This weekend, an upstate New York 911 operator took a call from a woman whose sister in law was about to give birth. And by that I mean she was literally two minutes away from giving birth. » 11/17/14 4:30pm 11/17/14 4:30pm

The Federal Communications Commission just made a motion that requires mobile service providers and third-party apps (like iMessage and Google Hangouts) to make texting 911 available by the end of 2014. What could possibly go wrong? » 8/09/14 2:30pm 8/09/14 2:30pm

The social contract is a sacred thing, and, in the vacuum of constant police surveillance in which most people carry on with their daily-chores, we count on strangers to follow a few unstated or quietly stated rules that help society run with greater efficiency. Don’t sneeze into a crowd of people with one’s mouth… » 4/28/13 9:15pm 4/28/13 9:15pm

Not to alarm you this fine Sunday afternoon, but Politico has reported that Barbara Walters took quite a nasty spill Saturday night during a visit to the British Ambassador's office. The 83-year-old Walters fell down a step and cut her forehead, according to ABC, and has been hospitalized. Jeffrey W. Schneider,… » 1/20/13 3:00pm 1/20/13 3:00pm

Malala Yousufzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for having the audacity to promote women's education, will be getting some extra-special first-aide if her condition worsens. According to the AP, the United Arab Emirates plans to send a specially-outfitted aircraft to ferry Yousufzai abroad… » 10/14/12 1:30pm 10/14/12 1:30pm

You're young, it's your 18th birthday, and you want to celebrate with a cocktail. But not just some ordinary cocktail — you want something fancy. Something that creates a mist-like vapor and will make people think you're Morticia Addams enjoying a spooky, scary cocktail while paging through The Pit and the Pendulum.… » 10/09/12 12:55pm 10/09/12 12:55pm

There's a new kind of dirty bomb we need to worry about while flying: poopy diapers. A Qantas plane was in mid-air between Darwin and Brisbane, Australia earlier this week when passengers began complaining that something smelled strange. Airline procedures dictate that the plane has to land ASAP when that happens, so… » 2/02/12 9:45pm 2/02/12 9:45pm

Sure, there are some New Yorkers saying that Hurricane Irene is the "worst case of overreaction" they've ever seen but there are still plenty of people in other parts of the country who are dealing with the hurricane's very real aftermath —and in case your mother, brother, uncle, and neighbor haven't told you this… » 8/28/11 11:45am 8/28/11 11:45am

If you were hit by a bus today or were otherwise incapacitated, would your loved ones be able to quickly locate your important information or know how to handle your affairs? Many of us have a great handle on our finances, but our record keeping systems might not be obvious to family members or friends who might need… » 6/30/11 2:52pm 6/30/11 2:52pm