Category Archives: New York

US-Canada border explosion may have been a medical or mechanical episode, cops say

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Kurt P Villani and Monica Villani of Buffalo, New York, died when their Bentley flew through air and exploded into flames

The investigation of a car crash and explosion at a Niagara Falls, New York, border checkpoint on Wednesday – which killed the married couple inside the vehicle – is examining whether mechanical or medical issues were to blame, according to reports.

That detail surfaced as officials identified the Rainbow Bridge crash victims as Kurt P Villani and Monica Villani, both 53. The Villani family owns several hardware stores as well as a lumber business around the Buffalo, New York, region.

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Andrew Cuomo accused of sexual assault as ‘look-back’ window closes

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Ex-governor accused by former aide amid flurry of last-minute claims under New York’s Adult Survivors Act

The disgraced former governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, was accused of sexual assault late on Thursday night in one of the final claims in a last-minute flurry made under the state’s “look-back window”, which closed at midnight.

Late claims were also filed against the music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and against the current mayor of New York, Eric Adams.

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Jamie Foxx denies sexually assaulting woman in New York bar

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Lawsuit alleges the Hollywood star assaulted a woman while at Catch NYC & Roof, a restaurant and rooftop bar, in summer 2015

Hollywood star Jamie Foxx has denied accusations that he sexually assaulted a woman while at a New York rooftop bar eight years ago.

The lawsuit alleges in summer 2015, Foxx made comments such as, “Wow, you have that supermodel body,” while at Catch NYC & Roof, a restaurant and rooftop bar, before grabbing the woman by the arm and pulling her to the “secluded” back of the rooftop.

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Fiery Bentley crash that killed two at US-Canada border probably not terrorism, says FBI

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Rainbow Bridge was closed on one of year’s busiest days after vehicle reportedly en route to Kiss concert exploded on Wednesday

A car crash at the US-Canada border that killed two people, injured a border officer and jangled nerves ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period is not believed to be terrorism, according to the FBI.

The agency had handed over its investigation to local officials, who are looking into why a luxury vehicle sped towards a border checkpoint, crossed a median, launched into the air, hit a building and exploded into a fireball.

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Former state department official who made Islamophobic comments to vendor arrested for hate crime

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Food cart worker saw an outpouring of support from customers after news of the verbal attacks went public

The street vendor in Manhattan who was racially harangued about the Gaza conflict woke to huge lines of well-wishing customers on Wednesday as the the former state department official who was filmed berating him was arrested and charged with racial harassment and stalking as a hate crime.

Mohammed Hussein, 24, was back to work at the Q Halal Cart grill on Wednesday on the corner of Second Avenue and East 83rd Street, with lines of customers queuing for food in a sign of support.

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Two dead after vehicle explosion at US-Canada border checkpoint

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New York governor says ‘no indication of terrorist attack’ as officials investigate incident at Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls

A speeding car crashed in flames on the bridge linking New York state and Ontario at Niagara Falls on Wednesday, killing two people in the vehicle and sparking a security scare that closed four US-Canadian border crossings.

Hours later, federal and state authorities said investigators had found no evidence of an act of terrorism, though circumstances surrounding the crash on the Rainbow Bridge remained murky, leaving it to be determined whether it was accidental or intentional.

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Office of judge presiding over Trump’s New York trial bombarded with threats

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Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk have also received antisemitic abuse since a gag order imposed on the ex-president was lifted

The office of the New York judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial has been bombarded with death threats and antisemitic abuse following the former president’s online attacks.

Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk, Allison Greenfield, are said to have received hundreds of threatening, harassing and disparaging messages via telephone and social media.

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Trump unleashes outrage at court clerk online barely an hour after gag order paused

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New York judge temporarily lifted gag order, opening window through which Trump could vent his unrestrained feelings

Barely an hour after a gag order prohibiting Donald Trump from commenting about court staff at his civil fraud trial in New York was temporarily lifted, he was at it again – unleashing a blitzkrieg of social media outrage at a clerk who has become the lightning rod for the former president’s rage.

On Thursday afternoon a New York appeals court judge, David Friedman, paused a gag order that had been placed on Trump last month. The move opened a window through which Trump could vent his unrestrained feelings.

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New York judge suspends Trump gag order in fraud trial, citing free speech

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Trial judge Arthur Engoron had imposed gag order last month after the former president maligned a court clerk

A New York appeals court judge on Thursday paused a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting on court staffers in his civil fraud trial. The trial judge had imposed the gag order last month and later fined Trump $15,000 for violations after the former president made a disparaging social media post about a court clerk.

In his decision, Judge David Friedman of the state’s intermediate appeals court cited constitutional concerns about restricting Trump’s free speech. He issued a stay of the gag order, allowing Trump to comment freely about court staff while a longer appeals process plays out.

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Cargo plane forced to return to New York after horse escapes from crate

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Boeing 747 cargo plane turns back after horse becomes untethered in flight and pilot says ‘We cannot get the horse back secured’

A cargo plane heading for Belgium was forced to return to New York City after a horse escaped from its crate on board.

The horse became loose on the Boeing 747 cargo plane within 30 minutes of the plane’s initial takeoff, according to the audio clips from air traffic control that were reconstructed on YouTube, ABC News reported.

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Trump Jr hails ‘sexiness’ of father’s properties at New York fraud trial

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Donald Trump’s son showers praise on former president as he returns to the stand at $250m real estate fraud trial

Donald Trump’s eldest son hailed the “sexiness” of his father’s properties after returning to the stand at the $250m fraud trial over the former president’s real estate empire.

Lawyers for the Trump Organization summoned Donald Trump Jr at the start of the seventh week of the New York civil trial.

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Robert De Niro’s production company ordered to pay $1.3m to ex-assistant

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Canal Productions liable in gender discrimination suit filed by Graham Chase Robinson, while De Niro found not personally liable

Robert De Niro’s production company was found liable on Thursday by a jury for gender discrimination and retaliation, and ordered to pay $1.3m to the Hollywood star’s former assistant.

The 80-year-old actor and director was not found personally liable by the jury in New York after a two-week trial.

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Israeli diplomat pressured US college to drop course on ‘apartheid’ debate

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Consul Yuval Donio-Gideon objected to course at Bard College but president says institution ‘stood up for academic freedom’

An Israeli diplomat tried to persuade a leading New York college to cancel a course about the growing debate over whether the Jewish state practices a form of apartheid in the Palestine.

The Israeli consul for public diplomacy in New York, Yuval Donio-Gideon, took the highly unusual step of contacting Bard College earlier this year to object to the course, Apartheid in Israel-Palestine, on the grounds that it breached the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

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Anything but the fraud: ex-Trump aide focuses on ‘travesty’ courtroom sketch

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Former press chief Kayleigh McEnany, now a Fox News host, upset by sketch of ex-president, found liable in New York case

Amid Donald Trump’s rambling court appearance in his fraud trial on Monday, there was one thing that really piqued Fox News: the former president’s appearance in a courtroom sketch.

“A travesty,” was the verdict of Kayleigh McEnany, who served as Trump’s press secretary during the dying embers of his one-term presidency before she became a Fox News host.

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Protesters stage sit-in demanding ceasefire in Gaza at Statue of Liberty

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About 500 demonstrators including artist Nan Goldin attend protest on Monday in New York City

Hundreds of protestors staged a sit-in demonstration at New York’s Statue of Liberty on Monday afternoon demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

About 500 members and supporters of Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City (JVP-NYC) waved flags and banners and sang pro-peace songs, according to a spokesperson for the group.

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Trump claims financial statements at heart of $250m fraud trial are ‘worthless’

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Former president takes stand in New York Trump Organization trial as judge asks lawyer to ‘control your client’

Donald Trump took the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday and angrily claimed the financial statements at the heart of his $250m civil fraud lawsuit were “worthless” and the trial was a political “witch-hunt”.

In a day of sometimes heated, sometimes meandering testimony, Trump maintained he had done nothing wrong and accused his prosecutors of playing politics. “We sit here all day – it’s election interference because you want to keep me in the courthouse!” said Trump.

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New York City Marathon: Tola sets men’s course record as Obiri takes women’s crown

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  • Ethiopian eclipses previous best by eight seconds
  • Obiri won Boston Marathon earlier this year

Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a course record to win the New York City Marathon men’s race on Sunday while Hellen Obiri of Kenya pulled away in the final 400 meters to take the women’s title.

Tola finished in 2hr 4min 58sec, topping the 2:05:06 set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. Tola pulled away from his compatriot Jemal Yimer when the pair were heading towards the Bronx at mile 20. By the time he headed back into Manhattan a mile later he was up by 19sec and chasing Mutai’s mark.

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US schools grapple with shortage of a lunchtime staple: milk cartons

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Agricultural department says multiple states will be affected, forcing a brainstorm of backup plans

The tiny, half-pint cartons of milk served with millions of school lunches nationwide may soon be scarce in some cafeterias, with districts across the country scrambling to find alternatives.

The problem is not a shortage of milk itself, but the cardboard cartons used to package and serve it, according to dairy industry suppliers and state officials.

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Judge in New York fraud trial extends gag order to Trump’s legal team

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Arthur Engoron forbids Trump’s lawyers from discussing ‘confidential communications’ between the judge and his staff

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s $250m fraud trial moved to gag Trump’s lawyers from talking about “confidential communications” between the judge and his staff on Friday.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already fined Trump $15,000 for attacking his clerk on social media and threatened to jail the former president if the attacks continue.

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Trump sons deny knowing of financial statements at heart of $250m fraud trial

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Donald Jr says he ‘relied upon accountants’ for financial statements while Eric says he ‘never had anything to do’ with them

Trump’s eldest sons claimed on Thursday that they had no knowledge of the financial statements at the heart of the family’s $250m fraud trial.

Eric and his older brother Donald Trump Jr claimed in court that they had relied on accountants and others to make sure their financial records were correct.

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