Central Islip, N.Y. — Taking the stand in United States District Court here on Wednesday, Lauren Berrios — with a stylish white blouse, black slacks, coiffed hair, no pointy black hat — hardly looked like a witch.

But Ms. Berrios, a former reading teacher at Hampton Bays Elementary School, said the public school was being run by born-again Christians intent on converting students to “fundamentalist Christianity.” She testified that this religious fervor culminated in her being run out of the school over accusations that she was practicing witchcraft and teaching it to children. (more…)

John J. Anderson, charged with murder in the strangulation of Natasha Miller, 19, whose nude body was found floating in the Huron River in April, wants his hours-long taped confession thrown out.

And what a strange confession it was. (more…)