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The planned announcement of cuts regarding the U.S. Army is expected to come on Thursday. Ft. Drum and other military installations in the country are awaiting the word on just how the cuts in personnel will be made. There has been talk that, under a worse case scenario, Drum would lose up to 16,000 personnel. That would amount to a $1 billion economic loss.

11:47 AM

It has been dubbed the "Ft Drum Loophole", the ability of lenders to issue high interest loans to local soldiers over the state mandated cap. That loophole has now been closed by state officials. Governor Cuomo announced Monday the state is cracking down. The loophole stems from a ruling by the State Banking Department in 2005 that lenders could make high interest loans at double the state cap as long as the soldiers were not state residents. One example is Omini Military Lending near Evans Mills. The state accuses them of lending money to soldiers with interest rates as high as 36%. The state's cap is current 16% for most loans, and 25% for some licensed lenders.

10:08 AM

The Watertown City Council has given it's backing to a group of local community members who are looking to create an endowment to preserve the future of Thompson Park. The group, "Friends of Thompson Park", recently organized in an effort to raise funds to go towards various park projects and improvements. The group is looking to raise between $3 and $4 million through that endowment fund.

10:07 AM

State Police have arrested an Ogdensburg woman who is accused of stealing wedding gifts at a reception. Twenty eight year old Lee Southern is alleged to have taken $950 in cash and $250 in gift cards during a recent reception in Massena. State Police have charged her with fourth degree grand larceny and two counts of petit larceny. Southern was arraigned and released under probation supervision.

10:06 AM

A registered sex offender is sitting in a St. Lawrence County jail cell on accusations that he had sexual contact with a teenager he met on social media. Thirty year old Christopher Wing of Cortland is alleged to have traveled to Massena from Central New York and had sex with a 15 year old girl he met on Facebook. Wing is charged with third degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arraigned and ordered held without bail.

10:06 AM

With five shootings in just six days, Syracuse is experiencing the highest increase in crime in more than 25 years. That's the assessment of Police Chief Frank Fowler, who joined the force in 1989. Eleven people have been shot this month, and one of them, a teenager, was killed. At a press conference, yesterday, Fowler urged people with information on the shootings to come forward and said the violence won't be tolerated.

10:05 AM

Tens of thousands of New York public school kids will have to roll their sleeves up again. New York State is requiring new back-to-school shots effective in September. For instance, children entering kindergarten will no longer be able to wait until they're six-years-old to get certain vaccines, including MMR and chicken pox. The rules are being tightened because of the multistate measles outbreak at Disneyland that's been tied to low vaccination rates.

10:04 AM

The Newburgh Newts took the rubber match of the three game holiday weekend series with the Watertown Bucks Monday night at the Alex Duffy Fairgrounds. The Newts were 11-5 winners. The loss drops the Bucks to 13 wins and 12 losses on the year.

10:02 AM

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