When it was revealed that Gwyneth Paltrow saved a woman's life on September 11, 2001 by almost hitting her with her Mercedes SUV on 7th Avenue, thus making her miss her train to work at the World Trade Center, the nation came together by promising to add Sliding Doors to their Netflix cue. At the Venice Film Festival, Gwyneth spoke for the first time about her newly discovered hero status: "I was on the way home…and a girl was jaywalking across the street and we kind of both stopped at the same time." She didn't even use her paparazzi-grade cowcatcher—how magnanimous! more ›

As the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, we're encouraged to reflect upon how the country and indeed the entire world changed after the events of that horrific day. Oh, and buy stuff. Spending money is important otherwise the terrorists will win. Coins, wine, cartoons, whatever. But if you make only one jingoistic 9/11 purchase this year, log on to Etsy and make it the Superman On September 11th Stainless Steel Flask. more ›

Apparently grief runs its course after 10 years: The traditional reading of the names on the anniversary of 9/11 might see some changes after this year. Mayor Bloomberg announced on his radio show yesterday that after this year's ceremony, the 9/11 Memorial Foundation (which he heads) intends to discuss with 9/11 survivors, families and first responders the prospect of discontinuing the reading of every victim's name on future anniversaries. This comes on the heels of news that the Tribute in Light will be going dark after this year if there are not enough donations to support it, as well as news of the first time someone has ever tried to use the ceremony for political gain. more ›

In a town where you can pretty much buy whatever the hell you want, is it shocking that one can still pick up the zesty alco-caffeinated version of our fallen friend Four Loko? The Local East Village reports that you can still find the banned version in neighborhood bodegas. Also still available in the East Village: heroin. But only one of those substances turns your poop blue! more ›

Not only does President Obama manage to kill Osama bin Laden, he also keeps his promises to 9/11 teens who want to meet Justin Bieber. Payton Wall and Madison Robertson, whose fathers died on September 11, 2001 while working at Cantor Fitzgerald, met the pop star on Thursday during his Macy's appearance. Payton told the Post, "It was so cool. I couldn't even believe it," and before the visit, Madison had Tweeted, "@ppaayyttaann obama kept his promise, off to see @justinbieber." more ›

Cue the cries of outrage! Not only will the 9/11 Memorial and Museum not have a bathroom when the memorial opens in September, it could cost $20 bucks a person to visit the museum when it opens next year, the CEO of the museum told a City Council committee yesterday. And if it doesn't cost a hard $20, it very well have a suggested donation of $25 or above, à la the Met. more ›

Last week, Senator John "Maybe Maverick" McCain (R-Arizona) was kind of dismissive to a 9/11 first responder who would really love some Republican support for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Last night, McCain was kind of dismissive about Democrats' efforts to try to give $7.4 billion in benefits to first responders and survivors; when arguing against time limits for discussing the START Treaty, "To have a time agreement after all of the fooling around that we’ve been doing on ‘DREAM’ Act, on New York City … we will not have a time agreement from this side.” Naturally, that set off Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). more ›

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is speaking up in favor of the not-really-at-Ground Zero mosque! A strong defender of property rights, he's shared his thoughts on the proposed mosque and community center planned for 45-47 Park Place—and he basically thinks that the project's opponents are narrow-minded, bigoted demagogues! Here's an excerpt:

The debate should have provided the conservative defenders of property rights with a perfect example of how the right to own property also protects the 1st Amendment rights of assembly and religion by supporting the building of the mosque. more ›

This morning, Governor Paterson spoke on WABC Radio about the only thing that matters: The proposed mosque and community center situated at 45-47 Park Place, two blocks from the World Trade Center. According to NY1, "He... said local politicians are thinking of the site 'clinically,' reacting to its legality and not the human aspects, and not considering the emotional dynamic: "Whatever reasons people may have to oppose this -- there are always bigoted people who oppose things. But leaving them out there is a sizable population that really is reacting just to the whole spectacle of this situation." more ›

The Daily News reports that some 9/11 responders are taking out their anger over the 9/11 Health Bill's failure to pass on all-around punching bag, President Obama. John Feal, who lost his foot during the cleanup when a steel beam fell on him, wrote to Obama, "Why have you failed us? We thought you would be our champion... It is disturbing that you have the time and energy to speak in favor of the mosque, but not on the health crisis caused by the attacks." (Feal adds that the mosque isn't an issue.) Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who co-sponsored the 9/11 Health bill, said, "While I welcome President Obama's comments on religious freedom, I can understand why John Feal and his fellow 9/11 responders would want to hear that the President supports their cause, too." more ›

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is one of the few House Democrats to accept the open invitation to the "Ground Zero" mosque party, which many Republicans hope to keep raging all the way to election day in November. Speaking to a San Francisco radio station yesterday, Pelosi said, "Speaking of urban development in my district, I have an opinion on almost every subject, but in New York, I'm sure the New Yorkers would like to make their own urban development decisions themselves." But then she did something special and "flipped it" on right-wingers like Rick Lazio, who has demanded that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigate the funding for the Islamic community center planned for Lower Manhattan. more ›

Another day, another round of election-year sniping about a significant issue affecting the lives of millions a complete oxygen-wasting distraction that makes us want to secede from the rest of meathead America more than ever. President Obama has said his piece about the Islamic community center proposed for Lower Manhattan, and refused to comment further about Park51 during Democratic fundraising appearances in Milwaukee and LA. But you know the Republicans are just getting warmed up! And they've got Senate majority leader Harry Reid on their side, too. more ›

Just to put the political rhetoric about the Islamic community center and mosque planned for 45-47 Park Place in perspective with its "two blocks from Ground Zero" location in mind, Daryl Lang posted photographs of other establishments in the "hallowed ground" zone. Above are a few, along with a photograph of the old Burlington Coat Factory the Park51 developers want to tear down and turn into a 13-story complex. more ›

President Obama has finally weighed in on the most important issue of the summer—the mosque proposed at 45-47 Park Place, two blocks away from the World Trade Center Site. At a White House Ramadan event, Obama supported the plans for the mosque, "Muslims have the right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," pointing out that it passed city planning laws and emphasized the founding tenets of the U.S. of A. Here's an excerpt of his speech (video below; full text after the jump): more ›

Well, look at that. A few days after Caroline Giuliani was arrested for allegedly shoplifting at a Sephora store on the Upper East Side—store employees and a surveillance camera seemingly caught her in the act—the cosmetic chain may pursue justice yet against the 20-year-old Harvard student. Initially, Sephora declined to press charges against "America's Mayor"'s daughter, but now a police source tells the Daily News, "They realize it was a mistake for a store to hedge the way they did." Yeah, think about all the other famous people (or children of famous people) who might start shoplifting at Sephora stores! more ›

There's loads of Caroline Giuliani-related news, but let's start with one of the more curious matters: Her transformation from grungy-looking (in a NYU t-shirt) alleged shoplifter in handcuffs to glowing Harvard sweatshirt clad co-ed, with flowing blond tresses, confidently walking out of the station house. According to the Post's sources, it was because of...the Post! "After a Post photographer snapped Rudy Giuliani's dowdy daughter in cuffs... she asked cops if she could put on a little makeup." more ›

As promised, Pat Robertson's astroturf group The American Center for Law and Justice has filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court on behalf of Timothy Brown, a firefighter who says the Landmarks Preservation Commission is guilty of "an abuse of discretion" in deciding not to grant landmark status to 45-47 Park Place, the site of a proposed Islamic center and mosque. Brown survived the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, but his two best friends and 93 other firefighters died. more ›

Yesterday's Ground Zero news wasn't only about mosques—the nearly $11 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was approved by the House of Representatives' House Energy and Commerce Committee, 33 to 12. But there was a fair amount of opposition from Republican members, like Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Michigan) who said, "By making this a new mandatory program, you jeopardize the financial health of the United States of America." more ›

There's a simple explanation for why Port Authority cop William Burns had all that porn on his computer: 9/11! Burns was busted by Internal Affairs police in April 2007 after porn was found on his work computer, and in the subsequent probe, they also discovered that he stole more than $4,400 from the Port Authority by using toll and hotel vouchers without authorization. more ›

LECTURE: NYU and the Department of Sanitation present a trash talk tonight, titled: Gotham and its Garbage: A History of the Department of Sanitation. The illustrated lecture will include an exhibition tour and status report on the DSNY Museum-in-the-Making (which we wrote about last year). Robin Nagle, Ph.D., DSNY Anthropologist-in-Residence, and Haidy Geismar, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, NYU will both be there to lead the discussion. more ›

The local newspapers tackled the sixth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks in different ways. The Daily News offers most of its front cover to remember the day, while the Post gives some room to General Petraeus' Congressional testimony. The Post looks at how vibrant the Financial District is now, even after the devastating effects of the September 11, and the Daily News looks at how some families have decided to skip this year's September 11 commemoration ceremonies. Dorry Tompsett, whose husband's remains have never been recovered and who has been to the first five ceremonies, said, "Being on the ground with the immensity of the hole and being able to touch the ground - that was very important to me...To just go there for half a second and put a flower down on some part of that site that's a big construction area isn't the same thing." more ›

Jim Riches is the Deputy Chief of the FDNY. He is one of the producers of Urban Legend, a video that doggedly questions the supposedly heroic actions of Mayor Giuliani on 9/11. We recently asked him a few questions about that, today's anniversary and the future of the WTC. more ›

singles event from Whole Foods Market Bowery and Gothamist. It'll be a fun time, with sounds from Terry Diabolik and DJ Never Forget of Finger on the Pulse and taste hot, spicy, and sultry foods from Chocolove, Rick’s Picks, 5 Boroughs Ice Cream, Coffee Lab Roasters and many more. In addition to the music and food tastings, there's a scavenger hunt, a raffle for various prizes, including two gift certificates from Elsewares, and plenty of time for mingling. more ›

. Attendees will rock to the sounds of Terry Diabolik and DJ Never Forget of Finger on the Pulse while they taste hot, spicy, and sultry foods from Chocolove, Rick’s Picks, 5 Boroughs Ice Cream, Coffee Lab Roasters and many more. Plus there's a raffle, scavenger hunt and much mingling! more ›

Twenty-three-year-old police officer Russel Timoshenko died yesterday at King County Hospital, five days after being shot twice in the face during a Monday traffic stop in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Doctors took him off life support after finding he had no brain activity yesterday afternoon. KCH director of trauma service and surgical critical care, Dr. Robert Kurtz, was visibly upset as he reported Timoshenko's death. From Newsday:

Kurtz, who choked up, said the case "affected us emotionally as well as professionally." more ›