C'mon people! If you simply must play crazy to skip jury duty, you really shouldn't go on the radio and brag about it afterwards. Hard to believe, but people still listen to the radio. Including judges. Just ask Denver Mary Kay saleswoman Susan Cole. She's now facing hard time for lying to get out of jury duty last fall. more ›

The Qatari diplomat whose smoking attempt in the bathroom of a United flight from D.C. to Denver involved air marshals, an ill-advised joke about lighting his shoes on fire, and F-16 fighter jets escorting the plane on its descent is expected to leave the country by today. Mohammed Al-Madadi, 27, who has diplomatic immunity, was not charged; State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said, "This is a very serious issue. Any of us who travel on airlines are reminded of this when we take off. In our communications with the Qatari ambassador last night, he fully understood the seriousness of the charges." more ›

A Qatari dipomat's alleged nicotine attack on a flight from D.C. to Denver could mean a big job transfer: The Denver Post reports, "A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. government was discussing the case with the Qataris and said the department had conveyed the seriousness of the matter to the Qataris.... The State Department official said Qatar had not yet informed the administration how they will handle the case," but it appeared the country was "leaning toward transferring him out of the U.S." more ›

Breaking story from Denver: ABC News reports, "Federal air marshals subdued a man who authorities say attempted to 'light his shoes on fire' on a United flight from Washington Reagan to Denver Wednesday night, federal law enforcement officials told ABC News." However, it's unclear if there were explosives— NBC News says that an air marshal smelled smoke and confronted the man, who said he was trying to light his shoes: "It was uncertain if anything actually was on fire or if this was a joke, NBC reported. Investigators were looking to see what might be in his shoes." more ›

The father of Najibulla Zazi, the alleged terrorist bomber with ties to Al Qaeda, has been charged with obstruction of justice by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn today. The father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, 55, was first arrested in September along with his son, Najibullah Zazi, 24. The younger Zazi has been charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, and will be on trial in Brooklyn starting in February. Both father and son were initially indicted in Denver on less serious charges, but were moved to Brooklyn when the NYC terror plot (using beauty products) came to light. more ›

The FBI has gone after school pals of alleged terrorist bomber Najibullah Zazi, and today sources revealed they have his uncle too. They arrested Naqib Jaji secretly on a single felony charge (the exact nature of the crime remains undisclosed) and arraigned him in Brooklyn two weeks ago, reported the NY Post. Jaji—Zazi's uncle by marriage—gave the accused Qaeda plotter a warm bed and hot meals when he first moved from Queens to Denver and later said it was "impossible" his nephew was a terrorist. But Jaji maligned his house guest too: “He’s very greedy,” he told the Denver Post back in September when the case was just getting underway. “He lived with me for six months and never gave me a penny.” more ›

With terror suspect Najibullah Zazi in custody, accused to plotting to bomb NYC mass transit, experts are now weighing on how Zazi's purchases from a beauty supply store were very dangerous. They say that Zazi "had the means to kill scores of people — not hundreds or thousands," with retired FBI explosives expert Denny Kline saying, "These explosives are meant to be concealed easily and deployed easily and kill and maim and cause havoc in small areas." more ›

After the final version of the stimulus bill passed through both houses of Congress on Friday, it was announced today that President Obama will sign the bill into effect Tuesday while he is traveling through Denver. Obama had initially said that he had hoped to sign the bill before President's Day tomorrow, but he has decided to delay it until departing from Washington, where hearings on the bill have led to a fierce partisan war both on the floors of Congress and in the press. On Face the Nation today, Obama's Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, “He wants to get out of Washington and show people all across America the benefits of what’s inside this economic recovery and reinvestment plan." The president is scheduled to talk about his economic agenda in Denver, the city where he accepted the Democratic nomination for president in August. Governor Paterson has said that New York expects to see at least $24.6 billion over the next two years from the bill. more ›

Breaking news: According to a Pew Research Center survey, young people want to live in big cities like New York (or Los Angeles)! As for everyone else, NYC doesn't rank as high. The NY Times explains a Big Apple yearning is more likely "if [respondents] already live in a city, in the East, are black, college educated, make more than $100,000, have never been married, have no children, are liberal and don’t regularly attend religious services." Also, those 18-29 looking for a "faster lifestyle" prefer NYC. However, the city most of the survey's respondents like? Denver. Pew Research's Rick Morin said, "It's a city that ranks high on most of the lists. It's a new city, a growing city, a younger city on what most people would perceive as the doorstep of God's country — the Rocky Mountains." Other desirable-to-live-in cities include San Diego, Seattle, Orlando, Tampa and San Francisco while the least are Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. more ›

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic party's presidential nomination in front of a reported crowd of 84,000 at Denver's Invesco Field, saying, "Tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land — enough!" He blamed President George W. Bush's "failed policies," and said, “America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.” more ›

The NY Post devotes today's cover to the elaborate stage being built for Barack Obama's Democratic presidential nomination acceptance today in Denver. The Post proclaims, BARACK OBAMA'S TEMPLE OF DEMOCRATS ON MT. O-LYMPUS, noting that it was "built by the same cheesy set team that put together Britney Spears' last tour." John McCain's campaign calls it "Temple of Obama," blasts the candidate for being too lofty, telling the Post, "We would have expected to read something like this in The Onion. Fortunately for us, it's true. Unfortunately for Obama, it's true." Even the NY Times notes how the Democratic party is trying to "minimize the stadiums political risks," because they want the event to feel intimate...in a football stadium. more ›

After his wife's stirring speech supporting Barack Obama last night, former president Bill Clinton will be the featured speaker tonight at the Democratic National Convention (after the roll-call and nomination process). Clinton is expected to discuss foreign policy, and his aides told the Times "he intends to deliver an impassioned plea for Democratic unity." However, much has been made of the fact that the former president has made remarks suggesting skepticism for Obama's chances. Clinton will not be at Invesco Field on Thursday when Obama finally gives his acceptance speech--reportedly because he "doesn't want to detract from Obama." Politico looks at the Clinton-Obama drama, noting things each side could have, should have done to unite the party and Doonesbury has a funny comic about it. more ›

While he didn't have a prime time speaking spot like Senator Hillary Clinton did, Governor David Paterson did get a chance to speak at the Democratic National Convention yesterday. It was only for 4 minutes at 5:50 p.m. (and his theme music was "New York, New York"), but he made the best of it, even joking during applause and chants of his name during his entrance, "Thank you, my time is up!" more ›

The NY Times Styles section looks at how the The Year of the Political Blogger Has Arrived, both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions extended credentials to bloggers. However, not all bloggers are created equal: At the DNC, there's the national credential ",which offers the same access granted to members of traditional news media organizations," while the "coveted" state blogger credential "allows one blogger per state to cover the convention alongside its state delegation, with unlimited floor access" (Room 8 is representing NY). Our Washington DC blog, DCist, was chosen as DC's state blogger and editor Sommer Mathis is already in Denver. She reports on what's in the DNC media swag bag, "an official Denver 2008 reusable water bottle from Visa... a bottle of Walgreen's brand ibuprofen and minipack of Walgreen's brand facial tissue, a bottle of hand sanitizer from the Hogan & Hartson law firm...magnetic poetry from SEIU..." more ›

Get this woman a reality TV show! Christina Szele of Woodside, Queens created such a disturbance during a Jet Blue flight from JFK airport to San Francisco that pilots diverted the plane and landed in Denver, where federal authorities took her into custody. According to an affidavit obtained by the Smoking Gun, things started to go sideways after a flight attendant noticed Szele waiting on line for the bathroom with a book of matches and a cigarette, which were promptly seized. more ›

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• Knicks 89 Philadelphia 76ers 81: The Knicks enjoyed a team effort in defeating another struggling Eastern Conference team, the Sixers. Five players scored in the double digits, led by Jamal Crawford's 18 pounts and Zach Randolph's 16 points and 14 rebounds. Coach Isiah Thomas said, "We have good shot distribution, everyone feels part of the game, everyone gets to touch the basketball." more ›

The Giants are going to the Super Bowl! Thanks to a 47-yard field goal in overtime New York defeated Green Bay on the infamous “frozen tundra” 23-20 to advance to Super Bowl XLII. more ›

While it may be beautiful now, yesterday's weather was awful enough to cause some holiday travel headaches for those flying out of area airports. Winds were gusting up to 47 MPH, and travelers arriving at LaGuardia had two hour delays, which wasn't bad considering arrivals at Kennedy and Newark had delays of four to four-and-a-half hours. more ›

Another gloomy day today. A bit of fog this morning may delay flights out of town. You may also have weather-caused delays if you're going to northern New England (ice and snow), Chicago-Detroit-Milwaukee (rain) and the front range of the Rockies from Denver northward (snow). If you're staying in town you can expect cloudy skies and mild temperatures with a high in the mid-50s. It won't cool off much tonight, making for a comfortable... more ›

Devils 6, Flyers 2: After three failed bids to get Martin Brodeur his 500th career win, the Devils finally provided him some margin of error. They played stingy defense and lit the lamp six times en route to an easy milestone win. Brodeur joins Patrick Roy as the only netminders with 500 wins. Dainius Zubrus got the party started and added an assist. As happy as the Devils are for Brodeur, they're probably happiest that... more ›

Sacramento 123 Knicks 118 (2OT’s); You weren’t dreaming, that really was Stephon Marbury playing defense. Marbury didn’t start, but he had a nice game off the bench as Isiah went to a three-guard lineup in the fourth quarter. With Crawford and Robinson sharing the point, Marbury took over at the two and did well. Eddy Curry had a huge game with 27 points including a game-tying rebound and layup with 10 seconds left in regulation,... more ›

Rangers 4, Devils 2: Given New Jersey's recent dominance over its cross-river rivals, Martin Brodeur's picking up his 500th win against Rangers would have seemed appropriate. Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lunqvist had other ideas. Lundqvist stopped 22 shots and Jagr added a goal and an assist as the Rangers on the Prudential Center ice. Even defenseman Marc Staal got into the act. Jamie Langenbrunner had two goals for the home team, whose fans eagerly booed... more ›

The Mardy Collins era lasted approximately six minutes. Pushed into the starting lineup in place of Stephon Marbury, Collins sprained his foot halfway through the first quarter. And, Collins’ injury was just the beginning as Phoenix trounced the Knicks 113-102 while shooting 56% from the field. To make matters worse, Renaldo Balkman went down with an injury later in the game and had to be helped off the court. With Quentin Richardson out with an... more ›

Knicks 97 Minnesota 93: Isiah Thomas was booed when he was introduced before the game, but the rest of the Knicks were cheered. And, when Nate Robinson pledged before the game that this team would win more games than in previous seasons that elicited the biggest cheers of all. Robinson backed up his pledge with 10 points in 16 minutes while Jamal Crawford had 24. Unlike Friday, the Knicks shot well from the charity stripe,... more ›

If they want to, the Jets can trace the morphing of their season from disappointing to disastrous from their Week 4 loss in Buffalo on Sept. 30. Before that, their only defeats came against the Patriots and the Ravens. Those are nothing to be ashamed of. But now the team hasn't won since a Week 3 squeaker against the Dolphins, and, let's face it, everybody's beating Miami these days. The Jets will try it all over again at home this Sunday, but the change everyone wanted made hasn't happened. Chad Pennington is still the quarterback. more ›

The Daily News and NY Times both look at the life of Carol Anne Gotbaum, the New Yorker who died while in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport over a week ago. She is portrayed as a vibrant woman and loving mother to three children who had become depressed in recent years. more ›

Reuters is reporting that today New York was named "the U.S. city most vulnerable to a rat attack as warmer weather and aging infrastructure fuels rodent populations across the United States." At least we don't have to worry about earthquakes (yet)? more ›

The prominent Democratic party donor and California fugitive Norman Hsu's connection to New York City's New School is examined in the NY Times today. Hsu donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to national Democrats like Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to governors like Eliot Spitzer of NY and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, and NYC politicians like City Council members Christine Quinn and John Liu and City Comptroller William Thompson. Hsu, who had been wanted by California authorities since 1992 for defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme, was going to surrender himself last Wednesday, but ended up on a train to Denver. more ›