The author of a new book about the CIA’s hallucinogenic drug tests during the Cold War says there’s evidence the agency used NYC commuters as their experimental subjects. He found documentation of the subway tests—which allegedly occurred in 1950—while researching his nonfiction account. "The experiment was pretty shocking — shocking that the CIA and the Army would release LSD like that, among innocent unwitting folks," H.P. Albarelli told The Post.

One piece of evidence cited in A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments is a declassified FBI report from Aug. 25, 1950. "The BW [biological weapon] experiments to be conducted by representatives of the Department of the Army in the New York Subway System in September 1950, have been indefinitely postponed," it says. Dr. Henry Eigelsbach, a former CIA research scientist, says that the aerosol LSD tests did in fact happen, though little is known about their scale and results.

Interestingly, the timing of the hallucinogenic experiments coincides with an incident in which a French town was suddenly seized by insanity that hospitalized 32 people and led to four deaths. Officials blamed moldy rye bread, but the chemical make-up of the fungus resembled that of LSD. It doesn’t seem like an accident that Frank Olson—the CIA research scientist in charge of LSD, who himself became an unwitting subject and later committed suicide—was in France at the time of the outbreak.

Another character in the book is George Hunter White, a Bureau of Narcotics agent with CIA ties, and the administrator of the subway tests, according to Eigelsbach (unfortunately, he says, White’s diary entries about the experiments were destroyed). Sometimes posing as an artist, White would lure passersby to a “safe space” he’d set up in Greenwich Village then surreptitiously or overtly dose them with the drug. Once his subjects’ trips began, he’d interrogate them and see what came out, according to a CIA document.

• Torontoist investigated some onomatopoeias ("OUCH!" "THUNK!" "OOF!" "YIPE!") painted along a road, pointing to potential hazards for cyclists.
• Chicagoist began a new series in their ongoing look at the battle to bring another Wal-Mart to the city, this time exploring what it's like to work at the store.
• LAist couldn't apply the brakes to the comments section on this post about a San Diego man's runaway Prius.
• SFist waited in line to visit the SF Underground Market.
• Bostonist spent the week pondering local challenges to Obama's health care reform from both the right and the left.
• Seattlest went behind the scenes of much-lauded local pizza place Delancey.
• Shanghaiist found a cafe advertisement for Starf*cks.
• Phillyist co-editor Jenn DiSanto and staff writer Leigh Simpson represented Philly at the Disney Princess Half Marathon ... and made it to the finish line.
• Gothamist had its fill of salt-related news: There was "salty" Eric Massa's resignation and "snorkeling" allegations and then a NY lawmaker's proposal to ban salt.
• Houstonist pondered the addition of two minor league baseball teams within its metroplex.

Toyota investigators haven’t been able to replicate the high-speed ride that so terrified a San Diego Prius owner, leading one official to question whether it really happened. According to a spokesman for California Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the oversight committee, the car company’s results put “the credibility” of the story into question, but Patty Sikes, wife to the “runaway Toyota” driver is enraged by the suggestion. "We're just fed up with all of it," she said. "Our careers are ruined and life is just not good anymore." Meanwhile, an alleged local victim of pedal acceleration will get a visit from a company engineer.

The probe into the California Prius—which was covered under floor mat recalls but not supposed to have acceleration defects—revealed that a “backup mechanism that shuts off the engine when the brake and gas pedals are floored" worked properly during tests,” according to USA Today. Test drivers were unable to take the car on any kind of uncontrolled ride, let alone a 23 minute sprint like the one described by the car’s owner. Another recent investigation focused on Jim Sikes’s finances, turning up a 2008 bankruptcy filing. “Everyone can just leave us alone," said his defensive wife. "Jim didn't get hurt. There's no intent at all to sue Toyota. If any good can come out of this, maybe they can find out what happened so other people don't get killed."

In Harrison, NY an engineer will seek answers for a Prius owner whose car allegedly flew across two lanes of traffic, stopped only by a stone wall, reports LoHud.com. Like Sikes, her 2005 hybrid was recalled for faulty floor mats, but shouldn’t have had pedal problems. In recent weeks, Toyota has faced increased criticism for putting off recalls, and in doing so, endangering the public.

The larger-than-life Jets coach Rex Ryan is working on his mid-section with some help from modern medical technology. The Daily News found out that "Ryan underwent weight-loss surgery Saturday at NYU Medical Center... A scheduled lap-band procedure was performed on Ryan, team spokesman Bruce Speight said Saturday night."

Ryan is reportedly 340 pounds and would follow a 7,000 calorie-a-day diet— the Post recalled this anecdote, "While dieting a few years ago, an assistant spied Ryan toting a pizza to his hotel room. When confronted, Ryan claimed it was for his son Seth. But the next day, when the assistant asked Seth about the pie, the boy replied, 'What pizza?'"

Ryan has previously said he's concerned about his weight but, "The thing that gets me is, my cholesterol is fine, my blood pressure is fine. I'm a genetic freak, I guess." If you want to see Ryan's belly, check out this video of him changing into a hockey jersey.

The latest company being called out for their discriminating hiring practices is J. Crew (following the lead of Prada, American Apparel and scores of others). Today a rally will go down at 1:15 p.m. in front of their 5th Avenue location, after a non-profit group called Make the Road New York filed a complaint with the NY Attorney General's office.

The group says the preppy proprietor might as well post a "transgender people need not apply" sign on their door. They recently put 24 of the company's Manhattan retail stores to the test, sending a transgender and a nontransgender to apply for jobs—with everything else (age, race, experience) matching on their resumes. The transgender was offered zero jobs, while her counterpart was offered eight. The group's report "also found a 42 percent net rate of discrimination for transgender job applicants... [and] 49 percent of transgender workers surveyed reported that they have never been offered a job in the time that they have lived openly as transgender."

Queerty asks, "J. Crew has spent nearly three decades outfitting America's homosexuals in their dandy wardrobe... why aren't you hiring transgender job applicants?"

A Brighton Beach apartment complex is cracking down on dog owners, fining them $100/month and threatening to take away their parking spaces if they don't get rid of their pets. A spokesman for the board of Trump Village—a sprawling three-building development with 1,700 apartments—says it's fed up with tenants who “surreptitiously smuggled in dogs in defiance of the rules and regulations binding them,” but residents smell a cash grab. "I think it's totally ridiculous," Marylyn Langsdorf, who lives with her 6-pound Yorkshire terrier in Trump Village Section 3, told the News. "I think the whole point is to just get money from us."

A lawyer who specializes in “pet-related tenant rights” is on the case, which may or may not go to court. "It's a way to extract money from these folks and scare the hell out of them to give up dogs they've had for years," said attorney Maddy Tarnofsky. She added that the apartments were too slow in reprimanding its disobedient tenants. "Once they find out [that the tenant owns the pet], they have three months to bring the case into court," she said of the board. "If they don't, any objection is waived, and the pet is no longer considered illegal."

Last night, Jerry Seinfeld, NBC's maybe savior, appeared on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update to join Seth Meyers to question recently resigned Congressman Eric Massa's decision making process. One line from Seinfeld: "I can't stop thinking, if that's snorkeling, what's scuba diving?"

Massa was also the inspiration for SNL's cold opening—an imaginary exit interview at the House of Representatives:

According to a new study, sluggish emergency workers are taking longer to get to some NY areas. Of course it’s all relative: the worst delays are in Carroll Gardens where distressed New Yorkers waited an average of 33 seconds longer in 2009 and in the Bronx’s Highbridge neighborhood (near Yankee Stadium) where wait times increased by 27 seconds. Thirty four other police precincts also saw longer reaction times, reports the Post, though many stayed steady and 42 precincts cut their delays. Though the increases may seem tiny, Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice stressed their significance. "This is a huge issue," he said. "For people who have a critical need for the police, any increase is alarming."

Mayor Bloomberg loves ladling out diet tips, but he's not about to give up his salty hot sausages. The Post reports that on his weekly radio show he called a recent proposal to ban salt in restaurants “ridiculous.” "You have to have salt when you cook," observed the mayor. "I do. I use too much salt already myself. But also it makes a lot of foods, the way you cook them and bake them—salt is a real ingredient. So I don't think that's the right thing to do."

The bill’s creator, Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz responded to the mayor’s diss yesterday, saying he had it all wrong: "My intention for this legislation was to prohibit the use of salt as an additive to meals. If salt is a functional component of the recipe, by all means, it should be included. But, when we have meals prepared by restaurants that pile unnecessary amounts of salt, we have a problem." Previously he claimed his bill would fully ban "the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food."

Mayor Bloomberg has his own “voluntary” campaign to lower city sodium. Rather than instituting an on outright ban, he’s asked manufacturers and fast food chains to please reduce salt content in their products.

The construction worker who was arrested for the vicious beating of a woman in a Midtown bar's bathroom told the police he was acting in self-defense. According to court papers, Mbarek Lafrem said, "She was trying to push me so I punched her in the face twice and pushed her back in the stall."

Police say that Lafrem, 30, of Norwood, Pa., had tried to dance a 29-year-old woman at the bar Social on West 48th Street. She had refused, and he apparently followed her into the bathroom. In court papers, Lafrem explained to the police, "I was at the bar with the girl. I went into the bathroom and she started yelling at me. She was coming towards me so I grabbed her by the arms. She was trying to push me so I punched her in the face twice and pushed her back in the stall. She fell into the stall and hit her head."

The woman's friend later found her unconscious in the stall; the victim needed 50 stitches for a laceration and also suffered a fractured skull, a broken nose and a broken eye socket. The Post reports she was also found with "one pant leg completely off and the other around her ankle, the court papers said." Lafrem was charged with attempted murder, assault and attempted rape. He's also being held without bail.

Police were led to Lafrem by a tip. The NY Times notes that the NYPD, which had released relatively clear surveillance video of the beating suspect, was surprised that they only received two tips: "The reason became clear, however, later Friday morning when a worker from a Midtown construction site called the police tip line and identified the man in the video... It turned out that the suspect was a laborer from Pennsylvania working on a construction job at 16 West 34th Street, near Herald Square, and staying at the Best Western Hotel a block from Social." NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said, "He was not residing permanently in the city. With a typical suspect, residing in one of the five boroughs, we would have expected more calls."

It’s come out that another top aide to Gov. Paterson was involved in a domestic dispute, serious enough that officials were alerted. The Times Union reports that in 1995 Clemmie Harris, who at the time was a state trooper, got in a heated argument with his then-girlfriend Lori Ann Guzman. No punches were thrown allegedly, but she was “nervous” enough that she called the cops. Guzman never pressed charges, but seven months later her boyfriend quit his job with the state police, because of what police sources call "a mental disability." Harris is currently special gubernatorial assistant, and like former-aide David Johnson, he works very closely with Paterson. According to the Post, he frequently sleeps over at the governor’s mansion.

Cops are looking for two jewel thieves who posed as buyers, then bound and tied the employees at a Diamond District gem store, before committing a robbery at gunpoint. "One of the hawkers on the street who grab people brought the guys up," a security guard on the scene yesterday told the Post. They ascended to the second floor of the building, at 55 West 47th Street, then one man pulled a gun; using zip ties they immobilized three workers and a customer at Royal Gems. It’s unclear how much cash and jewelry they took, reports the Post, but as they were fleeing the man who’d ushered them inside collapsed to the ground, leading onlookers to fear the worst.

The hawker was taken to the hospital around noon after apparently having a nervous breakdown. "Nobody got shot. The old dude just got scared and fell down. Like a heart attack or something," said the security guard witness. Paramedics identified his injury as "noncritical."

Retailers in the district suspect the thieves, who were around 25-years old, may strike again, but they say their scheme can’t work for long. "It’s very dangerous to be on the second floor because thieves think they are invisible," said Simon Moas, who runs nearby Sim Jewelry. "But they aren’t because there are cameras everywhere, so there is definitely a picture of the thief," he said. Police are currently trying to locate that picture. Recently another set of masquerading jewelry crooks donned Hasidic garb to get access to a Diamond District store. One hawker told the Times that tricks like these frequently grace the area. “Somebody swallows a diamond,” he said. “Somebody gives a fake credit card and then walks away with jewels.”

The Nor'easter that swept in yesterday left a lot of damages and three deaths in its wake. Two people were killed by a falling tree in Teaneck, NJ while a woman in Bay Shore, Long Island was also killed by a falling tree. Others experienced more downed trees, power outages, and flooding.

Winds hit 60 MPH, and 126,000 residents were left without power in NYC, 145,000 without power on Long Island, 66,000 without power in Connecticut, and 273,000 without power in NJ (some service has been restored). A few subway lines were suspended temporarily due to trees on tracks and track flooding while the Staten Island Ferry's service was suspended for six hours, because the winds made it difficult to dock the ferries. LIRR suspended some service and hundreds of NJ Transit passengers were stuck on a train for five hours. Also, there were (naturally) delays at the three area airports.

The city's 911 and 311 systems were overwhelmed: NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said, "On a busy Saturday night we may get as many as a thousand calls in an hour. This Saturday evening we received as many as 4,000 in an hour, most of them weather related." One woman whose grandparents' home had no heat or electricity and also had flooding told the Daily News, "We were calling for over an hour. We need the Fire Department more now than ever."

Photograph of West Virigina players celebrating by Frank Franklin II/AP

• West Virginia 60 Georgetown 58: Last night, West Virginia won the Big East tournament, defeating Georgetown. WVU's Da'Sean Butler is deemed "Da Man" by the Post—Butler had 20 points, including the game-winning shot with 4.2 seconds left—and he said, "It means the world to me. I grew up around this area.... That's my favorite team, the New York Knicks. I grew up watching this on television. To play so well here since I've been a freshman, it means the world to me."
• Knicks 128 Dallas Mavervicks 94: Pushed out of Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, the Knicks beat the Mavericks on their own turf in a big way, perhaps to avenge Dallas's 50-point victory over the Knicks back in January. Al Harrington said, "They really embarrassed us on our home floor. So we were able to get a little bit of revenge tonight. It feels good. Revenge is sweet sometimes, you know? If we had gotten up by 50, it would have been really nice."
• Houston Rockets 116 Nets 108: The Nets lost their 59th game of the year against Houston.
• Islanders 4 Devils 2: Mark Streit, Jon Sim, Freddy Meyer and Sean Bergenheim scored for the Islanders, while goalie Dwayne Roloson made 38 saves on 40 shots.

What winds! NotifyNYC issued an alert saying, "All service on the Staten Island Ferry has been suspended in both directions due to severe weather conditions and high tides." The suspension, ordered by the U.S. Coast Guard and captain of the docks ordered, began at 5:30 p.m., and the Staten Island Advance reports the high winds are "preventing the ferries from docking safely." Also, NotifyNYC says, "The 911 system is experiencing a large volume of weather related calls. Callers who dial 911 to report an emergency are requested to stay on the line. The public should call 911 for emergencies only, and 311 for non-emergencies." We'll do a round of up the wild weather tomorrow morning—let us know what you've experienced in the comments below!

At 2 a.m., it's time for the U.S. (well, not Hawaii and Arizona save some parts) to spring forward an hour. While you lose an hour of sleep, just think—it'll be lighter in the late afternoon/early evening! Also, it's a good time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

On CBS yesterday Paterson said his troubles date back long before he was accused of ethics violations or charged with misusing state police. “The difficulty and disaster greeted me and have dictated most of the decision making through my term,” he said, adding that now, with a $9 billion deficit, he has little option but to make massive budget cuts. As for his alleged indiscretions, Paterson wouldn’t comment, though he claimed he'd been honest throughout the investigation.

When asked why he’d hired a criminal lawyer, he claimed the move wasn’t by any means an admission of guilt. Meanwhile, Paterson sharply criticized his criminal-justice coordinator Denise O'Donnell for stepping down, saying she did it for selfish political gain. "The criminal-justice coordinator [O'Donnell], I think everybody knows, is running for attorney general, and you will have relationships that get exacerbated at times like that," he said on WWRL-1600 AM.

Also on CBS, Paterson broke down some of his threatened budget cuts. In order to avoid taxing New Yorkers he wants to decrease school funding by at least five percent, take $1 billion from the health care budget and reduce agency funding by $750 million to $1 billion. “We could see severe downgrades in health care delivery services. We could see regular services—sanitation and public accommodations—being limited and we would see severe cuts to education," said the governor.

Wireless internet may soon be a reality for our city’s trains. The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 predicted it, and now the MTA says it wants Metro North and LIRR to be connected by the end of the year. According the Post officials have issued a call for ideas on how best to float internet on the trains coming and going from the city. Also to be wired: Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. But considering the budget crunch, how does the authority plan to pay for its hook-up?

The cost of installing and maintaining the connection will fall to the internet company awarded the contract, and maybe to consumer-commuters. "It's clearly something people would like to have," said board member Mitch Pally, who chairs the MTA's LIRR committee. With Wi-Fi capability they’ll be able to stream video, upload photos and instantaneously update their MTA-related blogs. And maybe if they have a screen to stare at passengers will finally stop yakking on their phones!

“Sneaky Chef” author Missy Lapine is taking another stab at Jerry Seinfeld, claiming he slandered her character by calling her a “nutjob” on national TV. In a previous lawsuit Lapine accused the comic’s wife of stealing her idea for a cookbook that showed parents how to covertly feed their kids healthy foods (sweet potato in a grilled cheese sandwich, avocado in chocolate pudding etc.). A judge ruled against her but nonetheless Seinfeld felt compelled to call her a “wacko” during an appearance on David Letterman. According to the Daily News, the new suit targets the statements made by the sitcom star as well as Harper Collins, who the author says twice rejected her cookbook concept, before handing a book deal to Seinfeld’s wife.

The latest plea to save hundreds of subway station agents from the MTA's budget cuts is now coming from House of Representatives. Three Democrats sent a letter to MTA chairman Jay Walder, "We strongly urge you to re-evaluate the current plans" and not, potentially, "compromise" subway security.

The NY Times reports that the letter came from Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Mississippi), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas; chairwoman of the transportation security subcommittee), and Rep. Yvette D. Clarke of (D-Brooklyn; chairwoman of the subcommittee on emerging threats), who acknowledged the MTA's budget woes but called the station agents "an important link in the transit security chain":

Although our domestic transit systems have thus far been spared, deadly terrorist attacks in Spain, Great Britain, India and Russia over the last few years have emphasized the vulnerabilities of public transportation in large urban areas and demonstrated the security challenges unique to these open, passenger-heavy systems...

The case of Najibullah Zazi is a chilling reminder that our transit systems are targets of Al Qaeda and its affiliates.

MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan told the Times, "The subway system. is the safest it’s been in years, thanks to the vigilance and dedication of the N.Y.P.D., and there will continue to be a strong presence of M.T.A. employees throughout the subway system," while TWU president John Samuelson points out that station agents can field riders' concerns (you know, See Something, Say Something!).

Rapists, kiddie porno and plotting thieves all figure into socialite Gigi Jordan’s suicide note, but as far as officials are concerned, they’re all fabricated. The letter—found on her laptop after she allegedly fed her autistic son a fatal dose of prescription pills and attempted to kill herself—was revealed in court yesterday. Much of her paranoia focused on her ex-husband: "I feel his final revenge will be to kill [m]e and use [our son] in the sex trade," she wrote. According the defense the wild 20-page letter is evidence Jordan should be allowed out on bond to undergo psychiatric treatment at St. Vincent's.

The little boy, Jude, couldn’t speak but Jordan recounts how he told her about frequent and disturbing sexual abuse by his father and step-dad, according to the News. "He ... told me he was raped every day, sometimes more than once a day," she writes. "How long could you watch your child ... knowing the abusers might take him again and do more of this to him." On February Fifth police discovered Jordan "babbling incoherently" next to the deceased 8-year-old in a top-priced suite at the tony Midtown hotel and spa.

Both father figures deny any wrongdoing, and police agree the note’s accusations of unsubstantiated. "It's clear to me now that she was totally insane. It doesn't make any sense," said Emil Tzekov, Jude’s dad. "It's so scary that Jude was with her when she was like this.” The Post reports that the only party arguing Jordan isn’t insane is the prosecution, that insists she knowingly killed her child and kept herself alive. "She was in her room with thousands of pills at her disposal . . . yet Ms. Jordan was not dead," said lead prosecutor Kerry O'Connell.

Yesterday the City Council's Consumer Affairs Committee held a hearing regarding carriage horses and how proposed bills may help transform the industry, which is under constant scrutiny by animal rights groups.

Four bills were discussed in a packed room with over 250 people in attendance, where council members differed on their opinions. While Leroy Comrie (Queens) said, "The horse carriage industry is part of what makes New York City special," councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito declared, "I don't think it's the only reason why people come to New York—to ride in a horse carriage."

Amongst the bills discussed was one suggesting the replacement of horse-drawn carriages with a more humane antique electric car; another aimed to restrict carriage rides to Central Park; and another to eliminate them all together. The hot topic seemed to be a proposal that would raise rates from $34 to $50 for a 20 minute ride, giving the industry its first rate hike in 21 years. With this increase would come new regulations, like giving horses a 5 week vacation.

According to the NY Times, the hearing was the first to be held regarding the bills, and if any pass the committee, they'll be brought before the full Council.

The alleged thief who impersonated another man at his arraignment, then walked out of the courtroom a free man, was found last night in midtown Manhattan. What’s more, officials say 35-year-old Freddie Thomson—who should have faced charges for armed robbery, but instead pleaded guilty to marijuana possession—was not solely at fault. According to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly an officer failed to "adequately check the identification of the prisoner." He added that "There was a mistake made here. There's no question about it."

Aware that Jermaine Gavins was facing lesser charges, Thompson assumed the 29-year-old’s identity when his turn came to take the stand at a Staten Island court. After he was sentenced to time served and released no one realized the mistake until Gavin asked when his turn would come.

Cops are supposed to match a prisoner’s face to his/her photograph before arraignment, but defense lawyer Allen Cappelli says the pictures are no help. According to the Advance he contends that the NYPD's creaky old printers produce only grainy black-and-white images; "modern, color printers’ are needed.” Another recent arraignment identity swap involved a man suspected of domestic violence and assaulting a police officer, who escaped from a Bronx court by impersonating a man accused of driving with a suspended license.

Yesterday, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly stabbing a fellow student 16 times at George Washington High School in Washington Heights. Now, it's suggested that the teen was getting back at the 15-year-old victim because the victim taunted him over his Mexican heritage. A student told the Post, "They made fun of his name and his culture. This is mostly a Dominican school."

The suspect used a steak knife and students watched the violence unfold in the hallway: One said, "I was walking through the hall, and I saw the [attacker] whip out a knife - medium-sized - and he started stabbing the other kid in the hip. Over and over," as another said, "It was crazy. I saw blood going down." The victim suffered non-life-threatening wounds to his arms, legs, and back.

Now there are concerns about the school's safety—a student worried, "There's metal detectors and everything, so how is he able to bring a knife to school? I mean it just scares me"—and anti-bullying measures. Councilwoman Ydanis Rodriguez said the stabbing was "unacceptable. Besides sending a young man to the hospital, the event has forced many questions to resurface and to ultimately wonder if our zero tolerance policies have run its course. Students need to be better protected against bullying tactics within the schools. I also believe parents need to understand why the metal detectors at the high school did not detect the weapon used in the incident," and called for an investigation.

A 270-pound ironworker was found guilty of aggravated animal cruelty after beating a five-month-old Dachshund puppy, “breaking six of his tiny ribs and damaging his lungs and liver,” according to the News. Reportedly, the calico-colored pup named Junior was “insubordinate” during a bath, so 25-year-old Dudley Ramsay “smashed” it against the tub. Hours later he called doctors but the dog couldn’t be saved. Ramsay later disclosed that another dachshund puppy named Viola had died in his care. In that case he was found not guilty of killing the dog but convicted of felony animal cruelty. "It's disturbing, especially because of the age of the dog and the breed of the dog," the ASPCA'S Joseph Pentangelo said of the earlier incident.