A young steer who broke out of a slaughterhouse in northern New Jersey, swam across a river and ran through city streets, was being taken Wednesday to an animal sanctuary in New York where a “comfy straw bed” awaited him.

The black-and-white steer was rescued by a volunteer with the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary who picked him up Wednesday morning after tracking down the slaughterhouse, said Jenny Brown, a co-founder of the nonprofit center in south-central New York.

The animal appeared to be a cross between an Angus and a Holstein, and a veterinarian, who was required to inspect the steer so he could be legally transported across state lines, gave him antibiotics, she said. He  seemed to be shaken up and was pretty banged-up from his escape, including having a problem with his back leg.

“We can give him a comfy straw bed and put him in a safe place where he is going to be loved and respected,” Brown said, noting that he was likely being used as a beef cow and would have ended up as steak on dinner plates.

The steer’s adventure began late Tuesday night, when he fled the slaughterhouse and went careening through the streets of Paterson, said the city’s chief animal control officer, John DeCando.

Mike Stura / Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

'Mike' the steer escaped a New Jersey slaughterhouse and is seen here in a trailer on his way to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

“It was unbelievable. It was like ‘Dodge City,’” he said, noting that after escaping, the steer came across basketball courts, where he “stopped for a minute,” then he jumped into the Passaic River and swam across to the other side.

“You had to see the spectators -- people were rooting for the cow,” he said.

As police and animal control attempted to corral him, the steer escaped once more. At one point, he ran into a police car, but no one was injured in the escapade, DeCando said.

Finally, DeCando managed to tranquilize him, and within four minutes the animal was asleep and snoring like a “newborn.”

It's not clear how the steer got out, but DeCando said he figured the animal knew what was in store for him.

But instead, the steer’s “long run, long haul” had a “happy ending,” DeCando said.

“The owner of the slaughterhouse guaranteed me, and also the officers, that that cow deserves to live, and, yes, he does. So the cow is going to a farm. He’ll live out the rest of his life,” he said, adding that was why the slaughterhouse owner was not charged in the incident.

Under an intense media spotlight, such escapees can often end up going to a farm only temporarily or even be sent off to another slaughterhouse, said Brown, noting that was why they wanted to reach out to make sure the animal has a good home.

“There is this phenomenon in our society when, where one gets away, everyone wants to cheer for that one animal, yet you might go home and eat … an animal just like that one that night and never put any thought to it,” said Brown, whose group rescues animals that have escaped abuse, neglect or the food industry. “That’s what’s wrong with our industrialized food system, is that it’s completely out of sight and out of mind.”

The steer has been named Mike, after the volunteer who rescued him, Brown said.

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Students taking SAT and ACT college entrance exams this fall will have to submit photo IDs with their applications after a widespread cheating scandal at a number of New York high schools, officials announced Tuesday.

The security change is one of a number of initiatives nationwide following the arrest of 20 current or former high school students accused in a cheating scheme. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said some of the students were paid as much as $3,500 to stand in for other students on the SAT exam, a key barometer for many colleges determining admissions.

"Those who try to cheat will be caught. A fake ID simply won't work to game the system anymore," Rice told Newsday during a press conference on Tuesday. "The problem is that we have kids who think cheating pays ... We have to disabuse them of that idea. If we don't, they're going to be the corrupt -- fill in the blank -- politicians, CEOs, of the future."

She said 50 students were likely involved in the New York scheme, but she only had evidence to arrest 20. The prosecution cases against the 20 students are still pending.

Students surrender in SAT cheating scandal in NY

Rice complained that security procedures were too lax, and was particularly incensed when she learned that one male student allegedly stood in for a female on one occasion. She said students have easy access to phony identification cards, making it difficult for administrators at testing sites to determine if a student is actually who he or she claims to be.

"These reforms close a gaping hole in standardized test security that allowed students to cheat and steal admissions offers and scholarship money from kids who play by the rules," Rice said.

During the 2010-11 school year, the SAT was administered to nearly 3 million students worldwide; 1.6 million students took the ACT in 2011.

"We are committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to pursue higher education," Kathryn Juric, vice president of SAT at the College Board, told Newsday.  

'Spot checks'
The new testing requirements include making students upload a photograph of themselves when they register for the SAT or ACT. Those unable to upload a photo will be permitted to mail in a photo, which will be scanned by the testing agency.

Then, an admission ticket into the testing site, containing the scanned photo, will be mailed to the student.

The photo will not only be printed on the admission ticket, but on the test site roster, and can be checked against the photo ID a student provides at the test center. That photo will be attached to students' scores as they are reported to high schools and colleges.

Other changes include checking student IDs more frequently at test centers; IDs will be checked when students enter a test site, and whenever they re-enter the test room after breaks, and again when the answer sheets are collected.

Testing companies also may conduct "spot checks" with enhanced security at random test locations, or where cheating is suspected. Proctors also will receive additional training to help them identify cheaters and high school and college officials will receive more information about reporting suspected cheating to testing companies.

A spokesman for The College Board noted that some of the security enhancements were developed in consultation with a security firm run by former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

"By implementing these changes, the College Board and ETS can maintain an honest and fair testing environment for the millions of students who take the SAT each year as part of the college admission process," said a statement issued by the College Board.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Move over, New York City. Nine of the 10 most densely populated areas in the U.S. are out West, and eight out of 10 Americans are now urbanites, a U.S. Census Bureau report released Monday shows.

The Charlotte, N.C., area is growing at the fastest rate, increasing by 64.6 percent, followed by Austin, Texas, at 51.1 percent, according to census figures from 2000 to 2010.

“It’s one of those things we’re seeing -- the South and West are definitely growing, and growing more than other regions in the country,” Stacy Gimbel Vidal, spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau, told msnbc.com. “It is hard for us to speculate the 'why' people are flocking to and congregating in those areas.”

The nation’s urban population grew by 12.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, outpacing the nation’s overall growth rate of 9.7 percent for the same period, according to census figures.

Of the 10 most densely populated urbanized areas nationwide, nine are in the West, with seven of those in California.

The nation’s most densely populated urbanized area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, with nearly 7,000 people
per square mile. The San Francisco-Oakland area is the second most densely populated at 6,266 people per square mile, followed by San Jose (5,820 people per square mile), and in the Central Valley, Delano, with 5,483 people per square mile, ranks fourth, according to census figures.

The New York-Newark area is fifth, with an overall density of 5,319 people per square mile.

“Urban areas — defined as densely developed residential, commercial and other nonresidential areas — now account for 80.7 percent of the U.S. population, up from 79.0 percent in 2000,” the bureau said in a release. “Although the rural population — the population in any areas outside of those classified as ‘urban’ — grew by a modest amount from 2000 to 2010, it continued to decline as a percentage of the national population.”

The census data identifies two types of urban areas: “urbanized areas” of 50,000 or more people and “urban clusters” of at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 people. There are 486 urbanized areas and 3,087 urban clusters nationwide.

Other notable census finds:

• The New York-Newark area continues to be the nation’s most populous urbanized area, with 18,351,295 residents. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is the second most populous (12,150,996), followed by the Chicago area (8,608,208).
• Maine tops the nation as the most rural state, beating out Vermont. According to the new data, 61.3 percent of Maine’s population lives in rural areas, compared to Vermont’s 61.1 percent.
• States with the largest rural populations were Texas (3,847,522), North Carolina (3,233,727) and Pennsylvania (2,711,092).

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A New Hampshire restaurant owner says he is so fed up with the flurry of GOP presidential candidates at his Portsmouth eatery that he put up his own 2012 slogan: "No Politicians, No Exceptions."

For months, politicians, their staff and news media have stormed New Hampshire restaurants during the campaign for the White House.

Seeing no sign of easing until the Jan. 10 presidential primary, Jeremy Colby, owner of Colby's Breakfast & Lunch, said he had to do something to end the circus inside his small business located near the Massachusetts border.

“There is no forewarning and all of a sudden they come in and we are overrun by cameras and blah, blah and blah,” Colby told msnbc.com. “We’re trying to run a business here and this whole meet-and-greet and vote for me deal is very distractive and disruptive, not only to our staff but to our customers.

"It’s hard and I find it very rude," he said.

Visits from Texas Governor Rick Perry and former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann sealed the deal to slap the sign on the door, he said.

“We just had had enough.”

(This story was first reported by CBSBoston.)

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About 3.5 million people were expected to crowd the route of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York on Thursday while an additional 50 million watched from home.

A jetpack-wearing monkey and a freakish creation from filmmaker Tim Burton are two of the big new balloons that will make their inaugural appearances, while Mary J. Blige, Cee Lo Green, Avril Lavigne and the Muppets are scheduled to take the stage at the end of the route in Herald Square.

Slideshow: See the colorful cast of characters taking part in the parade

Macy's parade will feature more than 40 other balloon creations, 27 floats, 800 clowns and 1,600 cheerleaders.

The parade began at 77th Street and heads south on Central Park West to Seventh Avenue, before moving to Sixth Avenue and ending at Macy's Herald Square.

The tradition began in 1924 and included live animals such as camels, goats and elephants. It was not until 1927 that the live animals were replaced by giant helium balloons. The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 because rubber and helium were needed for World War II.

Since the beginning, the balloons have been based on popular cultural characters and holiday themes. Returning favorites this year include Buzz Lightyear, Clumsy Smurf, SpongeBob SquarePants and Kermit the Frog.

Bike-powered balloons
Also making their first appearances at this year's parade are a pair of bike-powered balloons, one featuring a bulldog character and an elf balloon designed by Queens resident Keith Lapinig, who won a nationwide contest.

All the balloons are created at Macy's Parade Studio, and each undergoes testing for flight patterns, aerodynamics, buoyancy and lift.

The helium giants were inflated Wednesday across the street from the western side of Central Park. Thousands of people, many families with children in tow, were drawn to the spectacle of the balloons lying as if asleep on the streets, held down by weighted nets.

Standing in front of the famed Snoopy balloon, lying on its side, 8-year-old Emilio Rios said he was glad that there was something to keep the helium giant from getting away.

"Otherwise, it would float up to space, and aliens would see it," he said. "They would be the ones with the parade."

NYT: In this town, turkey picks up bill for Thanksgiving dinner

Nine-year-old Lindsay Ravetz said she loved seeing all the characters.

"It's just, like, cool," she said.

It was cool even for many of the adults. Leslie McCarthy, who said she's over 60, has been attending the parade since she was a little girl. And the excitement of seeing the big balloons hasn't worn off.

"I used to think this parade was put on for me," the Brooklyn resident said.