The Big Apple

(Newser) - An aide to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been urging labor chiefs and upstate officials not to support Caroline Kennedy's Senate bid, insiders tell the New York Times . The aide—known as Cuomo's enforcer—is said to have questioned Kennedy's credentials and dropped broad hints that Cuomo himself wanted Hillary Clinton's seat. More »

(Newser) - Katie Holmes is “Manhattan’s Most Valued Shopper” after spending more than $14 million during her 6 months in New York, the Post estimates. Dining at hot spots like Nobu accounts for more than $7,000, while dressing herself and Suri racked up at least $17,000. But the bulk of the tally comes from the Cruises’ rumored acquisition of three more lofts during Holmes’ Broadway run. More »

(Newser) - New York’s vaunted Rainbow Room will shut down its dining hall next week amid the recession and a rent conflict, the New York Daily News reports. With the Rainbow Grill’s closure, the tourist hotspot at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will—temporarily or otherwise—be 40 employees lighter and limited to a bar and banquet hall. "It's such a classic New York place," one fan laments. More »

(Newser) - Unlike other New York City employees—including billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg—Caroline Kennedy skirted the practice of disclosing her finances when working for the city, the New York Times reports. To reduce conflicts of interest, city regulations require high-level staff to file disclosures, and that would include Kennedy, who ran an office at the Department of Education. More »

(Newser) - New York City police arrested the owner of a 7-foot python after he reported the snake missing at a friend’s apartment, the Daily News reports. The Queens man said he was worried the python would escape the fifth-floor residence, and cops later found it curled up in a hallway, the Post reports. David Fennell, 28, was charged with unlawful possession of a wild animal. More »

(Newser) - New York, Boston, and Charlotte, NC, are at the center of the financial industry, but so far those cities haven’t seen home prices plummet the way they have in the rest of the country. New York’s single-family-home prices are down from their 2006 highs, roughly half the decline in the overall S&P/Case-Shiller index. But those cities can’t buck the trend forever, the Wall Street Journal reports, meaning prices have a steep drop ahead. More »

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy needs to, you know, work on her speaking skills if she is to have a future in politics, experts tell the New York Daily News. In a recent half-hour interview with the News , Kennedy said "you know" over 200 times. Other interviews also contained scores of "you knows" and a liberal sprinkling of "ums." More »

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy continued her media blitz today, asserting in a sit-down interview with the New York Times that