NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: ICE Raid Stuns Chinatown, Final NYC Mayoral Debate, and Trump Pardon Recipient Arrested for Threatening Hakeem Jeffries

Episode Date: October 22, 2025

Federal immigration agents detained several people in a dramatic morning raid on Canal Street in Chinatown, sparking confusion among vendors and bystanders. Meanwhile, WNYC co-hosts the final New York City mayoral debate Wednesday night, as Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo look to close the gap against Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani. And upstate New Yorker Christopher Moynihan, who was pardoned by President Trump for his role in the January 6th insurrection, has been arrested and charged with threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, October 22nd. Here's the morning headlines. I'm Jenae Pierre. Several people were detained by federal immigration officials Tuesday in a chaotic scene on Canal Street in Chinatown. Dozens of federal agents, some from immigration and customs enforcement, fanned out across what's normally a bustling area of street vendors and began questioning and detaining people. Edwin Jean says federal agents restrained him but released him shortly after. They haters, that's it.

Now, they asked me for ID, and I told him I'll give him my ID and he said, cuff me. The apparent raid later escalated into clashes with bystanders who banged on unmarked officer cars and chanted ice out now. Some federal agents threatened to tase protesters in response. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about why they were in the area or how many people they detained. WMYC is co-hosting the final New York City mayoral debate tonight. WMYC's Elizabeth Kim says it comes as independent candidate Andrew Cuomo tries to make up ground. Leading up to tonight's debate, Cuomo appeared with the professional wrestler and podcaster Logan Paul. It's a sign of how the former governor is trying to appeal to Republican voters in the final stretch of the race.

The debate represents one of the final opportunities for Cuomo to make his case that Democratic frontrunner Zora Mamdani is too inexperienced and radical to lead the city. Polls show Cuomo trailing Mamdani by double digits, and he's locked in a spat with Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who has refused to drop out of the race and could be a spoiler. Unlike the first debate, the candidates will get instant feedback. They'll take the stage before a live audience at LaGuardia Community College. A man from upstate New York, who was pardoned by President Trump for participating in the January 6th insurrection, is now under arrest for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. State police say Christopher Moynihan was charged over the weekend with making a terrorist threat against Jeffries, who represents parts of central Brooklyn. Moynihan had been sentenced to 22 months in prison for his role in the riots in the U.S. Capitol, but was pardoned by Trump earlier this year. In a statement, Jeffrey says he's grateful to law enforcement for making the arrest.

Information for Moynihan's attorney was not immediately available. 56 degrees now, mostly cloudy today. It will become sunny with a high around 64. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep times. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

We'll be back this evening. Thank you.