Free Republic

There’s going to be the same old “sheriff” in this town. Preet Bharara, The gungho federal prosecutor has agreed to “stay on” as Manhattan U.S. Attorney after President-elect Donald Trump offered him the gig during a meeting Wednesday afternoon at Trump Tower in Midtown. “We had a good meeting. I agreed to stay on. I have already spoken to Senator Sessions, who is as you know is the nominee to be the attorney general. He also asked that I stay on, and so I expect that I will be continuing to work at the southern district,” Bharara confirmed to a...

Donald Trump is a creature of New York. He ran against Washington and called it “a swamp.” During his campaign, he often flew home late at night so he could wake up in his own bed. His 10-year-old son is enrolled in a Manhattan private school. So it’s no wonder Trump is reportedly considering spending time in New York whenever he is able — presumably on weekends. If so, his home, in the penthouse of Trump Tower, on W. 56th Street and Fifth Avenue, will be the epicenter of an iron curtain that will wall off much of Midtown from...

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday began representing a man accused of setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey and injuring more than 30 people. After judges in both states denied attempts by public defenders to represent Ahmed Khan Rahami, a lawyer for the organization’s New Jersey chapter entered a notice of appearance in his case in federal court in Newark on Monday. Rahami has been hospitalized since he was caught following a shootout with police in Linden last week. He has not made an initial court appearance. …

NEWS FDNY confirms they are on the scene of possible explosion in Chelsea Email FDNY confirms they are on the scene of possible explosion in Chelsea (@voicehalf/Twitter ) Updated 7 mins ago CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) -- The FDNY confirms they are on the scene of a possible explosion at 135 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. As a result, E and F trains are currently bypassing 23 St in both directions.

An improvised explosive device was detonated tonight in New York, sending at least 15 to the hospital with injuries. The explosion took place on 6th Ave and 23rd, according to a journalist who reported his findings to Cernovich Media.

CHELSEA, Manhattan — Multiple people were injured during an outdoor explosion in Chelsea Saturday night. The explosion happened at 135 23rd St. between Sixth and Seventh avenues. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured or the severity of their injuries. The FDNY is on the scene with the NYPD. The explosion comes after a pipe bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey near the Semper Five 5K Charity Run Route. The device was placed in a garbage can.

Received text from @realDonald Trump: I will be making the announcement of my Vice Presidential pick on Friday at 11am in Manhattan. Details to follow.

An elite Manhattan school is teaching white students as young as 6 that they’re born racist and should feel guilty benefiting from “white privilege,” while heaping praise and cupcakes on their black peers. Administrators at the Bank Street School for Children on the Upper West Side claim it’s a novel approach to fighting discrimination, and that several other private New York schools are doing it, but even liberal parents aren’t buying it. They complain the K-8 school of 430 kids is separating whites in classes where they’re made to feel awful about their “whiteness,” and all the “kids of color”...

Congressman Charles Rangel was swift-footed and savvy enough to stay ahead of demographic and geographic shifts in his district during his 46 years in the House of Representatives—but in the end, he just didn’t have enough juice to anoint an heir. Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright lost his bid to replace his retiring 86-year-old mentor to State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who challenged Rangel in 2012 and 2014 but fell short. After a bitter Democratic primary campaign—one with heavy ethnic overtones—the Dominican Republic-born Espaillat beat the African-American Wright in the upper Manhattan-based district by approximately 1,300 votes. Former White House aide Clyde...

Nine candidates are vying for Rep. Charles Rangel's seat — a position he's held for nearly a half-century — but only one stood beside him as he cast his vote in Harlem on Tuesday. "For the first time in 46 years I couldn't find my name!" Rangel said as he stepped out of his polling site at Public School 175 on W. 134th St. "But I'm so glad I did find his name," he added, nodding towards Assemblyman Keith Wright, whom Rangel endorsed as his successor. New Yorkers in seven congressional districts in four boroughs — Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx...

New York (CNN)Hillary Clinton marched in the New York Pride parade on Sunday, highlighting her support for same-sex marriage and national LGBT nondiscrimination laws.

Gerald Walpin, the inspector general who was at the center of controversy in 2009 when he was fired by the White House amid an investigation of an Obama friend, died today. He was 84. Walpin's son-in-law, Allan Tananbaum, said Walpin was struck by a car while crossing a street in Manhattan. Walpin was fired in June 2009 for his investigation of the misuse of money in AmeriCorps, the service organization that was part of the Corporation for National and Community Service, where Walpin served as inspector general. The investigation focused on Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who became mayor...

Next week, Democratic voters in Harlem and upper Manhattan will do something they haven’t done in a long time: vote in a congressional election that doesn’t include Rep. Charles Rangel. After more than 40 years, the lion of Harlem is retiring. Without an incumbent, the race in the 13th Congressional District is more competitive than usual, though it's still taking place somewhat quietly. Traditionally low turnout even in competitive congressional races means that each vote carries extra weight. No matter who wins, Rangel’s replacement will mark a shift for a changing district. A change in representation for a changing district...

It’s a sad day inside the Beltway, as a fixture of the New York Democrats’ political machine makes it official: Charlie Rangel will retire at the end of the current term. According to The Hill, Charlie has finalized a decision he hinted at last year primarily because he wants to exit the public stage at the same time as Barack Obama. "I wanted so badly to complete the last year with President Obama,” the 85-year-old Democrat said during a radio interview with WCBS 880. “And even though they never gave him a fair opportunity to do all the things...

President Barack Obama insists that Americans have to take climate change seriously, or else a key part of one the world’s greatest cities could end up underwater. “When scientists tell us that the planet is getting warmer and we need to do something about it, the majority of people think that’s a good idea, let’s do something about that, because we don’t want Manhattan to be underwater,” Obama said during a fundraiser in New York City. Obama observed that people are frustrated by the current presidential election campaign. “The bad news is that our politics has been a little screwed...

Parishioners watched in horror as a massive four-alarm fire engulfed a Serbian Orthodox church in Manhattan on Sunday — hours after hundreds celebrated Easter services, authorities said. “For this to happen on such a holy day, I don’t know what to say,” said Alex Velic, a 31-year-old churchgoer, as enormous fireballs erupted from the shattered windows of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava on West 25th Street. “To see it burning like that is such a shock. It’s just so sad,” he said. “I can’t think of the words to express how I’m feeling.” A force of 170 firefighters...

A huge fire has engulfed a Serbian Orthodox Church in downtown Manhattan, on the day that Orthodox Christians are celebrating the Holy Easter.

"Midtown Manhattan cathedral engulfed in flames: 'Irreplaceable' 160-year-old Orthodox Christian church is consumed by fire" A 160-year-old Orthodox Christian cathedral in New York has been completely destroyed after a huge fire tore through it on Sunday The blaze broke out at the Serbian Cathedral of Saint Sava on 25th Street in Manhattan's Flatiron district at around 7pm. It is not known how the fire started, though it is believed to have broken out on the first floor of the building before consuming the interior and roof. An FDNY spokesman said that nobody was believed to be inside the building at...

A 20-year-old woman who claimed she was slashed and called a 'f***ing terrorist' by an attacker in Lower Manhattan has owned up to carrying it out herself. The student, of Middle Eastern descent, was walking at 4.10pm on Thursday when she said a man appeared outside Trinity Church, near Wall Street. She alleged he was armed with a blade and wounded her on the left side of the face. The attacker was then said to have fled as locals heard a commotion. Emergency services were called after the woman contacted her father describing her injury and ordeal.