Suspect Sought After Woman Strangled, Another Injured in NJ

(ELIZABETH, N.J.) -- The search is on for a suspect after one woman was killed and another injured in an attack at an apartment in Elizabeth, N.J. on Wednesday.

The attack happened on Wednesday night at an apartment located on Madison Avenue. Police said in published reports that a suspect entered the apartment, strangled one woman and then also attacked another woman in the home. The second victim managed to escape, and was later taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The attacker fled the scene before police arrived.

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Columbia University Student Charged with Hate Crime

(NEW YORK) -- A student at Columbia University was arrested on Tuesday and charged with harassing a fellow student as a hate crime.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Chad Washington, a member of the school's football team, was outside of McBain Hall early Tuesday morning with the 19-year-old victim and called him anti-Asian slurs.

According to the Journal, after the victim engaged Washington and the group he was walking with, Washington allegedly grabbed the victim by his collar and pushed him against a wall.

The victim was uninjured in the incident.

Officials were investigating whether any other members of the group with Washington participated in the verbal abuse.

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Man's Girlfriend: Man Who Killed Mother Had Been Acting Strange

(NEW YORK) -- A man charged in the death of his mother had been acting strangely shortly before his mother was found dead, according to the man's girlfriend.

Lonnie Scott III's girlfriend told The New York Times that Scott's mother, Sylvia Scott, insisted on bringing him home after he had been taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation on Sunday. After he was released into Sylvia's custody at her request, she was found shortly after stabbed to death and wrapped in garbage bags in her Queens apartment on Monday.

Sylvia Scott had been a long-time employee of the New York Police Department's transit bureau.

Lonnie Scott was arrested on Tuesday on murder charges. According to the Times, he was convicted of assault in another stabbing incident in 2006, but was released from prison in 2010.

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Homeless Man Charged with Child Sex Attacks in Queens

(QUEENS, N.Y.) -- Police have arrested a homeless man in connection with at least two recent sex attacks on children in Queens.

Lee Samuel, 25, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with a first-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

Authorities say Samuel approached one girl as she was tying her shoe lace on the sidewalk, and tapped the girl on her buttocks.

Investigators say hours later, the same day, Samuel then approached another girl and asked her if she wanted to play a game. Samuel is accused of telling the victim to cover her eyes with her hands and stick out her tongue, before engaging in a sex act with the child.

His arrest comes as part of an investigation into separate sex attacks on two 7-year-old girls in the South Ozone Park section of Queens on May 1.

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New York Public Library Unveils Designs for New Midtown Branch

(NEW YORK) -- The New York Public Library unveiled the design for its new Midtown branch on Tuesday, The New York Post reports.

The new branch, located at 20 W. 53rd Street, is being built on the site of the former Donnell Library, which shut down in 2008. The $20 million branch will sit across from the Museum of Modern Art and span three stories; one at street level and two below.

 In addition to books, the branch will have a 141-seat auditorium, computer labs, WiFi and an audio-video collection.

It will also serve as a public space with "a long, open staircase where people can gather, sit and socialize. Think of it like the front steps of the 42nd Street Library,” NYPL COO Dave Offensend said. “It’s really cool.”

The library is expected to be completed in 2015.

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