Ever more teen shooters and victims: Blame Heastie’s Raise the Age

 New York’s grimmest July 4th tradition — increased gun violence — continued unabated this year, with a troubling twist: younger victims and equally young shooters.

Over the holiday weekend, gunfire continued to erupt in Big Apple neighborhoods:

• Friday evening, a bullet fired by gun-toting thugs struck an innocent 5-year-old girl sitting in her father’s parked car.
• Saturday saw Wesley Vasquez, 15, shot dead on the basketball courts at Riverbank State Park.
• Up in The Bronx, a rash of gunfire claimed four innocent victims, including a 12-year-old girl along with her aunt, 35.
• Tuesday brought a 13-year-old boy shot in Harlem two blocks from Jackie Robinson Park.

In the runup to the holiday, a brazen daylight shootout saw a 17-year-old struck in the back near the ironically named Pearly Gates playground in the Bronx.

Cops are looking for four teen suspects.

In January, The Post’s review of NYPD gun data revealed a spike in gun violence involving under-18 victims — with other youngsters pulling the trigger in most cases.

Now that summer has arrived, this troubling trend continues.

In January, The Post’s review of NYPD gun data revealed a spike in gun violence involving under-18 victims.

Christopher Sadowski

NYPD stats show most major crimes are down, including gun violence, but crimes involving teens, such as car thefts and shootings, are rising.

“Youth crime spiked while accountability disappeared,” says Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon of the Raise the Age law. Albany DA David Soares warns such reforms’ “most devastating impact on black and brown communities.”

Prior to RTA, it seems guns didn’t get into the hands of 15- and 16-year-olds because they faced real prison time if they shot people.

In most cases, the youngsters are the ones pulling the trigger.

Dakota Santiago (FreedomNewsTV)

Since RTA passed, New York’s gone from young teens holding guns for older gangbangers to kids blasting away on their own.

“We need our legislators and policymakers to deal with reality and get tough on these young people by restoring consequences for their actions to show them that a crime-free life is not only possible but desirable,” wrote McMahon in The Post last month.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie adamantly defends Raise the Age, arguing that youths must be held to a different standard because their brains are still developing.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie adamantly defends Raise the Age, arguing that youths must be held to a different standard because their brains are still developing.

Christopher Sadowski

Surely “growing up to be gangbangers” isn’t the development he wants?

Not to mention the young brains that will never develop more because they died at the hands of other kids.

You don’t have to repeal Raise the Age, Mr. Speaker, but you’ve got to face the results and fix it somehow.

The fate of the next generation is at stake.

https://nypost.com/2023/07/05/ever-more-teen-shooters-and-victims-blame-heasties-raise-the-age/

Adams looks to house migrants in empty NYC public schools over the summer

 Mayor Adams’ administration is eyeing the use of public school buildings that will be empty over the summer to temporarily house migrants, The Post has learned.

A list of school buildings has been compiled by the Office of Emergency Management in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office, sources familiar with the plans said.

Possible temporary shelters include New Dorp HS on Staten Island, Mark Twain Middle School for the Gifted and Talented in Coney Island and Russell Sage Middle School in Forest Hills, sources said.

There are 20 to 30 schools being closely looked at to process and temporarily shelter migrants, according to the sources.

City Hall faced a firestorm of criticism when it previously placed migrants in school gyms.

“Here we go again! Why again with the schools?” said Brooklyn Councilman Ari Kagan, whose district includes Mark Twain.

“Schools are not appropriate places to house migrants. I will be against it. The community will be against it,” the Republican added.

He noted the outcry when migrants were temporarily placed in the gym at PS 188 in Coney Island. They were relocated shortly thereafter.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said he opposes putting migrants at a high school “in the heart of New Dorp.”

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is eyeing the use of public school buildings that will be empty over the summer to temporarily house migrants, The Post has learned.

Getty Images FOR ESSENCE

Possible temporary shelters include New Dorp HS on Staten Island, Mark Twain Middle School for the Gifted and Talented in Coney Island and Russell Sage Middle School in Forest Hills.

Google Maps

“It doesn’t make sense whatsoever. Staten Island didn’t create this problem and shouldn’t have to solve this problem,” said Fossella, a former Republican congressman who blamed the US’ lax immigration and border enforcement policy for the migrant crisis.

“How should the problem be solved? Send the migrants back to where they came from and apply for asylum. We rolled the carpet, and we shouldn’t be surprised that the number of migrants coming in is unsustainable.”

The city Department of Education oversees 1,300 buildings with 130 million square feet of floor space throughout the five boroughs.

Brooklyn Councilman Ari Kagan said, “Here we go again! Why again with the schools?” adding that “Schools are not appropriate places to house migrants. I will be against it. The community will be against it.”

Getty Images

Many schools will be unused until students return for the new school year on Sept. 7.

City Hall confirmed Wednesday it’s looking at using school facilities to handle the waves of migrants still streaming into the city from the southern border.

“As Mayor Adams has said repeatedly, we have more than 51,800 asylum-seekers in our care and have reached capacity,” a mayoral spokesperson said.

“While this option is not ideal, none are, and we are in no position to take anything off the table.”

The city has opened 179 emergency sites, including 12 Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers in scores of hotels across the city.

With shelter and space in the city dwindling, Adams has ordered that migrants be sent to hotels in the Hudson Valley and farther upstate while monitoring whatever private office space is available.

https://nypost.com/2023/07/05/mayor-eric-adams-looks-to-housing-migrants-in-empty-nyc-public-schools-over-summer/

'Stoneos' cannabis cookies look too much like Oreos, says US FTC

 Six companies that make snacks with the active ingredient of cannabis have been sent cease and desist letters because the packaging looks too much like foods that kids love, including "Stoneos" that mimic Oreo cookies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday.

The letters were sent by the FTC and Food and Drug Administration over concern that children may want to try them, the FTC said, including products that could easily be mistaken for Doritos tortilla chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, and Nerds and other candies.

The products included "Double Stuf Stoneo" marked as made by "Dabisco," and "Jolly Rancher Gummies Sours" as well as a "Cheetos Crunchy XXTRA Flamin' Hot." All are marked as containing THC - the ingredient in marijuana that produces a high - in a lower corner of the package.

The letter said the FDA received more than 125 reports of children or adults who experienced adverse effects to a THC consumable from Jan. 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022. "Ten of the reports specifically mention the edible product to be a copycat of popular foods," the letter said.

"You must immediately cease marketing edible Delta-8 THC products that imitate conventional foods using advertising or packaging that is likely to be appealing to young children," the letter said.

Frito-Lay, which makes Doritos, said in a statement that it applauded the agencies' actions in "curtailing these deceptive products." It said it was seeking legislation that would criminalize selling THC edibles using packaging that infringes on that of famous snack brands.

The letters from the FTC and FDA were sent to Delta Munchies LLC, Exclusive Hemp Farms; North Carolina Hemp Exchange LLC, which makes the Stoneos; Dr. Smoke LLC; Nikte's Wholesale LLC, which makes "Medicated Jolly Rancher Gummies Sour," and The Haunted Vapor Room.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stoneos-cannabis-cookies-look-too-180046978.html

China extends squeezed-out foreign pharmaceuticals firms an olive branch

 China's Commerce Minister told foreign pharmaceuticals firms they can expect "more development opportunities" during a roundtable on Wednesday, his ministry said, as drugmakers bemoan government procurement policies pricing them out of the market.

Representatives from 12 companies, including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, and Takeda, attended the meeting with Wang Wentao, the statement said.

Foreign pharmaceuticals firms have struggled to cement any inroads they have made into the world's second-largest economy, with the government maintaining a drug procurement programme that forces them to slash their prices and refusing to approve the use of any foreign COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.

But as China pursues home-grown modernisation it will also open up "more development opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises, including the pharmaceutical industry," Wang told the meeting.

Notably, the statement made no mention of whether Moderna had been in attendance, which on Wednesday announced it had signed a deal thought to be worth around $1 billion to research, develop and manufacture mRNA medicines in China.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a meeting with Chinese and foreign business leaders to the side of the World Economic Forum Summit in Tianjin last month acknowledged "that prices have been excessively suppressed in government procurement".

But in response to a question from an executive from Merck, Li added: "You should also understand that our medical and social security systems and patients cannot cope with excessively high prices for new medications."

"I can tell you frankly that my personal wisdom cannot come up with a relatively good solution, I hope we can find one as soon as possible through collective efforts," Li said at the time.

Wang told the meeting on Wednesday that his ministry will expand the channels of communication for responding to and solving concerns, with the meeting resulting in 25 specific suggestions to be taken forward.

Previously, drugmakers have had to slash their prices by as much as 95% to win contracts in China's drug procurement programme, a national scheme where global pharmaceuticals companies and Chinese generic drugmakers vie to sell their products in bulk at public hospitals.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/china-extends-squeezed-foreign-pharmaceuticals-103557086.html

EU food safety agency says no critical concerns with glyphosate

 The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) said on Thursday that it had not identified "critical areas of concern" to prevent renewed EU approval for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer AG's Roundup weed killer.

EU approval for the chemical that has been widely used by farmers for decades, is set to expire at the end of the year and the EFSA conclusion is a key part of the process of deciding whether to renew it.

Glyphosate has been a focus of controversy since the World Health Organization's cancer agency concluded in 2015 that it was probably carcinogenic to humans. Bayer has said decades of studies have shown that glyphosate is safe for human use.

The European Commission will determine whether to propose renewing approval for glyphosate based on the EFSA conclusion and a report from a group of four EU countries. EU members will subsequently vote on the Commission proposal.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/eu-food-safety-agency-says-090420451.html

TSMC foresees no direct impact on production from China's metal export curbs

 Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Thursday it does not expect any direct impact on its production from China's decision to restrict exports of two metals widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles.

In a move that a top Chinese trade adviser warned was "just a start," Beijing said on Monday it would limit exports of products made from the minor metals of gallium and germanium to protect national security. That followed the U.S. decision to impose export restrictions to curb China's access to key technologies used for artificial intelligence.

Taiwan is a major producer of chips used in everything from smartphones and cars to fighter jets, supplying companies like Apple and Nvidia.

"After evaluation, we do not expect the export restrictions on raw materials gallium and germanium will have any direct impact on TSMC's production," Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said in an emailed statement.

"We will continue to monitor the situation closely," it added, without elaborating.

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares extended losses on Thursday, closing down 2.9%, compared with a 1.7% drop on the broader market, in part due to worries about worsening China-U.S. trade tensions and ahead of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to Beijing this week.

"If the talks between the two sides go well, many restrictions could be loosened, but if the talks go badly, both sides may put up more sanctions after Yellen goes home," said Capital Securities Corp analyst Liao Chien-yu.

Taiwan's WIN Semiconductors, which uses gallium for optoelectronic devices, told Reuters only a "small number" of substrates are purchased from China, with most of its supplies coming from Germany and Japan.

China's restrictions will have a very limited impact on the company's short-term procurement and wafer production and delivery, WIN added.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tsmc-does-not-expect-direct-033236856.html

With UK health service in crisis, Tesco gives staff virtual doctors appointments

 Supermarket group Tesco, Britain's largest private-sector employer, is to offer its staff virtual appointments with a private family doctor, in another indication of the pressures engulfing the country's National Health Service (NHS).

The country's biggest retailer told Reuters on Thursday the benefits package for its 310,000 UK workers would provide them and their families with access to unlimited appointments with a general practitioner (GP), seven days a week.

Britain's labour market remains tight, forcing companies to raise hourly wages, offer one-off bonuses, provide free food and give other benefits to attract and retain staff.

Tesco has already raised staff wages by more than 15% over the last year and its latest effort to retain people could encourage other big employers to introduce similar initiatives.

The NHS, which celebrated its 75th anniversary on Wednesday, was launched after World War Two to provide health care free at the point of use, and remains a much-loved institution.

But ongoing pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic and an ageing population mean it is struggling to cope with demand, with many people unable to get appointments with their local GP when they need them, and facing long waiting lists for hospital treatment.

Research carried out by Health Hero, which is working with Tesco’s health partner YuLife to deliver the new service, showed 84% of GP patients needed an appointment last year, but only 53% who wanted an appointment on the same day were able to get one.

According to NHS data, nearly five million patients each month in England wait more than two weeks for a GP appointment.

Tesco said the YuLife GPs would be able to issue private prescriptions, which can be collected at pharmacies on the same day or delivered to the worker's home. Workers will be offered online video appointments or a phone call.

The suite of benefits will be available to Tesco front-line staff and managers, plus their immediate families living in the same household, across the UK, including Tesco Bank and the group's wholesale business Booker.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/exclusive-uk-health-crisis-tesco-050135439.html