Clintons to Lead NYC New Year's Countdown

Ex-prez remembers excitement, Mayor Bloomberg perplexed

(NEWSER) - New York City's Times Square is a lot safer than it used be, Bill Clinton says, but he's still a little nostalgic for the pre-Rudy Giuliani seediness. "I still have vivid memories of it. Romantic, fascinating," Clinton said, recalling a time when he was a wide-eyed 18-year-old visitor. "I saw a hooker approach a gray flannel suit. Pretty heavy stuff for a guy from Arkansas." Clinton said he feels that New Yorkers are definitely better off now that they have a sanitized—and pedestrianized—Times Square More»

Fellow New Yorker's fall from grace is an unwanted distraction, unpleasant reminder

(NEWSER) - Will the Eliot Spitzer scandal hurt fellow New York Democrat Hillary Clinton, who's all too familiar with the travails of philandering men? Writers are weighing in:

• Clinton had trouble securing Spitzer's endorsement, writes John Nichols in the Nation, and now, "He is a distraction—the big player in her adopted home state who is now in big, big trouble." One positive: David Paterson would "instantly become Clinton's most prominent African-American backer."

Singer altered 'and no religion too' at Times Square bash

(NEWSER) - Not everyone is thrilled with Cee Lo Green's lyric change on New Year's Eve, MSNBC reports. When singing John Lennon's "Imagine" at New York's Times Square celebration, he changed "Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too" to "Nothing to kill or die for, and all religion's true." Green tweeted his explanation, the Huffington Post reports: "Yo I meant no disrespect. ... I was trying to say a world were u could believe what u wanted that's all." (The tweet has been removed from his feed .) More»

Former first daughter begins to embrace public life

(NEWSER) - She's the only child of one of the most powerful couples in American history, the gangly teen who has spent her life ducking the glare of the spotlight her parents craved, the bride whose wedding was watched as if she were royalty, and the would-be journalist whose latest gig inspired fury . And now, Chelsea Clinton is stepping out of the shadows and embracing public life, reports the New York Times in a lengthy and flattering profile. “My parents taught me to approach the world critically, but also to approach it with a sense of responsibility,” Clinton tells the Times. More»

Clinton cancels Europe trip

(NEWSER) - Dorothy Rodham, Hillary Clinton’s mother, died shortly after midnight, surrounded by her family at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, the Clinton family announced today. She was 92, and had been living with her daughter in Washington since 2006. Clinton canceled a planned trip to London and Istanbul to be with her when she fell ill last night, ABC News reports. More»