NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) – Britain endorsed French
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as an “outstanding
candidate” for IMF chief on Saturday, the first G7 country to
officially back her as Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s successor.

Strauss-Kahn, who resigned as head of the International
Monetary Fund after being charged with trying to rape a hotel
housekeeper on May 14, is under house arrest and armed guard in
an apartment in New York’s financial district.

NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) – Former IMF chief Dominique
Strauss-Kahn remained under house arrest and armed guard on
Saturday in an apartment in New York’s financial district that
has become a tourist attraction.

Strauss-Kahn, who was released from jail on Friday, was
expected to stay in the apartment in Manhattan for a few days
until permanent housing could be found, as he defends himself
against charges of raping a maid in a New York hotel.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn spent his first night out of jail since his arrest on attempted rape charges, inside a Manhattan safe house on Saturday, well-hidden from the media gathered outside.

Held under round-the-clock armed guard after being freed on bail on Friday, Strauss-Kahn, 62, was expected to stay in the apartment in New York’s financial district for a few days until a more permanent home can be found for him during what are likely to be lengthy legal proceedings.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Dozens of drivers, including taxi and bus operators, have been arrested on charges of fraudulently obtaining commercial driver’s licenses in a crackdown following a deadly Bronx bus crash, New York authorities said on Monday.

Investigators used facial recognition technology to find and arrest 46 commercial drivers who got more than one license by using aliases, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A day-care provider was sentenced on Monday to one to three years in prison for the 2009 death of an 11-month-old baby who drowned in a bucket of water while his caretaker was asleep.

Krystal Khan, 30, had taken the over-the-counter medication NyQuil which she knew could make her drowsy, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Recession-rattled shoppers are not likely to splurge on amethysts or rubies, but designers are waging that consumers will buy jewel-tone fashions to satisfy their craving for luxury as they start to spend a little more.

Gem colors weighed heavily on the runways at New York’s Fashion Week, where designers are previewing their looks for next fall and winter. The biannual event wraps up on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport must be expanded and redesigned to handle the area’s growing transportation needs, according to a new report.

The number of airline passengers in the New York region is expected to surge to 150 million by 2030 from 104 million passengers last year, said the report by the Regional Plan Association, an urban research group. The report was made public on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Northeast dug out of yet another winter storm on Thursday that pummeled the region with unexpectedly heavy snowfall, making January the snowiest month in New York in more than 85 years.

In Central Park, 19 inches of snow fell overnight in the storm that forced airports and schools to close. The wet snow fell at dizzying speeds during the height of the storm, as much as three inches per hour, said Weather Channel meteorologists.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Northeast dug out of yet another winter storm on Thursday that pummeled the region with unexpectedly heavy snowfall, making January the snowiest month in New York in more than 85 years.

In Central Park, 19 inches of snow fell overnight in the storm that forced airports and schools to close. The wet snow fell at dizzying speeds during the height of the storm, as much as three inches per hour, said Weather Channel meteorologists.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wet snow, sleet and rain fell across the Northeast on Wednesday in a storm that was expected to intensify through the day, forecasters said.

Winter storm warnings were declared in regions surrounding Washington, D.C.; Wilmington, Delaware; Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Providence and Boston, the National Weather Service said.