Category Archives: New York

Two people arrested in apparent marriage proposal atop Empire State Building

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Pair also unfurled a large black banner displaying a message of peace on top of New York City landmark

Two people were arrested following an apparent marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building’s spire on Wednesday, after they climbed to the very pinnacle of the New York City landmark – well above the level open to the public.

The two people were identified as Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, two Russian “rooftoppers” who have conducted similar stunts in other cities including Tianjin, China, and Los Angeles. They were both wearing black clothing and appeared to be masked as they unfurled a large, black banner at the top of the skyscraper with the words: “When the power of love beats the love of power the ‌world knows peace.”

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Zohran Mamdani says he and allies he endorsed carry a ‘national message’

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Mayor says progressive peers who swept primaries speak to Americans ‘coast to coast’ as moderates have reservations

Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said on Sunday that he and a slew of democratic socialist allies who prevailed in recent primary elections are carrying a “national message” to struggling working Americans hungry for a new kind of politics “coast to coast”.

Mamdani made that triumphant clarion call on ABC News’s This Week just five days after he had seen his endorsed candidates win Democratic nominations in three races for New York congressional seats, as well as for five state legislature positions in Albany. He made no effort to disguise his delight that his clean sweep marks a dramatic shift in Democratic politics – not just in New York City, which he has led since January, but also across the US.

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Mamdani-backed candidates sweep Democratic primaries in New York City

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JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg fails to advance in election to replace Jerry Nadler in Manhattan district

Zohran Mamdani’s growing influence over the Democratic party was on show in New York City on Tuesday as three congressional candidates endorsed by New York’s democratic socialist mayor won closely watched primaries, while voters in Maryland, Utah and South Carolina cast ballots in primaries and runoffs.

Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor last year before endorsing Mamdani, won his race comfortably, defeating the Democratic representative Dan Goldman.

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New Yorkers vote as Democrats weigh competing visions in era of Trump

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Democratic primary elections to test strength of party’s left flank as old guard faces string of challenges

New Yorkers were voting on Tuesday in a slate of Democratic primaries poised to reveal the strength of the party’s left flank and shape the battle for control of the US House of Representatives in November.

Voters in Maryland and Utah will also nominate congressional candidates on Tuesday, while South Carolina holds a series of runoff elections for candidates who did not receive a majority of the vote earlier this month.

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US supreme court reinstates murder conviction in case of Etan Patz

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Appeals court had ruled Pedro Hernandez, 64, was wrongly convicted over 1979 disappearance of New York six-year-old

The US supreme court has reinstated a murder conviction in the long winding case of Etan Patz, whose 1979 disappearance at age six from New York City garnered national headlines.

In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the supreme court agreed with New York prosecutors in their request to reverse a lower court ruling that had thrown out the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez, 64, in the Patz case.

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Man falls to his death during Madison Square Garden concert, police say

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Officers find man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an ‘elevated position’

A 51-year-old man fell to his death during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night, police said.

Officers responding to a 911 emergency call at about 9.51pm found the man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an “elevated position”, New York police said in a statement.

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A Kennedy, a ‘nerd’, an ex-Republican and a tech target: New York races toward a House seat

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In NY-12, four Democrats, including one Kennedy, are vying to replace Jerry Nadler – and potentially shake things up

When news broke that a safely Democratic seat in New York’s wealthiest congressional district was becoming vacant, it was inevitable that there would be a crowded field of candidates.

What people might not have expected is that the subsequent Democratic primary would become one of the country’s most closely watched and action-packed, the race coming to reflect a range of Democrats’ national political priorities: who is the strongest against Trump; who is the most critical of artificial intelligence companies; and who is, basically, the coolest.

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Mangione lawyers abandon psychiatric defense over health CEO’s killing

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Legal team of alleged gunman, 28, reverses position on ‘extreme emotional disturbance’ defense after one day

In a stunning reversal, Luigi Mangione’s legal team said on Thursday they would no longer pursue a psychiatric defense in his upcoming state trial over the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Just one day earlier, Mangione’s lawyers told Judge Gregory Carro they would pursue a defense claiming the 28-year-old was suffering an “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of Thompson’s killing on 4 December 2024.

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Families of eight women killed confront the Gilgo Beach serial killer: ‘Save a spot in hell’

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New York judge imposes life without parole after emotional statements at Rex Heuermann’s sentencing

The families of eight women killed by Rex Heuermann spoke at the Gilgo Beach killer’s sentencing in Riverhead, New York, on Wednesday, more than three decades after the 62-year-old Manhattan architect began his killing spree.

Heuermann pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted to the killing of an eighth victim in April. Just before being sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday for his admitted crimes, Heuermann offered a weak, generalized apology for his actions.

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Trump’s Department of Labor claims without data that states defrauded government

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Keith Sonderling, acting head of the agency, threatens to withhold administrative funds from states for first time in history

Keith Sonderling sent letters to 53 states and US territories demanding action to “combat waste, fraud, and abuse” within the unemployment insurance program, threatening to withhold administrative funds from states for the first time history.

“We are officially putting governors on notice,” said the acting US secretary of labor. “The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars – no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected.”

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Longtime New York City TV anchor announces retirement after revealing Alzheimer’s diagnosis

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Bill Ritter, anchor on WABC since 2001, said he’s stepping down but will continue to report on the disease

A longtime New York City television news anchor has announced his sudden retirement from the airwaves after revealing that he has the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Bill Ritter, a veteran of ABC New York station WABC, has presented the main evening news in New York since 2001 and become a familiar face to millions of its residents.

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Tornadoes rip through central US while extreme heat and humidity creep into the north-east

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One man died in Iowa after a tree fell on him as nearly 700 severe weather events were recorded over three days

An Illinois man whose home was destroyed by a tornado on Thursday was pulled from the rubble by a police officer and a photojournalist, who captured the terrifying storm and subsequent rescue in dramatic video footage.

Scott Lasker, who describes himself as a storm chaser, recorded the tornado ripping through the town of Streator and was filming the damage it inflicted when he came across the man trapped in the debris of his house.

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Trial underway for ex-NYC comptroller Brad Lander after immigration court arrest

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Brad Lander and 10 other elected officials were arrested by federal agents at ICE facility last September

The trial against Brad Lander, a New York City Democrat, stemming from his arrest during an attempt to inspect rooms holding detained immigrants started on Wednesday in a Manhattan federal court

Lander was ticketed on a violation for allegedly blocking an elevator bank on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, the location of major immigration court located in Manhattan.

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Six people stabbed in attack at Penn Station in New York

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Suspect in custody at busy rail hub adjacent to Madison Square Garden one day before game three of NBA finals

Six people were stabbed in a Sunday night attack at New York’s Penn Station, authorities said, with Amtrak police saying a person believed to be homeless was being held in custody as a result.

The stabbings at the US’s busiest railroad hub came one day before thousands of basketball fans were expected at the third game of the NBA finals at the adjacent Madison Square Garden complex, although the events are not believed to be linked.

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Democrats who marched in New York’s Israel Day parade decry attendance of far-right minister Smotrich

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Politicians’ statements reflect difficulty facing pro-Israel Democrats as voter support for country falls

Several prominent New York Democrats who participated in the city’s annual Israel Day parade on Sunday have condemned the participation of Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister and a leading figure in the Israeli settler movement, in the event.

Smotrich was among several Israeli lawmakers and cabinet officials who marched in the parade on Sunday. His appearance marked his first trip to the US in more than a year, and came less than month after he said the international criminal court (ICC) was seeking an arrest warrant against him.

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Democrats split on Israel parade as Mamdani keeps promise to skip event

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New York mayor refused to attend as other Democrats drew rebukes for marching with Israel’s far-right finance minister

As they have done for decades, prominent members of the Democratic party establishment marched on Sunday in New York City’s annual Israel Day parade. Perhaps more noteworthy, however, was who was missing.

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, refused to attend, citing his opposition to the Israeli government, which he has accused of committing genocide in Gaza.

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Carney calls for new US-Canada partnership to ‘help make America great again’

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Canada prime minister urges greater economic cooperation between the two countries in speech delivered in New York

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney has called for a new relationship with the United States to “help make America great again”.

In a speech delivered in New York on Thursday, Carney said that there should be a “true partnership” that reimagines cooperation in specific sectors challenged by global competition.

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Storied New York food co-op votes to boycott Israeli products after contentious campaign

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The Park Slope Food Coop boycott vote follows tensions and rifts among members and larger community

Members of a storied food co-operative in Brooklyn have voted to boycott about a dozen products from Israel and Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine – capping years of contentious debate over a conflict half a world away that has threatened to rip apart a landmark institution for liberal New Yorkers.

The Park Slope Food Coop vote, which took place Tuesday night during a three-hour virtual meeting attended by about 7,000 of the co-operative’s 17,000 members, follows months of dueling campaigning that one local rabbi opposed to the boycott described as a “proxy war”. The boycott is supposed to impact some brands of tahini, peppers and persimmons as well as other products. Sixty-seven percent of participants voted in favor of the boycott.

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Weather tracker: flash floods in New York and a heat dome in Europe

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Rain overwhelms sewer system in parts of US city, while temperatures in France break May record

New York City saw flash flooding on Wednesday, as large parts of Brooklyn and Queens received about 2in (50mm) of rainfall in as little as 20 minutes. Officials said the deluge caused water to flow into the sewer system at a rate of up to 6in an hour, quickly overwhelming an aged network that was designed to accommodate just 1.75in an hour.

Residents and commuters found themselves wading knee-deep through flood water that flowed with dangerous speed in places. One video showed a woman alighting from a bus losing her footing and being dragged along by the torrent of water. Several major roads were blocked, including the Long Island Expressway, and subway services were disrupted as water spilled into stations. Large amounts of mud and other debris was left behind; videos showed bags of rubbish being swept down streets along with loose litter.

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Shutdown of US’s largest commuter rail system enters second day amid strike

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Disruption of Long Island Rail Road continues into second day after workers went on strike as Monday rush hour looms

The shutdown of the Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, continued into a second day on Sunday after unionized workers went on strike for the first time in three decades a day earlier.

The railroad, which serves New York City and its eastern suburbs, ceased operations just after midnight Friday after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.

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