New York
Steve Bannon Asks to Replace Lawyers Again Ahead of February Criminal Trial

With 43 days left before the start of Stephen K. Bannon’s trial in Manhattan, he asked a judge on Monday to be allowed to replace his lawyers for a second time, a move that could delay the trial. Again.
Mr. Bannon, who is charged with defrauding contributors who paid for the construction of a southern border wall, first replaced his defense team in 2023 after one of his lawyers said there had been “a complete breakdown in communication.”
In November, the New York judge overseeing the trial, April A. Newbauer, pushed back its start date from December to February, saying “we’re not changing it again.”
But on Monday, the lawyer that Mr. Bannon now wants to represent him, Arthur Aidala, said that he did not have enough time to adequately prepare for the Feb. 25 trial because there was so much information “to swallow and process.”
“We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” he told the judge. “I just don’t have, or we, I should say, we don’t have, enough information.”
Justice Newbauer ordered Mr. Bannon to return to court on Jan. 22 for the parties to make their arguments about his request.
Mr. Bannon, an influential right-wing media figure, was a staple in Donald J. Trump’s orbit for years — he was an architect of Mr. Trump’s 2016 election victory and served as a White House strategist. In recent years, he has been embroiled in a multitude of controversies.
In October, Mr. Bannon was released from prison after serving four months on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for information about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. This week, he catapulted back into the news after rebuking Elon Musk, the newest star in the president-elect’s team, calling him a “truly evil person.”
His work in Mr. Trump’s first administration led to Mr. Bannon’s legal troubles in New York. And his attempts to delay his case in Manhattan bear a resemblance to Mr. Trump’s own methods of stalling prosecutions.
The allegations against Mr. Bannon stem from his involvement with a group called We Build the Wall, which raised more than $25 million from donors to help construct a barrier between the United States and Mexico, Mr. Trump’s signature policy initiative during his first term.
Mr. Bannon played a senior role in the group, which promised donors that their contributions would be used only to build the barrier. However, prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have said that was a lie, and have accused Mr. Bannon with taking part in a conspiracy to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into the pockets of the group’s officers.
Mr. Bannon faced similar federal charges, and several co-conspirators went to prison. But Mr. Trump pardoned Mr. Bannon during his final hours in office in 2021, when the president wiped away the convictions and prison sentences of a roster of politicians and business executives.
Last year, lawyers who helped Mr. Bannon secure his pardon won a judgment against him for nearly $500,000 in unpaid legal fees.
Mr. Trump cannot pardon Mr. Bannon on state charges, so New York’s case against him has chugged along.
Mr. Aidala, whom Mr. Bannon now wants to represent him, is a ubiquitous figure in New York’s criminal courtrooms who is as comfortable before a judge as he is before the press — like many of his clients. His roster includes Rudolph W. Giuliani, Harvey Weinstein and a former top aide to Mayor Eric Adams.
On Monday, Mr. Aidala said Mr. Bannon approached his law firm in December, but he declined to represent Mr. Bannon because of another trial scheduled for January. His firm then left that case for unrelated reasons, making him available for Mr. Bannon, he said.
Another complication, according to Mr. Aidala, is that in the spring he is scheduled to represent Mr. Weinstein on sex crimes charges. And Mr. Weinstein has asked for his trial to be moved up, which could interfere with the start of Mr. Bannon’s case, Mr. Aidala told the judge.
“I don’t want you to think anyone is trying to play any games or do any slick lawyering,” Mr. Aidala said. “I told you everything that’s a factual basis for where we are here today.”
Justice Newbauer said she was concerned that replacing the law firm that had been driving the case might result in “starting from scratch.”
Prosecutors also resisted the request. Jeffrey Levinson, an assistant district attorney, told the judge that they were “indifferent as to who represents Mr. Bannon, as long as the case goes to trial as scheduled.”
“He is clearly trying to make a substitution of counsel for the purpose of delay,” Mr. Levinson said.

New York
Are You Smarter Than a Billionaire?

Over the course of one week, some of the richest people in the world descended on New York’s auction houses to purchase over $1 billion of art. It might have played out a little differently than you would have expected.
Can you guess which of these works sold for more?
Note: Listed sale prices include auction fees.
Image credits: “Untitled,” via Phillips; “Baby Boom,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Hazy Sun,” With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Petit Matin,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio,” Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SIAE, Rome; via Sotheby’s; “Baroque Egg with Bow (Orange/Magenta),” via Sotheby’s; “The Last Supper,” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Campbell’s Soup I,” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Miss January,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Fingermalerei – Akt,” via Sotheby’s; “Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego),” Succession Alberto Giacometti/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; via Sotheby’s; “Tête au long cou,” Succession Alberto Giacometti/ARS, NY/Photos: ADAGP Images/Paris 2025; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Revelacion,” Remedios Varo, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Le jardin nocturne,” Foundation Paul Delvaux, Sint-Idesbald – ARS/SABAM Belgium; via Christie’s Images LTD.
Produced by Daniel Simmons-Ritchie.
New York
Video: How a Mexican Navy Ship Crashed Into the Brooklyn Bridge

On Saturday, a Mexican Navy ship on a good will tour left a New York City pier bound for Iceland. Four minutes later, it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge. [Spanish] “It’s falling!” [English] “No way!” Here’s what happened. The Cuauhtémoc had been docked on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for four days, open to visitors looking for a cultural experience. As the ship prepared to leave on Saturday night, a tugboat arrived to escort it out of its pier at 8:20 p.m. The ship’s bow, the front of the vessel, faced Manhattan, meaning it would need to back out of its berth into the East River. As the Cuauhtémoc pulled away from shore, the tugboat appeared to push the side of the ship, helping to pivot the bow south toward its intended route. The river was flowing northeast toward the Brooklyn Bridge and the wind was blowing in roughly the same direction, potentially pushing the ship toward a collision. Photos and videos suggest the tugboat was not tied to the ship, limiting its ability to pull the ship away from the bridge. The Cuauhtémoc began to drift north, back first, up the river. Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano, who’s an adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, told The Times that the ship appeared to be giving off a wake. This suggests its propellers may have been running in reverse, pushing it faster toward the bridge. The tugboat sped alongside the ship as it headed north, possibly trying to get in front of it and help the ship maneuver the other way. But it was unable to cut the ship off or reverse its course. All three masts crashed into the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge at approximately 8:24 p.m., four minutes after the ship had left the pier, causing the top sails to collapse. Crew members standing on the masts during the collision were thrown off entirely. Others remained hanging from their harnesses. A New York City patrol boat arrived about eight minutes after the collision, followed quickly by a fire department boat. Additional law enforcement and emergency medical services removed the wounded for treatment. According to the Mexican Navy, two of the 227 people aboard the ship were killed and 22 others were injured.
New York
Audio Data Shows Newark Outage Problems Persisted Longer Than Officials Said

On April 28, controllers at a Philadelphia facility managing air traffic for Newark Liberty International Airport and smaller regional airports in New Jersey suddenly lost radar and radio contact with planes in one of the busiest airspaces in the country.
On Monday, two weeks after the episode, Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, said that the radio returned “almost immediately,” while the radar took up to 90 seconds before it was operational.
A Times analysis of flight traffic data and air traffic control feed, however, reveals that controllers were struggling with communication issues for several minutes after transmissions first blacked out.
The episode resulted in multiple air traffic controllers requesting trauma leave, triggering severe flight delays at Newark that have continued for more than two weeks.
Several exchanges between pilots and controllers show how the outage played out.
Outage Begins
Air traffic recordings show that controllers at the Philadelphia facility first lost radio and radar communications for about a minute starting just before 1:27 p.m., after a controller called out to United Flight 1951, inbound from Phoenix.
The pilot of United 1951 replied to the controller’s call, but there was no answer for over a minute.
1:26:41 PM
Controller
OK, United 1951.
1:26:45 PM
Pilot
Go ahead.
1:27:18 PM
Pilot
Do you hear us?
1:27:51 PM
Controller
How do you hear me?
1:27:53 PM
Pilot
I got you loud and clear now.
Two other planes reached out during the same period as United 1951 — a Boeing 777 inbound from Austria and headed to Newark, and a plane whose pilot called out to a controller, “Approach, are you there?” Their calls went unanswered as well.
Radio Resumes, With Unreliable Radar
From 1:27 to 1:28 p.m., radio communications between pilots and controllers resumed. But soon after, a controller was heard telling multiple aircraft about an ongoing radar outage that was preventing controllers from seeing aircraft on their radarscopes.
One of the planes affected by the radar issues was United Flight 674, a commercial passenger jet headed from Charleston to Newark.
1:27:32 PM
Pilot
United 674, approach.
1:27:36 PM
Controller
Radar contact lost, we lost our radar.
1:30:34 PM
Controller
Turn left 30 degrees.
1:31:03 PM
Pilot
All right, we’re on a heading of 356. …
1:31:44 PM
Controller
I see the turn. I think our radar might be a couple seconds behind.
Once the radio started operating again, some controllers switched from directing flights along their planned paths to instead providing contingency flight instructions.
At 1:28 p.m., the pilot of Flight N16NF, a high-end private jet, was called by a controller who said, “radar contact lost.” The pilot was then told to contact a different controller on another radio frequency.
About two and a half minutes later, the new controller, whose radar did appear to be functioning, instructed the pilot to steer towards a location that would be clear of other aircraft in case the radio communications dropped again.
Flight N426CB, a small private jet flying from Florida to New Jersey, was told to call a different radio frequency at Essex County Airport, known as Caldwell Airport, in northern New Jersey for navigational aid. That was in case the controllers in Philadelphia lost radio communications again.
1:27:57 PM
Controller
If for whatever reason, you don’t hear anything from me further, you can expect to enter right downwind and call Caldwell Tower.
1:29:19 PM
Controller
You just continue on towards the field. They’re going to help navigate you in.
This is in case we are losing our frequencies.
1:29:32 PM
Pilot
OK, I’m going over to Caldwell. Talk to you. Have a good afternoon.
Minutes Later, Radar Issues Persist
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft reappeared on radarscopes within 90 seconds of the outage’s start, but analysis of air traffic control recordings suggest that the radar remained unreliable for at least some radio frequencies for several minutes after the outage began around 1:27 p.m.
At 1:32 p.m., six minutes after the radio went quiet, Flight N824TP, a small private plane, contacted the controller to request clearance to enter “Class B” airspace — the type around the busiest airports in the country. The request was denied, and the pilot was asked to contact a different radio frequency.
1:32:43 PM
Pilot
Do I have Bravo clearance?
1:32:48 PM
Controller
You do not have a Bravo clearance. We lost our radar, and it’s not working correctly. …
If you want a Bravo clearance, you can just call the tower when you get closer.
1:32:59 PM
Pilot
I’ll wait for that frequency from you, OK?
1:33:03 PM
Controller
Look up the tower frequencies, and we don’t have a radar, so I don’t know where you are.
The last flight to land at Newark was at 1:44 p.m., but about half an hour after the outage began, a controller was still reporting communication problems.
“You’ll have to do that on your own navigation. Our radar and radios are unreliable at the moment,” a Philadelphia controller said to a small aircraft flying from Long Island around 1:54 p.m.
Since April 28, there has been an additional radar outage on May 9, which the F.A.A. also characterized as lasting about 90 seconds. Secretary Duffy has proposed a plan to modernize equipment in the coming months, but the shortage of trained staff members is likely to persist into next year.
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