Accused Toys R Us killer wants statements tossed

By News 4 Digital Staff Published: Wednesday, February 26, 2014, 5:45 pm

HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) - The accused toys r us killer wants to prevent prosecutors from using statements he made to police.

Bernard Grucza appeared in State Supreme Court on Wednesday. He's accused of murdering the assistant manager of Toys R Us in Hamburg last summer.

His attorney says Grucza made statements to police that should not be used at trial because a lawyer wasn't present.

Justice Penny Wolfgang wants the defendant to deal with federal gun charges in a separate case before she makes a ruling.

Man with prior DWI allegedly tried to lie to deputies Man sentenced for his role in death of 72-year-old man Three in Niagara County arrested for DWI by State Police

Marvel Opens Its Vault to Offer 15,000 Comic Books to iOS and Android Users

Marvel fans will soon be able to access 15,000 comic books via its Marvel Unlimited iOS and Android apps.

The titles span Marvel's 75-year history and include everything from classics like Captain America to more recent titles such as the reboot of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Marvel is offering the comics to customers for a one-time fee of $0.99, a reduced rate, to access the comics during March as a promotion for the company's activities at SXSW.

"We just really wanted to unlock the vault and hand over the keys in a way that allows both super-fans and people who are just curious what it's all about to check out why people love this stuff so much," said Marvel's VP of digital product Kristin Vincent. "It allows people to jump around wherever they want and get access to these classic story lines that have become part of our pop culture and also learn more about the characters they are seeing on the big screen."

Marvel Unlimited users can download up to 12 comics at a time to their personal library and enable offline reading for on-the-go access.

Following the month-long promotion, fans can continue their subscription to Marvel Unlimited for $9.99 a month or $69 for a year for the basic plan or pay $99 for a year of Marvel's premium plan, Marvel Unlimited Plus, which gives members additional discounts on Marvel products and a first look at Marvel news.

Marvel Unlimited is available in the App Store and Google Play Store. Fans can access Marvel's offer on Marvel's website beginning Saturday, up until March 14, by using the Best Offer SXSW99.

This will be Marvel's third year at SXSW. The comic-book company will be at the show to discuss the Marvel Unlimited offer and other news with fans at its panel on March 8. Fans who attend the panel will also receive a SXSW variant of the first issue of Winter Soldier: The Bitter March, a special edition only available to those attending the event.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Sony store closures likely good news for Best Buy

Sony's ( SNE) plan to close 20 of its 31 U.S. retail stores is likely good news for consumer electronics retailer Price Compare ( BBY).

Consumers looking to buy Sony televisions, digital cameras, audio equipment and other gadgets will turn to independent retailers like Best Buy in the affected markets. In addition, Best Buy has been setting aside floor space for manufacturers looking to run product showcases and could do so for Sony.

On Thursday, Best Buy reported that it had opened 1,400 Samsung and 600 Microsoft ( MSFT) Windows stores-within-a-store as of Feb. 1. It also operates Apple ( AAPL) product showcases in its stores.

During the holiday season, Google ( GOOG) set up display tablets and end caps in 750 large-format Best Buy stores to show off Android tablets, Chromebook notebooks and Chromecast streaming video players.

On a conference call with analysts Thursday, Best Buy CEO hinted at more opportunities for product showcases from manufacturers. Among the company's priorities over the next 24 months is "to strengthen our vendor partnerships, including launching new vendor shopping experiences."

Could he be talking about Sony?

Sony announced its store closings on Wednesday, as part of a larger restructuring plan.

Five of the remaining 11 stores are located in California, with three in New York, two in Florida, and one in Texas, Sony announced.

The move will close two-thirds of Sony's U.S. retail stores and result in the lay off of 1,000 workers.

On Feb. 5, Sony said it would reduce its global workforce by about 5,000, or 3% of its staff, in its fiscal year ending March 31. It also announced plans to sell its Vaio PC business to Japan Industrial Partners.

Plus, Sony plans to split off its money-losing TV business as a wholly owned subsidiary and focus that business on high-end televisions, including 4K or Ultra HD TVs. Sony expects the TV business to return to profitability in fiscal year 2014, which ends March 31, 2015.

Sony has taken the actions to "maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market," the company said Wednesday.

While its consumer electronics business struggles, Sony appears to be doing well with its next-generation video game console, the PlayStation 4. The PS4 is the top selling next-gen console, outpacing rival Microsoft's Xbox One.

Best Buy stock was up more than 4% in late afternoon trading on the stock market today. Sony's U.S. shares up a fraction.

RELATED: Best Buy now an 'online first' retailer, CEO says.

Microsoft testing deals to boost Xbox One sales.

Royce White works out with Kings, could sign 10-day deal

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The Sacramento Kings recently worked out 22-year-old forward and mental health advocate Royce White and are likely to sign him to a 10-day contract, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because no deal had yet been finalized.

White was drafted 16th overall by the Houston Rockets out of the University of Minnesota in 2012, but he struggled to adjust to the NBA lifestyle, in part, because of the well-chronicled anxiety disorder from which he suffers.

White had a public and often-contentious back and forth with Rockets officials regarding the support system, or lack thereof in his opinion, that he deemed necessary to thrive in the professional ranks.

He was traded from the Rockets to the Philadelphia 76ers in Aug. 2013, but - as was the case with the Rockets - never played in an NBA before getting cut three months later. White has played in 17 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League, averaging 11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists. The Houston Chronicle first reported that the Kings had held a workout for White.

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GameStop UK cuts price on Xbox One Titanfall bundle

GameStop UK is currently accepting preorders for the Xbox One Titanfall bundle for £370, or a full £30 below the bundle's £400 price point. That discount is on top of the £30 price cut Microsoft announced yesterday, which will see the console officially drop from £430 to £400 effective Friday, February 28.

It's one of the Deal Of The Day deals we've seen so far on the Xbox One. Of course, it's only valid in the UK, but GameStop stores in the United States are offering a promotion of their own for the Xbox One Titanfall bundle.

GameStop UK's £370 Titanfall Xbox One bundle offer includes a black console, digital copy of the game, Kinect, a standard Xbox One controller ( not the special-edition one), a chat headset, and one-month Xbox Live Gold membership--which you'll need to play the game.

The Titanfall Xbox One bundle will be available in North America alongside the game on March 11, followed by a March 14 release in Europe.

Filed under: Titanfall Xbox One Microsoft Electronic Arts

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Music, food and fun to mark Chinese New Year

NEW Year has been celebrated in style by the chinese nice chinese new year cards community of St John's Church in Whitehaven.

By Mark White

The Hensingham church played host to a well-attended gathering that featured food, the popping of red balloons and traditional Chinese music.

Organiser Jema Chan said: "I put on this event because most of the Chinese people in Copeland are living here as immigrants and are very hard working.

"They work long hours and some of them can't speak English fluently so I thought it was a great opportunity to get them all together.

"As someone who is quite integrated into the English community, I wanted to put on the event so that they be surrounded by Chinese culture."

The music was performed by St Bees School pupils Gordon Huang, who played classic guitar, and Margherita Li on the gu zheng - a Chinese horizontal harp.

"It can be quite lonely for some of them and this gives them a social opportunity," Jema added.

"Lots of them say to me that they didn't realise how many other Chinese people there are in the area which is great because they get to meet new people.

"Everyone brings some food, we share it out and then we listen to performances from some Chinese St Bees students."

Everyone who attended the event is a member of the Chinese fellowship at St John's Church.

Jema said: "As well as getting everyone together for Chinese New Year, it is also to open everyone up to God and welcome Him into their lives for the New Year."

CREATIVE children designed and presented cards to international students at St Bees School in celebration of Chinese New Year.

The youngsters in Prep 3 were helped by sixth form pupil Amy Martin to make the cards as part of an art project. They also learned how to write in Chinese and make origami.