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Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson comes up big in Game 5 defeat
Knicks' Mitchell Robinson comes up big in Game 5 defeat
GiveSendGo co-founder ‘not proud’ to host fundraiser for alleged track meet murder suspect, says some donors are ‘wrong’
Texas Austin Metcalf murder suspect Karmelo Anthony fundraising, GiveSendGo co-founder Jacob Wells 'not proud'
Hundreds of North Korean troops killed while fighting Ukraine, Seoul says
SEOUL, South Korea — About 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000, South Korean lawmakers said Wednesday, citing the country’s intelligence agency.North Korea has suffered some 4,700 casualties so far, including both injuries and deaths, though its troops have shown signs of improved combat capabilities over about six months by using modern weapons like drones, the lawmakers said.In return for dispatching troops and supplying weapons to Russia, Pyongyang appears to have received technical assistance on spy satellites, as well as drones and anti-air missiles, they said.“After six months of participation in the war, the North Korean military has become less inept, and its combat capability has significantly improved as it becomes accustomed to using new weapons such as drones,” Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters, after being briefed by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.Pyongyang earlier this week confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine under orders from leader Kim Jong Un and that it had helped regain control of Russian territory occupied by Ukraine.North Korea’s unprecedented deployment of thousands of troops, as well as massive amounts of artillery ammunition and missiles, gave Russia a crucial battlefield advantage in the western Kursk region and has brought the two economically and politically isolated countries closer.Lee, the lawmaker, added that bodies of dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Kursk before being shipped back home.Pyongyang is also believed to have sent about 15,000 workers to Russia, said the lawmakers, citing intelligence assessments.North Korean labor overseas is known as a source of the regime’s hard currency income, but U.N. sanctions prohibit the use of North Korean labor in third countries.
Senior Mexican politician shot and killed at seafood restaurant — week after town’s police chief gunned down
Mexico politician Jose Luis Pereida Robles shot and killed at seafood restaurant — week after town's police chief gunned down
Knicks honor Hall of Famer Dick Barnett with moment of silence
Knicks honor Hall of Famer Dick Barnett with moment of silence
Conservative commentator David Horowitz dead at 86
Conservative commentator David Horowitz dead at 86
A town refuses to give up the school’s Native American mascot — and gets Trump’s support
MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. — As a high school hockey player, Adam Drexler wore his Massapequa Chiefs jersey with pride.But as the Chickasaw Nation member grew up and learned about his Indigenous roots, he came to see the school’s mascot — a stereotypical Native American man wearing a headdress — as problematic.Now his Long Island hometown has become the latest flashpoint in the enduring debate over the place of Indigenous imagery in American sports: The Trump administration launched an investigation Friday into whether New York officials are discriminating against Massapequa by threatening to withhold funding. The town has refused to comply with a state mandate to retire Native American sports names and mascots.“There was no tribe east of the Mississippi that ever wore a headdress — ever,” said Drexler, 60, who was adopted and raised by a white Jewish family. “How can you argue for a symbol that has no significance or relevance here, while at the same time claiming you honor and respect the culture and history of the people this town is named after?”It’s hard to miss the Native American imagery around Massapequa, a coastal hamlet 40 miles east of Manhattan where roughly 90% of the residents are white.The Chiefs logo is prominently featured on signs adorning school, police and fire department buildings. Students in recent years even painted a colorful mural with the logo and team name on a commercial building next to the high school in protest of change to the mascot.A few minutes drive away, next to the town’s post office, a statue of a Native American figure wearing a flowing headdress towers over those depicting a buffalo, a horse and a totem pole.“When you think of Massapequa, you think of the Chiefs,” said Forrest Bennett, a 15-year-old high school sophomore.A town at odds with state policyNew York has been trying to rid schools of Native American mascots going back more than two decades to the administration of Republican Gov. George Pataki, and in 2022 gave districts until the end of the school year to commit to replacing them.Massapequa was among four school districts on Long Island that filed a federal suit challenging the ban, arguing their choice of team names and mascots were protected by the First Amendment.Districts could seek exemption from the state mandates if they gained approval from a Native American tribe, but state officials say Massapequa instead “stayed silent” for years.The local school board declined to comment this week, instead referring to a Friday statement in which they lauded the investigation by the federal education agency, which President Donald Trump has moved to dismantle in recent weeks.Trump, for his part, has made frequent visits to Long Island in recent years as the suburban region has shifted Republican. Last spring, he visited Massapequa to attend the wake of a New York City police officer.“Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population,” Trump wrote in a recent social media post. Days later he posed with a Massapequa Chiefs sweater in the Oval Office. “I don’t see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon!”The NFL’s Chiefs have stuck with their name despite years of protest from some Native American activists. Five years ago, the team barred fans from wearing headdresses or face paint referencing Native American culture.Meanwhile other professional teams, including football’s Washington Redskins ( now Commanders ) and baseball’s Cleveland Indians ( now Guardians ), have adopted new monikers and logos.Residents say mascot ‘honors’ Native AmericansAlong the eateries and shops next to Massapequa High, students and parents insisted the team name and mascot are meant to honor the Massapequa, who were part of the broader Lenape, or Delaware people who inhabited the woodlands of the Northeastern U.S. and Canada for thousands of years before being decimated by European colonization.“It’s not that we’re trying to do anything disrespectful,” said Christina Zabbatino, a mother of two. “Actually, I would be honored if it was my face, you know what I mean?”Lucas Rumberg, a 15-year-old sophomore, shrugged off criticism that the school logo reflects the traditional garb of a Midwest tribe and not the attire worn by the Lenape people eventually forced to move further and further west by colonial settlers and then American government forces as the nation expanded.“Even though it’s not necessarily what they look like here, I feel like it still conveys that we are respectful of Native Americans,” Rumberg said. “I get that people might be offended by it, but I just feel that it’s been here so long that it should stay.”Native Americans say mascot is dehumanizingBut that dismissive attitude is precisely why stereotypical mascots are offensive, argues Joseph Pierce, director of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University, also on Long Island.“It is as if this image were a shorthand for any and all Indians,” said the Cherokee Nation citizen. “And that reduces us to a type, rather than portray us as distinct peoples.”Indian mascots also contribute to the view that Native peoples are relics of the past, and not living communities facing urgent threats today, says Joey Fambrini, a member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians who works for New York Indian Council, a nonprofit providing health care to Native Americans.“That dehumanization isn’t harmless: It directly contributes to why our struggles are ignored or minimized,” the 29-year-old Brooklyn resident said, noting that tribal communities endure high rates of poverty, inadequate housing, lack of clean water and limited education access, among other challenges.The cheerful mascot also obscures Massapequa’s grim legacy of violence against Native Americans, says John Kane, a member of the Mohawk tribe of upstate New York who has pushed districts across the state for years to change their names and mascots.The town, after all, was the site of a massacre in which scores of Native men, women and children were killed by Europeans in the 1600s, he said.“They’re not trying to honor us. That’s why accuracy of the logo doesn’t matter to them,” Kane said. “So the idea that this is some sort of honor to us? I mean, come on. It’s an absurd proposition to even suggest.”
Hawaii plans to increase hotel tax to help it cope with climate change
HONOLULU — In a first-of-its kind move, Hawaii lawmakers are ready to hike a tax imposed on travelers staying in hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations and earmark the new money for programs to cope with a warming planet.State leaders say they’ll use the funds for projects like replenishing sand on eroding beaches, helping homeowners install hurricane clips on their roofs and removing invasive grasses like those that fueled the deadly wildfire that destroyed Lahaina two years ago.A bill scheduled for House and Senate votes on Wednesday would add an additional 0.75% to the daily room rate tax starting Jan. 1. It’s all but certain to pass given Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers and party leaders have agreed on the measure. Gov. Josh Green has said he would sign it into law.Officials estimate the increase would generate $100 million in new revenue annually.“We had a $13 billion tragedy in Maui and we lost 102 people. These kind of dollars will help us prevent that next disaster,” Green said in an interview.Green said Hawaii was the first state in the nation to do something along these lines. Andrey Yushkov, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, said he was unaware of any other state that has set aside lodging tax revenue for the purposes of environmental protection or climate change.Adding to an already hefty taxThe increase will add to what is already a relatively large duty on short-term stays. The state’s existing 10.25% tax on daily room rates would climb to 11%. In addition, Hawaii’s counties each add their own 3% surcharge and the state and counties impose a combined 4.712% general excise tax on goods and services including hotel rooms. Together, that will make for a tax rate of nearly 19%.The only large U.S. cities that have higher cumulative state and local lodging tax rates are Omaha, Nebraska, at 20.5%, and Cincinnati, at 19.3%, according to a 2024 report by HVS, a global hospitality consulting firm.The governor has long said the 10 million visitors who come to Hawaii each year should help the state’s 1.4 million residents protect the environment.Green believes travelers will be willing to pay the increased tax because doing so will enable Hawaii to “keep the beaches perfect” and preserve favorite spots like Maui’s road to Hana and the coastline along Oahu’s North Shore. After the Maui wildfire, Green said he heard from thousands of people across the country asking how they could help. This is a significant way they can, he said.Hotel industry has mixed feelingsJerry Gibson, president of the Hawaii Hotel Alliance, which represents the state’s hotel operators, said the industry was pleased lawmakers didn’t adopt a higher increase that was initially proposed.“I don’t think that there’s anybody in the tourism industry that says, ‘Well, let’s go out and tax more.’ No one wants to see that,” Gibson said. “But our state, at the same time, needs money.”The silver lining, Gibson said, is that the money is supposed to beautify Hawaii’s environment. It will be worth it if that’s the case, he said.Hawaii has long struggled to pay for the vast environmental and conservation needs of the islands, ranging from protecting coral reefs to weeding invasive plants to making sure tourists don’t harass wildlife, such as Hawaiian monk seals. The state must also maintain a large network of trails, many of which have heavier foot traffic as more travelers choose to hike on vacation.Two years ago, lawmakers considered requiring tourists to pay for a yearlong license or pass to visit state parks and trails. Green wanted to have all visitors pay a $50 fee to enter the state, an idea lawmakers said would violate U.S. constitutional protections for free travel.Boosting the lodging tax is their compromise solution, one made more urgent by the Maui wildfires.A large funding gapAn advocacy group, Care for Aina Now, calculated a $561 million gap between Hawaii’s conservation funding needs and money spent each year.Green acknowledged the revenue from the tax increase falls short of this, but said the state would issue bonds to leverage the money it raises. Most of the $100 million would go toward measures that can be handled in a one-to-two year time frame, while $10 to $15 million of it would pay for bonds supporting long-term infrastructure projects.Kāwika Riley, a member of the governor’s Climate Advisory Team, pointed to the Hawaiian saying, “A stranger only for a day,” to explain the new tax. The adage means that a visitor should help with the work after the first day of being a guest.“Nobody is saying that literally our visitors have to come here and start working for us. But what we are saying is that it’s important to be part of of the solution,” Riley said. “It’s important to be part of caring for the things you love.”
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