New York will loosen restrictions on private gatherings and clear the way for some public performances that have been banned for nearly a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. Arts and entertainment venues will be allowed to open at a third of their capacity and welcome up to 100 people indoors and up to 200 people outdoors starting April 2, an increase that won’t be enough to open closed Broadway theaters but could allow some small plays and concerts to resume. Limits would be slightly higher — 150 people indoors and 500 outdoors — if venues can implement a system in which attendees show proof of a recent, negative COVID-19 test before entering.

Besieged by harassment allegations, a somber New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo apologized Wednesday, saying he “learned an important lesson” about his own behavior around women, but he said he intended to remain in office. “I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo said at a Wednesday press conference. “It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it.” Cuomo said he will “fully cooperate” with the state attorney general’s investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Attorney General Letitia James is in the process of selecting an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into the allegations and produce a report that will be made publicly.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has avoided public appearances for days as some members of his own party call for him to resign over harassment allegations. The governor hasn’t taken questions from reporters since a Feb. 19 briefing, an unusually long gap for a Democrat whose daily, televised updates on the coronavirus pandemic were must-see TV last spring. He was last before video cameras Thursday, when he introduced President Joe Biden at a virtual meeting of the National Governor’s Association, which he chairs. He also participated Tuesday in the group’s conference call, which was off-limits to reporters. The public absence was more glaring after legislative leaders announced Tuesday they were limiting the governor’s broad powers to unilaterally set state policy during the pandemic.

In the next shocking abuse of power by an airline, a family has been banned from flying three weeks after their flight. A family member tells YWN that they flew from a NY area airport to Florida in mid-January in a noneventful flight. The mom, dad, and their five children were masked as required by law, and had no altercation with any of the flight crew. They never left their seats, and sat in their assigned seats the entire flight. Not a word was said to the family about any mask issue or any other issues during the entire duration of the flight. Shockingly, three weeks after their flight, the mother and father received two certified letters via FedEx stating that they since they were not in compliance with the mask mandate, they were now banned from using the airline.

Shulem (Sholam) Weiss, who just two months ago had his prison sentence commuted by outgoing President Trump, suffered a stroke on Tuesday night. Sources tell YWN that Weiss suffered the stroke while at his Monsey home, and was rushed by Hatzolah to the hospital where is being treated for the stroke, which appears to be serious. As YWN had reported, former President Trump commuted the sentence of Shalom Weiss the night before he left the Whitehouse. He had already served over 18 years and paid substantial restitution of what is believed to have been the longest-ever white-collar prison sentence: A whopping 835 years. Trump said he commuted his sentence because he is 66 years old and suffers from chronic health conditions. Please say Tehillim for Sholom ben Leah.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 22-year-old man has been indicted for assault, reckless endangerment and other charges for allegedly causing a car crash that seriously injured a Brooklyn mother of six. A dashboard camera captured the driver allegedly running a red light at a Bedford-Stuyvesant intersection and colliding with a livery cab that carried the 32-year-old victim. District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant chose to drive his car in a highly dangerous and reckless manner, allegedly speeding and ignoring a traffic light, and caused a devastating crash that nearly killed a beloved mother. We believe this was not an aberration – videos he allegedly posted online show him driving the same vehicle in an extremely reckless fashion.

Legislators from New York’s Assembly and state Senate struck a deal Tuesday to strip Gov. Andrew Cuomo of his pandemic-linked emergency powers and return matters like lockdowns to local control. The deal would reverse emergency powers granted to Cuomo exactly a year ago, in the early days of the COVID pandemic, that gave him free rein to order measures like quarantines. BREAKING: Cuomo to be stripped of pandemic emergency powers in legislative deal (NBC NY) — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 2, 2021 (Source: NBC News)

Calls for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation intensified late Monday after a third woman accused him of offensive behavior. Anna Ruch told The New York Times late Monday about the incident involving inappropriate behavior. The account from Ruch, who worked as a photographer at the White House during President Barack Obama’s second term, made her the third woman to accuse Cuomo, and fueled broader calls for Cuomo to step down, including from some in his own party. “The pattern of harassment and predatory behavior by Governor Cuomo is unacceptable, and I believe the women coming forward,” New York City Councilman Antonio Reynoso tweeted in comments echoed elsewhere.

The NAACP Chapter in NJ is alleging that Orthodox Jewish children in Lakewood, NJ were seen in racist costumes this past Purim. They alleged that the children were seen photographed wearing Afro wigs, blackface, and wearing shirts that said “Black Lives Matter” on them. Fred Rush, local president of the NAACP, says he witnessed the children on Ponderosa Drive near Pine Street on Purim, and says he went over to two adults to tell them that this was racist and unacceptable. Rush also says he also witnessed people hanging an effigy – which some do to commemorate the hanging of Haman. He did not say if the effigy was pained as blackface, but still finds it offensive. He says he contacted police who responded and asked the homeowner to remove the effigy, who refused.

For the second time in two weeks, a Shul in the Catskills collapsed. The latest incident happened at around 10:00AM Monday morning, at the Chernovitz Bungalow Colony on Hasbrouck Road in Woodbourne. The Woodbourne Fire Department responded along with Catskills Hatzolah, the NY State Police and other emergency personnel. Thankfully, there are no injuries reported as the building was vacant, and the Sefer Torah was not in the building. Sources tell YWN that it appears that the collapse was caused by heavy snow and ice sitting io the roof for months. This is the same thing that caused a Shul to collapse at Laurel Ledge in Fallsburg, two weeks ago. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)