Extra, Extra

Clown Graffiti, by d.billy at flickr

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian was struck on 23rd Ave. and 28th St. in Queens, a water rescue in the East River in the area of the Manhattan heliport, and an all hands brush fire in the Rodman's Neck area of the Bronx.
  
• A New Jersey man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for draining more than a million dollars from the 9/11 victim's compensation fund. Mario Mastellone claimed that he was disabled after herniating a disc in his back fleeing the WTC during the attacks, but he was faking.
  
• A Boston terrier was swept into a Dept. of Sanitation street sweeper yesterday in the Bronx.
  
• Back when he had the money to spare, Mike Tyson allegedly offered $50,000 to commission a hit against a gang member who killed the boxer's former bodyguard.
  
• Con Ed customers can now go online to view exactly where power failures are occurring around NYC, the cause of the outages, and the approximate time of when service will be restored.
  
• The venue that became Luna Lounge after the club was bounced from the Lower East Side before closing in April may become the new Knitting Factory, when that club's Tribeca lease is up.
  
• Someone walked off with a briefcase filled with $15K worth of Russell Simmons jewelry when an assistant left it sitting in the hallway of a building on Bleeker St.
  
• Trader Joe's doesn't want anyone looking at it while it's getting dressed up in Brooklyn. Don't even breathe on it.