Mamdani pays tribute to officer killed in New York shooting
Mamdani said at a press conference on Wednesday that he visited the family of Didarul Islam, who immigrated to the U.S. from Bangladesh and joined the New York Police Department (NYPD) in December 2021. Islam, who was 36 years old, was the first person shot and killed during the shooting.
He also spoke of the three other victims killed in the shooting and said millions of New Yorkers are praying for those injured.
'In this moment of mourning and of grief, I want to thank law enforcement for their response to the horrific shooting on Monday and their work in keeping New Yorkers safe,' Mamdani said. 'I ask that in this moment, we come together as New Yorkers and we remember our four neighbors that were killed, we honor their memories and we live up to the way in which they led their lives.'
Mamdani had been in Uganda, where he is originally from, celebrating his wedding from earlier this year. He had planned to return to the U.S. by the end of the month.
His meeting with Islam's family came after he received some backlash for his past criticism of the NYPD, including allegations of racial discrimination.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom Mamdani defeated in the Democratic primary but is now running against him in the general election as an independent, argued during an appearance on CNN that Mamdani doesn't understand the importance of the police department and public safety.
Mamdani previously supported the 'defund the police' movement in 2020 but said during a primary debate this year that he didn't plan to do so. Cuomo, however, argued that Mamdani's past comments could hurt morale in the police department.
Mamdani also called for increased gun regulations in response to the shooting and backed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's (D) push for the revival of a federal assault weapons ban.
'As New Yorkers across the five boroughs and Americans across the country mourn this mass shooting, we are reminded that no matter how strong our gun laws are in this state, we are only as safe as the weakest laws in this nation,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former NM Cabinet secretary Sonya Smith joins secretary of state race
Aug. 1—SANTA FE — A former Cabinet secretary in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration has entered New Mexico's secretary of state race, setting the stage for a three-way Democratic primary next year. Sonya Smith, who led the state's Department of Veteran Services, announced her candidacy for secretary of state this week. She joins fellow Democrats Amanda López Askin, the Doña Ana County clerk, and Katherine Clark, the Santa Fe County clerk, in the race to succeed current Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. Toulouse Oliver has been New Mexico's top elections official since 2016 but is barred under the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive four-year term. Smith, a former U.S. Air Force and Gulf War veteran, was nominated in January 2021 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to lead the Department of Veterans Services. Before that, she had worked in the state Department of Health, coordinating COVID-19 testing. After nearly two years on the job, Smith stepped down from her Cabinet-level post in November 2022 to be closer to her family. She said Friday she would work to build on Toulouse Oliver's record if elected, while also expanding voter education efforts across New Mexico. "It is a need and desire to protect our vote; that's what I'm running on," Smith told the Journal. She also said she planned to target independent voters — along with registered Democrats — in the run-up to the June 2026 primary election. The election will be the first in modern state history in which independent voters are allowed to vote without having to change their party affiliation, under legislation signed into law this year by Lujan Grisham. If her election bid is successful, Smith would become the first African American elected secretary of state in New Mexico. She acknowledged Friday she does not have experience running elections but said her leadership skills and connections made with veterans statewide could be assets on the campaign trail. All New Mexico statewide offices will be on the ballot next year, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state. No Republican candidate has, as of yet, announced a campaign for next year's secretary of state contest. The last GOP candidate to win election as New Mexico secretary of state was Dianna Duran in 2012. Duran resigned from office in 2015 while being investigated for using campaign contributions to pay for a gambling habit. New Mexico's primary election is scheduled for June 2, 2026, with the general election set for Nov. 3.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Tariffs, Fed Vote, Jobs & More: Major Week For U.S. Economy - The Lead with Jake Tapper - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Tariffs, Fed Vote, Jobs & More: Major Week For U.S. Economy The Lead with Jake Tapper 84 mins President Trump announces a slew of new tariffs. Also, President Trump deploys two nuclear submarines after what he calls provocative statements by Russia's former leader. Plus, a look at what CNN is learning about the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell to a prison in Texas.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down after being defunded by Congress, targeted by Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and even emergency alerts. The demise of the corporation, known as CPB, is a direct result of President Donald Trump's targeting of public media, which he has repeatedly said is spreading political and cultural views antithetical to those the United States should be espousing. The closure is expected to have a profound impact on the journalistic and cultural landscape — in particular, public radio and TV stations in small communities across the United States. CPB helps fund both PBS and NPR, but most of its funding is distributed to more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country. The corporation also has deep ties to much of the nation's most familiar programming, from NPR's 'All Things Considered' to, historically, 'Sesame Street,' 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' and the documentaries of Ken Burns. The corporation said its end, 58 years after being signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, would come in an 'orderly wind-down.' In a statement, it said the decision came after the passage through Congress of a package that clawed back its funding for the next two budget years — about $1.1 billion. Then, the Senate Appropriations Committee reinforced that policy change Thursday by excluding funding for the corporation for the first time in more than 50 years as part of a broader spending bill. 'Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,' said Patricia Harrison, the corporation's president and CEO. As part of Thursday's committee deliberations, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., authored but then withdrew an amendment to restore CPB funding for the coming budget year. She said she still believed there was a path forward 'to fix this before there are devastating consequences for public radio and television stations across the country.' 'It's hard to believe we've ended up in the situation we're in,' she said. 'And I'm going to continue to work with my colleagues to fix it.' But Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, sounded a less optimistic tone. 'I understand your concerns, but we all know we litigated this two weeks ago,' Capito said. 'Adopting this amendment would have been contrary to what we have already voted on.' CPB said it informed employees Friday that most staff positions will end with the fiscal year on Sept. 30. It said a small transition team will stay in place until January to finish any remaining work — including, it said, 'ensuring continuity for music rights and royalties that remain essential to the public media system.' 'Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,' Harrison said. 'We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.' The impact will be widespread NPR stations use millions of dollars in federal money to pay music licensing fees. Now, many will have to renegotiate these deals. That could impact, in particular, outlets that build their programming around music discovery. NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher estimated recently, for example, that some 96% of all classical music broadcast in the United States is on public radio stations. Federal money for public radio and television has traditionally been appropriated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes it to NPR and PBS. Roughly 70% of the money goes directly to the 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations across the country, although that's only a shorthand way to describe its potential impact. Trump, who has called the CPB a 'monstrosity,' has long said that public broadcasting displays an extreme liberal bias, helped create the momentum in recent months for an anti-public broadcasting groundswell among his supporters in Congress and around the country. It is part of a larger initiative in which he has targeted institutions — particularly cultural ones — that produce content or espouse attitudes that he considers 'un-American.' The CPB's demise represents a political victory for those efforts. His impact on the media landscape has been profound. He has also gone after U.S. government media that had independence charters, including the venerable Voice of America, ending that media outlet's operations after many decades. Trump also fired three members of the corporation's board of directors in April. In legal action at the time, the fired directors said their dismissal was governmental overreach targeting an entity whose charter guarantees it independence.
