NYC NOW - March 8, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: March 8, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: 18 people, including federal, state, and city government workers, are being charged in a sprawling indictment ranging from making ghost guns to identity theft and fraud. Meanwhile, New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy’s victory in the Somerset County Democrats’ convention on Thursday has drawn criticism over the process. Plus, the NYPD says it’s investigating an 8-year-old boy allegedly menacing another 8-year-old boy with an unloaded pistol on Thursday at P.S. 158 in East New York, Brooklyn.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Friday, March 8th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. 18 people, including federal, state and city government workers, are being charged in a sprawling indictment ranging from making ghost guns to identity theft and fraud. WNIC's Charles Lane reports. Prosecutors say an investigation into a legal ghost.

ghost gun manufacturing led them to text messages describing an alleged $1.2 million fraud scheme. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claims at least eight government employees use their government position to steal the identities of homeless people to submit 170 applications for pandemic unemployment aid. And defrauding a critical social safety net program during one of the most challenging times in our history, in our city's history, is downright. shameful and we allege criminal. Bragg says the accused worked for the Department of Homeless Services, the post office NYPD, the MTA, and NYCHA. New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy won the Somerset County

Democrats convention last night and preferred placement on primary ballots for U.S. Senate. But WN.YC's Nancy Solomon reports the victory came with criticism over the process once again. Congressman Andy Kim's supporters wanted a secret ballot. Instead, delegates held up green index cards to indicate their votes. Kim says he heard from many delegates who wanted to vote for him, but couldn't go against party leaders who supported Murphy. This is a very consequential primary for them to put people in a situation where they told the chair that they were uncomfortable with this all and to still force it and ram it through. It's frustrating. Kim has won several conventions, but lost one earlier this week in Bergen County, where the chair also

back to Murphy. The NYPD says it's investigating an eight-year-old boy allegedly threatening another eight-year-old boy with an unloaded pistol yesterday at PS-158 in East New York, Brooklyn. Police officers found an unloaded tourist 380 gun in the child's backpack. Officials say the boy may have been responding to threats from the other boy this week. No arrest reported there. But police have asked the boy's parents where the gun came from and the city education department says letters went to families informing them the incident. 41 and clear right now. Mostly sunny today and high temperature in the mid-50s, and cool at night on low around 40, then tomorrow afternoon. Rain lightly, cloudy, and 41,

a lot of rain at night and gusty, and then scattered rain on Sunday, partly sunny in 53. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this. afternoon.