New Jersey
City eyes eminent domain to fight foreclosure
IRVINGTON, N.J. – Irvington, N.J., is moving forward with plans to become the second municipality in the nation to use eminent domain to buy mortgages that are in foreclosure.
At a rally Saturday, Mayor Wayne Smith said the city will perform a legal study of the proposal to use eminent domain, which has drawn forceful opposition from Wall Street, real estate groups and some in Washington, while gaining the support of a civil-rights group typically opposed to the practice.
The city of 53,000 that neighbors Newark has been hard-hit by foreclosures. Officials said nearly 1,800 homes here have been foreclosed on since 2008.
The city has an unemployment rate of 12.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Florida
Body of man who fell from plane likely found
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Authorities said Saturday that they’ve likely found the body of a Florida man who they say fell out of a private plane, three days into a land and sea search that included parts of the Atlantic Ocean near Miami.
“Even though we presume that the body found is that of Gerardo Nales, investigators are pending ‘official identification’ from the Medical Examiner’s Office,” Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement.
The presumed body of 42-year-old Nales was found around 10:30 a.m. in an area of mangroves, Zabaleta said.
The pilot’s identity has not been released, nor has the intended destination of the plane. Authorities said there were only two people on board.
NASA’s newest Mars flyer will explore atmosphere
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA hopes its newest Mars spacecraft lives up to its know-it-all name.
The robotic explorer called Maven is due to blast off Monday on a 10-month journey to the red planet. There, it will orbit Mars and study the atmosphere to try to understand how the planet morphed from warm and wet to cold and dry.
“A maven is a trusted expert,” said NASA’s space science chief, John Grunsfeld. Maven will help scientists “build a story of the Mars atmosphere and help future human explorers who journey to Mars.”
The $671 million mission is NASA’s 21st crack at Earth’s most enticing neighbor, coming on the heels of the Curiosity rover, still rolling strong a year after its grand Martian arrival.
When Maven reaches Mars next September, it will join three functioning spacecraft, two U.S. and one European. An Indian orbiter also will be arriving about the same time. Maven will be the 10th orbiter to be launched to Mars by NASA; three have failed, testimony to the difficulty of the task.
Vermont
Governor bags 6-point buck on opening day of deer hunt
MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin bagged a buck on the opening day of deer season.
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department said Shumlin shot the 186-pound six-point in East Montpelier on Saturday morning, the start of the 16-day rifle deer season.
The firearms seasons are later than usual because Thanksgiving is late this year. Muzzleloader season begins Dec. 7.
The late bear hunting season also started Saturday and runs through Nov. 24.
Associated Press
