Hitting the reset button and figuring out what is on tap for the week.

Until then, Open Thread.

Sunday and Thursday are currently the best TV nights of the week. Tonight, Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race" is in Denver.

There's also a new episode of Big Brother and Breaking Bad. And the MTV Music Video Awards are tonight. MTV sent a private jet yesterday to collect Snooki and the Jersey Shore gang from the East Coast so they wouldn't miss it.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Hurricane Irene has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It doesn't look bad in New York City, but police are still advising people to stay indoors. Flooding is still a danger.

Anderson Cooper is reporting from Battery Park. It wouldn't be a hurricane without him.

There was a segment with a group of very feisty women in a senior's home in Atlantic City saying they weren't going anywhere. Gov. Christie said they could only get 100 to leave, 500 simply refused. So far they are okay.

Hurricane Irene has reached New York. Mayor Bloomberg says it's too late to evacuate, just stay indoors.

Here's the current tracker. For those of you on the east coast, how are you doing?

Hurricane Irene is weakening but still a threat. More here.

In New York, there are no planes, subways, buses, Broadway, Bloomingdales or Saks.

Another tracker here.

It's a Hard Rain's Gonna Fall. Goodnight Irene.

This is an open thread, all topics -- and music suggestions -- welcome. Stay safe everyone.

Locked up and left behind. Rikers Island has ten jails on 400 acres and 12,000 inmates. It's built on landfill, which is considered more vulnerable to natural disasters. Yet Mayor Bloomberg announced today there are no evacuation plans for Rikers.

Among the prisoners: Pre-trial detainees who have not been convicted of a crime; juvenile offenders and mentally ill inmates.

Does no one remember the prisoners during Hurricane Katrina? [More...]

The New York Times has this easy to follow graphic Hurricane Irene Tracker where you can follow the storm's progress, estimate the time it will hit various places, and at what strength.

Washington, DC is slated to greet Irene at 8 am Saturday morning. President Obama is leaving Martha's Vineyard a day early. In North Carolina, Irene has been downgraded to a Cat 2. A lot of power outages are expected.

What are you doing to prepare? What online sites are you following for updates? The National Hurricane Center is here. And will there be any other news to follow over the next few days?

Hurricane Irene is all the talk today.

I'm traveling to Washington today to get a closer look. No blogging until tonight.

Open Thread.

Busy day, but wish me a happy birthday anyway. Like Jack Benny (who?), I'm 39.

Open Thread.

I'm making a huge pot of soup with all the vegetables I bought Saturday at the Farmers Market, and watching Big Brother. Today's 98 degree heat broke a 75 year record.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered changes to rules regarding eyewitness evidence . More on the changes here. The changes are expected to be watched closely by other states.

Currently, a defendant has the burden of proving there was undue suggestion during the identification process. That won't change. But the court has ordered that when a defendant can show some evidence of suggestiveness by police, a pretrial hearing must be held to explore it.

The court also requires a system be developed to better explain to juries the potential flaws with eyewitness identifications.

Steve Jobs has stepped down at Apple. He said:

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know," Jobs said in a letter to "the Apple community" that was released by the company. "Unfortunately, that day has come."

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Associated Press has more on its investigation into the secret infiltration of Muslim communities by the NYPD, through programs created for them by the CIA.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the NYPD has become one of the country's most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies. A months-long investigation by The Associated Press has revealed that the NYPD operates far outside its borders and targets ethnic communities in ways that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government. And it does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying.

There are some details of a secret human mapping program: [More...]