New York, February 1 : Julia Roberts had been dubbed "too trailer park" when she first ventured out to chase her Hollywood dreams, according to author Cooper Lawrence.

Lawrence in her new book `The Cult of Celebrity' claimed that celebrity agent Robert Attermann had told her that his Abrams Artists Agency made the mistake of putting aside the actress' file.

"Julia Roberts came in years ago, and the commercial agent who met with her at the time said, ''Nah, she''s too trailer park''," the New York Post quoted her as saying.

New York, Feb 1 : New York police are searching for an Indian origin American student, Erica Desai, who has been missing since January 20.

Desai, 19, is a student at St. John's University and was last seen when a cousin dropped her off close to her dorm on Union Turnpike after she returned from a trip to North Carolina. She hasn't been seen since, and has had her cellphone turned off.

But her bankcard was used the next day at a Midtown ATM, police said. Surveillance footage captured an unidentified black man and Indian woman at the machine, The New York Post reported.

New York, February 1 : While people have been trying really hard to prevent their hard-earned money from being wasted on unnecessary transactions, a restaurant in New York City is offering a hard-to-beat recession special: pay what you want.

Thanks to the Tierra Sana restaurant on Queens Boulevard in Forrest Hills, people can now satisfy their hunger without having to empty their wallets.

From February 3 onwards, the restaurant will offer customers a "Pay What You Want" special on every Tuesday, including an array of appetizers, entrees, salads and desserts that are all health-conscious but still savoury.

New York, Jan 31 : A landmark US bill that provides for 15 billion dollars in economic assistance to Pakistan, as a US frontline ally in combating terrorism over the next
10 years beginning 2009, is legally dead even before it was debated and voted by either chamber of the US bicameral legislature.

New York, January 31 : The bravery of US Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger has inspired a new online video game, which gives players the chance to try their luck landing a plane on water.

The game titled `Hero on the Hudson' marks a re-enactment of the crash that took place on January 15 this year, in which all 155 passengers and crew survived.

"Both engines are out. The fate of passengers is in your hands," it warns players, according to the New York Daily News.

New York  - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday announced massive layoffs, proposed slashing the city budget by 1 billion dollars and may need to hike sales tax to bridge a 4-billion- dollar deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

"We had prepared for a downturn, but I think it's safe to say nobody prepared for the severity of the downturn that we have been experiencing," Bloomberg said at a news conference while outlining his preliminary budget.