New York’s currently: an urban slushee

 Saddam Hussein captured near Tikrit in raid by U.S. troops. Related: Description of how he was apprehended; Found through tip-off by a member of his tribal clan; New Iraqi leaders meet with Hussein; Hussein could be tried within the next few weeks, and if convicted could be executed.

 Gunmen cross from Chechnya into Dagestan, kill at least three border guards, take hostages from village school.

 DNA tests like the one used to confirm Saddam Hussein’s identity can be done in as little as 12 hours.

 Iraqi town declares it will continue to fight for Hussein.

 Loyalty, terrain, and currency make tracking, capturing Osama bin Laden more difficult.

 ‘Well, if I take that glass of water I will have to urinate, and if I have to urinate, I will have to go to the bathroom, and how can I possibly go to the bathroom when my people are enslaved?’ Hussein proves a difficult interrogatee.

 1993 vs. 2003: New York then and now.

 Heterosexual couples who boycott marriage because gay couples can’t.

 Give: New York Times Neediest Cases Fund.

 The dangerous, deadly flu pandemic that everyone’s worried about.

 He deep-fries an entire turkey, prepares a potato soufflé, braises a few cardoons, whips up a spicy tomato sorbet, and flips and flips again a platter-sized Reuben’s apple pancake. Food writer and playwright Jonathan Reynolds cooks and acts in his play ‘Dinner With Demons.’

 Winter stories: George Saunders, ‘Chicago Christmas, 1984’; David Sedaris, ‘Let it Snow’; Ian Frazier, ‘By the Road.’

 Kittens discuss the Hussein capture.

 Fun without mittens: snowball fight.

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Love and thanks to the weekend’s TMN-contributor