No matter your issues with our billionaire mayor from Boston—where to start?—you have to give the man credit: He sure gives away a lot of dough. Hot on the heels of his quarter-million matching donation to Planned Parenthood the Chronicle of Philanthropy has declared Mike Bloomberg the fifth most generous person in all the land. According to their count hizzoner gave $311,276,000 away last year! more ›

Police have charged a suspect in the fatal beating of a 59-year-old Bronx father who was mugged for $15. Devon Downs, 29, was charged with second-degree murder and robbery in the death of former cab driver Bimal Chanda last fall. An accomplice who also joined in on beating Chanda with a metal object has not been caught yet. “The family is really happy to hear about the arrest, they never thought this day would come,” said Chanda family friend and spokesman Mohammed Ali. “Detectives told us it was a really hard case and that it was hard to identify the suspects.” more ›

This is some real Antiques Roadshow stuff here. The NY Times reports that a needlework sampler crafted by a New Jersey schoolgirl named Mary Antrim in 1807 has sold at auction for $1.07 million dollars. The piece sold at Sotheby's in New York on Sunday, and features a farm scene on linen... it was estimated to go for a mere $120,000. So why did it go for so much more than that? more ›

According to the Wall Street Journal, Occupy Wall Street is down to their last $170,000 after raising more than $700,000 this fall. "If we keep spending at the rate at which we've been doing, we will probably go broke in a month," a member of the accounting group tells the paper. Where did all the money go? Housing, feeding, and clothing lots of people. On Saturday, the movement voted to freeze all spending except for bare necessities: housing, food, and clothing. more ›

We've been off the cable television for quite some time (all you need is a Roku box, people), so it's with great relief that we read that we're saving so much money by having kicked the habit. 20 Something Finance broke down the numbers recently, discovering how much a cable subscription costs each household in an average lifetime, and what one could make by investing that money instead. more ›

Some criminals did not get their Christmas present this year. Last week Customs and Border Protection say they found nearly $300,000 in counterfeit $100 dollar bills in the bag of a woman flying into JFK from Medellin, Colombia. Sadly, the stash wasn't found by the TSA—because we'd love to have seen the note they might have left with all that fake moolah. more ›

See, New York State and Illinois were curious whether they could offer online gaming, and sought clarity on the "Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits wagering over telecommunications systems that cross state or national borders"—specifically, whether the act "prevented those states from using the Internet to sell lottery tickets to adults within their own borders." The Justice Department decision has now "opened the door for states to allow Internet poker and other forms of online betting that do not involve sports. Many states are interested in online gambling as a way to raise tax revenue." more ›

Today, the NY Times delved into the world of a mystical rabbi, his celebrity followers, high-power publicists, and, not least of all, the rabbi's charity's missing millions as it reported on Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto: "The rabbi’s close followers are disclosing what they say is the source of many of his troubles. They said they told federal investigators that the rabbi had been the victim of a bizarre embezzlement and extortion plot that was carried out by two former members of his inner circle, who stole his congregation’s money and tried to frame him." more ›

If you're a connoisseur of funny things you may already know that NYC's own Louis C.K. has a new comedy special out featuring his performances at the Beacon Theater last month. It's on his website for $5, and his thinking is akin to Radiohead's In Rainbows experiment: will people pay for something if they can steal it? Apparently if it's good enough, yes. The comedian tells David Carr that on Thursday night, 175,000 people bought the special, and he was expecting 200,000 total after the weekend. Minus production costs, "That's a $750,000 profit. And he owns the rights, and the long tail of buyers, in perpetuity." Not bad for the recipient of the America's Saddest Handjob. more ›

Though they were unsuccessful in their pursuit of slugger Albert Pujols, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim today, the Miami Marlins have plenty to be happy about this offseason; yesterday they introduced the keystone of the new team, their $106 million star Jose Reyes. Reyes told reporters that the Marlins really made him feel wanted—they even arranged a midnight meeting the night he became a free agent. Reyes sounded particularly disappointed that the Mets made almost no effort to keep him in town, which general manager Sandy Alderson later addressed: “If you’re asking whether I should have sent him a box of chocolates, perhaps I should have done that. But on the other hand, the box of chocolates would have cost $106 million.” more ›

The financial crisis in Europe has "entered a potentially disastrous phase," the New Yorker reports, with "dire consequences" predicted for the entire world—even America!—if the European governments don't take swift action. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] released a report today warning that the euro crisis is "a key risk to the world economy," and the "contagion" could destroy even the pitiful economic recovery we've experienced here since the Great Recession officially began in December 2007. Here's a fun video about how we're all potentially doomed: more ›

Because football is a dignified sport where only the most erudite language is used on and off the field, Jet's coach Rex Ryan must forfeit $75,000 for telling a fan to "Shut the f*ck up" during last week's loss to the Patriots. The fan had called out "Rex, Belichick is better than you!" as Ryan was entering the locker room at halftime. It's not clear in the video, but we're pretty sure that right after the fan yelled that, they added, "At foot massages!" Or maybe it was, "At getting fined!" more ›

Because the spirit of togetherness and healing the country felt after September 11 is far behind us, the 9/11 Museum's projected opening date of September 2012 is likely to be pushed back, as the Port Authority and the September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation are at odds over hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs. "The Port Authority, the city and the museum are working collaboratively to resolve these matters," the PA's executive director tells the WSJ. What, they didn't sell enough commemorative coins? more ›

The family of the Bronx man who was mugged and beaten over the weekend for $15, and died a few days later of his injuries, claim the attack may have been a hate crime. Family members and neighbors gathered last night outside the funeral home where services for 59-year-old Bimal Chanda, who was Bengali, were held. While police say there's no indication of a hate crime, Chanda's widow believes there had to be a different motive, since the two muggers brutally beat him, yet left his wallet filled with credit cards and $90 in cash, only taking $15 from his pocket: "I've been hearing things, from other family, friends and relatives, other Bengali people, they've been getting mugged on a daily basis, and it's really not acceptable," one family member told NBC. more ›

A Bronx man who was mugged and beaten over the weekend for $15 died from his injuries yesterday. Police say that 59-year-old Bimal Chanda was moving out of his apartment in Fordham when he was attacked by two men who repeatedly struck him with a metal object. more ›

FADE IN: A 50-yr-old beatnick heads west from New York City, hobo stick slung over shoulder, humming Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane" while the lyrics run through his head. "Well, I don't know, but I've been told, You never slow down, you never grow old. I'm tired of screwin' up, tired of going down, Tired of myself, tired of this town." It's looking bleak. Enter: Pittsburgh! more ›

You know things are bad with the fate of the NBA when Spike Lee is at a Rangers game—as one person observed on Thursday night while the #1 Knicks fan posed for a photo with beloved former Rangers captain Mark Messier, "he must be bored without the Knicks." And now it get worse: The NBA just announced games through November 30 would be cancelled. more ›

New Yorkers love Halloween, sure, but we didn't realize how much until the New York City Economic Development Corporation told us. Would you believe that New Yorkers spend approximately a quarter billion dollars on Halloween costumes/candy/cards/decorations every year? That is a lot of candy, candy corn bagels, and costumes! more ›

Just how "leaderless" is Occupy Wall Street? According to Fox News, the thousands of Communists, anarchists, eco-feminists, malingerers, and professional protesters taking part in OWS are actually being guided by a reconstructed ACORN. The "fair and balanced" news organization alleges that OWS is being funded and controlled by former ACORN activists under new names who are using shady practices to collect money for OWS under false pretenses. Will this turn out like that time that a certain prominent news organization alleged George Soros was funding OWS? more ›

Using a clever new technique, "foreign gangs" are attempting to steal your debit card information and the last $64 in your checking account. According to CBS, the criminals set up card skimmers on the outside of the ATM entrance, so when you swipe your card to enter the kiosk, your information has been stolen. Asked if the scanners can be identified with the naked eye, a Yonkers police sergeant said, "Absolutely not." Remember when people used to physically remove your wallet on the subway? Ahh, the good old days. more ›

We've been told that being fat can also be healthy, but we don't think we're going to see any fat guys squeezing into the Oval Office anytime soon. At this point, Americans would rather give up sex than their favorite dessert! But there is one silver lining for zaftig dudes: pretty skinny ladies don't care how fat you are as long as you're rich! more ›