Earl Wilson / The New York Times

New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane

After the New York Times wrote a searing two-part series earlier this month detailing the problem of sexual abuse in Brooklyn's Hasidic and Ultra-Orthdox communities, we noted that some journalists and activists thought the paper should have acknowledged its debt to other journalists.

The Times wouldn't comment on the record on the subject, but Arthur Brisbane, the paper's public editor, told us he was conducting his own investigation into the issue. Yesterday, Brisbane published his conclusions.

Carolyn Ryan, the Times's Metro Editor, told Brisbane "We were never under any illusion that we were the first outlet to report on abuse in the community, nor did we claim to be."

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In an editorial published in today's paper, the New York Times throws its weight behind NYU's controversial expansion plan, saying that the project's opponents have "mostly overreacted." Although the paper does honor some criticisms of the plan, their ultimate point is broad. "N.Y.U., along with other great educational institutions in New York, like Columbia, needs to expand," the Times wrote. "It's good for the entire city, and it's inevitable." Runnin' Scared reached out to Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which has fought against the plan. Berman said that the editorial "ignores some of the basic facts."

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Who said no one cared about print anymore? A man attempted to climb the New York Times building this morning. Why? According to the New York Post, when the man was on the ground he explained he attempted his ascension because he "was looking for a copy of the newspaper." Yes, as one person said on Twitter, he could have just read it online, but maybe he just really wanted ink-stained fingers.

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Sam Levin

Shelby Knox, from Change.org, at an Apple protest in Grand Central.

There were more reporters than protestors at a rally today at the new Apple store in Grand Central. A lot more reporters.

But it's an important cause, especially for you iPhone-iPad-MacBook-Apple-loving folks, so listen up!

SumOfUs and Change.org, two groups speaking out against labor practices in China, partnered up today to pressure Apple to address recent reports around the inhumane labor conditions in the factories that build the technology giant's products.

Officially, the groups arrived at 10 a.m. this morning to deliver a petition to the store. But as soon as the organizers -- four or so of them -- arrived, it quickly became a media spectacle. We're talking about Runnin' Scared running in circles in a fruitless effort to keep up with dozens of cameras and reporters surrounding the protestors as they ascended the steps of Grand Central to enter the Apple store.

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Bobby and Violet, 4Ever.

The New York Times has been very much involved in the life and times of the red-tailed hawks at Washington Square Park (a watch sadly marred by the recent death of poor Violet, mother hawk to Pip). Meanwhile, Bobby, father hawk, man-about-town, already has a new woman in his life. In order to incorporate the winged newcomer into the fold, the New York Times offered up a question to the hawk-adoring public. They wanted us to name Bobby's lady friend, and gave the choice of "Rosie" or "Noelle," allowing people to vote for one, and only one, once.

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Courtesy Samantha Zucker

Last week, the New York Times published a story about the arrest of 21-year-old Carnegie Mellon student Samantha Zucker, who was in New York City with a group of classmates to look for job opportunities. At about 3 a.m. on October 22, Zucker and her friend Alex Fischer were stopped by cops in Riverside Park and ticketed for trespassing. (The park was closed at that hour.) While Fischer had a driver's license and was allowed to leave after showing it, Zucker had left hers back at the hotel. What ensued was a 36-hour period in which she was handcuffed, arrested, and held in the system, moved from various precincts to central booking and back again, while also being, in her words, mocked by the arresting officer, and finally going before a judge, who dismissed the ticket "in less than a minute."

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Not the foot found; not a real foot, either.

Earlier today, both the Daily News and the New York Post reported the gruesome news that what appeared to be a toddler's foot had been discovered by an unlucky fellow taking out the trash in Queens. "That's somebody's baby!" the Post quoted a horrified woman as saying. Fortunately, that was not correct, and, frankly, a little bit sensational. The New York Times quotes the Medical Examiner's Office: "Our anthropologists examined it," Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the office, said. "It's still unclear what it is, but it's definitely not a human foot."

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Rosie Gray

Our copy of the Puppy Diaries.

Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times, is a huge dog lover. How huge? She blogged about her adorable golden retriever puppy Scout on nytimes.com and she's coming out with a book this month, The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout, also known as Jill Abramson's God Damn Puppy Book. It's the best vanity project of 2011(it was even printed by Times Books!) and we've gotten our hands on an advance copy. John Koblin made some observations last week, but we'll go ahead and publish a paragraph or two ourselves. A caveat: this is an advance reader's copy; the final version may be different.

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The above photo of juxtaposed screenshots from the New York Times website has been making the rounds on Facebook, and it shows two very different takes for the same story on yesterday's Brooklyn Bridge arrests. The screenshot on the left, from 6:59 p.m., appears to reflect what many protesters are saying: The police tricked them into marching on the bridge. At 7:19 p.m., any mention of the police allowing demonstrators onto the bridge was removed from the lede. Why did they make this change?

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Nine years, 23 hours, and 55 minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, economist Paul Krugman published a peculiar post to his New York Times blog. He titled it, "The Years of Shame," and it briskly bemoans the fact that 9/11 has become a wedge issue. He says, "The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it." There is a complex and highly difficult series of points he wants to make, but Krugman makes almost no effort to elaborate; the post is merely 181 words, including the final sentence: "I'm not going to allow comments on this post, for obvious reasons."

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