logo
Zohran Mamdani visiting Uganda during NYC mayoral campaign

Zohran Mamdani visiting Uganda during NYC mayoral campaign

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is visiting his native country of Uganda to celebrate his recent marriage, taking a short break from the campaign trail ahead of the November election.
Mamdani announced the visit in a video posted to social media on Sunday and said he would return to the city by the end of July.
The trip comes as Mamdani, a 33-year-old member of the state Assembly, is facing a crowded field of opponents in the city's general election, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who are both running as independent candidates.
In his video, Mamdani joked that he had decided to heed the 'consistent advice' of some of his critics online who have told him to return to Africa, showing a screen full of posts that called for him to leave the U.S.
'I hear you, and I agree: I'm going back to Uganda,' he said. 'I'm headed there in a personal capacity to celebrate Rama and I's marriage with our family and friends.'
"But I do want to apologize to the haters, because I will be coming back," Mamdani added.
Mamdani announced his marriage to Rama Duwaji, an animator and illustrator, earlier this year. He was born in Kampala, Uganda to Indian parents and moved to New York when he was 7, becoming naturalized as an American citizen in 2018.
Mamdani defeated Cuomo in the city's Democratic primary election but Cuomo later relaunched his campaign to run as an independent candidate. Adams is a Democrat but skipped this primary to instead run as an independent because of the political fallout over his now-dismissed federal corruption case.
Jim Walden, a former prosecutor, is also running as an independent. Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the anti-crime Guardian Angels patrol group, is running on the Republican line.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump admin appeals to Supreme Court to allow $783M research-funding cuts over DEI
Trump admin appeals to Supreme Court to allow $783M research-funding cuts over DEI

New York Post

time7 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Trump admin appeals to Supreme Court to allow $783M research-funding cuts over DEI

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Justice Department argued a federal judge in Massachusetts was wrong to block the National Institutes of Health from making $783 million worth of cuts to align with President Donald Trump's priorities. US District Judge William Young found that the abrupt cancellations ignored long-held government rules and standards. Advertisement The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to cut $783 million of research funding in an effort to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion policies. AP Young, an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, also said the cuts amounted to 'racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community.' 'I've never seen government racial discrimination like this,' Young said at a hearing last month. Advertisement An appeals court left the ruling in place. The ruling came in lawsuits filed by 16 attorneys general, public-health advocacy groups and some affected scientists. US District Judge William Young argued against the Trump administration that the proposed cuts amounted to 'racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community.' AP His decision addressed only a fraction of the hundreds of NIH research projects that have been cut. Advertisement The Trump administration's appeal also takes aim at nearly two dozen cases over funding. Solicitor General D. John Sauer pointed to a 5-4 decision on the Supreme Court's emergency docket from April that allowed cuts to teacher training programs to go forward, one of multiple recent victories for the president at the nation's highest court. The order shows that district judges shouldn't be hearing those cases at all, but rather sending them to federal claims court, he argued. 'Those decisions reflect quintessential policy judgments on hotly contested issues that should not be subject to judicial second-guessing. It is hardly irrational for agencies to recognize—as members of this Court have done—that paeans to 'diversity' often conceal invidious racial discrimination,' he wrote.

FCC approves Skydance-Paramount $8B merger
FCC approves Skydance-Paramount $8B merger

UPI

time8 minutes ago

  • UPI

FCC approves Skydance-Paramount $8B merger

1 of 3 | The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced it had approved Skydance's acquisition of Paramount Global. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced its approval of Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, ending months of uncertainty surrounding the deal but inflaming allegations of corruption directed at the Trump administration. The FCC voted 2-1 in favor of Skydance's acquisition of Paramount and all of its subsidiaries, including Paramount Pictures, CBS television, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Among the commitments Skydance made to the Trump administration was ensuring it will include news and entertainment programming that "will embody a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum" and that CBS News' reporting "will be fair, unbiased and fact-based," according to the FCC. Skydance has also pledged that it will not establish any diversity, equity and inclusion policies -- ideology that seeks to create inclusive environments that the Trump administration has been seeking to remove from both public and private sectors on allegations of discrimination. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr described the merger as a change that will instill public trust in media. "It is time for a change," he said in a statement. "That is why I welcome Skydance's commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network." Though the FCC said Skydance does not have any DEI programs, Carr said the agreement "marks another step forward in the FCC's efforts to eliminate invidious forms of DEI discrimination." Skydance announced the deal in July of last year, but the merger has stalled amid frictions with the Trump administration, as President Donald Trump has sparred with CBS News. Trump sued CBS News while campaigning for re-election in October for $10 billion in a lawsuit many saw as one he wouldn't win over editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his political opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris. He then upped the amount in damages to $20 billion after winning re-election. Earlier this month, Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement with Trump that Democrats and critics of the Trump administration are calling a bribe and an affront to free speech -- accusations that only intensified after Trump earlier this week said Skydance has pledged $20 million more in advertising, PSAs and "other Similar Programming, for a total $36 MillIon Dollars." Paramount Global told UPI that the $16 million, minus fees and costs, will be allocated to Trump's future presidential library. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat of the three commissioners and the only one not appointed by Trump, dissented to the merger, and described Paramount's settlement as "cowardly capitulation" and accused the FCC of losing its independence. In her strongly worded dissent, Gomez warned that this merger will not be the last time the Trump administration threatens the First Amendment. "The Paramount payout and this reckless approval have emboldened those who believe the government can -- and should -- abuse its power to extract financial and ideological concessions, demand favored treatment and secure positive media coverage," she said. "It is a dark chapter in a long and growing record of abuse that threatens press freedom in this country." Democrats were quick to lament their concerns online. "Trump filed a sham lawsuit against CBS, but instead of fighting it CBS' parent company, Paramount, paid Trump $16 million to his future library. So, you got to ask, why did Paramount do that if the suit was quote 'meritless'?" Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a video statement published online. "Well, maybe because they needed Trump to approve their multibillion-dollar merger, which Trump just did. The appearance of this wink-wink deal basically let's every other company and every other billionaire know that Trump is open for business, apparently happy to accept offers in exchange for favors." Warren has called for a full investigation into the deal. Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass, and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., described Thursday as "a dark day for independent journalism" and called the approval of the merger "a stain on the storied history of the Federal Communications Commission. "The FCC's approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger reeks of the worst form of corruption. The timing speaks for itself: Paramount settled with Trump for $36 million on Tuesday and the FCC approved the merger on Wednesday," they said in a joint statement. "The stench of this transaction will linger over the commission for years."

What Does It Take to Make Your Own Embassy? In India, Not Much.
What Does It Take to Make Your Own Embassy? In India, Not Much.

New York Times

time8 minutes ago

  • New York Times

What Does It Take to Make Your Own Embassy? In India, Not Much.

There are more than 100 diplomatic missions based in India's capital, New Delhi. What does it take to set up your own? Not much, if you ask Harshvardhan Jain, a.k.a. 'Baron H.V. Jain.' Rent a bungalow, hoist some flags, park a few luxury cars on the curb, photoshop yourself into pictures with world leaders, and — voilà! — you have your own embassy. Until you are caught, that is. The Indian police arrested Mr. Jain, 47, on Tuesday for running a fake embassy in a rented residential building in Ghaziabad, a city just outside New Delhi. This house, the police said, alternately acted as the diplomatic mission for Westarctica or the Principality of Seborga or Poulbia Lodonia — depending on the day or the need or the hour. These entities, technically, are 'micronations' — self-proclaimed sovereign states that lack a legal basis for their existence, as they are not recognized by other countries. For the better part of a decade, such legal inconveniences did little to undermine Mr. Jain's operation. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store