In what can be described as an extensive battle against smokers, the New York City health commissioner Thomas Farley recently said that he proposes to "expand smoke-free spaces to include city parks and public beaches."

With a smoking ban already in place since 2003, prohibiting smoking in offices, train stations and other indoor public places, the recent proposal would leave smokers with even fewer places to light up. The ban will cover as many as 1,700 parks and outdoor recreational areas, along with the city's seven beaches, extending up to 14 miles of shoreline.

Citing sources 'in the know', The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the settlement of the $22.5 billion lawsuit between The Bank of New York Mellon Corp and the Russian government is apparently on the cards for up to $14 million, with both sides also agreeing to hold talks about a trade-financing pact.

Though the proposed settlement necessitates the final approval of the Russian government, it is quite likely that an agreement might be reached before the next court hearing scheduled for October 20.

According to information forwarded by US law enforcement officials, New York authorities raided several homes in Queens early Monday, in an attempt to conduct terror investigations for dismantling a supposed unit of locally-based Islamist militants, which was deemed to be a threat.

ABC News said that the somewhat harsh nature of the investigations resulted from the requisite briefings to be provided to leading Republican and Democratic lawmakers, about an alleged Al-Qaeda terror suspect.

In the Saturday night Major League Soccer (MLS) game at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, the Kansas City Wizards defeated the New York Red Bulls, 1-0; marking the City Wizards' second win in their last ten matches!

Both the teams, which are out of the playoff race, are adjusting to new interim coaches, and are responding well to the change.

The US Open quarter-final between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Flushing Meadows, was called off for the night, after the rain-disrupted game was suspended twice, and caused nearly three hours of delay!

When the game was called off due to bad weather, the third seed Nadal - suffering from an abdominal injury and having recently recovered from a knee problem - was leading the eleventh seed Gonzalez 7-6 (7-4) and leading a second set tie-break 3-2.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum Thursday launched a Web site that displays a collection of public reported accounts of the World Trade Center (WTC) tragedy of September 11, 2001; and has appealed to people all over the world to contribute more 9/11 stories.

The newly-launched site - http://makehistory.national911memorial.org - features public views of the terrorist attacks in the form of amateur videos, images and stories put together by the foundation constructing the memorial.