NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — From his use of Twitter to a so-called “perp walk” that consisted of a car ride, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Thursday defended his handling of the arrest of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Bharara filed papers in Manhattan in U.S. District Court, saying a motion last week by Silver’s attorneys to toss the case was without merit. The once-powerful Democrat was indicted two weeks ago on charges that he received $4 million in kickbacks from law firms for doing political favors since 2002, disguising the income as legitimate income. New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver walks out of the Federal Courthouse after his arraignment in New York City on January 22, 2015. (credit: Yana Paskova/Getty Images) The 71-year-old Silver has said he’ll be vindicated. He remains an assemblyman, continuing to represent the Lower Manhattan district he has served for nearly four decades. As CBS2’s Lou Young reported last week, Silver’s legal team said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who brought the case, has overstepped his bounds — especially making comments about the way New York State government operates. “He has offered his uncensored views about Mr. Silver’s guilt, his character and the severity of his crimes — always in inflammatory, over-the-top language that targets not just Mr. Silver but the entire New York state government,” lawyers for Silver said in court papers. Joel Cohen, one of Silver’s attorneys, said Thursday he’ll respond to Bharara’s filing with more court papers. In a brief signed by four prosecutors, Bharara’s office said Silver’s claims had no basis in facts or the law and it defended the announcement of Silver’s Jan. 22 arrest and remarks Bharara made a day later in a law school speech when he joked repeatedly that power in New York State was “unduly concentrated in the hands of just a few men” — the governor, the Assembly speaker and the Senate president. Bharara’s office attached the full office Twitter feed related to Silver’s arrest as an exhibit to its court filing, saying Silver’s lawyers omitted in their request to throw out the charges key information such as the fact that the Twitter feed referenced “charges” and was linked to a press release and a criminal complaint. Bharara’s office said its press release and press conference statements made “abundantly clear that the charges were allegations.” It added: “Moreover, it is not unusual or inappropriate in any way for this office to use Twitter as a means of augmenting other, more traditional, means of providing information to the public.” Prosecutors also said Silver’s arrest was handled “with great sensitivity — from the choice to allow the defendant to surrender, to the decision to drive the defendant to the courthouse as opposed to having federal agents walk the defendant across the plaza, to the use of an unmarked car to handle the transport.” (TM and

A man was stabbed at the height of rush hour on a PATH train in Midtown Tuesday, authorities said.

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Man stabbed on PATH train in Midtown Tuesday: authorities

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Potholes have been plaguing area roads, as the Tri-State Area has been pounded time and again with severe weather. As of Monday night, there were numerous potholes on the West Side Highway, making for a bumpy ride. There were also a couple of potholes on West 37th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, which were getting bigger as more cars rode into them. As of Monday night, they were about two feet long and hard to avoid. The city Department of Transportation is hitting all five boroughs this week as workers try to repair as many potholes as they can, 1010 WINS’ Derricke Dennis reported Sunday. Crews have already repaired nearly 100,000 potholes since December. According to AAA, potholes cost drivers as much as $700 in repairs each year, CBS2’s Ilana Gold reported Sunday. AAA said keeping the proper tire pressure can help minimize damage if you hit a pothole. The DOT has launched a Tumblr blog, The Daily Pothole , where it chronicles the work being done.

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More Potholes Cropping Up As Repeated Severe Weather Slams Area

http://media.newyork.cbslocal.com/CBSNY_20150302172848733AA.mp4 NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) — Earbuds are putting a lot of people at risk for hearing loss. There is now a warning for children from the World Health Organization. A new study shows half of all 12 to 35-year-olds listen to their music too loud. According to research by the World Health Organization millions of Americans, including up to 15 percent of school aged children, already have permanent hearing loss. “Even this morning I had two teenagers come in complaining of hearing noise,” Dr. Ana Kim, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mt. Sinai, told CBS2’s Emily Smith. As Dr. Kim explained, listening to music with earbuds on a device at the highest volume can ruin a child’s hearing forever in just 15 minutes. “A general rule I tell them is 50 percent of the volume, so middle level,” Dr. Kim said. Headphones can be cranked up to a volume of about 110 decibels, far beyond the recommended level of about 80, Dr. Kim explained. Dr. Andrew Resnick said the ones that fit directly in the ear may be slightly healthier for your hearing than ear phones because they seal out background noise allowing you to listen to music at a lower volume. Dr. Resnick said children are at the greatest risk for hearing damage than previous generations because of the increase in availability of music on the go. If you don’t want a future that involves hearing aids, and regular visits to the audiologist listen to that one person who is always telling you to turn the music down. There are apps that you can download to help prevent your child’s music from going past a safe decibel.

Hollywood insider Heather McDonald is a seasoned observer of Tinseltown’s catastrophic relationships.

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Why Hollywood marriages never last

Find out what March 2015 has in store for your pets.

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Pet horoscopes for March 2015

New York City has tech fever.

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Tech firms took 5M square feet of NYC office space in 2014

The NFL will reconsider tweaking its long-standing timing and testing drills at the scouting combine this offseason.

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NFL to reconsider decades-old combine drills

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The search continues for a suspect who police said raped a 12-year-old girl in the Bronx. It happened just before 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The girl was walking in the area of East Tremont Avenue and Southern Boulevard when police said the suspect walked up to her, grabbed her and threatened to kill her if she screamed. That’s when he tried to force her into two buildings before dragging her into an alley near Daly Avenue where he raped her, police said. The girl then fled as the suspect took off in the opposite direction, police said. Residents were shocked by what happened. “Extremely horrific and I hope they get the kid,” resident Frankie Romero told CBS2’s Janelle Burrell. “Hopefully he goes down for this crime because no female should ever be victimized or violated like that.” The incident was caught on surveillance video. Police describe the suspect as a dark-skinned male in his early to mid-teens, around 5’2″ tall. Police said the victim and the suspect did not know each other and said it was a random attack on the street. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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Search Continues For Suspect Accused Of Raping 12-Year-Old Girl In The Bronx

SAYREVILLE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – An early-morning fire ripped through a strip mall in Sayreville, destroying at least three businesses. A pizzeria, liquor store and dry cleaners were completely wiped out by the blaze, which broke out around 5:45 a.m. Thursday on Main Street. Several Businesses Destroyed In Sayreville Fire Glenn Schuck reports play pause At least six other businesses sustained water and smoke damage. Fire Chief Vincent Waranowicz said they had serious problems getting water on the fire. “We just kept losing pressure, we don’t know why,” Waranowicz told 1010 WINS’ Glenn Schuck. “We don’t know if there’s ice in the line, we don’t know if there’s something with the line itself. We actually had to shut down the roadway to be able to get a hydrant on a different system.” Dana Fisher, whose hair salon was damaged in the fire, said she is in absolute shock. “I couldn’t even speak this morning, my sentences were unclear to everybody calling,” Fisher said. “Obviously our busy season’s coming up with proms and stuff like that so we’re anxious to get back on our feet as quickly as we can.” No injuries were reported.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS (CBSLA.com)

The jury got the case after a defense lawyer made his final plea for mercy in the murder by Jodi Arias that grabbed global attention over the violent nature of the crime

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Jury gets case, will decide punishment for Jodi Arias

The Grizzlies are rolling since acquiring forward Jeff Green from Boston, writes Michael Wallace.

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Wallace: Are Grizzlies grinding toward top seed?