All posts tagged: Manhattan

The U.S. commemorates the 25th anniversary of 9/11

The U.S. commemorates the 25th anniversary of 9/11

Published by Sam Flores

A visitor pauses at one of the reflecting pools at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Sept. 11, 2026. Jeenah Moon | Getty Images On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists backed by al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger airliners. They flew two planes into the twin skyscrapers of the World Trade Center in New York, the first at 8:46 a.m. and the second at 9:03 a.m., and both towers collapsed later that morning. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia, while a fourth — believed to have been headed for the U.S. Capitol — crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to retake control of the plane. The coordinated attacks became the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, killing 2,977 people in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard the four hijacked planes, excluding the 19 hijackers. The attacks led directly to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and helped usher in a broader U.S. “war on terror” …

Trump loses bid to transfer New York hush money case to federal court

Trump loses bid to transfer New York hush money case to federal court

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order that aims to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 27, 2026. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images A federal judge on Friday rejected an effort by President Donald Trump to transfer to federal court the New York state criminal hush money case that ended with his conviction. Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s ruling was the third time he had denied Trump’s request that his criminal case be handled in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. A federal appeals court had ordered Hellerstein to reconsider his most recent denial of Trump’s effort in light of a July 1, 2024, U.S. Supreme Court decision, in a federal criminal case in which Trump was a defendant, that said presidents had at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all their official acts, while making clear “there is no immunity for unofficial acts.” Hellerstein on Friday said that Trump had waited too long after his May 2024 conviction and …

NYPD probes fresh video of people climbing out of Manhattan manhole

NYPD probes fresh video of people climbing out of Manhattan manhole

Published by Sam Flores

New York police are investigating a new video of three people emerging from a manhole in Manhattan, months after similar incidents were deemed to pose no threat to the public. A video posted to TikTok on Friday showed three people in overalls, wearing what appeared to be headlamps, emerging from a manhole at 32nd St and 7th Avenue, near Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. The incident happened after 4 a.m. on Aug. 18, the person who posted the video told NBC News. A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said the agency was aware of the video. “There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing,” police said. An inspection of the sewers in the area of the incident found that there was no damage to the infrastructure, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection confirmed in a statement Sunday. It stressed entering the sewers is “both illegal and extremely dangerous.” “Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces,” the statement …

Luigi Mangione pleads guilty in federal case for UnitedHealthcare CEO killing

Luigi Mangione pleads guilty in federal case for UnitedHealthcare CEO killing

Published by Sam Flores

Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty Friday in New York federal court to stalking UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson before fatally shooting him on a midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. Mangione’s lawyers immediately afterward filed a motion in New York state court saying that charges of murder and multiple firearms counts against the Ivy League graduate in that court for Thompson’s slaying should be tossed out under the state’s double jeopardy law because of his federal plea. Mangione, 28, faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 18. But federal sentencing guidelines suggest a sentence in the range of 24 to 30 years in prison. Thompson’s company, a division of UnitedHealth Group, is the largest health insurer in the United States. Thompson, 50, was gunned down on Dec. 4, 2024, on the sidewalk outside the Hilton Hotel. Mangione said Friday in Manhattan U.S. District Court that “after years of enduring severe pain from a broken back, navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system and witnessing similar experiences of countless …

Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal case: Report

Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal case: Report

Published by Sam Flores

Luigi Mangione during a pretrial hearing at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. David Dee Delgado | Bloomberg | Getty Images Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty Friday in his federal criminal case, where he is charged with stalking in connection with his alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a midtown Manhattan street in 2024, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing sources. Mangione is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday for a pretrial conference with Judge Margaret Garnett, which was requested in a court filing on Tuesday by both prosecutors and defense lawyers. He is separately charged in New York state court with murdering Thompson and other counts. If Mangione does plead guilty in the federal case, his attorneys are expected to argue that he cannot be prosecuted for murder in the state case because of New York’s double jeopardy law, The Times noted in its report Thursday. A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to …

FBI Calls Incendiary Attack On Manhattan Federal Building An “Anti-Government Attack”

FBI Calls Incendiary Attack On Manhattan Federal Building An “Anti-Government Attack”

Published by Jenni Sidey

Summary: FBI Calls incident “anti-government attack on a federal facility”  Suspect had “ICE Off Our Streets” Sign  Suspect Arrested  FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the incident FBI tells Fox News “an individual deployed an incendiary device”  Immigration agents and FBI rushed out, guns drawn, and FPS apprehended the suspect Explosion Hits Outside 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan For years, left-wing political violence in the US was often treated as isolated and/or a non-issue. The Trump administration is now calling it a domestic terrorism threat. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle described the incident outside 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan earlier today as an “anti-government attack on a federal facility.”  Watch the suspected left-wing radical attack the federal building, which houses offices for agencies including DHS, ICE, USCIS, the FBI, and the Social Security Administration. A low IQ suspected left-wing terrorist attempted to set a federal government building on fire before being apprehended. pic.twitter.com/rWTctxtRQd — Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) July 20, 2026 Suspect identified as Andrew Arrabaca …  The suspect detained in connection …

Manhattan District Attorney Repatriates Three Antiquities to Mexico

Manhattan District Attorney Repatriates Three Antiquities to Mexico

Published by Jenni Sidey

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the repatriation of three antiquities valued at $160,000 to Mexico, including one seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The return of the objects is a result of multiple investigations into illegal trafficking networks, including one that led to the conviction of Eugene Alexander last summer. According to a press release announcing the news, “This marks this Office’s sixth repatriation to the People of Mexico totaling 52 antiquities valued at more than $13 million.” Related Articles The object seized from the Met is a Standing Male Figure dating back to ca. 100-400 that had been sold by the New York-based Merrin Gallery and donated to the museum. An Xochipala Bowl from ca. 1200–900 B.C.E. had appeared at Merrin Gallery before it was seized in December. An Aztec Obsidian Micro-Blade Core dating to ca. 1000–1500 was seized from Alexander this past October. “The Government of Mexico extends its deepest gratitude to District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Matthew Bogdanos, and the outstanding Antiquities Trafficking Unit for their unwavering commitment …

Jack Schlossberg and Spencer Pratt Prove It Takes More Than Social Media to Win Elections

Jack Schlossberg and Spencer Pratt Prove It Takes More Than Social Media to Win Elections

Published by Sam Flores

For the past several years, Jack Schlossberg has operated in the public imagination in much the same manner as any online celebrity surfing the daily waves of spectacle and outrage. The outlandish face-to-camera videos, the self-styled “silly goose” persona, the willingness to play ball in the frenetic attention economy of modern social media—all of it became his calling card to nearly the same degree as his status as the 33-year-old inheritor of the Kennedy dynasty’s legacy and looks. The gambit behind Schlossberg’s much-publicized run in the Democratic primary race to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th congressional district was that he could spin these tendencies—plus a healthy heaping of connections befitting a Kennedy, including an endorsement from Nancy Pelosi—into real electoral force. It never quite worked out that way: On the day leading up to Schlossberg’s loss to Micah Lasher on Tuesday night, Polymarket showed a 1% chance of victory for Schlossberg, and the standout moment of his campaign remains a May New York Times report documenting apparent chaos inside his campaign; sources …

Manhattan Borough President Plans to Use His M. Budget Toward the Arts

Manhattan Borough President Plans to Use His $50 M. Budget Toward the Arts

Published by Jenni Sidey

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal announced Tuesday that he will dedicate $50 million, the entirety of his discretionary budget for the next fiscal year, toward the arts, reports the New York Times. Hoylman-Sigal, who assumed office in January, told the Times that this decision came as a direct response to President Donald Trump and his attempts to remake the nation’s cultural institutions. During his second administration, Trump has taken over the Kennedy Center and attempted to rename it after himself; ordered the changing of displays at historic sites that examine the history of enslavement in the US; proposed a triumphal arch and sculpture garden of American heroes; and cracked down on various parts of the Smithsonian Institution, which ultimately led to the resignation of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet. Related Articles “I know the importance of arts and culture to our society, to the economy and to future generations of Manhattanites and New Yorkers,” Hoylman-Sigal told the paper. “We think this is a boost of morale for the sector.” This decision is a break …

Hare Krishnas celebrate a 50-year milestone with a parade of chariots in Manhattan

Hare Krishnas celebrate a 50-year milestone with a parade of chariots in Manhattan

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — New Yorkers expecting to see Knicks celebrations and visitors in town for the World Cup were surprised Saturday (June 13) to encounter a series of colorful chariots adorned with jewel-toned balloons, surrounded by thousands of singing and chanting worshippers. More than 25,000 devotees of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) attended the parade, according to organizers. Worshippers wrapped in silk saris and patterned tunics pulled three 25-foot-high chariots displaying the statues of Krishna, his older brother Balarama and his younger sister Subhadra down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. The procession marked the 50-year anniversary of ISKCON’s first Ratha Yatra, or “Chariot Journey.” With over 1 million devotees in more than 80 countries, ISKCON has historic roots in Hinduism but places itself under Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a monotheistic tradition within Hinduism dating back to 15th century India. The movement anchors itself in venerating Krishna through bhakti yoga, which features meditation, kirtan (devotional chanting) and Vedic principles and began in New York City in 1966.  Around 10 a.m., monks readied the deities and the chariots as worshippers …