Five years ago today, President George W. Bush gave a televised address on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln to declare, "The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September 11, 2001, and still goes on." The speech, which took place after Bush made a splashy entrance by arriving on the aircraft carrier in a fighter jet, announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq, but the whole spectacle......

Ralph Nader will be making another third-party bid for the Presidency in the 2008 election. The consumer advocate - and bane of many Democrats - made the announcement this morning on Meet the Press. Nader emphasized most Americans still are disenchanted with both the Democratic and Republican parties. At his exploratory site, which he established last month, he said both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in thrall to corporate interests. Nader, who ran for......

We hope all of you, whether you have stayed in the city or have traveled to spend the holiday with loved ones, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. While, for many people, Thanksgiving is about the bounty of food, football games, or the start of the holiday shopping season, it's also a good opportunity to appreciate your life. The History Channel has an extensive website about the history of Thanksgiving (with video). Scholastic's school-children-targeted......

Two divorcees, one more high-profile than the other, are macking it up in Amagansett. Paul McCartney, who's still divorcing wife #2 - Heather Mills - and Nancy Shevell a 47-year-old MTA board member who is legally separated from Bruce Blakeman (a commissioner for the Port Authority), have been spotted all over the Hamptons lately. Even The Times is talking up the two-some, and according to amNewYork the former-Beatle has been seen doing the following with......

What is the lawsuit about, Kenneth? Dan Rather, the controversial former CBS anchorman best known for his strange pseudo-folksy “Ratherisms”, funny moments in the paths of hurricanes, and being mugged by someone who demanded “Kenneth, what is the frequency?”, is suing his former employer CBS, three of its executives, and its parent company, for $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. He claims that they violated his contract by not giving......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Is there a bank robber hitting up multiple banks on the Upper West Side? There were robberies at 2438 Broadway and 59 West 86th St; there were also two separate police vehicle MVAs in The Bronx and Brooklyn; and a fatality under a train in Jackson Heights (it says A, but we'll assume it's the E). If any Wall Street types you know were depressed yesterday after the Dow......

Karl Rove, the political mastermind who maneuvered George W. Bush to the White house twice, will be stepping down from his role as President Bush's political adviser at the end of the month. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Rove explained, "I just think it's time. There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of......

The head of a firemens' union is pledging to end any hope of Giuliani's campaign for President. Rudolph Giuliani has emphasized his leadership in crisis as the centerpiece of his campaign for the Presidency. His primary set piece in this narrative are FDNY firefighters, who accumulated an enormous reservoir of goodwill during and after the 9/11 attacks, during which 343 firemen and parademics were killed. Perhaps it's a good strategy heading into a Republican nomination......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: The 61st Annual Tony Awards (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WCBS 2) If you are a theatre fan you probably know this is already on. If you haven’t seen anything this year, think of this as a highlight reel. It also appears that they have broken tradition and have gone hostless this year. The Sopranos (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., HBO) Undoubtedly this will be the most watched Tony on Sunday,......

The first debate amongst Republican presidential candidates was held last night at the Ronald Reagan Library. With former first lady Nancy Reagan sitting in the first row, Rudy Giuliani, as well as other candidates, mentioned the Gipper many times (partially due to the setting and prompting of moderators). For instance, when explaining how he'd deal with Iran's president over nuclear weapons, Giuliani said, "He cannot have nuclear weapons. And he has to look at an......

President Bush is taking his No Child Left Behind Act education platform to Harlem today, with an afternoon visit to the Harlem Village Academies charter school on West 144th Street today. Yes, that's what all the traffic and security is for- as well as the lack of garbage cans. The school and Department of Education are proud that Harlem Village Academy was selected; founder Deborah Kenny tells the Sun, "We take in kids that are......

The 22nd Annual April Fools' Day Parade is today. Did you go? We hope not, because this is a long running joke itself. During its 15th year the press was fooled and showed up to find no parade. From the Museum of Hoaxes: In 2000 a news release was sent to the media stating that the 15th annual New York City April Fool's Day Parade was scheduled to begin at noon on 59th Street......

The New York Times travel section brings us a fun photo scavenger hunt this weekend. What are you looking for? Well, "scenes and objects intrinsically New York." The Times gives us a bunch of categories that readers can submit photos for - food, business, transportation, living creatures, and nonedible inanimate objects. In this game that anyone can play (as long as they have a camera), The Times will even take user submitted photos to maybe......

In unsurprising but still headline-generating news, Senator Hillary Clinton has declared herself in the 2008 presidential race this morning. She posted a message on her website, HillaryClinton.com. Here is some of her statement:I'm in. And I'm in to win. Today I am announcing that I will form an exploratory committee to run for president. And I want you to join me not just for the campaign but for a conversation about the future of......

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7:00 p.m. WCBS 2) George W. Bush is interviewed days after his announcement of the Iraq War escalation . 24 (Sunday, 7:00 p.m. WNYW 5) Yet another season of 24 starts with the first two hours of its new season tonight. Jack's back, but does anyone still care? Nature - The Best of Nature: 25 Years (Sunday, 7:00 p.m. WNET 13) A 90 minute......

Towards the end of the year, it becomes sport to wonder who Time's Person of the Year will be. It's sort of like wondering who will be on the cover of Sports Illustrated or who People's Sexiest Man Alive is (both are also Time Inc. publications, as it were). Time tried to get its readers excited, asking them to vote online for who they thought should be the Person of the Year, with choices being......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

THEATER: The two most dreaded words in theater, "staged reading", get a shot at redemption with tonight's free reading of Stuff Happens. The show has cut and run from the Public Theater, so this is your last chance to catch David Hare's satire about the ramp-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. In an interview with NPR, Hare described it as "a play about how a supposedly stupid man, George W. Bush, gets everything he wants..." Laugh......

Newsday reports that in Hillary Clinton's ongoing efforts to appeal to the state she represents in the Senate - and the rest of the country - she made it very clear that she was never, ever, ever a Mets fan. In fact, she said, "I cannot let stand that I have ever, ever been a Mets fan: Let's set the record straight. The Cubs and the Yankees -- those were my teams and remained my......

The mayoral election started to heat up yesterday as Freddy Ferrer released his first attack ad against Bloomberg. The 60-second radio spot set to country music emphasizes Bloombergs relationship with George Bush and according to the Times is running largely on radio stations with mostly African-American audiences (because they, studies find, dislike Dubya more than any other group). The ad also rolls out Freddy's new slogan: "Elect Freddy Ferrer mayor. He's not like Mike, he's......

For anyone who walks past the lower end of Union Square with some regularity, Geoffrey Blank's is a pretty familiar face. He's the guy with the bullhorn who heads up those anti-everything (war, corporations, Bloomberg, etc..) rallies a few times a week on the steps, exhorting anyone who will listen, as well as many who'd rather not, to resist government fascism and end U.S. military involvement in other countries. The gatherings regularly attract a wide......

Gothamist totally digs Daily News columnist Richard Schwartz's editorial on President George W. Bush's social policy hot buttons:If Social Security is the third rail of American politics, then Medicare is the electrical circuit box. So, you've got to scratch your head as you listen to President Bush talk of fixing the third rail (which isn't really broken) while the circuit box has burst into flames.Now Gothamist understands what all the fuss in about. And given......

'Tis the season for presidential endorsements. The city's paper of record, The New York Times, bestowed an endorsement of Senator John Kerry for President yesterday, describing him as a man with a "strong moral core" and "not just a modest improvement on the incumbent," closing with: We look back on the past four years with hearts nearly breaking, both for the lives unnecessarily lost and for the opportunities so casually wasted. Time and again,......

In a matchup of two teams headed in opposite directions, the Jets overcame a sluggish day offensively to defeat the winless Dolphins 17-9 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. (Box Score) Jets defensive back Donnie Abraham's 66-yard interception return for a score was the lone highlight of an ugly second half that featured four turnovers by the fish. It was one of several examples of a dominating performance by the Jet defense on the afternoon.......

Margaret Braun, Sugar Artist...

Everyone is talking or writing about Dan Rather and CBS's News' questionable judgement over the National Guard documents, even going so far as to attach "-gate" to "Rather" just in case people out there couldn't figure out this was a bit scandalous. One caption on a Dan Rather photograph from Reuters read:Internet bloggers have drawn blood and American journalism may never be the same. To hear some press experts tell it, CBS's admission on September......

As Gothamist watches President Bush walk to his special circular stage, the "theater in the round" that pundits refer to from White House press notes (we imagine), we wonder if President will get dizzy, trying to speak to everyone in his line of view around the stage. Or perhaps the stage will rotate. For kicks, the White House has the President's Record of Achievement: President George W. Bush�s first term has been among the most......

One of the most anticipated speakers during the Republican National Convention was our former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, and last night, he brought it for the Republicans, attacking Kerry, lauding Bush, and plucking the September 11 heartstrings. Congratulations, Rudy, you're that much closer to being more acceptable to the GOP's heartland. The NY Times notes that his crowdpleasing speech "fuels speculation" that he may be the frontrunner for the 2008 election. The Daily News' Michael Goodwin......

CNN reports that there's a movement from conservative politicians to put Ronald Reagan on some of our cold hard cash, ideally the $10 bill, which only has Alexander Hamilton, who wasn't even a president, or the $20 which has Andrew Jackson. We're glad that the alternate plan of putting Reagan on dimes (which have FDR on them) in case the Reagan bills don't work out was shot down by Mrs. Nancy, but there's apparently interest......

The BBC reports a Chinese business man wants to use our president's name for a line of diapers, explaining, "Back in my hometown in Henan Province, the pronunciation of 'Bushi' sounds exactly like 'not wet'." While it's unlikely his request will be approved, Gothamist is sure there are many people who'd like diapers with Bush's face on it, for their babies to crap on. It also got Gothamist thinking about other products branded with the......