• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a foot pursuit on West 50th St. and Broadway in Manhattan, a missing person on West 110th St. in Manhattan, and a stabbing on Grove St. and Seneca Ave. in Queens.
• The 57-year-old man shot to death by a federal agent during a grenade sting this week was a career criminal. Authorities believe the proposed sale of what turned out to be an inert grenade was probably just an attempt to scam a gullible buyer.
• On the heels of his attempt to curb NYC's pigeon population, Councilman James Oddo now wants to reduce the population of wild turkeys on Staten Island, which he claims are a nuisance to the town of Ocean Breeze.
• Dick Wilson, the actor who played the ("Don't Squeeze the") Charmin salesman Mr. Whipple, died this week.
• A firefighter featured in the 2005 Calendar of Heroes was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges yesterday.
• Contrary to popular opinion, it isn't the tryptophan in turkey that makes people tired after Thanksgiving dinner. The likely culprit is a combination of eating too much, alcohol, and a long day.
• Approximately 1,000 doctors at Columbia University are now at risk for identity theft after a healthcare provider published their social security numbers online.
• BoingBoing brings us the holiday krunk video "Turkey Wrap."

Monitoring the city's job postings can pay off! Luckily, Streetsblog has been doing just that and pieces together how the city is serious about developing "comprehensive transportation and land use strategy for New York City."

The first signal came at the beginning of Mayor Bloomberg's second term when DOT Commissioner Iris Weinhall was knocked one rung down the Administration's org chart. She is now reporting directly to Doctoroff. more ›

Blow up a long balloon half-way. If you leave the balloon alone the air pressure is the same everywhere within. Squeeze one end of the balloon and the air pressure will decrease on the squeezed end and increase on the unsqueezed end. A process analogous to squeezing and releasing a balloon occurs in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic and our weather is greatly influenced by whether the atmosphere is being squeezed or not squeezed (the atmosphere isn't literally being squeezed but Gothamist likes to think of it in that way). more ›

Monday: you're tired, you slept in too late, you were late for work (well, those things apply to us today)... you just know it's going to be an uphill battle all week. Turn that frown upside down, people! Because tonight local comedian Eugene Mirman celebrates the release of his new two-disc comedy CD/DVD, . more ›

Scott Lapatine, Stereogum.com more ›

AdAge was at the event and reported (registration required, but it's free):

Many icons were no-shows, including Ronald McDonald and the Jolly Green Giant. A rumor quickly circulated that the Energizer Bunny did not make an appearance because the marketer felt that it would be "off-message" for the drum-thumping rabbit to be seen in public being "wanded" at City Hall's security checkpoint.

Acrobats, clowns, fire-breathers, magicians, stilt-walkers and a ringmaster are just a few of the characters you'll encounter on Circus Day at Coney Island this Saturday, August 8. Circus Day includes tons of live music, magic shows, acrobatic feats, circus art, face painting... you name it! more ›