The Latest: Schneiderman accuser wants donation, apology

NEW YORK (AP) - One of the women who accused former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's of physical abuse is demanding that he donate millions of dollars left in his campaign coffers to women's shelters and domestic abuse programs.

Michelle Manning Barish tweeted that Thursday in reaction to a special prosecutor's decision not to charge Schneiderman over allegations he abused several women.

Manning Barish wrote that she needs an admission of wrongdoing and an apology "or I will fight."

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said Thursday she had concluded that statutes of limitations and other legal impediments made it impossible to charge Schneiderman.

Schneiderman said through a publicist that he didn't consider the decision an exoneration. The Democrat apologized for any pain he'd caused.

Still no winner in 2 House races in New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - There's still no official winner in two Congressional races in upstate New York.

As of Thursday afternoon, Democrat Anthony Brindisi was nearly 1,500 votes ahead of Republican U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney in one race in central New York.

Further west near Buffalo, Democrat Nate McMurray has demanded a recount in his race against Republican Congressman Chris Collins. At latest count Collins is nearly 3,000 votes ahead of McMurray, who initially conceded defeat before calling for a recount.

Collins faces trial in 2020 on charges of insider trading and lying to the FBI. He's pleaded not guilty.

In both districts local election officials plan to count up thousands of remaining absentee ballots before announcing a winner. The results may not be known until next week.

Case of Texas woman charged in 2 slayings goes to grand jury

SODUS, N.Y. (AP) - A grand jury will hear the case of a Texas woman charged along with her husband and another Texas man in a double homicide in upstate New York.

Prosecutors in Wayne County, New York say 25-year-old Charlene Childers was in Sodus Town Court Thursday for a preliminary hearing that was waived after the case was sent to a grand jury.

Childers is charged with conspiracy in last month's shooting deaths of Amber Washburn and Joshua Niles, Childers' ex-boyfriend.

Childers' husband, former Sunray, Texas police chief Timothy Dean, is charged with murder. A former colleague, Sunray police officer Bron Bohlar, is charged with conspiracy.

Childers is being held in a New York jail. Dean and Bohlar are jailed in Texas.

Her lawyer isn't commenting. It couldn't be learned from Texas authorities if either man has a lawyer.

NY Attorney General Underwood will get new role

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York's current attorney general, who's been leading legal challenges against Republican President Donald Trump, says she'll return to her prior role as state solicitor general when Letitia James takes charge of the office in January.

Democrat Barbara Underwood announced the news in a tweet on Thursday. She declined to run for the office but had agreed to stay on in some capacity if James won.

James, who's also a Democrat, made history Tuesday in becoming the first black woman elected to statewide office in New York. She also will be the state's first black attorney general.

Underwood was appointed attorney general after Eric Schneiderman resigned in May amid allegations that he physically abused women.

The Long Island prosecutor appointed to investigate the allegations announced Thursday that she has closed the Schneiderman case without bringing criminal charges.

This story has been corrected to show Underwood is attorney general, not acting attorney general.

Crews start removing highway 'I Love NY' tourism signs

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Crews have started removing hundreds of New York interstate highway tourism signs that the federal government said the Cuomo administration installed illegally.

The state Department of Transportation says Thursday that the agency and Thruway Authority have begun removing the "I Love NY" signs located along the Thruway and other state highways.

The state began installing the 500-plus signs in groups of five several years ago, despite being told by federal officials that they didn't comply with U.S. regulations regarding highway signage.

DOT officials say under an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration, the first sign in each group will remain with modifications, while the next four in each group will be relocated to service areas, welcome centers and state-owned facilities.

Gannett News Service first reported crews started removing the signs Wednesday.

FDA plans strict limits on sale of flavored e-cigarettes

NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning on requiring strict limits on the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes, including age verification controls for online sales, in an effort to curtail their use among children and teenagers.

FDA officials tell The Wall Street Journal on Thursday the actions are expected to be announced as early as next week. The move is an attempt to curb what many are saying is an epidemic of underage vaping.

Officials say the new policy will apply to flavored cartridge-style vaping products like Juul that have become popular among youths. No retail outlets will be allowed to carry them unless it restricts minors from entering the store or creates an off-limits area.

New York officials have also announced plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.

FBI: Mad Stone Bloods street gang leader nabbed in New York

NEW YORK (AP) - The FBI has arrested a New York man it describes as the "global chairman" of the violent Mad Stone Bloods street and prison gang.

William Seeley, of Brooklyn, is charged with racketeering in a drug conspiracy indictment handed up last month in Norfolk, Virginia.

Seeley's defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal prosecutors say the Mad Stone Bloods operate in several states from Texas to Connecticut and report to leaders in New York.

The 27-count indictment says the gang trafficked in heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine and committed a slew of shootings and robberies in Virginia.

Prosecutors say gang members around the country reported to Seeley and relied on him to authorize violence against rival gangs.

Seeley is scheduled to appear Friday in Manhattan federal court.

Rare military knapsack goes on display to honor Veterans Day

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (AP) - A rare military knapsack carried by a Connecticut soldier during the American Revolution is going on display this weekend in honor of Veterans Day.

Officials at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York say Benjamin Warner's knapsack will be exhibited Saturday.

Curators say the item was carried by Warner during his service in the Revolutionary War and is considered one of the rarest artifacts to survive America's war for independence.

Warner was from New Haven, Connecticut. He served in militia units from his home state as well as the Continental Army. His wartime service took him from Massachusetts to Quebec to New York to New Jersey. After the war he settled in Ticonderoga and died there in 1846.

A note Warner wrote about the knapsack in 1837 will also be displayed.

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