Photograph by mobius1ski on Flickr Today's anti-Iran rally, which was to have included politicians but then didn't, attracted thousands of protesters, according to the Jerusalem Post. They gathered across from the United Nations, where the United Nations General Assembly is kicking off; Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is speaking there tomorrow. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel said, "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, go home and stay there, we don't want you here. America doesn't want you here. Nobody wants......

Hillary Clinton proved the polls and pundits wrong with her New Hampshire primary win last night and dominated the front pages for a second day in a row. Clinton and John McCain, who won the Republican primary, are being called comeback...adults as New Hampshire polling centers had record turn outs. WNBC's Gabe Pressman writes that their wins are a defeat for pollsters and journalists who had written them off. Clinton chalked up at least......

One of the most famous editorials of all time appeared in September 21, 1897 issue of the The NY Sun. Ten-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon's letter asking, "Is there a Santa Claus" was published with a response by editor Francis Pharcellus Church that now appears reprinted in newspapers year after year (though many times with one paragraph - the third to last - deleted). The video above has veteran newsman Gabe Pressman of WNBC reading the......

A grand jury voted to indict former police commissioner Bernard Kerik on federal corruption charges yesterday and, this morning, he surrender to the FBI in White Plains. The indictment was sealed, but the 16 counts include charges of "conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, tax fraud and making false statements." The U.S. Attorney's office, which sought the indictment, and the FBI are giving a press conference now; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at White Plains Rd. and 219th St. in the Bronx, an animal incident on Rochelle Pl. on Staten Island, and a hate crime at Columbia University in Manhattan. A tour of Jam Master Jay's studio, where the rap impressario was gunned down five years ago. A brief update on the unforgettable case where a man beat the bejeezus out of a grunting and yelping spin class......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 11th Ave. and West 43rd St. in Manhattan, a shooting on 21st St. in Queens, and a shooting on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. Veteran political reporter Gabe Pressman weighs in on the wave of mortgage foreclosures sweeping New York and finds overwhelming evidence of racism. A privately funded program to encourage lower income and minority students to take Advanced Placement courses will pay cash for......

Rep. Charles Rangel spoke with WNBC newsman Gabe Pressman Friday evening for an interview that will air Sunday morning. He told Pressman that New Yorkers shouldn't favor Giuliani just because he's from their area or showed some type of leadership in the hours and days after 9/11/01. Rangel attributes Giuliani's positive impression as simply the product of filling a vacuum created by an absent-for-hours President Bush. While the Congressman appreciates that temporary performance, he hopes......

Well, there's nothing like having a barely-one-hour blackout on a sultry weekday to make you consider stocking up on flashlights, batteries, water, and maybe a Go Bag. Con Ed is still investigating the cause of yesterday's brief power failure to parts of the Bronx and Manhattan; Newsday reported "the blackout was caused when breakers opened at an Astoria substation and cut off power to stations servicing Yorkville and parts of the Bronx." It's unclear......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Davidson Ave. in the Bronx, an armed robbery on Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, and a shooting at 40th Ave. and 10th St. in Queens. Bye-bye, birdie: Ziggy, the 6-week old red-tail hawk who fell and was saved in Midtown last week, was released into Central Park today. “When voters get confused, they vote no.” That almost seems like a sensible tack to take if you......

This morning, WNBC 4 aired Gabe Pressman's News Forum interview with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Pressman asked Kelly about topics such as attacks on the police given the city's record low crime, stop-and-frisks, the recent arrest of a man who intimidated a witness in the Sean Bell case, the NYPD's eal Time Crime Center, terrorism, Rudy Giuliani and police conduct during the Republican National Convention. This is a small bit of Pressman and Kelly's exchange:PRESSMAN:......

We've stolen this post's title from the best email subject line we've gotten this year. According to Rogers Cadenhead's Workbench blog, us that the governor is working to gain control of the eliotspitzer.com and eliotspitzer.org domain names. Who had them? A NJ businessman named Eric Keller, who seemed to use the domains to direct traffic to one of his candy businesses. Keller has a history of cybersquatting, complaints about his business practices and defrauding the......

After pointedly saying that it was easy for drivers to move their cars during the midweek snow-and-ice storm and that parking tickets would stand, Mayor Bloomberg backtracked and said tickets issued for alternate side of the street violations on Thursday and Friday would be forgiven (the message is also there on 311). The Mayor begrudgingly said he was sorry during his radio program yesterday:I’m sorry for the inconvenience to people, but you know you have......

As the debate about the former Parks Commissioner rages on, Venerated newsman Gabe Pressman is cheerleading for Robert Moses. In an article posted on the WNBC web site, Pressman says that he knew the master builder. Here’s his take: Yes, Moses was tough. And he fought hard against those he believed were undermining his vision of what New York should be. But he was far from insensitive to the needs of people. The Yale-educated master......

If you didn't catch it the first billion times Governor Eliot Spitzer mentioned "reform" during the campaign trail, his State of the State address brought it up 31 times according to the NY Times count. His address emphasized a "one New York" that would spend far less, and mentioned things like the lack of progress at Ground Zero, longer school years, a property tax cut, bringing health insurance to the uninsured and lots of......

Governor Pataki came back to New York (he cut a trip in Hungary short!) and announced that a former U.S. Attorney would investigate whether State Comptroller Alan Hevesi should be removed from office. Hello, caution! Pataki called having David Kelley (who previously prosecuted Martha Stewart in the Imclone case and is a registered Democrat) review the matter an "extra step" before possibly asking the Senate to remove Hevesi. From the NY Post: "We want......

This morning, WNBC aired Gabe Pressman's one-on-oe with Jeanine Pirro, which was taped on Friday. Pirro appears very composed and pissed off, and she continues to talk about herself as a "fighter" and how the investigation was leaked and demands its own investigation. If you really hadn't watch Jeanine Pirro before now, you would now know she's a smooth operator - very genial and competent, when properly prepared (versus getting flummoxed during a speech......

- Hmm, the 8PM update from the NY Times says that MTA-Transit Workers Union negotiations have stalled, "increasing the possibility of a strike" - insert the !!!!!!!! And then there's the But a third option in addition to a strike or a settlement has also emerged: several union officials hinted that they might delay a strike until Monday, rather than start one on a Friday, the day before the weekend begins.Insert more !!!!!! Plus the......

Every so often, Gothamist gets passionate emails from Christopher X. Brodeur, who is running for mayor, about Mayor Bloomberg being corrupt. And yesterday, Brodeur sent us something about how a flier that Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields put together had Asians Photoshopped into it. As Gothamist had trouble opening the attachment and needed to rest up for the bid anticlimax that was the 2012 Olympics announcement, we had to wait for today's Post story......

Manhattan User's Guide asked eight New York bloggers what their 10 favorites things are in the city, and the lists give nice notice to what makes the city their beloved home: • The Morning News' Andrew Womack picks St. Helen Cafe in Williamsburg, "Recommended if you like: elk in your artwork. And I do." • Remy Stern of New Yorkish likes "All the fantastic coffee outlets not affiliated with multi-national corporations bent on world dominance"......