Every year around this time we get an email from the people running the annual Idiotarod race, which tells us that Corporation X (the organizers) are no longer involved, and have handed off the company to [insert ridiculous name here]. This year, we are being told that Corporation X has gone into fiscal receivership and the Idiotarod "was acquired by Lord R. McGeddon, who has "a long family history in the military, pharmaceutical, and agro-chemical industries." more ›

White and Native American adolescents are playing around with way more drugs and alcohol than their black and Asian counterparts, a new study finds, upending traditional beliefs about which teens are actually the most at-risk. more ›

The revelations from Sharon Bialek that Republican frontrunner Herman Cain allegedly grabbed her genitals, pushed her head toward his crotch and said, "You want a job, don't you?" back in 1997 have provoked the NY Post's Andrea Peyser to paint the blond mother as a gold digger AND harsh on her make-up: "Sharon Bialek is 50, out of work and, according to one who knows her, she’s a smooth operator living way above her means. From the look of her heavily painted face, she’s also soon to be in acute need of a new tub of eyeliner." more ›

19-year-old Private Danny Chen, a Chinatown native who died last week in Afghanistan, was allegedly bullied and abused by his fellow soldiers prior to his non-combat related death. Now, the Army's Criminal Investigation Division is looking into the matter to figure out exactly what happened. more ›

Have you been feeling the need for speed, machismo, and nature all one in one place? You're in luck! The Rental Car Rally, a ridiculous, testosterone-fueled 12-hour car race that draws its inspiration from "the Wacky Races, THX-1138, the Mad Max trilogy, Logan's Run, Daredevil #267, the original Death Race film, and Cannonball Run I (but not II, except for Catherine Bach's daisy dukes)," is just around the corner. more ›

Despite attempts to have it thrown out, the Center for Constitutional Rights' lawsuit accusing the NYPD of "stop and frisk" racial profiling will proceed. Yesterday Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled that there was enough evidence, stating, "This case presents an issue of great public concern... the disproportionate number of African-Americans and Latinos who become entangled in our criminal justice system, as compared to Caucasians." more ›

Yesterday a tipster sent us in this video of the blimp race (it exists), taken from Governors Island, which provided a fitting sonic backdrop of reggae music for the slow-paced event. Alas, while no one's looking for a Hindenburg finale, it is unsurprisingly yawn-inducing (it really peaks at the 1:43 mark when the seagull swoops in). more ›

A seven-year NYPD veteran is suing the police over claims that he was violently attacked outside of his own home by cops, who were responding to a 911 call placed by his wife about a gun-wielding man who crashed their daughter's birthday party. more ›

We're no fans of the P.C. police, but there is a line between having common courtesy and being purposely offensive that many who claim to be enemies of political correctness seem to miss. Author J.C. Davies seems to be one of these enemies. In her book "I Got the Fever: Love, What's Race Gotta Do With It?," she details things like how Indian men smell like curry and all Hispanic men are macho in chapters with titles such as "Jungle Fever" and "Curry Fever." She tells the Post, "No one has the balls to write about sex and culture in a real way." But is writing about her "Oreo" ex-boyfriend really realistic? more ›

A Westchester grand jury declined to bring charges against two police officers who shot and killed a Pace University student last October. Danroy "D.J." Henry was killed when the car he was driving hit two police officers who had been responding to a rowdy scene at a Thornton, NY restaurant; when Henry did not stop the car, the police officers fired at him. The Journal News reports that the White Plains jury heard from "dozens of witnesses in the past month — including the officers and other occupants of the car Henry was driving." more ›

These people bring the idea of taking the stairs to a whole new level every year. It's that time again, the 35th Annual Run-Up at the Empire State Building—where tomorrow people more in shape than us will run up 1,576 stairs... for "fun," or whatever. Last year 300 runners participated, with the winner crossing the 86th floor finish line in just 10 minutes and 16 seconds; the record time, set in 2003, is 9 minutes and 33 seconds. So tomorrow, at least try to get up all of the subway stairs in that amount of time. more ›

Earlier this year, more than a few New Yorkers were confused and upset why the 2010 Census form didn't offer a racial category for Hispanic or Latino (the Census offer a Hispanic question for ethnicity). Now, NY1 reports that NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein sent an email to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan saying that NYC school officials don't really want to classify students by race, per federal law, "[It] may well be problematic and confusing for many of our community members, particularly Hispanics, and could create a difficult public debate about the collection of this information." more ›

Between the bull riding tournaments, Zombie protests and now this, Manhattan has been filled to the brim with bizarre events the past two days. Over 450 skaterboarding enthusiasts took over Broadway yesterday, darting past cabs and pedestrians alike for the annual "illegal" Broadway Bomb event, a skating race across Manhattan. The "world's most dangerous skateboard race" started at w 116th street by Riverside Park, and ended at the Charging Bull statue at Bowling Green. The race was started by three skaters in 2001 who challenged each other to skate the full length of Broadway to the bull, and not get killed in the process. You can see a video of yesterday's event below. more ›

Remember that barely legal fixed gear bike race through the rain-soaked, cobblestone streets of Red Hook? Child's play. This afternoon at 4 p.m., there's a similar "alley cat" race along a route that includes the infamously dangerous Queens Boulevard. Called "BLVDS of DEATH," the race is "inspired by the horrific stories of pedestrians and cyclists killed along Queens Blvd." Professional bike messenger and organizer Rafael Negron tells the Daily News, "Imagine how crazy a street has to be if they put signs up warning that people have died here?" HARDCORE. more ›

A hot-off-the-presses new Siena poll shows Andrew Cuomo leading Carl Paladino in the upcoming gubernatorial race by a whopping 33 points. But wait a minute—yesterday's Quinnipiac poll told us that Paladino was only 6 points behind. This is completely contradictory! Maybe Camus was right: only once we accept that the world is devoid of any fundamental absolutes can we truly be free. more ›

Did you notice a bunch of people running around the city in weird costumes yesterday? (That is, more than usual?) They were most likely competing in the Great Urban Race, a nationwide scavenger hunt that requires participants to solve puzzles, find clues and run to city landmarks. The New York City leg of the race kicked off yesterday at the Boat Basin Cafe, and even had jaded, confused New Yorkers rooting for the competitors. As one woman wrote on Twitter, "Not sure what the great urban race is, but I hope the couple I saw sprinting down 21st in Viking costumes wins." Some New Yorkers were even nice enough to give directions! more ›

Some citizens are no strangers to the baton's end of police brutality, but it's rare for another cop to be the recipient of it. Yet that's exactly what Larry Jackson, a six-year veteran assigned to the 110th Precinct, says happened to him last weekend. "To get my butt beat like that was unnecessary...I'm shocked, angry and disappointed," he told the Daily News. more ›

An African-American police officer who says she was busted by superiors for "racially motivated" reasons has filed an $11 million suit against 14 fellow cops and the city. Pamela Lambright was arrested for violating an order of protection while on duty, and was confronted inside her own 111th precinct in Queens. "I was surrounded by white supervisors and felt they wanted to hang me," she said. more ›

Today the City formally rejected an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission panel's finding of discrimination against former Arabic-English school principal Debbie Almontaser. The founder and principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn was asked to step down after making remarks about the word "intifada," but a lawyer for the city called the EEOC's determination "totally unfounded." According to the AP the city claims she resigned voluntarily. Still, The News reports that Almontaser supporters are urging the Justice Department to sue, based on the EEOC's determination that "race, religion, and national origin," motivated her ousting. more ›

"I'm going to be the Conservative and the Republican candidate," said gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio, who yesterday received the endorsement of the state Conservative Party. When asked what he thinks of Long Island executive Steve Levy’s recent announcement that he’ll defect from the Democratic party to vie for the Republican nomination, he said “I am not worried about him,” but there’s reason to think he should be. For Lazio—who’s short on funds and quiet on the issues—the endorsement could give a boost to a campaign without much oomph. Just as easily it could be taken away. more ›

After getting expelled from the state Senate following his conviction for attempted assault, Hiram Monserrate is preparing to run for his seat again. The former legislator—who was found guilty of dragging his girlfriend down a hallway but acquitted of more serious felony charges—needs to submit a petition with 3,000 signatures by midnight if he wants his name on the ballot in next month's special election. So Monserrate is hitting the seniors centers. more ›

Police stopped and questioned more New Yorkers last year than ever before, and 87 percent of those stopped were black or Latino. The NYPD used the controversial policing technique to question 575,304 people in 2009—an uptick of 8 percent from the short-lived 2008 record of 531,159, according to the Daily News. more ›

A Queens Congressman says some of the criticism regarding the selection of a politically-connected casino operator to run slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack has been sparked by racism. Rep. Gregory Meeks claims Aqueduct Entertainment Group shareholders and community liaisons Rev. Floyd Flake and Darryl Greene have been targeted by project opponents because they are black. "The only two people who come from the community and the only two people of color are singled out." more ›

The percentage of black students at New York City's best high schools has fallen over the past seven years, since the Mayor took control of public schools. Fewer black students attend seven of the eight public high schools that require entrance exams for admittance, while the number of African American students has stayed the same or fallen at 10 of the 12 schools where more than 90 percent of students graduate with Regents diplomas. more ›

A Rockaway resident claims that no-parking signs that bar visitors from leaving their cars in the beach-front neighborhoods of Belle Harbor and Neponsit during summer weekends and holidays are "racist and illegal." The signs force beach-goers to drive west to pay parking lots in Jacob Riis Park, or east to look for street parking in areas that "have a higher percentage of lower-income and minority residents," according to the Times. But the signs themselves don't exist in city or state records. more ›