Mayor Adams announces over 1,000 homeless NYers moved from subways to permanent homes thanks to Subway Safety Plan

August 11, 2025
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7:00am

“This success would not be possible without our historic investments,” the mayor said, crediting Safe Haven beds, outreach teams, and a “record-breaking creation of affordable housing.”

Angry at Mira Murati for refusing $1bn offer, Mark Zuckerberg launched ‘full-scale raid’

Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, reportedly attempted to acquire Mira Murati’s startup, Thinking Machines Lab, with a $1 billion offer. After Murati declined, Zuckerberg allegedly launched a recruitment drive targeting its employees, including Andrew Tulloch, offering a potential $1.5 billion pay package.

HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – A systemwide upgrade at a local bank is causing some issues for its customers. Holyoke-based PeoplesBank recently implemented a new online system that, it said, will make transactions faster, easier, and more secure, but the roll-out has been anything but easy.

Some customers are expressing their frustration towards the bank after the upgrade its technology. The changes were meant to improve the bank’s online experience but, for some, it’s actually accomplished the exact opposite. One person emailed Western Mass News and said, “I have called every branch and no one answers. My sister-in-law’s debit card doesn’t work, bill pays haven’t been transferred. My money is basically held hostage.”

We brought those concerns to PeoplesBank Senior Vice President Matthew Bannister. He confirmed that some of their 90,000 customers had a challenge getting into the new system, but they shouldn’t have a problem getting their cash or paying their bills as the bill pay option, which was down for a few days, is now back up and running. “They have access to their money. You can go to an ATM and get cash out. You can buy something at a store using your debit card, etc. but you can’t actually see your online banking account until you re-enroll in our new system,” he explained.

Even so, PeoplesBank has been inundated with calls and emails from people looking for tech support. Their Facebook page was also hit with angry users who were frustrated with the re-enrollment process. “In order to re-enroll, we need to have an accurate cell phone number and an accurate email address, so we’ve been asking customers for months now to please make sure your information is accurate and a good majority of them did, but some either didn’t get the message or didn’t get around to it and those are the people who are having challenges,” he added.

For those who are “having challenges,” Bannister told Western Mass News that PeoplesBank understands and wants to help. Customers are welcome to visit any branch for in-person service or direct message them though their Facebook page. For those trying to call and wait on the help line, there will be a new option as of Tuesday night. “Some of our customer assistance lines have been very busy and so we’ve opened up a brand new number to address this – (877) 888-1388 – as well as on Facebook direct messenger and so we have operators standing by, as the saying goes,” he said.

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The Milford Museum will present a lecture titled Storm Warriors: The U.S. Life-Saving Service in Delaware on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. The event will take place at …

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Zohran Mamdani uses race as a ‘lever’ for personal gain, race expert says

Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez critiques Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s use of the racial category system on ‘The Will Cain Show.’

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani clinched a historic, and deeply polarizing, victory by officially receiving the most votes ever recorded in a New York City mayoral primary.

After three rounds, Mamdani received 565,639 votes, surpassing the previous record of 547,901 votes held by David N. Dinkins in 1989, according to updated ranked-choice voting totals released Tuesday by the NYC Board of Elections.

Mamdani celebrated the milestone on X, posting: “With the updated RCV totals just released by the Board of Elections, our campaign has officially earned the most total votes in a primary in New York City history.”

NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI IDENTIFIED AS BLACK, ASIAN ON COLUMBIA APPLICATION: REPORT

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, during a campaign event at the NAN House of Justice in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, US, on Saturday, June 28, 2025.  (Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The far-left Assemblymember from Queens secured 565,639 votes after just three rounds of ranked-choice voting, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly 13 points, official BOE data confirms. Cuomo finished with 440,655 votes.

Mamdani’s campaign immediately seized on the numbers, touting the result as a “mandate” for progressive policies like a citywide rent freeze, taxpayer-funded childcare, and even “fast and free” public buses.

“This movement made history on election night,” Mamdani said in a statement Tuesday, promising to “fulfill our promises to lower costs and build a city working people can afford.”

MAMDANI OFFICIALLY WINS NYC DEM PRIMARY BY 12 POINTS OVER CUOMO, WHO’S STAYING IN THE RACE FOR NOW

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appears on stage with his family, including his wife, Rama Duwaji, right, at his primary election party, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Mamdani, who openly identifies as a Democratic socialist, currently represents Astoria and Long Island City in the New York State Assembly. His two-term record includes pushing for tenant protections, opposing utility rate hikes, and advocating for mass transit subsidies.

Ranked-choice voting was used for only the second time in a NYC mayoral primary. Mamdani secured 56.2% of the vote after three rounds, compared to Cuomo’s 43.8%. 

Mayor Eric Adams needed eight rounds in 2021 to reach a narrow 50.4%.

The leftward political shift in New York City has drawn attention from state and national leaders.

“I had the first of what I consider to be many conversations with the nominee yesterday,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters Tuesday, adding that they discussed shared affordability goals as well as concerns from Jewish communities that “feel under siege.” Hochul said Mamdani “understands the need” to engage those constituencies.

Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo sits on stage after protesters interrupted his speech during a Democratic mayoral forum at Medgar Evers College in New York City, April 23, 2025.  ( REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado)

When asked about a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump calling Mamdani a “Communist Luncatic” and implying New York could lose funding under a Mamdani administration, Hochul pushed back firmly.

“We’re New Yorkers, we’re not going to be intimidated by threats from Washington, not now, not ever,” she said.

With the general election looming, eyes are now on whether Cuomo or other centrist Democrats will mount independent challenges.

“President Trump supports Eric Adams, and we do not believe socialism is the answer,” Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi told Fox News Digital. “Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists — the majority lies in the middle. We will continue to assess the current situation in the best interest of the people of the City of New York.”

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The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Severe storms brought flooding to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, resulting in two deaths, a house fire, and over 100 flight cancelations at Newark Airport.

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Karen Read takes out the trash behind Boston hotel

Newly cleared Karen Read spotted outside her Boston hotel shortly after jurors found her not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

EXCLUSIVE IMAGES: Life is moving on for all the key players except John O’Keefe’s family after a Massachusetts jury found his former girlfriend Karen Read not guilty of all homicide-related charges in his death outside a midnight house party during a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022.

O’Keefe’s niece and nephew, who he took in after their parents died, are orphaned for a second time.

Read has a book deal – and a TV series about her saga in the works. But she’s also facing a wrongful death lawsuit, which requires a lesser standard of guilt to hold her liable. Her civil team filed a motion to dismiss earlier this week.

KAREN READ ASKS MASSACHUSETTS COURT TO THROW OUT WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AFTER MURDER ACQUITTAL

Karen Read exits Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on June 18, 2025. Read was found not guilty of the murder of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

An outside investigation by the FBI found no alternate suspects and dispelled allegations of corruption leveled at local and state police. But prosecutors and investigators who led the case are facing a reckoning.

The Albert family, former owners of the property where Read and two other women found O’Keefe dead under a sheet of snow, just celebrated a wedding. 

Jennifer McCabe, a key witness in both of Read’s trials and one of the women with Read that morning, is the new bride’s aunt. 

FAMILY OF SLAIN BOSTON COP JOHN O’KEEFE FUMES AS EX-GIRLFRIEND KAREN READ WALKS FREE: ‘SICKENING’

Retired Boston Police Officer Brian Albert in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, June 28, 2025. Albert attends his daughter Caitlin’s wedding after Karen Read’s acquittal in the trial for Officer John O’Keefe’s death. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

At the wedding, attendees pitched in to hire private security after Read’s supporters allegedly circulated the venue online. Local police made their presence known, too. A marked SUV was parked at the foot of the church steps.

Kerry Roberts, a friend of O’Keefe’s who was also present with McCabe and Read when they found his body, told Fox News Digital she is among the witnesses facing an ongoing harassment campaign, along with the Alberts, the McCabes and O’Keefe’s immediate family.

Jennifer McCabe in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, June 28, 2025. McCabe attends retired detective Brian Albert’s daughter’s wedding after Karen Read’s acquittal in the trial for Officer John O’Keefe’s death. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

“I don’t know why they’re making Jen McCabe a villain,” she said in a phone interview. “All she did was answer the same phone call I did. Karen called her. She didn’t call Karen. It’s so stupid and bizarre.”

KAREN READ MURDER TRIAL: NIECE REVEALS ‘FRANTIC’ BEHAVIOR ON MORNING BOSTON OFFICER WAS FOUND DEAD

The victim’s mother, Peggy O’Keefe, is dealing with harassment of her own, including a woman seen dancing on video at the foot of her driveway after Read’s acquittal.

Roberts said the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office told her to stop contacting their witness advocate after the trial, even as strangers continue to throw things at her house, call her family “murderers” in the supermarket and mock her children.

“We put our a–es on the line for three and a half years, two trials, to help the state of Massachusetts, and you’re not going to help us when we’re being harassed?” she said. “It’s not worth it to put my family through ever again, and not be protected at all. It’s sick. It’s absolutely sick.”

Peggy O’Keefe, mother of murder victim John O’Keefe, arrives at Norfolk County Superior Court for the Karen Read trial, June 10, 2025. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

There’s an ongoing witness intimidation case against Aidan Kearney, a Canton blogger who goes by the name Turtleboy, but while Roberts is not one of his alleged victims, she says she faces rude comments and other harassment from random members of the community.

KAREN READ’S LAWYERS IDENTIFY EXACT MOMENT PROSECUTION ‘LOST THE CASE’ IN MURDER TRIAL

Witness Kerry Roberts emotionally describes the injuries to John O’Keefe she saw in the hospital in Norfolk Superior Court on April 23, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

After baseball games, kids on the team opposing her son might tell him “Free Karen Read” while lining up to shake hands, she said. She filed a complaint against her mailman, who allegedly muttered a vulgarity into her doorbell camera when he saw a “Justice for John O’Keefe” sign at her house. Now someone else delivers her letters.

“My message to people is don’t ever be a witness,” she said. “If this happens to you, you’re not gonna be protected at all.”

DEFENSE HAMMERS ‘RIDICULOUS’ EVIDENCE IN KAREN READ CLOSING, SAYS CASE IS ‘COOKED’

Alan Jackson takes his car for a spin in Los Angeles, Friday, July 4, 2025. The lawyer recently secured a not-guilty verdict for his client Karen Read. (Fox News Digital)

Read’s lead defense lawyer Alan Jackson returned to Los Angeles in time for the Fourth of July holiday, where he was seen cruising in a Shelby Cobra replica – powered by a 351 Stroker he described as “a fire-breathing dragon.”

“[It’s] taking a while to come down,” he told Fox News Digital. “But I’m slowly getting back into my rhythm.”

He already has another deadly crash case lined up – the defense of Fraser Bohm, a 22-year-old from Malibu facing four counts of murder in a high-speed wreck that killed four sorority girls from Pepperdine University in October 2023.

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Alan Jackson takes his car for a spin in Los Angeles, July 4, 2025. (Fox News Digital)

Bohm is due back in court next month after Jackson asked for more time to prep a defense for his new client.

Michael Proctor, a former homicide detective with the Massachusetts State Police, lost his job but may still resurface in the upcoming murder trial of Brian Walshe – who is accused of killing his wife Ana outside Boston. 

Her remains have not been found. Proctor worked that case, too, and Walshe’s lawyers have argued his presence tainted the investigation. That trial is scheduled to kick off in October.

Former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor takes the stand during Karen Read’s first murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court on June 10, 2024.  (Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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State police fired Proctor after he sent lewd texts about Read to his friends – officially faulting him for sharing law enforcement sensitive information with civilians – and for drinking on the job.

His former supervisor, Yuri Bukhenik, was also reassigned in the wake of Read’s second trial out of the homicide unit in Norfolk County and to an administrative post in Boston, according to Boston 25.

Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik, of the Massachusetts State Police, is questioned by defense attorney Alan Jackson during the murder retrial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court, May 12, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)

Read’s defense alleged a cover-up by state and local police, alternately insinuating they got lazy in the investigation and failed to do a thorough job or outright framed her.

Hank Brennan, the high-powered defense attorney hired as a special prosecutor to lead Read’s second trial, reportedly raked in more than $550,000 for his work, according to the Boston Herald.

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan walks during a lunch break from the Norfolk County Superior Court, May 20, 2025. (Hans Pennink for Fox News Digital)

That’s a reasonable sum for a private lawyer, said retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu, but also much more than a deputy district attorney on the state payroll would have made: “Probably $130,000 annually.” 

Brennan put in long days and likely worked through weekends, while keeping his private practice open at the same time, he added.

Karen Read signs to supporters as she leaves Norfolk Superior Court, June 17, 2025. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

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And while in a rare public statement he slammed the prevalence of witness intimidation and apologized for not securing a conviction, O’Keefe’s supporters indicated they appreciate his work on the case.

“The jury pool was completely tainted is all I can say,” Roberts told Fox News Digital. “Hank did so much work. He was a genius. He really was. Nobody could’ve gotten it done. Which is wicked sad.”

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Alabama man killed when car runs off road, hits utility pole, gas line, then tree, state troopers say

An Alabama man was killed this week when his car left the road, striking a mailbox, utility pole, …

September 17, 2024