Tag: new york

Trump Admin Shuts Down Mamdani’s Attempt to Meet with Foreign Leader

President Donald Trump’s administration has thwarted a planned meeting between two prominent democratic socialists.

According to The Washington Post, U.S. diplomats in the Colombian capital of Bogotá told Colombian officials that a planned meeting between Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City and leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro in New York this week would violate U.S.-imposed visa restrictions against Petro.

Colombian officials took that to mean that the U.S. might arrest Petro if he went ahead with the Mamdani meeting.

Petro’s visa restrictions stem from comments he made outside United Nations headquarters in September 2025.

“I ask all the soldiers of the army of the U.S. not to point their rifles at humanity,” the Colombian president said to a group of pro-Palestinian supporters. “Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”

“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” a State Department official told the Post. “Any individual’s U.S. visa is at risk of revocation if they visit America and outrageously implore U.S. soldiers to disobey orders of the duly elected president of the United States.”

Petro has also accused Trump of being “complicit in genocide” for supporting Israel’s war in Gaza. Trump, meanwhile, called the democratic socialist a “lunatic who’s got a lot of problems, mental problems.”

The two presidents did have what Trump characterized as a “terrific” meeting in February.

Since then, however, Petro has reportedly irritated Secretary of State Marco Rubio by criticizing U.S. boat strikes in Latin America and the capture earlier this year of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

According to The New York Times, the Colombian president’s criticisms of the boat strikes in particular prompted sanctions from the U.S. Treasury. Federal prosecutors also launched an investigation into possible drug-trafficking ties.

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Ads in New York must now label AI-generated ‘synthetic performers’

Any advertisements in New York that feature artificial intelligence-generated people in place of actors will now be violating state law if they don’t clearly label that they have used a “synthetic performer.”

The law, signed in December by Gov. Kathy Hochul, went into effect Tuesday. Her office is calling it a “first-in-the-nation law” that will boost transparency at a time when it says AI generated performers are popping up across all forms of media, including on social platforms and in digital advertising.

Synthetic performers are defined under state law as “digitally-created media that appear as a real person.” The law applies to ads in any medium.

“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. The “simple, honest disclosure” required by the law “protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation,” she said.

Ads that don’t “conspicuously disclose” that they have used a synthetic performer will be subject to a penalty of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for any further violations.

There are specific carve outs listed in the law to exempt ads for movies, television shows, streaming content, video games and other works that feature synthetic performers in the entire work. It also doesn’t apply to audio advertisements or ads where AI is solely used for language translation.

When the law was making its way through the state legislature last year, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and several other advertising organizations issued statements in strong opposition to the law.

The 4As, as the organization is better known, said in one blog post that it would hurt advertisers by “injecting compliance uncertainty into the advertising process, burdening brands (and their agencies) who advertise in New York and undermining creative and technological innovation.”

Other organizations, like the The New York State Broadcasters Association, said in public statements during the legislation’s journey to become law that they were relieved to see some of those carve outs that were created through amendments, but remained concerned about the broad definition of a synthetic performer. David Donovan, the president of the organization, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday that local broadcast stations are ready to comply with the law.

The biggest supporter of the law was SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union that recently ratified a new contract with studios and streamers that they say provides further protections against synthetic performers.

The law is one of many proposed or enacted in several U.S. states with the goal of boosting job security for real humans or curbing the potential privacy and safety risks posed by AI. The existing state laws that have been passed include barring deepfakes in specific instances, limiting the collection of certain personal information and requiring more transparency from companies.

Just after Hochul signed the synthetic performers law in December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pressuring states not to regulate AI. The move came out of fear that the patchwork of regulations across the states could impede AI companies’ growth and allow China to catch up to the U.S. in the AI race. Critics of the executive order argue it will allow tech companies to operate with little to no oversight.

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NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Multi-Million ‘Investment’ in Gender Affirming Care, Weeks After Claiming City is in ‘Historic’ Budget Crisis

Back in April, New York City’s new Democratic Socialist (communist) Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that the city was in the midst of an ‘historic’ budget crisis. He framed it as a very serious problem and even claimed that unless new sources of revenue were found, people would be denied various services.

Now, the mayor is announcing that his administration is making a $15 million ‘investment’ in providing ‘gender affirming care’ a term that is flowery language used to describe genital mutilation and the prescribing of hormones.

So which is it? Is the city really that broke, or is there really enough money to spend a cool $15 million on trans drugs and surgeries? And since when was it the responsibility of a city government to provide ANY of this to the people who live there?

Mamdani made the comments at a ‘Pride’ party at city hall.

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98-Year-Old Man Beaten with Broomstick and Chair by Democratic Socialists of America Campaign Worker Over Political Pamphlet Argument in Brooklyn Lobby

A 98-year-old man was brutally attacked by a 27-year-old woman handing out campaign flyers for a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidate in a Brooklyn apartment building lobby at roughly on Thursday afternoon.

The elderly victim was left with minor head injuries after he was punched, kicked, and struck with a broomstick and a metal chair.

Tashara Abel, 27, was stuffing reelection flyers into mailboxes for Anthony Beckford, a DSA member and New York State Committee Member running for re-election as a Democratic district leader in the June 23 primary, when the elderly man walked in, and the two began arguing over the campaign materials, police and neighbors said, according to a report from the New York Post.

Abel “repeatedly punched and kicked the older man” before striking him with the broomstick and a metal chair, cops said.

Surveillance photos of the suspect leaving the building were released by police.

The victim was treated for his head injuries at the scene and declined being transported to the hospital.

CBS News reports:

Neighbors said they know the victim.

“He’s a fairly nice guy, so everyone who walks up and down here, either with their kids or are delivering stuff, like, they know who he is,” said neighbor Pierre Verna. “He’s a good guy, been around for a long time. So hopefully he’s alright.”

“Why would someone want to do something like that to someone like that? It’s heartbreaking. It’s sad. I don’t know. I’m confused as to why. What was the reason for that?” another neighbor said.

Beckford’s campaign told CBS that they are “reviewing the incident.”

“I am currently reviewing the situation to better understand the full circumstances, and I have personally reached out to the voter involved to ensure he is doing well and has the support he needs,” the statement began.

“While volunteers may operate independently, anyone associated with my campaign is expected to conduct themselves with respect and professionalism at all times, and if it is determined that an individual connected to my campaign acted inappropriately, appropriate action will be taken,” the statement continued.

“We will continue to monitor this matter closely and remain prepared to cooperate with the appropriate authorities as needed, as our priority is maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all residents.”

Abel has been charged with three counts of assault, burglary, and criminal possession of a weapon.

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Mamdani: ‘ICE Should Be Abolished’ — ‘No Way to Reform This Kind of Cruelty’

Saturday on MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished.

Co-host Eugene Daniels said, “Just over the river here in new Jersey, there’s the Delaney facility. There are folks there that are on hunger strike over the conditions. What’s your reaction? And I guess, more importantly for New Yorkers, what prevents a facility like that from opening here in New York?”

Mamdani said, “I think there are a few things. One is a reaction of pain and seeing what people have to go through in these kinds of facilities. And these are conditions that they offend the conscience of so many, not just here in New York City but frankly, across the country. This is partially why I have put forward a vision alongside so many others to say that ICE should be abolished, that there is no way to reform this kind of cruelty that we’re seeing endemic in the way that immigration is being enforced across the country. When it comes to our city, we are proud of our sanctuary city policies. We are proud of the policies we’ve put forward, and also the executive orders we’ve put forward to ensure that every single agency is complying with those policies.”

Daniels said, “What do you say to people who say language? And there’s Democrats in DC who say language like, abolish ICE or unhelpful for the political health of the Democratic Party?”

Mamdani said, “I think if we we’ve listened to them before and look where we are. I think it’s time to develop a new vision for this party, one that is unflinching in its beliefs and also uncompromising in its principles.”

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Radical Professor at NYC’s New School Calls to Dismantle America ‘By Any Means Necessary’ While Defending Iran’s Terror Regime

In a chilling display of ideological derangement, a political science professor at The New School in New York City took to the podium at a Democratic Socialists of America meeting to champion the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and declare her desire to see the United States brought low.

Corinna Mullin’s “Islamic Revolution Teach-in” wasn’t an academic exercise in nuance—it was a brazen endorsement of America’s enemies wrapped in the language of class struggle and anticolonialism.

This isn’t the isolated rant of a fringe activist. It’s a window into the moral inversion that has captured significant portions of American higher education, where terrorist organizations are recast as defenders of the working class and the world’s most powerful republic is painted as the ultimate oppressor. Mullin, who previously led destructive anti-Israel protests at CUNY that caused millions in damage, now teaches at The New School after her reinstatement following termination.

During the hour-and-a-half session, Mullin praised Iran’s military for depleting U.S. weapons stockpiles and claimed the regime had achieved “phenomenal results” through its indigenous industry.

“We need to bring the empire down by any means necessary,” she declared, framing Iran’s actions as a blow against American power. She went further, defending the IRGC—a U.S.-designated terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of countless innocents, including Americans—as a protector of workers and the embodiment of resistance.

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INSANITY: New York State Democrats Pass Bill Replacing the Words “Mother” and “Father” with These Two Ultra-Woke Terms

Democrats in New York State have declared war on the nuclear family after passing a bill designed to kowtow to the radical pro-trans lobby.

As The New York Post reported on Wednesday, the New York State Legislature this week passed legislation that would erase the terms “mother” and “father” from state child custody and parental laws in favor of two woke, gender-neutral terms.

The terms that would be used instead? Gestating parent and non-gestating parent.

This sounds like something straight out of the Babylon Bee.

The New York Post reported:

A woke new bill erases the terms “mother” and “father” from state child custody and parental laws — a gender-neutral rewriting that’s expected to spark a flood of similarly clunky legislation.

“Mother” would be replaced with “gestating parent,” while “father” becomes “non-gestating parent” or “parent” in family court, passed this week by state Democrats.

“Paternity” proceedings to determine a child’s biological father would meanwhile become “parentage” cases, under the bill, which was rammed through the Assembly in March and of the Senate this week.

A “putative father” — also known as a deadbeat dad — would now be called “an alleged parent” in official state records, under the bill, which was sponsored by liberals Sen. Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Westchester) and will go to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for approval.

Sepulveda, a Bronx Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, claimed the bill was necessary “to be consistent with current statute and case law>

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman lashed out at the changes:

“Democrats led by Kathy Hochul have continued their declaration of war on New York families by canceling the loving terms of Mom and Dad and replacing them with ‘gestating and non-gestating parent,’” Blakeman said in a statement obtained by the New York Post.

“The insanity ends when I’m Governor.”

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Crazy Wealth Tax Proposals In California And New York City

The socialists who have been taking over the Democratic Party lately have a problem—the state and local jurisdictions where they are able to seize power still have to compete with rival jurisdictions that are still relatively friendly to private property and capitalist businesses. The principal targets of egalitarian fury, namely possessors of great wealth, are strongly incentivized to escape from dystopian hell-holes created by socialists to saner locales. Even those who aren’t so clearly targeted as objects of envy suffer from the effects of economic and social decline and are also incentivized to leave.

Even worse from a socialist perspective, the US Constitution restricts what a state or local government can do in terms of seizing private property. The owner of any property taken for public use must be compensated, so a local socialist enterprise can’t get around the problem of having to raise capital (and later to cover the inevitable losses associated with socialist production) with the help of government funding. However, a government’s power to tax only applies within its own jurisdiction; rich people aided by clever lawyers can figure out how to break their tax “nexus” to an oppressive jurisdiction in order to shield themselves, their businesses, and most or all of the associated wealth in other, much less extortionate jurisdictions.

Two jurisdictions where mass flight from Democratic misrule is unmistakable are California and New York City, both of which have lately experienced a net emigration of more than 100,000 residents per year. While lower-tax states like Texas and Florida are well-known destinations for such blue state refugees, in the case of New York City even the just slightly-less overgoverned New Jersey has become a magnet for a lot of former New Yorkers—it takes a lot for a true Gothamite to suffer the indignity of making that move.

One of the consequences of such flight is that as the tax base shrinks, the pressure on committed socialist ideologues to extort whatever wealth remains even more rapidly (before it too flees from their grasp) mounts. Likewise, there is also pressure to tax things that have previously been left untaxed and might still be within reach, thus pushing the envelope of whatever forms of soaking the rich are permitted by the US Constitution.

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New York DA Indicts Uzbek Truck Hijackers in $4.5 Million Theft Ring

Authorities in New York have busted a truck cargo hijacking ring allegedly run by Uzbek national Murodullo “Murad” Khasanov that they say has stolen at least $4.5 million in cargo.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has handed down indictments for Khasanov and seven of his associates in a scheme using warehouse insiders who passed the crooks tips about what sort of cargo was being stored in their facilities. With that insider info, the crooks forged fake transit papers and then simply drove in and picked up the merchandise, then drove off without any questions asked.

Authorities also say the crooks hacked into warehouse computer systems to create their fake transit documents.

The ring stole a wide variety of expensive products including high-end cheeses, copper wire, meats, and cigarettes.

The DA’s office has focused on six thefts totaling $4.5 million.

The suspects are all from the country of Uzbekistan, which is a northern neighbor of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and is about 800 miles from Iran’s northern border.

Alleged ringleader Khasanov was taken into custody on Wednesday morning during a raid on his ritzy Surf Avenue high-rise apartment in New York City, according to the New York Post.

All eight of the suspects arrested in the scheme are in the U.S. illegally and entered the country during the Biden administration. Officials also say they speak little to no English.

The indictment alleges that the crew stole $165,000 worth of lamb, $266,000 worth of copper, $295,000 worth of beef, $432,000 worth of cheese, and $3.3 million worth of cigarettes. The crooks then reportedly moved to sell the items on the black market.

“What is very disturbing here is that the victims, the owners of the goods and the legitimate shipping companies had no idea this was occurring until the damage is done,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at Thursday’s press conference.

“We believe at least some of the food was meant for grocery stores, like a Costco for example. When food orders go missing and shelves are empty, prices go up,” he added.

Some of the stolen items were recovered and found in a storage facility in New York City.

Suspects Nodir Kobilov and Aleksey Vorobyev pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in court on Thursday morning. Both were given supervised release.

But prosecutors insisted that Khasanov — the alleged ringleader who also has an Interpol “red-notice” out against him — be held on $1.5 million cash bail. A judge ruled that he be held at least until June 11 for his bail application hearing.

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NYC manhole ‘mole people’ have plundered sewer for lost treasures for decades

Treasures abound beneath city streets for anyone brave or crazy enough to explore the murky depths of the Big Apple’s sprawling 7,500-mile sewer system — all in search of a wayward wallet or piece of jewelry that may have fallen through a grate above.

Those temptations were put on full display last week by two separate incidents caught on camera Friday night, where troops of people were seen emerging from manhole covers across Brooklyn after sneaking around the steamy depths in what police said were likely scavenging operations.

The ever-present threat of arrest and obvious risks to personal safety are apparently no deterrent for these intrepid subterranean explorers — for whom no gemstone is too grimy and no coin too crud-covered to add to their loot pouches — with numerous such incidents capturing the city’s attention over the years.

One happening made headlines In 2015, when part-time city Department of Environmental Protection worker Marquis Evans, then 21, led two pals down a Brooklyn manhole in search of “gold, jewelry and guns” in city sewers, cops said at the time.

The trio took several such belowground “scavenger hunt” excursions before the law caught up with Evans and his friends Damien Nieves and David Hannibal. They were slapped with criminal trespassing charges after spending four hours searching for them.

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