Category Archives: New York

Justin Timberlake tells fans ‘it’s been a tough week’ after drunk-driving charge

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Singer addresses crowd at first concert since being arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated

Justin Timberlake acknowledged having “a tough week” and thanked fans for their support at a concert Friday in what was the first time the pop star spoke publicly since police in the Hamptons arrested him on allegations of driving while intoxicated days earlier.

“We’ve been together through ups and downs, lefts and rights,” Timberlake told a crowd at the United Center in Chicago three days after his 18 June arrest. “It’s been a tough week, but you’re here and I’m here, and nothing can change this moment right now.”

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New York’s Fat Beach Day gives plus-size people a space to be themselves

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Jacob Riis Beach hosts the day of body positivity and fun, in the city at the heart of the fat acceptance movement

Fat Beach Day events are springing up across the US in an effort to fight back against fat-phobia, reclaim safe spaces for the community and honor plus-size culture. Today, one of these celebrations is being held to coincide with Pride month at Jacob Riis Beach in New York, a location deeply ensconced in the city’s activism space.

“We’re going through something culturally that is impacting us every day on an individual level and a systemic level,” said Jordan Underwood, the event organizer. “We’re really trying to open up a space for people to be themselves.”

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Manhattan district attorney asks judge to extend gag order against Trump

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Alvin Bragg has received onslaught of threats against him and other officials since guilty verdict in hush-money trial

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who prosecuted Donald Trump in his felony trial, has asked a judge to extend a gag order against the ex-president after an onslaught of threats and harassment against him and other officials since the guilty verdict.

The gag order was placed on Trump before the start of the felony trial. It prevented the former president from attacking witnesses, court staff, jurors and relatives of Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial.

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Charges dropped for Columbia students arrested at pro-Palestinian protests

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Manhattan prosecutors decline to pursue charges against dozens of students who occupied building in April protest

Dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters arrested in April after occupying and barricading a building at Columbia University in New York City have had all criminal charges against them dropped, Manhattan prosecutors said at a court hearing.

The hearing at the Manhattan criminal courthouse came seven weeks after Columbia administrators called in hundreds of armed and heavily armored police officers to the university’s campus in a high-profile law-enforcement response that was broadcast live on national news channels.

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Brooklyn’s ‘bling bishop’ sentenced to nine years for defrauding parishioner

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Lamor Whitehead accused of conning woman out of her life savings and then spending the money on luxury goods

Brooklyn’s “bling bishop” Lamor Whitehead, sometimes described as a mentor to New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for defrauding a parishioner’s mother out of her life savings and other scams.

The Manhattan federal court judge Lorna Schofield handed down the sentence to Whitehead on Monday, three months after he was convicted of wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI.

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Tony awards 2024: Stereophonic, Merrily We Roll Along and The Outsiders win big

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At the annual celebration of Broadway, major acting winners included Jeremy Strong, Daniel Radcliffe and Sarah Paulson

The 77th annual Tony awards were dominated by major wins for shows Stereophonic, Merrily We Roll Along and The Outsiders as well as actors Jeremy Strong and Daniel Radcliffe.

Stereophonic, the most nominated play in Tonys history with 13 nods, picked up five awards including best play. It tells the story of a British-American rock band in the 1970s trying to make an album.

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US braces for ‘dangerous’ conditions as heatwave to hit midwest and north-east

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Meteorologists warn that heat will spread east through the week, with ‘heat dome’ expected to trap high temperatures

Millions of Americans are facing “dangerously hot conditions”, the National Weather Service said, with a heatwave set to hit the midwest and north-east US from Monday.

Michigan, Ohio and western Pennsylvania were all under heat warnings starting Monday, with alerts in place until Friday evening. Meteorologists warned that the heat will spread east through the week, with a “heat dome” expected to trap high temperatures across New York, Washington DC and Boston.

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Sean Combs returns key to New York City after Cassie attack video

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Mayor Eric Adams sent letters rescinding key and asking for it to be sent back to City Hall, which received it on 10 June

Sean Combs has returned his key to New York City after a request from mayor Eric Adams in response to the release of a video showing the music mogul nicknamed “Diddy” attacking R&B singer Cassie, officials said Saturday.

The mayor’s office said Combs returned the key after Adams sent letters to the embattled musician’s offices in New York and California on 4 June rescinding the key and asking for it to be sent back to City Hall. The city received the key on 10 June.

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Rainbow flags vandalized at Stonewall National Monument in New York City

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Investigation ongoing as state attorney general Letitia James says: ‘In New York, we stand for love and acceptance, not hate and bigotry.’

Rainbow flags lining the Stonewall National Monument in New York City to celebrate Pride month were taken down and destroyed this week, police said, marking the second year in a row that the flags have been vandalized during the annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community throughout June.

Authorities received a report early Friday about the missing flags at the monument in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.

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‘Abhorrent antisemitism’: homes of Jewish Brooklyn Museum leaders vandalized

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Police look into red paint splattered with possible symbol of Palestinian resistance and banner calling director a Zionist

Police are investigating reports of vandalism after the homes of Jewish leaders and board members, including the director, of the Brooklyn Museum were splattered with red paint early Wednesday.

In images circulating on social media, red paint is visibly splashed across the homes of director Anne Pasternak and several others affiliated with the Brooklyn Museum. Police said five homes – three in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn – were vandalized in the attack.

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‘Gutted’: champion eater Joey Chestnut excluded from New York hotdog-eating contest

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Nathan’s Famous, sponsor of event, had no stomach for Chestnut’s sponsorship by plant-based meat company

America’s top professional eater, Joey Chestnut, has been excluded from entering New York City’s annual hotdog eating competition after he signed a deal with a plant-based meat company.

Chestnut, 40, the defending champion, said on X that he “was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years” he had been “banned” from the competition, held every summer on Independence Day at Nathan’s Famous original hotdog outlet in Coney Island. “I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title,” he added.

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New York subway stop may be renamed to honor LGBTQ+ rights movement

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Legislature passes bill, with name change to commemorate riots that spurred action, which awaits governor approval

A New York City subway station would be renamed to commemorate the Stonewall riots that galvanized the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, under legislation approved by state lawmakers as they wrapped up their session this month.

The state legislature approved a bill Wednesday directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the name of the Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village to the Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument station.

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Businessman testifies he promised Bob Menendez up to $250,000 in bribes

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Star witness in trial of US senator from New Jersey says he had deal with Democrat to pressure state attorney general

A New Jersey businessman took his star turn on the witness stand on Friday in the bribery case against US senator Bob Menendez, telling a jury he believed he had a $200,000-$250,000 deal in 2018 for the Democrat to pressure the state attorney general’s office to stop investigating his friends and family.

Jose Uribe testified in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon, providing key testimony against Menendez and two other businessmen charged in a conspiracy along with Menendez’s wife. Next week, Menendez’s lawyers will get to cross-examine the naturalized US citizen.

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New York passes laws protecting kids from addictive social media content

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Legislation will limit children’s exposure to computer algorithmic social media feeds and protect their privacy

New York state took novel legislative steps on Friday to limit children’s exposure to computer algorithmic social media feeds, passing two laws to protect children from addictive social media content and to protect their privacy.

The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (Safe) for Kids Act requires social media companies to restrict addictive feeds on their platforms for users under 18 unless parental consent is granted, and prohibits companies from sending notifications regarding addictive feeds to minors from 12.00am to 6.00am.

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Wendell Pierce alleges he was denied rental apartment because he is Black

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The Tony award winner says ‘Racism and bigots are real’ after being turned down by landlord in Harlem

The Tony award winner Wendell Pierce has alleged that he was denied a rental apartment in New York’s historically Black Harlem neighborhood because he is Black.

“Racism and bigots are real,” the actor posted on X this week. “There are those who will do anything to destroy life’s journey for Black folks. When you deny our personal experiences, you are as vile and despicable.”

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Trump’s gun license to be revoked following conviction, media reports say

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New York City police department to revoke Trump’s license after suspending permit to carry a concealed weapon in April 2023

Donald Trump’s license to carry a gun is expected to be revoked by the New York City police department now that he has been convicted of a felony, according to reports on Wednesday evening.

The former president once boasted that he was so popular with the electorate, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” He made the claim in January 2016 during the Iowa caucuses campaign.

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Couple finds safe stuffed with $100,000 cash while magnet fishing in New York

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James Kane and Barbie Agostini pull up safe in Queens park with bundles of $100 bills inside and are told by police they can keep it

A New York City couple who were “magnet fishing” in a lake caught more than they had bargained for when they pulled out a safe that had $100,000 cash inside.

James Kane and Barbie Agostini tossed a line with a strong magnet attached to the end into a lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens on 31 May, Friday afternoon.

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Trump hails Republicans for defending him and calls conviction ‘a scam’

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In Fox interview, Trump derides his conviction and baselessly characterizes it as political weaponization of US justice system

Donald Trump on Sunday lauded the Republican party for rallying behind him in the wake of his conviction on 34 felony charges in a hush-money case aimed at influencing the 2016 election.

Trump made the comments in his first sit-down press interview since the guilty verdict was returned on Friday that held he falsified business records linked to an illicit affair with adult actor Stormy Daniels. The former US president appeared on Sunday in a taped interview on Fox & Friends, a friendly forum on the rightwing channel and in which he was served up a series of softball questions by a trio of Fox hosts.

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Stormy Daniels says Donald Trump should be jailed after felony conviction

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Ex-president should also be made ‘the volunteer punching bag at a women’s shelter’, says former actor, following guilty verdict

Stormy Daniels has called for Donald Trump to be jailed after he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

The adult film star, who was paid $130,000 as “legal expenses” for her silence about her affair with the former US president, warned the presidential candidate is “completely and utterly out of touch with reality”.

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Minnesota representative Dean Phillips calls on New York governor to pardon Trump

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Failed contender for the Democratic presidential nomination says Kathy Hochul should grant pardon ‘for the good of the country’

The outgoing Democratic US congressman who failed in his presidential primary challenge against Joe Biden called on the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, to pardon Donald Trump over his criminal conviction for hush-money payments to influence the 2016 election “for the good of the country”.

Minnesota representative Dean Phillips, who was the first Democrat to call on fellow party member Henry Cuellar to resign following bribery charges against the Texas congressman, urged for the pardon on Friday in a post on X.

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