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2025 isn’t even a few days old and already violence across America is making headlines, as criminals and terrorists are leaving mass destruction in their wake.
Just hours after learning that a former Army veteran turned Isis sympathizer used a truck to plow through a New Year’s crowd in New Orleans Tuesday night (Dec. 31), TMZ is reporting that a mass shooting took place in New York City Wednesday (Jan. 1). According to the report, the shooting happened during a memorial service outside of Amazura in Queens as “three or four people” opened fire on the unsuspecting victims as the service was underway. Authorities said approximately 30 shots were fired into the crowd, and 10 people were wounded as a result.
TMZ reports:
The victims were all part of a group of mostly teens — 16 to 20 years old — who were waiting outside to enter the private event inside the club.
Six females and 4 males were taken to hospitals. Authorities say none had life-threatening injuries.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … the mass shooting took place during a birthday memorial for a homicide victim and detectives believe the violence might be gang-related. Our sources noted there was no link to the 2 New Year’s attacks with apparent ties to terrorism in Louisiana and Nevada.
The assailants fled on foot and jumped into a car before fleeing the scene. Police believe the incident to be gang related but have yet to identify any possibly suspects.
2025 isn’t even a week old and already we have an Isis attack, a Cybertruck blowing up outside of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, a possible bird flu pandemic on the creep, and now this.
It feels like it’s going to be a long ass year.
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Robert Brooks, an inmate at a central New York state correctional facility, died after he was savagely beaten by officers while restrained and the entire incident was seen by the wider public via bodycam video footage. As a result, the FBI and other agencies are investigating the death of Robert Brooks as the family seeks answers and justice.
According to several reports, including local outlet Utica Observer-Dispatch, Robert Brooks, 43, has been jailed since 2017 and serving a 12-year sentence at the Mohawk Correctional Facility for stabbing a woman multiple times and took a plea deal to have a second-degree murder charge dropped.
As the Observer-Dispatch adds, the release of the bodycam footage by the New York State Attorney General’s Office showed Brooks being cooperative with the correctional officers and was cuffed as the officers used brutal force. From what we did watch, the officers used their hands and feet to administer heavy blows to Brooks, who never once appeared to resist. Brooks would later succumb to his injuries at a Utica hospital on Dec. 10. Admittedly, we could not finish the video but the footage can be viewed by following this link. We do urge caution before opening.
New York Attorney General Letitia James held a virtual press conference on Friday, Dec. 27 regarding the Brooks matter and offered a statement.
“Mr. Brooks had been incarcerated at Mohawk Correctional Facility and was transferred to Marcy on Dec. 9. During the incident, he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back,” James said. “I don’t take the release of these videos lightly. But as attorney general, I release these videos because I have a responsibility and duty to the Brooks family and their loved ones and all New Yorkers with transparency and accountability.”
CNN added in its reporting that several elected officials and organizations spoke out after witnessing the footage, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the ACLU. The organization says that they have monitored reports from the Marcy Correctional Facility of inmate mistreatment by officers.
As the matter of Robert Brooks continues to develop, we will take note of all happenings and share them with the readership.
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A Republican congressman from New York was confronted with pictures of him wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume.
On Thursday (Oct. 3), Republican Congressman Mike Lawler found himself caught up in controversy when pictures of him in blackface for a Halloween portrayal of Michael Jackson were published. The publication of the photos by the New York Times, taken in October 2006, show Lawler at a gathering at Manhattan College striking a pose similar to a signature pose of Jackson’s, and another of him wearing a red jacket and black t-shirt with his face noticeably darkened. According to a former classmate who remained anonymous, Lawler used bronzer, which he borrowed from a female classmate.
In a statement, the representative for New York’s 17th district including the Hudson Valley said that his costume was “truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom’s kitchen.” Lawler has been an avowed fan of the late superstar, with Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli having arranged for him to attend Jackson’s criminal trial in 2005 for the alleged molestation of a 13-year-old boy. Taraborrelli would later detail how Lawler was so upset “that he couldn’t help but mutter something derogatory under his breath.” He would then be kicked out of the courtroom.
Lawler appeared on CNN later in the evening on The Source with Kaitlan Collins. “I certainly understand why people would be upset or offended by it, and for that, I’m sorry,” he said, before remarking that he felt his photos weren’t what could be “construed as blackface.” “I think there is a stark difference between dressing up for Halloween and paying homage to somebody you like and respect, versus dressing up in blackface to demean and dehumanize Black people. That’s obviously not what I was doing there,” Lawler said. Collins would then go into the “ugly history” of the practice, noting that Lawler’s suburban district is home to 59,000 Black residents.
The controversy arises as Lawler is up for reelection against former congressman Mondaire Jones. Lawler has shifted to a more moderate position in recent months, being vague about his full support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Jones, who is Black, has hammered him on that support in his campaign. The district is one observers are watching closely as a possible flip back to Democratic control in November.
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Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in his “hush money” trial in New York City in a historic verdict.
On Thursday (May 30), Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felony charges by the jury in his trial for illegally influencing the outcome of the 2016 election by paying “hush money” to an adult film star in New York. As the jury foreperson read the verdict, Trump sat stone-faced, staring each member down. The verdict marks the first time a former American president was convicted of a crime. The crowds outside of the courthouse in lower Manhattan were of course divided – Trump supporters jeered the news while counter-protesters cheered loudly, with some chanting “Lock him up!”
The guilty verdict was reached by the jury after what some observers considered was a short time for deliberation. Trump had been accused of falsifying records to hide a $130,000 payment to adult star Stormy Daniels via his former fixer, lawyer Michael Cohen. The charges of falsifying records carry a potential prison sentence of four years, but Judge Juan Merchan has not signaled that he would impose such a punishment even if the prosecution requests it. The sentencing was set for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Trump’s conviction will not prevent him from campaigning to return to the White House, and his legal team has stated that they would appeal. However, if he were to become president again he couldn’t pardon himself as this was a state case.
Trump’s conviction in the case is also significant as this case was considered the most convoluted as the other trials – local and federal cases in Washington D.C. and Atlanta alleging his interference with the 2020 presidential election results as well as a federal indictment case claiming he hoarded highly-classified documents in Florida – are stalled and won’t go to trial before the Nov. 5 election.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” Trump told reporters after leaving the courtroom, somewhat less boisterous than in previous post-trial appearances. “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people. They know what happened, and everyone knows what happened here.” At a press conference held later that evening, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered brief remarks. Acknowledging the barrage of criticism his office has faced from Trump supporters, he stated that the “only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”
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Thursday (Dec. 14), just before midnight, New Yorkers noticed their lights suddenly flicker for no reason, and while many brushed it off as something in their home going haywire, it turns out that the issue was much bigger than anyone realized.
According to the Gothamist, a small explosion at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn, New York, was responsible for the flickering lights across the boroughs. Though some homes only experienced a minor inconvenience, many other neighborhoods suffered blackouts for a few seconds before power came back on. That must’ve been hella scary for residents not knowing if it was 2003 all over again in which New York and other states in the Northeast went dark for an entire day.
Gothamist reports:
Con Edison blamed a “fault on a high-tension transmission line” for the five or 10-second outage that residents noticed just before midnight.
“Our crews are investigating and making necessary repairs,” the statement said.
NYPD officials said Con Edison workers were restoring a transmission line at a substation on John Street in DUMBO when a disruption occurred and caused power to surge.
No injuries were reported, and officials said the brief outage that followed did not disrupt essential services at hospitals.
Luckily, no one was hurt in the Con Edison blast. A few people, however, found themselves stuck in elevators at the time. Thank goodness for the fire department that handled those situations.
Were you affected by last night’s power outage? Let us know in the comments section below.
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A white judge who boasted of pointing a loaded gun at a Black man in a New York courtroom has been removed from the bench.
According to reports, a judge in upstate New York who is white was removed from the bench by the state’s highest court after bragging about pointing a loaded gun at a Black man appearing in his courtroom. The state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct handed down the decision to remove Justice Robert J. Putorti on Thursday. He would be the 10th judge to be removed by the Court of Appeals in the last decade.
The incident, which took place in 2015, came a year after Putorti began serving as a judge in Whitehall, New York. According to the appellate court records, a man appeared before Putorti for a hearing over an unpaid fine. Putorti pointed the loaded firearm at the man, who was Black, as he approached the bench. The judge claimed that he drew the firearm after feeling that the litigant approached the bench too quickly. Putorti was known to keep a firearm (which he was licensed to carry) attached to the underside of the bench as he heard cases. He is also an owner of Bigboy’s, a gun and ammunition store in Whitehall.
Putorti would repeatedly tell the story of the incident to family and friends, exaggerating the build and demeanor of the Black litigant by referring to him as “agitated,” a “big Black man” who was “6 feet 9 inches tall” and “built like a football player,” and would say he “feared for his safety”. The man was actually 6 feet and weighed 165 pounds. “We have never had a situation other than this case, where a judge — with or without justification — pointed a gun at a litigant in a courthouse,” Robert H. Tembeckjian, administrator for the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct, in a statement issued after the decision.
Putorti would concede later that the assistant district attorney nor the police officer stationed within the courtroom would corroborate his account of the situation. The Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended that he be fired last year, but Putorti appealed. However, the appeals board found that Putorti “exploited a classic and common racist trope that Black men are inherently threatening or dangerous,” showing clear bias. They also noted a lack of remorse, as Putorti was participating in fundraising events for the Elks Lodge while on suspension for the incident.
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Kevin Porter Jr., a rising NBA player for the Houston Rockets, was arrested in New York this week for allegedly assaulting a woman who reports say is his girlfriend. The incident occurred in a hotel early Monday morning (September 11) after officials received a 911 call from the location.
As reported by ESPN, Kevin Porter Jr., 23, and the woman 26, were at a New York hotel with sources stating that the victim of the alleged assault is a former WNBA player. According to a police spokesperson, the woman suffered significant to her face and neck.
“Upon arrival officers were informed that a 26-year-old female sustained a laceration to the right side of her face and was complaining about pain to her neck,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a known individual struck her multiple times upon her body and placed his hands around the neck.”
Porter’s team also issued a statement saying that they’re looking at the matter internally before taking further action.
“We are in the process of gathering information surrounding the matter involving Kevin Porter Jr.,” the Rockets said via a statement. “We have no further comment at this time.”
The NBA issued a similar statement via Mike Bass which read,”The league office is in contact with the Houston Rockets and in the process of gathering more information.”
Porter is facing assault and strangulation charges, both considered felonies in the state of New York.
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New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority approved the first fare increases for its transit system in four years, citing them as “necessary.”On Wednesday (July 19), the MTA Board unanimously voted to increase the subway fares from $2.75 to $2.90. The first fare hike in four years also applies to the buses in the citywide system. In addition, fares will also go up by 5% on the tolls at the city’s bridges and tunnels from $6.55 to $6.94. For those without an E-Z Pass, they will see a 10% increase. Those changes will go into effect Aug. 6, while the subway and bus fare increases take effect on Aug. 20.“We’re making good on this last brick in this amazing edifice that is the restoration of the MTA’s financial stability. It is an important moment,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said after the decision. “It is not without its downsides because anytime you’re asking people to pay a little more, you know that has consequences.”
Board members declared that the fare increase was “necessary” and “healthy,” as it struggles with a reported $48 billion debt. Deputy chair Jai Patel stated that the increase will help the MTA “keep up with inflation, avert radical fare and toll fluctuations and mitigate impacts on customers by offering a predictable increase schedule.”
Other changes include the express bus fare now being increased to $7, and the seven-day fare going up two dollars to $64. Also, monthly unlimited Metrocards will now be $132 and seven-day unlimited Metrocards will be $34. Metro-North & Long Island Railroad fares will rise 4%. Reduced fares for seniors and others will remain in place.
The board had previously paused talks and plans to increase the fare biannually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the MTA states led to its current status. The next item will be the congestion pricing plan, which the MTA hopes to enact for vehicles below 60th street in Manhattan by the end of spring next year. It faces opposition from delivery drivers and livery drivers, who protested outside of MTA headquarters yesterday.
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Lawmakers in New York have introduced a new bill that will prohibit the use of rap lyrics in criminal trials as evidence by prosecutors – an issue recently highlighted across the nation.
In January of this year, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz brought forth S1738, known as the “Rap Music on Trial” bill. The goal of the bill is to prevent prosecutors in criminal trials from using lyrics from songs by the defendant in those trials as proof of guilt for the crimes they’re charged with. “Protecting artistic freedom and expression is paramount for our country, but in particular New York City, where we are the cultural capital of the world,” Hoylman-Sigal said to the press. “Rap music has been targeted by prosecutors, mainly because it would seem that there’s racial bias.”
The bill wouldn’t be isolated to only rap music, but the music genre has been the most targeted by prosecutors in cases across the country as social media has made sharing rap videos easier with a farther reach. An essay in the New York Times last year detailed the timeline for the increase of rap lyrics being used since 2005. The RICO case brought against Young Thug in Georgia is currently the most prominent example as lyrics from nine of his songs were cited in the indictment.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act into law last September. Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York and Hank Johnson of Georgia re-introduced the Restoring Artistic Protection, or RAP Act to the House of Representatives in April. That bill has not gone beyond a referral to the House Judiciary Committee.
An earlier version of New York’s state bill was introduced in 2021 with heavy support from artists including Jay-Z, Big Sean, and Meek Mill among others. But it didn’t advance to being passed in the Assembly. The hope is that the current bill will pass this current session, which ends on Thursday (June 8th). The state Senate did approve S1738 on May 15th, which Hoylman-Sigal said gives a “boost of confidence and momentum” that it will make it to Governor Kathy Hochul to be signed into law.
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