North America’s largest commuter rail system was shut down on Saturday (May 16, 2026) after unionised workers in the New York City area went on strike.

The Long Island Rail Road that serves the city’s eastern suburbs ceased operations early on Saturday (May 16, 2026) morning after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.

The two sides have been negotiating for months on a new contract, and President Donald Trump’s administration had even interceded to try and broker a deal. But the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12.01 a.m. Saturday (May 16, 2026).

Kevin Sexton of the National Vice President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

“We’re far apart at this point,” Mr. Sexton said early Saturday (May 16, 2026). “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

Janno Lieber, the MTA chairman, said the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out.

The walkout, the first for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) since a two-day strike in 1994, promises to cause headaches for some sports fans planning to see the crosstown baseball rivals the New York Yankees and Mets battle this weekend or to watch the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) New York Knicks playoff run at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Both sports venues have dedicated LIRR stops.

If the shutdown continues past the weekend, the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system to and from work each weekday will be forced to find alternative routes into New York City from its Long Island suburbs.

For many, that likely means navigating the region’s notoriously congested roads.

“People are still going to commute, but if everybody starts driving now, the traffic is only going to get worse,” said Rich Piccola, an accountant who commutes into the city as he waited at Penn Station for a train home on Thursday (May 14, 2026).

Governor Kathleen Courtney Hochul is urging Long Islanders to work from home if possible. The MTA has said it will provide limited shuttle buses to New York City subway stations, but that contingency plan wasn’t envisioned to handle all the riders the system normally carries on a workday.

And while remote work options greatly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers still need to show up in person, said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, a commuter advocacy group.

“You work in construction, you work in the healthcare industry, you work at a school or you’re about to graduate from school, that’s not always possible,” she said of telecommuting. “People need to get where they need to go.”

The most recent contract talks have stalled on the question of worker’s salaries and health care premiums.

The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands would have led to fare increases and impacted contract negotiations with other unionized workers.

The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.

Some riders, while sympathetic to the union’s affordability concerns, worry they’ll bear the brunt of any pay raises.

If the unions get the pay increases they are looking for, “it will come at the expense of our riders who will see next year’s 4% fare increase doubled to 8%,” Gerard Bringmann, chair of the LIRR Commuter Council, a rider advocacy group, said in a statement. “Like the union workers, we too are burdened by the increase in the cost of living here on Long Island.”

With Gov. Hochul, a Democrat, facing reelection later this year, the pressure might be on the MTA to strike a deal to end the shutdown, said William “Bill” Dwyer, a labor relations expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where commuter rail workers staged a three-day strike last year.

“She’s up for reelection, and Long Island is a critical vote for her,” he said. “So if there’s a significant fare hike, that does not bode well for her on Election Day.”

Published – May 16, 2026 06:26 pm IST

New York:

The New York judge presiding over President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case on Friday set sentencing for 10 days before his January 20 inauguration and said he was not inclined to impose jail time.

Judge Juan Merchan said Trump, the first former president ever convicted of a crime, can appear either in person or virtually at his January 10 sentencing.

In an 18-page decision, Merchan rejected various motions from Trump’s lawyers seeking to have his conviction thrown out.

The judge said that instead of incarceration he was leaning towards an unconditional discharge –- a far more lenient sentence that would nevertheless have Trump entering the White House as a convicted felon.

“It seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration,” the judge said, noting that prosecutors also did not believe a jail term was a “practicable recommendation.”

Trump was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.

Trump’s attorneys had sought to have the case dismissed on various grounds, including the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year that former US presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed while in office.

Merchan rejected that argument but he noted that Trump will be immune from prosecution once he is sworn in as president.

“Finding no legal impediment to sentencing and recognizing that Presidential immunity will likely attach once Defendant takes his Oath of Office, it is incumbent upon this Court to set this matter down for imposition of sentence prior to January 20, 2025,” Merchan said.

Trump also faced two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith but both were dropped under a long-standing Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.

Trump was accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden and removing large quantities of top secret documents after leaving the White House, but the cases never came to trial.

Trump also faces racketeering charges in Georgia over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results in the southern state, but that case will likely be frozen while he is in the White House.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A woman who died after being set on fire on the New York City subway earlier this month was identified as Debrina Kawam, 57, of Toms River, New Jersey, the New York medical examiner’s office said on Tuesday.

Kawam was identified through fingerprint analysis and her death from thermal and inhalation injuries was ruled a homicide, said Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Kawam “had a brief stint in our homeless shelter system,” without giving further details.

Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old Guatemalan citizen, was charged with murder and arson after allegedly lighting Kawam on fire and watching her burn to death at a subway station.

Zapeta was arrested about six hours after police say he used a lighter to ignite the clothes of Kawam who appeared to be dozing on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue stop in Brooklyn.

The suspect entered the U.S. without authorization in 2018 and was deported to Guatemala a few days later. It was unclear when he unlawfully re-entered, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

There appeared to have been no prior interaction between the assailant, a Brooklyn man, and Kawam, police have said.

The Department of Homeland Security statement said it would pursue removal proceedings again whenever Zapeta is released from New York custody, which could include a lengthy prison sentence if he is convicted.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A New York Public Library employee, weighing 163 kg, has filed a lawsuit seeking $4.6 million in damages, alleging that being forced to work at an inadequately sized desk caused him physical and emotional trauma. William Martin, a 6-foot-2 library information assistant, claimed the desk at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on Fifth Avenue was too small for his frame. 

In a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, he described the first-floor service desk as “crampy” due to its swaying countertop with a 12-inch drop. “All I sought was just a service desk with the appropriate accommodation given my physical attributes,” Mr Martin said in his legal filing, as per the NY Post.

Mr Martin’s issues began in October 2021 when he was assigned to the desk in question. After raising concerns, his union intervened and arranged his reassignment to other desks. However, in June 2023, a new assistant director reportedly reassigned him to the same problematic desk.

The lawsuit claims this decision was “detrimental to his health and safety” and alleges that the director increased Mr Martin’s desk assignments to intimidate him.

Mr Martin was later accused of sleeping on the job, which he denied, calling it a “false” claim. The suspension that followed led him to request a transfer and medical leave for anxiety and depression. 

The lawsuit claims the emotional toll on Mr Martin has been severe. He reportedly “trembles” at the thought of returning to work, and his mental health has “been damaged to such an extent” that he can no longer function in his role.

Martin, who once ran a blog titled “300lbsofsportsknowledge,” is now asking the court to compel the library to grant his leave request and approve the monetary compensation.

A spokesperson for the New York Public Library dismissed the lawsuit as “without merit,” saying, “We take employee accommodations and concerns with utmost seriousness and are dedicated to treating our staff across the Library with fairness and respect.”

The case remains ongoing.

An alligator was found in a creek in Rockland County, New York, sparking widespread confusion and curiosity about how it ended up there. On November 14, the Haverstraw Police Department shared on social media that a juvenile alligator was pulled from the Minisceongo Creek.

In a post on Facebook, the Haverstraw Police Department said their “personnel assisted in successfully removing the alligator from the water,” and added, “the Hudson Valley Humane Society of Pomona responded to the scene to take possession and care of the alligator.”

The discovery immediately caught the attention of locals, many of whom voiced their surprise and confusion online. “Had to be a pet. Illegally I’m sure,” one Facebook user commented, while another suggested, “People need to stop getting them as pets,” speculating that the alligator might have been a pet abandoned in the cold water.

In response to the situation, the Hudson Valley Humane Society praised the quick actions of the Haverstraw police. “Many thanks to the incredible response from the Haverstraw Police Department today regarding an alligator in the Minisceongo Creek (Garnerville, NY) who needed rescue. Their quick-thinking and professionalism helped to get this juvenile alligator to safety at the Hudson Valley Humane Society. Currently, this gator is warming up from the cold water,” the organisation wrote on Facebook.

The alligator was safely handed over to the Humane Society staff for care. A Bronx Zoo herpetologist later confirmed the alligator was a male and in good health despite its ordeal.

The big question remains — how did the alligator, which is not native to upstate New York, end up in the creek?

By November 15, the Hudson Valley Humane Society shared an update, saying the alligator, named Philippe, had been moved to Reptile Encounters, a reptile rescue centre in Saugerties, New York, run by Mark Perpetua.

It is illegal to own an alligator in New York but authorities have noted that many people purchase young alligators as pets and later abandon them once the animals grow too large.

Washington DC:

Melania Trump will likely not call the White House her home for the next four years while her husband Donald Trump serves as the US President. Discussions are still ongoing about how and where the incoming first lady will spend her time in her unelected but high-profile role on the world stage, CNN reported, quoting multiple sources. 

In her first move toward bucking the traditions, 52-year-old Melania Trump has skipped the traditional and symbolic meeting with outgoing First Lady Jill Biden at the White House as President Joe Biden hosts the president-elect in the Oval Office on Wednesday (November 13).

Sources attributed Ms Trump’s absence to a prior scheduling conflict related to her eponymous memoir, and her office also confirmed on X that she would not attend the meeting.

The move indicates that Ms Trump, who had already spent four years in the White House, will have even more autonomy the second around.

“I’m not anxious because this time is different. I have much more experience and much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. When you go in, you know exactly what to expect,” Ms Trump recently told Fox News during a friendly interview while promoting her book.

FLOTUS TO SPEND TIME IN NYC, FLORIDA

In her second go-round as first lady, she is reportedly planning to spend the majority of her time between New York City and Palm Beach, Florida. However, despite her absence from the White House, Ms Trump would still likely be present at major events and would have her own platform and priorities as first lady.

“Melania Trump has developed a life and circle of friends in Florida over the past four years and is likely to continue to spend a lot of her time there,” CNN report quoted sources as saying.

The incoming first lady is also likely to spend a significant amount of time at Trump Tower in New York, where her son Barron Trump, 18, is attending New York University.

Her Husband also doesn’t have any qualms with her absence and there “is no internal backlash among the president-elect’s team,” a source told CNN.

Speculation about Melania Trump’s living situation have swirled for months. In June, Axios reported that if the Republican leader returned to the White House, his wife would live elsewhere—perhaps at Mar-a-Lago, where the president-elect is expected to spend a large amount of time, or in Manhattan, where her son is studying.

If reports are true, Melania will become a trend breaker, as all of her predecessors—aside from Anna Symmes Harrison, whose husband died a month into his term, and Bess Truman, who lived across the street during renovations—have lived predominantly in the White House since it was built in 1800.
 

Elon Musk offered effusive praise for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in brief remarks at an awards ceremony in New York, the latest sign of cosiness between a billionaire who’s trying to get Donald Trump elected and a European leader at odds with her Group of Seven allies.

Musk, bestowing an Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award on Meloni, said it was an honour to present the accolade to “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside.”

“She’s also someone who is authentic, honest, truthful – and that can’t always be said about politicians,” Musk added.

The remarks were in keeping with the warm relationship between Musk and Meloni, whose political roots on the right align her with Trump, even as she’s backed the G-7’s support of Ukraine in its struggle against the Russian invasion.

At a festival organized by Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party in December, Musk exhorted the crowd to “make more Italians” and warned of unchecked migration while addressing Italy’s birth rate, which is the lowest in Europe.

Meloni has refrained from backing either Trump or his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she will work closely with whoever occupies the White House, given long-standing ties between the two countries. 

After Musk spoke, Meloni delivered an implicit rebuke to the left, lamenting the desire to “to violently erase the symbols of our civilizations in the US as in Europe.”

“I know that we should not be ashamed to use and defend words and concepts like nation and patriotism, words that mean more than a physical place,” Meloni said. “They mean a state of mind to which one belongs.”

Meloni is in New York with leaders from more than 190 other nations for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. On Sunday, she met with Sundar Pichai and Sam Altman, the chief executives of Alphabet Inc. And OpenAI Inc.

The choice to give a Global Citizen Award to the prime minister, and have Musk present it, has angered some former and current Atlantic Council staff, Politico reported last week, given the dissonance between their views on Ukraine and immigration. 

Meloni received the award “for her strong support of the EU and becoming the first female prime minister of Italy,” according to a media package distributed by the Atlantic Council.

Musk has business interests in Italy. He and Meloni have scheduled a closed-door meeting later this month to discuss investment opportunities in Italy’s space and artificial intelligence sectors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Italy approved a new regulatory framework in June that grants foreign space companies permission to operate in the country, a move that it expects to generate investments of about €7.3 billion ($8.1 billion).

Italy is already serviced by Musk’s Starlink, which delivers broadband internet through a global network of more than 6,000 satellites operated by his Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Meloni has also expressed interest in artificial intelligence, though she sounded a note of caution about the technology in a speech to the United Nations Summit of the Future earlier Monday. She called AI a “great multiplier” but warned it could widen global imbalances.

“Machines will not answer this question,” she said. “Politics must guarantee that artificial intelligence remains controlled by humans and keeps humans at the centre.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he has always understood the potential and capabilities of the Indian community in the US, and for him, they have been strong brand ambassadors of India.

Addressing the Indian diaspora at Nassau Coliseum in New York, PM Modi talked of India’s enormous diversity and adaptability of Indians when they go abroad.

“We belong to a country where there are dozens of languages and dialogues, all faiths and religions of the world and yet we are moving forward united,” he said.

He praised India’s digital revolution, calling it unparalleled anywhere in the world, citing implementation of UPI and 5G network.

“India’s 5G network implementation is bigger than the US, and that too in only two years… Indians carry digital wallets… We have UPI, the world’s largest digital payments system,” PM Modi said.

He said the day is not far when made-in-India semiconductor will be sold across the world.

PM Modi spoke of the magnitude of India’s general elections held earlier this year.

“Ab ki baar…” he said.

“Modi Sarkar, Modi Sarkar,” the audience responded.

He said India’s “namaste” has now become multinational, and has turned from “local to global”. Praising the contributions of the Indian community overseas, PM Modi said Indians contribute to the most no matter where they are.

PM Modi is on a three-day visit to the US.

His address at the “Modi and US” programme is a historic event as 15,000 members of the Indian diaspora gathered from 42 states to welcome the Prime Minister.

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he has always understood the potential and capabilities of the Indian community in the US, and for him, they have been strong brand ambassadors of India.

Addressing the Indian diaspora at Nassau Coliseum in New York, PM Modi talked of India’s enormous diversity and adaptability of Indians when they go abroad.

“We belong to a country where there are dozens of languages and dialogues, all faiths and religions of the world and yet we are moving forward united,” he said.

He praised India’s digital revolution, calling it unparalleled anywhere in the world, citing implementation of UPI and 5G network.

“India’s 5G network implementation is bigger than the US, and that too in only two years… Indians carry digital wallets… We have UPI, the world’s largest digital payments system,” PM Modi said.

He said the day is not far when made-in-India semiconductor will be sold across the world.

PM Modi spoke of the magnitude of India’s general elections held earlier this year.

“Ab ki baar…” he said.

“Modi Sarkar, Modi Sarkar,” the audience responded.

He said India’s “namaste” has now become multinational, and has turned from “local to global”. Praising the contributions of the Indian community overseas, PM Modi said Indians contribute to the most no matter where they are.

PM Modi is on a three-day visit to the US.

His address at the “Modi and US” programme is a historic event as 15,000 members of the Indian diaspora gathered from 42 states to welcome the Prime Minister.

The Consulate General of India in New York has strongly condemned the vandalism of a temple in New York, saying it has raised the matter with the US law enforcement authorities for prompt action against perpetrators of the “heinous act”.

“The vandalism of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Melville, New York, is unacceptable,” the Indian Consulate said in a post on X Monday (September 16, 2024).

It added that the Consulate “is in touch with the community and has raised the matter with the US law enforcement authorities for prompt action against the perpetrators of this heinous act”.

Melville is located in Suffolk County on Long Island and is about 28 kilometres from the 16000-seater Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a mega community event on September 22.

According to footage shared online, expletives have been sprayed on the road and the signage outside the temple. The temple is expected to hold a prayer meeting later in the afternoon following the incident.

The Hindu American Foundation said in a post on X that the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security “must investigate” the attack on the temple “after recent threats to Hindu institutions as a large Indian community gathering is planned in nearby Nassau County this weekend”.

“It is hard to comprehend the absolute cowardice of those who would attack a Hindu temple to air hatred for an elected leader. This attack, following recent threats at Hindu and Indian institutions, must be seen in the context of that threat scenario,” executive director of the Hindu American Foundation Suhag Shukla said in a post on X.