New Yorkers are having a hard time sleeping at night as the out-of-control fireworks are being shot off until 3-4 in the morning – with the NYPD doing absolutely nothing. In an audio clip from an NYPD Radio you can hear the following: NYPD RADIO DISPATCHER: “Female caller states she is uncomfortable walking home, states it is a WARZONE. A combination of fireworks and gunshots”. NYPD OFFICER RESPONDS: “Welcome to NY”. NYOPD RADIO DISPATCHER: “Tell me about it”. Viral videos on social media show the fireworks going off at all hours of the night, with the NYPD doing absolutely nothing. In one video, police cars drive past a group of thugs who were shooting fireworks aimed at the patrol car.

Nine people were shot at a large party in Syracuse, authorities said, and one victim, a 17-year-old boy, was in critical condition Sunday. No one was immediately taken into custody, and Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner emphasized that the investigation was in its early stages in an appearance at a press conference alongside Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. Syracuse officers had arrived at the scene just before 9 p.m. for reports of a stolen car, but responding officers were met with by people who said shots had been fired into the crowd of a “few hundred,” Buckner said. The police chief said his officers didn’t hear the gunshots. In addition to the 17-year-old, who was shot in the head, the shooting victims ranged in age from 18 to 53, Syracuse police said in a news release.

The NYPD is investigating a spree of shootings on the first official weekend of summer. They say 21 people have been shot in the past 24 hours. The police department says it’s investigating 13 separate shootings that occurred in the 12 hours since midnight. Since Monday, there have been 33 reported shootings across the city — more than double the number of shootings reported during this week in 2019, when only 12 shootings occurred. As of June 14, the city was reeling from a 24% jump in shootings across the city, from 317 this time last year to 394, officials said. Murders were also up by 25% from 127 to 159. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Juneteenth will be an official holiday for city workers and schoolchildren next year, and New York City will form a new commission to examine its history of racial discrimination, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. The mayor said he had authority to order the June 19 holiday for workers and more than 1 million public school pupils, subject to labor negotiations. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the Union army brought word of the Emancipation Proclamation to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln declared all slaves free in Confederate territory.

After months of quarantine, lockdown, and isolation, children with serious illnesses will have an exciting summer to look forward to thanks to Chai Lifeline’s new Camp Simcha Without Borders initiative. Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha Special, Chai Lifeline’s flagship summer programs for children with cancer, blood disorders, and all forms of chronic illness, will bring the magic of Simcha to communities across the country. “Over these past few months, our kids have had their worlds turned upside down as they have adjusted to life during COVID-19 while simultaneously confronting their own medical issues,” said Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrapped up a string of more than 100 daily briefings that became appointment viewing around the nation, alternatively informative, grave, jocular and combative, by declaring Friday that New York has “done the impossible” in taming the coronavirus. Cuomo appeared alone behind his desk during a brief address, a departure from his routine of presenting slides with bar graphs of COVID-19 hospitalizations and then taking questions from reporters. But his message was the same as in recent days: New Yorkers at the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak worked together to fight the virus and now must be on guard for a second wave.

An unusual standoff between Attorney General William Barr and Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor ended Saturday when the prosecutor agreed to leave his job with an assurance that investigations by the prosecutor’s office into the president’s allies would not be disturbed. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman announced in an early evening statement that he would leave his post, ending increasingly nasty exchanges between Barr and Berman. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, had distanced himself from the dispute, telling reporters the decision “was all up to the attorney general.” The whirlwind chain of events began Friday night, when Barr announced that Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, had resigned.

As the number of COVID-19 cases soar in Florida, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is considering advice from his experts to impose a quarantine on people traveling from the Sunshine State. During the height of the pandemic, Florida’s governor issued an executive order mandating a 14-day self quarantine for travelers coming from New York. As COVID cases in Florida reach new highs, Cuomo is considering a similar move. “In some ways, you want to talk about a full 180 … Florida and other states imposed a quarantine on New Yorkers, if you went to Florida, you had to quarantine for two weeks because they were afraid New Yorkers were bringing the virus to their state,” Cuomo said. “Fast forward 100 days, now we are afraid they are bringing the virus to our state.

(By Sandy Eller) With more than ten years of experience in the Sullivan County District Attorney’s office, Meagan Galligan’s reputation as being tough on crime and extremely community minded has been hard won. Galligan, who has been serving as Sullivan County’s acting district attorney since January, comes from a family whose history of public service spans four generations. Having worked her way up the ranks from assistant district attorney to executive assistant district attorney to chief assistant district attorney to the position she holds today, Galligan hopes to emerge victorious from Tuesday’s Republican primary, positioning her one step closer to winning the highest elected position in the county.

Amid harrowing testimony about New York City police officers slamming peaceful protesters to the ground, kicking a woman in the face and beating people with batons, the state’s attorney general blasted the NYPD and the mayor Thursday for ignoring repeated invitations to testify. Attorney General Letitia James said the police department was falsely telling the news media that it was not invited to participate, even though its legal bureau was notified of the hearing on June 10 and in subsequent follow up emails and phone calls. “Let me be clear, the NYPD and the mayor were invited to participate in this hearing,” said James. “But in case there is any confusion. Let me take this moment to once again, invite them.