After noting the St. Paul police's tactics with protesters, the Daily Show analyzed the third night of the Republican National Convention. That night featured Sarah Palin's speech, as well McCain's former rivals on the presidential campaign trail, so it's all rich material for Jon Stewart and the Daily Show writers. And if you missed it, check out this Daily Show video from Wednesday about the sexist media (below):......

Columbia University president Lee Bollinger confirmed that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will appear together at the university for a forum sponsored by ServiceNation. The Columbia Spectator describes ServiceNation as a "non-partisan coalition devoted to increasing the commitment of citizens to public service to 100 million people by 2010." The forum will be on September 11 evening (it is not a debate), and the candidates agreed not to campaign that day out of......

In non-pregnancy Sarah Palin news, it must be noted that Rudy Giuliani supported Republican vice-presidential candidate on CBS's Face the Nation (video). He said Palin is way more qualified than presidential candidate Barack Obama, "You know why? She had to make decisions," as a two-term mayor of a town of 5,470 and the governor of Alaska for the past 20 months. "I mean, [Obama]'s never run a city, he's never run a state, he's never......

Above photograph of Shyam Sunder discussing the NIST report on 7 WTC collapse by Don Berkemeyer; below photograph of the destroyed 7 WTC from the AP One of the lingering conspiracy theories surrounding the attacks on September 11, 2001 is that 7 World Trade Center, which was not hit by a plane, was deliberately destroyed (here's one example of a conspiracy website), because no other steel building has collapsed simply due to fire before.......

The tanking economy may be dragging retail businesses to a watery grave, but Target isn't going down without a fight. Though it is tough going; net earnings were down 7.6 percent in the quarter ending August 2nd. That's why the company is coming up with innovative new marketing strategies, like capitalizing on a previously unexploited synergy with September 11th patriotism! After all, the retailer's red and white logo is just one color away from Old......

When a gas station employee in Englewood, New Jersey refused to give 21-year-old Kadien Jackson a refund on an unopened box of condoms, Jackson allegedly took the dispute to another level and called 911, telling the operator that the gas station was being robbed. He even provided a description of the robber, which happened to match the employee who refused to take back the prophylactics. After responding to the call and realizing they'd been summoned......

Gawker looks at much of the the stupid stuff said by Joe Biden, Senator from Delaware and allegedly on Demcratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's shortlist. But this classic moment (video above) of Biden breaking down our former mayor almost makes up for it! And, yes, Biden has had a history of many unfortunate gaffes--like saying Obama was clean and articulate. But that doesn't seem to bother Obama too much--when speaking about the conflict in......

Watch your back, Dick Cheney! Actor Ed Asner, former Dallas Cowboy Mark Stepnoski, and formerly famous hip hop group Arrested Development are leading a petition drive to get a referendum on New York City’s November ballot that would establish a new 9/11 investigation. If the group, called 911 Truth, can collect 30,000 signatures before September 4th, the City Council will be required to consider the measure, which calls for an investigative panel with subpoena......

Heads up Black Sheep, your neighbors want you to STFU! The Brooklynian message board was abuzz about the Bergen Street bar yesterday when a local said they had to put up with "bad classic rock at full volume" until well after 2:30 a.m. on Monday night. A reasonable complaint – no one deserves to have their dreams invaded by the musical stylings of Foghat – but then the bad advice came rolling in: "While the......

During the September 11 attacks, the police and fire departments weren't able to communicate with each other. Now, almost seven years late, the NY Times reports the agencies have improved their "ability to...operate together." Now, the Fire Department can receive information from police helicopters over a scene and emergency works will be able to "contact the police directly via radio." NYPD Deputy Chief Charles F. Dowd said, "Right now we are fully interoperable on all......

The Port Authority announced that families of 9/11 victims will be able to descend into "the Pit" of Ground Zero briefly during this year's September 11 anniversary. Last year, the state and city waged an emotional, public battle with victims' families, who were upset that the 2007 anniversary events would not be near the actual World Trade Center, but at nearby Zuccotti Park instead. Then-governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg explained the construction prevented families from......

Late Thursday, right before the long July 4th weekend, it was announced the Bush administration had declined to keep on the World Trade Center health czar. Dr. John Howard was the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health within the Center for Disease Control and had much support--last Wednesday, Governor David Paterson asked President Bush to extend Howard's term, noting his "pivotal role" in 9/11 health efforts. The NY Times reported that......

In the ongoing battle between New York City and those suing it, claiming they got sick from working at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks, the city now says 31% have mild illnesses, "like [a] runny nose or cough." Of course, the city would like to have as many of the thousands of lawsuits dismissed or settled as easily as possible, and the plaintiff's lawyers claim the city's review is skewed. The NY Times......

Last week, it was reported that Rudy Giuliani has been offering his support to Republicans up for re-election this fall, but with some strings attached, namely some money to help pay off his campaign debt. Now the Daily News reports Giuliani has "dished out $265,000 in PAC funds in recent months to keep his political options open." While Giuliani has now loaned a total of $800,000 to satisfy presidential campaign debt, he's still paying various......

Actually, accusing Democrats of having September 10, 2001 attitudes about the war on terror dates back to the 2004 election, but Republican presidential contender John McCain's campaign's claim that Democratic rival Barack Obama has a "September 10 mindset" appears to be the first use of 9/10 in this election year. On Monday, Obama had made remarks ABC News' Jake Tapper, regarding the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees the right to challenge......

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who federal authorities accuse of proposing and overseeing the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., appeared in a military courtroom today at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Mohammed said he would represent himself and, when told he could face the death penalty if convicted, "Yes, this is what I wish, to be a martyr for a long time. I will, God willing, have this, by you." Today was Mohammed's......

Though firefighter Kevin Prior died over six years ago when responding to the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in 2001, a struggle over his FDNY pension has gone to court. Prior's parents do not think his then-fiancee Doreen Noone should be entitled to half the $75,000 annual pension. They tell the Post it's not really about money, but have the "truth" "acknowledged:The Priors concede that the young couple was engaged, with a......

Federal officials at the Dept. of Homeland Security have agreed not to use information supplied by the spouses and children of 9/11 attack victims to deport them. The number of people this will affect numbers less than two dozen widows, widowers and orphans--all in the country illegally--who have feared cooperating with federal officials, or even lawyers and lawmakers fighting to give them asylum in the U.S., would lead to their deportation. The legal reprieve will......

Photo courtesy Mike Lewis. If you passed by St. Paul’s Chapel near the World Trade Center site yesterday you may have felt like you’d stepped back through time to the city’s raw, post-9/11 days, when the chapel’s fence was festooned with photos and tributes to the attack's victims. The new Nora Ephron movie Julie & Julia recreated the makeshift memorial, which was dismantled in November 2002. (Using a crane, the crew also pasted leaves to......

RepresentativeDarrell Issa, a Republican from California, played the spoiler during the city's attempt to get federal money for sick first responders. Issa said the planes that flew into the World Trade Center weren't weapons like a dirty bomb, "It simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft, and residue from the materials used to build this building." To which NYC counsel Michael Cardozo said, "Congressman, this was I believe an attack on the United States......

Colors, the feel-good restaurant on Lafayette Street owned and operated by Windows on the World employees who were spared on 9/11, is reportedly back from the brink of ruin. The fine dining restaurant opened two years ago as one of New York’s few cooperative restaurants, with everyone from busboys to chefs sharing ownership and a menu featuring international cuisine created by the multi-ethnic staff. Though Colors did well during the first burst of publicity, business......

Photograph of the fire truck donated to Ladder 101 by Triborough on Flickr Members of a marching band from South Carolina were still years from entering high school when the attacks of 9/11/01 occurred, but the band arrived in New York City this week to visit a Red Hook Engine and Ladder Company that received a replacement truck in 2002 purchased with funds raised by White Knoll Middle School students and the residents of......

A Long Island City concrete firm won a contract to provide $103 million worth of "slabs, decks, walls and enclosures" for the September 11 memorial at the World Trade Center site. According to the NY Times, Navillus Contracting will be responsible for 45,000 cubic yards of concrete for the memorial itself as well as "adjacent underground areas" and the Port Authority's executive director Anthony Shorris said, "This contract will move us to the next......

Before going for the gold, French actress and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard made some remarks in a 2007 interview regarding 9/11, and some aren't as charmed by her words as they were by her Oscar speech. Nonetheless, Cotillard sides with the conspiracy theorists when it comes to 9/11...and the moon landing! BBC News has a partial transcript:"We see other towers of the same kind being hit by planes, are they burned?" she asks. "There was......

Photograph of a squirrel in a Forest Hills house courtesy of the Parks Department It's a walk-up, but the price is right. City squirrels are enjoying the goodwill of concerned citizens and the Parks Dept., who cooperated to install squirrel houses in City Hall Park. Mark Garvin had five of the boxes, which measure about a foot around, built with soft pine for several hundred dollars a piece--city real estate insanity extends to the......

The Pentagon has charged six men accused of planning the September 11, 2001 attacks and will seek the death penalty (the Pentagon's terse press release was titled "Defense Department Seeks Death Penalty for Six Guantanamo Bay Detainees"). These would be "the first trials under the terrorism-era military tribunal system." The defendants will see the evidence and will have similar rights as U.S. soldiers accused of crimes. As for whether evidence and confessions gained through methods,......

An appeals court ruled that a doctor who had been missing before September 11, 2001 died during the World Trade Center attacks. The family of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, last seen at Century 21 on September 10, had in courts for years trying to do so. Previously, a court-appointed guardian implied the 31-year-old doctor led a dangerous lifestyle, because she, per the Post, "frequented bars (including several bars that cater to women customers) and spent......

After intense speculation about why the masseuse who discovered Heath Ledger's body last Tuesday called actress Mary-Kate Olsen multiple times, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke to reporters yesterday to clear the air. Kelly said, "We believe that of the three phone calls by the masseuse to Mary-Kate Olsen, only one got through. That call was 99 seconds long." Commissioner Kelly further emphasized, "There is absolutely no indication that investigators were going to speak to Mary-Kate......

New York City officials are planning for a Dunkirk-like evacuation of Manhattan island in the case of an emergency. In the early days of World War II, a "bathtub navy" was assembled between Dunkirk, France and Dover, England, in order to move hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the Continent to safer ground as the Nazis advanced across France. Hundreds of small craft were sent across the English Channel to ferry stranded and cornered British......

This ad for Pakistan Airlines is real. And in the history of advertising, it really takes the creepy cake. Even worse than babies endorsing cigarettes! Seriously, if Nostradamus ran an ad firm to warn the world about blowback, this would have been in his portfolio. It appeared in the March 19th, 1979 issue of Le Point (and surely countless other publications). Yes, the shadow is in pretty much in the same place as where......