NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: DOJ to Review Long Island Mascot Case, Early Voting Open on Juneteenth, and Hot Start to Summer

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

The U.S. Department of Justice is set to review a dispute over Massapequa’s Native American mascot after the Department of Education ruled that New York State’s ban on indigenous team names violates federal civil rights policy. Meanwhile, early voting in New York City’s primaries remains open on Juneteenth, with polls running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And the city is in for a heat wave starting this weekend, with temperatures expected to soar into the 90s by Saturday.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, June 18th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. A Long Island School District has been fighting to keep its Native American mascot and team name. Now, as WNIC's Julia Haywood reports, the Justice Department is set to weigh in. The Trump administration wants school teams in Massapequa to remain the chiefs. despite a previously established state ban on indigenous team names and logos. The U.S. Department of Education already ran an investigation and decided that the ban violated federal civil rights policy.

Now, it says it's turning over the case to the Department of Justice. A spokesperson from the State Education Department told WNYC, the administration is doing a, quote, blatant political favor for the conservative district. The state's been threatening to withhold funding from any districts that don't comply with the ban by the summer. Polls are open for early voting in New York City's primary elections tomorrow, despite the Juneteenth federal holiday. That's according to the city's Board of Elections. Voters can head to the polls between 9 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon. You can see your early voting polling place on the BOE's website.

That's at vote. NYC. Primary day is next Tuesday, June 24th. Races on the ballot for registered party voters include the mayor-er-o-ciss, city controller, and public advocate primaries. You might want to put away that lightjack at the National Weather Services. Temperatures will stay in the upper 70s and low 80s today before climbing up to the 90s tomorrow, and then on Friday we'll get a little bit of a break, but the real heat wave hits around Saturday afternoon. Meteorologist Dave, David, Riddell says New Yorkers should prepare for temperatures in the 90s and even around 100 degrees in some parts of the city.

Loose fitting clothing and light-colored, comfortable attire is what you want. And really, first thing we always say is, you know, kind of limit your outdoor activity if you're able to, especially during those afternoon hours. So noon to six or seven. The heat may not be severe enough to trigger an emergency in the city, but many facilities like libraries and senior centers can operate as cooling centers during regular hours. Yes, for a couple of days next week where the high temperature is going to be 100 degrees. At least that's the forecast for it now.

66 and cloudy right now and humid. Shows likely maybe an afternoon thunderstorm. Fog this morning, cloudy and near 80 today. Then tomorrow, June 10, showers likely, maybe an afternoon thunderstorm. Some of those storms could be severe, increasing clouds, a high near 90 degrees, winds gusting to 22 miles an hour. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast.