Last Top Stories: 20% of New York State Students Opted Out of Standardized Tests This Year

20% of New York State Students Opted Out of Standardized Tests This Year

New York was one of the first states to introduce tests based on the new Common Core academic standards. This year, the third under the new benchmarks, just 31 percent of the state's students passed reading tests and 38 percent the math. Both results ... >> view original

ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape

QADIYA, Iraq — In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave ... >> view original

NJ Turnpike Reopens After Fiery Truck Crash

The New Jersey Turnpike reopened Thursday morning, hours after two tanker trucks collided and sparked an inferno that gutted both vehicles and caused gridlock on the traffic artery Wednesday evening. Truck lanes between exits 6 and 9 reopened at about ... >> view original

Deadly Explosions Hit China's Port of Tianjin

TIANJIN, China — Thunderous, fiery explosions at a warehouse containing hazardous goods traumatized this northeast port city late Wednesday, killing at least 44 people, injuring at least 400, shattering glass on scores of high-rise buildings and ... >> view original

Tom Brady Sketch Artist, Panned Online, Apologizes

In 2011, The New York Times noted that Ms. Rosenberg's likeness of Robert De Niro during a court appearance in Manhattan was “remarkably accurate.” She has been a sketch artist for 35 years, depicting a litany of public figures including Woody Allen, ... >> view original

Where to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower in the New York Area

A harmonic convergence of cosmic dust, lunar phase and fair weather on Wednesday is shaping up to make the Perseid meteor shower this year the most spectacular since at least 2008. Even in New York City. “Tonight is the night,” said Jason S. Kendall, ... >> view original

Ticks: Summer's Unwanted Guests

The alliance is working with a cast member of “Real Housewives of New York City,” Heather Thomson, to “take back the outdoors,” as another “Real Housewife,” Yolanda Foster of Beverly Hills, Calif., said she suffers from Lyme. It doesn't stop with ... >> view original

NY Hospital Prepares for Baby Boom 9 Months After Storm

Snowed in and scrambling during a freak storm in November, Mary Ann Murphy predicted there would be another flurry of activity in, oh, about nine months, at the Buffalo hospital where she's in charge of maternity services. Photo of Mom Breastfeeding ... >> view original

Confronting Slavery at Long Island's Oldest Estates

In the mid-18th century, New York City's slave market was second in size only to Charleston's. Even after the Revolution, New York was the most significant slaveholding state north of the Mason-Dixon line. In 1790, nearly 40 percent of households in ... >> view original

Devaluation Hints at China's Rising Distress Over Economy

Even homegrown e-commerce companies, held up by China's leaders as builders of a new economy, have not escaped the rout. Shares in Alibaba, in New York, and Tencent, traded in Hong Kong, have both declined over the last two days. The stock market ... >> view original