Photograph of damaged door by dhfdz on Flickr Around 3:45 a.m., a device exploded outside the military recruiting center in Times Square. No one was injured, but a glass entryway was shattered. The streets around Times Square were shut down (now traffic can pass through) and subway service passed through the Times Square station without stopping (it's back to normal now), as authorities investigated the scene. WNBC reports police were searching for a "suspect......

Photograph of Mayor Bloomberg speaking at the State of the City address by Mary Altaffer/AP Mayor Bloomberg sounded some broad themes in his seventh State of the City address. Held at the new ice skating rink at Flushing-Meadows Corona Park in Queens, his speech outlined initiatives the city and various city agencies will undertake (digital 911 so you can send the NYPD photos from cell phones by this summer! reforming the Board of Elections!......

For just 25 cents, you finally can experience the steel-and-glass splendor of the city's first new public toilet. City officials gathered in Madison Square Park for the ceremonial first flush of the Automatic Public Toilet (APT). Almost a year after the location was announced and almost 2 years after the toilets were first previewed, Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeannette Sadik-Khan said she was "flushed with excitement in this new era...New Yorkers had their fingers......

Stores were packed with post-Christmas shoppers, as retailers marked down their products in hopes of boosting holidays sales. So far, holiday period sales are up 3.6%, which is the "lower end" of expectations according to MasterCard Advisors. The question is, will marking down a part of $1,380 shoes to $150 or $1,500 Gucci purses to $750 at Saks Fifth Avenue help? Well, given that people were waiting for doors to open and "not walking......

He’s made his list, he’s checked it twice and now we are going to find out who has been naughty and not nice. Former Senator George Mitchell's report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball comes out at 2pm today. And besides providing us with the most complete look at the use of performance-enhancing drugs to date, the Mitchell Report will also name names. While it is just speculation at this point,......

The New York Rangers have hit a speed bump, coming out flat in two-straight games, getting some bad goaltending and losing badly at home. Thursday night’s 6-2 loss was even more disappointing than Tuesday’s because the Rangers rallied in this game and then fell apart. Down 2-0 in the first the Rangers came back with two goals off of the power play to even things up heading into the second. But, Toronto took the......

The Broadway stagehands strike may not be a hit with audiences, but it’s settling in for a long run anyway. Day eleven of the strike is dominated by the dashed hopes of children who’d been promised a visit to Whoville. Yesterday James Sanna, a producer of “The Grinch”, announced that because the show had a separate contract with the stagehands’ union, they’d reached an agreement that would let the kid-friendly musical continue its brief......

Isn't the Internet wonderful? It lets baseball fans vote in an All-Star game player and now it lets people around the world decide what to do with a historic ball. After purchasing the ball that Barry Bonds hit to break baseball's all-time home run record, fashion designer Marc Ecko has decided to give the public a vote on what to do with the ball. On the website Vote756.com, Ecko gives voters three choices, "Bestow......

Brooke Astor's funeral was held yesterday afternoon in midtown Manhattan, at Saint Thomas Church on 5th Ave. and 53rd St. The lineage and personal generosity of Mrs. Astor and the array of famous attendees at her funeral made it a widely covered news event. The New York Times reported that officiants at the funeral requested that all cell phones be turned off at the beginning of the service, although a Gawker correspondent pointed out......

On August 9, 1997, a 30-year-old Haitian immigrant taken into police custody (and eventually found innocent) was beaten and sodomized with a broken broomstick by police officers at the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn. Today, Abner Louima is back in New York and is attending an event at the Reverend Al Sharpton's The National Action Network tonight. From the National Action Network:ABNER LOUIMA AND REV. AL SHARPTON, ALONG WITH OTHER VICTIMS OF POLICE BRUTALITY, TO......

Yay! For only the fourth time since it was finished in 1917, the fountain in the Central Park's Reservoir is flowing again. The reservoir, officially named the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in 1994, served as the backdrop for Mayor Bloomberg as he announced that city water supply won't require filtering for at least 10 more years. Yesterday, the EPA granted the city a 10-year waiver on a filtering the water from its Catskill and......

Yesterday, two cars full of gasoline and nails were found near London's Picadilly Circus. The car bombs were defused, and British authorities determined that the two vehicles were linked, which is apparently an al Qaeda tactic. Had the bombs gone off, the Post reports "security experts said that if the car bombs found yesterday had been ignited, they would have created enormous fireballs, followed by shock waves forming a killing zone at least 400......

Former Brooklyn political boss Clarence Norman Jr. and former Justice Gerald Garson appeared separately in a Brooklyn courtroom yesterday, but both left in handcuffs and headed off to prison after sentencing on corruption charges. Actually, Garson received a stay on his imprisonment while he appeals his conviction. The two disgraced public officials were sentenced in successive hearings, but both cases are related and part of the Brooklyn DA's office five year investigation into governmental......

Even though a Sunni insurgent group claimed yesterday that two captured U.S. soldiers had been killed, one of the soldiers' mothers hoping that her son is still alive. Maria Rosario Duran spoke to reporters outside her Corona, Queens home. She said, "I can't even imagine that he's not going to return alive, that I will never see him again." The insurgents, who have been linked to Al Qaeda, allegedly captured Duran's son, Specialist Alex Jimenez,......

Yesterday's Second Avenue Subway groundbreaking was notable for a few things: First of all, as we all know by now, it's was the fourth groundbreaking - three occurred in the 1970s, so yesterday's event was an introduction to the pomp and pageantry of subway groundbreakings for many of us. Second, it was pouring. When it rains at weddings, some people say that's lucky (though we suspect it's just to make the couple feel better).......

Ever since The Lab, the gallery at the Roger Smith Hotel, canceled an exhibit of a 6-foot, nude crucified Jesus carved out of chocolate after much furor, the question is now: When will My Sweet Lord (the name of the 200-pound sculpture) rise again? Chocolate Christ's creator - heh! - Cosimo Cavallaro says that he's received many offers to display his sculpture: "I've got thousands of e-mails of help and donations, people who want to......

A six-foot tall chocolate sculpture of Jesus which will be displayed at a Midtown hotel next week is stirring up controversy. Catholics are calling Cosimo Cavallaro's "My Sweet Lord" an "all-out war on Christianity." The sculpture is supposed to be installed in a window at the Roger Smith Hotel's gallery, The Lab, on East 47th Street and Lexington Avenue. Cavallaro claims that the Easter-timing was a coincidence, and besides, this isn't his first chocolate......

At 7AM, the three detectives indicted in the shooting of Sean Bell last November turned themselves. WNBC reports that Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper will be fingerprinted and processed before their arraignment this afternoon. The grand jury came to a decision last Friday, but said it would wait until today to make the official announcement. However, news of the indictments got out when defense lawyers for the cops involved found out whether their......

Today, many businesses are closed in honor of President's Day. Wall Street is closed, as are banks, government offices and schools. There's no regular garbage pickup, but the Department of Sanitation will be picking up garbage that has been stranded due to last week's storm. Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended, and mass transit is on the weekend schedule - sorry, 7 train riders. President's Day is the day that celebrates......

Purebred dogs from across the country are rocking out at Madison Square Garden for the Westminster Kennel Club's 131 Westminster Dog Show. Over 2,600 dogs are competing today and tomorrow for Best in Breed and Best in Show prizes. Many dogs and their owners stay at the Hotel Pennsylvania across the street from MSG, where dogs meet each other and their owners sniff out the competition. You can see the results of today's winners......

More details have emerged about why the police raided the Hells Angels Headquarters on East 3rd Street yesterday. It turns out that 52 year old Roberta Shalaby was beaten into a coma when, as the Daily News puts it, she "tried to push her way into the Hells Angels clubhouse" Sunday night. Shalaby had gotten into an argument with a female Hells Angel biker at The Edge, and then followed them to their headquarters.......

The Mayor unveiled his Fiscal Year 2008 Preliminary Budget and was very upbeat, if cautious. Mayor Bloomberg said of the $57.1 billion budget:“Because of our strong economy, tax revenues are running higher than expected this year. That’s good budgetary news, including $1 billion in tax cuts for the people of New York City. If conditions permit, we’ll propose extending that tax cut in the future. But with slower job growth and other indications of economic......

Yesterday, Senator Hillary Clinton visited Ground Zero and asked for $1.9 billion in funding to address September 11-related illnesses. Various people afflicted with issues after working at the World Trade Center site were also on hand as Clinton said, "This is a crisis, and we need for the President to respond. We want the President and members of Congress to see the faces of those who have suffered because of our negligence." Yes, better......

At the podium with his highest approval ratings ever, Mayor Mike gave his annual State of the City address and outlined an agenda that will dictate his last three years in office and most likely, his legacy. Some of these items include passing $1 billion in tax cuts (including $750 million in property tax and eliminating sales tax on clothing and shoes), improving the school system, pursuing anti-gun laws, and continuing development projects across......

In the wake of President Bush's Wednesday night address to the country, when he announced that he will send thousands of more soldiers to Iraq, hundreds of people protested the plan. They convened at the tiny island in the middle of Times Square in front of the U.S. Armed Forces recruiting station, with signs like "Stop the funding, stop the war" and "When government lies, Democracy dies" with drivers passing by honking their horns.......

Earlier today, a horse drawn carriage carrying the casket of James Brown traveled through Harlem to the Apollo Theater, where fans had been lining up since last night to pay their respects to the Godfather of Soul. People had followed in the street, singing "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud." The casket was carried into the Apollo for his body to lie in repose between 1PM and 8PM. (That's the Reverend......

-Wizards 113 Knicks 102: Well, Isiah and the Knicks didn’t take long to wipe out any good feelings over their last game. Facing a pathetic Washington team, New York gave a lackluster effort again in the loss. Eddy Curry had another good game, 22 points and 11 rebounds, but he didn’t have much support. Marbury and Francis combined for 26 points on 33% shooting with only seven assists. Gilbert Arenas ripped the Knicks for......

Last night, the family and friends of Sean Bell were joined by hundreds for Bell's funeral in Queens. Bell was killed during a chaotic confrontation with police officers last weekend. The Reverend Al Sharpton spoke during the service. From the Daily News:"We must give Sean a legacy, a legacy of justice, a legacy of fairness, not a legacy against police. We don't hate cops. We don't hate race. We hate wrong. We dislike wickedness......

By now most Giants fans have heard of Michael Strahan's controversial comments this week. The injured defensive lineman first went after receiver Plaxico Burress on WFAN for lackluster effort, and Wednesday he criticized ESPN reporter Kelly Naqi and accusing her of taking an overly negative slant on the team. Those comments were naturally replayed countless times by the sports network. Part of this story is being blown out of proportion, just like nearly everything......

The NYPD and FBI shut down a $3.3 billion Internet gambling ring, arresting 27 people and seizing $7 million in cash and assets worth $500 million, including four Manhattan condos. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly called shutting down website Playwithal.com "the largest illegal gambling operation this department has ever encountered." Here's how it worked, according to the Daily News:Traditional bookies would give bettors a secret code to use the Internet gambling site, authorities said. Bets......