Another slice of Park Slope life from Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. Upon leaving a showing of Definitely, Maybe at the Park Slope movie theater, the Pavilion, OTBKB and fellow moviegoers spied a white teenaged girl "sitting on a bench [in the second floor concession area] icing an injury on her face just below her right eye." more ›

We already covered the Super Bowl half time show alternatives, but what if you're not a football fan or your team didn’t make it? What if you don’t want to sit through a football game to watch commercials or if you hate Joe Buck and Troy Aikman? Well, don’t worry, there are some television alternatives for you if you don’t want to watch either the game or the countless hours of pre-game shows. more ›

Millions of people flocked to Eastern Parkway to celebrate the West Indian American Day Parade yesterday. This was the 40th year of the parade, which had floats, dancers, and bands interacting with the crowds. Many of the spectators wore or waved flags of native countries and enjoying delicious food. more ›

Senator Larry Craig, whose guilty plea to a disorderly conduct misdemeanor at a Minneapolis-St. Paul airport bathroom effectively tanked his political career, resigned this morning. Craig had been arrested after soliciting an undercover police officer for sex (read a transcript of his arrest interview here and listen to the interview here) earlier this summer. Today he said:

"What is best for Idaho has always been the focus of my efforts and it is no different today. To Idahoans I represent, to my staff, my Senate colleagues but most importantly to my wife and my family, I apologize for what I have caused. I am deeply sorry. more ›

Last night, a woman was killed outside her Staten Island home. The victim, in her 40s, lived at 29 Newark Avenue in the Port Richmond section and was shot multiple times in her back. Her 26-year-old son was also shot in the stomach, and police believe he was trying to protect his mother. more ›

EVENT: Join a slew of artists, bid on their work and enjoy complimentary cocktails tonight at a benefit for the Seed Project. Artwork from Swoon, Lisa Dahl, Todd Deluca, Troy Dugas, Lee Everett, Midori Harima & Annysa Ng, Fumiko Toda, Sarah Trigg and a whole bunch more will be auctioned. The Seed Project asks that you buy basil seeds and after planting them: more ›

• Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4: The Yankees used some home runs and a bloop single to beat Toronto. Alex Rodriguez hit his 32nd home run of the season and career home run number 496, but it was Andy Phillips who delivered the go-ahead runs. With two outs in the 6th inning, Phillips broke a tie game with bloop single to center, scoring Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano. The two teams combined for six home runs (Hideki Matsui, Cano, and Rodriguez for the Yankees, Troy Glaus x 2 and Alex Rios for the Jays) to score the first eight runs of the game. Yankees' starter Kei Igawa needed 115 pitches to get through 5 innings in his 4th start back in the Majors. It's the 7th win in 9 games for the Yankees.
• Padres 5, Mets 1: The Mets started a 7-game Southern California road trip with a loss to an overweight 40 year-old that pitches surprisingly well for his size and age. David Wells held the Mets to only one run in 6 innings. While the Mets only trailed by one run for most of the game, they seemed flat after their trip west, making two errors in the loss. Carlos Beltran continued to slump, going 0-4 in the game, making him 1-16 since the All-Star break. On the positive side, Jorge Sosa pitched well in his first start after returning from the DL. Things don't get any better for the Mets Tuesday when Jake Peavy takes the mound for the Padres.
• SI Yankees 6, Lake Monsters 5: The scary Lake Monsters scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th to tie the game at 5, but the Yankees scored in the bottom of the inning to slay the beast.

An afternoon spree of shootings and carjackings by one man was ended yesterday by police, who fatally shot the suspect in a gun battle where 130+ shots were fired. A 23-year-old named Victor Gordon, with ten arrests already listed on his rap sheet, left his girlfriend's apartment on President St. after an argument. He walked over to St. Paul's Place just south of Prospect Park––perhaps stopping at a few bars along the way––and stole a Dodge Charger at gunpoint just before 2 p.m. He drove it back to the home of his ex-girlfriend, where he began firing shots into her front door. The Daily News reports that Gordon was visibly drunk at this time. As he stumbled down the steps from her building, he dropped his gun and then picked it up and brandished it at a group of children playing nearby. more ›

Yesterday was the 38th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March, and thousands of people participated - from shimmying and showing off their outrageous costumes to waving gay pride flags and hollering their support. The grand marshals of the parade were religious leaders Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and Reverend Dr. Troy Perry; Kleinbaum said, "We stand for a progressive religious voice. Those who use religion to advocate an anti-gay agenda I believe are blaspheming God’s name.” more ›

In two separate shooting incidents in Harlem and Staten Island, the teenagers were the victims. In Staten Island's Stapleton section, a 17-year-old Wayne Kennedy was fatally shot at an apartment building yesterday morning. According to the police and family members, Kennedy was invited to a party, but it seemed to be a set-up for robbery. Kennedy had been out with his relatives, and his 30-year-old uncle got a call from a woman who invited them over to 28 Park Hill Avenue at 7:30AM Sunday morning. However, when the group got off the elevator at the third floor, a gunman was waiting for them. Kennedy was shot in the head and died at the scene. His mother told the Daily News, "It was over nothing. [It was for] something those people could have gotten if they'd gone to work." more ›

The Giants ended the draft with some solid picks, but some surprising news. The team is moving defensive end Mathias “finish your tackle” Kiwanuka to outside linebacker. It’s an interesting decision, because despite one highly publicized mistake, Kiwanuka had a great year at DE. But, the Giants need linebackers and they only drafted one, so necessity forces their hand. more ›

The drug dealer Kenneth McGriff, who was convicted last year for killing two rivals, was sentenced to life in prison "without the possibility of release" in federal court yesterday. McGriff led a violent drug crew, the Supreme Team, in the 1980s and then became a hip-hop world fixture, working with Murder Inc. While prosecutors were unable to prove that McGriff laundered money through Murder Inc., they did try to convince jurors that he deserved death for hiring a hit man to kill Eric Smith and Troy Singleton in 2001. A few weeks ago, the judge in the case told the federal prosecutors not to pursue the death penalty, saying that in his opinion, "there is no chance in the world there would be a death penalty verdict in this case." more ›

READING: Mira Jacob and Alison Hart host yet another of Pete's Reading Series. Tonight they welcome Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Dissident", which focuses on lives in the aftermath of 1970s radicalism. more ›

The initial reports about an afternoon stabbing at the Union Square Greenmarket were just a small picture of what happened: A group of about 50 teenagers gathered, using bricks, knives, belts planks and more and attacked each other. Seventeen year old Taishawn Bellevue was fatally stabbed in the chest. Seventeen year old Glenwood Nobles was stabbed multiple times in the back and Carlos Tejada was hit on the head with a brick. Tejada was released while Nobles is still at the hospital. more ›

Earlier this year, Kayson Pearson and Troy Hendrix tried to escape, stabbed a defense attorney, and attempted to take a court officer's gun while on trial for the rape and murder of Romona Moore. Even though they were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of Moore a few months later, Pearson and Hendrix are standing trial for their attempted escape. Justice Albert Tomei (yes, uncle of Marisa) testified about the experience. When Pearson pulled out a Plexiglass shiv to stab his lawyer, Hendrix tried to jump across the table to get a court officer's gun. Tomei said, "There was a lot of screaming going on. There were jurors trapped and they were screaming and yelling," and that Hendrix "looked like Superman" while leaping towards the bench. more ›

THEATER: Beastie Boy Adrock (who turns 40 next month!) was but a wee homey when his father, Israel Horovitz, penned his hit play “Line” 32 years ago. That dark comedy is the longest-running play in off-off-Broadway history. It’s about five people stuck on line and their shameless machinations to get to the front. The theater’s website boasts that the play has been performed in 25 countries and split the sides of 100,000 theatergoers. Who will be 100,001? - John Del Signore more ›

Can you think of a better way to spend part of the potentially crazy-humid next couple of days than with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx in sweaty Miami? Michael Mann brings his '80s TV staple into the present with , the newest installment in the ever popular teensploitation genre. more ›

What would the boys at McNamara/Troy do? Thirteen people are suing the head of plastic surgery at Montefiore for various instances of malpractices. The Post reports that one woman says Dr. Berish Strauch "removed so much of her skin he didn't have enough to form a belly button" and that her surgery took twice as long as it should have. And another woman's right nipple wouldn't reattach after a breast-reduction surgery. Strauch's lawyer would only say, "Plastic surgery is a high-profile medical specialty that, by its nature, attracts unwarranted litigation and media attention." Sure, plastic surgery has its pros and cons, but should losing a nipple or belly button just be collateral damage? more ›

While the Yankees couldn’t find a way to fit in Old Timer’s Day or a baseball game due to the rain, the Mets were in Toronto facing the Blue Jays. El Duque simply didn’t have it and the Blue Jays cruised to a 7-4 victory. more ›

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If you wondered how much you should emphasize cats over humans, let's take a look at what Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes did. He honored a bunch of people at his "16TH ANNUAL LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION AWARDS," but the one honoree who got the most attention was Fred the crimefighting cat. Now, Gothamist LOVES Detective Fred, the kitty who helped bring down a phony vet, but compared to the various court officers, police officers, fire marshals - even the actual undercover detective who worked with Fred, Fred just acted like a cat. We supposed DA Hynes knows that when you get a cat involved in anything, more people are interested. more ›

On Sundays Gothamist runs opinion pieces relevant to life in New York and reviews of recent books and performances. The judgments expressed below are entirely those of the author. more ›

Holy manatee! David Blaine, everyone's favorite magician punchline (think of him as the 21st century Doug Henning), will live in an aquarium for a week outside of Lincoln Center. According to the AP:

The "human aquarium" in which Blaine will float is a specially built 8-foot acrylic sphere. He will receive liquid nutrition through a tube and the water will be kept at a balanced temperature to help keep his core temperature close to 98.6 degrees F. more ›

The tragic story of Romona Moore finally saw some justice yesterday as the two men who kidnapped, raped, tortured, sodomized and eventually killed the 21-year-old Hunter College student were both found guilty. Troy Hendrix, 22, and Kayson Pearson, 24, now face maximum penalities of life in prison without parole. more ›

The trial of Romona Moore's accused murderers took a strange turn when one of the defendants, Kayson Pearson, testified. Since Pearson, along with co-defendent, Troy Hendrix, tried to stab a defense lawyer with a knife and take on other court officers during their first trial (it ended in mistrial), Pearson had to be shackled while on the witness stand, wearing black foam mittens. He was also ordered not to make any outbursts and not to show the jury his cuffs by the judge, who said that if Pearson attempted to cause a mistrial again, it wouldn't happen. Pearson denied that he killed Moore and instead claimed he hugged her good-bye, saying that his statement to the police about dumping Moore's body was the product of "creativity." Of course, a former friend of Pearson and Hendrix testified earlier that he saw Moore, a 23 year old Hunter College student, chained and beaten up in Pearson's basement. more ›

One of the most depraved crimes in recent memory is being relived at a murder trial in Brooklyn. Raymondo Jack, witness for the Brooklyn DA, testified to seeing Hunter College student Romona Moore tortured and chained in a Brooklyn basement in 2003. Jack had been visiting his friends Troy Hendrix and Kayson Pearson when they showed him Moore. Hendrix and Pearson had kidnapped the 23 year old as she was walking to a Burger King in East Flatbush, and subjected her to beatings, cuttings, cigarette burns and rape. Though Jack questioned the pair why they did this (and remembering they had smirks on their faces), Jack never told the police, simply leaving the apartment to go to a baby shower. Jack did tell his fiancee and fiancee's uncle, and suspects that the uncle called police, who only found Moore dead, dumped near a an ice cream truck. In a defense tactic, Pearson's lawyer tried to paint Jack as a criminal for not reporting the crime, "Did you understand that what you say you saw at that time was inhuman?" more ›

http://www.profootballhof.com/hall/story.jsp?story_id=1953">anncounced its 2006 class, which finally included New York Giants linebacker Harry Carson. Carson spent all 13 seasons of his NFL career, from 1976-1988, with the Giants and was named to 9 Pro Bowl teams including 7 straight from 1982-1988. It was the Carson's 12th year of eligibility and 7th time as a finalist for the Hall of Fame. With the yearly rejections becoming a "burden" for Carson, 52, wrote a letter to the Hall in 2004 requesting that his name be removed from consideration and has said that he would not go to Canton if voted in. He has since reconsidered. When the Hall of Fame called to notify Carson of his election, he was on a plane to Hawaii and he first found out that he was elected from a fan who congratulated him at the airport. Carson thought it was a joke. more ›

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The trial of Kayson Pearson and Troy Hendrix, accused of torturing a woman over days and then murdering her, got crazy yesterday when Pearson stabbed his attorney as Hendrix tried to grab a gun from a court officer. Pearson used a shiv to stab Mitchell Dinnerstein in the chin when he was being taken out of the court, and the Daily News says that was the diversion for Hendrix to jump across the table and go for Sgt. James Gorra's gun. The murder victim's mother, Elle Carmichael, had testified earlier and reportedly said, "No! No! No! They're animals. They should have been killed! Why didn't the police shoot them?" Her daughter, Ramona Moore, was a student at Hunter and had been missing for weeks; Moore's body was found, disfigured from being "bashed and mangled by a hammer, saw, barbell and knife." more ›