Free Republic

Hell no, we won’t go — unless we get goose down pillows. A key Occupy Wall Street leader and another protester who leads a double life as a businessman ditched fetid tents and church basements for rooms at a luxurious hotel that promises guests can “unleash [their] inner Gordon Gekko,” The Post has learned. The $700-per-night W Hotel Downtown last week hosted both Peter Dutro, one of a select few OWS members on the powerful finance committee, and Brad Spitzer, a California-based analyst who not only secretly took part in protests during a week-long business trip but offered shelter to...

A critical break in the investigation of Jerry Sandusky came via a posting on the Internet: a random mention that a Penn State football coach, years before, might have seen something ugly, but kept silent. Investigators with the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office had by 2010 already come to the conclusion that Sandusky, the longtime defensive coordinator for Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions, was a serial molester, according to two people with knowledge of the case. But what had started with a complaint of sexual assault from a high school freshman had grown to include another matter altogether: whether Penn State had...

Gun owners who have historically been able to use public lands for target practice would be barred from potentially millions of acres under new rules drafted by the Interior Department, the first major move by the Obama administration to impose limits on firearms. Officials say the administration is concerned about the potential clash between gun owners and encroaching urban populations who like to use same land for hiking and dog walking. "It's not so much a safety issue. It's a social conflict issue," said Frank Jenks, a natural resource specialist with Interior's Bureau of Land Management, which oversees 245 million...

Joe Paterno transferred full ownership of his house to his wife, Sue, for $1 in July, less than four months before a sexual abuse scandal engulfed his Penn State football program and the university. Documents filed in Centre County, Pa., show that on July 21, Paterno’s house near campus was turned over to “Suzanne P. Paterno, trustee” for a dollar plus “love and affection.” The couple had previously held joint ownership of the house, which they bought in 1969 for $58,000. According to documents filed with the county, the house’s fair-market value was listed at $594,484.40. Wick Sollers, a lawyer...

I am not a Christmas character, so I am allowed to know naughty words, and I thought of several after reading Susan Weich's account of the firing of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The story was in Saturday's newspaper. Laura Coppinger is the Sugar Plum Fairy. At least, she used to be. She played the role for the last six years during the Christmas Traditions festival in St. Charles. This year, festival hiring came under the control of the city of St. Charles, and because all city employees are required to take a drug test, Coppinger had to go to a...

It was a dizzying day at Tina Brown’s Newsweek/The Daily Beast. The publisher was let go and the managing editor and executive editor resigned – signs of both how hard it has been for the money-losing magazine and website to turn things around, and how challenging it can be to work in the shadow of publishing’s most famous, and often fickle, editor. Executive editor Edward Felsenthal has been with The Daily Beast since its launch – and mentioned in a 2009 New York Observer piece that he was “exhausted” by the experience. He was close to Brown, and seen as...

Anders Behring Breivik, accused of having cold-bloodedly murdered 77 people in Norway in July, was in court on Monday for his first public appearance since the crime. He showed no remorse and accused the judge of being the tool of an ideology that was "destroying Norwegian society." As the prisoner strides into the courtroom, he first glances toward the back of the room. On the right side, the media are seated, and on the left are those who survived the ferocious bloodbath. His appearance is clearly meant to demonstrate dignity, with his hair carefully parted to the right, the three...

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NEW ORLEANS — Chaka Khan is more than angry. Instead of getting to rest before her show at the Louisiana Superdome, the R&B star has been booked for two speaking engagements. She’s holed up in her hotel suite, fuming. Outside, her assistants are waiting for her to open the door. Her makeup artist, Derrick Rutledge, is waiting, too. He just flew in to do her after working on Michelle Obama in the East Wing. After New Orleans, he’s scheduled to fly out to do Oprah Winfrey before returning home to Washington. But first Rutledge has to persuade Khan to open...

Mike McQueary, the assistant Nittany Lions coach who told a grand jury that in 2002 he saw former coach Jerry Sandusky sexually assault a young boy, has been placed on administrative leave. The move was announced by Penn State Interim President Rod Erickson at a news conference that began at 4 p.m.

Mike McQueary, the assistant Nittany Lions coach who told a grand jury that in 2002 he saw former coach Jerry Sandusky sexually assault a young boy, has been placed on administrative leave. The move was announced by Penn State Interim President Rod Erickson at a news conference that began at 4 p.m.

The attorney representing former Penn State coach and The Second Mile founder, Jerry Sandusky, said his client learned of Coach Joe Paterno’s announcement he will retire, and is “distraught” over the latest developments at Penn State. While Sandusky maintains he is innocent, “he is saddened by what is happening to the reputation of Penn State,” Amendola said. “He feels absolutely awful. They’re taking down an entire athletic department." Amendola said he spoke Wednesday morning with Sandusky, who is still at his State College residence, which is staked out by media. Amendola said he's already at work on Sandusky’s defense, and...

Kevin Best and Misty Rasche remember when they had waiting lists for a Friday reservation at their bistro in the historic Old Oakland business district. That was in 2007, before the recession hit and a series of angry protests that would come to define downtown Oakland. Most recently, business at their B Restaurant & Bar has been harmed further since Occupy Oakland tents went up at City Hall on Oct. 10. Best and Rasche worry that the collateral damage from the protest may be the final blow for their restaurant. "If we go two more months like this," Best said,...

Jon S. Corzine has hired Andrew J. Levander, a leading white-collar criminal defense lawyer, according to three people briefed on the matter, as the former New Jersey governor deals with fallout from the collapse of MF Global, the brokerage firm he has run since last year. Federal authorities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the $630 million in missing customer funds at MF Global. Mr. Levander could not be reached as he is out of the country, according to his assistant. He did not return an email seeking comment. Daniel O’Donnell, the...

The decision by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to hold a referendum on the European debt deal of October 27 stunned members of his own party, his European counterparts and the financial markets, threatening to turn a smoldering blaze into a conflagration. As I write he is on his way to Cannes to explain himself to the G-20 leaders; on his return to Athens he faces a vote of confidence that may end his government. In the hall of mirrors that is Greek politics, there is no easy way to parse his move’s intent and consequences. Was it a sudden...

This summer, federal inspectors made a routine visit to 11 homes in St. Louis to see what taxpayers got for the $5 billion that President Obama spent to help Americans weatherize their homes to save energy. What they found was quite a surprise. Some of the energy-efficient furnaces installed at taxpayer expense spewed carbon monoxide that could poison occupants. New water heaters lacked required pressure valves, putting them in jeopardy of exploding. And a handful of contractors—unfamiliar with the nuances of specialized weatherization work—had used air blowers in homes with asbestos, potentially dispersing the cancer-causing agent, according to several Energy...

In a sign of just how bad the advertising climate is once again turning for newspapers, the New York Times announced this morning that it is planning up to 20 buyouts, the first significant reduction in staff since the dark days of 2009. Brian Stelter reports: The reductions, described by the New York Times Company as a rebalancing, were announced to employees on Thursday morning. The company will seek volunteers for buyouts in The Times newsroom, Jill Abramson, the paper’s executive editor, said in a memo to the staff, adding that no newsroom employee would be laid off. She said...

I have some bad news for the 99 percenters down at Occupy Boston. Comrades, I fear you have been infiltrated by the one percent, the super rich. I have been studying the Boston police reports, and most of these hippies, er revolutionaries, are from the ’burbs. Not the city, but the bosky dells, especially Cambridge. Ever hear of Dunster Street, comrade? It’s right there in the middle of Harvard Square. The cops early Monday lugged a resident of 101 Dunster St., age 23, and he was “white non-Hispanic.” But then, aren’t all of the 99 percent? Oppressors. It’s odd, too....

Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner boasted that he masturbated in House restrooms and expressed frustration about his “backwards thinking” Muslim in-laws, according to a tell-all book. Weiner’s texting pal Traci Nobles has inked “I Freinded (sic) You,” which adds more lurid details about the Queens Democrat’s fall from office. The 35-year-old former cheerleading coach shared excerpts of her book with The Daily Mail in London. Weiner resigned under fire in June, leaving the seat he had held since 1999, because of sexually explicit texts he sent women. “Omg. I didn’t think I could get any harder,” read one Weiner message...

Occupy Wall Street is on the move ... uptown. Why uptown? Because that's where the rich folks live! Organizers are planning a march on Tuesday that will visit the homes of JP Morgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) CEO Jamie Dimon, billionaire David Koch, hedge fund honcho John Paulson, Howard Milstein, and News Corp (NWSA, Fortune 500) CEO Rupert Murdoch. The millionaires and billionaires are being targeted for what event organizers called a "willingness to hoard wealth at the expense of the 99%." So far, protesters have not strayed too far from downtown, where a home base of sorts has been...