CITYWIDE

Off-Duty Police Officer Stabbed at All-Night Diner

A man stabbed an off-duty police officer in the chest after the two got into an altercation at an all-night diner in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn early yesterday morning, police said. The 26-year-old officer, who works in Brooklyn Courts, was in serious but stable condition. Police said the officer was at Kellog’s Diner at 518 Metropolitan Avenue with some friends. His group got into a dispute with another group of men, prompting one of the men to stab him once in the chest with a foldable knife at about 4:17 a.m. The men fled the scene. The officer was rushed to Woodhull Hospital in the back of a police patrol car, police said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Two Men Killed In Separate Incidents In Brooklyn

Two men were killed in separate incidents in Brooklyn early yesterday morning, police officials said. At about 12:41 a.m. Cordero McBean, 20, of 101 East 57th Street, was found shot at 6161 Strickland Avenue in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. He was brought to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead. At about 4:03 a.m. at the corner of Herkimer Place and Nostrand Avenue in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, Kurt Richard, 22, of 272 East 55th Street, was shot once. He was brought to King’s County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:45 a.m., police said. Detectives have yet to uncover a motive or any suspects in the shootings, police said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Dueling Yule Logs

Two separate versions of “The Yule Log,” one of television’s oddest yet most heartwarming holiday habits, will beckon families as they open their gifts. There’s the traditional log, burning brightly since filmed by New York’s WPIX-TV in 1970, and another that will air uninterrupted for 24 hours on INHD, with a high-definition picture so crisp you’ll be tempted to reach for a poker. For many years a peculiarly New York tradition, both Yule logs will now glow in most of the country. It seems silly: Why would anyone want to fill their television screen with a picture of a burning log, backed by a soundtrack of Christmas carols? Yet its inventor bet correctly that “The Yule Log” would resonate with New Yorkers sentimental for the notion of home and hearth while living in apartments without fireplaces.

— Associated Press

STATEWIDE

Town Comptroller Found Carrying Cocaine

SYRACUSE — The comptroller of a central New York town was found with a vial of cocaine as he went through a security checkpoint Saturday, officials said. Daniel F. Nolan, 41, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, said Gary Milano, federal security director for the Central New York division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Nolan became comptroller for the town of Salina, just 7 miles northwest of Syracuse, in March 2000. Mr. Nolan had the cocaine hidden in his lower waist area, Mr. Milano said.

— Associated Press

Passing Motorist Pulls Man Out of Burning Car

HAUPPAUGE — A passing motorist saved the life of another driver early Sunday morning, pulling the man out of a burning car, Suffolk County police said. Authorities said Winston Decoteau, 24, of Brentwood, had been driving on Old Nichols Road in Hauppauge around 3:30 a.m. when he lost control of his Ford and hit a utility pole. The car caught on fire. Brian James Ivory, 25, of Islandia, was passing by, police said, and stopped to pull Mr. Decoteau from his car. Both men were taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center. Mr. Decoteau was treated for burns and Mr. Ivory for smoke inhalation, police said.

— Associated Press

$24,000 in Cash Returned to Movie-Goer

ROCKVILLE CENTRE – A woman who lost $24,000 in cash at a movie theater says she was stunned when the teenager who found the wad returned it. The teen, Christopher Montgomery, of Lynbrook, didn’t want to speak about his good deed. But for RoseMarie Limoncelli, the 19-year-old college student’s choice was commendable. Ms. Limoncelli, who runs a business, said her life could have been flipped upside down if she hadn’t recovered the pouch of $100 bills wrapped in rubber bands.

— Associated Press