Born in 1912 in Poland, Girone was one of about 245,000 survivors living across more than 90 countries
Rose Girone, believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor and a strong advocate for sharing survivors’ stories, has died. She was 113.
She died on Monday in New York, according to the Claims Conference, a New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Continue reading...Hunter College faculty and staff union condemns Kathy Hochul’s order to take down listing, calling it ‘overreach of authority’
The New York governor, Kathy Hochul ordered the City University of New York (Cuny) to immediately remove a job posting advertising a Palestinian studies professor role at the state university system’s Hunter College.
In the job listing, Hunter College wrote that the institution is seeking “a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality”.
Continue reading...As the US upends decades of foreign policy, those watching the war unfold from miles away resolve to stand strong
Members of New York’s large Ukrainian community expressed a mix of disillusionment, betrayal, defiance and acute uncertainty about what the future holds for Ukraine after tensions escalated this week between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Geopolitical events in the last week have shocked Ukrainians at home and overseas as well as US lawmakers and allies, as the US president appeared to heavily favor the Russian president Vladimir Putin to dictate peace terms on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Five people charged with murder in Sam Nordquist’s death in upstate New York also identified as LGBTQ+, say officials
Authorities investigating the alleged torture and murder of Sam Nordquist in upstate New York say they have found no evidence the transgender man’s killing was a hate crime, pointing out that five people recently charged in connection with the slaying also identified as LGBTQ+.
“We urge the community not to speculate into the motive behind the murder as we work to find justice for Sam,” authorities said over the weekend in a joint press release from the Ontario county district attorney’s office and New York state police. “At this time, we have no indication that Sam’s murder was a hate crime.”
Continue reading...Departures follow justice department shelving charges widely seen as reward for Eric Adams helping Trump administration
Four deputies to New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, resigned on Monday as the growing chaos following a justice department request to drop corruption charges against him, widely seen as a reward for his help with Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, engulfs his three-year-old administration.
According to reports, four of Adams’ deputies – first deputy mayor Maria Torres Springer, deputy mayor for operations Meera Joshi, deputy mayor for health and human services Anne Williams-Isom, and deputy mayor for public safety Chauncey Parker – said they were stepping down.
Continue reading...Attorney general Pam Bondi targets state law allowing people to get driver’s licenses without legal residency
The US attorney general announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration is suing New York state over its immigration policies, accusing state officials of choosing “to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens”.
Standing in front of federal agents who have been tasked with helping in Trump’s immigration crackdown, Pam Bondi echoed the president’s rhetoric as she vowed the justice department would take on communities that thwart federal immigration efforts.
Continue reading...Proceeds from sale of 1714 instrument will be used to fund scholarships for violinists at New England Conservatory
A Stradivarius violin crafted in 1714 sold for $11.25m (£9.1m) at a New York auction on Friday, missing the world record for a musical instrument that some predicted it might break, but still securing a solid financial future for a new generation of performers.
The 311-year-old instrument, listed by Sotheby’s of Manhattan as “a masterpiece of sound”, once belonged to the celebrated 19th-century Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, a close friend of the composer Johannes Brahms. It was gifted to the New England Conservatory in 2015 following the death of its most recent owner, a former student, Si-Hon Ma, with the understanding it would one day be sold to fund musical scholarships.
Continue reading...Hadi Matar, 26, accused of stabbing author 10 times in case likely to draw world’s media to tiny upstate New York town
A man accused of attacking Salman Rushdie as he was being introduced at a literary lecture in New York state in 2022 is going on trial this week in a case likely to create global headlines.
The trial could upend life in the tiny upstate New York village of Mayville, whose population of less than 1,500 is not accustomed to finding itself at the center of a media circus covering the attempted assassination of one of the world’s most famous writers.
Continue reading...Disgraced producer wants extra charge involving allegation from woman who was not in original case throw out
A judge on Wednesday set a 15 April trial date for Harvey Weinstein’s retrial, as the disgraced movie mogul pleaded in court to move the trial date sooner citing health conditions.
Weinstein appeared in court in New York on Wednesday morning, seated in a wheelchair. He addressed the court and begged the Manhattan criminal court judge Curtis Farber to move up the trial date to before 15 April, expressing he “can’t hold on anymore”.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Continue reading...First full-scale replica of Frank’s attic annexe goes on show next week on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
The first-ever full-scale replica of Anne Frank’s attic annex goes on show in New York next week, part of an ongoing effort to maintain awareness of – and combat – antisemitism in the midst of conflict in the Middle East and political tensions in the US.
Eighty years on from Frank’s death, aged 15, in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, the exhibition at the Center for Jewish History in downtown Manhattan aims to introduce new audiences to one of the most famous victims of Adolf Hitler’s “final solution”.
Continue reading...President-elect to be sentenced on Friday over conviction stemming from money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump on Monday lost a bid to put off his sentencing on Friday for his criminal conviction stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.
Citing both presidential immunity and the demands of Trump’s impending January 20 inauguration as the 47th US president, his lawyers on Monday morning said judge Juan Merchan’s intention not to penalize Trump was “of no moment”.
Continue reading...Known as ‘one of the jet set’s most outrageous characters’, Wildenstein died in Paris hotel aged 84
The Swiss socialite and cosmetic surgery aficionado Jocelyne Wildenstein, sometimes known as “Catwoman” due to her extensive plastic surgery, has died, her partner said on Wednesday.
“It is with heavy heart and with great sadness that Mr Lloyd Klein announces the unexpected death of his beloved fiancée and longtime companion, Jocelyne Wildenstein,” the fashion designer said in an English-language statement sent to the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Continue reading...The incident occurred in the heart of Manhattan and a man has been taken into custody, but charges are yet to be filed
A man waiting for the subway in Manhattan was pushed in front of an oncoming train on Tuesday afternoon, but survived with injuries to his leg and head, according to the New York police department.
The apparent attack comes less than two weeks after a woman died after being set on fire on a stationary train in New York, an act of violence that horrified the city.
Continue reading...It took nine days to identify Debrina Kawam, 61, of Toms River, New Jersey, after she burned to death in Brooklyn
The woman who was set on fire in a subway car in New York on 22 December, horrifying New Yorkers and renewing a debate over city safety, has been identified as 61-year-old Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey.
The victim’s identity, released by the New York police department, came nine days after the fatal incident. Investigators had previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim.
Continue reading...Kathy Hochul calls for ousting of correction officers and nurse allegedly involved in death of Robert Brooks, 43
The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, has directed 14 workers at a state prison to be fired after they were allegedly involved in an attack that resulted in the death of an incarcerated man.
Robert Brooks, 43, died in a local hospital a day after a 9 December incident at the Marcy correctional facility in central New York.
Continue reading...Bullet casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ found at scene where Brian Thompson was killed
An urgent manhunt continued on Thursday in New York City as police combed through a vast network of private and public surveillance cameras and pursued leads in search of the person who shot and killed the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, the previous morning.
Investigators deployed drones and dogs as well as sifting through data related to public-use electric bikes from the company Citi Bike, as the suspect remained at large after what police chiefs said was a targeted killing.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can read the latest here:
A driver who witnessed the incident, described the gun as a “silent” and “black gun.”
In an interview with ABC News, driver Amar Abdelmula said that he heard “the shot” adding: “It was silent gun, black gun.”
Continue reading...Police look for suspect who shot and killed Brian Thompson, 50, outside Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan
The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the US’s largest health insurers, was shot dead on Wednesday in midtown Manhattan, police confirmed in a press conference.
Brian Thompson, 50, was shot outside the Hilton hotel at 1335 Avenue of the Americas just after 6.45am after arriving early for the company’s annual investor conference. A man wearing a mask approached him and fired at him repeatedly, police said.
Continue reading...There was significant snowfall in five states downwind of the Great Lakes, including 4ft in western New York state
As meteorological autumn drew to a close at the end of last week, parts of the north-east of the US saw substantial snowfall thanks to a phenomenon known as “lake-effect snow”.
This occurs when cold air passes over relatively warm lake waters, causing the layer of air near to the surface to absorb heat and moisture. Warmer than the air above it, this layer of air then starts to rise, cooling and condensing into clouds that deposit snow on the windward side of the lakes in extremely localised bands.
Continue reading...Despite 2015 settlement and consent decree, judge says conditions have worsened over the last decade
A federal judge found New York City in contempt on Wednesday over conditions in its city jails, saying things have only worsened in the nine years since the city settled accusations of abuse and violence.
The judge, Laura Taylor Swain, in Manhattan issued a written ruling finding the city in contempt over 18 separate contempt claims.
Continue reading...