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Governor Bans the Sale of Confederate Flags in New York

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[Andrew Cuomo] can take other measures out for a spin, like banning the sale of the Confederate flag and other “symbols of hate” in the state. It’s a free speech nightmare waiting to happen. It’s a First Amendment minefield, but he doesn’t care. Robby Soave of Reason has more and notes how the bill his royal highness signed into law this week is a legal trainwreck. I’ll take what is unconstitutional for $1000, Alex* (via Reason):

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed legislation on Tuesday prohibiting the sale of Confederate flags on public property, including at state and local fairs.

Cuomo was well aware that such legislation is likely to fail a First Amendment test, but this did not deter him.

[…]

Cuomo noted that “certain technical changes are necessary” to make sure the ban is compliant with the First Amendment, which protects free expression—including the expression of hateful ideas.

Those changes should probably involve scrapping most of the bill, which is a mess. It prohibits the sale of “symbols of hate,” which it defines as “including, but not limited, to symbols of white supremacy, neo-Nazi ideology, or the battle flag of the Confederacy.” Keep in mind that we live in a world where some people think the OK hand gesture is a white supremacist signal…

(Read more from “Governor Bans the Sale of Confederate Flags in New York” HERE)

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Andrew Cuomo Accused of Sexual Harassment by Former Adviser

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One of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s former advisers on Sunday accused the New York Democrat of sexually harassing her “for years,” saying, “I *know* I am not the only woman.”

“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years,” Lindsey Boylan tweeted Sunday morning. She did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment. . .

“Not knowing what to expect what’s the most upsetting part aside from knowing that no one would do a damn thing even when they saw it,” she continued. “No one. And I *know* I am not the only woman.” . . .

Boylan did not provide additional details about the alleged sexual harassment. She prefaced the allegations with a Saturday tweet criticizing announcements that President-elect Joe Biden is considering Cuomo as his potential attorney general.

(Read more from “Andrew Cuomo Accused of Sexual Harassment by Former Adviser” HERE)

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Facebook Sued by 48 Attorneys General

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Forty-eight U.S. Attorneys General led by New York filed a lawsuit against Facebook Wednesday arguing that the social media giant violated antitrust law by engaging in anticompetitive practices through buying out smaller rivals. The group of state law enforcement executives were joined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filing a separate lawsuit.

Both suits center on Facebook’s purchases of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 for $1 billion and $19 billion respectively, while also targeting smaller firms. The acquisitions, plaintiffs allege, illegally stifled online competition. The FTC is seeking to force Facebook sell Instagram and WhatsApp.

“Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition,” said FTC Director of Bureau Competition Ian Conner. “Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”

Facebook reins as the world’s dominant online networking giant boasting 2.7 billion monthly active users across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, according to Yahoo Finance. (Read more from “Facebook Sued by 48 Attorneys General” HERE)

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Democrat New York Mayor and Ex-Police Chief Arrested With Cocaine After Pursuit

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A small-town Democratic mayor and former police boss was charged with drug possession after a brief pursuit Monday, authorities said.

Massena Mayor Timothy Currier, a Democrat and the former 26-year city chief of police, allegedly hurled one gram of crack cocaine out of his car window as detectives pursued him in connection to an undercover narcotics sting, according to a press release from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said Currier took law enforcement on a chase through a third of a mile in the local town before he pulled over, the department wrote.

The mayor was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonious tampering with physical evidence and failure to comply with a police officer, according to the release. Currier was booked and faced a judge virtually, and he has been ordered to re-appear at a later date, the office wrote. (Read more from “Democrat New York Mayor and Ex-Police Chief Arrested With Cocaine After Pursuit” HERE)

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SCOTUS Blocks Cuomo’s COVID Restrictions on Church Attendance in New York

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In a 5-4 ruling late Wednesday night, the U.S Supreme Court barred the state of New York from imposing strict attendance limits on religious services, in a major win for religious freedom.

Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn sued New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for discriminatory targeting of religious groups with COVID restrictions, as houses of worship were being held to far more stringent standards than neighboring businesses.

At the time of the lawsuits filing, both the Agudath Israel of America and Diocese of Brooklyn fell into red or orange zones, which under state law allowed only 10 or 25 people into a house of worship at any time, regardless of the building’s typical capacity. At the same time, stores and business deemed essential were given far laxer standards, some even lacking any limits on their capacity.

Newly minted Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas in support of the aggrieved religious groups, while Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

The per curium opinion determined that New York’s targeted responses run in direct opposition to the First Amendment, stating, “Even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten. The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.” (Read more from “SCOTUS Blocks Cuomo’s COVID Restrictions on Church Attendance in New York” HERE)

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Elite Democrats Caught Maskless at Party Despite COVID Restrictions

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Elite New York Democrats attending a Brooklyn private party did not adhere to the state’s coronavirus restrictions, photographs show.

The event was a private birthday party for Carl Scissura, who is the head of the New York Building Congress, a trade organization, the New York Daily News reported Thursday. Other attendees included former Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Frank Seddio and Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the publication reported.

Photographs of the event showed that very few people wore masks, though the party attendees stood in close proximity to one another as they chatted. One photograph showed both Seddio and Lewis-Martin chatting maskless. . .

Lewis-Martin said the party took place last Saturday — only a few days after Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued coronavirus restrictions mandating that private groups be no larger than 10 people. (Read more from “Elite Democrats Caught Maskless at Party Despite COVID Restrictions” HERE)

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Massive ‘F–K Cuomo and De Blasio’ Mural Painted on New York Street

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Fed-up New Yorkers painted a massive stretch of Brooklyn blacktop with the yellow message “F–k Cuomo and de Blasio” over the weekend in the vein of Hizzoner’s “Black Lives Matter” art, only for the city to quickly scrub the statement.

The not-so-subtle shout-out to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio went up around 1 a.m. Saturday on North 15th Street between Wythe Avenue and Banker Street in Williamsburg, during the waning hours of an annual block party which this year doubled as a “small business owner protest,” one attendee told The Post.

“A few partygoers got the idea to paint in huge [letters, using] yellow paint with rollers on North 15th, ‘F–k Cuomo and de Blasio,’” the attendee said Sunday, refusing to be identified by name. “The party continued. Everyone took photos.

“It was a big hit. The crowds cheered, even the cops chuckled.”

But word made it back to city officials, who evidently didn’t share the assessment. (Read more from “Massive ‘F–K Cuomo and De Blasio’ Mural Painted on New York Street” HERE)

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President Trump Goes off on NY Dems After Top Police Officials Resign

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President Trump tore into New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Rochester’s mayor on Tuesday after the city’s police chief and several of the department’s highest-ranking officers resigned amid outrage over the death of Daniel Prude. . .

Chief La’Ron Singletary announced that he would retire after 20 years on the force, according to a news release from the department. He described the events of the past week as “an attempt to destroy my character and integrity.”

The sudden retirement of Singletary — as well as Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito and Commander Fabian Rivera — comes three days after the state attorney general announced that she will impanel a grand jury to investigate the death of Prude.

Prude, a Black man, died of “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint” after a “spit hood” was put over his head as he was taken into police custody. . .

Police said the officers placed a spit hood on Prude because he said he had COVID-19. (Read more from “President Trump Goes off on NY Dems After Top Police Officials Resign” HERE)

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New York’s Teachers Union Refuses to Work Unless Every Student, Staffer Tested for COVID-19

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New York’s powerful teachers union threatened Wednesday to walk out unless every student and staffer in the Big Apple’s sprawling public school system is tested for the coronavirus as a precondition for restarting in-classroom learning — a near-impossible task.

United Federation of Teachers chief Michael Mulgrew issued the ultimatum as he laid out a series of preconditions that City Hall must meet for teachers to return to classrooms — demands he acknowledged could delay Mayor Bill de Blasio ‘s planned Sept. 10 reopening by a month.

“The minute we feel the mayor is trying to force people into an unsafe school, we go,” Mulgrew said, throwing down the gauntlet.

When asked to clarify, Mulgrew said that a walkout and sickout were among the options on the table. . .

“Every single person — both adult and child — that is to enter an NYC school must have evidence that they do not have the COVID virus,” Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, told reporters at a press conference, where he laid out the demand. (Read more from “New York’s Teachers Union Refuses to Work Unless Every Student, Staffer Tested for COVID-19” HERE)

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NY Governor Investigates Concert Over Lack of Social Distancing but Excuses Mass Protests (VIDEO)

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New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared Wednesday his state’s Department of Health would be launching an investigation into a Chainsmokers concert in the Southamptons over the weekend featuring guests flouting social distancing guidelines.

“Videos from a concert held in Southampton on Saturday show egregious social distancing violations. I am appalled,” Cuomo wrote on Twitter. “We have no tolerance for the illegal & reckless endangerment of public health.”

Cuomo however, didn’t share the same outrage as crowds repeatedly gathered to form massive protests in recent weeks that featured explicit lawlessness and rioting that devastated small businesses already struggling through the pandemic.

While Cuomo called the protests “counterproductive,” there was no full-blown state investigation to track down those who participated in pursuit of government punishment. (Read more from “NY Governor Investigates Concert Over Lack of Social Distancing but Excuses Mass Protests” HERE)

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