She’s the junior Senator from New York, appointed by Gov. Paterson and now running for her own seat outright, possible against a big name challenger in the primary.

Kirsten Gillibrand joins an effort to make spending political campaigns – like her own – more transparent.

Toyota has announced that it will recall millions of cars due to faulty gas pedals and floor mats.

But what does it mean to you if your car is affected?

Leave your questions, concerns and comments in the comment box below and a AAA expert will answer them.

Read the full story: "Toyota recalls additional 1.09 million vehicles in US over floor mats, pedals."

It was two weeks ago today that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti and changed the lives of millions in an instant. City Councilman Jumaane Williams was here to talk about the devastation that was also felt here directly and indirectly in the New York Haitian community.

Working with the City's Office of Payroll Administration, the Council and the Mayor new citywide payroll deduction program will begin on the paychecks and direct deposits on February 5, 2010.

All City employees who wish to participate can elect to donate a specified amount of money from each paycheck earmarked to further Haitian Relief Efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. These tax-deductible deductions will run for two months spread over four pay periods. There are 300,000 City employees. If each one of them earmarked just $1 per paycheck for the four pay periods for Haiti, we would raise $1.2 million for the relief effort just from this simple program alone.

City Employees can participate by visiting the action center on the City Council home page at http://council.nyc.gov and find a link for the NYC Payroll Deduction Program for Haitian Relief Effort.

Project S.O.S. is an exclusive PIX mission calling for the MTA to reverse its plans to cut our kids' free rides to school.

The protests against the MTA cuts continue this morning. At 8:30 a.m., City Councilman Vincent Gentile is holding a rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to tell the MTA not to leave New Yorkers out in the cold when it comes to public transportation.

We've been asking everyone out there to join us, including all other media outlets, and now our call to action has reached the radio waves. Radio personality Egypt from WBLS 107. 5FM was here to tell us her radio station will join PIX in Project S.O.S.

You can "Mid-days With Egypt" on WBLS weekdays from 10am to 3pm.

To join our fight or to learn more about Project S.O.S., log onto wpix.com/projectsos.

More than two dozen service changes are scheduled beginning late Friday, affecting every major line but the Nos. 1, 6, E, L and M trains.

Among the most inconvenienced with be straphangers using the busy Fulton Street station in downtown Manhattan.

For a list of all these changes, visit tripplanner.mta.info/

Monday’s massive watermain break in Jersey City which affected the entire Bayonne community. Residents were without water and schools were delayed for hours. Jim Poirir, executive vice president of Hatch Mott MacDonald -- the consultant firm for Bayonne's Municipal Utility Authority --, stopped by to give us an update on the story and why water main breaks happen.

PIX is trying to help students keep their transportation privileges. We've initiated Project SOS -- Support Our Students.

Here to talk about the financial strain these MTA cuts will cost students are Hiro Shinohara, a teacher at NYC's High School of Ecnomics and Finance and Assemblyman Lou Tobacco.

"You never know what to expect from the MTA nowadays, except that they're constantly asking from more money," said City Council member and Comptroller-elect John Liu. "They have reached the new low."

As to the plan to eliminate free rides for New York City school children, Liu argued the proposed cut is not going to save the authority "a single cent."

"The MTA is jumping the gun here," said Liu, who promised to look into the authority's financial problem as his first task as the city's comptroller in January.

As PIX News launches it's campaign "Project: Support Our Students (SOS)," students and families throughout the area are sounding off on the possibility of losing their free student Metrocards.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority voted to eliminate the cards Wednesday as part of their 2010 doomsday budget plan. In addition, cuts to service are also expected.

Tropicana Juice wants help saving the rain forests.

James Ford tells us how one Brooklyn resident took that call for community involvement very seriously.

If you want to join the action, visit www.tropicanarainforest.com.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - For the first time, New Jersey consumers can access detailed information on patient safety at hospitals throughout the Garden State.

State health officials recently released a report that shows each hospital's patient safety performance and incidence of serious medical errors - such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving a sponge or instrument inside a patient's body.

While health care facilities had already reported preventable medical mistakes, the state had previously just published the number of errors, not the data for individual hospitals.

The new information is included the New Jersey Hospital Performance Report, published annually by the state Department of Health and Senior Services. It can be found at the department's Web site, www.nj.gov/health/hpr.

The city is planning major service changes due to subway repairs this weekend.

Nearly every train line that normally runs will be affected. Shuttle buses will serve at skipped stations on seven subway lines from the Bronx to Queens.

Scores of riders will be inconvenienced by the changes. A transit spokeswoman says there's a push to get work done on elevated tracks before the winter comes.

For more on these changes, visit tripplanner.mta.info.

A woman's bra which in an emergency can double as a pair of gas masks has won one of the awards handed out at the prestigious Harvard University for the year's most eccentric research.

The Ig Nobels, a tongue-in-cheek homage to their Scandinavian counterparts, were announced just days before the Nobel committee in Stockholm began awarding its prestigious awards on Monday.

The bra that can be turned into two protective face masks -- one for the wearer and the other for whoever else may need one -- won its inventors Elena Bodnar, Raphael Lee and Sandra Marijan of Chicago the Public Health award.

The patent states that each of the bra's cup sections is fitted with a filter device, meaning the wearer can whip it off, and detach each section to fit it over the face.

Nearly seven miles of Manhattan streets will be free of cars for three days this month!

Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park will be closed to vehicles from 7am to 1pm on Saturday, August 8, 15, and 22.

It's the second year of the Summer Streets Program -- aiming to encourage New Yorkers to embrace alternate forms of transportation.

Click here to view a map of which streets will be closed.

To 'stache or not to 'stache... That's the question apparently plauging John Oates -- of Hall and Oates. The question is so perplexing it's spawned an animated movie! It's called "J-Stache" and it's being shopped around for a possible deal.

You can watch the trailer at jstache.com or after the jump.

A swimming advisory against nearly five dozen beaches on Long Island. Suffolk county officials say heavy rains can increase the bacterial content in water to unsafe levels. The affected beaches:

Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club, Eagle Dock Community Beach, Lloyd Harbor Village Park Beach, Gold Star Battalion Beach, Bay Hills POA Beach, Baycrest Beach, Crescent Beach, Head of the Bay Club Beach, Nathan Hale Beach Club, Wincoma Beach, Centerport Beach and Fleets Cove Beach.

They also include: Huntington Beach Community Association, Knollwood Beach, Asharoken Beach, Hobart Beach (Bay), Hobart Beach (Inlet), Prices Bend Beach, Steers Beach, Bayberry Cove Beach, Bayview Beach, Grantland Beach, Indian Field Association Beach, Little Bay Beach, Long Beach, Nissequogue Point Beach Club, Schubert Beach, Short Beach, Stony Brook Beach, Stony Brook Yacht Club Beach, Soundview Beach Association, Beech Road Beach, Broadway Beach, Crab Meadow Beach, Friendship Drive Beach, Miller Place Park Beach, Scotts Beach, Shoreham Shore Club Beach, Shoreham Village Park Beach, Shoreham Beach, Sound Beach POA East, Sound Beach POA West, Terraces on the Sound Beach, Tides Beach, Woodhull Landing Beach, Valley Grove Beach, Bayberry Beach & Tennis Club, Bayport Beach, Benjamin's Beach, Brightwaters Village Beach, Corey Creek Beach, Islip Beach, Patchogue Village Pool & Beach Club, Sandspit Beach, Sayville Beach, Sayville Marina Park Beach and Venetian Shores Beach.

The JFK Foundation will be recreating history online as it tracks the first mission to the moon!

Beginning today at 9:32am, a website will mark Apollo 11's liftoff through the landing on the moon as Monday marks the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind".

To re-create the trip, archived audio and video transmission will be used from the mission. You can follow the journey yourself at wechoosethemoon.org.

Whether or not anecdotal reports of iPhones overheating are true, Apple has taken them seriously enough to reveal the presence of a temperature warning screen for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Here's the deal: an unknown but probably very small number of iPhones have been affected by overheating, to the point that some white iPhone 3GSes have allegedly turned pink. Sascha Segan, our phone analyst, said he hasn't seen any such problems with his iPhone 3GS, however. Apple, however, has issued what some might call a "common sense" warning: a support document that warns users not to keep the iPhone in an environment where temperatures can exceed 113 degrees Fahrenheit, including parked cars.

But Apple also warns that CPU-intensive applications, such as playing music or using the GPS while in direct sunlight may also overheat the iPhone. In that case, actually using the iPhone in temperatures over 95 degrees can also trigger the temperature warning. "Low- or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly," Apple warns.

For more information, visit support.apple.com.

Courtesy of PCMag.com

CAIRO (AP) - The performances aren't in Iran -- they wouldn't be allowed -- but Joan Baez and Jon Bon Jovi are showing their support for demonstrators who have been protesting the result of Iran's presidential election.

Both artists have posted videos on YouTube of themselves performing songs that call for peace.

Bon Jovi sings "Stand By Me" alongside Armenian-Iranian pop star Andy Madadian. The New Jersey rocker sings a line expressing solidarity with the protesters in Farsi, with lyrics that translate to "with one voice, you and me." The video opens with an image of Bon Jovi holding a sign that reads "We are all one" in Farsi.

For more on Shelley Wade, visit zzone.z100.com/shelley.

For more information on Tom Ryan, visit americanhitradio.com.

For more on Entertainment Weekly, visit www.ew.com.

Attention all Blackberry users: a new security patch is needed to help keep the mobile devices safe from hackers.

Manufacturer Research In Motion says no one has been hacked yet, but the possibility exists.

In the meantime, the company says don't open e-mail attachments from anyone you don't know.

Click here for a free download of the patch.

State Senator Jeff Klein He was born and raised in the Bronx and now represents the borough in the New York State Senate. Like the rest of the country, his district has been hit by the housing crisis and with 43 evictions in the Bronx last month. There were 548 New York City eviction cases on the March court calendar. Senator Klein has been fighting to keep people in their homes.

Senator Klein said that there have been a record number of foreclosures, but foreclosures actually drag down the value of homes in the neighborhood. The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that a single foreclosure in a neighborhood can drag down property values by $5,000 and increase crime by as much as 6%.

He has also proposed the Neighborhood Preservation Act to combat this. The proposed law would allow municipalities to clean up unsightly foreclosures, issue violations and recoup the costs from the lending institution. The bill has cleared the State Senate and is now before an Assembly committee.

The New York Archdiocese, serves over 2.5 million parishioners and later today, Timothy Dolan will be installed as its leader. Here to shed some light on the retirement of Cardinal Edward Egan what can be expected from the Dolan, the 10th archbishop appointed by Pope Benedict XVI is Reverend Jean-Pierre Ruiz, chair and professor of theology and religious studies at St. John's University.

Egan said his greatest disappointment was not attracting more vocations to the priesthood. Rev. Ruiz said that Dolan may want to focus his attention there.

Dolan stated he will ask Catholics not to be so consumed by their problems in these difficult times that they turn inward and away from the community. Still, he said he struggles with how best to convey Catholic teaching. Dolan said that as archbishop he plans to challenge the idea that the Roman Catholic Church is unenlightened because it opposes gay marriage and abortion. He also said he will work to restore pride in the church. Dolan also stated that Catholics also must defend themselves against bias, which he said was still deeply ingrained in American culture.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz stopped by live to talk about "Dine In Brooklyn," Brooklyn's own restaurant week!

For a list of participating restaurants, or more info, log onto www.visitbrooklyn.org.

Kristin Davis, the infamous "Manhattan Madam", stopped by this morning to talk about her new book and her time in jail.

Davis owned New York's most successful prostitution ring, with more than $5 million in annual sales and a roster of 10,000 rich, powerful and famous clients. In 2008, Kristin closed her business and spent four months in prison and now she's telling her story in her new book The Manhattan Madam: Sex, Drugs, Scandal and Greed Inside America's Most Successful Prostitution Ring.

Davis, first captured national attention in early 2008 in the wake of the scandal surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's resignation and has recently been linked to New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez.

For more information, visit www.manhattanmadam.com.

Gene Russianoff from the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign stopped by the studio this morning to talk about yesterday's MTA vote for the fare hike and how it affects New Yorkers.

Russianoff said that along with the failing economy, the MTA is especially suffering because of their poor spending, like buying new train cars on borrowed money. He said that unless Albany helps the MTA, the fare hike will become a reality on May 31, 2009.

Commuters will suffer from not only fare hikes, but service cuts as well. Eliminating bus and train routes especially hurts the elderly and disabled, who rely on these routes to travel around the city.

To protest the MTA's fare hike and service cuts, visit KeepNewYorkMoving.org.

Hot on the heels of two primetime interviews and a press conference, Nick Ragone joined PIX’s John Muller to discuss President Barack Obama’s media presence.

Being the president’s second primetime address in two months, Ragone said the President is running the risk of becoming overexposed primarily because this address did nothing to add to his presence.

Ragone goes on to say that President Obama’s icy response to a question about AIG is the first time the public has seen him lose his cool in the past two months. The word "waffle" came up when discussing Obama’s plan for middle class tax cuts when Ragone pointed out that this issue is something to watch in the coming years.

Ragone also says that Obama’s avoidance of the topic of America adding $7 trillion worth of deficit in the next 10 years could be cause for further scrutiny.

Nick Ragone is a political author and a regular contributor to PIX11 Morning News.

Geoffrey Rogow of Dow Jones Newswires spoke with us about how the recent upsurge in the stock market might affect our pocketbooks.

The Dow Jones gained 497 points yesterday--its largest earnings since November. This came one the same day President Obama presented a trillion dollar financial proposal.

Rogow saw this gain as a sign of the end of a rally: "We've already had a 16 to 18 percent gain in the Dow Jones industrial average..." However, he allows that employment is going to get worse before it gets better, at consumers' expense. Rogow explained, "As bad as fourth quarter earnings were this year, the first quarter will be worse."

With Obama's rescue plan, Rogow foresaw that pension funds can be invested directly into corporations like Pimco.

He explained that the money coming out of the Stock Market isn't reaping any money, and is in turn affecting factors like student loans and "other things that people need to pay on a day to day paycheck because they're not getting their paycheck."

Judge and legal expert Jeanine Pirro spoke with John and Suki about the ongoing Madoff scandal and what still needs to be unearthed to finally put the issue to rest.

According to Pirro, the judge only accepted Madoff's solitary plea of guilt because the schemer agreed to take responsiblity for everything he was charged with. The issue lies beyond these charges--Pirro asserts that should the feds have decided to charge Madoff on more than his eleven counts, it would require him to reveal the identities of those he conspired with. At the end of the day, Pirro said, "The feds just wanted a conviction and to move on."

Although Madoff's family has made a point of distancing itself from him and the limelight, Pirro pointed out several suspicious goings-on of Ruth Madoff in relation to her husband. Following a late November withdrawal of $5.5 million from a brokerage firm partly owned by Bernie Madoff, Ruth made a second withdrawal of $10 million the very day prior to her husband's arrest. Pirro stresses that it is important to keep in mind Ruth's $45 million in municipal bonds, and the fact that she is her husband's bookkeeper.

Pirro foresees jailtime for Madoff: "This is a very corrupt organization that is not the result of one person's fraud. It's a big operation."

PIX's Craig Treadway sat down with Chief Market Analyst Wayne Kaufman to discuss the day of good news experienced at Wall Street.

Yesterday, the Dow Jones industrials posted their biggest three-day jump since last November, shooting up 240 points an bringing its 3-day gains to more than 600 points. Companies such as Bank of America declared that they have been profitable this year and General Motors stated that they need not the $2 million loan they previously requested. Kaufman allows that "it's possible we're at the initiation of what could be a significant rally"; however, he also adds that it may be too early to celebrate just yet.

Kaufman notes that retail sales have improved--a good indicator for the state of our economy. As far as Madoff's guilty plea is concerned, he believes the scandal could have created a conflict for potential new clients at the firm who are begging the question, "Where's my money going to be housed?...It has created a bit of a problem."

After a long day, sometimes you just want to relax with a nice cool bottle of ... Pub-Corn! That's right, it's finally here: beer-flavored popcorn!

A hero to barflies and frat boys alike, Missouri University senior Cary Silverman said his inspiration came from seeing his friends sneak alcohol into movie theaters.

And after a lot of research and development in his dorm room, Silverman has already created other beverage-inspired coatings for his popcorn, like beer, pina colada and Irish cream. Silverman is currently working on creating tequila flavor.

For more information and to purchase some Pub-Corn, visit www.pub-corn.com.

Hundreds of New Yorkers waited in line for hours in Times Square yesteday to receive a generous gift from a man who calls himself "Bailout Bill." He handed out cold, hard cash to about 800 people today and yesterday.

Most got either $50 or $100 after telling him their stories about layoffs and other economic woes. But a few walked away with up to $3,000.

While the gesture was a publicity stunt for a classified ad web site bailoutbooth.com, the recipients didn't seem to mind.

To tell Bailout Bill your layoff or economic woe story, visit bailoutbooth.com and he'll decide to bail you out or not. And if you're lucky enough to be bailed out, he'll send you your money driectly!

PIX's man-on-the-scene reporter Chris Glorioso took the Hip Hop bus down from New York City to Washington, D.C. to cover President elect Barack Obama's inauguration. Follow his coverage as he brings you the sights, sounds and personal stories of those in the nation's capital.

Just visit www.wpix.com/inauguration_or_bust.

There has been much speculation surrounding the cause of the plane crash in the Hudson River yesterday, the most prominent one being that a flock of geese caused the aircraft's engines to fail.

Aviation expert, attorney, and commercial pilot Brian Alexander reveals that birds pose a problem to airplanes more often than what one might assume. According to him, between seven to ten thousand bird strikes occur each year, leading to plane damages. Alexander points out that New York sites such as LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports have issues with "bird ingestion" due to their location near landfills and water.

Alexander lauded Flight 1549 pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger for the calm and collected way in which he handled the situation. According to Alexander, it was the pilot's cool-headedness and safety-consciousness that made him "tailor-made" to handle the dilemma before him. He emphasized that we could not have prepared for what happened, and that it was "a once-in-a-lifetime thing."

Alexander hopes that we will learn from this unfortunate incident by focusing on improving our technology, although he allows that "we can't make engines fail-safe."

WATCH THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP...

Dr. Steven McCarthy was on duty at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan when US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River yesterday. As the hospital's Director of Emergency Medical Services, McCarthy was simply working on charts in his office when he suddenly became inundated with calls regarding the crash.

"We didn't know what to expect," said McCarthy, rehashing that he and his staff only knew that there were about 150 to 200 people aboard the plane that plummeted into the Hudson River. They expected the arrival of a slew of victims, suffering both from hypothermia and trauma. The hospital quickly went into crisis mode and all help involved breathed "a sigh of relief" when merely seven passengers with mild hypothermia came through the hospital doors to be treated. McCarthy observed nothing too serious--merely mild "bumps and bruises."

However, McCarthy does warn against the mental strain the incident will have on many of the victims: "People will need counseling down the line..We can't ignore the mental health aspects of it." The mental health staff at St. Vincent's Hospital has and will continue to treat those who have been traumatized by the accident.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP...

James and Susan Galvacky of Belmar, New Jersey were among the first passengers on a ferry boat who witnessed the US Airways crash first-hand. The couple was going to the city for a doctor's appointment. Upon encountering the scene, James had thought that the plane was a boat that had flipped over, and soon realized otherwise.

The two helped in the rescue efforts by getting people out of the water, as well as those who clung on to the plane's wings, and onto the boat. They found that most of the passengers aboard the fallen aircraft were too in shock to be screaming; their demeanor was calm, despite the freezing waters in which they were immersed.

Susan did her part in placating a crying and bleeding woman by holding her until she got medical attention. "It was like a dream," Susan said of the surrealistic scene that was before her. She was prompted to cry, but reminded herself that her aid was needed. She and her husband were just two of the many good samaritans who became heroes yesterday.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP...

Former Port Authority Commissioner and senior fellow of the Homeland Security Department at Long Island University Bruce Blakeman spoke with John about the plan that was enacted upon yesterday's US Airways accident.

Blakeman deemed what followed the incident the "perfect rescue": "The airline went down at the right place and at the eright time for this time of the year...All of the private and governmental assets were in place."

According to him, incidents such as this, along with possible terrorist attacks and inclement weather are those which personnel such as the Port Authority, FDNY, the Coast Guard, and the FBI train to deal with on a daily basis. The training occurs in conjunction with New York Waterways and Circle Line. The well-coordinated rescue effort is a result of this thorough preparation.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP...

Circle Line Captain Mike Duffy spoke with Sukanya about the part he played in rescuing passengers in yesterday's US Airways crash into the Hudson River.

Duffy was systematic in recruiting all available rescue personnel onto the scene--members of the FDNY, NYPD, and EMS, along with personnel on commuter ferries worked with each other to launch divers into the river. Duffy witnessed passengers clinging on to the wings of the sunken plane, as well as using its inflatable slides as rafts.

Recollected Duffy of his impulse to help, "You don't think of it at the time; the adrenaline's just running, so you do what's necessary without thinking of anything else." Duffy also employed an available 4 o'clock Circle Line boat to assist with rescue efforts.

"Everyone was calm; all boats in the area were coordinated with each other...It went surprisingly well," remarked Duffy.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP...

ROME, N.Y. (AP) - The New York Air National Guard will be on duty tonight, helping NORAD "track" Santa Claus as he dashes around the world delivering gifts.

NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The Air National Guard's Northeast Air Defense Sector based at Rome in central New York is a unit of NORAD, and its troops stay on duty around-the-clock. They'll use their high-tech radars to track Santa's journey around the globe.

NORAD's Santa-tracking tradition began in 1955. Three years later, NORAD was created. Since then, NORAD personnel have volunteered their time to personally respond to Christmas Eve phone calls and e-mails from children.

You can track Santa's whereabouts at home too. Just log onto the NORAD Tracks Santa website -- www.noradsanta.org.

WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

In Bergen County, the so-called “Bergen County Blue Laws” still exist where businesses close every Sunday for “quality of life,” a tradition that has carried on for years, even during the economic crisis. James Ford reports on the current state of the laws.

WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

For the third day in a row - and the fourth in less than a week - Long Island Rail Road commuters can expect significant delays Tuesday morning, and possibly beyond, as they continue to deal with the fallout from the worst LIRR accident in 15 years, officials said.

To see if your line is affected, visit www.mta.info/alert/alertlirr.htm.

Click here to read the full story and watch the video.

Long Island Railroad passengers can expect extra cancellations, schedule changes and delays this morning due to yesterday's train derailment. The derailment is still under investigation and the MTA stated that "this incident is not related to the train sideswipe that occurred in Jamaica on November 19."

The CW11's Tamsen Fadal was live at the Jamaica Center train station in Queens with how your commute could be affected.

The MTA stated, "The Monday AM Rush service plan includes cancellation of 12 westbound AM rush trains. As a result, there will be residual delays from added station stops and not all scheduled connections will be available at Jamaica Station to Penn Station, Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn, Hunterspoint Avenue, and Long Island City. LIRR station personnel will be available at Jamaica to assist customers with service information. The modified plan also includes service changes for the eastbound AM Rush."

Transit officials recommend that customers check the MTA's Service Alert website for information about PM train schedules.

To see if your line is affected, visit www.mta.info/alert/alertlirr.htm.

WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

Neither Senators John McCain nor Barack Obama can get to the White House without going through New York first. The state has polled double digits in Obama’s favor throughout this election. However, McCain vowed on Primary Day to make New York part of his national campaign.

In fact, McCain has strong ties to New York. He and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have been close since Bloomberg first ran for mayor seven years ago. And the mayor returned the favor this presidential election season.

McCain has made dozens of visits to New York City. He visited his daughter Megan while she was a student at Columbia University from 20003 to 2007 and gave the commencement speech two years ago. Columbia also happens to be Obama’s alma mater, where he graduated in 1983. Obama also lived in an apartment building on East 94th Street while he was an undergrad.

Like McCain, Obama returned to New York dozens of times since he declared his presidential candidacy 21 months ago. And it’s no secret he has a lot of supporters in the Big Apple. In fact, New Yorkers make the most “get out to vote” calls to other states from the Obama campaign's phone banks.

READ MORE AND WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

Though it has been seven years since the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, memories of the tragedy are still fresh in our minds. Even more everlasting are the photographs from that fateful day, illustrating faces stricken with terror and fear.

But what of the photographers who arrived on scene to capture the unfolding disaster as others were running away from it?

Behind the Lens: Covering 9/11 is a new documentary that tells the story of four photojournalists who, along with firemen, police officers and fellow journalists, risked their lives to show the world images of a crisis. The film premieres tonight, September 10 at 6pm at the New Filmmakers Film Festival.

Featured in the documentary are photographers Don Halasy and Bolivar Arellano of The New York Post, and David Handschuh and Todd Maisel of The New York Daily News. Both publications are major daily newspapers in New York City.

"Bringing never before seen video from Ground Zero and coupled with in-depth interviews from photojournalists, the audience is given a behind the scenes view into the unique world of gathering news in a crisis. We learn the intimate details of what these photojournalists endured to cover this atrocity; from being buried alive to lensing photos that continue to create controversy and now sit in the Library of Congress"states Covering911.com.

"From a cleanup worker who believes he’s found a survivor to a fireman’s widow burying her husband to an FBI technician separating bones from rubble," according to the film's description, this documentary goes beyond what happened on September 11. It also emphasizes the emotional toll victims, families and these photographers had to endure. And those kinds of wounds don't heal quickly

For information about the screening, visit covering911.com/news.htm.

HAVANA (AP) - Winds are howling and heavy rains falling across Havana as Hurricane Ike continues its westward trek across Cuba.

READ MORE AND WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

New poll numbers suggest John McCain is getting a bounce following the Republican convention. However, the race between McCain and Barack Obama remains close.

READ MORE AND WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

As airports around the country prepare for one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, some travelers are already taking out the Excedrin. Sure, traveling for the holidays can cause a lot of stress and plenty more headaches ... but that's if you're not prepared.The TSA has tips to help you alleviate the stress of traveling.

We went one-on-one with Academy Award Winner Cate Blanchett about her upcoming role as the legendary singer Bob Dylan, here's what she had to say about being cast as a man in the biopic "I'm Not There."

I'm Not There will be in theaters on November 21, 2007.

Documentary film director Amir Bar-Lev spoke with us at length about his experiences with the family of 4-year-old Marla Olmstead, the painting prodigy at the center of a major controversy. In our web-extra, Bar-Lev tells us how questions about the authenticity of her paintings affected the family, and what Marla now knows about the allegations about her work.

My Kid Could Paint That! is in theaters today.

Residents got a rude awakening yesterday when a tornado touched down in a quiet Brooklyn neighborhood, uprooting trees and tearing apart sidewalks. View photos of the destruction left behind in its wake.