Cops asked for the public’s help in tracking down three men linked to the murder of a Harlem gang member, officials and sources said. Raheem McWhite, 32, was walking along Lenox Ave. near W. 127th St. with a group of people, three or four abreast, at about 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 14. Suddenly, shots rang out, and McWhite clutched himself, then fell backwards to the ground outside of Yuzu Sushi on Lenox, sources said. He died at Harlem Hospital. McWhite, a Harlem resident who has 20 prior arrests on his record, survived a shooting in 2000, sources said.(nydailynews)…[+]

Debbie Reynolds’ broken heart just couldn’t take it.

The 84-year-old Hollywood icon died from a stroke less than 48 hours after her actress daughter, Carrie Fisher, suffered the same fate — and devastated movie fans immediately wondered whether the celebrity mother’s death was triggered by heartbreak. Science on “broken heart syndrome” — or “takotsubo cardiomyopathy” — is limited, but some studies suggest that passing away shortly after an earth-shattering event, such as a spouse or a close family member dying, is not just plausible, but natural.“A real life broken heart can actually lead to cardiac consequences,” the American Heart Association concluded in a study published this April. “You can experience these things even if you have no history of heart disease.”(nydailynews.com)…[+]

He’s a sitting judge who hasn’t worked in nearly three years — yet still collects a full-time annual salary of $193,000. No-show Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Daniel McCullough disappeared with an unspecified illness in April 2014.

“Don’t tell them anything!” McCullough snapped at a friend who tried to put him on the phone this week with a Daily News reporter. His disabling malady remains shrouded in secrecy — although a source indicated there has been no hint McCullough will ever don his judge’s robes again.McCullough, 65, has instead reaped the benefits of New York’s unlimited sick time policy for its judges across the last 32 months to the lucrative tune of $482,500.

The judge’s attorney, Roger Adler, said his client will visit a doctor Thursday for a follow-up on a surgery done this fall. Adler declined to elaborate on the cause of McCullough’s absences prior to the operation.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Nearly half of all Donald Trump voters believe a widely debunked conspiracy theory claiming that Hillary Clinton is involved in a child sex ring run out of a popular Washington, D.C. pizzeria, a recent poll suggests.

The Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday shows that a staggering 46% of Trump voters believe the so-called “Pizzagate” conspiracy, which began circulating on obscure sites like 4chan and Reddit ahead of Election Day before spurring controversy on Twitter and Facebook. Concerns over the dangerous impact of fake news were heightened after Edgar Welch, 28, of Salisbury, N.C., stormed into the Italian restaurant at the center of the baseless conspiracy with a loaded assault rifle on Dec. 4 in order to “self-investigative.”

Welch didn’t fire any shots, and later claimed he regretted the way he handled the situation, noting that his “intel on this wasn’t 100%.”(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Phil Jackson’s relationship couldn’t survive a cross-country commute, and now the Zen Master’s greatest tie to the Lakers is severed. Citing “mutual love and respect,” Jackson confirmed on Twitter — and in tiny font — that he and Jeanie Buss have broken off their engagement. “With the nature of our professional obligations and the geographic distance between us, sustaining the relationship has been tough,” Jackson wrote. “We have shared many wonderful moments through the years, and we expect to remain supportive of each other in the future.”(nydailynews.com)…[+]

A few thousand people want a Hunter College professor fired after his husband heckled Ivanka Trump. As of early Wednesday, more than 5,300 signed a Change.org petition to have urban studies and planning professor Matt Lasner removed after the run-in. Lasner and his husband, Dan Goldstein, were booted last week from a JetBlue flight to San Francisco at Kennedy Airport when Goldstein went on a rant against President-elect Donald Trump’s policies as Ivanka waited for takeoff with her husband and kids. “Matt Lasner’s conduct is a direct representation of Hunter College,” the petition says.Lasner tweeted the incident, posting a photo with the message “Ivanka just before @JetBlue kicked us off our flight when a flt attendant overheard my husband expressing displeasure about flying w/ Trumps.”(nydailynews.com)…[+]

A Bronx car crash killed three men and injured five more Tuesday morning, official said. Two tractor trailers, a Toyota sedan and a pick-up truck collided on the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway near Webster Ave. about 5:45 a.m., officials said. Three men traveling in the pick-up truck died at the scene, police said.Two additional passengers in the pick-up truck and the drivers of the Toyota and tractor trailers were all hospitalized and are now in stable condition, police said. The five injured victims went to St. Barnabas Hospital and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital. All of the victims of the crash are adult men, officials said. (nydailynews.com)…[+]

Comedian and actor Ricky Harris, who rose to fame after appearing on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam” in 1990s, has died. He was 54. The funnyman was known for his racy standup, but also went on to star in television shows like “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Moesha” and the films “Heat” and “Dope.” He died of a heart attack on Monday, his manager told the Hollywood Reporter.Harris also performed verses on tracks for various rappers, including Snoop Dogg, who mourned the actor in an Instagram video on Monday.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

An Oregon officer was critically wounded after a man who had fatally shot his wife led police on a car chase that ended in a bloody Christmas night gun battle, authorities said. State trooper Nic Cederberg, 32, a seven-year department veteran, responded to reports of shots fired near a residence in the Portland suburb of King City around 10:15 p.m., according to a press release.

Upon arrival, Cederberg discovered a woman, identified by friends and relatives as Kate Armand, dead on the ground. He also spotted the suspected shooter, Armand’s 30-year-old husband, James Tylka, who was just about to peel away in his car.

Investigators did not immediately reveal specifics, but said Tylka subsequently led cops from three departments on a 20-mile chase that ended in a massive exchange of gunfire that left the suspect dead and Cederberg critically wounded.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

President Obama thinks he could have won again on hope and change in 2016.

The outgoing president argued in a conversation with former top advisor David Axelrod that if he’d been allowed to run and took a stab at a third term his vision for progressive change could have won once again. “I am confident in this vision because I’m confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could’ve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it,” Obama said on Axelrod’s “The Axe Files” podcast that posted Monday morning.

Obama said Hillary Clinton “performed wonderfully under really tough circumstances” but once again offered the implicit critique that she and the party failed to articulate a broader vision, instead substituting in policy descriptions, and didn’t campaign hard enough, assuming the party’s message would sell itself.(nydailynews.com)…[+]