Extra, Extra

Photograph of Times Square by NewYorkDailyPhoto on Flickr

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A police car MVA at 15th St & 5th in Brooklyn, a person struck by a train at East 77 St & Lexington Ave in Manhattan and a bank robbery on E Fordham Rd in the Bronx.
• Mayor Bloomberg says Times Square on New Year's Eve is "so secure" that safety "the last thing to worry about."
• Great ready for New Year's Eve coverage with this video of Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin discussing their co-hosting of the countdown on CNN.
• Governor Paterson granted two clemencies (not formal pardons) to two inmates. According to the Observer, Freddie Warren, imprisoned since 1990 on drug dealing charges, has spent 400 hours learning American Sign Language, and Joanna Carroll, serving a 15-year sentence, "earned an associate's and bachelor's degree while in prison." Both would have been eligible for parole next summer.
• U2's The Edge talks Spiderman: The Musical, and he thinks it could open on Broadway in a year.
• Those contentious homeowner property rebate checks are in the mail!
• No matter what the year, Scouting New York uncovers some age old wisdom in the city: Clean Hands Protect Health.
• Almost New Year's babies of their time, Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira celebrated their birthdays on air this week.
• Curbed has the most hideous real estate finds of the year.
• While you're freezing out there tonight, Improv Everywhere prepares for their annual No Pants subway ride.
• And we hope you have a happy and safe New Year! See you in 2009!