Category Archives: New York

‘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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‘Karma always get you’: New Yorkers react to verdict in Trump criminal trial

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All opinions could be found on streets of New York City after conviction, including: ‘This is going to hand him the election’

The aftermath of the conviction of Donald Trump on 34 felony counts played out amid scenes of stress, jubilation and shock in Manhattan – the slice of New York that first made the former US president into a global celebrity and has now declared one of its most famous sons a guilty criminal.

Police cruisers tore downtown after jurors announced they’d reached a verdict in Trump’s hush-money trial, and many New Yorkers had been glued to their phones waiting for the decision to be relayed. Mayor Eric Adams tried to reassure citizens that authorities were prepared for unrest.

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New York governor to launch bill banning smartphones in schools

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Exclusive: Kathy Hochul pushes online child safety, telling social media companies: ‘You’re not going to profit off the mental health of children’

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, plans to introduce a bill banning smartphones in schools, the latest in a series of legislative moves aimed at online child safety by New York’s top official.

“I have seen these addictive algorithms pull in young people, literally capture them and make them prisoners in a space where they are cut off from human connection, social interaction and normal classroom activity,” she said.

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Bankruptcy trustee should take over Giuliani’s assets, creditors’ attorneys say

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Former mayor repeatedly lied and deceived creditors about his finances to avoid money going to them, lawyers say in court filing

A bankruptcy judge should appoint a trustee to immediately take control of Rudy Giuliani’s financial affairs after the former mayor repeatedly lied and deceived creditors about his finances, lawyers for the creditors said in a Tuesday court filing.

Among other things, the lawyers said Giuliani was funneling money into his businesses to avoid it going to creditors, undervalued his jewellery, and refused to disclose what several Apple and Amazon purchases were for. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December, shortly after a jury in Washington DC ordered him to pay $148.1m in damages to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss – two Atlanta, Georgia, election workers he spread lies about after the 2020 election.

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Comedian drops plan for a billboard of Gina Rinehart portrait in Times Square

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Dan Ilic wanted to project Vincent Namitjira’s work after Australia’s richest woman tried to have it removed from the National Gallery

An Australian comedian has dropped his plan to broadcast Vincent Namatjira’s contentious portrait of Gina Rinehart to thousands of tourists and New Yorkers in Times Square.

Dan Ilic told Guardian Australia on Tuesday lunchtime that, after exceeding his crowdfunding target of A$30,000, his stunt would go live in Times Square at 8pm on Friday night.

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US president warns new army officers to be ‘guardians of American democracy’

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President entreats graduates at commencement to ‘hold fast’ to oath to US constitution in veiled reference to Trump’s threat to democracy

Joe Biden has called newly graduating US military officers the “guardians of American democracy” at a commencement speech in New York state, where the US president, without mentioning Donald Trump by name, gave strong warnings of unprecedented threats to US freedom.

Biden told the West Point military academy graduating class of 2024 that it is being called upon to tackle threats across the globe as well as preserve America’s ideals at home.

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Portal installations linking Dublin to New York City reopen after shutdown

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Two installations host a 24/7 live stream in both cities, but a small number of visitors initially abused the opportunity

The live video portal linking Dublin, Ireland, to New York, New York, has reopened after unruly behavior got the modern art sculpture temporarily shut down.

The two installations making up the Portal – created by the Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys – host a 24/7 live stream in both cities so people can see and interact with each other. One installation is located in the Flatiron district of New York, and the other is on Dublin’s popular O’Connell Street.

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Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ ubiquitous in Great Lakes basin, study finds

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PFAS chemicals present in air, rain, atmosphere and water in basin, which holds nearly 95% of US freshwater

Toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” are ubiquitous in the Great Lakes basin’s air, rain, atmosphere and water, new peer-reviewed research shows.

The first-of-its-kind, comprehensive picture of PFAS levels for the basin, which holds nearly 95% of the nation’s freshwater, also reveals that precipitation is probably a major contributor to the lakes’ contamination.

This story was amended on 18 May 2024 to clarify that Buffalo does not border Lake Ontario.

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Manahahtáanung or Manhattan? Tribal representatives call for apology for Dutch settlement of New York City

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As new exhibition opens in Amsterdam exploring the settlement of North America, original Manhattanites demand apology

Representatives for some of the Lenape people have called for an apology and reparations for the 17th-century Dutch “settling” of New Amsterdam, the place that is now New York.

Precisely four centuries after the Dutch established a colony at the mouth of the Hudson River, some descendants of Indigenous Americans believe it is time for a fuller story of the wars on their people, slavery, exploitation and dispersal.

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Dublin video portal to New York shuts temporarily due to unruly behaviour

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Livestream artwork with 2.4m-wide screen allowed people in both cities to see but not hear each other, leading to offensive conduct

Authorities in Dublin are to temporarily shut down the live video portal with New York because of unruly behaviour.

The city council said in a statement on Tuesday it would switch off the interactive webcam at 10pm Irish time while technicians try to tweak – or censor – a project that has brought delight and notoriety.

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Smiles, waves and flashed body parts: video portal links Dublin and New York

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Dubliners urged to give ‘Irish welcome’ via interactive sculpture, but bad behaviour has also been on display

Rain sluiced down on a grey Dublin afternoon but the crowd clustering around the portal ignored the downpour and waved at a man cycling towards the screen on a sunny morning in Manhattan.

He gazed back, waved and wobbled before recovering his balance and vanishing down Fifth Avenue, eliciting a cheer from the sodden observers on North Earl Street.

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