The words "American" and "pope" have rarely been said in the same breath. But in Rome this week, the names of three U.S. cardinals have been all the buzz. Timothy Dolan of New York, Sean O'Malley of Boston, and Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., are being taken seriously as potential candidates to become the next pontiff.

A New York state judge has sided with the beverage industry and struck down the Bloomberg administration's controversial ban on big sugary drinks. The judge ruled that the rule, put in place by New York City's health department and set to take effect Tuesday, is "arbitrary and capricious."

Many elected officials say there's a link between immigration and crime, and have even passed tough anti-immigration laws as a result. But some researchers say cities with large immigrant populations boast conditions that depress crime: young families and active, bustling neighborhoods.

When it opened, its name alone made it different, advertising the shared ownership of the family's daughters, instead of sons. Today, the shop, which specializes in smoked fish, continues to thrive.

In New Jersey, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced a proposal to build seawalls and other mitigation efforts to fortify the city against flooding from future storms. Saltwater inundated low-lying parts of Hoboken for weeks after Hurricane Sandy. Zimmer wants to make Hoboken a test case for low-lying coastal cities like Boston and Philadelphia, but she'll need approval and support from the federal government to do it.

Most New York City subway stations affected by Superstorm Sandy are up and running again. But others, submerged by seawater during the storm, will need to be gutted before they can reopen. The South Ferry station in lower Manhattan alone could cost $600 million to repair.

Unaffiliated with larger organizations, volunteers are taking charge in areas badly hit by Superstorm Sandy. The operations are backed by the kindness of strangers, some of whom have traveled from other states to help. They say they have come to do "everything you would want your neighbors to do for you."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking $30 billion in federal disaster aid to help the state recover from Superstorm Sandy. Robert Siegel talks to Joel Rose.

A judge in New York City is holding hearings on the controversial NYPD practice known as stop-and-frisk. This case focuses only on stops that take place in privately-owned apartment buildings. It's the first of three major legal challenges to stop-and-frisk to make it to court.

The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, issued 100 days before the formal document, is on display starting this weekend in Harlem. In its simplest form, the manuscript represents freedom from slavery, but President Abraham Lincoln was also trying to strike a delicate balance.

At the Keansburg Amusement Park in Keansburg, N.J., the "Bumper Car Psychos" have been crashing their way to fame since 1996. Every Friday night, Tom Mgerack and Keith Van Brunt cruise the track in their favorite cars, grinning from ear to ear as they slam their targets into the wall.

Art world superstar Richard Prince is appealing the 2011 ruling that found him liable for copyright infringement. Prince used dozens of images by photographer Patrick Cariou to create collages that his gallery then sold for millions of dollars.

American Express and two other companies say they're pulling gift cards off store shelves in New Jersey because of a law requiring merchants to collect zip codes from card buyers. Retailers have sued to block the law, which allows the state to take control of unused balances after two years.

New York is one of the last remaining states in the country that has yet to redraw its congressional boundaries based on the 2010 census. Lawmakers have tried, and failed, to agree on two seats to eliminate. Meanwhile, a federal judge prepares to release her own political map later this month.

The state is part of New England, but many of its football fans pick the N.Y. Giants over the Pats. "Way back when, they were the only game in town," one fan says of the days before the Patriots came to the area in 1960. But feelings run deep on both sides — and nothing reveals that like a Super Bowl.

At a time when the art world was still dominated by men, Frankenthaler's canvasses earned the respect of critics and influenced generations of artists. One of the major abstract expressionist painters of the 20th century, Frankenthaler died Tuesday at her home in Connecticut.

New York Police Department officers have been accused of fixing tickets, planting drugs and smuggling guns, but so far none of these allegations has dented Commissioner Raymond Kelly's seemingly flawless reputation.

Tens of thousands of Americans moved their money out of major banks over the past few weeks as part of a nationwide protest against their policies. Now activists across the country are urging local governments to do the same. The Village of Hempstead is one of the first municipalities to take that step.

Polls show that New Yorkers favor extending the so-called millionaires tax on the state's top wage earners beyond the end of the year. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo is digging in his heels, saying it encourages some of the state's most affluent citizens to leave.

The state's popular Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to close the aging Indian Point nuclear plant because of safety concerns, but the company that owns the facility has enlisted former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as its spokesman to keep the plant open.