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Ex-banker challenging Ocasio-Cortez in Democratic primary

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Ex-banker challenging Ocasio-Cortez in Democratic primary

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The election of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to Congress in 2018 created massive political upheaval after she unseated veteran congressman Joe Crowley, who had at one point been tapped to replace Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader of the House.

This summer, a former Wall Street banker is looking to do to Ocasio-Cortez what she did to Crowley,

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Marty Dolan, 66, who spent 30 years working for Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and other financial firms, is challenging Ocasio-Cortez for her 14th Congressional District seat in New York, a position she has safely held for the last six years, representing a district Dolan says she has done little to help improve.

Should he be successful, it would be an earth-shattering blow to the Democratic Socialists of America, who have a large foothold in the city, including in the Bronx and northern Queens, which the District 14 seat covers.

Ex-banker Marty Dolan is challenging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (Marty Dolan website | Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

FLASHBACK: AOC CALLS ON ACTIVISTS TO MAKE POLITICIANS ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’

But Dolan says Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow socialists have gone too far, blasting their approach to the economy, crime and the illegal migrant crisis. 

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“We are all for the ‘progress’ implied by the word progressive, however, within the progressive movement, there are radicals whose influence on the Democratic Party is overweight,” Dolan wrote on his campaign website.

“The impact in NYC is obvious: bail reform a disaster, the National Guard in the subway, toothpaste locked up in drugstores but criminals running free, scarce resources directed to (non-sanctuary) immigrants coming from all over the world.” 

He said these challenges must be addressed in the context of a runaway $34 trillion federal debt and the city’s 14% marginal tax rate. 

“Losing 500,000 taxpayers is unsustainable: fixing this must be our overwhelming priority,” Dolan wrote. 

“The radicals can’t deliver more than breadcrumbs when they ignore that the primary breadwinners are leaving and brush off taxpayer concerns in favor of abstract populist ideologies. Enough is enough.”

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Single migrant men, mostly from West Africa, congregate in Tompkins Square Park in New York. Dolan has blasted Ocasio-Cortez’s position on the issue.  (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Dolan is the first person to challenge the influential “Squad” member in four years and is looking to gather the necessary signatures to land a spot on the ballot for this year’s Democratic primary.

It will be a Herculean effort to dethrone Ocasio-Cortez, who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at age 29. She has instant name recognition and pop culture fame among young voters. She remains popular among her constituents, although Dolan says that popularity may no longer be as strong.

AOC HECKLED IN FIERY TOWN HALL: ‘ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS ILLEGAL ALIENS’

“There’s a lot of people who, even in Queens and the Bronx, think, ‘What has she done for us?’” Dolan told Bloomberg.

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According to Bloomberg, Ocasio-Cortez had $5.7 million in cash on hand as of Jan. 1, while Dolan’s campaign has raised just $58,000 so far, $55,000 of which is from loans Dolan made to his own campaign.

Dolan earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and has worked extensively in the global risk insurance sector, helping firms recover from the global liability crisis, the World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the global financial crisis, according to his website.

Ocasio-Cortez created massive political upheaval when she unseated veteran congressman Joseph Crowley in 2018. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)

He grew up in Westchester County, like Ocasio-Cortez.

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Dolan called out Ocasio-Cortez’s efforts to help successfully stop Amazon from locating a new sprawling headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, and her support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to Bloomberg.

He also accused Ocasio-Cortez of “importing immigrants and exporting decent contributing taxpayers,” referring to residents who have fled to Florida and other states. The city has cared for more than 170,000 migrants, and the mayor estimates the bill will easily exceed $10 billion.

“There’s been nobody who’s more in favor of immigration than AOC, and there’s been no worse thing that’s happened in New York in the last year,” Dolan told Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Dolan’s platform includes plans to advocate for a new federal value-added tax and an additional luxury goods sales tax. The money would be used to reduce the national debt and state pension liabilities and would allow states like New York to lower income taxes. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment but did not receive a reply.

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Pennsylvania

Woman extradited from Pennsylvania, charged with murder after deadly 2024 Waterbury shooting

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Woman extradited from Pennsylvania, charged with murder after deadly 2024 Waterbury shooting


WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A 19-year-old Waterbury woman was extradited from Pennsylvania in connection with the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old man in 2024, according to Waterbury police.

Desire Aitken was arrested on Friday and charged with murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, illegal discharge of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and first-degree assault.

She was charged in connection with the death of 38-year-old Keno Williams of Waterbury, who was pronounced dead after receiving a gunshot wound to the back of his head on Jan. 30, 2024.

On the day of his death, police responded to Bertie’s Restaurant around 7:49 p.m. regarding a motor vehicle crash. They found that the car had drove through the parking lot and backyard area of a nearby home, where it struck several objects before coming to a stop.

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Desire Aitken. (Photo: Waterbury Police Department)

Williams was found with a gunshot wound to the back of his head and succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at the hospital.

Aitken, who was a juvenile at the time of the alleged shooting, was found in Pennsylvania on April 10 and taken into custody. She was extradited and served with an arrest warrant in Waterbury on Friday.

She’s being held on a $2 million bond.



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Rhode Island

‘Real Housewives of RI’ affair allegations fuel courtroom drama

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‘Real Housewives of RI’ affair allegations fuel courtroom drama


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  • A Cranston woman is suing the husband of a “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” cast member for slander.
  • The lawsuit is a countersuit to one filed by Brian Pontarelli, who accused Beth Walker of violating a confidentiality agreement.
  • Walker claims Pontarelli made defamatory comments about her on the show and related broadcasts.
  • The dispute centers around an affair Pontarelli had, which is a storyline on the reality show.

It was in a Rhode Island court that “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” heated up as a Cranston woman sued the husband of one of the cast members for slander.

The legal fireworks started April 13, when Brian Pontarelli, husband of “Real Housewife” star Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, sued Beth Walker of Cranston in Superior Court, alleging that she violated a confidentiality agreement in another lawsuit by “making public statements and social media posts” about facts related to the earlier lawsuit.

On Tuesday, May 5, Walker fired back, calling the confidentiality agreement illegal and unenforceable, saying that Pontarelli broke it first by talking on “Real Housewives,” and filing a countersuit saying that he made false, “defamatory and disparaging” comments on the “Real Housewives” main show, as well as during a podcast and an after-show live broadcast. She is seeking unspecified damages.

A past affair, current speculation and a national audience feed lawsuit

Walker particularly identifies the April 26 episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” when host Andy Cohen brings back stars from the show, which was taped last year, for further discussion. In this episode, Brian and Rulla talk about how their marriage has survived his cheating with another woman.

One of the subplots of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” which is midway through its first season, is whether or not the affair Brian had is still ongoing. Texts and social media posts by an unnamed woman, whom the cast refers to as “the mistress,” feature in several episodes.

What Beth Walker has to say

Reached by The Providence Journal on Wednesday afternoon, May 6, Walker’s lawyer, Frank L. Orabona Jr., said that she can’t tell her side of the story right now.

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“A public narrative has been created around my client, but narrative and facts are not always the same thing,” Orabona said. “As this unfolds, the evidence will tell a very different story.”

Post-show discussion and podcast fuel drama in court

In the April 26 “Watch What Happens Live” episode, in which Walker’s suit says Pontarelli “discussed a romantic relationship … in a defamatory and disparaging manner,” Rulla and Brian talk about his affair with “the mistress,” also referring to her as “the cockroach.”

Walker’s Tuesday filing also served as her answer to Pontarelli’s suit, and she asked the court to toss his claim based on 16 separate grounds.

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Among other things, Walker’s filing says:

  • “Walker’s speech relates to topics of public concern being discussed weekly to a nationwide audience of millions of viewers.”
  • “Any comments made by Walker were truthful, not disparaging, related to matters in the public domain and/or were made in good faith.”
  • “As a result of the national publicity of the show, information related to [Pontarelli’s] personal, romantic relationships is public knowledge nationally across the United States and locally in communities throughout Rhode Island; and is otherwise in the public domain.”
  • “It is inequitable and unfair to allow [Pontarelli] a national platform to discuss topics to a coast-to-coast audience and prohibit Walker from speaking on the same topics and/or from correcting false information being spread by [Pontarelli] or others.”
  • Prohibiting her from commenting would violate the state and federal constitutions’ guarantee of free speech.

No hearings have been scheduled in the case.

Pontarelli’s lawyer, Jessica L. Basso, declined to comment on the case.

This story has been updated with new information.



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Vermont

Bizarre Bazaar to highlight local artisans May 16; new craft show to highlight unique creations

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Bizarre Bazaar to highlight local artisans May 16; new craft show to highlight unique creations


Bizarre Bazaar will take up residence locally from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Brick Store in Fairfield and feature the artwork of eight local makers. Other bazaars will happen simultaneously in spaces in Essex Junction, Richmond, Morrisville and Danville.



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