Keeping Rikers open fuels a humanitarian crisis that must stop

by Reina Sultan

This article was originally published at Prism

On Jan. 8, about 200 people incarcerated at Rikers Island began a hunger strike to protest the abysmal conditions at the jail. This is …

Republicans see masks and vaccines as stifling freedom, but it's actually the best way to restore it

A lot of people have been talking, often quite loudly, about vaccine mandates and freedom. Most of those voices have come from the right, and have attacked mandates as restricting freedom. A few …

'Go back to your country': Man arrested and charged for hate crime after attacking Sikh taxi driver

Authorities in New York arrested and charged a man with a hate crime on Jan. 14 in connection to a Jan. 3 incident. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department (PAPD) officials …

Cops destroy lives by lying about evidence, but are rarely held accountable

The phrase “police brutality” has often been associated with officers beating or killing innocent people, most often people of color. For over a year now, what often comes to mind is the Facebook …

Spanish homework assignment for middle schoolers calls Americans 'pretty' and Mexicans 'ugly'

Students have a lot to deal with in today’s day and age: surviving a global pandemic, going to school among anti-mask protests, and big-picture polarization among political parties they mostly can’t …

New York Rep. John Katko, one of only nine Republicans in a Biden district, announces retirement

New York Rep. John Katko, one of just nine House Republicans to represent a constituency that also voted for Joe Biden, announced Friday that he would not seek a fifth term in the Syracuse-based 24th …

Letitia James: 'No one is above the law, not even someone with the name Trump'

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney called her a “sick person” who has “weaponized” her role. Trump’s son, Eric Trump, compared her prosecutorial priorities to “what …

Two fires, two cities, at least 17 children dead

First, Philadelphia saw the deadliest fire the city has experienced in at least 100 years on Wednesday when a blaze engulfed a three-story duplex in the North Philadelphia community of Fairmount and …

Political leaders stick to 'schools must remain open' mantra, but omicron is making that difficult

The nation is coming back from the holidays with omicron driving COVID-19 cases sky-high … and most schools are completely unprepared to deal with the results. In many cases, schools are unprepared …

Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump intend to defy new subpoena from New York’s attorney general

New York attorney general Letitia James is no stranger to pressing the Trump family’s buttons. For a couple of years now, her office has been investigating some of the Trump family’s dubious real …

Yu & Me Books: NYC's first Asian American bookstore highlights works by immigrant authors

Do you like reading and cute little book stores? Well, buckle up because I’ve got some exciting news for you: New York’s first Asian American bookstore opened earlier this month and, not only does it …

Meet Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to New York City Council

Asian Americans have made history by being elected in record numbers in major cities nationwide. “Firsts” have made headlines across the nation, including in cities as diverse as New York. This year, …

Republican Party may inexplicably spend more than 1 million dollars on Trump's legal bills

Republicans are proving to be such a bunch of suckers, and Donald Trump never had it so good.

For decades, Trump personally profited through corrupt and potentially illegal business practices that are …

Voting Rights Roundup: Top North Carolina court halts filing, a sign it could block GOP gerrymanders

Leading Off

● North Carolina: In a major sign that it is likely to eventually block Republicans’ newly enacted congressional and legislative gerrymanders in a pair of pending cases, North …

'Our City, Our Vote': NYC lawmakers pass bill giving noncitizens right to vote in local elections

In a win for immigrants nationwide, the New York City Council voted Thursday to approve legislation that would expand the voting rights of hundreds of legal noncitizens, allowing them to partake in …

NYPD says while hate crimes rose by 100% in 2020, anti-Asian incidents jumped 361%

It’s no surprise that hate crimes are increasing at alarming rates across the country. Reports throughout the year have consistently noted increases in faith-, race-, and identity-based crimes …

New York attorney general seeks to depose Trump in civil fraud probe

New York Attorney General Letitia James is reportedly angling to depose Donald Trump on Jan. 7 in relation to her office’s ongoing civil probe of whether the Trump Organization committed …

RNC paying Trump's personal legal fees on alleged crimes he committed before becoming a candidate

Donors to the Republican National Committee (RNC) might believe that their dollars are going to support congressional campaigns in 2022 or creating a war chest for the next GOP presidential candidate …

Voting Rights Roundup: Election wins give Virginia Republicans a chance to roll back voting rights

Leading Off

● Virginia: In a major setback for voting rights, Republican Glenn Youngkin narrowly defeated former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in the race to become Virginia’s next governor, …

New York welcomes five new members to city council, marking highest AAPI representation yet

As diverse as the United States is, that diversity is not always reflected in our leadership. The good news is, that’s slowly changing. Representation is making its way throughout the country, with “ …