Appeals court reverses decision that released pro-Palestinian Columbia activist Mohsen Mahdawi

The second circuit overturned the previous decision, saying the judge overstepped authority by intervening before it moved through the immigration court system

A federal appeals panel has reversed a lower court decision ordering the release of pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, opening the door to the re-arrest of a student protest organizer whom the Trump administration has spent more than a year trying to deport.

Tuesday’s ruling from the second US circuit court of appeals in New York City overturns a previous decision by a federal judge in Vermont, which likened the government’s efforts to expel him and other activists to McCarthyist repression.

Continue reading...

Fourth person dies in New York City legionnaires’ disease outbreak

US health officials say source of Upper East Side cluster has probably been eliminated after 76 people fell ill

An outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in New York City has claimed a fourth life, officials have said, as they again expressed confidence the source of the exposure had been eliminated.

A statement from the city’s health department on Monday said the outbreak, which was traced to cooling towers in buildings in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, had sickened 76 people – with 53 discharged after hospital treatment, and 12 others managing their recovery at home.

Continue reading...

Trump says Benjamin Netanyahu ‘will not be arrested’ if he visits the US

Israeli prime minister is subject of an arrest warrant issued by international criminal court over alleged war crimes in Gaza

Donald Trump has said Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, “will not be arrested” if he visits the US.

His comments came days after Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said he was exploring whether his administration could arrest Netanyahu if he visits the city during the UN general assembly in September.

Continue reading...

Mexican drug lord ‘El Mayo’ sentenced to life in prison in US federal court

Case against Ismael Zambada García, who helped co-found and lead the violent Sinaloa cartel, unfolded in New York

The Mexican drug kingpin, Ismael Zambada García, known as “El Mayo”, was sentenced in a US federal court on Monday to life in prison, after a plea deal last year in which he admitted ⁠to shipping vast amounts of cocaine and other substances as leader of the violent Sinaloa cartel.

Zambada is 76 and one of the most high-profile Mexican ⁠drug traffickers to be sentenced in a US court since his fellow Sinaloa leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán ​was sentenced to life in prison in ‌2019. The case unfolded in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

Continue reading...

‘He’s a war criminal’: Mamdani exploring whether he can arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York

NYC mayor says in Times interview that’s he’s in ‘active conversation’ with city’s law department about the matter

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he was reviewing whether his administration could arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if as expected the Israeli prime minister visits the city for the UN general assembly in September.

Mamdani’s comments on Saturday’s episode of the New York Times’s the Interview podcast echoed ones he had made to the publication as he successfully ran for mayor last fall.

Continue reading...

Flash flood warnings strike north-east US amid wildfire smoke from Canada

Poor air quality from wildfires continues to plague New York City as several neighborhoods hit by thunderstorms

Saturday is delivering a double dose of dangerous weather across the north-eastern US, with smoky skies from Canadian wildfires giving way to severe thunderstorms that have already triggered a flash flood warning as torrential rain pounds parts of the region.

After a brief break on Friday, smoke from the wildfires moved back into New York City and surrounding communities on Saturday, sending air quality back into unhealthy levels.

Continue reading...

Air quality warnings remain in place across US as wildfire smoke continues to swathe country

Rain could alleviate conditions in mid-Atlantic and north-east, with World Cup final expected to go ahead on Sunday

Warnings of dangerous conditions are expected to remain in place on Saturday across swathes of the US, amid uncertainty about where the heavy wildfire smoke swirling from the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of Minnesota will head next.

Some parts of the US mid-Atlantic and north-east regions will continue to endure poor air quality until Saturday afternoon, where there is a high chance of thunderstorms, which could bring some reprieve from the poor air but come with other risks like flash flooding and high winds. Meanwhile, parts of the midwest and Great Lakes regions will continue to see dangerous air quality.

Continue reading...

One person dies amid legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City

Officials haven’t released additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill

A legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.

Officials didn’t release additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill.

Continue reading...

More Canadian wildfire smoke shrouds US midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east

109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the US

Tens of millions of Americans are enduring another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting about 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east.

The pungent smoke blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit, where residents on Friday were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels after the air-quality index reached a “hazardous” 361, according to the government website AirNow.

Continue reading...

‘Brazen corruption’: critics denounce Trump Media plan to sell priority access to Truth Social posts

Move would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to potentially profit from seeing president’s posts first

Donald Trump’s media company is planning to charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly his own, affecting national security and financial markets.

The move announced on Thursday would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to get news first from top Truth Social contributors so they could profit off subsequent moves in stocks, bonds and interest rates.

Continue reading...

Air quality plummets in 20 US states as smoke from Canadian wildfires spreads

Millions of Americans face air quality alerts from Minnesota to New York as authorities urge people to stay indoors

Smoke from wildfires burning in south-central Canada and parts of Minnesota is spreading across the US, prompting air quality alerts in more than 20 states with millions of Americans expected to face unhealthy air conditions this week.

The smoke from the more than 180 active wildfires in northern Ontario made Chicago’s air quality the worst in the world on Thursday evening, followed by Detroit and Minneapolis, according to IQAir’s global rankings.

Continue reading...

Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches, but do they make the public safer?

Increase in sightings may not reflect increase in sharks with little evidence that threat to swimmers has risen

Experts say that despite recent increased investment in drones to monitor for sharks in states like New York, the machines have limited usefulness as a public safety tool and there does not appear to be evidence that the threat to swimmers from sharks has increased.

There have, however, been more reports of sharks around local beaches.

Continue reading...

Manhattan building sparks evacuations after two structural columns buckle

Officials also find multiple cracks and sagging floors in building that is being converted into apartments

A high-rise building in Manhattan was deemed unstable on Tuesday after authorities determined that support columns buckled, spurring evacuation of nearby buildings, according to officials and reports.

Officials said they also found “structural issues” on the 21st floor of the former Pfizer pharmaceutical building, which is being converted into residential apartments. “Two structural columns buckled, and there were multiple cracks and sagging floors,” the fire department said on X.

Continue reading...

Seaplane lands in New York City’s East River with only minor injuries reported

Seaplane carrying eight people made ‘hard landing’ and was towed back to dock, according to the fire department

A seaplane made a rough landing in New York City’s East River on Sunday, alarming bystanders and resulting in two minor injuries, according to city authorities.

The seaplane carrying eight people made a “hard landing” at about noon, according to the New York City fire department. The plane made it upright and was towed back to dock, the department said.

Continue reading...

Paul McCartney performs I Want to Hold Your Hand for first time in 60 years at Taylor Swift wedding

McCartney reportedly played Beatles No 1 hit at star-studded reception at Madison Square Garden

Paul McCartney performed the beloved Beatles No 1 hit I Want to Hold Your Hand for the first time in 60 years at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding.

McCartney performed the number at the star-studded reception at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday, People magazine reported. The track was the Beatles’ first American No 1 hit, sparking Beatlemania in the US and the wave of British bands’ success nicknamed “the British invasion”.

Continue reading...

Gaza protests against two Democrats spark outcry and debate on tactics

Incidents involving California state senator Scott Wiener and New York congressman Dan Goldman underscore Israel-Palestine conflict’s role in US elections

Two recent incidents involving US congressional candidates on opposite coasts have blown up into major controversies, underscoring how the Israel-Palestine conflict has transformed US elections – and illustrating how aggressive protest tactics can spark backlash that overshadows the issues activists meant to highlight.

Scott Wiener, a gay Jewish state senator and trans rights advocate who is currently the frontrunner in the race to replace the longtime representative Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th district, said he felt forced to leave last week’s annual trans pride march in San Francisco after a group of people ran up to him at a local park where the event was taking place, surrounded him and screamed at him over his positions on Israel’s war on Gaza.

Continue reading...

Taylor Swift fans brave the New York heat to be (at least somewhat) near wedding to Travis Kelce

People gather outside Madison Square Garden despite security keeping them from seeing anything noteworthy

Taylor Swift’s fans gathered in the heat outside New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday for her wedding – or at least the celebration of it – to Travis Kelce, and the sense of being close to the superstar singer-songwriter and her NFL champion groom on their big day.

Whether or not Swift and Kelce have already tied the knot, which has been at the center of contradictory reports, fans said they were thrilled at the union – and the location.

Continue reading...

Stars assemble in New York City amid preparations for Taylor Swift 4 July wedding

Singer and fiance Travis Kelce have been coy but festivities are getting under way at Madison Square Garden

The streets of New York City and the first-class lounges of Heathrow and JFK airports were crawling on Friday with celebrities on their way to attend the wedding of the year.

Taylor Swift had kept fans guessing about whether it was her nuptials that had caused the closure of 11 streets in midtown Manhattan and the endless deliveries of flowers, food and decorations to the huge Madison Square Garden arena.

Continue reading...

Zohran Mamdani to deliver speech to mark US’s 250th birthday in New York

New York mayor’s remarks at city hall to come just hours before Trump is set to deliver address at Mount Rushmore

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, is expected to deliver a speech on Friday morning to mark America’s 250th birthday.

The address, scheduled to begin at 10am local time and streamed live, will be delivered from behind George Washington’s desk in New York city hall. Mamdani will be surrounded by recently naturalized citizens.

Continue reading...

Brutal heatwave scorches eastern US ahead of Fourth of July weekend

National Weather Service warns heat index could reach 115F as heat grips midwest, Ohio valley and east coast

A “prolonged, dangerous heatwave” was sweeping across parts of the central and eastern United States on Thursday, with forecasters warning that extreme record-breaking temperatures are expected to continue into the holiday weekend for millions of Americans.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Thursday that temperatures between 95F (35C) and 105F (40.5C), combined with high humidity, will push heat index values across parts of the region to between 100F and 115F.

Continue reading...