Woman charged with murder in NY subway shove death

BP ties off oil leak; will the cap hold?

NEW ORLEANS | BP finally choked off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday — 85 days and up to 184 million gallons after the crisis unfolded — then began a tense 48 hours of watching to see whether the capped-off well would hold or blow a new leak.

Red, white, blue and green: July Fourth party tips

Fireworks. Hot dogs. Small town parades and melting ice cream.

Pa. fireworks store has video of NYC bomb suspect

NEW YORK | The suspect in the Times Square bombing attempt was caught on video at a Pennsylvania store legally buying consumer-grade fireworks that were made mostly of paper and were so weak they wouldn't blow up a watermelon, let alone an SUV, the company president said Wednesday.

Suspect in Times Square plot faces terror charges

NEW YORK | A Pakistani-born U.S. citizen was hauled off a plane about to fly to the Middle East and will face terrorism charges in the failed attempt to explode a bomb-laden SUV in the heart of Times Square, authorities said Tuesday. One official said he claimed to be acting alone.

Opulent antiques: Aphrodite, Tiffany lamp and more

It's the Holy Grail of Tiffany lamps, a sublime stained-glass shade of lilies in soft hues of pink and green, cascading down in an oblong bell to a bronze base molded to resemble the delicate pads in the water.

New aerial NYPD photos of 9/11 attack released

NEW YORK | Newly released aerial photos of the World Trade Center terror attack capture the towers' dramatic collapse, from just after the first fiery plane strike to the apocalyptic dust clouds that spread over lower Manhattan and its harbor.

NYPD: No bomb inside van abandoned in Times Square

NEW YORK | New York City's Times Square has been reopened to traffic after a bomb squad found no explosive devices in an abandoned van parked in the area.

Julia Stiles revisits a role in Mamet's 'Oleanna'

Julia Stiles first played the role of life-wrecker Carol in "Oleanna" when she was in college, and the play, about a confused student who accuses her professor of sexual impropriety, stuck with her well beyond the final curtain.

Schools add cell phones to curriculum -- slowly

Smart phones now have hundreds of applications meant to educate kids -- from graphic calculators to animation programs that teach spelling and phonics.

Dig deeper, parents of student athletes

Soccer is good exercise, good for developing coordination and just good fun. But if David Haase wants his sixth-grader to play it at school, he'll have to come up with $135 to make it happen.

New Orleans in your home

There may not be parades with colorful floats and crazed women who do just about anything for beads, but you can still be part of the Mardi Gras fun though you're miles away from Bourbon Street.

Spas offer deals, discounts in slumping economy

With the economy slumping and fuel prices soaring, facials and massages may not be a top priority for consumers on a budget.

From Chicago to Broadway

Tracy Letts's soul never strays too far from the Midwest. Born and raised in southern Oklahoma, the playwright made it to New York by way of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Co.

How to take a great Halloween photo

Halloween ... Where eating candy 'till you're sick is encouraged, and parents have an excuse to dress their child up as a jelly bean, circus clown or Muppet of their choosing.

Rutgers basketball player sues Imus and CBS Radio

NEW YORK | A member of the Rutgers women's basketball team sued Don Imus and CBS on Tuesday, claiming the radio personality's sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation.

A new perfume from a surprising designer: Lanvin's 'Rumeur'

Whether it's a bottle of perfume or a couture dress, Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz pays painstaking mind to every detail.

Novelists turn to comic books

Author Jonathan Lethem was a big fan of the comic "Omega the Unknown" when he was a boy growing up in Brooklyn, and he was pretty depressed when the superhero vanished from corner store shelves.

Ben Stiller plays PR man

Thousands of moviegoers who saw the film "Night at the Museum" are spending the day there, too.

Cigarette butts, Band-aids, ketchup the stuff of art?

Rotting garbage piled along the curbside, decades-old furniture decaying in the rain, discarded cigarette butts everywhere you look -- New York City can be a filthy place.

Yankees pitcher dies in N.Y. plane crash

NEW YORK -- A small plane carrying New York Yankee Cory Lidle slammed into a 50-story apartment building Wednesday after issuing a distress call, killing the pitcher and a second person in a crash that rained flaming debris onto the sidewalks and briefly raised fears of another terrorist attack.

Exclusive white tents go see-through

NEW YORK -- The large white tents erected in Bryant Park for New York Fashion Week are exclusive and mysterious, and you usually need an invitation to see what goes on inside. Until now.

A.M. Homes throws readers a life preserver

A.M. Homes doesn't court controversy. But it finds her nonetheless.

Playing fair

Mixed among the pages of dazzling celebrities and rail-thin models that dominate fashion and teen magazines is a surprising sight: young women with thick thighs and flabby abs.

Nature-deficit disorder

Lauren Showstead sends her boys outside nearly every day to play. In the summer, 5-year-old Justin and 3-year-old Brian collect bugs, pick up worms and explore nearby ponds and marshy areas. In the fall, they help rake the leaves, and in the winter, they're making snowmen and shooting down t…

What a girl wants

The masterminds behind some of the most popular books for adolescent girls are a couple of 30-something men who work in an average office building full of white, Ikea-esque furniture.

Nicole Krauss pens anticipated 'History of Love,' and gets ready for prime time

Nicole Krauss sits at a shaded table at the 2nd Street Cafe in Brooklyn. The location is part of her tree-lined comfort zone, just up the road from the brownstone she shares with her husband, author Jonathan Safran Foer.

Modified poses

As Megan Garcia prepares to do a twisting yoga pose, she reminds her students to lift their bellies up and over their legs. Wearing a one-piece purple leotard, she's not shy about the love handles around her waist or the extra flesh on her thighs.

Blow the dust off those binds

The hot books this summer are as varied as the shades of the sea, but book sellers agree that Nicole Krauss' "The History of Love" is at the top of the sand pile -- after "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," that is.

In a 'State of Fear'

Michael Crichton is a big man with big ideas, a storyteller of nearly 7 feet who turns popular science into popular fiction.

An educational stance

Dapper Tom Wolfe likes everything just so.

Simpson sisters soar to success

Ashlee Simpson doesn't have to worry about being in the shadow of her older sister Jessica anymore.

Idol' contestant makes waves

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Gracin loves serving his country, but he can't deny the song of the south.

Presto! Penn & Teller celebrate 30 years

It's been 30 years, but Penn & Teller have no intention of pulling a disappearing act.

New Yorkers act out favorite scenes at `movieoke'

Remember the scene from "When Harry Met Sally ..." when Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are sitting at the diner? Or when Jack Nicholson exclaims "You can't handle the truth!" to Tom Cruise in "A Few Good Men"?

Edie Brickell has first new album in a decade

Edie Brickell has a mischievous smile on her face when the singer says she's a little jealous of her children's musical ability.

Actor, rapper Nick Cannon has plenty more ideas in store

Nick Cannon fancies himself a Renaissance Man.

Nick Lachey hopes to add some adult fans with new CD

Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees knows his fan base is mostly teenage girls, and he's OK with that. Those fans pushed the boy band's album sales to multiplatinum.

At 92, Alonzo Pettie is a living memory of the West

When Alonzo Pettie started performing in rodeos, Denver was a small cow town with dirt roads. By the time he stopped riding horses, the city had become a booming metropolis and a haven for high-tech firms.

Staying at home longer

Ken Nixon sees his 84-year-old mom, Louise, every day. They chat in the morning and sometimes have dinner together, and he watches as she takes her Alzheimer's medication, even though they live about 250 miles apart.