Email Author Anna Merlan

2013 Stories by Anna Merlan

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  FEATURED STORY

  Donald Trump: "Nelson Mandela and Myself Had a Wonderful Relationship"

  published Dec 06, 2013

  When a towering figure like Nelson Mandela dies -- a revolutionary, an emancipator, South Africa's first black president, one of the most beloved figures ever in the struggle against not just aparthei... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Dunkin Donuts, Subway, and Other Chains Continue Their Insidious Creep Across the City, But Slower Than Before

  published Dec 05, 2013

  From our old spot at Cooper Square, we could see it, looming green and white and weirdly shiny, like an enormous toilet with corndogs swirling inside it: the 7-Eleven, which touched down on St. Marks ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Castle Braid vs. Occupy Bushwick Fight Has Devolved Into a Highly Entertaining, Possibly Fake Twitter Brawl

  published Dec 04, 2013

  For months, there's been a battle raging in Bushwick between Castle Braid, a pricey condo building "custom-built to enable the artist," as their website puts it, and Occupy Bushwick, who accuse Castle... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Animal Rights Group Files Suit to Free Tommy, a Pet Chimp on a Reindeer Farm in Upstate New York

  published Dec 03, 2013

  Tommy is 26 years old, and he makes his home in Gloversville, at a reindeer farm called Santa's Hitching Post. He's also a chimpanzee, the pet of Diane and Patrick Lavery, and according to the NonHuma... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  After Metro-North Derailment That Killed Four, Federal Transportation Board Begins Investigation

  published Dec 02, 2013

  At 7:20 on Sunday morning, a southbound Metro-North train heading from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx, killing four people and injuring 63, 11 of t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Black Friday Is the Worst: Big Box Stores Get Ready to Open Thanksgiving Night

  published Nov 28, 2013

  It's not particularly surprising or original any more to talk about how terrible Black Friday is; it's materialistic, dysfunctional, and every year someone dies or is gruesomely injured; you can prett... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Prototype for Citi Bike Was Invented By Monk Eastman, A Pigeon-Loving Gangster From Williamsburg

  published Nov 27, 2013

  Earlier this month, Citi Bike announced that its bike renters had taken over 5 million rides. And while they're certainly the biggest name in the bike rental game today, if they were operating 100 ye... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Super-Tall SUVs State Troopers Will Use to Bust You for Texting and Driving Are Just Regular-Sized Chevy Tahoes

  published Nov 26, 2013

  Yesterday, a report by the Associated Press was everywhere, concerning the super tall, unmarked SUVs that New York State Troopers have been given in order to bust texting drivers. They're grayish in c... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  City and NYPD Ordered to Turn Over Records in Muslim Surveillance Lawsuit

  published Nov 26, 2013

  For the past year or so, the NYPD has been forced to very publicly defend a program it once denied existed at all: the surveillance of Muslims, which has allegedly targeted student groups, mosques, re... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  City College Lifts Suspensions Against Two Student Protesters, But Criminal Charges Still Stand

  published Nov 25, 2013

  There's been a weeks-long battle between City College of New York's (CCNY) administration and student protesters angry over the closure of the Morales-Shakur Center, a hub for left-leaning campus poli... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Glorious NYT Correction Warns Jackass Fans: "Do Not, We Repeat, Do Not" Show Up at Temple Emanu-El

  published Nov 22, 2013

  This is almost funnier without context: On its City Room blog this morning, the New York Times had to emphatically warn Bad Grandpa fans not to show up at Temple Emanu-El on East 65th Street. They are... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Report Commissioned by Barneys Says Barneys Did Nothing Wrong In Alleged "Shop and Frisk" Incidents

  published Nov 22, 2013

  At the end of last month, luxury department store Barneys found itself facing the wrong kind of publicity, when a black teenager named Trayon Christian said he'd been racially profiled there, detained... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Despite Planned PETA Protests, Macy's Parade Won't Be Canceling SeaWorld Float

  published Nov 21, 2013

  SeaWorld has had a really, really bad few months. This summer saw the release of the documentary Blackfish, which explored the death of whale trainer Dawn Brancheau at their San Diego park. Brancheau ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Former Romney Intern Adam Savader Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking One Woman, Won't Face Trial For the Other 14

  published Nov 20, 2013

  The pithed-looking fellows you see to your left are former vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and Long Island native, former Romney/Ryan campaign intern, and super creepy dude Adam Savader. If Savade... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Two CCNY Students Charged With Rioting, Criminal Mischief, Harassment for Protests Over Closure of Morales-Shakur Center

  published Nov 19, 2013

  Two City College of New York students have been criminally charged for their role in the protests against the closure of the Morales-Shakur Center, the school's hub of campus political activity. Tafad... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Feminist Comedians Raised $50,000 During an Abortion Access Telethon, and Conservative Twitter's Heads Exploded

  published Nov 19, 2013

  As you may have heard, there's a public health emergency going down in Texas, where a far-reaching abortion ban has made the procedure virtually impossible for many women to obtain. The law in questio... More >>

• Don't Ask Nick Cave About His Reputation as a "Dirty Old Man"

  published Nov 18, 2013

  Nick Cave is sitting in front of a camera somewhere in Germany, looking in character, which is to say, terrifying. He's got on a black suit and a thinly-pinstriped blue shirt; his fingers are loaded d... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Three Women Say They Were Fired From Loehmann's for Being Too Old for Its "New, Youthful Corporate Image"

  published Nov 18, 2013

  When I think of Loehmann's, the famed department store, I think of my older female relatives, who have used it as a hunting ground for thousands of years, like a low-impact Jewish safari. But after 92... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Internet Privacy Groups Say Attorney General's Airbnb Subpoena is an Illegal "Fishing Expedition" for Information on Users

  published Nov 15, 2013

  As you're likely aware by now, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is deeply unhappy with Airbnb, which allows you a quick, easy way to sleep in stranger's houses. Earlier this year, Air... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Poll: Who's the More Horrible Media Troll, Richard Cohen or Lori Gottlieb?

  published Nov 14, 2013

  It's been quite a week for people writing what appear to be deliberately stupid editorials, but then, isn't it always? Earlier this week, the internet was in an uproar over Richard Cohen, Washington P... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  As Pine Bush Continues Arguing Over Anti-Semitism Accusations, U.S. Attorney's Office Opens Investigation [UPDATED]

  published Nov 13, 2013

  A third government agency has begun investigating claims of anti-Semitism in upstate New York's Pine Bush Central School District. The New York Times reports that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern Di... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wives, It's Snowing Very Lightly

  published Nov 12, 2013

  (Video via instagram user AlwaysBeenMad) Yes. Your eyeballs, your weather apps, and the frenzied squeakings of everyone on every social media site may be believed: it's snowing. In Central Park, th... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  "No One Threw Coins at the Fuckin' Jews:" Pine Bush Reacts to Being Called Anti-Semitic

  published Nov 11, 2013

  On Friday, the New York Times lobbed a bombshell upstate: a story about allegations of anti-Semitism in the Pine Bush Central School District, an hour and a half north of the city, spanning across sev... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Federal Judge: New York City's Disaster Plan Discriminates Against Disabled People

  published Nov 08, 2013

  Here's another nice parting gift for the Bloomberg administration in its waning days: a massive ruling issued late yesterday by a federal judge in New York's Southern District found that the city's em... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  After de Blasio's Election, Glenn Beck Thinks New York State Should Secede from the City

  published Nov 07, 2013

  We've been really busy the past couple days covering the mayoral election, and yet it somehow managed to slip by the whole news team that the age of progressivist communistic terror is upon us. Bill d... More >>