Yes, Irene by and large passed over New York City with less damage than some had feared, leading some to glibly announce that we were a bunch of overreacting ninnypants. But the same cannot be said for our neighbors to the north—in many parts of upstate New York and Vermont, the damage is still being fully assessed, with state parks and historic sites looking to be in bad shape. more ›

Joseph Kinneary, the “shy peerer” fired by the city for failing to whiz in a cup, won’t get his $225,000 wrongful termination damages after all. In 2004 when the former Department of Environmental Protection employee claimed his paruresis (aka shy bladder) kept him from completing a mandatory drug test and led to his firing, a judge ruled in his favor, citing the Americans with Disabilities Act. But the Post reports that, in an affront to shy bladder sufferers everywhere, the decision has been reversed, based on pure technicalities. more ›

Councilwoman Letitia "Tish" James (D-Fort Greene) is suing a day laborer for causing "serious, severe and permanent [injuries] to her limbs and body" after she walked into a four-inch trailer hitch protruding from the back of his parked car. According to court documents cited in the Brooklyn Paper, James says she suffered "great physical and mental pain" when she brushed against the hitch and cut her leg in Fort Greene last July. more ›

A financial firm once headquartered in the World Trade Center is seeking to commodify its loss of employees from the 9/11 attacks. Cantor Fitzgerald’s death toll after the terrorist attack was around 650 (about two-thirds of its work force), and it says that the slashed personnel has had severe financial repercussions. It's requesting $1 billion extra in damages from American Airlines, whose plane crashed into the WTC's north tower. (Originally it requested just $102.5 million to make up for lost profit, but upped the number last year, according to a filing in Manhattan federal court.) The Post reports that American Airlines will fight the “dramatic increase” on the ground that it’s a "disguised wrongful death claim" with no basis in law. more ›

The embattled community organizing group ACORN is filing a lawsuit today in Maryland District Court, accusing individuals behind an embarrassing series of hidden camera videos of violating state law by recording employees' conversations without permission. Similar to the videos recorded in ACORN's Brooklyn offices, the Maryland video shows workers giving inappropriate advice to two filmmakers (left) posing as prostitute and pimp seeking assistance in getting a house for a brothel. Alan Schwartz, general counsel for Acorn, accused the fake pimp, James O’Keefe, of "trying to destroy an organization whose principal purpose is to help poor people." more ›

A Manhattan lawyer blames Delta Airlines for ruining his mother's 80th birthday celebration and is suing the airline for $1 million. Richard Roth says a Delta employee made them miss a flight to South America and losing their luggage for days, telling the Post, "It was the most outrageous experience I've ever had in my life. It was an absolute disaster. One catastrophe after another." more ›

The last time we checked in with the latest flock of Next Top Models they were posing as homeless women, with homeless women. Seems they disrespected their $6 million Tribeca loft, too...turning it into a hot mess. more ›

Due to the Writer's Guild of America strike, Hollywood's party, the Golden Globes Awards were transformed from a boozy, fun dinner party to a press conference where presenters from entertainment programs like Extra! and E! News got to announce the winners. Yes, it was as painful as it sounded (Giuliana Rancic, it's not about you); many said they couldn't believe they were announcing the winners but said they would prefer it with the stars. Inside Edition's Jim Moret struck a classy note when he acknowledged the Hollywood Foreign Association (the organization that doles out the Golden Globes) President Jorge Camara. more ›

Early this morning Hayden Panettiere and other Hollywood elite looked ready to hit the town for a night out even though it was 5:30am. They were announcing this year's Golden Globe nominees, often a good sign for who will be nominated for that other gold statue. All in all New York-based shows and movies fared well as the envelopes were opened sheets of paper were read from. 30 Rock (Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical... more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

A note to anyone writing under a pseudonym: Don't let the pseudonym become larger than life. After deliberating for a couple hours, a jury came to a verdict in a film production company's lawsuit against Laura Albert, who wrote novels under the name JT Leroy. A tipster at the Federal Court just gave us the scoop:

Jury verdict in: Laura Albert and Underdogs Inc. are both liable for fraud and for breach of contract. Damages: $110,000 for economic damages, $6,500 for punitive.

The Nor'easter that drenched - and flooded - the Northeast with inches of rain has headed out. Many homes in the area were flooded and pummeled by winds; the NY Times adds that though the storm is gone, rivers are "still rising, swollen by the runoff of record rains." Residents in some suburbs were evacuated and thousands of people are without power: NY Governor Spitzer noted the devastation, while acting NJ Governor Richard Codey said that NJ "continues to operate under a state of emergency." Damages are expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. more ›