Every year, decent, red-blooded Americans attempt to celebrate the humble holiday of the birth of their savior. And every year, more and more government bureaucrats paper over Baby Jesus because of some antiquated "separation of church and state" policy. At least the Rockefeller Christmas Tree-Corpse is still a Christmas tree. But the same can't be said of Rhode Island's "Holiday tree," which Governor Lincoln Chafee lit up last night. "He's trying to put our religion down, one man told the AP. "It's a Christmas tree. It always has been and it always will be, no matter what that buffoon says it is." more ›

Accused Craigslist killer Philip Markoff has now been charged in a third case involving a woman he found on the website and held up in a hotel room, this one in Rhode Island. Markoff is accused of tying up a stripper and robbing her at gunpoint in a similar fashion to the incident three days before in which he's accused of killing the Upper West Side's Julissa Brisman in Boston. Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said, "We look for every measure of justice, particularly in a case like this where a life was taken." At a press conference announcing the charges, the Attorney General also had some unkind words for Craig Newmark, who has been publicly defending keeping his website's Erotic Services section open. Lynch said, "The guy from Craigslist was on TV. He said it was only one incident. I think it was totally irresponsible. It was a murder." more ›

Ohio and Texas are "too close to call" for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, which means it will be a long night - and very possibly another few weeks of primary madness. Obama did win Vermont (so far, 59% to Clinton's 39%) and Clinton won Rhode Island (currently 57% to Obama's 42%), which is her first win in a while, but those states aren't the focus. more ›

CNN, NBC, and the AP are projecting Senator John McCain will clinch the Republican presidential campaign, after winning the primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island and clinching the 1,191 delegates needed. A source tells NBC that President Bush has invited McCain to the White House tomorrow and will endorse him. McCain will be having a victory party in Dallas tonight, complete with banner that says "1,191." more ›

Today's big Texas primary, the Post has delivered a cover with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as old West gunslingers. And since Obama's hand in on his gun, it makes sense the headline for the story is, "Barack Goes For Hill Kill." (Obama believes in gun control, though he backed a law allowing retired cops to carry concealed weapons). more ›

Hillary Clinton's campaign happily announced that the Senator from New York had raised $35 million during February, her best month ever. Adviser Harold Ickes used the news to accentuate the positive, "We have been through a dry period in the last eleven contests but we are about to start our upswing." Clinton is thrilled with the fundraising efforts, saying, "It’s incredibly gratifying to see people coming forward with their vote of confidence." She also said her $5 million personal loan to the campaign was not paid back. more ›

With the writers' strike looking like it'll wrap up this week, Crain's points us towards another problem for New York's entertainment industry. more ›

In spite of the reports, hypes and fears, there actually wasn't much snowfall in the city yesterday - just about an inch - though we did see some sleet that quickly melted. The suburbs got a few inches of snow, while much of the accumulation was in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. more ›

On any given night, visitors to The Stanton Social may encounter Executive Chef-Owner Chris Santos making his post-rush rounds through the dining room, or they might not: Problem is that the rush at the restaurant, which can feed (between its bar, lounge, and dining room) up to 200 people at a clip, sometimes just doesn’t let up. The 36 year-old Santos, who says he “feels 39,” is known for food that ditches ornate, mother-sauce heavy... more ›

Did contemporary art and music come together for the first time in New York? The holy (or unholy -- if you're not a Velvet Underground fan) union can be traced back to, where else, Andy Warhol's Factory scene. So why is the Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 exhibit being housed all the way in Chicago? more ›

Is it possible that the New York State Health Department finally understands the futility and limitations of trying to keep teenagers from having sex? Instead of receiving and funneling nearly $4 million of federal funds into abstinence-only sex ed programs annually, it decided this week to forego the federal dollars and focus instead on programs dedicated towards teaching good sexual health and avoiding unwanted pregnancies. more ›

Last night, President Bush addressed the country, and the world, with a speech that said American troops in Iraq could be start to be withdrawn gradually: "The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is 'return on success' -- the more successful we are, the more American troops can return home." In other words, there is no, as the NY Sun puts it, "no dramatic change in course." more ›

Looks like New York State beaches have become just as dirty as the thoughts you have while lying there sunning yourselves (and we're not just talking about hypodermic needles). A new report from the NRDC says there's been a serious rise in the number of health-related advisories and beach closings thanks to pollution. New York beaches experienced over 1200 days of closings and advisories last year (that's up from about 830 in 2005). You can read the report here. more ›

The Moondance Diner shut its doors at the end of June at which time it was rumored that it would live out its years at a museum in Pennsylvania. The free-standing diner has changed its path, however, and now it's headed to the small town of La Barge, Wyoming. more ›

It's birdseed throwing or bubble blowing time with this weekend's NY Times wedding announcements. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A carbon monoxide incident in Queens, a fatal jumper down in Manhattan, and number of stabbings in the Bronx
• Congratulations to the same-sex couples who are planning civil unions right after midnight tonight in NJ.
• Gowanus Lounge calls Ikea's public attitude about the destruction of historical records from the Todd Shipyard in Red Hook "nothing short of disdain and matter-of-fact dismissal"

The odds were with Dandie Dinmont Harry, but James is truly the top dog. For the fifth time in 100 years, an English Springer Spaniel won “Best in Show” beating out a number of beautiful dogs. While Harry stole the hearts of fans on Monday, it was the Pettit Basset Griffon Verdeen (PBGV) named Fairchild who seemed to have the support of the crowd Tuesday night. Fairchild received a lot of vocal support from the crowd, but judge Dr. Robert Indeglia, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Rhode Island, ignored their cheers and went with James. Indeglia explained to the NY Times how he selected James, ranked second in the country, "I had a lot of great dogs to choose from. But this one stood out. He had that look in his eye that said, ‘It’s my night.’ He had great temperament. It was an honor to judge him.” more ›

Sidewalks aren't only for pedestrians - they seem to be made for cars after they are hit by other out of control cars. Yesterday afternoon, an out of control Lexus hit two parked cars after spinning across two lanes on Lexington Avenue near East 62nd Street. The parked cars then hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk. The NY Post says the victim, a Venezulan tourist, was "slumped across the trunk of the car, her legs dangling above the ground." The woman was admitted to New York Hospital in serious condition, but was upgraded to stable. The police did not press any charges yet, but the cause of the crash is still unknown. Oh, and the Lexus caught fire. more ›

Yesterday morning's car accident involving a man suspected of stabbing someone in Rhode Island is profoundly crazy. Joel Noonan was trying to drive away from MTA police on Lexington Avenue when his Jeep Cherokee crashed into Nissan Pathfinder near 63rd Street, hitting pedestrians, with the Pathfinder ultimately crashing into a travel office window. One woman, Eve Maria Boisbel, was hit so hard that she, as Newsday reports, was "wedged inside a black metal garbage can between the gray SUV and the storefront." In fact, the Daily News calls the trash can a "lifesaving helmet" since the Pathfinder had crashed the trash can into the store. more ›

Take one knife-wielding SUV driver, suspected of stabbing someone to death in Rhode Island. Take the MTA police, chasing the suspect on Lexington Avenue. Take Monday morning rush hour traffic around 63rd Street. While being chased at around 9AM, the SUV driver crashed into another SUV on East 63rd and hit pedestrians, before driving into a travel office, pinning one of them against a store. more ›

Two awesomely odd but true stories: more ›

Now that our mini-heat wave is over, tropical storm Beryl is making her presence felt. Sort of. Places along the shore from Brooklyn to Montauk may see some showers, possibly with intense rain, starting this morning. Beryl is forecast to skirt eastern Long Island before hitting Rhode Island and Cape Cod. Rain is forecast through tonight due to Beryl and through the weekend as the storm sucks Atlantic moisture, tomorrow and Saturday will be unpleasantly humid, northward ahead of a cold front. more ›

So it appears that the Food Network is taping a show this afternoon called "Culinary Claim to Fame," featuring Ben Sargent of Williamsburg's Surf Bar. It's all about the chowda, folks, but Ben had some tough competition in the form of one Bobby Flay. We guess we'll have to wait until the show airs to know what happens, but we did find a couple chowder recipes from Flay on FoodTV.com: more ›

There's a wind advisory in effect until 5 o'clock this afternoon. Brisk weather has returned! It should get a little bit cooler each day through Thursday. Cooler than normal by Wednesday. Snow sneaks back into the picture late-Friday or Saturday. Not much, just a slight chance of snow showers, but snow has been so rare this winter that Gothamist thought we should mention it. more ›

Ron Hogan, Author "The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane" more ›

Mick Stingley, Low-Rent Rock Critic more ›

Though the MTA has been a bit of a pain lately, Gothamist loves the subways and even enjoys our commute (when we have stuff to read, when we don't have to unduly transfer extra times, when we aren't pressed up against the population of Rhode Island in a train car). Travis Ruse has put together a photoblog of his commute, Express Train, to capture his Park Slope-Grand Central journeys. more ›

When Gothamist was in college...in Rhode Island...we remember coming all the way to Tonic for a show. Since then we've become residents just down the block from that venue and have seen everyone from Medeski, Martin & Wood to Marc Ribot to Inouk perform there. Don't let this place get turned into a 3-story super club or luxury apartments. Do what you can. The below is from the management of Tonic: more ›

Something we're thinking of checking out this weekend is Dearraindrop's Riddle of the Sphinx Exhibition over at Deitch Projects (18 Wooster). Dearraindrop are an artist collective out of Rhode Island known for their psychedelic pop culture. more ›