The surf was definitely not up on the city's waterways today, but that didn't stop a crowd of surfers from hanging ten in a paddle parade around Manhattan. The surreal sight of men and women standing on boards as they paddled up the East River was brought to you by Sea Paddle NYC, the second annual fundraiser for autism charities and the Surfers' Environmental Alliance. Razor Wire reports the 28 mile odyssey started at South Street Seaport at 9 a.m. this morning and finished in Battery Park City this afternoon. More photos here....

A week after conservative radio host Michael Savage made controversial remarks suggesting a child with autism was really "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out," advertisers and some radio stations are distancing themselves from his show. According to Newsday, "Radio Shack, Aflac and Sears say that their advertisements should not have appeared during Savage's show and will not for the foreseeable future," while Anheuser-Busch explained "it has never advertised on Savage's......

Last week conservative radio host Michael Savage blathered on air about every child with autism being “a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out,” and today is still standing by his remarks, which were plentiful and included calling the disease “a fraud and a racket.” The NY Times noted that Savage's audience "ranks in size behind only those of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity," and you can bet all of those listeners--and......

New York University's Child Study Center is pulling the plug on a controversial ad campaign publicizing childhood mental health problems that was considered stigmatizing. The campaign was meant to raise awareness of conditions like Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Asperger's Syndrome, autism, depression, and bulimia. Critics strongly objected to the style of the campaign, however, which took the form of realistic looking ransom notes addressed to parents that stressed kids with these conditions would be doomed......