FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: HADI MATAR CHARGED WITH 2ND DEGREE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE!

Suspect in Salman Rushdie attack pleads not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges, attorney says The man suspected of stabbing renowned author Salman Rushdie in western New York pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder in the second degree and other charges, his attorney says.

Hadi Matar, 24, is accused of stabbing Rushdie -- whose controversial work has triggered death threats -- at a speaking engagement on Friday, authorities said.

Matar, a New Jersey resident, also was charged with assault in the second degree, with intent to cause physical injury with a deadly weapon.

Matar pleaded not guilty, according to Nathaniel Barone, his public defender.

He was refused bail and remanded to the Chautauqua County Jail. Matar's next court appearance is Friday.

Rushdie, 75, was stabbed at least twice on stage at the Chautauqua Institution before he was slated to give a lecture, New York state police said Friday. He was airlifted to a hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania and underwent surgery, a Pennsylvania police official said. The hospital on Saturday released no additional information. Later in the day, Rushdie was put on a ventilator and was unable to speak, his agent, Andrew Wylie, told The New York Times. He will likely lose an eye, Wylie said. "The nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged. The news is not good."

The FBI is working with local and international authorities in its investigation into the attack, a spokesperson told CNN on Saturday.

"The FBI continues to assist our law enforcement partners in both New York and New Jersey to include the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, and Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office. We are also working closely with our international partners in the United Kingdom to provide additional resources, since the victim is a UK-US dual citizen," the spokesperson said.

Following the attack, questions were raised about the security precautions -- or lack thereof -- at the host institution, which sits in a rural lake resort about 70 miles south of Buffalo, New York.

The institution's leadership had rejected recommendations for basic security measures, including bag checks and metal detectors, fearing that would create a divide between speakers and the audience, according to two sources who spoke with CNN. The leadership also feared that it would change the culture at the institution, the sources said.