Category Archives: New York

Chinese business tycoon convicted of defrauding followers in $1bn scheme

Posted on by

Guo Wengui, who gained fans for criticizing Communist party in China, found guilty in US of nine criminal counts

Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese business tycoon whose criticism of the Communist party won him legions of online followers and powerful friends in the American conservative movement, was convicted by a US jury on Tuesday of engaging in an enormous multi-year fraud that ripped off some of his most devoted fans.

Once believed to be among the richest people in China, Guo was arrested in New York in March 2023 and accused of operating a racketeering enterprise that stretched from 2018 through 2023.

Continue reading...

Billionaire Sung Kook ‘Bill’ Hwang convicted of fraud by New York jury

Posted on by

Archegos Capital Management’s founder guilty of 10 of 11 criminal counts over investment firm that collapsed in 2021

Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang, the Archegos Capital Management founder, was convicted of fraud and other charges by a jury in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. Prosecutors at a criminal trial had accused him of market manipulation ahead of the 2021 collapse of his $36bn private investment firm.

The jury, which began deliberations on Tuesday, found Hwang guilty on 10 of 11 criminal counts and Patrick Halligan, his Archegos deputy and co-defendant, guilty on all three counts he faced. Hwang and Halligan sat flanked by their lawyers as the verdict was read by a soft-spoken foreperson.

Continue reading...

Urban heat island effect making temperatures 8F hotter in 65 US cities – study

Posted on by

Nearly 34 million people in those cities, or 15% of the US population, experiencing temperatures higher than in surrounding areas

Almost 34 million people in 65 major US cities, or 15% of the country’s population, are experiencing temperatures that are 8F higher than their surrounding areas, according to a new analysis from Climate Central, a non-profit research group.

That is largely due to built environments like parking lots and asphalt sidewalks, and a lack of trees, that contribute to what’s known as the urban heat island effect.

Continue reading...

Columbia removes three deans over text messages with alleged ‘antisemitic tropes’

Posted on by

University president says private text exchange during school event was ‘unacceptable and deeply upsetting’

Three Columbia University deans have been indefinitely removed from their positions after sending text messages that the university president said included antisemitic tropes.

In a message sent on Monday, the Columbia president, Minouche Shafik, said that text messages “revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”, the Columbia Spectator reported.

Continue reading...

Two dead after truck strikes group on Fourth of July in New York City park

Posted on by

Ford F-150 came down a street ‘at a high rate of speed’, went past a stop sign, on to the sidewalk and into a park

Two people were killed and nine others injured, four critically, when a pickup truck drove into a group celebrating the Fourth of July holiday in New York City, authorities said.

A Ford F-150 came down a street “at a high rate of speed” shortly before 9pm Thursday. The truck went through an intersection and past a stop sign, drove on to the sidewalk and into Corlears Hook Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, said Jeffrey Maddrey, the New York police department chief, during a news conference.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a snowball effect’: the generation Z book club making waves in New York

Posted on by

Cassidy Grady’s Sunday reading series ‘Confessions’ seeks fresh avenues for creative expression in wake of pandemic

Reading nights and avant-garde literary groups are rapidly emerging as platforms for younger generations to foster community and creatively share personal narratives – and one new series is making waves in New York.

Literary events are on the rise across the US, with CNN citing that book club listings have grown 24% in 2023 from the previous year.

Continue reading...

New York police kill boy wielding replica handgun, authorities say

Posted on by

A 13-year-old was killed Friday in Utica after police stopped two youths in connection with armed robbery investigation

Video released late Saturday shows an officer in upstate New York fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy who had been tackled to the ground after he ran from police and pointed a replica handgun at them.

The teen was killed late Friday in Utica after officers in the city about 240 miles (400km) north-west of Manhattan stopped two youths a little after 10pm in connection with an armed robbery investigation, police said.

Continue reading...

Four dead and nine injured after minivan crashes into New York nail salon

Posted on by

Driver taken to hospital and charged with driving while intoxicated after rescuers free people trapped in building

A minivan slammed into a Long Island, New York, nail salon on Friday, killing four people and injuring nine others inside the business at the time, a Suffolk county fire official said.

The vehicle came to a stop at the back of the Hawaii Nail & Spa salon in Deer Park at about 4.40pm.

Continue reading...

Renters in New York City fight back against real estate broker fees

Posted on by

City is one of few in the US where tenants can be forced to pay fees, despite a landlord having hired the broker

A row is brewing in New York City between renters and real estate brokers, over who pays the thousands of dollars in fees when an apartment is rented.

On 12 June, lawmakers in New York met to discuss the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses act (Fare act), which would require the person who hires the broker to pay the broker fee.

Continue reading...

Jamaal Bowman’s primary defeat leaves progressives angry at role of Aipac

Posted on by

Leftwing groups write to top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries raising ‘dire concerns’ about pro-Israel lobby group

Progressive groups reacted with disappointment and anger over Jamaal Bowman’s decisive primary loss to a moderate Democrat in New York’s 16th district, calling for the party to cut ties with pro-Israel lobbying groups they blame for the result.

In a letter to the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, more than a dozen progressive organizations said they had “dire concerns” over the party’s continued association with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), “the future of the Democratic Party, the future of our multiracial democracy, and the future of our planet”.

Continue reading...

Progressive Jamaal Bowman loses New York House Democratic primary

Posted on by

Congressman Bowman defeated by George Latimer, backed by pro-Israel groups in most expensive House primary ever

Jamaal Bowman, the progressive Democratic congressman whose criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza made him a target for pro-Israel lobbying groups, lost his primary race on Tuesday night.

The Democratic primary in New York’s 16th district became the most expensive House primary in history after Bowman was challenged by George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.

Continue reading...

Judge partially lifts Trump gag order in hush-money case – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Trump’s trial, read our full coverage here.

While his primary contest may be too close to call, the vote count thus far shows Republican congressman Bob Good trailing his challenger John McGuire by a small amount.

Good is now casting aspersions on the fairness of the election, NBC News reports:

Good claimed during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast Monday that Lynchburg “did not secure their drop boxes.”

“There’s no accountability for when those boxes were opened,” Good said. “They were apparently left to be stuffed for two or three days after the election.”

Continue reading...

Series of US mass shootings brings weekend of death and mayhem

Posted on by

One dead and 34 wounded as incidents in New York, Alabama, Missouri and Ohio swell 2024 mass shooting tally

A series of mass shootings rocked the US early on Sunday, leaving at least one dead and 34 others wounded in just four cases reported in New York, Alabama, Missouri and Ohio.

The shootings came amid a broader spate of recent mass shootings, including the one at an Arkansas grocery store on Friday that left four dead and nine wounded – as well as another at a nightclub in Kentucky on Saturday that killed one and injured seven.

Continue reading...

Accusations fly as pro-Israel groups spend big to oust progressive House Democrat

Posted on by

Jamaal Bowman faces challenge from George Latimer in New York primary that has become testy – and expensive

It was one of the hottest days of the year in New York City on Saturday – but as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to the stage in the Bronx, you wouldn’t know it.

At a rally to support Jamaal Bowman, the progressive Democrat facing a primary campaign that has seen pro-Israel lobbying groups pump more than $15m into the race, Ocasio-Cortez was amped up.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.”

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.”

Continue reading...

Manhattan district attorney asks judge to extend gag order against Trump

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Charges dropped for Columbia students arrested at pro-Palestinian protests

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...