The race for mayor of New York City took a long-expected turn last night when Anthony Weiner, the former city councilman and congressman from Forest Hills, entered the contest with an announcement posted on YouTube.

Weiner, who quit the House two years ago after sending lewd photos of himself to young women across the country via social media and then lying to the public about doing so for two weeks, said he had made big mistakes in his life but is looking for a second chance.

The Queens County Democratic Party on Monday announced its endorsements for three citywide candidates, as well as its pick to be Borough Hall’s next occupant.

Motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the United States today. Each year, nearly 2.5 million Americans are treated in hospital emergency departments as a result of an MVA. While the numbers are staggering, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Trauma Team is dedicated to decreasing the number of these preventable injuries through education, research and community outreach.

Jamaica Hospital operates a Level 1 Trauma Center, the highest designation to treat critically injured patients. Last year, Jamaica Hospital’s ERtreated more than 500 patients injured as a result of motor vehicle accidents and the staffwants to offer the following tip to our community on how to avoid serious injury:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is close to approving a new bus route that would offer more direct service to LaGuardia Airport while cutting the existing Q33 route short to focus more on neighborhood riders.

The proposed Q70 Limited line — “a new faster and more direct route to LaGuardia” — would run from transit hubs in Woodside and Jackson Heights along the 7 subway line on Roosevelt Avenue and provide a shorter link with the airport.

The state Health Department has approved Mount Sinai Hospital’s expansion project in Long Island City.

Plans for the $115 million construction of a new five-story annex include a primary care clinic, an expanded emergency department with 36 treatment wards, eight observation beds and 10 operating rooms. The addition of primary care allows the 235-bed LIC hospital on 30th Avenue to become a more one-stop shop, according to the executive summary.

(BPT) - Today, the majority of adults have a mobile phone, and we’re using it for far more things than simply making phone calls. According to a 2012 report from The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, of the 85 percent of American adults who own a cellphone, 85 percent use their cellphones to take photos.

The names of six Democratic state senators and a city councilman from Southeast Queens were among those contained Wednesday on a list of people who had their conversations with then-state Senator Shirley Huntley recorded by an FBI listening device in 2012.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment on Wednesday on the names, contained in a sentencing letter connected to Huntley’s case, or U.S. District Court Judge Jack Weinstein’s order to unseal the letter.

City Comptroller John Liu continues to run for mayor as if confident he can overcome the embarrassment of a campaign finance scandal that could send one of his top former aides and a contributor to prison for decades.

How much impact the case will have is an open question. But according to two political science experts in Queens, the Liu campaign faces multiple challenges arising from the convictions last week of Jia “Jenny” Hou, his former treasurer, and Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan, a fundraising “bundler,” who secured donations from other parties that then went to the campaign.

(NAPSI)—Homeowners use water for many purposes, including drinking, cooking, washing, heating, humidifying, flushing (the No. 1 use of water in a home) and their pets. Those are just a few reasons homeowners should make sure they understand what’s in their water.

(StatePoint) If you work from home, you know how important it is to turn your home office into an efficient workspace. And these days, making improvements with that goal in mind rests on keeping up with the trends and times.

Technology has been connecting families for generations. The invention of the phone let us hear voices of loved ones far away, and the creation of the Internet helped us to see them. Today, those same technologies that we’ve used to bring our families closer together are helping us to connect with and support families who are worlds apart. In doing so, the very concept and experience of “gifting” and philanthropy is being transformed.

(BPT) - While organ transplantation is a remarkable story in the history of medicine, the need for organs is vastly greater than the number available for transplantation.

Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), who was arrested last month on accusations that he took part in a scheme to bribe Republican officials in order to get state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) onto the mayoral ballot as a Republican, announced Wednesday that he will not run for a second term.

Halloran, who was first elected in 2009, was arrested April 2, along with Smith and Vince Tabone, former vice chairman of the Queens Republican Party, for an alleged plot to solicit bribes to acquire a Wilson Pakula for Smith, a Democrat, in order for him to get a place on the GOP primary ballot for mayor. He was indicted late last month.

It’s hard to imagine, but there really was a time when classical music was the popular music of the day. Haydn, Beethoven and the boys were the “rock stars” of their time. If music fans wanted to hear the latest and greatest music, they ventured to the nearest church to drink in the sounds of these classical greats.

(NewsUSA) - Despite the prevalence of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions among athletes and service members, the road to diagnosis and prevention is an unpaved one riddled with obstacles.

(BPT) - The economy is starting to turn around, but competition for open jobs remains fierce. For job hunters, the mental and financial stresses mount every day they remain unemployed. To keep job-search momentum high and attitudes positive, it’s important to follow a few simple steps from the experts.

(BPT) - Warm weather heralds home improvement season. It’s also the season of high electric bills as air conditioners hum to life in response to rising temperatures across the country. When you’re making summer upgrades to your home, improvements that make your house more livable and attractive are even more rewarding when they also help put money back in your pocket.

(BPT) - What if you could program the future of your child’s health as simply as you program your alarm clock? Push a button, choose a selected wake-up time, click and you’re done. It’s not quite that simple, but studies show that what a woman eats just before and during pregnancy will impact the health of her child for the rest of his or her life. It’s an area of research called fetal programming.

(BPT) - Do you have a child in your life who will be graduating this spring?

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, the Forest Hills Democrat, may or may not have launched a campaign for mayor this week when he released a plan called “Keys to the City: 64 Ideas to Keep New York the Capital of the Middle Class” — and started a new Twitter account.

Weiner was forced from office a little less than two years ago when it was revealed that he had been sending lewd photos of himself to young women around the country, many via Twitter, and then lied about it for weeks. Until the scandal hit, he was a darling of the Democratic Party for his take-no-prisoners approach to political discourse, advocacy for the needs of his Central and Southwestern Queens district and staunch support of Israel, among other things. He was, for example, a foremost cheerleader of President Obama’s healthcare bill, without which, Weiner said, the economy couldn’t recover from the recession.

Even though a revision to the City Charter in 1990 reduced the borough president position to a largely ceremonial one with a limited advisory role, there are no lack of candidates for the job in Queens.

Four of the six hopefuls came to the Old Mill Yacht Club in Howard Beach last Thursday during a forum hosted by the South Queens Democratic Club, to outline their visions for Queens in the first public forum for beep candidates in South Queens so far.

(NAPSI)Cancer is one of the most widespread diseases and the leading cause of death worldwide. Nearly one in 24 Americans are living with some form of cancer, so chances are you know someone with the disease.

It is estimated that at some point in their lifetime, one in ten U.S. children between the ages of 4 and 17 will be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), making it the most common childhood neurobehavioral disorder.[1] Although there is no cure for ADHD, the disorder can be successfully managed through a comprehensive treatment approach including, but not limited to, behavioral therapy, medication, and parent and child education.[2]

In 1928 the community of Laurelton Homes was one of the most beautiful and affluent communities in Queens. It was built by the Gross Morton Organization, which constructed upscale homes for an upper working class.

Gross Morton broke all records by selling 570 homes in less than three months in 1928. More than 10 percent of the one-family homes built in all of New York State that year were sold by Laurelton Homes.

In the sleepy, almost suburban parts of Western Flushing, veteran painter Paul Franzetti, lives as an excellent example of the many selfless, altruistic-minded Queens artists making the most of their talents for others.

Franzetti, in addition to serving as a longtime English professor at Saint John’s University and as an AP literature teacher at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, is a man possessed with an artistic muse to help the less fortunate.