A Tourette's-afflicted woman is suing her brother for kicking her out of a shiva service in 2007, but her brother claims she had to be ejected after saying "F--k the rabbi." Karen Feld filed a $110 million federal lawsuit against her brother—Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus boss Kenneth Feld—after her sibling allegedly had security guards beat her up and kick her out of the memorial for their deceased aunt. more ›

The Yankees aren’t the only team cycling through national anthem singers: Yesterday more than a hundred people waited at Citi Field, all auditioning to be the Mets’s official game opener. Those assembled were young and old, with try-out pieces ranging from operatic to ecclesiastical. Jeremy Eye said he “froze up” while singing “How to Save a Life” by The Fray, but still felt “pretty good.” Auditions to join Mr. Mets’s entourage were also held on Monday. According to the Daily News, the Mets will choose several different singers to perform the anthem before their 81 home games this season. But watch out when reaching for that high C, songbirds—it doesn't take much to knock Citi Field's sign letters loose. more ›

Today Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes announced two indictments against three people charged with scamming the Authority out of more than $150,000 in two separate schemes carried out over the course of four years. The ringleader, according to prosecutors, was Jacqueline Jackson, 51, the head of the Legal Support Unit in NYC Transit's Law Department. "Jacqueline Jackson, whose job it was to save taxpayers money by fighting frivolous lawsuits against the NYCTA, cost those taxpayers money, by stealing from the very agency that hired her," Hynes said, telling reporters, "These schemes make my head hurt. You think of all the things they could have done if they used their genius for good." more ›

Before he resigned from office, former Rep. Eric Massa was reportedly under investigation for allegedly groping three male staffers, as well as incidents of improper conduct with interns and aides. The southwestern New York Congressman has said he stepped down for a number of reasons including his health, his "salty" language, and because Democratic leaders had launched a conspiracy to force him from the House before the healthcare vote. White House officials have called those allegations "ridiculous." more ›

The 28-year-old hopeless romantic Haisong Jiang, who knew no (security) boundaries when he was torn apart from his girlfriend at Newark Airport, was back in court today. In January Jiang slipped by a TSA agent in the airport, shutting down Terminal C for six hours as authorities searched for him. The Rutgers grad student has now apologized and pleaded guilty to breaching security in order to give his lady love one last kiss before she boarded a plane. He says, “I feel guilty about this. I’m trying to apologize for any inconvenience caused by my mistake. It’s a big mistake.” more ›

More than 85 percent of Park Slope families pay their the domestic help under the table. According to the Brooklyn Paper and a Park Slope Parents study [PDF], 58 percent of parents who pay their nannies off the books say they think that nannies prefer it that way. But nanny Deborah Manwaring claims that's not necessarily the case: "I don't bring up taxes because they might fire me. With the economy the way it is, I don't want to be unemployed, so I have no choice." more ›

A Bronx jury has convicted two men involved in a dog fighting ring, and animal rights groups couldn't be happier. Alexander Estephane and Juan Toledo were busted in 2008, when a police raid turned up 16 fighting dogs and 2 roosters in a cramped basement in the borough. Now they have both been found guilty of felony charges and face up to four years behind bars, according to the Daily News; their sentencing is later this month. more ›

As expected, the investigation into a Hamas leader's assassination in Dubai now involves U.S.-based credit card companies. One of those companies is Payoneer, a firm on Park Avenue which has a research and development center in Tel Aviv. The AP reports that it called Payoneer's Tel Aviv office and "got a recording listing extensions, but when these were pressed, there was only dead air." more ›

Move over rabid raccoons, there's a new four-legged fiend terrorizing Brooklynites! After we mentioned a opossum sighting in Cobble Hill yesterday, Courier-Life has found out that opossums have been attacking the borough's gardens, dogs, and teenage girls! more ›

This is a relatively minor oopsy in the vast canon of MTA typos, but worth noting if only because it's fun to point out other people's typos sometimes, right guys? A tipster recently sent us this photo, taken on a platform at Columbus Circle. As you can see, the B is blue and the C is orange, which is not as the Authority intended. What's next, cats and dogs living together on the Q? Or maybe we just need to put on our 3-D glasses and it will all make sense. In response to our inquiry, Paul Fleuranges at NYC Transit sent us this statement: more ›

“Good man!” and “We love you, Governor Paterson!” cried supporters at a Brooklyn town hall meeting on Monday. According to the Times, the disgraced governor, who’s being called the least popular in the city’s history, found praise there when he’s failed to find it nearly anywhere else. Many attendees, themselves black, said they valued having an African American man in Albany. “There’s a sense of ownership, a real sense of ownership,” said Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright, chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party. They also praised him for his “brutal honesty” concerning the state’s financial troubles and commended him for “keeping it real.” Still, the Post’s Fred Dicker dismissed the appearance as “a political stunt.” more ›

Instead of disclosing information about their personal finances and their spouses' personal finances, rap mogul Jay-Z and influential former Congressman Rev. Floyd Flake have bailed out of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group—the casino company selected by Gov. Paterson to operate slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack. The Observer reports that Jay-Z and Flake, who both own less than 1 percent shares in AEG, withdrew because they "felt the confidentiality surrounding their personal information could not be maintained." more ›

Perhaps believing "Once a sucker, always a sucker," a shady group has created a website to scam the victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme: The Securities Investor Protection Corporation says it is trying to shut down the "International Securities Investor Protection Corporation," which uses elements from the SIPC website, including its logo and site design. SIPC President Stephen Harbeck said, "We know from information provided to us by individuals that this bogus group is already attempting to obtain funds and confidential financial information from investors in the U.S." more ›

During jury selection for a Long Island hate crime—in which an Ecuadorean man was stabbed to death by seven teenagers—numerous potential jurors were only too happy to identify themselves as racially biased. Many cited a conservative stance on immigration as evidence they couldn’t make a fair decision in the killing of an illegal resident. As one prospective juror after another was dismissed, the scene may have reflected more about the community than about the case. One, who was dismissed for other reasons, said, “I don’t care whether the man was legal, illegal, white, black, purple or green. There was a murder. It almost seemed like the poor victim was the one going on trial.” more ›

Construction unions held a rally at Ground Zero today, in hopes of jumpstarting progress at the site. While the president of one union tells the NY Times, "We’re not taking sides or assigning blame. We’re making a public statement on behalf of the building trades that we’re ready to build them." This Friday is the deadline for the (latest) rebuilding schedule. more ›