New York News (BETA)

Call it the dis-honor roll. Some of the schools with the highest percentage of students flunking state tests were the ones the city opened to replace previously "failing" schools, city data show.

A sickly raccoon burst into a high-end SoHo boutique Saturday afternoon, forcing shoppers outside as amused employees snapped photos of the terrified animal.

Queens has been touted as a diverse borough that is home to immigrants from all over the globe and a key component of New York City's melting pot. But the sheer number of cultures represented by its residents truly sets the borough apart.

Thank a driver today, straphangers. More than 800,000 daily drivers have to dig deeper into their pockets and pay higher tolls to subsidize the bus, subway and commuter train system.

ASK WHAT the Bronx Council on the Arts strives to communicate and Deirdre Scott will tell you: "The Bronx is not burning anymore and people need to know that.".

Autumn romance, a tribute in ink, a letter lost and found, and other tales of city life.

July 12, 2009.

Mrs. Margolis was the founder and director of Fresh Start, a program that trains Rikers Island inmates for employment upon release.

In some New York City schools, worksheets and cram sessions have been enough for failing students to earn the credits they need to graduate.

The body of Eridania Rodriguez, who disappeared during a night shift on July 7, was found in an air-conditioning duct at the office building where she worked as a cleaner.

A man who told an undercover policeman to get off his family's stoop punched the officer and struggled over the officer's gun before being shot dead, police said Sunday. Shem Walker hit the officer on the head and grabbed his gun Saturday night, police said. Other officers heard the undercover officer or a plainclothes colleague identify themselves, top police spokesman Paul Browne said.

A deadly early morning fire in Brooklyn leaves residents trapped inside, calling for help. Neighbors tried to save them, but the flames were too intense. Just before 5 a.m., neighbors awoke to the sound of glass shattering as the windows popped from the heat inside the burning home. People driving by saw the flames engulfing the house on Avenue K and heard the people inside crying out for help.

Eight people have been rescued after their boat ran aground and started taking on water near the Statue of Liberty. Coast Guard spokesman David Schuhlein says the 36-foot pleasure boat hit a sandbar around 5 p.m. Sunday between Liberty Island and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. Schuhlein says the eight adults aboard were wearing life jackets and weren't hurt.

John Lackey pitched seven solid innings and the Los Angeles Angels knocked around CC Sabathia to complete a sweep of the New York Yankees with a 5-4 victory Sunday. Lackey (4-4) quickly worked through the Yankees lineup, allowing two runs on six hits. The Angels' ace struck out six in one of his most efficient starts since missing the first six with a forearm strain.

Scratch Rep. Anthony Weiner's name from the list of Washington's eligible bachelors. A spokeswoman for the New York Democrat said Sunday that he is engaged to Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The spokeswoman said the 44-year-old Weiner proposed to Abedin on May 23. No wedding date has been set.

Scratch Rep. Anthony Weiner's name from the list of Washington's eligible bachelors. A spokeswoman for the New York Democrat said Sunday that he is engaged to Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The spokeswoman...

A body found floating in a Long Island creek Saturday night has been identified as a Dix Hills boater who was went missing after having dinner with friends the night before. Suffolk cops found the corpse of Ralph Blachly, 49, in Sampawams Creek in...

The death of a New York City woman at a Connecticut highway rest stop has led to the detention of four men for immigration violations. Police say the woman, whose name has not been released, died after becoming ill in the restroom of a McDonald's...

Bite me. That's what a Manhattan shark expert has to say about a B movie that portrays a gigantic prehistoric shark terrorizing a modern-day village -- while using his celebrated book on great whites to set the stage. Renowned marine...

City jail officials are investigating a rap concert at Rikers Island -- approved by a hip-hop-loving warden -- that triggered months of bloody gang violence there, The Post has learned. Correction officials are looking into why supervisors --...

A man who told an undercover policeman to get off his family's stoop punched the officer and struggled over the officer's gun before being shot dead, police said today. Shem Walker hit the officer on the head and grabbed...

Advance file photoEight people have been rescued after their 36-foot pleasure boat boat ran aground and started taking on water near the Statue of Liberty around 5 p.m. today. Six people were taken to the Coast Guard station on...

Staten Island Advance/Michael McWeeneyThis Mercedes crashed at the Dolphin Fountain in South Beach earlier this evening. Remarkably, no one was injured. Police say a Mercedes-Benz collided with another Mercedes crashed on the lip of the Dolphin Fountain in South Beach...

Residents rally for connected service roads, improved intersections, wider streets, and other improvements for safety and better quality of life

Here are the winning numbers from today's midday New York Lottery drawings: Numbers: 896 Lucky Sum: 23 Win4: 4123 Lucky Sum: 10...

Often the second choice of drivers taking the Throgs Neck Bridge to the Bronx, the Clearview Expressway is the only option Monday for thousands of commuters since a fire caused massive traffic disruptions.

A female prisoner at the Suffolk County jail was beaten, sodomized, raped and impregnated by a correction officer in May, according to a notice of claim filed last week that asks for $50 million in damages from the county.

Nassau County Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs, credited with turning a Long Island Republican bastion from red to blue, has been tapped to take the helm of the state Democratic party, Gov. David A. Paterson announced Sunday.

Somewhere in the Senate judiciary committee's material on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, there's a DVD.

The company that produced them may have gone out of business two decades ago, but the owners of O'Day sailboats don't treat their crafts like orphans.

Eight people were rescued after their boat ran aground near the Statue of Liberty.

A father pushing his son out of the way of an oncoming car was struck and killed.

The Angels knocked around CC Sabathia to complete a sweep of the Yankees.

An undercover police officer shot and killed a man during a struggle in Brooklyn.

A New Jersey man is accused of killing three family members.

A six-day convention celebrating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights group, is underway in Midtown and has issued a strong endorsement of Supreme Court nominee... Sponsored Topics: Supreme court - United States - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - Civil and political rights - Law

From New York to California, nudists pranced in the surf and in lakes in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Sponsored Topics: Guinness World Record - California - Music - Arts - Sports

The billionaire behind the Albany meltdown, Tom Golisano, has no regrets about his behind-the-scenes butcher job on the New York Senate. Sponsored Topics: Tom Golisano - New York State Senate - New York - Malcolm Smith - Albany

Sotomayor's speech at a California law school where she said a "wise Latina," could make better decisions than a white man because of her experience will take center stage. Sponsored Topics: F.C. Latina - Law - United States - California - Sonia Sotomayor

Kiva, a San Francisco-based non-profit that facilitates small loans between individuals online, is being accused of straying from its mission by enabling loans closer to home. Sponsored Topics: San Francisco - California - United States - San Francisco Bay Area - Metro Areas

Asian American nerds -- it smacks of a stereotype, but now Asian American fans of comics, animation, science fiction and fantasy are flexing their muscle. The first ever comics convention, or ComiCon....

The coup is over, or long live the coup? Republicans have gone back to being the minority party in the State Senate, after temporarily seizing power when two Democrats joined their conference on June....

State Senator Pedro Espada says he's back with the Democrats again, after crossing over to the Republican conference in what led to a month-long stalemate in Albany. REPORTER: But some residents of ....

Duane Reade gets a bond downgrade, Mike Bloomberg shatters all campaign spending records. Guest: Greg David, editorial director of Crain's New York Business. ....

Sunnie Hwang moved to the US from Korea, hoping she would find the happiness she had as a child—when her parents were still alive. In 2002, she told WNYC listeners about her life as an orphan, tryi....