Police are on the hunt for a reportedly friendly robber who has chatted up at least two victims in lower Manhattan before choking and robbing them. Does anyone know the whereabouts of the Scranton Strangler? more ›

The CQ Press's annual study of U.S. crime statistics shows that Camden, NJ is no longer the most dangerous city in the country—it's just the second most dangerous city. St. Louis, MO, with 2,070.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents was #1 (the national average is 429.4). Other cities in the top five are Michigan's Detroit and Flint and Oakland, CA. The safest city? Colonie, NY. NYC is #256 while Newark, NJ is #29. Of course, the FBI and other agencies have denounced the study's methodology. more ›

Rudolph Giuliani's apparent health scare that caused his campaign jet to turn around and land back in St. Louis, Missouri was allegedly not as serious as it was made out to be. The Presidential candidate and former Mayor of New York is begging ignorance as to why his staff members said he had flu-like symptoms, when he says he just had a bad headache. Someone told the press that Giuliani blacked out at some point, which he denies ever happened.

“You’re going to have to ask them,” he said, when asked about their statement. “I’m telling you what actually happened. I had a very, very bad headache. It got worse on the plane. I then got checked out. Went through a lot of tests. All the tests came back 100 percent normal. That’s the bottom line.”

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized for flu-like symptoms at a St. Louis hospital last night. But it turns out he doesn't have the flu. more ›

Oops! WNBC's Mistake Causes Problems for St. Louis TV Station more ›

The tree is lit, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is another tradition back for a 75th season. The well-seasoned Rockettes steal the show from Santa every year, and have quite a history -- they were originally called The Roxyettes and originated in...Missouri:The group was started by Russell Markert in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri as the "Missouri Rockets". In 1927, Samuel Roxy Rothafel discovered them and brought them to New York City. They... more ›

Mark this in your calendars: NYC traffic will be bananas between April 15 and April 20, when Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to New York City. Like many tourists to the Big Apple, the pope will visit Ground Zero - the Vatican says that he wants to show "solidarity with those who have died, with their families and with all those who wish an end of violence and in the search of peace."... more ›

The NYPD is investigating six police officers suspected of trying to improperly obtain steroids. According to WNBC, the NYPD and State Health department have been raiding Brooklyn pharmacies - and the NYPD's Internal Affairs has now turned an eye on its own. more ›

This past week, the big wedding wasn't even real! According to the many paparazzi photographs of the Sex & the City movie filming, it seems that Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw is finally stepping down the aisle. With, we assume, Mr. Big. The wedding between the fictional sex columnist-turned-author and the rich business guy (it's never been totally clear what Big does, except smirk and show up at the right and wrong times) took place at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The bride wore Vivienne Westwood, her bridesmaids did not wear matching bridesmaid gowns. We'll know more when the movie comes out next year. more ›

How this team breaks out of these doldrums is hard to imagine. The Mets only got one runner to second base in Thursday’s loss and had only four base runners in the game. The offense hasn’t scored in fourteen innings and you already know about the bullpen. The good news, if there is any, is that Florida is coming to town this weekend. The Mets took three-of-four from them on the road last weekend, so they know how to beat the Marlins and now they have to. more ›

(directed by Joe Swanberg) more ›

Customizing your wedding is standard these days, and wedding planning businesses aren't the only ones who are benefiting. There's been a boom in people applying online to be ordained to officiate friends' and families' weddings. But there's an unexpected catch: Sometimes those Universal Life Church ordinations aren't legal in the county or state where the wedding is being performed! more ›

There's nothing like an endorsement from Gray's Papaya to show that NYC generally likes Mike. But it seems that to hinge upon his subway straphanger credentials - will the hot dog eatery reconsider, given that he is chauffeured to a subway station 22 blocks away (when there's one four blocks away), only likes to take the express and that his spokesman thinks people who like riding the subway need a shrink (hello, universal health care with great mental health benefits for NYers)? more ›

Willie Randolph shouldn't panic quite yet. His team has run into talented teams when it's not playing its best. Too bad the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Dodgers represent just the second of six playoff teams the Mets play in successive series. A road set against the Yankees plus a homestand against Minnesota, Oakland and St. Louis await. The string ends when the Mets visit Philadelphia, the club responsible for starting this New York slide. more ›

Over the weekend, WNBC 4 launched an updated version of the classic "We're 4 New York" station image campaign. The original (see it here) first rolled out in 1992 when a new general manager, Bill Bolster came from St. Louis came in to revitalize the station. At the time, some dismissed it as a promotional campaign that made New York look like it was a generic Midwestern place. It actuality, it was filled with high production values from the photography to the music composed by Edd Kalehoff. The campaign was also briefly revived in 2002 after during the Olympics. more ›

For some inexplicable reason, the NHL has scheduled all three local clubs to start their playoff chase tonight and to overlap with each other most nights. Because of that, fans of the various teams should get to know this website to figure out where they can watch the games. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week:
more ›

But, in classic fashion, the Knicks didn’t show up. Eddy Curry continued his regression (19.6 ppg pre All-Star game/16.9 after including 15.4 in March) scoring only eight points and Marbury went 6-22 from the field. more ›

more ›

If you happened to miss it this week, you should take a good look at Peter Meehan's exploration of New York barbecue. Aside from giving us enough 'cue porn to make meat lovers swoon and vegetarians squirm, Meehan provides a thorough overview of the barbecue landscape, including spots in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Wingdale, just a short ways upstate (sorry, Staten Island). more ›

In the imbroglio known as Mid-Year School Bus Re-Routing Hell, Mayor Bloomberg has recently half-heartedly apologized to inconveniencing thousands of children and parents (let's not even touch educators who have to deal with students who are arriving 45 minutes late), claiming the silver lining is savings for the Department of Education. more ›

school begins seems to have settled down. The Department of Education apologized for the umpteenth time and even Mayor Bloomberg admitted that the changes didn't go very well (he did emphasize the savings were worth it). Of course, it's questionable how much the DOE will save after this mess. more ›

When the dust cleared after the elections on Tuesday, the Democrats were the last party standing. Even in a blue-leaning state like New York, Democrats had to play hard in their quest to dominate the old boys' club known as the Republican party. As Dems claimed victory in every state race, Republicans retreated and joined the ranks of some other New York losers. more ›

Don't let the calm demeanor of this morning's weather fool you. The storm that rained out a couple of World Series games in St. Louis is paying us a visit tonight and it has a nasty temperament. In the calm before the storm we should have a chilly, sunny day. The temperature should top out around 50 degrees, ten degrees below normal. It won't cool off much this evening as the wind shifts and clouds and showers arrive. more ›

Sigh, the Mets cleaned out their lockers at Shea yesterday. We imagine that the hurt has just set in for Mets fans after last night's disappointing end to the season. (Our head is still spinning. ) Everyone is talking about the lack of offensive power, and it's so true. But since there will be many recriminations, let's savor Endy Chavez's beautiful catch for now with this clip. more ›

With his teammates and fans crossing their fingers, John Maine held the Cardinals scoreless over 5 1/3 innings, and the Mets bats scratched their way to a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Wednesday. The win forces a deciding seventh game in the National League Championship Series on Thursday. more ›

All those wins during that memorable cruise-control summer mean nothing now. The Mets can become the latest regular-season juggernaut to fall in the postseason with only one more defeat. After a disheartening 4-2 loss to St. Louis on Tuesday in which they couldn't solve Jeff Weaver or the Cardinals bullpen, the Mets head home needing both games to win the series. To make matters worse, their Game 6 starter is the sometimes-shaky John Maine, and their Game 7 pitcher is To Be Determined. more ›

Mother Nature didn't agree with the scheduled off-days in this year's National League Championship Series. Monday's rainout was the second of the series, and the Mets will stay in St. Louis to play Game 5 against the Cardinals today instead of being back in New York. The more recent postponement removes the imbalance the first created -- the starting pitchers will be working on normal rest instead of three days' worth. Early speculation that Chris Carpenter would be moved up to start today's game was ruled out by Tony La Russa. more ›