An explosion in a Long Island man's basement damaged sheet rock and spread broken glass while shredding a soft cooler Saturday evening, causing Long Island emergency personnel to respond in force. The bomb scare was the result of a show-and-tell gone awry. Francisco Lopes is a researcher at Stony Brook University, who said that he brought home some pieces of dry ice in a sealed glass jar to show his daughter. He left the container......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 1st Ave. in Manhattan, a possible abduction at 183rd St. and Webster Ave. in the Bronx, and a homicide on Cedarcroft Rd. and Home St. in Queens. A student at Stony Brook University was arrested for falsely reporting to police that he had been robbed at knife point on the Suffolk County school's campus. The newborn found by skateboarding teens on a Queens dumpster has......

The wedding season is in full swing: Second week in a row where there are over 30 weddings in the NY Times Weddings & Celebrations section. Here we go: Total Number of Weddings: 32 (including Vows column) Total Number of Same-Sex Weddings: 2 Youngest Bride: 24 Oldest Bride: 47 Youngest Groom: 24 Oldest Groom: 62 Biggest Age Difference: 17 years Number of Couples Where Bride and Groom Are the Same Age: 2 (24, 38) Number......

So you've made it through another Valentines Day -- whether you shared a romantic evening with your sweetie-pie or drank your sorrows away with some spicy shiraz, it's time to move on, as there are some food and wine events this week that need your attention: February 15: The Soul of a Red Wine, 6:30–8:00 p.m. Peggy Lauber of Bedell Cellars and Corey Creek Vineyards will lead a tasting and discussion of the basics of......

So, you want to be a meteorologist? The New York City/Long Island Chapter of the American Meteorological Society is having a panel discussion on career opportunities in meteorology and atmospheric science next Thursday. The meeting will be held at the SUNY-Stony Brook. Speakers include meteorologists from the private sector, the National Weather Service, TV, academia and the Air Force. Content with reading the forecast instead of making a forecast? Gothamist will try to keep you......

Charles B. Wang, founder of Computer Associates, will have a student center dedicated to teaching SUNY Stony Brook students about Asian culture opening this spring. The building is designed by P.H. Tuan (who happens to a great-uncle by marriage), and the abstracted pagoda, as pictured above, seems more lovely as a form, more so than the building as a whole, but the indoor pool is cool. Learn more about the Charles B. Wang Center......