NEW YORK (AP) — A man hurled crude firebombs at an Islamic cultural center in part because he wasn’t allowed to use its bathrooms and targeted four other New York-area sites on New Year’s Day because of personal grievances, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. The 40-year-old man, of Guyanese descent, was taken into custody Tuesday after he was tracked through a stolen car with Virginia license plates believed to be at the scene of at least two of the... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — A man confessed Tuesday to hurling crude Molotov cocktails at an Islamic cultural center and four other New York-area sites on New Year’s Day because of personal grievances with all of the targets, police said. The man was taken into custody Tuesday after he was tracked through a car with Virginia license plates that was believed to be at the scene of at least two of the attacks Sunday evening on a convenience store, two homes... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Detectives questioned a man Tuesday in connection with the firebombing of an Islamic cultural center and three other New York City sites, attacks they said might turn out to be hate crimes. The man was tracked through a car with Virginia license plates that was believed to be at the scene of at least two of the attacks Sunday evening on a convenience store, two homes and the cultural center, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Detectives questioned a man Tuesday in connection with the firebombing of an Islamic cultural center and three other New York City sites, attacks they said might turn out to be hate crimes. The man was tracked through a car with Virginia license plates that was believed to be at the scene of at least two of the attacks Sunday evening on a convenience store, two homes and the cultural center, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Police kept watch over a globally prominent Islamic cultural center that was firebombed as they investigated other attacks that also could be bias crimes. Although structural damage to the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation building was minimal, the incident Sunday has left the community emotionally shaken, said its assistant imam, Maan Al-Sahlani. On Sunday evening, the entrance to the foundation in Queens was struck by two Molotov cocktails, the types of bombs usually made of glass bottles filled... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Police kept watch over a globally prominent Islamic cultural center in New York that was firebombed as they investigated other attacks that also could be bias crimes. Although structural damage to the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation building was minimal, the incident Sunday has left the community emotionally shaken, said its assistant imam, Maan Al-Sahlani. On Sunday evening, the entrance to the foundation was struck by two Molotov cocktails, the types of bombs usually made of glass bottles... Read more

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of Iowa Republicans cast the first ballots of the 2012 presidential contest on Tuesday, with front-runner Mitt Romney locked in a tight race with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul that remains unpredictable because many voters still hadn’t settled on a favorite candidate. On Tuesday night, Republicans will gather in living rooms, high school gymnasiums and local libraries to start the process of picking the party’s nominee to challenge President Barack Obama in the Nov.... Read more

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — For Republicans here, the ideal presidential candidate would blend Ron Paul’s ideological passion with Mitt Romney’s electability. Newt Gingrich’s intelligence with Rick Perry’s evangelical appeal. Add a dash of social conservatism from Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum — and stir. Yet, as Lila Reynolds, one of many undecided Iowa Republicans, laments: “There is no Prince Charming.” “What am I looking for?” Reynolds, 44, said, as she crammed into LJs Neighborhood Bar and Grill in Waterloo... Read more

PARIS (AP) — France’s interior minister says that since a ban on face-covering Islamic veils took effect in April only six women have been convicted and fined. Claude Gueant said in an interview with the daily Le Monde published Monday that no woman has been sent to a citizenship class — another potential punishment. Controversy surrounded the law. Muslim leaders, most of them opposed to burqa-style veils, say the it stigmatizes all followers of Islam. Gueant says police cited a... Read more

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters on Monday jeered Hungarian leaders outside a glitzy gala to mark the country’s brand new constitution, accusing the government of exerting control over everything from the media, to the economy and religion. A diverse crowd chanted, whistled and hoisted placards outside the State Opera as Prime Minister Viktor Orban and guests celebrated inside. Many protesters called the premier the “Viktator.” “The prime minister took an oath to defend the constitution, but... Read more