Two Somali pirates took credit for ordering that their fellow marauders kill the four Americans on a hijacked yacht in the Indian Ocean. One pirate told Reuter, "Our colleagues called us this morning, that they were being attacked by a US warship. We ordered our comrades to kill the four Americans before they got killed." more ›

Last May Somali pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse made an about face and pled guilty to hostage-taking, kidnapping, hijacking and conspiracy in the 2009 taking of the ship the Maersk Alabama (as well as two others). Today he was sentenced to 33 years and nine months in prison—the maximum penalty. "I got my hands into something that was more powerful than me, and I have been sorry about what I did," he said through an interpreter before the sentence was delivered. "I got my hands into something that was more powerful than me." more ›

Avast ye scalliwags: today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Beloved by Dave Barry, it's the perfect time to try out some of those pirate pickup lines you've been storing up all summer. more ›

Time to dust off the ol' metal detector! The puppets and their masters have just set their treasure hunting adventure into motion. The We Lost Our Gold project officially begins today, which means that video clues are being unlocked that will eventually lead one lucky New Yorker to $10,000 in golden coins. For real! To take part, head over here to watch the videos (the first is below), which will be released one-by-one through September 19th. more ›

A one-line breaking news update from CNN: "U.S. sinks pirate skiff and captures mother ship after pirates fire on USS Nicholas in Indian Ocean, Navy says." More details: "The Nicholas returned fire and pursued the skiff as it fled, capturing it about 90 minutes later. Three suspected pirates aboard the skiff were taken into custody, along with two others aboard a suspected pirate mother ship that was nearby." more ›

Yet another former employee of the NY Post has filed a lawsuit against the tabloid, making this the billionth staffer to add his or her brushstroke to a work-in-progress portrait of the Post as a racist, sexist, alpha male locker room. The latest salvo comes from former Post photographer Mary McLoughlin, who claims she was pushed out of her job because the fratastic editors only want sexy young ladies toddling around the office. One editor, David Boyle, even referred to his young female assistants as "David's Harem," and hired a make-up artist to do them up for the holiday parties, the suit alleges. Then they dirty danced the night away, with Boyle allegedly grabbing their pelvises and "bumping" and "grinding" in an obscene way that was "unprofessional and offensive to those who had to watch this spectacle." Still, we'd like to see some photos. (tips@gothamist.com!) more ›

Sailor William Rios has returned to his Harlem home after the confrontation with Somali pirates on the Maersk Alabama container ship. He told the Daily News that he wasn't afraid during the ordeal, "I'm from New York City - nothing's feared in New York City. I'm not from the country. I'm from New York. We don't fear nothing - you don't mess with New York City, especially a black Puerto Rican." Rios, who has been a merchant marine for 25 years, admitted that his crew "messed up" when they were unable to exchange the Somali pirate they took as a hostage for their captain, Richard Phillips but says he'll be back on the water, "That's my youth - I love the sea. We deal with pirates and terror. I'll be back there - it's just my job." Rios, who told his church about the experience this morning, has suggested more security and more patrols in the waters, as well as for crew members to be better armed. more ›

As Captain Richard Phillips makes his way back to Vermont, a week after he was held hostage by four Somali pirates, the AP reports that the lone, surviving pirate will be tried in New York. more ›

Military officials say that Somali pirates attacked a ship owned by a Long Island company yesterday. Newsday reports, "Somali pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at [the ship...which was]...carrying humanitarian aid." The Liberty Sun's crew, none of whom were injured, was escorted by the Navy through the Horn of Africa. more ›

After the U.S. Navy killed three Somali pirates holding an American container ship captain hostage, pirates have seized four ships in 48 hours. BBC News reports the most recent was a Greek-managed ship with 22 Filipino crew members. NATO Lt. Commander Alexandre Fernandes told Reuters news agency, "There was only three minutes between the alarm and the hijack... They attacked at night, which was very unusual. They were using the moonlight as it's still quite bright." more ›

With the U.S. Navy's rescue of an American container ship captain—and the killings of three Somali pirates who were holding him hostage—other pirates are promising to retaliate. One told the AP, "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them [the hostages]. [U.S. forces have] become our No. 1 enemy." Another said, "Every country will be treated the way it treats us. In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying," while a third said, "Next time we get American citizens... they [should] expect no mercy from us." more ›

Update: Maersk Alabama container ship Captain Richard Phillips was rescued by Navy Seals. CNN reports, "The American cargo ship captain held hostage by pirates jumped overboard Sunday from the lifeboat where he was being held, and U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed three of his four captors, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation." Phillips was taken to the destroyer U.S.S. Bainbridge and "was then flown by helicopter to another Navy ship, and has contacted his family and received a routine medical examination," according to the NY Times. more ›

U.S. Naval warships are gathering around a fiberglass lifeboat carrying four Somali pirates and their hostage, Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips, whose container ship they tried to hijack. A Somali journalist told CNN that a German ship taken by other pirates attempted to reach the lifeboat (to aid their fellow pirates) in the Indian Ocean but turned back due to the U.S. presence. Phillips, described as the "consummate regular guy" by friends and family, attempted to escape yesterday but was recaptured; a childhood friend told the NY Times, "When he went for that swim today, it didn’t surprise me at all. He’s got good intuition, and he’s a very determined guy." The FBI is involved with the hostage negotiations (Defense Secretary Gates said Phillips' return was a "top priority"), which may be a long process—he pirates have demanded $2 million and safe passage. Additionally, French commandos rescued hostages from pirates in the Gulf of Aden, leaving one hostage and two pirates dead in the process. more ›

The Defense Department said that Captain Richard Phillips, the Alabama Maersk container ship captain who was taken hostage by pirates, had tried to escape by jumping into the water but his captors followed and retrieved him. It's believed Phillips was trying to swim to the U.S.S. Bainbridge, a naval destroyer that's been in contact with the pirates. more ›

Do you enjoy ingeniously crafted rock tunes, with brilliant lyrics and arrangements for accordion, keyboard, ukulele, guitar, bass and drums? Do you like pirates? How about puppets? Rum based drink specials? Laughing until your sides hurt? If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you’re ready to set forth on the dread ship Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, the rollicking “pirate puppet rock odyssey” that’s currently docked at Ars Nova. more ›

Brooklyn kickball team Los Pirates Mechanicos (pictured) are down one man as of yesterday; Lawrence Jackson (better known as Lance) was arrested for carrying around a rusty pirate sword (also pictured) in Macy's. Unsurprisingly, the NYPD took it for a weapon, not a recreational sports prop. more ›

We got a tip today saying that The Peking had gone missing from the South Street Seaport. The 1911 four-masted barque is part of the fleet owned by the South Street Seaport Museum...and it's huge, so it's sort of tough to misplace. more ›

• Tigers 8 Yankees 5: Detroit is a great offensive team and the question the Yankees have to answer is, can their pitching stand up to a great offensive team? In the first of eight games against Detroit, the answer was a resounding no. more ›

The game remained that way until the ninth when the Mets broke things open by scoring five runs. But, Pittsburgh wasn’t finished yet and loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. After scoring three times to cut the game to 10-7, Willie Randolph brought in Billy Wagner to close things down. Pittsburgh got the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Xavier Nady struck out to end the game and give the Mets an exciting victory. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

• Royals 7 Yankees 0: Kei Igawa should buy a plane ticket back to Japan. Today’s ledger of 5.2 innings, seven hits and 2 walks while allowing five runs just reinforced the fact that Igawa is nothing more than a batting practice pitcher. The Yankees could have won seven-straight, but they didn’t, at least we know that Igawa is junk and Phil Hughes will be back in the rotation soon.
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The 31st Annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks extravaganza is just around the corner. This is the largest display in America and takes a year to plan. This year's show will stretch wider than usual in a "high definition" format, choreographed to the New York Pops (simulcast on 1010 WINS, TV broadcast on NBC). The Daily News has an interview with Gary Souza, fireworks designer for the event; he says, "We have a new orange that’s really awesome. It’s a golden-red color. We also have this silvery pixie dust that bursts into pink and chartreuse. And look for the aqua jellyfish during the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' song." more ›

• Yankees 13 Pirates 6: It’s official, the Yankees are on fire. Sunday they completed their sweep of the Pirates, bludgeoning them behind two home runs from Alex Rodriguez and a 4-4 day from Bobby Abreu. The win was their sixth in a row and leaves them one game below .500 and 9 ½ back in the division. more ›

• Yankees 9, PIrates 3: A little more than a month after his dramatic announcement, and despite a short delay, Roger Clemens returned to the Yankees with a win yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemens threw for 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 7. It was The Rocket's first win with the team since 2003 and his 349th career victory. The 44 year-old Clemens threw 108 pitches, 69 of them for strikes. While the return of Clemens was the big news of the day (each start of his will cost about $900,000), the bigger news is the team's winning streak. The Yankees have won a season-high five games in a row, and are 2 games under .500, where they haven't been since May 9th.
• Tigers 8, Mets 7: Runs have seemingly been hard to come by in recent days for the Mets. Yesterday, they scored 7, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Oliver Perez had a rough outing for his 2nd loss in a row, allowing 5 runs over 5 innings. Guillermo Mota didn't help things when he relieved Perez, giving up 3 runs in only 1/3 of an inning. The Mets have lost 5 of 6.

• Yankees 5 Pirates 4 (10 innings): Derek Jeter always seems to come through in the clutch and Friday night was no different, even if the way he did so wasn’t that impressive. With the bases loaded and one out, Jeter hit a little dribbler between first and second. Needing to get the out at home or turn a double play, the Pirates’ second baseman tried to barehand the ball and couldn’t make the play. more ›