Donkey Kong’s new world champion was raised in NY AND he’s a plastic surgeon! Hank Chien—who made it to the “kill screen” in just 2 hours, 35 minutes, racking up 1,061,700 points—became devoted to the game after watching the documentary King of Kong. “Before then, I only played 1 game of Donkey Kong in my entire life—that was in 2006. I remember not being able to pass the first board and thinking this game stinks,” he told Examiner.com. But after training hard for over a year, the 35-year-old set the record in his home, taping the game so that officials could verify his scores. The champion admits that there were some obstacles along the way: “the holidays, work and women—oops—a woman.” Well he better brace for more obstacles, because arcade game mastery is catnip to the ladies. more ›

Congratulations to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for housing not one, but two champion trees. 1010 Wins reports that "The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has named two trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden state champions — meaning they are the largest of their species on record in the state." The Kansas hawthorn is 31' tall, and the Carolina holly is a whopping 35' tall. Together they are the first two trees in New York City to receive the honor, and they were presented their awards today. more ›