Northeast
Bernie Sanders endorses former punk rock musician with history of racist, sexist remarks
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed a Democratic candidate for New York City comptroller who, as a former punk rock musician, has a history of making racist, sexist and homophobic statements online, according to a review by Fox News Digital.
Sanders endorsed Justin Brannan, a Democratic New York City councilman who is now running for comptroller, saying he would fight corruption and stand for the working class. Brannan’s campaign website says that, in the music scene he comes from, “people look out for one another and pick each other up when they fall down.”
Brannan says he has carried these values into his work as a New York City councilmember and that he will do so as a city comptroller.
OUSTED DEM ‘SUPER MAYOR’ CHARGES WHOPPING PRICE TAG FOR TELL-ALL BOOK WHILE DODGING LEGAL TROUBLES
However, a review of statements Brannan made on several music listservs during his years as a punk rocker in the ’90s puts a very different set of values on display, including statements mocking Puerto Ricans, Asians, homosexual individuals and others.
On two different occasions in 1999, Brannan used the N-word, writing, “Yo n—- be representing Dead Kennedys and Social D in ‘Stir of Echoes’” and “Yo, this swizz n—- is deep.”
Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, has endorsed a Democratic candidate for New York City comptroller, Justin Brannan (right), who, as a former punk rock musician, has a history of making racist, sexist and homophobic statements online. (Flagrant YouTube channel; Justin Brannan via Wikimedia Commons)
In a 1998 post, Brannan also recounted an interview with a now-defunct music publication in which he said he preferred to shave his head bald, explaining, “I like to keep it nice and trim like the Nazis.”
He then added, “I find myself more intimidating with the shaved head too when I smack up my b——.”
Brannan also mocked Asians, writing in one 1999 post that “Chinese people can not drive” and in another, “one thing you’ll never see” is a “Chinese driving instructor.” That same year, he mocked “Homicide: Life on the Street” actor and New York City native Yaphet Kotto, writing “Yaphet Koto ? Yum. I like it with brown rice.”
The Democratic candidate also repeatedly sparred with a disabled listserv member, writing posts such as, “If you are really crippled, thats pretty funny. Guess what I did today? I walked up and down stairs, all around the town. What did you do? Drool into a spitoon?,” “I think it would be funny to beat up a handicapped person” and “I just had a vision of you like Stephen Hawking. I made myself laugh. HAHAHAHAAHA! You parapalegic f—.”
Brannan, along with other city employees, was also accused of bullying an autistic colleague during his time as a New York City government staffer. According to reporting by the New York Post, the staffer received an $850,000 court settlement paid for by the city in 2021.
DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY: KEN MARTIN’S TENURE SO FAR AT DNC RIPPED
The sun sets on the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City as a person runs along the Hudson River Feb. 25, 2024, in Jersey City, N.J. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
In 1999, shortly after returning from shows in Puerto Rico, Brannan said, “Everyone in Puerto Rico has a gun and doesn’t wear underwear.”
Brannan also constantly used an anti-gay slur to insult others or make jokes, such as writing, “you f—— loser f–.” “He said he was gonna see some f—– punk show at Coney Island” and “Email me you f–.”
The New York City primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24. Brannan is running to replace the current city comptroller, Brad Lander, who is running for New York City mayor and was recently arrested by federal authorities for allegedly impeding an immigration enforcement arrest.
DEMOCRATS MUST FIND A MESSAGE BEYOND CONSTANT ATTACKS ON TRUMP AND ICE, SAYS FORMER DEM ADVISOR
Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo, left, and Zohran Mamdani, right, present arguments as Whitney Tilson, center, looks on during a Democratic mayoral primary debate June 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
Sanders has also endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Neither Brannan’s office nor Sanders’ office responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment ahead of the publication deadline.
Read the full article from Here
New York
Man Sentenced to 115 Years for Killing N.Y.P.D. Officer in Queens
A man was sentenced to 115 years in prison on Monday for the fatal shooting of a New York City police officer who had ordered him to step out of a car in Queens in 2024.
More than 200 people, mostly police officers, packed a courtroom in State Supreme Court in Queens to hear Justice Michael Aloise sentence Guy Rivera in the killing of Jonathan Diller, 31, who was promoted to the rank of detective after his death.
“It took me five minutes to calculate these numbers,” Justice Aloise said. “It’s going to take you a lifetime to calculate the damage you did and the grief that you caused.”
He said that Mr. Rivera had determined his own fate “the second you pulled that trigger.”
Detective Diller’s wife, Stephanie, who sat among the officers in the courtroom, read a statement in court just before the sentencing, speaking of the pain and loss that she and her son, Ryan, now 3, have suffered. Ms. Diller, who testified during the trial, spoke directly to Mr. Rivera as he sat at the defense table.
“This is the last moment I will allow you to take from me,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You took my husband, Jonathan. You took the future we planned together. The life we were building, the years we were supposed to share together.”
“What you did to Jonathan” she said, “gave me and our son a life sentence without him.”
A jury found Mr. Rivera, 36, guilty earlier this month on four charges, including aggravated manslaughter, in Detective Diller’s death, but acquitted him of the most serious charge, first-degree murder. The decision, after a three-week trial in Queens, stunned the dozens of police officers present when it was announced in the courtroom on April 1.
To find him guilty of murder, the jury had to decide whether they believed Mr. Rivera had intended to kill Detective Diller when he pointed his gun at him in the Far Rockaway section of Queens on March 25, 2024. They ultimately determined that Mr. Rivera had intentionally pulled the trigger, but did not intend to kill him.
Mr. Rivera did not speak at his sentencing at the advice of one of his lawyers, Jamal Johnson, who told Justice Aloise they would appeal the conviction.
Mr. Johnson, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society, said after the hearing that Justice Aloise’s statement at sentencing showed the court “had already made up its mind about sentencing well before the trial was conducted.”
During the trial, prosecutors said that before the fatal shooting, Detective Diller’s partner, Sgt. Sasha Rosen, saw Mr. Rivera and another man, Lindy Jones, come out of a store and get into a car. Mr. Rivera had an L-shaped object in the pocket of his sweatshirt that resembled a firearm, prosecutors said.
Detective Diller approached the vehicle and asked Mr. Rivera repeatedly to comply with orders. When he did not, Sergeant Rosen reached in to pull him out of the car.
Then Mr. Rivera fired, the jury found. The defense argued that Mr. Rivera’s gun went off accidentally when Sergeant Rosen pulled him out, striking Detective Diller. Prosecutors said Mr. Rivera then turned his gun on Sergeant Rosen, but the weapon jammed.
Justice Aloise did not allow the jury to see video that, the defense contended, showed Mr. Rivera’s arm was broken during his confrontation with the police.
That evidence would have directly undermined the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Rivera was physically able to pull the trigger when he tried to shoot Sergeant Rosen, they said.
In all, Mr. Rivera was sentenced to 25 years to life for the aggravated manslaughter conviction; 40 years to life for the attempted murder of Sergeant Rosen; and 25 years to life for each of the gun possession counts. He was ordered to serve those sentences consecutively.
.
On Monday, after the sentencing, dozens of police officers smiled and embraced one another as they left the courtroom. The prosecutors who tried the case and Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, hugged several of Detective Diller’s family members.
Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, called the sentence “obviously the right result, for him and for anyone who kills a New York City police officer.”
Outside the courthouse, members of the Police Benevolent Association, the police officers’ union, said they were pleased with the sentence.
“The verdict in this case did not send the right message to the Diller family and every police officer who wears the uniform,” said Patrick Hendry, the union president, who spoke at the foot of the courthouse stairwell, backed by nearly 100 police officers.
“But this sentence,” he said, “it sent the right message.”
Boston, MA
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical returns to Boston for first time in 25 years
Say bonjour to the return of “Beauty and the Beast.” The national tour has been in Boston before, but this is the first time in 25 years that Disney is behind the production.
Kyra Belle Johnson stars as Belle, the bookworm who doesn’t quite fit into her quiet village.
“I think part of treating her like a real person is finding the humor and finding the faults and breathing and being present on stage every night,” Johnson said.
As Mrs. Potts, Kathy Voytko embodies the beloved teapot.
“When I was talking to my daughters about, ‘How do you feel about mom being gone for the better part of a year?’ They said, ‘Well, geez, mom, we’re gonna miss you, but it’s Mrs. Potts,’” Voytko explained.
The actors told WBZ-TV that Disney’s involvement in this tour makes a noticeable impact, with Voytko saying, “There is nothing like a Disney-produced Disney production because the magic in the show, the attention to detail, the loving recreation of the movie that we all know and love, plus some elements of surprise.”
Johnson added, “They care about this piece of art so much… And they’re really precious with it, but at the same time, they’re open with it.”
Book writer Linda Woolverton worked with the cast in the rehearsal room to make sure the piece felt modern.
“She literally changed some scenes and lines specifically for us and our versions of these characters to make it seem grounded and real,” Johnson explained.
And Johnson gained extra insight into Belle’s life by visiting the Alsace region of France, which inspired the original Disney animators.
“Walking in the town and having like a storefront and then the leaning building that was this like blue and the wooden windows and somebody leaning out of it talking to somebody on the street. These are real places, it’s not just like a made-up place in your head.”
The wonder she felt is echoed in the audience’s response.
“This is a gate for a lot of new theater lovers. We get a lot of people who this is their first show,” said Johnson.
“It’s for everybody,” added Voytko. “It’s for adults, it’s for married couples, it is for a date night, it for a pack of pals who just want to see something nostalgic from their youth and it makes it a thrill for us every single day.”
You can see Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at the Citizens Opera House in Boston through Sunday.
Pittsburg, PA
NFL Draft in Pittsburgh sets onsite attendance record, third-best viewership mark
A historic number of people flooded into Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft on Thursday.
Around 320,000 fans attended the opening round of the draft on Thursday night just outside of Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, which marked an attendance record for round one of the draft, ESPN announced on Monday afternoon. In total, about 805,000 people attended the three-day event.
Advertisement
ESPN also said that about 13,2 million people tuned in to watch the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, which made it the third-most watched opening round under the current format, which started back in 2010. Only the 2025 and 2020 editions of the draft drew a bigger audience on the first night.
The league said that a record amount of merchandise was sold throughout the NFL Draft weekend, too, though it did not provide a figure or metric there. The previous record on that front was set last season in Green Bay.
The Las Vegas Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick on Indiana quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza on Thursday night. Mendoza, who led the Hoosiers to the national championship earlier this year, was not in attendance in Pittsburgh. Instead, he celebrated with his family from home in Miami.
Advertisement
The NFL Draft will be held next spring in Washington D.C. for the first time in modern history. It’s expected to be held on the National Mall. Washington D.C. held the draft one other time back in December 1940.
-
West Virginia53 seconds agoWest Virginia trooper cars add QR codes to speed access to addiction treatment
-
Wyoming7 minutes agoIn Gun-Friendly Wyoming, When Is It OK To Shoot Somebody?
-
Crypto13 minutes agoCrypto kiosk ban could be headed to Minnesota: What to know
-
Finance19 minutes agoFirst home buyer’s superannuation mistake exposes ‘widespread’ ATO problem
-
Fitness25 minutes agoHow Christine Lampard, 47, uses easy NEAT exercise to stay fit – ‘I don’t go to the gym’
-
Movie Reviews37 minutes agoMovie Review – Hokum (2026)
-
World49 minutes ago
‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse sentenced to life in prison for sexual assault
-
News55 minutes agoKing Charles Will Speak of ‘Reconciliation and Renewal’ During Address to Congress