Photograph of bagpipes being played in Harlem by blueneurosis on Flickr

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A pedestrian struck on 23rd St in Manhattan, an unusual rescue on Western Ave on Staten Island and a bank robbery on Justice Ave in Queens.
• In spite of being a smaller city, Chicago has surpassed NYC and LA for the number of murders in 2008 so far. The stats: Chicago has 426, NYC 417 and LA 302.
• Delays with a system to allow parents to see their children's school progress bring inevitable frustrations.
• Gawker hears that Radar is folding and will lay EVERYONE off.
• After leaving NYC two days ago to pursue a trans-Atlantic sailing record, Richard Branson has abandoned the attempt, because a monster wave ripped a hole in his boat's sail.
• A group finds that health care premiums have outpaced pay in NJ.
• Tracy Morgan jokes about his fame to New York magazine, "I feel like a young girl whose body is just developing. I’ve got some nice tits, a nice ass, a pretty face … everyone want to f*** me."
• And the Wall Street Journal finds that housing-related blogs are a great place to vent about the housing crisis.