Category Archives: New York

Trump testified E Jean Carroll was ‘nut job’ who said she enjoyed being sexually assaulted

Posted on by

Lawyer for writer who accused him of rape asked if ex-president was admitting to it, unsealed testimony shows

Donald Trump called the writer E Jean Carroll a “nut job” in video testimony last year and falsely claimed she had enjoyed being sexually assaulted – prompting her lawyer to ask if he was admitting he had raped her, according to freshly unsealed testimony.

Questioned for a lawsuit, Trump, the former US president, angrily hurled insults and threatened to sue the columnist who accused him of raping her in the New York upscale department store Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s, according to excerpts of his videotaped testimony. The tapes were recorded last October and unsealed by a court on Friday.

Continue reading...

George Santos says he won’t resign as fellow Republicans call on him to quit

Posted on by

Chair of Nassau county committee says Santos ran ‘a campaign of deceit, lies and fabrication’ to win third district

The Republican George Santos said on Wednesday he would not resign from Congress less than a week after being sworn in, despite calls to do so from the chairman of his district committee and a fellow New York representative, amid continuing scrutiny of Santos’s mostly made-up résumé and growing calls for campaign finance investigations.

In a tweet, Santos said: “I was elected to serve the people of the New York third district not the party and politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living.

Continue reading...

More than 7,000 nurses go on strike at two New York City hospitals

Posted on by

Nurses walked off the job at the Mount Sinai and Montefiore medical centers in Harlem and the Bronx over staffing issues

More than 7,000 nurses at two New York City hospitals went on strike on Monday, saying their concerns around staffing issues had not been addressed by management.

Talks failed on Sunday night. At 6am on Monday, nurses went on strike at Mount Sinai medical center on the Upper East Side and Montefiore medical center in the Bronx.

Continue reading...

In Santos’s district, reactions to brazen lies remain mixed: ‘I might let him slide’

Posted on by

In the New York Republican’s district, some people defend the serial fibber, while others are adamant George Santos must quit

It was only after George Santos was elected to Congress that the news broke: the New York Republican had told lies during his campaign.

But these weren’t just little lies, or white lies. Santos appears to have lied brazenly, with abandon, about almost everything it’s possible to lie about: his career, his education, his faith, his relationships, his finances, 9/11.

Continue reading...

Uber drivers strike in New York after company blocks raises and fare hikes

Posted on by

City agency approved raises for drivers by 7.42% per minute and 23.93% per mile but company filed lawsuit

At noon on Thursday, hundreds of Uber drivers gathered outside the company’s headquarters in downtown New York and chants echoed across the 9/11 Memorial Plaza: “Shame on Uber.”

Uber drivers were engaging in a 24-hour strike that began first thing on Thursday in response to the ride sharing giant’s move to sue New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) for approving a raise and fare hike.

Continue reading...

George Santos scandal: Democratic predecessor calls him a ‘con man’

Posted on by

Tom Suozzi, Santos’s forerunner for New York’s third district, says the Republican winner should be ‘removed by Congress’

The Democrat who vacated the US House seat won by the controversial Republican George Santos said on Tuesday Congress was letting in “a con man”.

Tom Suozzi won New York’s third district, which covers parts of Long Island and Queens, in 2016, but stepped down in 2022 in order to run for governor. Santos lost to Suozzi in 2020 but beat Robert Zimmerman for the vacant seat.

Continue reading...

Thousands of nurses in New York City to strike in pursuit of fair contract

Posted on by

Strike date at seven hospitals set for 9 January after 98.8% vote in favor, with wages, staff ratios and health insurance key issues

At least 12,000 nurses at seven hospitals in New York City are threatening to strike after their union contract expired at the end of last year. A strike date is set for 9 January.

The nurses are pushing for the hospitals to implement and enforce safe staffing ratios, improve wages in line with inflation, and maintain health insurance coverage as opposed to proposed cuts by the hospitals.

Continue reading...

Machete-wielding man attacks New York City police at New Year’s Eve event

Posted on by

Authorities are investigating whether the 19-year-old suspect was inspired by radical Islamist extremism, an official said

A man wielding a machete attacked three police officers at the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City, authorities said, striking two of them in the head before an officer shot the man in the shoulder.

Authorities were investigating whether the man was inspired by radical Islamist extremism, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter.

Continue reading...

New York governor legalizes human composting after death

Posted on by

State becomes sixth to pass legislation since 2019 and gives New Yorkers access to an alternative, green method of burial

New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, on Saturday legalized natural organic reduction, popularly known as human composting or terramation, after death.

The legislative move makes the state the sixth to do so since 2019 and gives New Yorkers access to an alternative, green method of burial deemed environmentally friendly.

Continue reading...

New York fans pay tribute to Brazilian icon who brought soccer to the US

Posted on by

Admirers of Pelé gather in Times Square and eulogize the three-time world champion and New York Cosmos crowd-pleaser

Fans of Pelé gathered at the store dedicated to him in New York’s Times Square on Thursday, to memorialize and celebrate a soccer player who electrified the city when he signed with the New York Cosmos in 1975 on a three-year, $7m (£5.8m) contract, a deal that made the 34‐year‐old player the highest‐paid team athlete in the world.

“I grew up hearing about Pelé,” said Larisa Belyansky in front of a wall celebrating the king of football. “The style of his play was so different, the way he moved.” “We remember him as the greatest player”, said her husband, Alex, “because he was the only one to win three World Cups.”

Continue reading...

Human toll of deadly US storm grows in ‘blizzard of the century’

Posted on by

Heartbreaking stories pour in about people missing a heart transplant or dying inside a car

One man never came home from a grocery run. Another man missed a chance at a new heart. A woman died after getting trapped in her car.

The human toll that the winter blast which gripped much of the US last week has continued to mount. Since the “blizzard of the century” swept through multiple parts of the nation last week, at least 60 people have died countrywide, and details about the heartbreak their families are enduring have been trickling out.

Continue reading...

‘Do you have no shame?’: Tulsi Gabbard grills congressman-elect George Santos

Posted on by

Adding to his woes, prosecutor in part of Santos’ legislative district launching investigation into his ‘nothing short of stunning’ claims

Republican congressman-elect George Santos is under fire on multiple fronts – including in a blistering interview with Tulsi Gabbard and an investigation by Long Island prosecutors – after admitting to lying about his heritage, education and professional pedigree.

Late Wednesday, Santos also faced questions on social media over contradictory tweets on the timing of his mother’s death. One post on his account suggested she died in the September 11 attacks in New York, another said she died in 2016. The tweets appear to have been sent from his official Twitter account.

Continue reading...

National guard check door-to-door in Buffalo after storm that killed 34

Posted on by

Officials fear more fatalities may be found after high winds and record snowfalls ravage western New York

Members of the US national guard went door-to-door in some neighborhoods of Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday to check on residents who lost power during a winter storm earlier this week that killed nearly three dozen residents of the region.

As the national guard made their way from house to house, members were confronted with the bleak possibility of encountering still more victims in frigid homes and piles of melting snow, according to the Associated Press.

Continue reading...

New York winter storm death toll at 34 with more snow on the way

Posted on by

Erie county executive says ‘this is not the end yet’ as forecasters say 9in more snow could fall through Tuesday

As Buffalo, New York, reeled from a historic winter storm that left at least 34 dead, first responders charged with the grim task of looking for more victims battled snow drifts and sub-freezing temperatures.

“We’ve had so many bodies that various hospitals are full and we’re just having to go through and determine if the individuals have died from a blizzard-related death,” Mark Poloncarz, executive of Erie county, told CNN.

Continue reading...

Suspect arrested over fatal knife attacks in New York

Posted on by

Roland Codrington, 35, accused of murdering two men three days apart in apparently random encounters

A suspect was named on Monday in two seemingly isolated and random outdoor murders in New York City at the height of the holiday season.

Roland Codrington, 35, is accused of murdering two men who were slashed to death in night-time killings three days apart.

Continue reading...

New York congressman-elect admits lying about college and work history

Posted on by

Republican George Santos, elected to represent parts of Long Island and Queens, admits ‘embellishing résumé’

A New York Republican congressman-elect has admitted that he lied about his job experience and college education during his successful campaign for a seat in the US House.

George Santos, who was elected in November to represent parts of northern Long Island and north-east Queens, told the New York Post: “My sins here are embellishing my résumé. I’m sorry.”

Continue reading...

US braces for more deaths as ‘blizzard of the century’ grips nation

Posted on by

Rescue crews struggle to reach stranded residents in Buffalo, New York, where dozens have been killed in winter storms

Emergency crews in New York were scrambling to rescue marooned residents from what authorities called the “blizzard of the century,” a relentless storm that has left 27 dead in the state and taken at least 60 lives nationwide, according to an NBC News tally.

In New York state, authorities have described ferocious conditions, particularly in Buffalo, with hours-long whiteouts, bodies being discovered in vehicles and under snow banks, and emergency personnel going “car to car” searching for more motorists, alive or dead.

Continue reading...

Stories of survival and rescue emerge from ‘war with mother nature’ in Buffalo

Posted on by

Amid a deadly winter storm, heart-warming tales spring forth of neighbors assisting stranded tourists and helping deliver babies

As the US reels from a winter storm that has killed nearly 50 people nationwide, stories of hope and resilience have nonetheless emerged from America’s hardest hit region, western New York state.

This storm, which has resulted in 27 deaths around the city of Buffalo, brought hurricane-force winds and nearly four feet of snow in parts of the region, thwarting first responders’ emergency response and rescue efforts. “This is a war with mother nature, and she has been hitting us with everything she has,” New York’s governor Kathy Hochul said.

Continue reading...

‘Life-threatening hazard’: 28 dead in Arctic storm battering US

Posted on by

Officials warn the number of deaths might rise, while a quarter of a million people in the US have no electricity

The monstrous Arctic storm that has gripped most of the continental US over the Christmas holiday continued to batter the northern city of Buffalo, New York, on Sunday, as freezing temperatures trailing across the nation created what forecasters called a “potentially life-threatening hazard”.

Twenty-eight deaths attributed to the weather have been recorded across the nation, with officials warning that the number of fatalities would probably rise as “the Arctic air enveloping much of the eastern two-thirds of the US would be slow to moderate”.

Continue reading...

Animal welfare advocates hail New York law banning sale of pets at retail stores

Posted on by

The legislation aims to end the ‘puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline’ for abusive breeders of dogs, cats and rabbits

Animal welfare advocates in New York are heralding the recent approval of a statewide law that prohibits the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at retail pet stores to “end the puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline and stop abusive breeders” and help more stray and abandoned pets find homes.

The law, which goes into effect in 2024, will not outright bar pet shops from having four-legged friends on display as retailers may charge rescue organizations rent to present ready-to-adopt companion animals. But it has been hailed as a major achievement for animal welfare by its backers.

Continue reading...