Category Archives: New York

Anthony Varvaro, MLB player who joined New York police, dies in car crash on way to September 11 memorial

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Pitcher who played for three major league teams before becoming Port Authority officer, was going to work at 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan

Anthony Varvaro, a former US Major League Baseball pitcher who retired in 2016 to become a police officer in the New York City area, was killed in a car accident Sunday morning on his way to work at the September 11 memorial ceremony in Manhattan, according to police officials and his former teams.

Varvaro, 37, was an officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He played baseball at St John’s University in New York before a six-year career in the majors as a relief pitcher with the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.

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Guns bought through credit cards in the US will now be trackable

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A new ISO-approved measure will also allow sharing of suspicious purchases with law enforcement

Credit card purchases of firearms in the US can now be tracked and purchases deemed suspicious can even be shared with law enforcement, according to a new measure approved by an organization that sets parameters for business transactions.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) voted in favor of creating a merchant code for firearms stores, according to Reuters.

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New York declares disaster emergency after polio detected in several counties

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The governor’s latest step is a way to boost low vaccination rates in areas where the virus has been found

New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a disaster emergency on Friday and said the state was stepping up its polio-fighting efforts after the virus was detected in the wastewater of yet another county in the New York City area.

Health officials began checking for signs of the virus in sewage water after the first case of polio in the US in nearly a decade was identified in July in Rockland county, close to the city.

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Steve Bannon ‘stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket,’ New York attorney general says – as it happened

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Steve Bannon has now been formally indicted, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports.

Bannon was charged with money laundering and conspiracy in connection with his role in a fundraising effort to privately underwrite the construction of the US-Mexico border wall, according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday.

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‘Unhinged’ Rudy Giuliani drank and ranted about Islam, new book claims

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Ex-mayor derailed ‘train wreck’ dinner with clients and colleagues, then was later considered for secretary of state

At a law firm dinner in New York in May 2016, an “unhinged” Rudy Giuliani, then Donald Trump’s suggested pick to head a commission on “radical Islamic terrorism”, behaved in a drunken and Islamophobic manner, horrifying clients and attorneys alike.

According to a new book by Geoffrey Berman, a former US attorney for the southern district of New York (SDNY), at one point Giuliani turned to a Jewish man “wearing a yarmulke [who] had ordered a kosher meal” and, under the impression the man was a Muslim, said: “I’m sorry to have tell you this, but the founder of your religion is a murderer.”

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Steve Bannon charged with money laundering and conspiracy in New York

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Former Trump adviser surrendered to authorities in Manhattan in connection with fundraising scheme for US-Mexico border wall

Top former Trump strategist Steve Bannon has been charged in New York with money laundering, conspiracy and scheme to defraud in connection with his role in a fundraising effort to privately underwrite the construction of the US-Mexico border wall, according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday.

The indictment includes two counts of money laundering in the second degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree. Bannon surrendered himself to the Manhattan district attorney’s office after being told in recent days that charges were imminent, sources familiar with the matter said.

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Bed Bath & Beyond executive falls to his death from New York tower, police say

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Chief financial officer Gustavo Arnal, 52, fell from skyscraper on Friday, days after the company said it was closing several stores

The chief financial officer of the troubled home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond fell to his death from a New York skyscraper known as the “Jenga” tower on Friday, police said, just days after the company said it was closing several stores.

Gustavo Arnal, 52, joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2020. He previously worked for the cosmetics brand Avon in London and had a 20-year stint with Procter & Gamble, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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Retired NYPD officer receives longest sentence yet for attack on Capitol

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Thomas Webster was given a 10-year prison time for six charges, including assaulting an officer with a metal flagpole

A retired New York police department officer has received a record-setting 10- year sentence for his involvement in the Capitol attack, during which he used a metal flagpole to assault one of the police officers trying to hold off a mob of Donald Trump supporters.

Thomas Webster was sentenced on Thursday, and his prison time will represent the longest punishment so far for the roughly 250 people facing punishment for their role in the January 6 attack.

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New York enacts new gun restrictions in response to supreme court decision

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After court overturned 1911 New York law, state lawmakers produced act to create ‘gun-free zones’ and strengthen gun control measures

After a federal judge said New York could implement new gun restrictions passed after the US supreme court struck down a century-old law, the state attorney general saluted “a victory in our efforts to protect New Yorkers”.

“Responsible gun control measures save lives and any attempts by the gun lobby to tear down New York’s sensible gun control laws will be met with fierce defense of the law,” Letitia James said on Wednesday night.

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‘Time has run out’: UN fails to reach agreement to protect marine life

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This fifth round of discussions was meant to establish a UN Ocean Treaty that would protect biodiversity in international waters

The latest round of talks at the United Nations aimed at securing protections for marine life in international waters that cover half the planet ended without agreement Saturday.

The fifth round of discussions, which began two weeks ago, were designed to establish a UN Ocean Treaty that would set rules for protecting biodiversity in two-thirds of the world’s oceanic areas that lie outside territorial waters.

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Monkeypox cases appear to be declining in some large US cities

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Experts say the trend in New York, Chicago and San Francisco appears to be linked to immunity and behavior changes

Monkeypox cases in some large US cities appear to be declining, matching trends seen in Europe, and experts are cautiously optimistic the outbreak may have peaked in places hit hardest by the virus.

The optimism comes just as US officials on Friday said there’s enough of a supply of monkeypox vaccine available now – though the shots aren’t getting to some of the people who need the protection the most.

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Duo plead guilty to plot to sell Biden daughter’s stolen diary to Project Veritas

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Aimee Harris stole items from Ashley Biden’s room and conspired Robert Kurlander to sell them to activist group, prosecutors say

Two people have pleaded guilty in a scheme to peddle a diary and other items belonging to Joe Biden’s daughter to the conservative group Project Veritas for $40,000, prosecutors said Thursday.

The two, both from Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams’s office said.

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Democrats’ hopes rise for midterms amid backlash over abortion access

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Democrat Pat Ryan made abortion central to his campaign, and defeated Republican Mark Molinaro in contested House election

After months of bracing for staggering losses, Democrats are suddenly filled with a sense of optimism that the 2022 midterm elections could defy historical precedent and see them perform strongly, especially by highlighting the Republican threat to abortion rights.

On Tuesday night, Democrat Pat Ryan defeated Republican Mark Molinaro in a fiercely contested special House election in New York’s Hudson Valley, in a contest that was seen as a barometer of impact of the US supreme court’s decision to end the constitutional right to an abortion.

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Donald Trump reportedly kept hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago – as it happened

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Florida and New York go to the polls as Democrats seek to defend their congressional majority in November

In other Florida news, voters are casting primary ballots as Democrats look ahead to November, where they’ll mount a challenge to governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. Joan E Greve has the latest on what to expect from today’s polls:

Florida voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to determine which candidates will have the chance to face off in this November’s general election. Voters will cast ballots in races for the governorship and Congress, all the way down to circuit courts and local school boards.

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Salman Rushdie: writers gather in New York to read author’s works in solidarity

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Event organized by Pen America champions freedom to write after novelist survived assassination attempt last week

Crowds gathered near the steps of the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan on Friday morning, as writers read works by the novelist Salman Rushdie, who survived an assassination attempt in western New York last week.

The event, Stand With Salman; Defend the Freedom to Write, was organized by Pen America, the library and Rushdie’s publisher, Penguin Random House.

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Republican says comment Garland should be executed was ‘facetious’

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Carl Paladino, a Republican candidate for Congress in New York, recently caused controversy when he praised Adolf Hitler

A Republican candidate for Congress in New York said he was “being facetious” when, in the same interview, he said the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, should be executed for authorising the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida home.

The candidate, Carl Paladino, recently caused controversy when he praised Adolf Hitler, as “the kind of leader we need today”.

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Trump Organization chief expected to plead guilty in tax evasion case

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Allen Weisselberg has been accused of taking more than $1.7m from the company, including rent, car payments and school tuition

Donald Trump’s longtime finance chief is expected to plead guilty as soon as Thursday in a tax evasion case that is the only criminal prosecution to arise from a long-running investigation into the former president’s company, three people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

Allen Weisselberg, CFO of the Trump Organization, was scheduled to be tried in October on allegations he took more than $1.7m in off-the-books compensation from the company, including rent, car payments and school tuition.

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Moderator describes ‘tragic irony’ and ‘horror’ as violence on Rushdie unfolded

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Ralph Henry Reese, co-founder of project that offers exiled writers refuge, says attack should serve as wake up call – and call to action

Moments before Salman Rushdie was nearly murdered at a public event in western New York on Friday, he had signed up to become a roving envoy for writers in mortal peril, agreeing to travel across the US to encourage cities to provide asylum and protection for artists in need.

The bitter irony – that within minutes of having made this pledge Rushdie was himself stabbed 10 times on stage – was revealed by the event’s moderator, who was also injured in the assault.

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Salman Rushdie ‘road to recovery has begun’ but ‘will be long,’ agent says

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Author is off ventilator and able to talk after suffering stab wounds to his neck, stomach, eye, chest and thigh in New York attack

Salman Rushdie’s “road to recovery has begun” but “will be long” after his stabbing in western New York late last week, the novelist’s agent has said.

“The injuries are severe,” the agent, Andrew Wylie, said Sunday in an email to the Guardian, alluding to stab wounds that the author suffered to his neck, stomach, eye, chest and thigh two days earlier. “But his condition is headed in the right direction.”

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Salman Rushdie attack: suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder charge

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Suspect from New Jersey is accused by prosecutors of ‘preplanned’ attack on author in New York before being remanded without bail

The man suspected of stabbing the novelist Salman Rushdie at a literary festival in western New York pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a court appearance on Saturday.

District attorney Jason Schmidt alleged on Saturday that Hadi Matar, 24, took steps to purposely put himself in position to harm Rushdie, getting an advance pass to the event where the author was speaking and arriving a day early bearing a fake ID. “This was a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack on Mr Rushdie,” Schmidt alleged.

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