The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

Croydon Council want businesses to rent out their toilets to the public and display signs to alert passers-by that they can relieve themselves in those very spots. The badness of this idea starts in the very notion of 'renting' toilets - after the Joe Orton proposal in Islington, such tomfoolery around public conveniences should surely have been nipped in the bud but dammit, bizarre and badly thought out plans for the public's full bladder......

Today, they came from the stars, i saw them are recording an XFM session and on 9 November, will be transmitting a BBC 6music Marc Riley session. We suggest you tune in. Some press people tried to describe them here and, mashed together in a tag cloud, they probably do quite a good composite job. We leave it for you to decide if they are visionary pop genii from another inspired planet or truly......

Unlocked safe, stack of explosives...not a scene from a Guy Ritchie heist movie, but Golders Green Tube station. It was revealed yesterday that rail union staff discovered maintenance detonators (along with what was thought to be petrol) in an open, unattended safe at the station. The explosives are normally used to alert track workers to oncoming trains during night work. After this security embarrassment, they're being used to illustrate "a worrying slip in safety standards......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 12. History Repeating Itself? Gordon Brown is clearly still enjoying a prolonged honeymoon period. It must be so. Under ordinary circumstances it would be no surprise to see him suffer for being a leading member of a government that has overseen the second outbreak in 6 years of the debilitating Foot and Mouth disease. Instead......

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and today is an exciting day for some four-legged furry ones with extra special wet noses and jolly brave handlers. Labradors Vinnie and Billy, and Jake, a spaniel, have got gongs of the highest order; the animals' George Cross and the PDSA gold medal in recognition of their crucial and life-saving work checking access was safe for emergency services preparing to attend the sites of the July......

If you've been stuck in traffic or severely delayed for work coming in from West London, that's because of a controlled explosion of a suspect package at Hammersmith. At the time of writing, the situation is now concluded: it was not a dangerous package but obviously, London is on high alert and this kind of action is what we need to expect after last Friday's variety of bomb scares. Traffic in and out of the......

There are a million things to do in London this week, but if you fancy a night in, here are a few things to keep you occupied. On TV, Londonist likes: Monday, 2 July - Friday, 6 July Wimbledon Today (BBC2, 20:00-21:00) Chances are, your workplace won’t let you watch Wimbledon during the day, so here’s your chance to catch up all week. Watch and see how many ways they can come up with......

London went back to work this morning in a mood universally described as ‘jittery’. We must be vigilant, say the authorities, for the alert status remains ‘Critical’, and further attacks are deemed likely. The authorities are certainly being vigilant. Heathrow’s Terminal 3 was closed for a time yesterday, on the discovery of a suspect package. And in St Albans, a dodgily parked white Ford Transit was cordoned off after its owner could not be......

There's a late addition to our ticket alert this week with the news that The White Stripes will be playing a special one off show in South East London next week. With their new single "Icky Thump" about to hit the charts on Sunday, the pair will be playing the old-time Rivoli Ballroom in Lewisham on Tuesday. We've got to be honest, the Rivioli is a new one on us but it's an old......

Cops shoot to kill in Ealing. Woman's body closes Barkingside Station. The City gets a terror alert system. A driver is knocked downr by his own van. It's fricking scary out there. Image courtesy of Orhan via the Londonist flickr group.......

Forget locking up your daughters – lock up your bikes! New statistics indicate that bike theft is up 10% in England, bringing the average to one bike stolen every 71 seconds. Though the thieves are not quite up to snuff, stealing something every 60 seconds like Nicolas Cage with his muscle cars, it’s still a pretty impressive number. The areas of the capital in which you are most likely to be parted from your......

Tessa Jowell, like any avid gambler, feverishly hedged her bets with the House of Lords on Wednesday in efforts to push through her plans for a series of ‘supercasinos’ in Britain. Peers voted 123-120 against the measure that evening, despite Jowell’s last-ditch attempts at swaying on-the-fence Lords in her favour. One wonders what sort of things Jowell was promising the Lords she was trying to influence -- extra chips at the blackjack tables? A......

Last night/early this morning was the official launch of the Playstation 3 and eager gamers set off on a midnight excursion to try and beat the crowds. This in itself has been the subject of much hand wringing over the worry that muggers would descend on console geeks and nick either their large wads of cash (a PS3 will set you back over £400) or the thing itself. Being a dab hand on GTA......

Well this was kind of inevitable: A drama about a Brazilian man killed by police in London is being filmed... Mango Films will focus on events before the death of Jean Charles de Menezes - mistaken for a suicide bomber - and the impact on London's Brazilian community. Hmmm. For every great movie like United 93 there seems to be a complete mess like World Trade Center so it's a worry as to how......

Dear Terrorists, Your days are numbered. We've got the intelligence to stop you before you even know you're about to think up an attack. We've got armed police that will take you, the guy next to you, and even people in the next borough, down in a heartbeat if it means saving the people we don't kill. We have a terror alert system that keeps our citizens updated on whatever you may or may......

Here's an alert from the Westminster Police Security Desk: This message is to give you and your business, colleagues and friends advanced warning of Intermittent but significant additional Helicopter activity from 0800- 1600hrs (weather permitting) between Tuesday 5/02/07 and Wednesday 6/02/07. This is due to the filming of a major new film. Filming will take place over The London Eye / Victoria Embankment SW1 / River Thames between Westminster Bridge & Hungerford Bridge. Some......

Poor old MI5. It's never really been the same since Tom left - Danny got shot in the head and Zoe shacked up with some git in Chile. Some people insist that Spooks is more fictional drama than documentary, but we find it comforting to believe that Peter Firth is actually in charge of stopping us getting exploded and stuff. Sometimes though we have our doubts. Would Harry really think that sending out terror......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

The Independent Online has a loved-up profile of Pete Doherty. His PR people must be on red alert, as yesterday the Daily Mail’s A.N. Wilson was blaming him and Kate Moss for the murders of the five women in Suffolk. It was an unusually reasonable piece to begin with, asking why the media don’t discuss the womens’ drug use, and then Wilson loses it by going into frothy-mouth mode. Nick Hasted's profile chronicles Doherty’s......

We have to admit that we don't sit around watching the information change on TFL's realtime travel news so we weren't aware that the service had been taken over by the General Oblation Board. Good job they're so on the ball otherwise commuters this morning would have been rolling around in original sin: WATERLOO & CITY LINE: Suspended due to excessive dust on platforms. Odd then that there's no general alert concerning armoured bears......

Handbags at dawn! It's like Jay-Z and Nas all over again. Beef alert - this time with David and Ken. The deeds have been signed - Battersea Power Station has been sold to an Irish company. Is Bloombury going to be getting a makeover! Plans include a Peace Garden in Tavistock Square. Are creepy dolls and broken clowns your thing? Well rejoice! Bethnal Green's Museum of Childhood is reopening next weekend. And finally, this......

This week - The suicide of TV's original Superman, George Reeves, in 1959 (Hollywoodland) and Tenacious D go on a quest to find a plectrum made from Satan's tooth, (Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny). Usually on Saturday Cinema Summary we summarize and synthesize the reviews of the week's films from three esteemed publications, the Guardian, the Times and the Independent. However, following an article in this week's Guardian media supplement accusing Johnny......

The -ists this week had politics on the brain. And what goes better with politics? Partying-- that's two great tastes in one. Oh, and Kevin Federline...can't forget about Kevin Federline. That's three great tastes in one. -Chicagoist celebrated the election news but cried in their Beer of the Week as Da Bears lost for the very first time. And in continuing with our theme, previewed an actual K-Fed show! -DCist caught the President stumped on......

The 16-year old on trial for the murder of 15-year-old Kiyan Prince outside the boy's school gates has denied murder but admitted manslaughter. Two men were shot outside a club in Elephant and Castle in the early hours of Sunday morning. One is in a critical condition in hospital, while the other, who was reportedly shot in the buttocks, is in a stable condition. Congestion Charge alert: People living in the western extension to......

Somehow, the world of -ists managed to make it through the week despite news that Jen & Vince broke up. -Chicagoist had fall on their mind as they made squash and fudge, read "House of Leaves" and ">tried to figure out what's next for the Cubs. Not fall related, but still of utmost concern, the whole skinny black pants thing. -Torontoist fought off an evil scourge of raccoons and went to go see who would......

We’re back! Did you miss us? After nearly a month without any major sci/tech events, the usual venues are starting to awaken again following a summer break. So the Cogito returns, to appear every Wednesday and point you to the best London has to offer the inquisitive mind. Event of the week Future London: Footprints of a generation, at the Truman Brewery, 8-16 Sept. Had Google been around a couple of decades ago, there’s......

We can all now relax a little as the chances of a terror attack are merely 'highly likely' rather than 'imminent'. The threat level has at last been downgraded by the home office to its second highest flavour. The US Department of Homeland Security has correspondingly downgraded its threat level for flights from the UK from code red to code orange (that's Elmo to Ernie for those who favour the Sesame Street terror alert system).......

Four people in a crash between a car and a lorry near junction five of the M25. In case you hadn't heard already, yesterday three men including Clive Goodman, the News of the World's royal editor, were arrested over a plot to bug telephone conversations at Clarence House. Rauf Mohammed, the Iraqi man up in court yesterday on charges of making and possessing articles for terrorism, has been accused of filming video footage of......

It's a great day when you can wake up to this headline: Ferrari will not be Tories' mayor. According a study by Loughborough University of 112,000 crimes in London last year, Nokia phones are the thing most likely to get nicked. The Guardian news blog takes a look at 'regretful loners' and communal living in South London. Anyone looking forward to seeing Animal Collective at the TDK Cross Central Festival might want to thing......