NYC NOW - October 27, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: October 27, 2023

Gey up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: Congressmember George Santos will be back in court today facing new fraud charges. Also, Governor Hochul's office now says the state will cover the cost of the governor's trip to Israel last week. Plus, Bernie Sanders shows his support for the 1700 nurses who have been on strike at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey who have been on strike for 83 days.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Friday, October 27th. Here's the morning headlines from David First. Congress member George Santos will be back in court today. WNYC's Bridget Bergen reports the Queens and Long Island Republican is facing new fraud charges. Earlier this month, prosecutors filed 10 new charges against George Santos for two new fraud schemes. He's accused of conspiring with his former campaign treasurer to file false reports with the FEC that inflated his fundraising numbers, including a fictitious half-million dollar loan, Santos claimed to make to his own campaign when he only had $8,000 in his bank account, according to prosecutors. He's also accused of stealing his donor's credit card information

and attempting to make thousands in charges. Some he masked as campaign donations and others, he funneled to his personal bank account. Santos pleaded, not guilty to 13 earlier charges at an arraignment in May, and he continues to say he will not resign. Even as members of his own party introduced a resolution to expel him. Governor Hockel's office now says the state will cover the cost of the governor's trip to Israel last week. Prior to yesterday, the governor had provided few details about how she was paying for what she called a solidarity mission, only saying that a nonprofit that's active in the Jewish community was covering her costs. A spokesperson for Hokel now says,

that the UJA Federation offered to cover travel costs, but a state ethics panel would have had to greenlight that, and the trip already happened, so the governor's office says they'll pay in order to, quote, uphold the highest ethical standards. The 1,700 nurses who have been on strike at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey for 83 days are getting a little help today from Bernie Sanders.

He's bringing the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to New Brunswick to hear from, the nurses. We have a major, major crisis in our health care workforce. We don't have enough doctors, we don't have enough dentists, we don't have enough pharmacists, we don't have enough pharmacists, we don't have enough health specialists and psychiatrists, and we certainly don't have enough nurses. Sanders invited R.W.J. Barnabas CEO Mark Mandigan to testify before his committee. He says he's frustrated the CEO declined to attend. 66 degrees now mostly cloudy becoming sunny today with a high near 80 degrees.

This is WNYC. 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.