Republican Chris Jacobs of western New York became the newest House member on Tuesday, taking the oath of office to fill the unexpired term of a lawmaker who left Congress after pleading guilty to federal insider trading charges. Jacobs, who has been a state senator, had the support of President Donald Trump as he won a special election last month against Democrat Nate McMurray. He wore a face mask — unlike some Republicans — as he took the oath on the House floor from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In brief remarks, Jacobs said he planned to “help our state at a time when they are clearly in need in a fiscal crisis,” an apparent reference to the blows the coronavirus pandemic has dealt to New York and the entire country.

Yesterday the United States Department of Justice authorized the filing of a lawsuit against the Village of Airmont for actions that “unreasonably limits the practice of religion by the village’s Orthodox Jewish Community.” In a letter to the Village, Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss writes, “we have determined that Airmont’s zoning practices…impose a ‘substantial burden’ on the Orthodox Jewish community’s religious exercise…discriminate against the Orthodox Jewish community ‘on the basis of religion or religious denomination’…and ‘unreasonably limits religious assemblies, institutions, or structures’.” The letter further explains that, while the U.S.

President Donald Trump’s threat to send federal law enforcers to patrol the city is likely not serious but if he did follow through, New York City would take legal action, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. “I have to start by saying this president blusters and bluffs and says he’s going to do things and they never materialize on a regular basis,” de Blasio said. State and local authorities in Oregon have charged in a lawsuit that masked federal officers have arrested people in Portland with no probable cause and whisked them away in unmarked cars. Trump defended the actions of the federal officers in Portland on Monday and said he would send officers to other cities including New York as well.

President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer sued Attorney General William Barr and the Bureau of Prisons director Monday, saying he’s being unjustly held behind bars to stop him from finishing a book that criticizes Trump. The lawsuit on behalf of Michael Cohen was filed late Monday in Manhattan federal court, alleging his First Amendment rights were violated when he was returned to the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York, on July 9. A message for comment was left with the Justice Department. Cohen, 53, had been furloughed in May as part of an attempt to slow the spread of the virus in federal prisons. He had served only a year of his three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, among other crimes.

A woman was arrested by the NYPD after she was allegedly attacking people with a hammer on a busy Manhattan street on Tuesday morning. A video posted on Twitter, shows a woman being held down by the NYPD near Rockefeller Center. The caption on the video read, “Woman was attacking people with a hammer just now in NYC 48th street Rockefeller. NYPD got her.” It did not appear that anyone was injured in the incident. Woman was attacking people with hammer just now in NYC 48th street Rockefeller. NYPD got her. pic.twitter.com/pgCiGkM3Um — gsammz (@gsammz) July 21, 2020 (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The City of New York has donated some 100 million meals to food insecure residents, Mayor Bill DeBlasio said on Tuesday. DeBlasio vowed that the food distribution would continue as long as it’s needed. The free meals were provided to the Jewish community as well, with many Yeshivas and Mosdos holding distributions daily, some providing thousands of meals each day. The city has also created a Landlord-Tenant Mediation Project to help keep residents that are unemployed due to COVID-19 in their homes. “We are about to go over a cliff in this city” the mayor said of residents being unable to pay their rent. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New York and New Jersey have added 10 states to the list from which travelers are required to self-quarantine for 14 days, and Connecticut are expected to follow suit. The newly-added states are Alaska, Delaware (re-added), Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington (re-added). Minnesota has been removed from the list. New York plans to levy a $2,000 fine against certain travelers who leave airports in the state without submitting a form that says where the travelers are arriving from and where they’re going. Governor Andrew Cuomo said the fines would apply to travelers from the list of states – including Texas and Florida – who are required to quarantine for 14 days under New York’s travel advisory.

New York City moved to what was supposed to be the final phase of its coronavirus reopening Monday, but with indoor service at restaurants and bars still banned, malls and museums shuttered and theaters still dark amid concerns about the virus spreading indoors. Phase four of the city’s reopening does allow more outdoors arts and reaction activities to open. Media production companies can resume work, a major business in the East Coast entertainment capital. And professional sports teams can resume play too, though without fans. Gov.

New Jersey parents will be allowed to opt-out of in-person education and choose all remote learning for their children when schools reopen this fall, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. The Democratic governor said state education officials will be releasing guidance this week on how the process will work. He said he would further comment on the matter once the guidelines are released. Murphy also announced that drills and practices for sports considered high-risk for the spread of the coronavirus can resume as long as they are held at outdoor venues. Sports considered high-risk include football and rugby, boxing, martial arts, wrestling, and cheerleading. Murphy reported nine new deaths from the virus, giving the state a total of 13,741 confirmed COVID-19 deaths.

A reporter for a CBS affiliate in New York has died in a moped crash, the station announced. CBS2 New York reporter Nina Kapur was riding as a passenger on a moped that crashed in Brooklyn on Saturday, police said. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she died. The driver of the moped suffered minor injuries. “We are heartbroken here at CBS2 as a member of our news family has passed away,” the station said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Nina’s family. She will be missed.” Police said Kapur was riding on a Revel scooter, part of a fleet of electric mopeds operated by a ride-sharing startup, when the driver swerved and both riders were thrown from the vehicle. The accident is under investigation. The 26-year-old Kapur was a graduate of Syracuse University.