Free Republic

ALPINE — The tavern’s visitors nodded in rhythm as a musician sang 19th-century songs, drinking hot cider and savoring bread and cheese.   At the Kearney House in Palisades Interstate Park in Alpine, Michael Giorgio, 6, listens to a timeless song from historian Thaddeus MacGregor. With a roaring hearth, songs and stories were grand entertainment before radio, TV and the Internet. A fire crackled in a hearth near the table, heating a kettle of water for cleaning dishes after the meal. A young woman in a dress served drinks, while the host — the floppy brim of his traditional slouch...

A push to require all convicted criminals in New York to submit their DNA to a central database is gaining crucial support in Albany, where officials say it could create the most comprehensive DNA collection system in the nation. If the proposal becomes law, it would make New York the only state to require collecting DNA from everyone convicted of felonies and misdemeanors, including youthful offenders convicted in criminal court, officials said. Currently, 43 states require that people convicted of all felonies submit DNA, but none require samples from those convicted of all misdemeanors, and New York has required those...