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☆ How Billions of Dollars Might Upgrade New York City’s Subways
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A long and expensive wish list to upgrade New York City’s subway system is about to get a multibillion-dollar investment from the state’s much-contested plan to toll drivers for entering Midtown Manhattan. The congestion pricing program, which got crucial final approval from the federal government in June, would raise money while discouraging drivers from contributing to traffic and pollution by charging them a fee to enter south of 60th Street. Officials have said the tolls could begin as soon as spring 2024, although a legal challenge from New Jersey could threaten that timeline. The tolls collected by the program would be used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, to make changes to the city’s public transit network. has not specified how it could spend congestion pricing proceeds.

Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New York, Midtown Manhattan, New Jersey

☆ New Jersey Sues Over Congestion Pricing in New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New Jersey is suing the federal government to halt a congestion pricing program that will charge drivers to enter Midtown Manhattan, citing concerns that the tolling program will place unfair financial and environmental burdens on the state’s residents. In its complaint, filed on Friday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, the state said it was challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s “decision to rubber-stamp” its approval of congestion pricing last month, which was the program’s final federal hurdle. The authority said the program, which aims to reduce traffic in New York City while raising billions of dollars for mass transit, could begin as soon as spring 2024. The lawsuit comes two days after a local panel appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority convened for the first time to decide on toll rates. At that meeting, dozens of drivers, which included suburbanites, protested against the tolls.

Persons: suburbanites Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New Jersey, Midtown Manhattan, New York City

☆ Price of N.Y.C. Subway Ride Is Set to Go Up for the First Time in Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic decimated subway ridership in New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has resisted raising the price of a ride out of fear that even more people would abandon mass transit. But after years of financial uncertainty, the authority now intends to balance its budget, and to do so, it wants to raise the base fare for subway and bus trips for the first time in eight years, to $2.90 from $2.75 by late August. On Wednesday, the M.T.A.’s board is widely expected to vote to approve the proposed fare increase. The decision will almost certainly reverberate across the United States, where transit systems of every size have experienced steep and lingering losses as many white-collar commuters continue to work from home at least part of the time. A May 2023 survey by the American Public Transportation Association found that larger cities have been hit especially hard — 71 percent of transit agencies with budgets greater than $200 million are predicting shortfalls in their operating budgets.

Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, American Public Transportation Association Locations: New York City, United States

☆ How to create an influencer media kit to pitch brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Amanda Perelli | Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read the simple one-page media kit nano influencer Tess Barclay uses to get deals with brands like Princess Polly and Ana LuisaBut influencer media kits can also be longer. Entrepreneur and YouTuber Marina Mogilko runs three successful YouTube channels and uses a media kit to pitch her business to brands. Read the the exact 24-page media kit a YouTuber with millions of subscribers uses when she reaches out to brandsMogilko uses a 24-page media kit. Marina MogilkoYouTuber media kit examplesRoberto Blake Roberto BlakeInstagram influencer media kit examplesAlexa Collins Alexa Collins. TikToker media kit examples:

Persons: Macy Mariano, It's, Influencers, Tess Barclay, Princess Polly, Ana Luisa, Jour'dan Haynes, Garnier, Burger King, Read Haynes, YouTuber Marina Mogilko, Marina Mogilko, Roberto Blake Roberto Blake Instagram, Collins Alexa Collins Organizations: Media, YouTube, Brands Locations: Toronto

☆ How Might Congestion Pricing Actually Work in New York?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

New York City is ready to build a first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program, designed to collect billions of dollars to fund mass transit while discouraging drivers from jamming up Midtown Manhattan. It is an ambitious undertaking that will serve as either a model or cautionary tale for cities across the country with similar climate change and traffic reduction goals. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday celebrated the plan’s final approval by the federal government, which paved the way for a local panel to begin deciding on toll rates, discounts, exemptions and other allowances. The group was appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the region’s subway and bus network, and it will hold its first meeting July 19. The authority says the program could begin as soon as spring 2024.

Persons: Kathy Hochul Organizations: Gov, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: York City, Manhattan

☆ Why Migrant Women Are Turning Toward Construction Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Stefanos Chen | Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Roxana García sat in a packed classroom on a recent night in Jackson Heights, Queens, with 38 strangers — a chef, an I.T. technician, and a business manager among them — all with a single goal: To get a job in construction, one of the few industries open to New York’s surging migrant population. Ms. García, 36, a nurse who flew to New York three months ago from Guayaquil, Ecuador, with her partner and two children, has subsisted since then on housecleaning jobs, but in construction, she sees a future: being able to afford better care for her prediabetic teenager and the means to take her family to Disneyland. “I came here with a suitcase full of dreams,” she said in Spanish. “If I can make this into a career, that would be excellent, because I can’t focus on what I once was.”

Persons: Roxana García, García, ” Locations: Jackson Heights , Queens, New York, Guayaquil, Ecuador

☆ Congestion Pricing Plan in New York City Clears Final Federal Hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The authority says the tolling program could begin as soon as spring 2024. Supporters of congestion pricing hailed the news of federal approval. “Congestion pricing is going to help us do that by clearing up clogged roads, by investing in mass transit.”Congestion pricing, which New York lawmakers approved in 2019, is expected to generate $1 billion annually for the M.T.A. The money will be used to improve the city’s public transit network, including by building new elevators in the subways and modernizing signals that keep trains moving. By law, the money can only be used to pay for capital projects, not operating costs.

Persons: “, ”, Renae Reynolds Organizations: Tri - State Transportation Campaign, New Locations: New York

☆ Two sea turtles nest on Spain's Mediterranean coast as waters warm
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

One turtle laid 80 eggs in the town of Denia on Saturday, and another laid 62 in Gandia on Monday, which are both in the eastern Valencia region, the Oceanographic Foundation said. Loggerheads turtles used to nest mainly in the eastern Mediterranean, in countries such as Turkey, Cyprus and Greece, but for some years the coasts of Spain, France and Italy have been recording an increased presence of loggerhead turtle egg clutches. Warmer waters have attracted the turtles, biologist Ana Liria, head of ADS Biodiversidad, a charity based in Gran Canaria, told Reuters in April. When those turtles grow up, they will form part of program to help their survival. The remainder of the eggs were taken to a protected beach in the Albufera Natural Park to avoid contact with passers-by.

Persons: Read, Ana Liria, Emma Pinedo, Joan Faus, Sharon Singleton Organizations: University of Valencia, Oceanographic Foundation, Gran Canaria, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gandia, Valencia Spain, MADRID, Denia, Valencia, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Gran, Tunisia

☆ Man Charged With Manslaughter After Subway Stabbing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Hurubie Meko | Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A Queens man was charged with stabbing and killing a man during a dispute on a New York City subway train on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, the police said. The man, Jordan Williams, 20, stabbed the victim, Devictor Ouedraogo, 36, on a northbound J train, the police said. Mr. Williams was arrested and charged on Wednesday with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. A woman who was taken into custody along with Mr. Williams was released. Before the men’s encounter, Mr. Ouedraogo had gotten into a dispute with passengers on the train, including Mr. Williams’s girlfriend, according to law enforcement sources.

Persons: Jordan Williams, Devictor Ouedraogo, Ouedraogo, Williams, Williams’s Organizations: Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital Locations: New York City, Brooklyn, Marcy, Williamsburg

☆ Louisiana Lawmakers Pass Ban on Transition Care for Transgender Minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Rick Rojas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Republican lawmakers resuscitated the bill after a previous attempt failed at the committee level. youthIf the measure becomes law, Louisiana would join 17 states that have enacted bans or severe restrictions this year on access to transition care for minors, all part of a broader effort by conservative lawmakers to regulate the lives of transgender or gender-nonconforming young people. The state has an estimated 4,000 transgender teenagers, according to a report published last year by the Williams Institute, an L.G.B.T.Q. Under the terms of the bill, young people already receiving this treatment would be allowed to temporarily continue it to avoid an abrupt halt, but that window would close at the end of 2023. The bill, he said at the time, “was going to become law whether or not I signed it or vetoed it.”

Persons: Gabe Firment, Critics, Fred Mills, Mills, Edwards —, —, “, ” Organizations: Republican, Democrats, Republicans, ”, Health, Welfare, Associated Press, Louisiana Legislature, Williams Institute, University of California, Louisiana Department of Health Locations: Louisiana, Los Angeles

☆ Can Technology Solve the M.T.A.’s Persistent Fare Evasion Problem?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many American cities like New York struggle to rein in losses from fare evasion, in part because the cost of penalizing transit users can exceed the amount of money collected from fining them. For New York, police enforcement is “part of the solution in the long run,” Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman, said during a news conference about the new study. Police officials declared a crackdown on so-called quality-of-life offenses in March 2022, and enforcement rose by about 28 percent to 80,000 fare evasion summonses that year compared with 62,380 in 2021, according to the M.T.A. Arrests and summonses for fare evasion have disproportionately fallen on Black and Latino New Yorkers, giving fuel to critics of the approach. During 2022, they accounted for 73 percent of people arrested and given a summons for fare evasion among all incidents in which race and ethnicity were reported by the police, according to an analysis by Harold Stolper, an economist at Columbia University who studies fare evasion policing patterns in the city.

Persons: ” Janno Lieber, Harold Stolper, ”, Molly Griffard Organizations: Police, Yorkers, Columbia University, Legal Aid Society Locations: New York, San Francisco, Seattle, York, “, New York City

NATO Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) surveillance aircraft will watch the skies over the summit venue through Friday, the alliance said in a statement. Missile debris from the war in Ukraine has been found in Moldova several times since Russia invaded 15 months ago. "NATO AWACS can detect aircraft, missiles and drones hundreds of kilometres away, making them an important early warning capability," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. The summit will also touch on a range of strategic issues, ranging from energy to cybersecurity and migration. Reporting by John Irish, Andrew Gray and Alexander Tanas; writing by John Irish; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Nicu Popescu, Ana Revenco, Oana Lungescu, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Maia Sandu, Ursula von der, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, ” Borrell, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, John Irish, Andrew Gray, Alexander Tanas, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: High Representative, European Union for Foreign Affairs, Moldova's, Russia, NATO, Kyiv, Control Systems, European, Kosovo, EU, Thomson Locations: Chisinau, Moldova, Ukraine, Kosovo, Moldovan, Romania, Russia, Ursula von der Leyen, KOSOVO, Slovakia, defusing, Serbian, Europe, Azerbaijan, Armenia

Lawmakers in New York are concerned their state is headed in a similar direction. New York legalized cannabis possession in small amounts in 2021. Housing Works Cannabis Co., a licensed dispensary in New York City. Photo: Andrew Seng for WSJ

☆ New Jersey’s Senators Push Back on Congestion Pricing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Many transit advocates, community leaders and urban planning experts in New York have celebrated the progress made toward congestion pricing this month, saying it was long overdue. The loudest opposition to the program has come from New Jersey. Mr. Murphy on Monday also unveiled an advertising campaign criticizing the program, complete with billboards near interstate crossings. Other opponents of congestion pricing have included taxi drivers and Lyft and Uber drivers, who worry that fare increases triggered by the tolls could slash demand for taxis and for-hire rides by up to 17 percent. says the program, which would affect drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street, could begin as soon as spring 2024.

☆ Carvana Can’t Afford to Drive Away Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Carvana sold 25% fewer used cars in the first quarter than a year earlier. Photo: Armando L. Sanchez/Zuma PressOnline used-car retailer Carvana is doing what it can to minimize its cash burn. Carvana last week reported that it sold 79,240 used cars in the first quarter—25% fewer than a year earlier. This is a direct result of what Carvana is doing to stop its cash bleed: reducing operating expenses and inventory. The first quarter marked the fourth consecutive quarter of Carvana decreasing both on a sequential basis.

☆ N.Y. Congestion Pricing Plan Moves a Step Closer to Reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Vehicles carrying people with disabilities and authorized emergency vehicles would be exempt from the tolls. will literally pilfer out of the pockets of Jersey families will go to the M.T.A.”Other critics include taxi drivers, as well as Lyft and Uber drivers. Manhattan residents who live north of the tolling zone have said they fear that motorists, to skirt the new charge, will cluster in their neighborhoods. To the disappointment of those who oppose the plan altogether, protests will most likely not stop transportation officials from moving ahead, though officials have made tweaks to ease concerns. What’s NextOpponents have threatened legal action if the plan continues to advance.

☆ Andrew Cuomo Seeks Records, Depositions From Women Who Accused Him of Sexual Harassment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jimmy Vielkind | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in 2021 as state lawmakers moved forward with impeachment proceedings. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesFormer New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed several of the women who said he sexually harassed them, the latest step in his legal campaign to clear his name. They are five of the 11 women who were sexually harassed by the 65-year-old Democratic scion during his three terms as governor, according to a report by Attorney General Letitia James.

☆ M.T.A. Averts Fiscal Crisis as New York Strikes Budget Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

During each budget cycle, the authority has had to jockey for money against an array of other interests. “This was the most consistent and dependable funding proposal on the table,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance, a grass-roots organization of transit riders. The Covid-19 emergency plunged the system into crisis as riders abandoned it, depleting fare revenue it had critically depended on. The state deal will provide $65 million to reduce the first potential fare hike, which could bring the fare closer to $2.86 instead of $2.90. There has not been a fare hike since the start of the pandemic.

☆ Is global warming helping loggerhead turtles colonise the Med?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Borja Suarez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Borja SuarezTALIARTE, Spain, April 5 (Reuters) - Growing numbers of loggerhead sea turtles are nesting and laying eggs on western Mediterranean beaches in what some scientists suggest could be a case of climate change causing habitat expansion of a threatened species. Along with the warming sea water, another factor probably benefiting the world's largest hard-shelled turtle, which is considered a vulnerable species, are protection programmes in countries like Spain and Cape Verde. The group rescues injured turtles in Spain's Canary Islands and studies their population in Cape Verde, the eastern Atlantic's main reproduction area. Their size and hard shell generally protect them from predators, but fishnets, ship rotors and pollution have become significant threats. Reporting by Borja Suarez, writing by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip and Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cubans head to the polls, all eyes on voter turnout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cuba´s government, saddled by shortages, inflation and growing social unrest, has encouraged unity in Sunday´s vote, calling on citizens to vote together in a broad show of support for the communist leadership. Ana Lydia Velazquez, a 78-year old retired Havana resident, told Reuters that message resonated with her. "I believe all Cubans should go to vote, to help our country improve, and advance," she said. Anti-government forces, primarily off-island in a country that restricts dissident political speech, have encouraged the opposite, calling on Cubans to abstain and labeling the election a "farce." The winning 470 candidates, who serve for five years, will choose the next president of Cuba from among their ranks, further raising the stakes of Sunday's vote.

☆ A micro influencer who posts TikToks in Spanish and English shares the exact 2-page media kit that has helped her land brand deals with Skims and Pottery Barn
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She shares the media kit that's landed her paid deals with brands like Sephora, Mejuri, and Olay. The creator had seen TikTokers talk about the importance of using a media kit to land brand deals, so she designed one for herself through Canva. Here is the exact-media kit that Perez has used to land brand deals:Page one of Paulina Perez's media kit. Paulina Perez. Paulina Perez.

☆ Oklahoma State Question 820 Election Results: Marijuana Legalization
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Oklahomans are voting on whether to allow for recreational use of marijuana during a special election in the state, where medical marijuana has been legal and widely available to residents for years. The measure is supported by criminal justice reform advocates and the A.C.L.U. and opposed by Gov. Kevin Stitt and several law enforcement associations. Backers have raised far more campaign money than opponents.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said. Berkowitz said he is bracing for March and April when migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

☆ Russia, South Africa and a 'redesigned global order': The Kremlin's hearts and minds machine is steaming ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pretoria as part of an African tour, his second since the invasion, which will also reportedly take him to Botswana, Angola and Eswatini. On Feb. 24 2022, shortly after the Ukraine invasion, South Africa urged Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine. South Africa was one of 15 African nations to abstain from the subsequent U.N. vote in March to condemn Russia's war of aggression. watch nowShe emphasized the multilateral responsibilities of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc of leading emerging economies in a changing global landscape. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that "the United States has concerns about any country … exercising with Russia as Russia wages a brutal war against Ukraine."

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