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Day: September 23, 2025

  • Google Admits Censorship Under Biden; Promises to End Bans of YouTube Accounts of Thousands of Americans Censored for Political Speech

    Google Admits Censorship Under Biden; Promises to End Bans of YouTube Accounts of Thousands of Americans Censored for Political Speech

    USA News Google Midtown Tribune

    The Committee on the Judiciary Press Release

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, thanks to the oversight of Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Google commits to offer all creators previously kicked off YouTube due to political speech violations on topics such as COVID-19 and elections an opportunity to return to the platform.

    Google also admitted the following to the House Judiciary Committee: 

    1. The Biden Administration pressured Google to censor Americans and remove content that did not violate YouTube’s policies.
    2. The Biden Administration censorship pressure was “unacceptable and wrong.”
    3. Public debate should never come at the expense of relying “authorities.”
    4. The company will never use third-party “fact-checkers.”
    5. Europe’s censorship laws target American companies and threaten American speech, including the removal of “lawful content.”

    These major admissions come after Chairman Jordan’s subpoena to Google and a years long investigation into the company. 

    Read the full letter from Google here. 

    September 23, 2025

    Sources: Judiciary.house.gov , Midtown Tribune News

    Midtown Tribune Independent USA news from New York

  • At UN, President Trump Champions Sovereignty, Rejects Globalism (Video)

    At UN, President Trump Champions Sovereignty, Rejects Globalism (Video)

    Today, in remarks to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald J. Trump delivered a powerful rebuke to the destructive globalism that has fueled endless conflict and chaos around the world. During the address, President Trump was unapologetic in proclaiming American strength as he unveiled a bold vision for sovereign nations to unite against the true threats of terrorism, unchecked migration, biological warfare, and loss of cultural identity.

    Here are highlights from President Trump’s speech:

    • “America is blessed with the strongest economy, the strongest borders, the strongest military, the strongest friendships, and the strongest spirit of any nation on the face of the earth. This is indeed the Golden Age of America.” (Watch)
    • “Four months in a row, the number of illegal aliens admitted and entering our country has been zero… Our message is very simple: If you come illegally into the United States, you’re going to jail or you’re going back to where you came from.” (Watch)
    • “In a period of just seven months, I have ended seven ‘un-endable’ wars… No President or Prime Minister — and for that matter, no other country — has ever done anything close to that… It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them — and sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help.” (Watch)
    • “What is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential… All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter, and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words — and empty words don’t solve war.” (Watch)
    • “Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize… but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up with their mothers and fathers because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless and un-glorious wars. What I care about is not winning prizes, it’s saving lives.” (Watch)
    • “A dramatically better future is within our reach — but to get there, we must reject the failed approaches of the past and work together to confront some of the greatest threats in history.” (Watch)
    • “My position is very simple: the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon.” (Watch)
    • “Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state… Instead of giving in to Hamas’s ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: release the hostages now!” (Watch)
    • “China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil — but inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy.” (Watch)
    • “Today, I’m also calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and for all.” (Watch)
    • “Not only is the UN not solving the problems it should, too often, it is actually creating new problems for us to solve… The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders… The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them.” (Watch)
    • “What makes the world so beautiful is that each country is unique — but to stay this way, every sovereign nation must have the right to control their own borders.” (Watch)
    • “When your prisons are filled with so-called ‘asylum seekers’ who repaid kindness with crime, it’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders.” (Watch)
    • “Any system that results in the mass trafficking of children is inherently evil — yet that is exactly what the globalist migration agenda has done.” (Watch)
    • “To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned — we will blow you out of existence.” (Watch)
    • “I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail. If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail.” (Watch)
    • “The entire globalist concept of asking successful, industrialized nations to inflict pain on themselves and radically disrupt their entire societies must be rejected completely and totally — and it must be immediate.” (Watch)
    • “The challenge with trade is much the same as with climate: the countries that followed the rules, all their factories have been plundered… by countries that broke the rules. That’s why the United States is now applying tariffs to other countries.” (Watch)
    • “Together, let us defend free speech and free expression. Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today — it’s called Christianity.” (Watch)

    The White House

    September 23, 2025

    Sources: WhiteHouse.gov , Midtown Tribune news

    Midtown Tribune Independent USA news from New York

  • Mayor Adams Highlights Youth Programs and National Collaboration to Combat Gun Violence During Live WBAI Interview

    Mayor Adams Highlights Youth Programs and National Collaboration to Combat Gun Violence During Live WBAI Interview

    During a live interview on WBAI’s What’s Going On!, Mayor Eric Adams discussed New York City’s progress in reducing gun violence, citing historic lows in shootings during the first seven months of 2025. Adams emphasized a dual strategy of enforcement and prevention, including the removal of nearly 24,000 illegal guns and the expansion of youth-focused programs—such as 100,000+ summer jobs, 11,000 paid internships, and targeted support for foster care and NYCHA youth. He also highlighted national efforts by the African American Mayors Association to address root causes of violence in underserved communities. Responding to concerns about school absenteeism, Adams stressed the city’s renewed focus on re-engaging chronically absent students and called for greater federal support to address long-term impacts of the migrant crisis and systemic disparities.

    Mayor Adams Calls In for Live Interview on WBAI’s “What’s Going On!”

    Isaac Ferguson: Good morning, Mayor Adams. Welcome to WBAI.  

    Mayor Eric Adams: Hey, how’s it going? Great to be on with you.  

    Ferguson: It’s been some time since we’ve talked, mayor. It’s my pleasure.  

    Mayor Adams: Thank you for allowing me to come on and chat with you.  

    Ferguson: Mayor Adams, you go straight to the point. I know you’re having a crazy busy morning. I know you’re part of a national organization of Black mayors. I believe you still are very much involved in that. 

    Mayor Adams: Yes, it’s called AAMA, African American Mayors Association. 

    Ferguson: Yes, and I believe that one of the main objectives of that organization is to deal with the matter of gun violence in Black and brown communities. Am I right?  

    Mayor Adams: Yes, it is.  

    Ferguson: Can you tell us some of the developments, what’s going on with that organization, what’s their current platforms, and have they been able to make any progress? 

    Mayor Adams: Yes, they have. When you look at the major cities across the country, you are seeing these Black mayors really bringing down shootings and homicides. Right here in New York, in the first seven months of this year, we saw the lowest number of shootings and people who are victims of shootings drop to the lowest number in recorded history.  

    But not only that, our upstream solutions, when you look at these different cities, it’s not just about law enforcement, but it’s also about how you do upstream. Instead of waiting for a young person to fall into the river of violence and pull them out downstream, we went upstream.  

    What we’re doing with paid internships, 11,000 in the DOE, our Summer Youth Employment [Program], over 100,000. And what we’re doing with formerly justice-involved young people through our CRED program, teaching them trades and skills. So, the goal is not only to grab a young person when they commit a crime, but how do you prevent the crime from taking place in the first place. And that’s that proactive and reactive approach that you’re seeing across the country with these Black mayors. 

    Ferguson: Yes, mayor. But I’m here talking with young people, and gun violence has become a serious problem of the young, and especially young males. And what we’re seeing is that before the pandemic, our chronic school absenteeism stood at around 15 percent across the country. Now, it’s up over 30 percent. So, the young people are not returning to school. We told them to stay out of school because of the crisis of the pandemic, and probably people took it for granted that after the pandemic was over, they’ll return.  

    Now, many, many of those young males are in the streets. They’re not in school. And they’re getting into gangs. They’re forming their own families based on, call it machoism, to use an old term, and teen violence. What is being done to get these young people back into schools or get them into some situation where they can be influenced away from gangs and gang violence? 

    Mayor Adams: And that is so true, as you talked about it. The chronically absent children after COVID, this is the byproduct of COVID. As you indicated, many young people did not come to school because we told them during COVID to stay home. And that continued.  

    And in the Department of Education, we are focusing on those chronically absent young people, communicating with their family members and loved ones, finding out those who are not returning to school, coaching them to come back into school. And you’re really seeing a problem in the area of those children who are unhoused, at the shelter, or living with a family member because of a housing issue. That is the long-term impact that we are facing when it comes down to some of the violence we’re seeing.  

    You know, it goes back to what I shared with many New Yorkers, the impact of the $7.2 billion we lost during the migrant and asylum seeker [crisis]. Those dollars, I should say, those dollars could have gone to things like targeting our chronically absent children. We could have easily spent that half a billion dollars on just focusing on that. And when I talk about the impact of the money we lost because the federal government did not pick up the price tag, these are the things that I’m talking about.  

    But we are focusing on those chronically absent children to get them back into school because if you don’t educate, you will incarcerate. And that is what we’re seeing across this entire country. 

    Ferguson: Mayor Adams, we have many, many callers on the line. I know we can only take a few. And it’s so vital to hear from our listeners. So, we’re going to try to get one caller right now. Many people want to ask you questions and talk to you. And callers, please, stick to the matter of gun violence. I want to get the mayor’s opinion on this out to the public. And I want you to address his concerns and the activities he’s involved in with that.  

    First caller. Caller, you’re on the line. This is WBAI. You’re on the line with Mayor Adams, with Isaac Ferguson, and with Terri Wisdom. What’s your name, where you’re calling from, and what you got for us? 

    [Crosstalk.] 

    Ferguson: Let’s go on. Terri, you had some questions for the mayor concerning the claims that gun violence is down across New York City. 

    Terri Wisdom: Yes. Thank you. And good morning, Mayor Eric Adams. Welcome. We’re honored to have you here. Thank you. Extremely important to hear from you and your voice— 

    [Crosstalk.] 

    Wisdom: So, Mayor Adams, one of the things that we are hearing continually is gun violence is down. Gun violence is down across the city. And as we’re hearing that every day, we’re hearing about somebody being shot in the street, whether it’s a grandmother on a walker. And it’s mainly in our Black and brown communities. We know that there are disparities.  

    So, the question is, what are we doing about this systemic problem? How are we addressing it? And if, in fact, this is true, it’s overall down across the city. But in our areas, it appears to be down some. But down, you know, down less than, let’s say, in Staten Island, you know, it’s down a lot. But in Harlem or in Manhattan, it’s not.  

    So, what are we really doing? What are you doing to just address this matter? Because when people hear gun violence, the numbers are down, but they’re hearing about people getting shot, you know, what are we doing? And you’ve addressed some of it, but specifically, if you could address what is being done. 

    Mayor Adams: First, I think it’s important to know what’s the history of the overproliferation of guns. They have historically been in underserved communities, as we’ve stated. Black and brown communities, for the most part. This has been the history.  

    When you look at violence in Brownsville, Harlem, South Bronx, many of our young people pick up these guns because they were not receiving the real services to ensure they could not deal with gang violence and gun violence. When you think about gun violence, almost 50 percent is dealing with some form of association or attachment to gangs.  

    This has been a history, long, not in the last three years to four years, but even when I was a child. And so, we knew we had to zero in on what are the feeders to this violence. What causes a young person to get involved in this violence? And who are they? And that was my focus when I came into office.  

    A lot of them are foster care children. And we were watching our foster care children age out at 18, six to 700 a year were aging out and slipping through the cracks. So, what do we do? We’re paying their college tuition and giving them life coaches after they’re 21 years old and giving them a stipend so that they could go on with their lives and get the support that they need as any child would do.  

    And we knew that violence like gun violence happens after the school hours. So, what are we doing? We’re doing universal after school programs so our young people can have a place to go and participate in some form of development of their full personhood. And we also knew that many of our young people are dealing with financial restraints. And so that’s why we have paid internships, 11,000 to be exact.  

    And then we looked at places like NYCHA. Our public housing has always been a location where violence occurs at a large number, particularly gun violence. And for the first time, you’re seeing a substantial decrease in crime in NYCHA. And we targeted our NYCHA young people with our Summer Youth Employment [Program]. We had jobs that were allocated just for them so we could bring them into employment and give them the support they need.  

    And during summer months, as you saw historically, gun violence goes up over the summer months. And what we did for so many years, they were called by advocates to have a larger number of summer jobs. We, for the first time, had over 100,000 summer jobs and had our young people in school all year round. Over 110,000 young people were able to be in school all year round where they were able to get the support they needed during the summer months.  

    And as I stated, we also were proactive, I would say reactive, in that we removed 23,000 illegal guns off our streets, close to 24,000 actually. And we targeted those areas where we knew there was gun proliferation for the many years that we were conscious of.  

    And yes, it is down. And so, when you hear a high-profile shooting, it strikes your conscience and you begin to believe that these shootings are out of control. But in fact, the numbers don’t lie. We have the lowest number of shootings and victims of shootings in the recorded history of the city. The lowest number. And because we targeted those hot spots where the gangs were located. 

    Ferguson: Mayor, I believe we may be able to grab one caller. Caller, you’re on the line. What do you have for the mayor? People have been trying to get to you. 

    Question: Hi, Mayor Adams. My name is Gwen. I live in East Harlem. We met a long time ago. I wanted to put the spotlight on another part of this equation. And I think that this is, you know, this is not just a problem for New York City. This is a national problem. And one of the things we never discuss is the correlation between the legal drugs that we give children in school and gun violence.  

    And there are several studies, one of them Dr. Peter Breggin had spoken about, in the correlation between children that have been taking these drugs and gun violence. And actually, every single one of the kids that was involved in the mass shootings were children that had been taking legal drugs in school. They were taking Ritalin. They were taking Prozac. And now, if you read the bottles of these medicines, it tells you right there, at least on Prozac it does, that there’s a homicidal effect.  

    Now, it seems to me that we’ve done more to guard these, you know, drug companies than we have our own children. And I know you know this. I ran for City Council in New York City, that there are children, for example, like my neighbors, that weren’t allowed to go to school unless the parents would capitulate to be giving their drugs, like Ritalin, to their children. And this was just made easier for teachers so they didn’t have to deal with children— 

    Ferguson: Let Mayor Adams respond, because I believe he has to leave shortly. Can you quickly give us a response before you go, mayor, on that? 

    Mayor Adams: Yes. I don’t have any evidence, or I don’t know the review on this topic. I would love if there’s any reports—  

    Question: Dr. Peter Breggin. You can look at his work. But there’s several studies, and they’re well hidden there. I mean, it’s not something that’s right out there in the public. They don’t want you to know nationally that this could be a correlation. But, you know, you’re a smart man. And I think it would be really, really advantageous for you to look at the other sources of why this is going on.  

    I know how old you are. You’re around the same age as me. And when you and I went to school, we did not have mass shootings. We’ve had violence in Harlem, East Harlem, and other poor communities for different reasons. 

    Ferguson: Yes, ma’am. Your point is well taken. Thank you. I know the mayor has to leave at 7:45 [am]. He has informed me he has another engagement. Mayor Adams, I would love to have you back at some time to continue this discussion. It is such an important matter. And I’m asking you to continue to work for a total federal assault weapons ban and for more effective regulation of firearms. Thank you very much, mayor, for coming.  

    Mayor Adams: Thank you and have a good day. Take care.  

    Wisdom: Thank you, Mayor Adams. And I look forward to your plans to deal with gun violence if reelected. That’s what I’m looking forward to. 

    Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care. 

    September 23, 2025 Manhattan New York

    Sources: Big New York News BigNY.com NYC.gov
    Midtown Tribune news

    Midtown Tribune Independent USA news from New York

  • Governor Hochul Announces Early Launch of Metro-North ‘Super-Express’ Service, Cutting Poughkeepsie–NYC Commute to 90 Minutes

    Governor Hochul Announces Early Launch of Metro-North ‘Super-Express’ Service, Cutting Poughkeepsie–NYC Commute to 90 Minutes

    Governor Kathy Hochul has confirmed that MTA Metro-North Railroad will launch its new super-express service on the Hudson Line ahead of schedule, beginning October 6, 2025. Originally slated for 2026, the accelerated implementation will reduce travel times between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central Terminal to 90 minutes, and to under 75 minutes from Beacon—delivering a significant efficiency boost for Hudson Valley commuters. Supported by $26 million in capital investments, the initiative includes infrastructure upgrades, advanced train control systems, and new diesel-electric locomotives. The service enhancement aligns with the Governor’s broader transportation strategy to improve reliability, reduce congestion, and increase public transit adoption statewide.

    New York. Governor Hochul Announces MTA Metro-North Railroad ‘Super-Express’ Trips Between Poughkeepsie and New York City to Launch Ahead of Schedule on Oct. 6

    Governor Hochul: “These super-express trains will take you from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central in 90 minutes, and from Beacon to Grand Central in less than one hour and 15 minutes… When there is a need and when our commuters need something — they ask for improvement, enhancements, more reliability, faster speeds — we are committed to getting it done. That is my undying commitment to what is known as the lifeblood of this region.”

    Hochul: “Golf’s biggest event is just about to tee off at Bethpage… It’s revered around the world for the accommodations and what we offer people, and we’re expecting another 20,000 people to literally be taking the train out to Farmingdale, which is going to put a strain on the system as they watch the U.S. take on the golf teams from Europe during the Ryder Cup. I want to make sure they all have a good experience — our locals and our visitors. And so today through Friday, we’re running eight more eastbound trains every day. And on Saturday, we’ll be adding nine more trains.”

    Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of faster super-express trains on the Hudson Line between Poughkeepsie and New York City with the upcoming MTA Metro-North Railroad schedule effective Sunday, Oct. 5. The first super-express trains will run on Monday, Oct. 6. These new trips were announced in the Governor’s 2025 State of the State address and will cut travel times between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central Terminal to less than 90 minutes each way. Initially projected to launch in 2026, work was completed ahead of schedule, allowing for faster service to begin in October.

    A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

    First, I want to acknowledge some of the individuals you’ll be hearing from momentarily. Justin Vonashek, our President of Metro-North Rail — we’re going to have some announcements about Metro-North. Robert Free, the President of the Long Island Rail Road. I want to thank both of them for their tireless advocacy on behalf of not just the railroads, but, more importantly, our commuters. We also are joined by Mayor Kyriacou, the City of Beacon Mayor — he’s got some important announcements to make as well. And Anthony Simon, the union representing SMART, the thousands of Long Island Rail Road employees.

    So let’s talk about Metro-North. Metro-North is more than just a train route. It is an incredible gateway between two worlds — and one is between the bustling streets of this great city, but also the charming hamlets up along the beautiful Hudson River. So you can have your morning run along the Hudson Line and then also end up at lunch time walking the streets of Manhattan and back home in a place like Beacon for dinner. So that’s the beauty of this connectivity, this extraordinary rail line, as well as its connectivity to other lines as well.

    But — what I know as a New Yorker and as a mom — there’s nothing more precious in our lives than time. You know, how we get time back in our lives. And in my State of the State address, I address specifically the people who live along these rail lines, and said, “I want to give you some time back in your lives, and let’s be bold and ambitious about how we do that.” So we secured over $26 million in our State Budget for critical rail improvements along the Hudson Line.

    First of all, we outfitted trains with state-of-the-art GPS and train simulation software. We also had to make significant investments in our signaling infrastructure to boost the train speeds — that was important — and adding brand new diesel-electric locomotives that are also faster and greener. And this was all supposed to happen in 2026. I said, “No. It’s going to happen in 2025.” Well, it’s 2025 and we are literally two weeks away from the start. We accelerated our timeline. We got the work done ahead of schedule. So two weeks from now, we’re going to have the super-express service along the Hudson Line begin.

    So, listen to this: Starting October 6, these super-express trains will take you from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central in 90 minutes, and from Beacon to Grand Central in less than one hour and 15 minutes. How does that sound, Mayor? Pretty good for your residents of Beacon? For our daily commuters, we’re saving 14 minutes off your trip, 70 minutes a week. It’s a game changer for people. And so, if you really want to add it up, I did — four and a half hours extra a month back in your lives, and we’re just getting started.

    But this is what I really love and cherish about infrastructure and transit. It’s not just about — as I said — the rails, and the bridges, the stations, it’s about connecting people in their lives and getting them home in time for their kids’ sporting event, or to help with the homework or to just kiss the little ones goodnight before they go to bed.

    And this is part of fulfilling a promise I made when we finally launched congestion pricing. We said, “If we want more people to take our trains, we have to make it faster and more efficient for them to make that decision.” And so, we want to make it easier to get into Manhattan without a car, so this is part of that. If you give them reliable alternatives, this is the idea that they will embrace. And we’ve seen that incredibly, if you look at all the data associated with congestion pricing and how train ridership is up, traffic is down in the city. And so, all the results that we had hoped for are actually happening. So people told us they’d like to take the train, but they want it faster, they want it more efficient, and we delivered on that.

    So these super-express trains are the latest in a long line of mass transit wins. As you know, we figured out a path, although it seemed insurmountable about a year ago, that we could fully fund the MTA capital plan — $68.4 billion. And we advanced long-stalled generational projects like the Second Avenue Subway and the Interborough Express. Again, those are my favorite ones — the ones that say “long-stalled.” Nobody could get it done. Not enough ambition or interest. And I say, “Bring those ones to me.”

    And we also finished up our beautiful upgrades to Grand Central Madison in the Long Island Third Track. So we’ve proven over and over we can get it done. And these investments, not just in the systems, but also in our “Cops, Cameras, and Care” initiative we launched a couple of years ago.

    Again, you’ve heard me say this, but it’s still holding. We just came off the safest summer in 10 years, the safest two month period — July and August — in recorded history. The crime rates are down. And just last week alone — last week compared to the same week a year ago — crime was down 66 percent. So, we’re making progress. I’ll say it for the 100th time: We are not declaring mission accomplished or victorious efforts here. We’re not done. But, those are numbers that cannot be challenged and they’re extraordinary, particularly considering the trajectory that we were once on.

    But before we go, I have one more transit-related announcement about our sports fans, particularly our golf aficionados. Golf’s biggest event is just about to tee off at Bethpage. I was just out there last week. It’s an extraordinary, extraordinary part of our State Park system. It’s revered around the world for the accommodations and what we offer people, and we’re expecting another 20,000 people to literally be taking the train out to Farmingdale, which is going to put a strain on the system as they watch the U.S. take on the golf teams from Europe during the Ryder Cup.

    So, I want to make sure they all have a good experience — our locals and our visitors. And so today through Friday, we’re running eight more eastbound trains every day. And on Saturday, we’ll be adding nine more trains. So make sure that our golf fans can get out to Bethpage without any difficulty.

    So let me just say this: Today’s announcements in the scheme of all the complicating factors that are going on in the world may not seem significant to those who are not riders. But if you’re a rider, and you’ve been waiting for this, talking about it and it just never got done; people have been saying we can go faster someday, somehow — my friends, we got it done. It’s a commitment of all of our friends at the MTA, the Metro-North as well as the Long Island Rail Road.

    When there is a need and when our commuters need something — they ask for improvement, enhancements, more reliability, faster speeds — we are committed to getting it done. That is my undying commitment to what is known as the lifeblood of this region. We do not function at all as the city we are without it, the region we are. And so I just want to say that we listen to the riders, and again, those are the most important voices out there in this entire system.

    I know they’re going to be excited to start living the experience of having more time back in their lives. So let me talk about someone who’s very involved in this. Our next speaker, Metro-North President Justin Vonashek. And I want to thank him for finding the path to shave off a tremendous amount of time that would otherwise not have been happening until next year — we’re getting it done in 2025.

    September 23, 2025

    Albany, NY

    Sources: Governor.ny.gov , New York City News on TV503 ,
    Big New York news BigNY.com 

    Midtown Tribune

    Midtown Tribune Independent USA news from New York