​Time for Plan B?

Nearly 1 million packs of birth control pills are getting recalled by Pfizer in the U.S., because a packaging screwup boosts your chances of pregnancy (via Time). Oy.

The pharmaceutical giant says that women with these sketchy scripts -- such as Lo/Ovral-28 tabs and Norgestrel and Estradiol pills, sold as Akrimax Rx -- should probably start using backup contraception if they don't want a kid. The expiration dates are from Jul. 31, 2013 to March 31, 2014.

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​Once upon a time, hip, taste-making Manhattanites in the know would trek to Brooklyn to propagate the species with relatively more space and sometimes even backyards in which to park their Maclarens. But a surprising trend has been uncovered by DNAinfo, which reports that birth rates in Lower Manhattan have surged in the last 10 years. Community Board 1, which makes up the area below Canal Street, reports 1,086 babies born there in 2010. This is up 12 percent from 2009 and doubles the number born in 2001.

This also represents a recovery trend in the neighborhood from 9/11. But the point is, it's a trend.

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Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor

​New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan have announced the arrests and indictments of three drug traffickers who sold drugs and guns near the Chelsea Houses in Manhattan, on certain occasions using a baby's stroller and diaper bag to stash the goods. Epifanio Santiago, or "Frenchie," the main defendant, has been charged with selling heroin, cocaine, crack, oxycodone pills, and two guns during seven meetings with undercover detectives -- upon his arrest last night at West 23rd Street and 9th Avenue, he was in possession of eight grams of crack, five grams of heroin, and $382. His apartment at West 25th Street was then searched; officers found crack pipes and a small amount of marijuana.

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​ A mom tried to sell her baby for $500 in a Taco Bell in Vancouver, Washington last week, joining a long tradition of people attempting to sell their children in down-market chains. 36-year-old Heidi Knowles approached a woman at the restaurant and tried to hand her her baby boy, making it clear that he was for sale. The woman called 911 and Knowles was arrested. She and the baby had been living in a motel; Knowles had reportedly claimed to be the mother of five children, but none lived with her other than the baby in question. The surprising thing about this story is how un-surprising it is. Seems like every week we read another "People Try to Sell Baby" story. In no particular order: More >>

​• Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the four-alarm fire that ripped through the Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue, which had been under reconstruction, at East 85th Street last night. 170 firefighters responded, a few suffering minor injuries. No one was inside at the time of the blaze. The rabbi says the congregation will rebuild, though the damage is considerable. [NY1]

• Senator Daniel Daniel Squadron has asked for a full review of the L and F lines following yesterday's report that people actually do want to use subways on the weekends. The MTA is in the process of responding. [DNA Info]

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​The New York Post today has an article about "baby-cakes." Contrary to what one might think, a "baby-cake" is not a cake with a baby inside it, nor a cake made of baby, whipped and delicious, nor even a traditional New Orleans "King cake" in which, if you get a little plastic baby in your slice, you are saddled with the responsibility of bringing the cake the next year. No, a "baby-cake" is a cake that contains frosting (or, at the very least, cakiness) of a gender-stereotyped color representing whether your baby is a girl or a boy on the inside. As the Post puts it, "Why find out your tot's gender in the doctor's office when you can have your nearest and dearest alongside you, as well as a delicious cake?" Why, indeed?

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​As humans who generally don't name ourselves, we're all prone to wanting another name at some point or another. Sometimes we reject what our parents decided to call us in favor of something better, more likable, or often, more popular. For example, names like Kate or Nicole or Natalie, anything more mundane and easily spelled, could be coveted. (My name rhymes with "slavery.") But it could be worse: a fruit, a last name, or any location.

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​Well, hooray. "Brooklyn" was the 34th most popular name nationwide for baby girls in 2010, and in Utah, South Dakota, and North Dakota, it was the SIXTH most common. Brooklyn, according to ParentsConnect, comes from the Dutch word "Breukelen," and probably means "broken land," which means it's sort of an odd baby name. Its popularity, at least according to a Utah mayor, can be attributed to Posh and Becks, who named their son Brooklyn in 1999 9/11.

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​It's been a big week...for child protective services? First there was Botox mom, and now this: Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon, new parents of twins Moroccan and Monroe (I know), have already had a little moment with CPS. Cannon told Piers Morgan of all people that he was approached in the hospital about possible alcohol and drug use by his wife. But what had happened was this: "It all started when a nurse suggested to my wife that if you drink Guinness, the dark beer, the yeast improves breastfeeding. I don't know if someone heard that, but then they were saying my wife was drinking beer. People will do anything to try to conjure up a story." It was all a misunderstanding! Mariah wasn't drinking Guiness. She only drinks champagne.

[Jezebel via Yahoo]

[@_rosiegray]

Cute, not good for luggage.

​In the craziest tale of an animal smuggler we've heard this year, a man was busted in Thailand with the following in his luggage:

1. 2 baby leopards 2. 2 baby panthers 3. a baby bear 4. 2 baby macaque monkeys

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