We have a complicated relationship with cell phones. They piss us off at concerts and they're ruining our social skills, but they are also great for sexting. Well yesterday, all that was made irrelevant when a cell phone stopped a bullet, saving a man's life and earning Superman's respect all at the same time. more ›

Because fighting crime is a dirty job, beat cops and school safety officers are now being equipped with cute little bottles of liquid-sanitizer that clip onto their belts. "A police precinct is like a petri dish, with all the cops coming from the street with every bacteria," said a cop in lower Manhattan. The carrying cases (which look suspiciously like Sigg bottles) are stamped with “NYPD” in blue and can be refilled at precincts. A memo says it’s the commanding officers’ job to "ensure an adequate supply of sanitizer is maintained to refill." According to the Post, it also warned cops not to hook the hand sanitizer onto their firearm trigger guards, radio antennas and expandable batons. It’s good news for preventing sickness (swine flu in particular), but bad news for back pain: even with the “optional” hand sanitizer bottle, the average police belt—which contains handcuffs, keys, radio, bullets, pistol, pepper spray, flashlight and baton—weighs 16 pounds. more ›

The family of Vada Vasquez, the 15-year-old Bronx girl who took a stray bullet to the skull last Monday, declined their usual Thanksgiving feast this year, postponing it until the teen can eat again. But the five young men accused of involvement in the shooting were given a seemingly generous Thanksgiving meal in jail yesterday. Dinner included turkey with dressing, yams, steamed greens and carrot cake! more ›

A 66-year-old Harlem woman became the second victim of stray gunfire this week in NYC. Virginia Valree was walking along Lenox Avenue in Harlem around 3:30 p.m. yesterday, carrying potatoes to deliver to a sick friend, when a bullet struck her left leg and knocked her into traffic on West 135th Street. "I'm horrified. All I know is I was just standing there and my leg gave in," Valree told the Daily News from her hospital bed last night. "I was on the ground. I was laying there saying, 'Somebody stop the traffic!' because I didn't want to get run over." more ›

Thank goodness: The mother of the 11-year-old boy whose head was hit by a bullet says her son is fine. Devante Kelly had been waiting to play his Little League game at Starrett City in Brooklyn when an apparently stray bullet hit him. Andrea Walters said of son Devante Kelly, "He's fine, I just want everyone to know he's fine and not to worry. He was up and talking through the whole thing like it was nothing." According to the NY Times, the bullet "traveled under the skin for less than an inch, and then come to rest against the skull, hitting it with enough force to put a small depression or dent in it but not enough to break it." Brookdale Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Louis G. Cornacchia said, "This was as an act of God that this child was not more severely injured. This is not the result of my gifted hands. He was saved long before I ever entered the picture." Devante's mother said she hopes her son will be back to playing soon—she doesn't want him to be afraid—and City Councilman Charles Barron said, "Anybody that has information on this, if you don't want to snitch, tell me - I'll snitch. This is very, very sickening in our community." more ›

A total no-brainer: The family of 17-month-old boy who was shot in the arm by an off-duty police officer has filed a notice of claim against the city. The Porcellini family will also pursue action against the NYPD and 24-year-old police officer Patrick Venetek. more ›