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New York City mayor charged with corruption
The indictment follows a three-year investigation of Adams and top officials that focused in particular on whether he had accepted money and gifts from Turkey in exchange for furthering Ankara’s interests in New York.
Adams, a Democrat and former police officer elected on a law-and-order platform in 2021, says the charges are “false” and that he won’t step down, despite rising calls to do so — in particular from local Democrats eyeing next year’s mayoral election. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is empowered to remove him, says she is weighing a decision.
Scandal-plagued and unable to master twin crises of public disorder and a rapidly growing migrant population, Adams is deeply unpopular at home. He has also clashed with the Biden administration over immigration, criticizing the White House for not doing more to secure the border and help cities manage the influx.
If he’s ousted: Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a progressive Democrat who has sharply criticized Adams, would take over, with 90 days to call a special election.Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, as they meet in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, on Sept. 26, 2024.
Hard Numbers: US sends billions to Ukraine, Poland’s PM takes aim at beavers, NYC adopts new tool to battle rats, Japan finds longtime death row inmate innocent
120,000: You’ve heard of the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the war on terror. But what about the war on beavers? Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is publicly blaming the country’s 120,000 beavers for exacerbating the deadly floods that battered central Europe and killed at least 16. Tusk called on Poles to “do whatever” to protect dikes, after saying beaver dams can damage riverbanks and weaken levees. “Beaver experts” (yes, they’re a thing) say that only a small percentage are problematic and that their dams can actually help slow river flows.
12: Speaking of a war on rodents, New York City is getting a new tool for its war on rats (a war it’s always losing). The city council passed a bill introducing rat contraceptives in a 12-month pilot problem. The bill’s sponsor, Council Member Shaun Abreu, says, “We can’t poison our way out of the rat problem, but we can certainly do a lot of damage trying.”
46: The world’s longest-serving death row inmate — Japan’s Iwao Hakamada — was acquitted after decades in solitary confinement for the alleged murders of his boss, the man’s wife, and their children. After 46 years of living on death row, he was freed in 2014 and granted a retrial. That trial has now proven that investigators fabricated the original evidence used against him. Japan and the United States are the only members of the G7 who still use the death penalty.New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks to press after an incident at the Rainbow Bridge U.S. border crossing with Canada, in Niagara Falls, New York, U.S. November 22, 2023.
Hard Numbers: NYC congestion charge delayed, RSF’s deadly attack in Sudan, One heck of a Brazilian cow, South China Sea exercises, SpaceX rocket makes giant leap
15: Grab your keys, New Yorkers. Gov. Kathy Hochul has indefinitely postponed the $15-a-day congestion pricing plan that was set to begin June 30 for drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street. Hochul expressed concern that the plan, the first of its kind in the country, could affect the Big Apple’s post-pandemic economic recovery — echoing worries shared with her by very vocal business leaders, commuters, and … voters.
150: Over 150 people were killed after the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group, invaded a village in central Sudan this week. Fighting broke out last April between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, whose generals once worked together to overtake Khartoum. The war in Sudan is one of the worst modern humanitarian crises, with a death toll reportedly topping 150,000 and over 9 million people displaced.
4.2 million: Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis claimed the title of most expensive cow, fetching $4.2 million at an auction in Brazil (and access to her egg cells selling for another $250,000). The 2,400-pound cow doesn’t owe her size to genetics or greener pastures but to a years-long initiative in Brazil to breed meatier cows to combat rising greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation.
3: The US, South Korea, and Japanese coast guards entered choppy waters on Thursday to kick off their first three-way drill in response to escalating Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over a majority of the sea, resulting in territorial disputes between China and the Philippines, Taiwan, and other close US allies. Regular standoffs have stoked fears these tensions may boil over into an armed conflict between the US and China.
4: 4, 3, 2, 1, blastoff! On its fourth flight test, SpaceX on Thursday launched Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, in Boca Chica, Texas. The megarocket completed its mission, successfully traveling to the outer world and returning to Earth, where it made a soft landing in the Indian Ocean. This marks a giant leap for mankind as Starship’s fully reusable design brings us closer to settlements on Mars and the moon.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) speaking at a press conference at City Hall in New York City.
NYC Mayor takes on Texas migrant buses
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the one-man unwelcome wagon, has issued an executive order requiring bus companies carrying migrants to provide the city with 32 hours of notice before arriving, which is now only permitted at limited times. Adams aims to instill order on the migrant crisis that is overwhelming city services, with more than 150,000 migrants arriving over the last year and a half.
The executive order is aimed squarely at Texas governor Greg Abbott, who has sent 70,000 migrants to Democrat-run cities since this summer. Backed by the threat of jail time and hefty fines, the order is an attempt to get bus operators to stop participating in Governor Abbott’s actions.
New York has spent $12 billion taking care of migrants, particularly due to the right to shelter law requiring the city to provide temporary shelter to anyone who needs it. Mayor Adams – who has slashed city services to make up for the deficit – went to court to suspend the law, and has said that whether migrants will be sleeping on the streets is not a question of if, but when. Opponents accuse the mayor of scapegoating migrants in order to enforce draconian budget cuts that he hoped to pass anyway.
The executive order comes on the heels of Texas passing the nation’s strictest border control bill. These city and state level actions are juxtaposed against President Joe Biden’s inability to pass a bill to increase spending for border patrol, amplifying accusations from both sides of the aisle that he is not doing enough to control the flow of migrants to the country.
Follow GZERO Media for exclusive, on-the-ground reporting at the 78th Annual UN General Assembly
Keep a close eye on GZERO Media all week for on-the-ground coverage inside the 78th Annual UN General Assembly in New York City.
Watch Ian Bremmer's interview with the UN’s top diplomat, Secretary-General António Guterres, an exclusive and in-depth conversation on Ukraine, AI, climate change, and much more. You can watch that interview on our public television show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, airing on US public television starting Friday, September 15, and also available or our YouTube channel and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
We'll be live from the UN on Wednesday and Thursday, with two livestreams coming to you during high-level week as part of GZERO's Global Stage series. Find out more and check out our interviews with newsmakers throughout the week at gzeromedia.com/globalstage.
Sign up for our free newsletter on global politics, GZERO Daily, and follow GZERO on social media for updates throughout the week.
- What to watch at the U.N. General Assembly ›
- AI at the tipping point: danger to information, promise for creativity ›
- UN mobilizes to help disaster-stricken Libya and Morocco ›
- Podcast: UN Secretary-General António Guterres explains why peace in Ukraine is his top priority ›
- UN Chief on mounting global crises: "Hope never dies" ›
What Eurovision means to Ukrainians at war
Where else will you find banana-inspired wolves, dubstep rapping astronauts, or earworms about vampires? It’s Eurovision, of course: the 70-year-old song contest that pits nations against each other in an annual spectacle of camp, kitsch, and catchy melodies.
But for Ukrainians – who have won the contest three times in the past 20 years – the contest is about something much more.
On GZERO Reports, we visit a secret Eurovision watch party outside of Kyiv, a drag party in New York City, and look at how Eurovision is more political than you – or those wolves, astronauts, and vampires – could imagine.
For the uninitiated, the colorful annual Eurovision Song Contest pits countries against each other in a spectacle of camp, kitsch, and catchy pop music. It’s like the Olympics meets American Idol meets Burning Man. Each country submits an original song, and the winner is chosen through a combination of audience and professional jury votes.
The European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision, says the contest isn’t political (they turned down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's request to speak at the finale), but in its almost 70-year history, politics have always found a way of creeping in.
Last Saturday’s Grand Finale was no exception. This year’s contest, held in Liverpool, England, was full of messages of unity and support for Ukraine, who could not host Eurovision after winning in 2022 because of the Russian invasion. GZERO traveled to two very different Eurovision watch parties—one in the heart of New York City and one in an undisclosed location on the outskirts of Kyiv—to see how politics and pop music come together for fans around the world.
"Just to see so much solidarity and so much diversity of thought and backgrounds embracing Ukraine through the power of music is very encouraging,” said Maxim Ibadov, the National Coordinator of RUSA LGBTQ+ and organizer of the NYC event, “Because Ukraine has beautiful culture and I’m so happy it’s being celebrated.”
Watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television, airing nationwide. Check local listings.
- Hard Numbers: German arms for Ukraine, Serbia rejects ‘thoughts and prayers,' deadly storm hits Myanmar and Bangladesh, Sweden sweeps Eurovision ›
- The Graphic Truth: Eurovision – beating swords into microphones, sort of ›
- Hard Numbers: Ukraine wins Eurovision, Somalia’s new prez, Venezuela woos investors, CDU victory ›
Zelensky wants your attention back
President Zelensky hits the streets of New York to find out why Americans' focus on Ukraine is waning, and what he can do about it.
Watch more PUPPET REGIME!
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Employee at a gas station during a protest against rising fuel prices in Assam, India.
Hard Numbers: India taxes diesel exports, Donetsk citizens told to flee, France nationalizes EDF, NYC needs lifeguards
100,000: New export taxes on fuel could reduce the amount of diesel India sells abroad by as much as 100,000 barrels per day, exacerbating shortages and high prices elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Indians keep scooping up Russian oil at bargain prices.
350,000: The governor of Donetsk is urging 350,000 civilians to escape the Ukrainian province as Russia advances in its bid to seize the entire eastern Donbas region. The Russians took Luhansk over the weekend and now control about half of Donetsk.
100: France will take 100% control of the debt-ridden power group EDF. The state already owned 84%, but EDF has been sustaining huge losses after investing in more nuclear plants and footing the bill for energy price caps introduced in January. The government hopes this will help France move away from fossil fuels.