Tag: new york

California And New York State Officials Tell People To Buy Marijuana On Black Friday

Marijuana regulators in California and New York are encouraging people to take advantage of Black Friday deals and support small businesses by shopping for cannabis at licensed retailers.

As companies promote savings on the post-Thanksgiving sales occasion, both the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) and the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) shared posts on Friday to help people find marijuana from authorized venders.

“Don’t follow the hordes of shoppers today!” California’s DCC said. “This Friday shop smart, shop licensed cannabis.”

The New York OCM, meanwhile, shared a video of Empire State Development Commissioner Hope Knight, who also serves on the state Cannabis Control Board (CCB), urging consumers to support small and local businesses this weekend to “sustain jobs and generate regional economic growth.” That same sentiment applies to the marijuana market, regulators said.

“While you grab some #BlackFriday deals, take a note from #NYCCB member, Hope Knight and support #SmallBusinessSaturdays at one of your local dispensaries,” they said.

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NY Gov Hochul Sends Warning to Social Media Execs about “Encoded Hate”

After announcing increased state surveillance efforts allegedly searching for “hate speech” aimed at Jewish, Muslim and Arab populations on social media, New York Governor Kathy Hochul sent a letter to major social media companies on November 21. In this letter, she calls upon the companies to increase their efforts to monitor and intervene on the speech of individuals using their platforms. In particular, she calls for the companies to stop the spread of hate with “active attention and, as necessary, responsiveness to the changing ways that messages of hate are communicated, sometimes in coded language.” (emphasis added)

No specifics were given as to what “coded language” refers to. This point is not trivial, as it is easy to see hate almost anywhere and in anything once claims of a “code” are invoked. Under the guise of altruistic efforts to stop “hate speech,” Big Government is once again pushing itself across the sacred line the First Amendment holds for free speech and press. There has been no clear information from the governor on what the limits will be on these new interventions or what oversight will be implemented to prevent government overreach.

The governor also directed the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to develop and distribute a “media literacy toolkit” to help public school educators teach their students how to spot misinformation/disinformation/malinformation (“MDM”) online.

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Eric Adams accused of sexually assaulting woman in 1993 in bombshell legal filing; accuser wants $5M

Mayor Adams has been accused of sexually assaulting a former colleague in 1993 in a lawsuit seeking at least $5 million filed just before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act, The Post learned Thursday.

The accuser, whom The Post is not identifying because of the nature of the allegation, named the former cop as a defendant along with the NYPD’s transit bureau and Guardian Association in a lawsuit filed late Wednesday.

“Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by Defendant Eric Adams in New York, New York in 1993 while they both worked for the City of New York,” claims the 3-page summons, which does not give more detail on the alleged assault.

The filing alleges “sexual assault, battery and employment discrimination on the basis of the Plaintiff’s gender and sex, retaliation, hostile work environment and intentional infliction of emotional distress” — and seeks damages no less than $5 million along with attorneys’ fees.

City Hall was quick to deny the allegations, which were first revealed by The Messenger

“The mayor does not know who this person is,” a spokesperson said. “If they ever met, he doesn’t recall it.

“But he would never do anything to physically harm another person and vigorously denies any such claim.”

Attempts to reach the accuser were not immediately successful Thursday, and her attorney did not respond to messages.

The Adult Survivors Act, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May last year, removed the usual time constraints to sue over alleged sexual assaults for a one-year period, opening the floodgates for a torrent of civil lawsuits against powerful men, including former President Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.

At least 2,600 claims have been filed in state courts under the ASA, including several lawsuits brought this week against such high-profile defendants as Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. and celebrity photographer Terry Richardson.

Adams, 63, has never been married but has a 27-year-old son, rapper Jordan Coleman, with his ex-girlfriend, Chrisena Coleman.

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Rich Bentley Driver Caused Niagara Falls Checkpoint Explosion After Canceled KISS Concert

What started out with Fox News reporting a terrorism incident involving explosives is now believed to be the fault of a 56-year-old man who lived in a wealthy area, went to a casino after KISS canceled its farewell-tour dates in Ottawa and Toronto, and then drove his $300,000 (after taxes) Bentley Excelsior X into the border checkpoint, killing himself and his wife.

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‘Performative clown’: GOP candidates slammed for assuming terrorism caused car explosion

Two Republican candidates seeking higher office were both shouting terrorism and publicly shamed.

GOP presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy jumped the terrorism gun — early after a car bulleted toward a U.S.-Canada bridge checkpoint and then smashed and blew up causing the deaths of two people.

Fox News quickly called the event a “terror attack” and said the car was “full of explosives.”

They later backed off its claim of a “terror attack” and instead labeled the motive as “unclear.”

“I’ve been saying it for a long time & will say it again: we must secure our *NORTHERN* border too,” Ramaswamy wrote in a post on Twitter/X. “It’s the forgotten frontier of the border crisis in our country.”

Kari Lake, the failed Arizona pro-Trump gubernatorial candidate who is now running for Senate, also shouted terrorism.

“This looks like at attempted terrorist attack along our Northern border,” she tweeted. “Our worst fears are being realized. @JoeBiden’s open border invites chaos & misery into our country.”

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Courts Pave Way For New York Quarantine Camps

There is absolutely no way I can possibly sugar coat this, so I’ll just be frank… The NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division’s Fourth Judicial Department has issued their ruling in our quarantine lawsuit against Governor Hochul and her Department of Health, and they have ruled against the will of the people!

If you feel like you just got sucker-punched in the gut, join the club, my friends.

The court has dismissed our lawsuit, not because we are wrong in our arguments… no, no, indeed we are dead-right. In fact, the court did not even touch the merits of the case. How could they? Instead, the court unbelievably ruled that my plaintiffs somehow do not have standing to sue! If your brain is racing a hundred miles an hour right now trying to figure this out, don’t worry, you are definitely not alone.

Every single person I have told about this court ruling, from my plaintiffs, to fellow attorneys, to family members, and so on, has been downright flabbergasted. Rightfully so. One of my family members told me I needed to break it down for her, like she was a Kindergartener. I’ll do the same for you now, because this issue is so crucial for you to understand, and then for you to explain to others.

What the Appellate Division court is saying by reversing the lower court and then dismissing our case for lack of standing is that they believe that Senator George Borrello, Assemblyman Chris Tague, Congressman Mike Lawler, and the citizens’ group Uniting NYS did not have the right to bring this lawsuit last year against the Governor and her DOH for their heinous “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” regulation.

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Sources Tell Fox News NY Vehicle Explosion at Rainbow Bridge Border Crossing is Attempted Terror Attack

On Wednesday morning, a vehicle explosion, thought to be an attempted terror attack, occurred on the Rainbow Bridge which connects Niagra Falls, New York to Niagra Falls, Canada.

A spokesperson for the FBI said: “The FBI Buffalo Field Office is investigating a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge, a border crossing between the US and Canada in Niagara Falls.”

The FBI is investigating the incident; sources told Fox News’ Alexis McAdams the explosion “was an attempted terrorist attack. The FBI is coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation. As this situation is very fluid, that’s all we can say at this time.”

Explosives were found in the vehicle that left the two vehicle occupants dead. One border officer and one civilian, a 27-year-old man, were injured in the blast at transported to Niagara Falls Memorial Hospital.

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NYPD Will Spend Nearly $400 Million to Hide its Radio Communications

The New York Police Department (NYPD) will spend nearly $400 million to upgrade its radio system, including encrypting its communications channels, which the public has been able to tune into since 1932.

At a New York City Council meeting Monday, NYPD Chief of Information Technology Ruben Beltran said the upgrade, expected to cost $390 million, will be completed by the end of next year, replacing the old analog radio network with a fully encrypted digital system. 

The move is part of a growing trend. Over the last decade, other large police departments in Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Portland have all encrypted their radio communications or are planning to do so. Departments say broadcasting in the clear gives criminals advance warning. Beltran said encryption would also protect the information of crime victims and block pranksters who jam up NYPD frequencies. (The NYPD regularly leaks information on arrestees and even victims for political purposes.)

However, scanner enthusiasts, news organizations, and elected officials complain that encrypted radio is cutting off a longstanding and useful source of information on police activity. As Gothamist reported, NYPD radio chatter has been the source of several major news stories over the years:

The New York Daily News obtained the crucial video of Officer Daniel Pantaleo killing Eric Garner thanks to a call that came over the police radio in Staten Island. As tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators flooded the streets in June 2020, Gothamist recorded NYPD officers on radio airwaves using threatening language about the protesters, including saying that officers should run protesters over and shoot them. Responding, one officer was recorded saying “don’t put that over air.”

Police frequencies going dark is especially challenging for photojournalists, who rely on scanners to get to emergency scenes as fast as possible. The Chicago Police Department is considering a 30-minute public broadcast delay to allow news organizations to still hear dispatch calls.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul Announces Plans to Implement Pre-Crime Surveillance, Target Online “Hate”

In a press conference today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul outlined her administration’s aggressive new strategy for combating online “hate” and implementing pre-crime-esque online surveillance.

As part of this approach, New York’s Threat Assessment and Management Teams (TAM teams), which were established in August 2022 in response to the Buffalo mass shooting, will extend their efforts and start targeting speech surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, with a focus on preventing crimes before they occur. TAM teams will be given an additional $3 million investment for their implementation across New York State college campuses.

“We’re creating strategies, first time ever, to help identify hate at the source and prevent crimes before they occur,” Hochul said.

The TAM teams, primarily focused on tracking and stopping violent acts of hate, work in collaboration with mental health professionals. They establish reporting systems for red flags and provide training to identify early warning signs of radicalization. This initiative, while seemingly noble in its intent to protect New Yorkers, raises significant privacy and First Amendment concerns.

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New York lawmaker accused of forcing himself on woman during Haiti relief meeting

A Democratic state legislator from Brooklyn has been accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman during a meeting at her house about Haiti relief money, reported the Associated Press on Monday.

“The lawsuit, filed Friday, accuses Sen. Kevin Parker of assaulting her in 2004, during his first term. The woman said she had been working with Parker to coordinate the delivery of items and donations to Haiti after a devastating flood that affected the country and other neighboring Caribbean Islands,” reported Bobby Cuza. “The suit was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a special state law that created a yearlong suspension of the usual time limit for accusers to sue. The law is set to expire after Thanksgiving.”

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, through a spokesperson, called the allegations “extremely disturbing,” and vowed that “We will take appropriate action as more information is learned.”

The Adult Survivors Act has led to a wave of litigation of older cases that would otherwise have been impossible to bring.

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