STATE NEWS IN BRIEF
Charter bus barrels into NYC bus; 3 dead
NEW YORK » A charter bus barreled through an intersection, slammed into a city bus and then plowed onto a sidewalk and into a building Monday, killing three people.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was shocked by the “sheer destruction” and noted that one of the people killed was a pedestrian simply walking down the sidewalk when the collision happened “out of nowhere.”
The other dead were the tour bus driver and a passenger on the city bus. Sixteen other people were hurt, some of them seriously, in the crash at 6:15 a.m. in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, city officials said at a briefing.
A building that houses a number of retail stores, including a fried chicken restaurant, received substantial impact from the crash, and experts were working to make sure it was secure, de Blasio said.
The hospitalized city bus driver was being interviewed by investigators, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota said.
Security camera footage posted by WABC captured the tour bus smashing into the city bus as it turns right. As the city bus spins out of control, the charter bus plows onto a sidewalk and into the side of the restaurant.
The charter bus’s brake lights don’t go on until the bus stops moving.
Although the investigation has just begun, the evidence indicates there was “an enormous amount of speed,” Lhota said.
“We want to make sure we understand what happened and prevent this from ever happening again,” Lhota said.
Signage on the tour bus showed it was from the Dahlia Group, Inc., based in Flushing. A person answering the phone there declined to comment; there was no immediate response to an emailed request seeking comment.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records show that a Dahlia bus was also involved in a fatal crash in Connecticut in February 2016.
One of the company’s buses was driving through a snowstorm to reach the Mohegan Sun casino when it overturned on Interstate 95 in Madison, east of New Haven. One person died, and 36 people were injured.
The company’s drivers have been cited several times over the past 12 months for safety violations, including failing to obey a traffic control device, speeding and unlawful parking in the roadway.
Storm puts trooper deployment on hold
ALBANY » The deployment of more than 100 members of the New York Army National Guard and state police to the U.S. Virgin Islands to help with hurricane recovery efforts is on hold because of another storm approaching the region.
National Guard officials say Monday that the departure of 100 soldiers in a Buffalo-based military police unit and 30 troopers has been delayed because of Hurricane Maria, which has strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it pushes toward the eastern Caribbean.
The New York contingent was set to depart from Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station aboard a military aircraft for St. Thomas, one of several Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he was sending aid to the U.S. Virgin Islands during a one-day visit to the U.S. territory last Friday.
Cuomo endorses rival Democrat de Blasio
ALBANY » New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has endorsed his frequent rival and fellow Democrat Bill de Blasio for a second term as mayor of New York City.
Cuomo voiced his support for de Blasio on Monday during an interview on WNYC. He called de Blasio “the better person to serve” the city.
De Blasio faces Republican state Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island in the November election.
Cuomo had declined to make an endorsement during the five-way Democratic primary. He and de Blasio have feuded repeatedly, with Cuomo’s administration second-guessing the mayor and de Blasio complaining of Cuomo’s retaliation against his political opponents.
On Monday, however, Cuomo said simply that as a Democrat he will support the Democratic primary victor.
Tougher rules for credit agencies eyed
ALBANY » New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday proposed tougher state regulations for credit reporting agencies such as Equifax in the wake of the massive hacking of the Atlanta-based company’s computers.
The Democrat announced that he has directed the state Department of Financial Services to issue new regulations requiring credit reporting agencies to register in New York for the first time and to comply with the state’s cybersecurity standards.
The proposal, first reported Monday by The New York Times, would require Equifax, Experian and similar firms to adhere to the same consumer protection rules the state imposes on banks and insurance companies.
Equifax announced last week that hackers broke into its software and gained access to Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and full legal names from a massive database maintained primarily for lenders.
Cuomo said consumer credit reporting agencies operating in New York will be required to register annually with DFS by Feb. 1, 2018, and by Feb. 1 of each year afterward. The DFS superintendent will have the authority to deny or revoke an agency’s authorization to do business with New York consumers and state-regulated financial institutions if a firm fails to comply with regulations, the governor said.
“The Equifax breach was a wakeup call and with this action New York is raising the bar for consumer protections that we hope will be replicated across the nation,” Cuomo said.
Fiscal group gives state a failing grade
ALBANY » A new report from a fiscal watchdog group is slamming New York state’s financial practices.
The Chicago-based group Truth in Accounting gives the state a grade of “F’’ in its new 50-state analysis of government spending and budgeting.
Specifically, the report’s authors faulted New York for its relatively high pension and health care obligations, as well as its high tax burden.
California, New Jersey, Illinois and Massachusetts earned similarly low scores from the group.
The complete report will be published on Tuesday. Its findings were reported first by The Associated Press.
Former US attorney launches podcast
NEW YORK >> Former federal prosecutor and outspoken White House critic Preet Bharara is launching a podcast.
Bharara was fired in March by President Donald Trump from his post as the U.S. attorney for parts of New York City, including Manhattan. He has been vocal on Twitter and elsewhere since his dismissal. Bharara tells USA Today that he won’t put “anything off limits” in “Stay Tuned With Preet,” a podcast that launches Wednesday.
Bharara tells the newspaper he will address his firing by Trump in one of the first episodes “so people will understand the context from which I’m speaking.”
Bharara has said Trump originally asked him to stay on in the post, but he was let go with other Obama administration holdovers in March.
Trump’s childhood home draws refugees
NEW YORK » President Donald Trump’s childhood home in New York had some new occupants over the weekend — refugees.
They were there sharing their stories to draw attention to the refugee crisis just as the United Nations General Assembly convenes this week with the Republican president in attendance.
The Queens, New York, house that Trump’s father built is now a rental available on Airbnb that anyone can stay in for $725 a night. The international anti-poverty organization Oxfam rented it Saturday and invited refugees to share their stories with journalists.
Trump’s administration issued travel bans on people from six Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. After various court challenges, the Supreme Court last week allowed the restrictive policy on refugees to remain temporarily. The justices will hear arguments on the bans in October.
Rolling Stone magazine to be sold
NEW YORK >> Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner plans to sell his company’s controlling stake in the legendary magazine that chronicled the music and politics of the counterculture movement and changed music journalism forever.
The New York Times reported Sunday that Wenner and his 27-year-old son, Gus, the president and chief operating officer of Wenner Media, hope to stay on at the magazine, but it’s a decision for the buyer.
Gus Wenner said in an interview last week that “publishing is a completely different industry than what it was.”
No potential buyers have been named. The company’s other magazines, Us Weekly and Men’s Journal, were sold recently to American Media Inc., helmed by publisher David J. Pecker.
The elder Wenner says he hopes to find a buyer that understands Rolling Stone’s mission.