SHOP: Tonight head to Dumbo for an “Evening of Cheer,” where three neighborhood events coordinated by the Dumbo Improvement District will be taking place. "The night’s events combine Dumbo’s monthly cultural event, First Thursdays, with extended shopping hours and promotions by local retailers and the illumination of the Empire Stores in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park by famed lighting designer Brendon Boyd." 6pm // Various location details here EVENT: Tonight some experts gather around to celebrate... more ›

Governor Spitzer may back off his controversial plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants after weeks of bipartisan criticism. During a trip to San Juan, Puerto, Spitzer didn't quite rule out shelving the plan, acknowledging, "It's a tough issue." Spitzer's aides are apparently worried that the issue is preventing the governor "from advancing or even discussing other matters." The issue is disliked by voters, elected officials, and pundits all around - and also... more ›

A bizarre story: A cleaning crew found a loaded ammo clip in a seat-back pocket aboard an American Airlines jet at JFK Airport last month. Yes, a clip with 26 bullets, apparently for a Glock, was found, and investigators don't think it's from a sky marshal. Which means someone managed to get a clip aboard a plane when ammunition is not allowed. And we were worried about saline solution and lip balm a couple months ago? more ›

Now, almost 100 hundred people have grown ill after eating E.coli-tainted spinach, with 14 of them becoming "gravely ill." The NY Times reports the company suspected as a possible source, Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Batista, voluntarily recalled its prepackaged spinach and salad bags, "as well as prepackaged spinach it processes for numerous other companies, including Dole." That's a lot of greens - you can see all the brands Natural Selections Foods provides spinach for on this FDA press release. When we checked Natural Selection Food's Earthbound brand (the one the prepackaged veggies come from) website, we saw they noted that spinach was removed from some mixed greens and that the baby spinach bagged salads was not available. more ›

It’s amazing what you can accomplish under pressure. When that critical moment comes, and you bring the goods, rise to the occasion or score the goal it can be the most exhilarating feeling. Watching the World Cup this week, we’ve sat on the edge of our chair, holding our breath, crossing our fingers, cheering our teams on – waiting for that moment. Saturday’s Argentina vs. Mexico match came down to just that – in overtime, with a tie score of 1 to 1, Argentina pulled through – scoring an amazing goal to win the game and move on in the tournament. Pressure is pretty powerful. It’s the reason some of the most exciting points are scored with just a few seconds left on the clock. It forces you to reach a little further down, and go a little further than you knew you could. It’s also the reason that some of the most expressive and concentrated wines are those created when the vine is under extreme pressure. more ›

Here's a fun diagram showing all the subways of the United States, Canada, and Mexico-- in color! New York and Mexico City take the cake for complexity, but San Francisco and Los Angeles seem to be the largest in terms of geographical extent. And look at little San Juan down in the right corner! It's so cute! [Via VisualComplexity, Via Youngna.] more ›

- A case of boysenberry jam and a bucket of Mrs. Knott's chicken from Knott's Berry FarmThis is like a big FU, implying that we have no sun and beachy good times and can't sing have a theme song by Phantom Planet. Gothamist wonders who gets the swimwear and surfboard when NYC will collect the booty - we really don't want to be forced into seeing some Mayor B photo op where he's in swimwear...though wiping out on a surfboard is another matter entirely. And will his staff act from The O.C. script - clearly, Mayor B would be Caleb Nichols. more ›

If your favorite team was 55-31, 7 games ahead in their division and had the best record in baseball, would you be worried? Or would you be enjoying a great season? That is the huge difference between the Yankee fan and the rest of the baseball world. Yankees fans are worried, even though right now they are the best team in baseball. more ›