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The Washington Post's Al Kamen reports that Barney, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush's dog, tried to bite a reporter from Reuters. (This comes via The Huffington Post's Media vertical.)

Writes Mr. Kamen:

Reuters television White House correspondent Jon Decker reports that President Bush's dog Barney, going on a walk this morning on the North Lawn, let his reaction to the news show.

He 'bit my right index finger this morning—as I reached down to pet him,' Decker said. The bite broke skin and the wound was bleeding enough to prompt White House physician Dr. Richard Tubb to treat Decker with antibiotics. He will also be getting a tetanus shot.

A Presidential pardon may be in order.

From Reuters:

"NBC has handed a cast-contingent pilot order to the drama 'M.O.N.Y.'

"The project centers on a socially conscious New York public advocate who is thrust into the uncomfortable position of becoming interim mayor and struggles to balance his moral center with the hardball realities of the city's politics."

Who gets to play him?

-- Azi Paybarah

Debbie Newman, most recently an intern for the Daily News' Rush & Malloy gossip column and freelancer at Life & Style, will be the next editor of Jossip.com.

Since late September, when former Jossip editor Corynne Steindler left the media and celebrity gossip site for the New York Post's Page Six column, Jossip publisher David Hauslaib has been doing the daily blogging duties. Now, Newman will take over on Dec. 27.

Newman, a 24-year-old Columbia Universtiy graduate, said that she spoke to Hauslaib about the job after bumping into him at a Reuters-sponsored panel.

"She's really coming to the table with much more than you'd assume from the average intern at a gossip column," said Hauslaib. "She really understands the media business and the industry."

Newman has also been a research assistant to gossip-publishing saboteurix Kitty Kelley. This will be her first foray into blogging.

Newman said that blogging daily seemed "ambitious," but "not too overwhelming."

"I wish I was a little tech-savvier," she said, "but I can learn as I go on." --Michael Calderone

At an event organized by the New York chapter of People for the American Way, former Reuters reporter Joe Maguire said last night that he was fired for writing a critical book about Ann Coulter.

Here's the audio clip.

[Also, Maguire admits he doesn't know how to type!]

-- Azi Paybarah

The Fifth Annual U.S. Maritime Security Conference and Exposition will be at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

The City Council holds hearings on zoning and franchises oversight, special education, and maritime uses.

United for Peace and Justice holds an anti-war march and rally near the U.N.

Vito Fossella and Diane Savino make an announcement about the "homeless problem" around the 65th rail yard in Brooklyn.

Vito Fossella then joins Joe Crowley to warn that New York City could face cuts in homeland security funding outside of the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan.

Meredith Vieira moderates Newsweek Magazine's annual "Women and Leadership Conference" at the Museum of Natural History.

Adolfo Carrion unveils the new "green roof" atop the Bronx County Courthouse building.

David Paterson unveils a plan to address minority and women businesses in New York State at York College in Queens.

Iranian Americans hold a rally for a Democratic, nuclear-free Iran at the Dag Hammarskjold UN Plaza.

Reuters hosts a discussion with Ted Turner on the future of the United Nations at the Reuters Building in Times Square.

Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez speaks at Baruch College.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is honored with the Appeal of Conscience World Statesman Award at the New York Marriott Marquis.

The new president of Ben-Gurion University speaks on "Creating a More Secure Israel" at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue.

Association of Fundraising Professionals Long Island Chapter hosts a Legislative Breakfast at the Melville Marriott.

Immigrant advocates protest proposed legislation that would force contractors to verify employee's legal statusat the Suffolk County Legislature Office in Riverhead.

The State Republican Party's first Judicial District Convention will be held at the Metropolitan Republican Club on East 83rd Street in Manhattan.

—Nicole Brydson

May 15, 2006 12:06 p.m. 5 pounds, 11 ounces New York Presbyterian Hospital    read more »

May 15, 200612:06 p.m.

5 pounds, 11 ounces  read more »

New York Presbyterian Hospital

Reuters is reporting that Larry Silverstein has just accepted an offer to allow the Port Authority to build the Freedom Tower instead of him.

According to Reuters, the implication is that ground could be broken on the Tower in days or weeks.

We've got Matthew Schuerman down there now, where Larry made the announcement; watch this space for more.

- Tom McGeveran

• Even if the city is installing 500 new cameras, the NYPD doesn't have the ability to constantly monitor the surveillance footage. So, how useful is it? It's all about deterrence--i.e., instilling a fear of Big Brother. (The New York Times)
• In the same vein, The New York Times gets paranoid and lists the New York spots one wouldn't want to get stuck in.
• In honor of the Empire State Building's 75th anniversary, The New York Times has a collection of aricles dedicated to its culture, history and people, like the Salem Radio Network, the electrician who changes the color of building's lights, and of course the movies it appears in.
• Wu Tang Clan aren't Staten Island's only famous artists. Alice Austen was a notable photographer, and her home was refurbished as a museum. (As the Clan would say, "Cash, Rules, Everything, Around, Me / C.R.E.A.M. / Get the money / Dollar, dollar bill y'all.") (Forgotten NY)
• People aren't choosing "green" buildings because they're environmentally friendly, but because oil costs lots of money. (CNN)
• Pataki's senior advisor says the design of the new WTC is vulnerable to an attack. But, what isn't vulnerable? (The New York Times)
• Midas Inc. makes urbanites feel lucky. They sponsored a contest to find who commutes to work the longest in America. The winner drives 370 miles. And you were annoyed about taking the cross-town bus. (Reuters)
• Richard Meier spread his seed to Rome. He designed the city's first modern building since Mussolini. What a distinction! (Reuters)
• Is your zip code on the list of the most expensive? (Forbes)
• You hate these people, we know: the washer-dryer owners of Manhattan. (The New York Times)
• The New Yorker cartoonist wasn't "comfortable" calling his apartment an investment, and has now moved into a four-bedroom in Harlem decorated with his drawings. He is very comfortable with himself. (The New York Times)
• An urban strip-mall, not a luxury condo, took over a Chinatown parking lot and now sells custard-filled cakes. Yum. (The Village Voice)
• You may think it's a pothole that you tripped on and broke your heel, but it's not. (New York Daily News)

- Riva Froymovich

Marshall Berman takes a long, Marxist look at the cleaned up Times Square in Dissent. He marvels at the flickering lights, hangs outside the Condé Nast building, and analyzes screaming TRL-crazed teenagers that flock to MTV studios (including a lone Tupac supporter). Like any self-respecting leftist, he also gets hassled by the man outside of the Reuters headquarters. So he rightfully becomes angry with the foreign new service.

"[H]ere it was acting just like the many despotic regimes it covers so well around the world, regimes to which the British feel so superior, regimes that deny that their people are a public and deny that their city streets are public space."

See, who says that Times Square isn't edgy anymore? (Dissent) -Michael Calderone  read more »

• A Parsons student organized all the advertisements she saw in three neighborhoods (East Harlem, SoHo and the Upper East Side) by subject, and has created a website. (Adscape)
• The New York Post makes fun of the new Web sites luxury developers use to sell buildings. (New York Post)
• Developers are at war in DUMBO. Among the costs: the residents' view. (The New York Times)
• People can find roomates without Craigslist. (The New York Times)
• A round-up of the UK's most expensive and expansive homes, and most buyers aren't British. (Forbes)
• Americans like things big too, hence higher ceilings. (The New York Times)
• Profiles of downtown buildings with traditionally uptown swank. (New York Post)
• The New York way: to make more money, landlords are illegally renting permanent apartments to temporary tenants as hotel rooms and residents are pissed. (The New York Times)
• Seventh Regiment Armory, which is currently playing host to the Winter Antiques Show, will now be an institution for the visual and performing arts, not just a space for fairs. (The New York Times)
• A list of landmarks that are actually accessible. (The New York Times)
• Some people are so proud of their bowties, they include them in a real estate listing. (Curbed)
• How desperate is Crobar? No, it's just neighborly. (Curbed)
• The other alternative newspaper catches on: The Brooklyn Issue. (New York Press)
• Should disaster strike, the legal obligations for restoring damages in your co-op or condo are different from those for a rental building. If common areas need to be fixed, the building board must take responsibility. But, if the damages hit inside the apartment, it is the unit owner's responsibility. (The New York Times)
• Here's some advice: Good Faith Estimates made by loan officers are not always made in good faith. (Inman News)
• As the volume of sales of Manhattan apartments drop and mortgage lending rates increase, Mayor Bloomberg gets dramatic. (Reuters)
• The International Builders Show last week was boring. It focused on practical improvements for homes. (The Wall Street Journal)
• The Jefferson Market Library on Sixth Avenue is in need of repair, inside and out, and this editorial board recommends both. (The Villager)

 read more »

Pat O'Brien was nowhere to be seen on the midtown set of ET's bastard child 'The Insider' last Friday afternoon. Instead, cater-waiters stalked the floors of his set with glasses of champagne, beer (which tasted suspiciously like Heineken) and Smart Water. Much of the crowd present was composed of members of the German American Chamber of Commerce. These Germans peered out the windows at the Reuters billboard. There may be no 'it' bag this year, but some would like you to believe that there is an "it" watch: that watch is the official timepiece of the global jetsetter, the A. Lange & Sohne's Lange 1 Time Zone.

This schmancy watch itself tells time in two cities simultaneously, and can be set for thirty different world cities. Because, you know, it's hard to remember that if it's 8 p.m. in Faisalabad, then it's 5 p.m. in Freiburg.

All thirty of this watch's favorite cities tuned in via live satellite broadcast; that was why the Germans were staring at the Reuters billboard in Times Square. At precisely 2 p.m., the billboard was completely cleared of Verizon ads and filled with the multicast of the Lange 1 Time Zone watch launch. After all, as the broadcasts' spokeswoman at the factory in Saxony, Germany said, "the fascination of mechanical watches has always stirred people throughout the world." Stirred them!

A random assortment of celebrity watch-enthusiasts were on hand to add to the bizarreness of the event, such as Justin Chambers, of Gray's Anatomy, the down-home cutie who said he did nothing this summer but "watch the grass grow." Lynda Carter stopped by looking totally fantastic. (For the record, Wonder Woman was the only person who walked out of there with a free Lange 1 Time Zone; its price tag hovers around $20,000.) Ms. Carter, who just finished shooting "The Dukes of Hazzard" with Jessica Simpson, reported that Ms. Simpson was "professional and nice." Over a loud yawn, The Transom distinctly heard Ms. Carter say, "You'll never be bored a day in your life if you're curious...in a healthy way."

All eyes were on Ms. Carter and the head watch dealer from Wempe as a live broadcast began. "We have everyone here but the watchmaker!" they announced theatrically.

There was an awkward pause. Where is this watchmaker? A huge door lifted in the corner of the studio, and a black Mercedes Kompressor drove in.

Unfortunately, it was just as the camera cut back to Saxony. Whoops! But no worries. The watchmakers' driver reversed through the crowd, and when the cameras cut back to New York, it pulled right up again.

Ms. Carter, who certainly knows how to pick up a cue, chirped, "That was the coolest entrance I've ever seen!"  read more »

The watchmaker, looking inexplicably terrified, crawled out of the back seat. He was wearing a white doctor's coat. Ms. Carter beckoned sexily, "Come over here, Mr. Watchmaker!" He obeyed, wide-eyed and tight-lipped, standing next to Ms. Carter like her lapdog.

Behind him on the Reuters billboard, huge versions of Wonder Woman and the watchmaker loomed over the umbrellas of tourists who hurried past blissfully oblivious, just trying to get out of the pouring rain. —Raquel Hecker

City Hall is so thrilled with the Economist's upbeat survey of New York City -- on newsstands for visiting International Olympic Committee members -- that Dan Doctoroff's spokeswoman sent an excerpt around to the press list, something they never seem to do with any of our articles.

We imagine they particularly liked this piece, headlined "The Mayor's Political Liabilities Are Assets for the City."  read more »

For some reason, they didn't send out this new Reuters story about the Olympic Village site. The title: "Toxic Mess."

Also, we hope the folks over at New York Press aren't seeking any tax exemptions anytime soon. Their cover story this week, in big black lettering, is "Olympics Go Home."