An op-ed in today's USA Today lays out New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ideas for gun control reform, just as President Obama announces his own plan to put together a task force to send proposals to Congress in January.

Bloomberg had a few things to say about gun violence on Meet the Press today:

You know how sugary soft drinks are bad for us, and maybe even worse for growing boys and girls? Well, I hope you're sitting down, because here are three new studies showing the correlation between kids drinking soda and kids getting fat.

What looked like another mass shooting turned out to be a disgruntled employee with a single target — plus nine innocent bystanders shot by police officers.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is no stranger to fast food meddling: this is the same guy who fought against obesity with a ban on large sugary drinks.

Critics of New York's "stop-and-frisk" policy have suggested that it overwhelmingly targets men of color, but Mayor Bloomberg still think it's necessary to preventing crime.

"I think that's what the public wants the mayor to do," NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Times yesterday shortly after announcing a proposal to ban sale of sweetened drinks larger than 16 ounces.

Last Saturday, a few hundred protesters staged a demonstration in lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park to celebrate the six-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. It was almost like old times: chants, arrests, a notable instance of police brutality against a young woman, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg scoffing at the whole thing the day after. Occupy's back! But the next few weeks will be crucial to see if it's still got it.

University students gathered this weekend to protest recent findings that the NYPD has been spying on Muslim students. According to the AP, police informants have been going undercover in student groups to keep an eye on Muslim students at Columbia and other Northeast universities.

Mayor Bloomberg's having a bad week, between the virulently anti-Muslim video starring his police commissioner and the rape charges against his police commissioner's son. So look, Mayor Mike: if you want to quit, you can come work for us writing Gossip Girl recaps.

Guys: Mayor Bloomberg does not want to take away your booze. Yes, the Health Department is considering a proposal to "curb excessive drinking" in New York City. (For this, the Post calls him a "party pooper," Animal NY calls him a hypocrite, and Gothamist calls him Nanny Bloomberg.") Yes, he thinks you probably drink too much. (To be fair: you do.) Yes, he's a sucky mayor. But he's not really doing anything here except that will make your life harder, unless you are an asshole (or, to be fair, in the employ of the booze business). Let's be clear about what the proposals actually are, according to the Post:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has never been accused of taking a heavy-handed approach to governing. Want to smoke? Go ahead! Want to have a little salt with your deep-fried meat product? All you, baby! Want to camp out for a few weeks in a park to protest? Who's going to stop you? Only his army.

This morning, a fuzzy baby seal swam up to the rocks behind Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City's mayor (though Michael Bloomberg doesn't live there), and sunned itself on a rock. Needled for pictures, the mayor's office eventually tweeted a photograph of the uninvited occupier.

Michael Bloomberg is yet again treating Wall Street protesters' gripes with his unique style of empathy, "utter dismissiveness." The billionaire, who can thank the robust growth of the financial services sector over the decades for his fortune, knows the truth! The banks did nothing wrong; it was all Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Congress forcing everyone else to give houses to poor people.

Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg is sticking up for billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch as shareholder activists try to depose the aging News Corp. chairman.

Occupy Wall Street's camp out in Zuccotti Park could come to a messy end Friday morning. The city has given protesters a 7 a.m. deadline to clear the park for a "cleaning" that would effectively end the occupation. But occupiers promise to resist.

The Occupy Wall Street-affiliated "Millionaire's March" didn't stop by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's townhouse on the Upper East Side (or, for that matter, his massive Bermudan estate), but that's okay! Mayor Mike dropped by the permanent occupation at Zuccotti Park on Wednesday evening to say "hi" and join the drum circle.

Billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been very secretive about his homes and personal life, but the New York Times discovered yesterday that photos of two of Bloomberg's townhouses were posted in plain sight on the website of his interior decorator.

Jason Itzler, the escort agency impressario and certified wackadoo who has inserted himself into several high-profile sex scandals, is in court for charges of promoting prostitution and dealing coke. You won't believe his defense. It has something to do with a Billy Ray Cyrus conspiracy theory.

If the second-most powerful official in New York City government spends two days in jail for assaulting his wife, is that something the Bloomberg administration thinks people ought to know about? Nope.