It’s a New York state of mess. The New York State Senate — a corrupt, incompetent body even by the humiliating standards of state government — has been in turmoil all week because two Democrats defected, flipping a narrow 32-30 majority from the Democrats’ favor to the Republicans’.

Fifty-year-old paper boy Martin T. Holtet of Wisconsin pleaded guilty yesterday to bilking The New York Times out of more than $200,000 in bogus subscriptions. The Madoff of paper routes!

Fellow nerds, check out this math quiz on The New York Times’ website that tests your ability to estimate colossal quantities with eight Fermi problems.

The paper of record has broken huge news on its front page today. No, I don’t mean that piddling Supreme Court nomination or that inconsequential gay marriage ban in California. This is a truly startling trend sweeping the nation’s schools: Teenagers, it turns out, hug each other.