR but was beaten by officers and threatened that “he would be next” when he insisted.

Delpeche also allegedly asked police if he could help Henry, who was not receiving any medical attention. He had approached officers with his hands raised but was Tasered twice in the stomach.

The victim’s family say Henry, who played wide receiver and defensive back for the team, was shot after he tried to move his car from the fire lane.

The officer who shot Henry, Aaron Hess, has not been indicted. A grand jury found no reasonable cause to charge him after hearing testimony from 46 civilians, including some Pace University students. Hess was among members of law enforcement who testified, and he did so without protection of immunity from prosecution.

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NY, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – The NFL and the NFL Players’ Association agreed Thursday to hire Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services director George H. Cohen as a mediator between the two sides.

“I have had separate, informal discussions with the key representatives of the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association during the course of their negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement,” Cohen said in a statement. “At the invitation of the FMCS, and with the agreement of both parties, the ongoing negotiations will now be conducted under my auspices.”

Cohen will attempt to facilitate the agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement prior to the March 4 expiration of the old agreement, starting with the group’s first session together Friday.

“We hope that this renewed effort, through mediation, will help the players and owners reach a successful deal,” said the NFLPA in a statement.

Cohen helped mediate the negotiations between the MLS and its players’ union. NFL labor counsel Bob Batterman was also involved.

Some of the issues the two sides seem to be far apart on include: financial transparency on the part of the owners; expanding to an 18-game schedule; rookie pay scale.

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New York City, NY, United States (AHN) – New York Michael Bloomberg is under fire for proposing an annual budget requiring mass teacher layoffs and cuts to social services for infants and the elderly.

Citing reduced funding from the state and the deficit, the mayor has proposed eliminating 6,166 teaching positions, including 4,666 through layoffs. It would be the city’s first mass layoff of teachers since the 1970s fiscal crisis.

Bloomberg wants 16,000 child-care slots eliminated and 20 fire houses shuttered. In addition, he plans to save $27 million by closing 100 senior centers.

The proposal requires no tax increases, and closes a $4.58 billion deficit despite a $2.1 billion drop in state aid. But it was met coldly by unions and advocates for social services.

“Playing politics with people’s lives is an ugly, shameful act, and that is exactly what Mayor Bloomberg is doing,” United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said in a statement.

Mulgrew said that instead of adding to problems of underfunded public schools and “skyrocketing class sizes” the mayor should support the extension of the state’s millionaire’s tax.

The call echoes those made by the city council’s Progressive Caucus to let the tax continue generating $4 billion annually. The income tax on the city’s wealthiest expires by the end of the year.

District Council 37, the city’s largest public worker union, is questioning the mayor’s decision to continue laying off public workers instead of examining the city’s 18,000 outside contracts.

“Where are the cuts to billions of dollars in private contracts,” asked the group’s executive director, Lillian Roberts.

The union will hold a hearing next Friday to study the way the city’s funds are being spent, and make recommendations for a budget “that embodies fairness and shared sacrifice.”

Bloomberg’s budget accounts for a reduction of $1.4 billion in state funding for education in the city, as well as the loss of $850 million in federal stimulus support for teacher salaries.

Critics argue the mayor’s push for mass teacher layoffs is also a way to end a “last in, first out” law he has long opposed. “if we have to lay teachers off, we have to ensure we can keep the very best,” Bloomberg said on Thursday.

Mulgrew responded, “His efforts to scare newer teachers and demonize veteran teachers do nothing to help children or support the work that we do every day.”

Bloomberg presented his budget as a piece of “good news,” citing a $2.1 billion rise in revenues and a surplus of more than $3 billion. But the mayor is still seeking $600 million from the state, and he made clear there may be more reductions to programs and personnel if Albany does not agree to the provide the funds.

“If the state does not come through, layoffs and service cuts will be more severe,” the mayor said.

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Mount Pleasant, NY, United States (AHN) – The Justice Department is set to begin its probe of the death of a Pace University student shot by police last year. A grand jury cleared the officer in the shooting, a decision the victim’s family had expected.

“We never believed the indictment would come at the state level. We always thought it would have to come at the federal level,” Danroy Henry, Sr., the father of Danroy “D.J.” Henry Jr., said on CNN’s “American Morning” on Tuesday.

The younger Henry died Oct. 17 after being shot by a Mount Pleasant police officer responding to a bar brawl. The business management junior allegedly two struck officers with his car, but the victim’s family says he was murdered.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet Difiore announced Monday that a grand jury had found “no reasonable cause” to indict Aaron Hess, the officer who shot Henry.

The grand jury began its hearing on the incident last month and heard testimony from 46 civilians, including some Pace University students. Hess was among members of law enforcement who testified, and he did so without protection of immunity from prosecution.

According to police, an officer had knocked on the window of a car parked in a fire lane outside the bar in Thornwood. The car, driven by Henry, sped off and struck the officer, who ended up on the hood of the vehicle.

A second officer tried to pull the first officer from the hood but was also mowed down by the car. The first officer then shot at the vehicle and another officer fired into the car before it crashed into a police cruiser.

Two officers were treated for minor injuries after the shooting. Of the two passengers in the car with Henry, who were also Pace University players, only one was hurt with a minor gun shot wound.

Henry’s family and students who witnessed the incident have raised doubts about the police’s reconstruction of events that led to his death. They say Henry, who played wide receiver and defensive back for the university football team, was simply moving his car from the fire lane.

“He was asked to move his car from one police department and a different officer from another police department killed him,” the victim’s father told CNN.

As early as a week after the shooting, Henry’s family had requested the Justice Department to take charge of the probe, citing the leak of a blood alcohol test as proof the investigation was compromised. The family has also criticized Mount Pleasant police for failing to protect gunpowder evidence on the car.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – A recent Harris Poll found that thirty-four percent of Americans have no retirement savings and 27% have no personal savings.

The findings mark an increase, when just 18 months ago those numbers were moderately lower, at 30% and 22% respectively.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,151 adults surveyed online between November 8 and 15, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

According to the 2,151 adults surveyed, one-in-four Baby Boomers have no retirement savings, with 22% of people aged 65 and over are in the same boat. While Gen Xers aged 34-45 are struggling just to survive with immediate needs and 32 of them have no personal savings.

“Current economic conditions seem to be driving somewhat less risky investment behavior by Gen Xers, which goes against the grain of traditional investment advice,” stated Barbara Bertner, Vice President of Financial Services Research for Harris Interactive.

Some of the other key findings from research includes that 31% of all adults report that they keep their personal savings “mostly in bank savings and and/or CDs”, 17% keep “a relatively equal mix of stocks/mutual funds and investments such as bonds and money market funds”, 11% keep their personal savings “mostly in stocks and/or mutual funds”, 8% keep theirs “mostly in bonds, money market funds and other stable investments.”

While many Americans’ retirement plans look bleak because they don’t have enough money saved, 84% of high net worth baby boomers believe their retirement will be better than their parents.

Seventy percent of these boomers said they plan to work in retirement even if it is part time simply “to remain more active and engaged.”

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