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Fresh off a red-eye flight from California, Cynthia Frybarger dropped off her luggage at the Margaritaville hotel in Midtown early Wednesday and boarded a downtown Q train, bound for the hottest pop-up spot in Manhattan. Her destination: Collect Pond Park, the square plot of cement and trees across Centre Street from the front doors of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where a few hours later a group of 12 New Yorkers began deliberating whether to convict Donald J. Trump in the first criminal trial of an American president. “I didn’t come strictly for this, but it fit in perfectly,” Ms. Frybarger, 73, said, holding up the “Lock Him Up!! !” poster she had made back home in San Jose. As Mr. Trump’s trial has unfurled through its various stages, the park has played host to a daily tableau of New York writ small — gawkers and tourists, politicians and celebrities, demonstrators and protesters, all of whom have stood for hours in the baking sun and driving rain, to see and be seen.

Persons: Cynthia Frybarger, Donald J, Trump, “, Ms, Frybarger, Trump’s Organizations: Yorkers Locations: California, Midtown, Manhattan, San Jose, York

☆ In an Online World, a New Generation of Protesters Chooses Anonymity
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“My parents were extremely frustrated, and it was a huge rift.”He said people started creating fake social media accounts using his identity and sending racist messages to his professors. Then, earlier this year, he said, his phone number was leaked online. “Within the first hour, I was getting death threats,” Mr. Kupsh said. At Columbia, Fabiola, the political science major, said she was taking steps to conceal her identity to prevent a similar outcome. As of last week, she still wasn’t sure.

Persons: ”, “, Mr, Kupsh, Fabiola, Columbia’s, Jill Cowan, Bob Chiarito, Bohra, Olivia Bensimon Organizations: “, Columbia Locations: ”, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, New York

Israel supporters standing on the opposite side of a walkway from the large pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles. On Sunday, the Israeli American Council, which has denounced pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses as “overtly antisemitic,” hosted a rally at U.C.L.A. On Monday night, another fight broke out between two groups of protesters after about 60 pro-Israel demonstrators attempted to enter the pro-Palestinian encampment. Image Pro-Palestinian protesters have come face to face daily with Israel supporters at the University of California, Los Angeles. Many Jewish groups say the campus protests have created a climate hostile toward Jewish students.

Persons: Israel, Royce, U.C.L.A, ”, ” Mary Osako, —, Ms, Osako, megaphones, Mark Abramson, Asher Taxon, ” Mr, Taxon, Kaia Shah Organizations: University of California, Royce Hall, University of Southern, University of Texas, Israeli American Council, “ UCLA, Israel, Los Angeles . Credit, The New York Times, U.C.L.A Locations: Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Austin, Israeli, Israel, U.C.L.A, Atlanta, Orange County, Calif, Gaza

College Democrats of America, the student organization of the Democratic Party, endorsed pro-Palestinian campus protests on Tuesday and called on President Biden to support a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Overnight from Monday into Tuesday, protesters at Columbia took over a building on campus. “As College Democrats, we are committed to the re-election of President Biden and Democrats across down-ballot races in every corner of our nation,” the statement said. “We’re realizing that our duty as College Democrats is to be representatives of college students to the party, rather than vice versa,” Mr. Muralitharan said. And throughout the nation, we’re witnessing Joe Biden, Democrats across the ballot, losing scores of young voters over this issue.”The statement was written largely by the organization’s Muslim Caucus.

Persons: Biden, ”, “ MAGA, “, Mr, —, Netanyahu, Sunjay Muralitharan, ” Mr, Muralitharan, Joe Biden, Hasan Pyarali, Biden’s, Pyarali, Donald J, Trump, won’t, Joshua Martin, you’re, we’re, Martin, Indiana University —, ’ Organizations: Democrats of America, Democratic Party, College Democrats, Columbia University, Students, Columbia, Protesters, Portland State University and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, “ MAGA Republicans, Jewish, “, Democratic National Committee, University of California, Muslim Caucus, Wake Forest University, Mr, College Democrats ’, University of Houston, Hamas, College Democrats of, Yale, New York University, Indiana University Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, San Diego, Palestine, Biden’s Israel, College Democrats of America

Mr. Cohen has said he acted at Mr. Trump’s direction, but the former president is not charged over the payment itself. If Mr. Trump testifies in his own defense, that could pit Mr. Cohen’s word against Mr. Trump’s — a he-said, he-said story, with two questionable narrators. Mr. Trump’s lawyers will seek to emphasize Mr. Cohen’s checkered past at every turn. And, on cross-examination, Mr. Trump’s lawyers are likely to portray Mr. Cohen as a serial liar with a grudge against his former boss. Mr. Pecker can support at least some of Mr. Cohen’s testimony about Mr. Trump’s involvement in the hush-money deals.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Alvin L, Bragg, Michael D, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniel J . Horwitz, Michael Cohen, ” Mr, Horwitz, Mary Altaffer, Daniels, Trump’s, Joshua Steinglass, Donald Trump, Mr, Steinglass’s, David Pecker, Hope Hicks, Pecker, Bragg’s, Karen McDougal, Marion Curtis, reimbursements, Allen H, Weisselberg, Steinglass, McDougal, Dave Sanders, The New York Times Susan Necheles, Cohen’s, President Trump, Madeleine Westerhout, “, ”, ” William K, Rashbaum, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Michael Rothfeld Organizations: Prosecutors, Mr, fixer, National Enquirer, Trump, Trump . Credit, The New York Times, American Media, Associated, ” Locations: New York, Manhattan, Trump ., America, Russia

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Brown University have recently taken swift and decisive action against student protesters, including making arrests. And on Thursday, Columbia University hit its limit with student protesters who had set up dozens of tents on campus, sending in the New York Police Department to make arrests. Image At Columbia, officials cracked down on students who had erected tents on campus. Muncy for The New York TimesImage The New York Police Department arrested protesters at Columbia University. “But now we’re seeing that as an immediate response.”In her congressional testimony, Dr. Shafik revealed that 15 Columbia students have been suspended in recent weeks.

Persons: “, Santa J, Ono, ”, Nemat Shafik, Recalibrating, Rosy Fitzgerald, didn’t, Shafik, Nicole Hester, Donald J, Daniel Diermeier, Vanderbilt, “ They’re, Diermeier, —, Tracy Arwari, Ms, Arwari, Suzanne Nossel, Nossel, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, Ezri Tyler, Tyler, Dan Korobkin, Colleen Mastony, Jacob Mchangama, Mr, Mchangama Organizations: University of, University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , New York University, Brown University, Columbia University, New York Police Department, Columbia, Credit, The New York Times, Columbia University . Credit, The New York Times College, Republican, Institute for Middle, Vanderbilt, USA, Network Vanderbilt University, Pomona College, School, Pomona, PEN America, The New York Times Students, “, American Civil Liberties Union, ” Locations: Santa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,, Columbia, C.S, Muncy, Israel, Vietnam, Southern California, Pomona, “, Michigan, . Michigan

States could, in theory, try to keep Mr. Trump off the ballot by passing legislation requiring a clean criminal record, but this would be on legally shaky ground. The California Supreme Court also unanimously blocked it as a violation of the state constitution, and the case never reached the U.S. Supreme Court. And the 14th Amendment is separate from criminal cases, meaning convictions would not disqualify Mr. Trump either. Now that Mr. Trump has secured a majority of delegates to the Republican convention, the party has no mechanism to nominate somebody else. Mr. Trump is registered to vote in Florida, and he would be disenfranchised there if convicted of a felony.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Eugene V, Debs, Jessica Levinson, “, —, Anthony Michael Kreis, that’s, ”, Richard L, Kreis, — Ron DeSantis, Chris Taylor, Erwin Chemerinsky, “ It’s, Levinson, Biden, Mr, Chemerinsky, Nixon, Justice Department —, Trump Justice Department —, Jones, Bill Clinton, Charlie Savage Organizations: Republican, Democratic, Loyola Law School, California Supreme, U.S, Supreme, Colorado Supreme, Mr, Georgia State University, University of California, Florida, Offender, New, Justice Department, Trump Justice Department Locations: United States, New York, Georgia, California, Colorado, Los Angeles, Florida, Berkeley, Clinton

☆ N.Y.C. Protest Calling for Gaza Cease-Fire Targets Pro-Israel Senators
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Hurubie Meko | Olivia Bensimon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than a dozen people were arrested Thursday evening during a peaceful pro-Palestinian protest inside a Manhattan building where Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrats of New York, have offices. Those attacks killed at least 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli officials; Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza has killed 29,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan health officials. The mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have prompted international calls for a cease-fire. By about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, several hundred protesters had gathered at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, in front of the United Nations headquarters, where the United States this week cast the lone vote against a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. It was the third time the Biden administration had blocked similar resolutions, signaling its continued support of Israel.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Biden Organizations: Jewish Voice, Peace, United Nations Locations: Manhattan, New York, New York City, Israel, Gaza, Dag, United States

☆ Their Asylum Case Seems Strong. But Instead of Hope, They Feel Despair.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Olivia Bensimon | Todd Heisler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the last day of 2023, Thierno Sadou Barry walked from his homeless shelter near Times Square to Harlem, looking to buy inexpensive suitcases he could fill up with all his possessions. Mr. Barry and his wife, Oumou Barry, had fled political persecution in Guinea. As he walked, Mr. Barry cursed himself for leaving Guinea and coming to this cold, unforgiving place. And so he had abandoned his aging parents, his preschool-aged daughter and his young sons. But now he was losing hope that he could ever send for them.

Persons: Thierno Sadou Barry, Barry, Oumou Barry Organizations: New York City, Guinea Locations: Harlem, Guinea, New York

☆ Columbia Limited Campus Protests, So Students Took to the Streets
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Sharon Otterman | Olivia Bensimon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The steps in front of Low Memorial Library at Columbia University have been the site of major campus protests since the 1960s. When the students instead joined a rally on the streets outside of campus the next day, they were greeted by rows of police officers. Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, Columbia has been under intense pressure to rein in pro-Palestinian protests that accuse Israel of genocide and call for a cease-fire. The protests have not been violent, but some donors, trustees and students say they reflect and foment antisemitism. In response, Columbia and Barnard, the university’s sister school, have sought to enforce rules requiring extensive advance notice and barring anything that might disrupt campus activities.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Low, Library, Columbia University, Barnard Locations: Israel, Columbia, Vietnam

Judge Kaplan said jurors should be identified only by number and even suggested they not share their actual names with one other. People were asked whether they had ever contributed money or supported a political campaign for Mr. Trump, Mr. Obama, Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. “Have any of you ever read any books by Mr. Trump?” the judge asked. “Would that affect your ability to be fair to both sides in this case?” Judge Kaplan asked. “I want to stipulate that I am on the left,” Ms. Carroll remarked drolly.

Persons: Jean Carroll, Donald J, Trump, Lewis A, Kaplan, Carroll, Trump’s, —, Rosanna Garcia, “, Judge Kaplan, Ms, jockeyed, Alina Habba, Michael M, ”, Barack Obama, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, “ I’ve, ’, ” Ms, drolly, Kate Christobek Organizations: E, Trump, Vijilent Inc, Facebook, Carroll, Elle, CNN, Getty, Mr, New, New York City Transit Authority Locations: Manhattan, Massachusetts, U.S, New York, Westchester, New York City, Bronx, Westchester County

“The thing you’ve got to do primarily is set rules and enforce them,” said John S. Martin Jr., a former U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan. In Ms. Carroll’s defamation trial, Mr. Trump seemed almost to be goading Judge Kaplan into throwing him out of the courtroom. After his two recent confrontations with the judges, Mr. Trump held news conferences before cheering supporters in the lobby of his building at 40 Wall Street. Ms. Carroll’s defamation trial is being heard by a nine-person jury in Federal District Court, with Judge Kaplan overseeing the proceedings. During his diatribe, Mr. Trump refrained from attacking any staff members.

Persons: Arthur Engoron, Donald Trump, Donald J, Arthur F, Trump, Mr, ”, Jean Carroll, Judge Lewis A, Kaplan, Ms, you’ve, John S, Martin Jr, “, ” Mr, Carroll’s, Letitia James, Kaplan “, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Trump’s, Engoron’s, Judge Kaplan, Carroll, Jefferson Siegel, The New York Times Judge Kaplan, Bill Clinton, Sam Bankman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama, Laden, Katherine B, Forrest, Judge Kaplan’s, Michael B, Mukasey, Justice Engoron, Art Garfunkel, —, James, Christopher M, Kise, Engoron, Kate Christobek, Olivia Bensimon, Kirsten Noyes Organizations: Trump, Getty, Court, The New York Times, Mr, New York Times Locations: New York, York, U.S, Manhattan, New Hampshire, Trump’s Manhattan

Image A watch party for Mr. Trump in Des Moines on Monday night. Credit... Haiyun Jiang for The New York TimesInstead, if Mr. Trump wins next week’s New Hampshire primary, a march to a third nomination is all but certain. Some in the news media were reluctant to direct their audiences to Mr. Trump, especially shortly after he left office, for fear that it would only amplify his lies about his election loss. Since 2016, both Republican and Democratic leaders have often agreed that it helps Democrats to have Mr. Trump at the political fore. Mr. Biden has signaled his plans to highlight Mr. Trump’s efforts to subvert his loss in the 2020 election, invoking the attack on the Capitol and Mr. Trump’s revisionist history of what happened.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, codifying, —, he’d, Haiyun Jiang, ”, David Axelrod, Barack Obama, “, victimhood, Mr, Trump’s, Axelrod, Biden, Maansi Srivastava, Liam Donovan Organizations: Fox News, Republican, Trump, Republican Party, The New York, Democratic, Republicans, New, New York Times Democrats, Capitol, Washington Post, University of Maryland Locations: New York, Iowa, Florida, Des Moines, Hampshire, Clive , Iowa, New Hampshire, Washington, mattering

After months of congressional hand-wringing, Mr. Santos finally met his demise on Friday, after Republicans and Democrats each offered separate expulsion resolutions. The resulting debate on the House floor on Thursday captured the absurdity and unseemliness of Mr. Santos’s scandals. Mr. Santos is only the sixth member of the House to be expelled in the body’s history. Mr. Santos must still contend with the federal indictment in which prosecutors have accused him of multiple criminal schemes. (That company, Harbor City Capital, has been accused of operating a Ponzi scheme by the Securities and Exchange Commission, though Mr. Santos has not been implicated.)

Persons: George Santos, Santos, Mr, “ George Santos, ”, Anthony D’Esposito, Santos’s, Mike Johnson of, Kevin McCarthy of California, Kathy Hochul, Thomas R, Suozzi, Goldman Sachs, Nancy Marks, Marks, Nicholas Fandos Organizations: New York Republican, Queens, Republican, Republicans, World Trade, House, Local, Democratic, New York Times, Baruch College, Citigroup, World Trade Center, Devolder Organization, Harbor, Harbor City Capital, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: Orlando, Long Island, New York, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Nassau County, Queens, New York City, Orlando ., Florida, Harbor City, United States

A 5-year-old boy and his mother were found fatally stabbed in their Bronx apartment on Sunday, and the boy’s father was found stabbed to death in the hallway. Authorities have not released the name of the suspect in the case, but officers are questioning a close relative, according to a police official familiar with the investigation. On Monday, Mr. Rivera’s father, Miguel Angel Rivera, 60, stood outside his son’s building. He rested his head on a news van and began to sob. “I want to see you, I want to see you,” he said, crying.

Persons: Jonathan Rivera, Hanoi Peralta, Kayden —, Rivera’s, Miguel Angel Rivera, “, ” Organizations: Authorities Locations: Cypress, Mott Haven

200,149 migrants came to New York State, most of them to New York City. 200,149 migrants came to New York State, most of them to New York City. His brother-in-law, who had come to New York six months earlier, told Mr. Rodríguez there were opportunities for him in New York, and lent him money to fly here. “I didn’t want to interrupt my seven-month-pregnant wife’s rest, and we didn’t go out,” Mr. Vargas said. “Little by little we understood how to navigate the neighborhood,” Mr. Vargas said.

Persons: Milton Vargas, “, ” Mr, Vargas, Jorda Colomer, Colomer’s, Manuel Rodríguez, Gaoussou Ouattara, Eduardo Gómez, Todd Heisler, Biden, New York Times Milton Vargas, Mr, ”, Roosevelt, Rodríguez, New York Times Eduardo Gómez, Gómez, Colomer, Ms, Floyd, I’ll, it’s, New York Times Manuel Rodríguez, Rousseau, Jorda, Andrew Heinrich Organizations: New, New York Times, Port Authority, Kennedy Airport, “, Legal Aid Society Locations: New York City, U.S, New York State, United States, Nicaragua, Eagle, , Texas, New York, Texas, Venezuela, Rodríguez, San Diego, Burkina Faso, West Africa, California, Valencia, El Paso, San Antonio, Ukraine, Bronx, Central, Williamsburg , Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Harlem, Mexico, Flushing , Queens, Flushing, Whitestone , Queens, Side, Midtown, Brooklyn, Milton, “

Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday evening in the latest instance of what has become near daily protests in New York City over the Israel-Hamas war. This time, pro-Palestinian demonstrators held banners and signs demanding a cease-fire in the bombardment of Gaza. Earlier in the afternoon, several rallies attracting hundreds of people formed at different points around the city, including Union Square, the J.P. Morgan offices on Madison Avenue and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s New York office near the United Nations headquarters, before merging on the steps of the New York Public Library near Bryant Park. As demonstrators wound their way through the center of the city, they waved Palestinian flags, held handmade signs with messages like “Ceasefire now,” and chanted, “Free Palestine.” The crowd stretched several blocks and paused at times in front of Pennsylvania Station and the New York Times building.

Persons: Morgan, Kathy Hochul’s, Debbie Bitar Organizations: Madison, United Nations, New York Public, Pennsylvania, New York Times Locations: New York City, Israel, Gaza, York, Bryant Park, Midtown Manhattan, Palestine, United States

☆ Rents for 2 Million New Yorkers Set to Rise Again This Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Mihir Zaveri | Olivia Bensimon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Wednesday, the city’s vast stock of rent-stabilized homes, which has come to be one of New York’s most important sources of lower-cost housing, is about to become a little more expensive. A New York City panel is set to let rents in the city’s one million rent-stabilized apartment rise for the second consecutive year, citing high inflation and ballooning costs for property owners. Last month, the panel, known as the Rent Guidelines Board, backed increases on one-year leases of between 2 and 5 percent and increases on two-year leases of between 4 and 7 percent, in a preliminary vote. Last year, the panel voted to raise rents on one-year leases by 3.25 percent in rent-stabilized homes, and on two-year leases by 5 percent. The Shirazis, who earn about $4,500 a month in retirement benefits, will find a way to manage, they said.

Persons: Eric Adams —, — Locations: York City, New York

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