Watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop at Times Square has become a New Year’s Eve tradition for over 100 years.
New York Police officers have come under scrutiny after reaching an unprecedented overtime total this year.
MS-13 members have recently made headlines for pleading guilty to roles they had in several fatal killings, while an anticipated winter storm is heading our way.
Table of Contents
TikTok’s legal woes
Kid Matters Counseling (2023). Teens may access inappropriate material through this app, such as hoaxes and videos that promote eating disorders (Kid Matters Counseling 2023).
TikTok and the Biden administration engaged in a high-stakes negotiation over content censorship when TikTok offered to allow an outside entity to monitor its algorithm and filter objectionable material, but that offer wasn’t sufficient – the government issued an ultimatum and demanded a 90-day deadline to cut ties with Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban.
TikTok and ByteDance sued to challenge this law, arguing it violated their First Amendment rights by compelling private companies to break ties with foreign governments over national security concerns. But on Friday a federal appeals court judge ruled against them; should it take effect, those trying to use either app will see a message saying they have been blocked in the U.S. The case may ultimately reach the Supreme Court; Joe Biden won’t take over his new administration until January so we may wait before making our final decision until then before making our final call on this matter.
Trump’s sentencing
Trump’s conviction in the hush money case may have come as a shock, but getting here was no small feat. His lawyers tried desperately to prevent it by arguing he should receive special protection as president; their request even reached as far as the Supreme Court which ultimately denied their request in a 5-4 vote late Thursday afternoon.
Judge Juan Merchan will decide Friday morning if Donald Trump should be released without prison time or community service obligations, having previously indicated he wouldn’t sentence him to jail, probation, or any other penalties due to being an unusual criminal defendant.
Judge Ellis made it clear that he will not send Donald Trump to jail for falsifying business records, instead opting for an unconditional discharge — an unusual move in felony conviction cases. A convicted felon can still appeal their verdict but only after their sentencing date has been reached. Additionally, two attorneys that represented Trump will join his administration; Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general and Emil Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general respectively.
New York’s free school meals
Offering free school meals to all students helps remove any stigma attached to school meals and increase participation. Furthermore, providing nutritious food at school every day ensures students can learn and thrive successfully.
Schools currently receive a small federal reimbursement subsidy per lunch they serve–$3.24 for free lunches, $2.84 for reduced price lunches, and $0.38 for full price ones–but this hardly covers the actual costs involved with making and serving these meals. In New York City however, an innovative program called Community Eligibility Provision reimburses districts for meals served to all students regardless of family income status.
Advocates have long advocated for the state to implement a permanent program of universal school meals, and Gov. Hochul included $180 million in her budget proposal as an effort toward this end. However, until such time as there is an appropriate legislative solution in place to make this possible, school nurses such as Kimberly Nasby at Bear Road Elementary continue stocking granola bars into her drawer for hungry students.
Renard Spivey’s trial
Renard Spivey was found not guilty on Thursday for killing his 52-year-old wife Patricia Spivey back in 2019, who was discovered shot to death in their closet allegedly hit in both chest and arm by gunfire from Renard Spivey’s weapon. Ezra Washington said Patricia suspected Renard might be using steroids again or having an affair.
Prosecutors contended that Spivey’s 911 call was inconsistent with his claims of accidental shooting of his wife. They pointed to his repeated use of “shots fired,” similar to what an on-duty law enforcement officer may say when reporting an incident.
He told dispatchers in his call that he and his wife had been arguing, with him trying to use his gun as part of this struggle, when it fired accidentally. However, surveillance footage did not demonstrate any additional sound associated with its discharge; these recordings provided by dispatchers provided contradictory accounts of what actually transpired at home.