In a strange turn of events, a mezzo-soprano who moonlights as a wildlife rehabilitator has absconded with Fred, a pigeon that had become a favorite source of amusement for police assigned to the 9/11 Memorial. Earlier this month Jennifer Dudley, a singer at the Met and City Opera, read about Fred in the New York Post, which reported that officers had been formally reprimanded for goofing around with the bird. After hearing reports that Fred had gone from landing on officers' shoulders to defecating on them, Dudley became concerned about Fred's state of mind, and spent ten days trying to catch the pigeon. more ›

Remember filmmaker Todd Bieber? He found a canister of undeveloped film in Prospect Park after last winter's Blizzageddon, and ended up travelling to Europe to reunite the film with the owner. Now, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Bieber has released a video he took at the WTC the day after Osama bin Laden's death was announced, gauging the reaction of citizens after the death of the man who plotted the 9/11 attacks. Watch below: more ›

With the city on higher alert due to a credible, though unconfirmed, terrorist threat, the NBC News Twitter account was hacked by The Script Kiddies, who decided to send out Tweets such as "Breaking News! Ground Zero has just been attacked. Flight 5736 has crashed into the site, suspected hijacking. more as the story develops," "Flight 4782 is not responding, suspected hijacking. One plane just hit Ground Zero site at 5:47. #groundzeroattacked." and "This is not a joke, Ground Zero has just been attacked. We're attempting to get reporter on the scene. #groundzero attacked." before finally sending "NBCNEWS hacked by The Script Kiddies. Follow them". Now the NBC News Twitter account has been suspended. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] You'll recall rolling your eyes at news that a group of atheists are suing to get the so-called 9/11 Memorial Cross removed from the 9/11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center site. The cross, which is formed by intersecting steel beams found in the Ground Zero rubble, is seen by many as a symbol of perseverance and faith, but it's causing the atheists "dyspepsia, symptoms of depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish." And if U.S. Representative Michael Grimm gets his way, their migraines are only going to intensify. more ›

The atheists aren't the only ones making a stink about the goings-on at Ground Zero; the former Deputy Mayor under Rudy Giuliani is lambasting Mayor Bloomberg for excluding religion from the upcoming 10th anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center. "This is America, and to have a memorial service where there's no prayer, this appears to be insanity to me," Rudy Washington tells the Wall Street Journal. "I feel like America has lost its way." more ›

You would think that maybe, just maybe, politics could be left aside during the upcoming 9/11 anniversary ceremony, but nope! After yesterday's report that he was calling Mayor Bloomberg a "putz" and "Napoleon" over not inviting a NJ official to the ceremony, Governor Chris Christie went public with the dispute. more ›

After a thorough and time-consuming analysis, the FBI has confirmed what many of us were not wondering: none of the 60,000 Ground Zero workers eligible for Federal aid are currently on a terrorist watch list. Not one! The FBI was required to check all the names due to a stipulation in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R., Fla.) voted to pass the bill only on the condition that the FBI run background checks on anyone who might be getting compensation. If you think it was a pointless waste of time, you're not alone. more ›

If a place isn't reviewed on Yelp, does it even really exist? It's a haunting existential social media question, but we have been able to confirm that Rikers Island, Manhattan Central Booking, and the 19th precinct station house are all real legitimate establishments—the Post reports today that Yelp users "have started branching out from their foodie focus by writing reviews of the city's jails. According to Yelp, Rikers Island is the Per Se of pokeys, getting an average rating of 4½ stars." One reviewer who gave it five stars writes: more ›

Two years ago, the eagle eyes at the NY Post spied some World Trade Center workers enjoying some alcoholic beverages during their lunch breaks, and broke the shocking news that construction workers sometimes drink on the job. And today, to their utter disbelief, the Post reports that WTC hardhats are still boozing at lunchtime at the same spots they did two years ago. more ›

After presenting Birthday Boy President Obama with a gift-wrapped box of horrible stock market news, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart turned to the Culture Wars last night, explaining that we can't let all this Wall Street panic "let us forget that we all hate each other." After noting that Lou Dobbs seemed threatened by the half-black, half-Hispanic Spider-Man (“It’s Lou Dobbs's worst nightmare: a Latino that can climb walls."), Stewart finally weighed in on the American Atheists' lawsuit to remove the so-called 9-11 Cross from the World Trade Center Site. "By the way, atheists, why do you give a s&@?" Stewart asked: more ›

Won't someone think of the poor atheists? With no God to appeal to for mercy, they can only rely on the justice of our imperfect court system, where they're suing to stop the famous September 11 Cross from being included as part of the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site. Some see the cross, which consists of intersecting steel beams found in the Ground Zero rubble, as a symbol of perseverance and faith. But according to a lawsuit filed by American Atheists, the cross's side effects include "dyspepsia, symptoms of depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish from the knowledge that they are made to feel officially excluded from the ranks of citizens who were directly injured by the 9/11 attack." more ›

Poor atheists, is there anything 9/11-related that doesn't offend them? First they made a big stink when the city changed a Red Hook street sign to honor 9/11 firefighters, now they're filing a lawsuit because the famous September 11 Cross has been included as part of the memorial at the World Trade Center site. The cross consists of intersecting steel beams found in the rubble of buildings destroyed in the attacks. more ›

This week when President Obama visited Ground Zero, he met with 14-year-old Payton Wall; Wall had written a letter to the President about her father, who was killed on 9/11, and how she had been inspired to share her story by our favorite cyborg Christian pop star, Justin Bieber. And this morning, the President related her moving story while speaking to troops at Fort Campbell. By the transitive properties of inspirational stories, does that mean that President Obama is now a Belieber? more ›

President Obama's solemn visit to Ground Zero and meeting with first responders and 9/11 victims' families was marked by a little levity—and the Bieb. Friends Payton Wall and Madison Roberston, both 14 year-olds whose fathers died in the September 11, 2001 attacks, had written letters to the White House and, on Monday, Payton's letter— about "the entire day [of Sept. 11, 2001] and how I pictured it happening, and what it's like to have to live without a father"—happened to be in the batch of 10 random letters the White House staff gave Obama. The teens and Payton's mother and sister were invited to meet the President yesterday. more ›

President Obama is going to be visiting New York City for three hours today, which means there will be heightened security at Ground Zero. This also means yet another day of difficulty for anyone using the PATH by the World Trade Center site. For instance, the PATH's Twitter followers got this message, "Later today midday serv to/from #WTC will be suspended for approx 1 hr due to #Obama visit. Exact time unknown. Updates provided when avail." more ›

Sure, President George W. Bush declined President Barack Obama's invite to go to Ground Zero today, because Bush wants to stay "out of the spotlight." But one "highly-placed" source tells the Daily News that W. feels annoyed and he "[views] this as an Obama victory lap." Like Bush has never done that? more ›

As he prepares to visit Ground Zero (without President Bush) tomorrow, the Daily News reports that President Obama will meet with first responders before heading down to Ground Zero to lay a wreath and speak privately with family members of the victims of 9/11. The President will be at the site for "about three hours." more ›