New York Post - 5 May 2024

SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 / Rainy, 60°/ Weather: Page 28 SUNDAY nypost.com •••• $2.00 LATE CITY FINAL H H Heir to ad fortune, no connection to Columbia, was ‘violent’ protest leader Round 2 of R cks title qu SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 / Rainy, 60 / Weather: Page 28 R Knic • • • • Rangers, uests begin Garden Party SEE SPORTS RICHIE RICH THE RIOTER One of alleged agitators leading the siege at Columbia University was James Carlson, 40, who NYPD sources described as a “longtime anarchist” with arrests for violent protests dating to 2005. Born filthy rich, he has multiple aliases, a $3 million Brooklyn townhouse, a model baby mama and a stepmother who dates John Cougar Mellencamp, The Post has learned. PAGES 6-7 Getty Images USA TODAY Sports

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 2 *RESOURCE AT DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE, JANUARY 2024. **BASED ON AVAILABLE NATIONAL STATISTICS OF TOTAL LICENSEES AND AVERAGE COMMISSION THROUGH NAR (NATIONAL REALTORS ASSOCIATION) 2023. ***FORBES MILLENNIAL POWER BROKERS 2019. © 2024 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. 575 MADISON AVENUE, NY, NY 10022. 212.891.7000. DEVIN HUGH LEAHY • Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker O: 212.350.8500 • M: 917.796.0734 • [email protected] • elliman.com/dhleahy TOP 1% OF ALL LICENSED AGENTS NATIONALLY** FORBES TOP 5 POWER BROKER*** More than $200 million closed in luxury resale since 2017.* A New York City Power Broker Redefning the Industry

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 3 173,000 online searches for martinis in the Empire State in the last 12 months, while margaritas saw 164,000 searches and mojitos were looked up 156,000 times. Carrie Bradshaw would be happy to know that cosmopolitans, her favorite vodka-cranberry medley on “Sex and in the City,” came in fourth, with 149,000 Google searches. The cosmopolitan’s popularity spikes throughout New York’s winter months, the study noted. But booze-packed Long Island iced teas dominated in the warmer months — with 110,000 Google searches. Bitter Manhattans saw a dismal 31,000 inquiries in the past year. Margaritas were crowned the nation’s favorite boozy beverage, thanks to a staggering 31 states — including Texas, California and Florida — where the tequila libation ruled. The typically icy drink even managed to claim the top spot in chilly Canada. Martinis took silver in the US, winning the favor of nine states and Washington, DC. Constantines — a gin-infused cocktail, usually garnished with orange bitters — took third nationwide, backed by five states. Georgia Worrell Martinis cause quite a stir in NY The No. 1 cocktail choice among New Yorkers is not the Manhattan or even the Long Island Iced Tea — it’s the vodka martini, a new study found. Margaritas were the second choice and mojitos came in third across the state, according to Google trend data collected by Casino.ca. There were a whopping O NE of the gravest mistakes a person can make is overthinking a hot dog. Just accept that the frankfurter, which has been sitting all day in cloudy water, is delicious, slather it in mustard and don’t ask too many questions. But blissful ignorance is not the mindset of the Brooklynbased artists behind the new 65-foot giant hot dog sculpture that landed in Times Square this week. Buckle up. Because these sculptors, Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw, have delivered a meat manifesto. Their titanic sausage is apparently meant to “examine consumption, capitalism, class and contemporary culture,” Times Square Arts’ website amazingly reads. A kooky press release added this epic Wiener of the World will expose “the patriarchy of meat-eating.” JOHNNY OLEKSINSKI But sometimes a hot dog is just a hot dog That must be why every day at 12:30 p.m., the installation lifts off the ground, angles up to sky and becomes a confetti cannon. The explosion of euphemism is supposed to reference the “hyper-masculinity and showmanship often associated with American culture and patriotism.” Um, sure it is. Frankly enormous Times Square, with its onslaught of noise, light and indecipherable smells, is an awfully funny place for deep thinking. Walking to work in a hurry on Wednesday, I strolled by this colossal tube steak and said, “Oh. A big hot dog.” My automatic shrug at the abnormal sight, besides that being all New Yorkers’ default attitude, could be because its neighbors include a massive M&M, a three-story Olive Garden and a Krispy Kreme so enormous it’s deemed the company “flagship.” Big is Times Square’s schtick. Plop “Hot Dog in the City” in Sheep Meadow in Central Park and the visual would be way more striking — like the monolith from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” except the monkeys are shirtless dudes playing frisbee. Frankly, though, my reaction would probably be the same. “Oh. A big hot dog.” I guarantee you that nobody in the throngs of tourists taking pictures stop to consider that the installation could be a stinging indictment of American excess. If anything, they think it’s a celebration of imported German cuisine. Mostly, though, they figure it’s another Instagram opportunity; a Cawker City, Kan., World’s Biggest Ball of Twine to call our very own. There are even events pegged to this best of wursts, which is in town till June 13. One called the “Condiment Wars” will feature the wrestlers of a New Orleans-based drag group known as Choke Hole, who will “take down masculinity, corporate America and capitalism.” I sense a trend here. Later on, there’s a canine beauty pageant (100% approve), a hot-dog eating contest (makes sense) and then an on-stage talk at Town Hall debating the merits of the food (uh oh). Among the panelists at that chat will be a feminist-vegan writer and activist. I have a sneaking suspicion she won’t be pro-hot-dog. Clearly the point of this undeniably impressive piece of visual art is to get the viewer to open their eyes and see the hot dog as emblematic of the dark, crude, ravenous underbelly of American society. Unfortunately it only makes me want to go to Gray’s Papaya. MEATY ISSUES: Paul Outlaw and Jen Catron say their giant Times Square hot dog cannon is meant to “examine consumption, capitalism, class and contemporary culture.” Guerin Charles/ABACA/Shutterstock

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Postmaster: Send address changes to The New York Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036-8790. Vol. 223 No. 172 Copyright 2024, NYP Holdings Inc. (USPS-383200) Published daily by NYP Holdings Inc., 1211 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-8790. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional offices. The Post uses recycled paper. LOTTERY The Shih Tzu has hit the fan in Central Park. A dastardly dognapper grabbed a beloved 9-yearold pooch from an Upper East Side family this week in Central Park, while a nanny was gathering her two young charges following an afternoon outing. The heartbroken family is offering a $5,000 reward for the safe return of their black and white Shih Tzu, Panda. “I have not been able to eat or sleep since we lost our dog,” a shaken Makiyo Davidson, 39, told The Post on Saturday. “It traumatized myself and my kids.” The crime comes as robberies in Central Park have soared 350% so far this year, with 18 as of April 28, compared to four in the same period a year prior. The mom said the Shih Tzu snatching took place Wednesday around 4:30 p.m., in a grassy area approximately 250 feet from the park entrance at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue. “I saw someone take your dog!” a man in a yellow jacket told Davidson’s nanny, who was at the park with Panda and the kids. The family has plastered the area with missing posters. “Whatever it takes to get him back. No questions asked,” Davidson said. Dean Balsamini and Tina Moore Pooch is latest Central Park crime vic A Cornell University institute pushing clean energy picked up the $20,000-plus tab for a group of progressive city pols — led by Comptroller Brad Lander — on a week-long junket to Denmark, where they gushed over lefty causes like car-free infrastructure and heavily subsidized “social housing” programs. The Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, whose mission is drumming up green jobs, shelled out about $2,500 per person for Lander (pictured) and seven Democratic City Council members to attend the trip from April 27 through Saturday, Lander’s office said. Some critics questioned if the institute picked up the tab to help lock in political support for future clean-energy projects. “Something is rotten in Denmark,” fumed Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens). “To me, this seems like indirect lobbying from the Climate Jobs Institute to push their car-free agenda on New York’s politicians.” The pols toured “sustainable housing” and a “waste-to-energy” heating plant, sources said. A spokesman for the institute refused to comment. Lander’s office said the trip included meetings on a variety of topics he deals with. Rich Calder and Susan Edelman 20G ‘green’ for city pols’ enviro junket X @NYCComptroller By LARRY CELONA, JOE MARINO and TINA MOORE All 3,000 city Department of Correction body-worn cameras were yanked Saturday, a day after an officer at the Rikers Island correctional facility was injured when hers ignited, The Post has learned. The captain’s bodycam caught on fire Friday, prompting unions to ask for a full safety review, officials said. ‘Until we’re sure’ “They’re going to pull them,” said Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains’ Association. “They’re not going to be returned to staff until we’re sure they’re OK.” Earlier reports indicated the officer was burned by the camera fire but officials later said she suffered smoke inhalation, he said. “She went to the hospital but she wasn’t admitted,” he said. “She’s doing OK, a little traumatized.” It’s not clear what caused the camera to ignite, but some of them have lithium batteries, Ferraiuolo noted. The DOC’s more than 3,000 body-worn cameras, which are assigned to all uniformed staff, are similar to those used by the NYPD, but not the same make, officials said. Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio sent a statement to his members telling them the city and DOC commissioner agreed to pull the cameras at his request. “The DOC will temporarily be taking all [body cameras] offline in order to conduct a safety review of the devices until further notice,” the message said. Two-week probe The investigation is expected to take one to two weeks. In 2018, the New York Police Department removed about 3,000 body cameras from its officers after one of the devices worn by a Staten Island cop exploded into flames. The department was then in the early stages of outfitting its 23,000 officers with the cameras. They now all have them. The NYPD yanked another 2,000 police body cameras in 2021 after one of the devices exploded and caught fire in Manhattan. The officers both suffered minor injuries. [email protected] Jail guard bodycams pulled after 1 ignites WHO WATCHES? The body-worn cameras used by city correctional guards are similar to the NYPD’s bodycams but of a different make.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 5 Chilling NYPD body camera footage released Friday shows the harrowing moment cops fatally shot a mentally ill Queens man who lunged at them with scissors as his mom and brother begged them not to shoot. Win Rozario’s family called on the officers involved to be fired and charged with murder in the wake of the video’s release by state officials. “The video that was released makes it clear that Win should be alive, but the police came and murdered him in our kitchen without any care for him or us,” Rozario’s mother, brother and father said in a statement. Rozario, 19, was killed on March 27 after police responded to a 911 call from him at his home at 103rd Street and 101st Avenue in Ozone Park. Rozario pulled a pair of scissors out of a kitchen drawer and charged at them, the video shows. Police then fired their Tasers at him twice, but Rozario proceeded to pick up the scissors again. This time, both officers fired their guns at Rozario, who was taken to a hospital and died. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office released the video. Her office is investigating the shooting. Tina Moore Tragic cop shoot footage It was a bloody night in the city Saturday, when a man was killed and six others hurt in three shootings within 45 minutes, cops said. At around 1:30 a.m., four men were shot — one fatally — at a baby shower in Richmond Hill, Queens, officials said. A 24-year-old man was mortally wounded while the others, 26, 43 and 45, were hit but survived. About 10 minutes later, a man, 25, was shot in the head in Jamaica, police said. He was in critical condition. Earlier, at 1 a.m., two men, 34 and 47, were shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. There have been no arrests. Dean Balsamini 7 shot in 45 NY minutes By GEORGIA WORRELL, RICH CALDER and TINA MOORE Crime victims and law enforcement are saying “Good riddance” to the turn-em-loose judge who released an alleged serial attacker who randomly suckerpunches people. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew Sciarrino left the bench Friday — just days after the bizarre ruling — and is moving to Florida. Sciarrino retired with more than a year and a half left on his mayoral appointment, two days after setting free the deranged suspect accused of socking Dulche Pichardo of Crown Heights in the face and breaking the 57-year-old mother-of-three’s jaw. Prosecutors on Wednesday upgraded the charges against Franz Jeudy, 33, in the unprovoked March attack to bail-eligible second-degree assault and requested $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond. However, the veteran Republican judge rejected the request. Sciarrino also faced heat last year after he ignored a prosecutor’s request to keep a career criminal in jail and instead granted bail in an attempted-murder case. That suspect, Ousmane Diallo, then allegedly wounded two people in a shooting after being freed on $500,000 bond, according to authorities. Pichardo’s son, Raul Gomez, told The Post Sciarrino can’t flee to Florida fast enough. “Good riddance, honestly,” he said. “Hopefully the next judge will be wiser and less ridiculous in his decisions . . . Hopefully they appoint better judges, although I’m skeptical that will happen. “I think [Sciarrino] made a great decision” to retire, added Gomez, 24. “He should be out of law. People like him have no business being in Brooklyn court — it’s absurd he got into such a high position.” He also ripped the state’s softon-crime bail laws, adding his mom is in “shock” that Jeudy is free. “She’s very upset because she thinks that there’s a possibility that he could do it again, especially given that he’s been doing it so many times,” said Gomez. Jeudy was arrested for two other random punches — one on a lawenforcement officer in 2018 and the other on a security guard in 2019, sources said. He was charged with misdemeanor assault in both cases. The charges were later dismissed because Jeudy, who has an apparent history of schizophrenia, was found unfit to stand trial, prosecutors said. Planned retirement Sciarrino’s retirement had been planned for months, according to friends and neighbors. A “For Sale” sign hangs on the front lawn of his home in Rossville, SI. A court spokesperson said Sciarrino filed his retirement papers in January and it “has nothing to do with the bail decision in this case.” Sciarrino on Friday said he followed state law when releasing Jeudy, telling The Post, “You can’t set bail on someone” who “is a not flight risk.” He also insisted the retirement decision had nothing to do with past rulings. Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Queens Democrat, said he’s happy Sciarrino is leaving. “Good riddance to this soft-oncrime judge!” he said. “We need judges with the backbone to put bad guys behind bars, not ones that let out the entire world and then flee to Florida, where the laws are tougher.” JUDGE: SO LONG, SUCKER-PUNCH! No-bail jurist bails BENCH WARMER: Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew Sciarrino quit and is off to Florida, days after freeing Franz Jeudy (inset) without bail in a bail-eligible attack on Dulche Pichardo (top). J.C. Rice

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 6 ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK By TINA MOORE and MATTHEW SEDACCA One of the most violent leaders of the Columbia University riots is an alleged professional agitator and limousine liberal — the scion of millionaire advertising execs who owns a $3.4 million Brooklyn townhouse, has a model baby mama and a step-mom who dates John Cougar Mellencamp. James Carlson, a k a Cody Carlson, a k a Cody Tarlow, is “a longtime anarchist,” a high-ranking police source said. He bought his 2,893-square-foot, three-story townhouse with four wood-burning fireplaces and a carriage house in Park Slope in 2019 for $2.3 million, according to property records and online listings. The provocateur, who has arrests dating back to 2005, is one of three children of prominent ad execs Richard “Dick” Tarlow and his wife, Sandy Carlson Tarlow. Dick Tarlow died in 2022 at 81 with an estate worth at least $20 million, court papers show. The Shelter Island resident was known for his work with Revlon, Ralph Lauren, Cuisinart and Pottery Barn. He was a loyal supporter of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and helped underwrite the school’s John Jay Justice Awards. Sandy Carlson Tarlow, who died in 2003 at age 59, was known for defining the “public face of Ralph Lauren,” according to her obituary. By the time she and her husband sold namesake firm Carlson & Partners to DDB in 2001 for an undisclosed amount, the company had more than 100 employees and was doing $165 million in business. Dick Tarlow and his second wife — Carlson’s step-mom, Kristin Kehrberg — lived together in a $15 million Fifth Avenue mansion. The widow is dating John Cougar Mellencamp, Page Six reported last summer. Carlson, 40, appears to have two children, including one with a model, blonde bombshell Kim Heyrman. The four-bedroom, four-bath townhouse Carlson owns is currently being renovated, workers told The Post on Friday. The property boasts a large garden with a deck and skylights. Estranged relatives of Carlson refused to discuss him. “We don’t talk to him. Leave us alone. He is out of our lives for so many years,” a woman who answered the phone at his sister’s home said Friday. Carlson, who attended the University of California in Santa Cruz, is an attorney by trade. He is also a rabblerouser being looked at as the “possiCOLUMBIA By OLIVIA LAND The wave of anti-Israeli protests on college campuses continued over the weekend, with two demonstrations briefly interrupting the University of Michigan commencement. Dozens of protesters wearing keffiyehs and graduation caps held Palestinian flags and marched down the center aisle toward the stage at Michigan Stadium during Saturday’s ceremony. As a speaker invited the crowd to join the school’s “Go Blue!” chant, the demonstrators hit back with cries of “Regents, regents, you can’t hide! You are funding genocide!” according to The New York Times. A plane bearing the messages “Divest from Israel now! Free Palestine!” flew around the stadium, as did a counterprotest plane that read, “We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter” “You are ruining our graduation,” one person in the audience was heard retorting as the school police forced the protesters to move back. Some pro-Israel protesters sitting in private boxes hung Israeli flags from their booths. The graduation demonstration came the day after protesters could be seen in video — taken by Richmond TimesDispatch reporter and UM alumnus Thad Green — walking through the university’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance commencement with Palestinian flags and signs that read “UM funds genocide.” The disruptors were met with a mix of cheers and boos, with one person shouting, “Get out! Get out!” “The protest lasted a few minutes before police arrived and the protesters left,” Green wrote on X. Strict at Fenway One person who was not affiliated with the university was arrested outside the school’s Museum of Art, where a protest gathered near a dinner for honorary degree recipients, the Times reported. At Boston’s Northeastern University, where 98 people were recently arrested in connection to protests, officials are sticking to strict rules about who can attend the Sunday afternoon ceremony at Fenway Park. Anxieties about potential disruptions at graduations are running high after the University of Southern California canceled its main commencement ceremony due to security concerns. Disruptions commence U. grad rites struck Can they face the music? A frustrated fundraiser is looking to hire a mariachi band to incessantly serenade the anti-Israel encampment at the University of Pennsylvania — and supporters are donating in droves. Protesters occupying the Philadelphia campus’ green are reluctant to converse with outsiders, according to CNN — but have no problem shouting their ideals for all to hear, according to fundraiser Rob Martinez. “I believe these protestors should be serenaded for their efforts, just as they have constantly serenaded my efforts to study for finals with a megaphone and drum set,” Martinez wrote on his GoFundMe page. Martinez — who did not respond to The Post’s request for comment — launched the GoFundMe on Thursday; by Saturday morning, it had nearly doubled its initial $14,000 goal. Olivia Land Mariachi revenge By RICH CALDER and MATTHEW SEDACCA New York taxpayers have shelled out at least $2.7 million in political pork over the past decade — including $430,000-plus since last July — to five nonprofits that helped organize or support radical anti-Israel student protests. A Post examination of City Council “discretionary funds” shows since 2014 members funneled nearly $2.5 million alone to the Manhattan-based Muslim Community Network, which offers “safety-training” seminars to protesters. MCN posted some spirited advice on social media last week on how protesters should refuse police searches and not be “fooled” by the “good cop/bad cop” technique. Council members delivered $410,818 of the MCN’s money this fiscal year to fund salary and programming costs, including $245,000 directly from Speaker Adrienne Adams (top inset). Other nonprofits assisting the protesters that have received a piece of the discretionary pie include The Council on AmericanIslamic Relations’ New York chapter and the ironically named Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. The latter, which received $77,000, helped organize radical protests in and around Columbia University, City College of New York and other city campuses. Most of the pork — $60,000 — was dished out by Comptroller Brad Lander (bottom inset) from 2016 to 2019, when the Democratic socialist was a Brooklyn councilman. Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a Brooklyn Republican and avid Israel supporter, said it’s time the council takes a serious look at how it spends its pork-barrel funds. “We need a complete overhaul of the clearly weak standard of review for organizations that are able to take city money — our money,” she said. “It’s enraging but entirely unsurprising.” Doug Kellogg, director of the conservative anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform State Projects, was flabbergasted upon learning how many tax dollars the council sent the anti-Israel groups. “New York City’s budget faces years of multibillion-dollar deficits, and residents pay the highest combined income tax rate in the nation,” said Kellogg. City Council spokesperson Mara Davis defended the spending, saying it “funds hundreds of nonprofit organizations to support programs that serve New Yorkers across our diverse city. This includes hate- crime prevention that combats antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all other forms of hate with programs that reach tens of thousands of students.” $2.7M in NYC pork has fed campus rebels

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 7 ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK ble leader” of the anti-Israel protesters who broke into Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall on Tuesday night and barricaded themselves inside, a City Hall source said. Hamilton hoodlums Emergency Services Unit cops used a military-style truck to get inside and arrest the rioters, including Carlson, early Wednesday morning. He was charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, conspiracy and criminal trespassing. “I observed the defendant inside the location with several other individuals,” a police officer wrote in the arrest report. “I did observe doors with shattered windows, doors off hinges, broken desks and exits blockaded by piled-up chairs.” Carlson destroyed a camera inside a holding cell at One Police Plaza while he was in custody around 1 a.m., police sources said. He was charged with criminal mischief for that incident. After his Wednesday arrest at Columbia, cops additionally charged Carlson with a hate crime, assault and petit larceny for allegedly lighting an Israel supporter’s flag aflame and hitting the 22-year-old in the face with a rock during an April protest, cops said. Carlson was among the anti-Israel protesters in January who wreaked havoc on the city by blocking traffic at the Holland Tunnel as well as the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, a source said. His rap sheet dates back to at least 2005, when he was charged in San Francisco for participating in the violent “West Coast AntiCapitalist Mobilization and March Against the G8,” where protesters cracked a police officer’s skull, nearly killing him, and attempted to set a police cruiser ablaze, according to a City Hall source and news reports. He was charged at the time with suspicion of attempted lynching, malicious mischief, battery to a police officer, aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and willful resistance to a police officer that results in serious bodily injury, according to the source. The charges were dropped in 2007, CNN reported. He has no known links to Columbia. About 30% of those busted in the Hamilton Hall takeover were outside agitators, according to the school and Mayor Adams. Carlson could not be reached for comment. Additional reporting by Jon Levine, Chris Harris and Georgett Roberts ‘HEIR’ RAID Ad-fortune scion eyed as siege ‘leader’ Speak softly and carry a big keffiyah? The great-great-greatgrandson of President Teddy Roosevelt appears to have traded the Rough Riders for Hamas, as he supports the anti-Israel tent encampments erupting at universities. Quentin Colon Roosevelt, 18, a freshman at Princeton University who also once served as Washington, DC’s youngest elected official, is staunchly anti-Israel despite his famous ancestor’s (inset) support for a Jewish state. Roosevelt wants Princeton, where he serves on the student government, to “divest” from Israel and has vowed “we will not stop, we will not rest” in a recent post on X that included an image of a hand-drawn Palestinian flag. Roosevelt does not appear to have condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Theodore Roosevelt supported the Balfour Declaration issued by the British in 1917 supporting the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. “It seems to me that it is entirely proper to start a Zionist state around Jerusalem,” Roosevelt said. Quentin Roosevelt did not respond to a request for comment. David Spector Roosevelt would ride rough over grandpunk QUENTIN COLON ROOSEVELT MILLION-DOLLAR ‘ANARCHIST’: James Carlson (far left, in his mug shot, above, leaving his arraignment, and pricey Brooklyn townhouse, near left) is the son of late ad-agency founder Dick Tarlow (with second wife Kristin Kehrberg, who now dates John Cougar Mellencamp, right). Michael Goodwin / P. 11

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 8 ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK By OLIVIA LAND An Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas for nearly two months following the Oct. 7 attack revealed that her captor gave her a ring and told her that she would have his children. Noga Weiss, 18, was two weeks into her captivity in the Gaza Strip when one of her abductors professed his love for her, she recalled to Israel’s Channel 12. “He gave me a ring on day 14 [in captivity], and I stayed with him until day 50,” Noga said of her captor’s sick proposal. “He told me, ‘Everyone will be released, but you will stay here with me and have my children,’ ” she told the station. When asked how she responded to the proposition, Noga said that she “pretended to laugh so he wouldn’t shoot me in the head.” After several days, the captor told Noga that he was bringing her mother over so she could approve of the marriage. “I thought she’d been murdered, I thought I was alone. Suddenly, she’s alive, and I’m not alone,” Noga told Channel 12 of the first time she saw her mother since they were both kidnapped. Shiri Weiss, 53, eventually yelled at the terrorist until he understood they were rejecting his proposal, Noga’s older sister, Meytal, said. ‘Always had to please them’ The captors moved Noga between different homes during the 50-day ordeal, the teen recalled. And each time they moved, she was made to wear a hijab and hold her captor’s hand so that they would appear like a married couple. “They brought cards for us to play with, and I told myself, ‘I’ll play with them and do whatever they want as long as they don’t shoot,’ ” she said. “Their moods changed so Insane kidnapper By RICH CALDER An Israel-hating public school teacher slammed a Queens pol as an “old genocidal white,” prompting the city councilman to call for her to be pulled from the classroom for her “despicable racist and ageist” social media rants. Taiba Ahmad, a teacher at PS 153 in Maspeth, allegedly made some of her “derogatory” posts over the past few months “while on the job” during regular school hours, contended Councilman Robert Holden in a letter to NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks. Ahmad (left) shouldn’t be “shaping young minds,” the moderate Democrat wrote, urging Banks “to take swift and appropriate action.” “The presence of an educator who openly expresses hatred and discrimination poses a threat to the very fabric of our community and sets a dangerous example for our youth,” Holden (right) wrote Wednesday. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, Ahmad has been quick to fire verbal jabs at pols on both sides of the political aisle who’ve defended the Jewish state. Besides Holden, other Dems targeted by Ahmad include President Biden and Gov. Hochul. She’s also gone hard after Republicans, including accusing Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino and Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, without proof, of associating with “white supremacists.” Ahmad’s latest social media attack against Holden came Tuesday after the Queens Dem poked fun at a video of a Columbia University student saying she believes the university should’ve fed and provided water to pro-Palestine protestors who shut down parts of the campus. “What’s the matter? Mommy and Daddy cut you off from their credit cards?” Holden wrote on X. “Can’t access the trust fund while you were busy occupying buildings? Oh the humanity!” “They locked all the gates so people can’t bring them food,” the teacher wildly claimed. “@Columbia is using the same starvation tactics as the genocidal Israel army!” The letter, a copy of which was provided to The Post, fails to mention what action Holden believes the DOE should take against the teacher. DOE spokesperson Jenna Lyle said the agency takes such “complaints extremely seriously” and will review the letter. Ahmad did not return messages, but on Saturday made her X account private. Teacher’s hate rant riles pol It’s time to bring back a pre-COVID law forbidding masked people from gathering in public, activists and officials insist. A nearly 200-year-old law that made it illegal to be disguised in public was repealed in 2020 to allow mask-wearing to prevent the spread of the virus. But face coverings have become the de facto uniform of pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses. “The deceptive use of masks . . . [pose] a significant risk to public safety,” Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-SI) told The Post. “This is now being used as a tool that those who are looking to wreak havoc are utilizing.” Deirdre Bardolf Make protesters ‘face’ the public: SI GOPer An embattled Brooklyn teaching assistant who was handcuffed at a Columbia University protest last week has been fired, The Post has learned. James Parra, a fifth-grade paraprofessional at Brooklyn Arbor in Williamsburg who called Israel a “racist” and a “terrorist” state, shared his ouster on social media Wednesday. “After 8 years of dedicated service and after 6 months of doxxing and harassment and Zionist parents . . . my superintendent just a few moments ago terminated me,” Parra, 27, wrote on Instagram. The Department of Education confirmed Parra’s firing in an email. Deirdre Bardolf and Susan Edelman Anti-Israel ed. aide must learn to find a new job Insatgram/@israelinnewyork

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 9 ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK quickly. One minute they played with us and laughed, the next they’d come in with a gun. You always had to please them.” The captors frequently talked about how Israel rightfully belonged to them and told Noga she was an occupier, she added. “People don’t understand the feeling of fear,” Noga said. “I was 50 days, 24/7, with the thought that they would get tired of me and just shoot me or that they wouldn’t need me in the end, or that they would shoot us while we slept in the middle of the night.” On Oct. 7, Noga was with her parents at their home in Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas descended on the community. Her dad, Ilan Weiss, 56, left home at 7:15 a.m. to join the kibbutz emergency squad. He was later determined to have been killed. Hamas is supposedly holding his remains in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported. Meanwhile, Noga and Shiri took cover in their safe room. “They started shooting at the door, something like 40 shots until they managed to get [in the safe room],” Noga said. ‘They tied my hands’ “I went under the bed, and they came in and took her,” she said of the harrowing moment when Shiri was taken hostage. “After they took her outside, I heard gunshots. I thought she was murdered and not kidnapped.” Noga initially tried to hide in nearby bushes, but was quickly spotted by the terrorists, she said. “Something like 40 terrorists surrounded me with Kalashnikovs. They tied my hands behind my back. As they took me away, I saw the bodies of people I knew from the kibbutz. A few minutes later, they put me in a car and started driving,” she said. Noga and her mother were both released with the first group of freed hostages on Nov. 25. Noga said she still cannot mourn for her father until the remaining hostages are returned. “They have been there for an indescribable amount of time. At one point, they brought us a halfliter bottle of water for two days. You can’t survive like this for 200 days,” she lamented. Noga admitted that she had lost much of her faith in the Israel Defense Forces, but said that she still plans to enlist in May. was lovesick for 18-year-old captive PROPOSAL HELL FOR HOSTAGE A top Hamas leader in Gaza said the latest hostage-for-ceasefire proposal on the table comes closest of any recent offer to meeting the terror group’s demands. Yahya Sinwar weighed in on the deal via representatives, claiming the offer — which would see the immediate release of hostages and a temporary cease-fire — meets a number of Hamas’ requirements but with some caveats, Arab mediators told The Wall Street Journal. Hamas is expected to present a counterproposal soon, as talks continued in Cairo on Saturday between the Hamas delegation and Egyptian and Qatari mediators. CIA Director William Burns is also taking part in the talks. Both Hamas and Israel, however, were digging in their heels over the terror group’s demand that the deal is conditioned on ending the nearly seven-monthslong war. Taher al-Nono, an adviser to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, said the Palestinian group is approaching the talks “with full seriousness and responsibility,” but added that any hostage deal would require Israel to pull its troops out of Gaza and a permanent cease-fire. “Any agreement to be reached must include our national demands: the complete and permanent ending of the aggression, the full and complete withdrawal of the occupation from Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their homes without restriction, and a real prisoner swap deal, in addition to the reconstruction and ending the blockade,” Nono said. The terms of the proposal, which received Israel’s preliminary nod, included the release of 20 to 33 hostages to Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a weekslong pause in the fighting. Israel, however, refuses to drop its plans for an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and continued to rebuff calls to end the war. Rafah off the table Egypt made concerted efforts to revive hostage negotiations late last month amid the prospect of an Israeli invasion of Rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering. The impending Israeli offensive could devastate humanitarian operations in the territory and put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk, UN officials said. Israel, however, reiterated that it will take Rafah with or without a cease-fire, and that it is hashing out a plan for evacuating civilians to a narrow coastal strip in southern Gaza. Pressure for a deal in the ongoing war has mounted from the international community, with Washington urging Hamas to accept the deal. Burns, who has been involved in previous negotiations, arrived in Egypt on Friday. The CIA declined to comment on his itinerary. Matthew Sedacca, withWires Hamas hedges on deal Close on cease-fire pact 50 DAYS OF FEAR: Noga Weiss (left) opens up about her experience from the time she was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel until the first round of hostage exchanges 50 days later. Two weeks into the ordeal, the 18-year-old recalls, one of the Hamas terrorists gave her a ring, proposed marriage and said she would have his children. The captor later brought over her mom, Shiri (right) — who Noga thought had been killed — to approve of the marriage, but the mom finally got him to take no for an answer. HAMAS MEDIA OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 10 ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK Rutgers University refused to let a Jewish group hold a pro-Israel barbecue on the campus’ Voorhees Mall, despite allowing proterror protesters to camp there for days, emails obtained by The Post claim. Rutgers Associate Dean of Students Kerri Willson refused to allow the Jewish students to gather at the spot, saying no events could be held on campus after the last day of classes on Monday, April 29 — despite allowing the encampment to drag on until May 2. The Kosher cookout was set to mark the end of a grueling semester for Jewish students at Rutgers that has seen pro-Hamas students plaster a pro-Israel student’s picture all over their dorm; spraypaint pictures of Palestinian terrorists on campus sidewalks; and scream “Hitler would have loved you” at Jewish students. The encampments finally ended after administrators caved into protester demands, including blanket amnesty for demonstrators. Rutgers did not respond to a request for comment. David Spector Uni blocked Kosher BBQ Speaker Mike vows agitator ‘accountability’ from The Post about whether President Biden would sign it. “They are destroying property, they’re waving Hezbollah and Hamas flags, they’re breaking into buildings, they’re chanting Heil Hitler,” Johnson said, explaining why he was so passionate about the issue. “This is not a gray area. “The Jewish students we spoke to had been verbally harassed and spit on. They’ve been told to ‘go back to the gas chambers,’ ” he said. Johnson reiterated his call for President Biden to send in the National Guard to unruly campuses, recalling President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1957 decision to send federal troops to Little Rock, Ark., to integrate schools there when racist mobs and local leaders refused to act. “When schools are violating civil-rights laws, and violating federal law, yes, there is an appropriate federal response,” he said. “We need more Eisenhower and less Biden.” Johnson — who, depending on the day, commands a perilous one-seat majority — said he is confident he’ll retain his job despite growing calls for his removal by a clutch of far-right lawmakers opposed to his support of $60 billion in US aid to Ukraine. The House rebels are led by perennial rabble-rouser Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called the House vote a “complete betrayal” by Johnson. Greene filed a motion to vacate against Johnson — the same procedure used to topple House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. “I can tell you that 99% of our conference agrees that this motion to vacate is wrong,” Johnson said. “It’s a recipe for chaos. And it could happen at a very dangerous time. “Marjorie enjoys attention. I think that’s pretty clear,” he said curtly. dent there, Shafik, and told her she had to get control and she said, ‘I’m trying to negotiate with them.’ And that’s not how you handle this. You don’t negotiate with aspiring terrorists,” said Johnson. The speaker on Tuesday announced a House effort to stamp out Hamas agitators on campus, holding a press conference with his most powerful committee chairs. Among other things, the GOP grandees said axing federal funding for universities which fail to clean up antisemitism would be on the table. Legislate vs. hate A day later, the Louisiana Republican shepherded through Congress a broadly bipartisan bill to expand the definition of antisemitism. It faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has refused to say whether he would bring the bill to a vote. Reps for the White House did not respond to calls They are destroying property, they’re waving Hezbollah and Hamas flags . . . they’re chanting Heil Hitler. This is not a gray area. — House Speaker Mike Johnson (pictured above) By JON LEVINE College professors and even students can expect to be hauled in front of Congress as part of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s effort to stamp out antisemitism on campus. In an exclusive interview with The Post, Johnson blasted student protests in support of Hamas as “evil” and said no stone would be left unturned by his House colleagues. “I think we need accountability from top to bottom,” Johnson said. “The idea that some of these professors would be involved in this is outrageous, and I think they need to be called to account and of course the students as well.” Up until now, university leaders have borne the brunt of House GOP fire, most infamously Harvard President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill — both of whom resigned amid fallout from their disastrous testimonies. Johnson said his meeting with Columbia President Minouche Shafik last week left him deeply unimpressed. He has already called on her to resign. “I sat down with the presiAP Three city synagogues and a museum received bomb threats Saturday, according to police. The Congregation Rodeph Sholom, at 7 W. 83rd St., was evacuated after police received a report of a bomb threat at around 3:15 p.m. Police confirmed that the threat was unfounded. Another threat, which was also determined to be false, was reported at the progressive, LGBTQfriendly Congregation Beit Simchat Torah at 130 W. 30th St. At 5:15 p.m., the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue on Remsen Street also received a threat. Three employees were evacuated and no explosives were found, cops said. Another threat was reported 15 minutes later at the Brooklyn Museum in Prospect Park. Again, the threat was found to false. It’s unclear if the threats are connected, police said. Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, told The Post that the threats are a “dangerous escalation” of antisemitism during a particularly tense time for Jews in the city. Patrick Reilly Threats vs. synagogues

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 11 Michael Goodwin [email protected] to be held hostage for more than two weeks as she negotiated with ringleaders. The Ivy League school’s president, Minouche Shafik, also twice called in the NYPD to arrest resisters who occupied university property and refused to leave. The first time was on April 18, when New York’s Finest rousted people who set up a tent camp in the middle of the campus. Police later said just 38 of those arrested were students, CNN reported. During the second crackdown, 80 students were arrested, along with 32 outsiders, including James Carlson. Combined, that means just 118 students were allegedly committing violations serious enough to be arrested in the two raids. It’s a drop in the Columbia bucket. Across its undergraduate and graduate programs, the university enrolls nearly 37,000 students. Coddling troublemakers Even if the scope is limited to the undergraduate programs at Columbia and Barnard colleges, the total number of enrolled students is about 10,000. And just 118 of them were arrested. Of course, more students than that participated in some demonstrations and no doubt others supported the demands or just their friends. But the small number of hardcore disruptors illustrates how badly Shafik and Columbia’s board bungled the responses. Had they firmly enforced existing policies against disturbances from the outset, they might have been able to stop the harassment and threats before they metastasized into fullfledged disasters. By coddling the troublemakers, administrators encouraged them and turned them into campus leaders. The result was a lost spring semester for serious students and more turbulence for the institution, which will suffer serious reputational damage. Civil rights probes by Congress and the Department of Education, combined with class-action lawsuits over threats to Jewish students, promise expensive problems for years. Alumni donations already are falling. The pattern makes it hard to see any justification for Shafik remaining as president. If she is forced out, she will join the former presidents of Harvard and Penn who were fired after their appeasing responses to antisemitism. Shed no tears for any of them. F OR many Americans, the words “outside agitators” evoke memories of southern segregationists complaining about northern civil rights workers organizing black Americans. But times and issues change and those same words now have a very different connotation. This time they are used by police and northern mayors, some of them black, to refer to professional radicals who helped start the antisemitic, proHamas riots plaguing colleges across the country. Mayor Adams early on accused “outside agitators” of radicalizing students when unruly mobs formed on campuses within the five boroughs, including New York University, City College, Fordham and Columbia. “Outside agitators were on their grounds, training and really coopting this movement,” Adams said about Columbia. Police statistics confirm the outsiders’ lopsided role. In some cases, more than half of those taken into custody by the NYPD have no affiliation with the universities where they were wreaking havoc. NYU, for example, said 68 of the 133 people arrested there one day last month weren’t students, faculty, or staff. At City College, 102 of the 170 who were arrested last week had no affiliation with the college, police said. Terrorist headbands The Post identified one of the most violent leaders of the Columbia takeover as James Carlson, a former silver-spoon kid who is now a 40-year-old professional agitator who lives in a Brooklyn home valued at $3.4 million. Described by police as a “longtime anarchist” with a rap sheet that goes back to 2005, Carlson has no affiliation with Columbia but was arrested inside Hamilton Hall on Tuesday night where protestors broke in and barricaded themselves behind piles of furniture. Considered a possible leader of the group, he has been charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, conspiracy and criminal trespassing. Many of the outside radicals come ready for battle with a “uniform” of masked faces and Arab kaffiyehs used as scarves and head coverings. They also have a steady supply of Palestinian flags, one of which flew above City College until police took it down and raised Old Glory. Green Hamas headbands and yellow Hezbollah flags also have been spotted, evidence that some of the hooligans are proud of their allegiance to groups designated by the United States as terrorist organizations. The fact that many of the protesters’ tactics and the tents they’ve set up on campuses also are identical suggests there is a super structure guiding the turmoil. The Wall Street Journal reports some activist groups have been training for the campus protests since soon after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7. It identified the National Students for Justice in Palestine, which has branches on more than 300 campuses, as a chief organizer, trainer and advocate for tent camps and the takeover of buildings. It also reportedly helped guide the students’ agenda, which everywhere includes demands for colleges to end investments in companies doing business with Israel. Given the many crimes charged in police crackdowns, as well as the antisemitic harassment and the embrace of terrorists, the evidence of an organized conspiracy should be fodder for the Department of Justice. So far, however, the department has been silent and there is little chance Attorney General Merrick Garland will lift a finger if it might hurt President Biden’s chance of re-election. Although Biden demanded that Garland prosecute Donald Trump, and Garland obeyed, the last thing the White House wants is a probe of terrorist wannabes. Democratic base Radical-left students and Muslim Americans are a key component of the Democrats’ coalition in swing states, and they are already unhappy with Biden. A probe could guarantee he won’t get their votes. The political math also explains much if not all of the administration’s pressure on Israel to agree to a permanent cease-fire with Hamas. Until he realized the domestic downsides, Biden was a wholehearted supporter of Israel. And so Garland has said nothing about the nationwide campus chaos and Biden never mentions antisemitism without also warning about Islamophobia, as if they are two equal sides of the same coin. As the role of outsiders grows clear, the way most college presidents handled their campuses’ protests looks even worse than it did. Nearly all these presidents were frightened into submission by a mouse that roared in the sense that relatively few students were actually involved. It’s bad enough that the presidents tolerated takeovers of university properties, harassment of students and nonstop noise leading to canceled classes and threats to disrupt graduations. Many school leaders also foolishly offered concessions during negotiations even though most protests included violations of rules and criminal laws. Some presidents essentially capitulated, with Brown agreeing to vote on the antisemitic divest demand. Northwestern agreed to a quota system by setting aside five scholarships for Palestinian students each year and giving Muslim groups special spaces on campus for “community building.” Columbia, the epicenter of the outbreak, is a textbook case of a weak leader allowing her campus Agitators really were outsiders John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 12 Ol’ Blue Eyes shed a few tears when it came to his wives. Frank Sinatra would flee his Manhattan brownstone, which is now on the market for $4.45 million, on nights he fought with wife Mia Farrow. “Godfather” actor Gianni Russo, who lives five doors down from where the crooner and the famed actress cohabitated at 249 E. 61st St., said Sinatra was sure to ring his buzzer. “Anytime they’d have a fight, he’d come have a drink and spend the night at my place,” Russo, 80, told The Post. “He’d cry and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’ This guy was a crybaby, not the image we know of him. He’d get into the fetal position on my couch and go to sleep.” Russo, who played Carlo Rizzi in “The Godfather,” was 14 and working as an errand boy for Mafia boss Frank Costello when he first met Sinatra at the Copacabana, and they remained friends until his death in 1998. Russo said he “went through so many romances” with Sinatra, and never understood his friend’s attraction to Farrow. “I don’t even know why he married her. She’s like a boy, she got no body, she got nothing,” he said. The “Rosemary’s Baby’’ actress was married to Ol’ Blue Eyes from 1966 to 1968 but continued to be his lover on and off afterward — including when she was involved with director Woody Allen. Hollywood has long speculated that Ronan Farrow, who was born in 1987, is actually Sinatra’s child. Angela Barbuti Neighbor blabs on Sinatra’s soft side A 65-year-old man is recovering after being bitten by a shark while spearfishing off the South Carolina coast. The victim — who has not been named publicly — was bitten about 20 miles off the Charleston coast on Thursday night, WCSC reported. A passenger on the 28-foot boat the man was fishing from applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until the Coast Guard arrived, the outlet said, citing Petty Officer 3rd Class Vincent Moreno. Charleston Harbor Marine police assessed the man’s wound at the scene and determined that the bleeding had stopped, he said. The fishing boat was then directed to Charleston Harbor, where it met up with EMS near the Coast Guard Station. The man was taken to a nearby hospital for additional treatment, WCSC said. As of Saturday afternoon, there was no update on his condition. Olivia Land Shark bites SC spearfisher A Massachusetts woman has cashed in her second $1 million lottery ticket in just 10 weeks. Christine Wilson, of Attleborough, struck gold again playing the Massachusetts State Lottery’s 100X Cash $10 instant ticket game, lottery officials announced Wednesday. She had purchased the ticket at Family Food Mart in Mansfield, which will receive $10,000 for selling the big winner. Just over two months ago, Wilson claimed a $1 million prize off a Lifetime Millions $50 instant ticket on Feb. 23. She had purchased that ticket at Dubs’s Discount Mass. woman hits the jackpots By EILEEN RESLEN, SARA NATHAN and DANA KENNEDY Lynne Spears hopped on a flight to Los Angeles after her daughter Britney Spears’ tumultuous night at the Chateau Marmont — an episode that left sources fretting the singer should have been kept in a conservatorship. Lynne flew to the West Coast 24 hours after her famous daughter was in a highly publicized fight at the luxury venue with her excon boyfriend, Paul Richard Soliz. Britney, 42, was photographed barefoot, clutching a pillow outside the hotel early Thursday as first responders arrived. Paparazzi caught up with her mother at LAX Airport Friday. Lynne, 69, was picked up by her son, Bryan Spears, who has maintained a relatively good relationship with his famous sister. Lynne nodded “yes” with a sad look on her face when one of the photographers asked if she would always be there for the singer, video of the encounter showed. The incident came hours after her divorce from third husband Sam Asghari was finalized. Britney later took to Instagram to deny reports of a dispute with Soliz, and claimed paramedics showed up at her door “illegally.” Sources have now voiced concerned the songstress needs oversight — much like she had under a 13-year conservatorship overseen by her father, Jamie. ‘Absolute tragedy’ The two waged a highly publicized court battle which saw the undeniably strict conservatorship end in 2021. “The narrative of Britney having been locked away for no good reason other than her dad being evil and wanting to work her for every last penny has always been wrong,” an insider familiar with the court case told Page Six. “There is no question that Jamie Spears is a flawed father and the way that Britney was put to work in Vegas was awful,” the source said of Spears’ 2015 Las Vegas residency. “It should never have happened. “However, there is also no question that the conservatorship — and the interventions prior to it — happened for a reason and it wasn’t because her dad wanted to make some nefarious money grab. It was put in place because Britney has serious mental health issues and was going completely off the rails,” the source said. Before the latest incident, a source who knows Jamie said, “I have never believed that Jamie is the villain in this situation,” adding, “I think he has been unfairly vilified by people who know nothing about the situation and have nothing to do with it. I hate to say it, but he could be vindicated.” The insider familiar with the conservatorship said, “It will be even harder now to get Britney under any kind of control. Her family can’t go near her . . . I worry that everyone else who comes into her orbit only wants her money. It’s an absolute tragedy and there is just absolutely no way for it to end well.” Reps for Britney declined to comment. CRISIS: Lynne Spears rushes through LAX Friday, a day after Britney’s (above) public fight with beau Paul Richard Soliz (inset). BACKGRID Spears mom flies in after Chateau woe Liquors in Mansfield. She decided to receive both of her prizes in the form of lump cash payments of $650,000 each before taxes. Wilson said she used some of the first jackpot to buy a new car and will put the second big win into savings. Patrick Reilly

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 13 ELECTION 2024 Indicted Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar is now facing a bipartisan call to resign from Congress. Reps. Mike Lawler and Jeff Van Drew on Saturday became the first sitting Republicans to say the Texas moderate should step down in the wake of his federal bribery charges. Whether Cueller decides to stay or go, Dems will almost certainly be stuck with him on the ballot for the November election — meaning that the charges could potentially help Republicans keep control of the House in 2024. “If you’ve been indicted by the DOJ, you should resign for the good of the institution,” said Lawler (R-NY), a first-term congressman representing Rockland County. “Everyone has a right to their day in court, but with trust in Congress at an all-time low we must hold members to a higher standard and put the integrity of the institution above all other considerations.” Van Drew (R-NJ), a former Democrat, concurred. “What concerns Americans most when it comes to corruption is influence peddling, that he would sell the United States down the river to make financial gains for himself,” Van Drew said. The two Republicans’ calls came hours after Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) bucked his party leadership by urging Cuellar to leave Congress. Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were charged Friday with taking $600,000 in bribes. Jon Levine and Mary Kay Linge GOPers call for Cuellar to quit REP. HENRY CUELLAR Charged with taking bribes. Legal analyst and Zoom masturbator Jeffrey Toobin has given tour de force commentary on CNN of Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, but has his own checkered past with money and sex. Much as Trump allegedly tried to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence about an affair she claims they had, Toobin, 63, infamously once offered to pay for a lover’s abortion in the hopes of keeping the relationship under wraps. In 2010, the Daily News reported the married Toobin made the offer in 2008 to pregnant Casey Greenfield, daughter of CNN colleague Jeff Greenfield. Toobin did not respond to request for comment from The Post. Jon Levine Donald Trump released a new ad Friday for his presidential campaign that heralded the University of North Carolina students who defended the American flag on their campus from anti-Israel protesters. “While campuses struggle to get control of their students, at UNC Chapel Hill, they are bringing order back,” the Truth Social video (right) begins. The students “stood strong” despite being “pelted with bottles and rocks,” the ad continued. Jon Levine Trump ad hails flag heroes CNNer’s twisted past By JON LEVINE An obscure clause in the Constitution could knock several candidates out of the veepstakes for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate. The 12th Amendment, adopted in 1803, bars Electoral College voters from casting ballots for president and vice president from their home state. The rule was originally intended to dilute the power of large states and foster national unity, according to the Poynter Institute — in modern times, however, it’s become more of a nuisance. Several potential Trump vice presidential picks live in the Sunshine State — as does Trump, who relocated to Florida from New York in 2019. The nowproblematic veep list includes Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Byron Donalds and Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Marco has this residency problem,” is how Trump has taken to describing it with respect to Rubio, according to The Bulwark. The senator has been rising in Trump’s eyes as a possible second-in-command. Marco maneuver Rubio allies have floated the idea he could move outside the state temporarily for the election while continuing to serve in the Senate — although such a move would likely prompt a legal challenge. Rubio has said he would be “honored” to take the veep job, if offered. Donalds is also on the short list, Trump said in February. He’s only been in Congress since 2021, but has won favor in Trumpland for being a relentless advocate on television. Donalds himself told The Post he hasn’t thought about the 12th Amendment, saying, “We can cross that bridge when we come to it.” Renewed buzz came this week to DeSantis, Trump’s one-time rival for the GOP nomination. The pair met in Florida this week, where DeSantis reportedly promised his “full and enthusiastic support.” DeSantis has insisted he’s not interested in the veep job, but his supporters have still been dreaming. Both Donalds and DeSantis would also likely need to relocate from Florida — and surrender their current offices — to avoid the 12th Amendment trap. “The common rationale is to avoid the concentration of such power in any single state,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University school of law. Trump could also avoid the issue entirely if he moved his residency back to New York — though such an accommodation for a potential second-in-command is viewed as unlikely. “It’s legally and politically complicated,” said one Trump insider. “You could get around it if you wanted to, but Trump is not going to move.” Amendment bars potential VP picks DONSTITUTION CONUNDRUM VEEPERS: Rep. Byron Donalds, Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis are too much Florida for one ticket. Truth Social/Donald Trump

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 14 Ryan Gosling’s reboot of “The Fall Guy” took first place in its debut at the box office Friday, according to IMDb’s Box Office Mojo. The action flick, loosely based on the 1980s Lee Majors-led TV series about a Hollywood stunt man, raked in $10.48 million. Coming in a distant second was the horror flick “Tarot,” with $2.5 million. A week after its debut, Zendaya’s tennis flick “Challengers” dropped to third, taking home $2.5 million. The 25th anniversary limited engagement of “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” came in fourth place, with sales of $2.4 million. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” released on March 29, was in fifth, with $1.04 million. Lauren Elkies Schram ‘The Fall Guy’ debuts at top Imagine . . . there’s no ceiling! John Lennon’s long-lost Framus Hootenanny 12- string acoustic guitar goes on the auction block this month and the sky’s the limit on the price it could fetch — with estimates of more than $800,000. Lennon used the 12-string in the 1960s, most famously while the Beatles were recording the albums “Help!” and “Rubber Soul,” as well as in the movie “Help!” where he played “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” Plus, George Harrison used it to play the rhythm guitar part on “Norwegian Wood.” The guitar hadn’t been seen in more than half a century, but it was recently discovered in the attic of a home in the British countryside. Dean Balsamini Fab 4 guitar could net $800K By DEAN BALSAMINI A newly surfaced video shows the stomach-churning moment that New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols loses control of his Dodge Charger Hellcat at 84 mph and runs a hapless motorist off the road, sending the BMW airborne, hurtling over a guardrail and into a field. Stephen Gilberg, 51, of Livingston, NJ, claims he became “partially paralyzed” following the accident on April 26, 2022, and is now suing Echols and the Jets. The high-speed crash unfolded around 2 p.m. on Columbia Turnpike, near Morristown Airport, just minutes from the Jets’ practice facility in Florham Park, NJ. Echols (inset) was suspended for one game in 2023 but the team never publicly announced it was for the rookie’s reckless near-fatal driving. In the 10-second dashcam clip obtained by The Post, Echols, behind the wheel of the black 2021 Hellcat, can be seen attempting to pass Gilberg’s black 2018 BMW X5 on the left. The muscle car suddenly veers right and rams into the driver’s side of the Beemer, propelling Gilberg’s SUV over the guardrail. The BMW landed “upside down in a marshy area,” the victim said. Gilberg remained trapped inside the BMW for an hour until emergency responders could cut cealer” in the vehicle, alleged Gilberg. Such concealers are usually used to evade tolls and speeding and red-light cameras. Echols, who has not admitted any guilt, was criminally charged with assault by auto last year but “voluntarily” entered a three-year pretrial intervention program that could result in the charge being dismissed. He must pay Gilberg $1,200 per month in “restitution” until the victim’s $54,460 “out of pocket” medical expenses is reached, according to Leonardis. [email protected] Jet’s 2022 ‘auto assault’ revealed on video BRUTAL SLAM AT 84 MPH HORRIFYING: This dashcam sequence shows New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols’ Dodge Charger sending the BMW of Stephen Gilberg over the guardrail in NJ in April 2022. Courtesy of Stathis & Leonardis him out of the vehicle, his attorney said. The crash left him with broken ribs and “no feeling or movement in both hands and his right leg that required spinal surgery,” according to police reports. Gilberg continues to receive treatment for his injuries, he said in court papers. ‘History’ of recklessness Police said an investigation found Echols was traveling 84 mph — in a 50 mph zone — five seconds before impact. “The data recorder had him [at top speed] upwards of 111 mph,” charged Gilberg’s attorney, Nicholas Leonardis. Echols, who was alone, was not injured. The Jets are responsible for the negligent acts of Echols, Gilberg said in the Morris County Superior Court lawsuit filed last month, because the team “did not exercise reasonable care in hiring” Echols and “failed to conduct the proper motor vehicle and/or criminal history checks.” Echols “has a history” of reckless driving and even had a “remote controlled license plate con-

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com part of the Mexican govern- 15 ment’s effort to recover the nation’s historical artifacts from abroad. The pieces date back to between 400 B.C. and A.D. 1521. Some Chinese universities and colleges are not letting students travel on their own during the five-day May Day holiday for safety reasons. During the break, some excursions like road trips, group tours and even bicycle trips are banned. The ruling prompted debate on whether it’s appropriate to control the travel of adult students. Two of the strictest schools, Lanzhou Jiatong University and the School of Foreign Studies at Jiangsu Normal University, forbid students from traveling, either privately or in a group. The trendy practice of puppy yoga was banned as officials cited concerns that the dogs could be exploited and mistreated. Italy’s health ministry ruled that the use of dogs during the exercise, where they are incorporated into yoga poses, fell under Italy’s Animal Assisted Interventions act. Now, only adult dogs can be used. CHINA ITALY The creepy estate that Adolf Hitler’s chief of propaganda used as a vacation home is being given away for free after decades on the market with no buyers. Joseph Goebbels’ now-dilapidated house, which is owned by the state of Berlin, will be offered to “anyone” who wants to take it. The nearly 10,000 residents of Ruang Island — the entire population of the island — will be permanently relocated by the government after a series of volcanic eruptions. Concern for the future safety of locals spiked as the mountain, located in the province of North Sulawesi, spewed lava and ash for days. Pre-Columbian artifacts and figures are being returned to Mexico by the family of a late Philadelphia collector. The return of the 22 items is News World® OF THE GERMANY INDONESIA MEXICO By DANA KENNEDY The search for three missing friends who went on a surfing vacation in Baja California, Mexico, has ended after police reportedly discovered bodies in a 50-foot well. Three suspects have been taken into custody — all of whom allegedly had methamphetamine and other drugs on them at the time of their arrest. One of the suspects also had a phone belonging to the missing tourists. Mexican officials have not officially confirmed that the three bodies found last week are Georgia resident Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, and Australian brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30. But two news outlets, Border Report and FOX 5 San Diego, citing a source in the Baja California Attorney General’s Office, say the bodies are those of the three missing surfers. They were believed to have been camping out at a popular surf spot known as La Bocana in the beautiful Mexican countryside — about 130 miles south of San Diego — when they were reported missing last Saturday. Police later arrested Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota, alias El Kekas; his partner Ari Gisel Garcia Cota; and Jesús’ brother Cristian Alejandro Garcia. The fourth body was also found in the well and identified as a rancher who was reported missing two weeks ago, officials said. He owned the property where the bodies were found, the attorney general said. The three tourists were on a surfing vacation in the port city of Ensenada, a trip they were documenting on social media until last Saturday, when the posts mysteriously stopped and they failed to arrive at an Airbnb. Stevenson University in Baltimore issued a statement mourning Callum Robinson, a star lacrosse player at the school who graduated in 2015 and then played for the Premier Lacrosse League. In the hours before they vanished, Callum shared a series of social media posts of what looked like an exhilarating vacation along the Pacific Coast. Mex surfer horror 3 tourists found dead in Baja well BEFORE TRAGEDY: Jake (left) and Callum Robinson on vacation shortly before their disappearance. Jen Danzi, Managing Director of Sales 646-526-7643 | [email protected] SUMMITCLUBRESIDENCES.COM Rendering Shown The complete offering terms are in an offering plan available from sponsor. File No. C023–0308. TRADE YOUR HIGH-RISE FOR THE HEIGHT OF LUXURY. NOW SELLING. 2-3 Bedroom Units Ranging from 2,535-3,237 Sqft. Pre-Construction Pricing Starting at $3M Experience The First And Only Exclusive Private Country Club & Estimated Price. Residential Community in Westchester County, Only 34 Miles from MIDTOWN MANHATTAN..

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 16 By SUSAN EDELMAN A federal judge threw a teacher accused of sexually abusing a mentally ill student behind bars after finding she violated strict bail conditions and poses “a real danger to the community.” Sandy Carazas-Pinez (right), 34, a former city public school teacher, is charged with engaging in multiple sexual acts in her car with a 16-year-old boy — one of her students at a cityfunded Yonkers school for kids with special needs — and producing child porn. It is one of the most horrific allegations of sexual abuse by a New York educator in recent history. Brooklyn federal Judge John Cronan revoked Carazas-Pinez’s bail after finding she repeatedly breached conditions of her home confinement. She was arrested in July and released on bail, but forbidden to have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 18. The married mother of three later emailed another former student a day after he turned 18 to wish him a happy birthday. While technically not a violation, “it seems to fly in the face of the spirit of the conditions,” Cronan said in a hearing, a transcript shows. Prosecutors said it fit the teacher’s “pattern of grooming” a student for sex. Her own lawyer called the behavior “troubling.” Calling her “a real danger to the community,” the judge warned Carazas-Pinez to comply with the rules or else he’d lock her up. Last month, he learned of multiple violations cited by pretrial supervisors, including stops at a mall and Applebee’s restaurant while on strictly limited outings. She had obtained permission only to pick up a paycheck and cash it. She admitted using the check-cashing request “as a pretense” after a dispute in her parents’ home, where she was staying after her husband kicked her out. “In other words, she lied,” the judge concluded. Carazas-Pinez was sent to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on April 15. The victim’s mother, whose name is being withheld by The Post to protect his privacy, is relieved. “She’s a very disturbed individual, and I’m glad she no longer has access to children — especially mine,” she said. Carazas-Pinez taught at The Biondi School, which the mentally disabled 16-year-old attended at the city DOE’s expense.. Yonkers ‘abuser’ of special-needs kid jailed for ‘lie’ ‘SICKO’ DIDN’T LEARN The parents of a 14-year-old New Jersey girl reportedly molested by her female teacher and mentor are now suing — and have released disturbing new details of how the educator allegedly groomed their daughter with sex talk, then groped her breasts in a school hallway. The accusations have ripped apart the upscale community of Marlboro, NJ, enraging some parents who claim the district and police mishandled the case and were slow to act. Jenna Sciabica, a special education language arts teacher, fondled the girl on March 13 at Marlboro Memorial Middle, the family alleged in court papers filed May 1 in Monmouth County Superior Court. The pupil was walking to class when Sciabica “just happened to be standing in the doorway of her own classroom” and called the student over, the family claimed. The teen walked over to Sciabica, “who then began fondling and rubbing the girl’s breast with one hand. She was poking, touching, massaging, and rubbing the breast,” according to the court papers. The teacher then took the back of her hand and placed it on the girl’s forehead “to imply [the girl] was getting hot.” Sciabica then “used both of her hands, and began rubbing . . . poking, and inappropriately touching both of [the teen’s] breasts,” the family alleged. ‘Frozen in shock’ “As this was occurring, Jenna Sciabica had a gratifying smile on her face while [the teen] was . . . frozen in shock,” according to court papers. The girl then blocked Sciabica’s hands, “pulling them off her breasts,” and ran down the hallway, where another teacher who witnessed the incident heard Sciabica yell for the girl to “come back here I want to feel and touch them again.” The assault “was . . . caught entirely on camera,” according to the filing. Another girl, who has not joined the lawsuit, claimed Sciabica repeatedly tried to get her phone number, the filing claims. That student alleged Sciabica would discuss other teachers’ and men’s penis sizes and “would openly talk about her own sex life to her 10-14- year-old students,” the complaint says. The second girl reported Sciabica’s “inappropriate conversations” to the school guidance counselor but nothing was done, the family charged. Sciabica is a “predator,” the alleged victim’s mother told the Marlboro Board of Education at its April 16 public meeting. The board, the mom alleged, “failed to prevent the atrocity that happened down that hallway.” A day after the meeting, and more than a month after the incident, Marlboro Police charged the suspended teacher with one count of harassment — a misdemeanor. Dean Balsamini Suing over NJ teacher ‘hall grope’ SCANDALOUS: A 14- year-old NJ girl was groped by special education teacher Jenna Sciabica (top) at Marlboro Memorial Middle in March, her parents say. The devastated fiancé of the Wisconsin elementary school teacher who was charged with making out with a fifth-grader has called off the wedding, one of his friends told The Post. Madison Bergmann and her betrothed, Sam Hickman, were due to tie the knot July 27, but the allegation of her love affair with one of her 11-year-old students has halted any plans of a flowery ceremony. “It’s been indefinitely postponed,” a pal of Hickman, who asked to remain anonymous, said Saturday. “And it probably won’t happen. Sam is really upset and heartbroken. He’s embarrassed and pissed. He didn’t deserve this. Everyone is pissed,” he added. The longtime couple’s wedding page on the popular marriage website The Knot has been taken down. The friend said the decision to kill the wedding was mutual. “It was more like, ‘Well obviously it’s not going to happen this summer.’ Pretty much all that there is to say,” he said. “He says it’s f--ked up that she cheated with a little kid,” the friend told The Post. “He’s really, really hurt. Not talking too much about it, just like ‘This is f--ked up.’ ” Bergman is charged with child sex assault. Steve Helling and Patrick Reilly Wedding off after bride’s ‘fifth-grader make-out session’

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New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 18 ADVERTISING guru Maurice Saatchi was fêted by some boldfaced names at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Thursday evening. Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Don Lemon, Huma Abedin, Tina Brown, and NY State Attorney General Letitia James were all on hand to congratulate Lord Saatchi on his book, provocatively titled “Orgasm.” But Page Six readers, take your minds out of the gutters! The book does not refer to the physical big ‘O’ but rather an intellectual orgasm which Saatchi calls a “blissful mental experience.” When Page Six asked Saatchi to describe the book he cheekily replied, “A masterpiece!” Explosive reading EVEN with all her accolades, Glenn Close, 77, admits that she still cares if people like her. “Being an actor, you always hope that some people will like you!” the perennial Oscar nominee said with a laugh at Variety’s annual Power of Women event presented by Lifetime. Close (above) also shared that she loves to live her life “far away from Hollywood, and I spend my time in blue jeans and boots and I’m with my whole family.” The “Fatal Attraction” star was on hand at the uptown event to introduce her pal, Mariska Hargitay, who was being honored. Suited for boots KIERAN Culkin’s “feud” with Pedro Pascal seems to be over. The “Succession” star told Page Six that he wants to work with Pascal “one day . . . I was actually just talking about that!” The faux dust-up started in January at the Golden Globes when Culkin accepted his best actor award for playing Kendall Roy in the HBO drama. He said from the stage, “Suck it, Pedro! Sorry! Mine!” The camera proceeded to cut to the “Last of Us” nominee in the crowd — who appeared to be sobbing. The following week at the Emmys, the “Narcos” star “blamed” a shoulder injury on Culkin. Global conflict CHEF Daniel Boulud hosted a spring party at the new Maison Barnes in Café Boulud on Park Avenue, and guests included some of the town’s top anchors. “Today” host Al Roker was seen enjoying the cuisine with his wife, “20/20” journalist Deborah Roberts. “Good Day New York” host Rosanna Scotto was hanging in a hidden speakeasy area. A spy said, “As soon as you think you are done seeing all of the rooms, there is a hidden burgundy speakeasy that made me feel like I was transported to the Ritz hotel in Paris.” Other notables there included Katherine Gage Boulud, Tom Colicchio, Julie and Billy Macklowe. Broadcast foods FORMER top dancer and Mick Jagger’s main squeeze, Melanie Hamrick told Page Six she has another ballet-themed book coming out in August following her racy debut, “First Position.” “It’s a spinoff from the first one,” she said at the New York City Ballet’s spring gala. “My editor says it’s just as naughty — I think it’s a bit tamer.” The former ballerina has no problems if her next tome is labeled “ballet-smut,” telling us, “it’s supposed to be one of those easy, fun, don’t take [it] too seriously fun books to take to the beach.” Hamrick, 36 — who has AFTER the stars climb the stairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and show off their haute looks at tomorrow night’s Met Gala, they’ll hit the town for some roaring after-parties. This year’s Super Bowl performer, Usher, will hold a “Secret Garden”-themed bash after Vogue’s “Super Bowl of fashion” at the Times Square Edition, we hear. And “Cellophane” singer FKA twigs is hosting a party at the Top of the Standard (a k a the Boom Boom Room), where she may play a few songs. Soho House is getting in on the action this year with a bash hosted by “Saltburn” hunk Barry Keoghan. There are rumors that Beyoncé will be hosting her own bash as well. The singer and her rapper hubby Jay-Z are known for hosting their A-list “Gold Party” after the Oscars, one of the hottest post-Oscars’ stops for celebs. Party king (and Leonardo DiCaprio pal) Richie Akiva will also be throwing a rager. While a source tells us details are still being ironed out, we hear that Doja Cat, Serena Williams, Janelle Monáe and Teyana Taylor will most likely be at Akiva’s bash. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has spent millions to sponsor the event this year, and its CEO Shou Chew is set to walk the red carpet just weeks after President Biden signed a bill into law to ban the Chinese social-media platform in the US or force its sale. We hear the tech platform is throwing a party at Upper East Side members-only spot, Casa Cruz. As previously reported by Page Six, A-listers who’ve made the cut for this year’s exclusive event — thrown by Vogue’s Anna Wintour and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute — include Rihanna, Kendall Jenner and Gisele Bündchen. The event’s co-chairs are Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, and the theme for this year’s gala, which always takes place the first Monday of May, is “The Garden of Time.” Usher in on post-gala parties ‘Ballet-smut’ sequel is on pointe Ian Mohr [email protected] Oli Coleman [email protected] Mara Siegler [email protected] Carlos Greer [email protected] Page Six® NIGHTLIFE pro David Rabin — whose hot spots have included Temple Bar, the Lambs Club, and Jimmy at the James — opened the Bronze Owl to friends and family this week near the Empire State Building. MSG owner James Dolan, DJ Samantha Ronson, Scott Lipps, restaurant guru John McDonald, Fashion Week creator Fern Mallis, and actor Malik Yoba were among those checking out the place. Max Green is in charge of artisanal cocktails, with the food and the concept from chef Franklin Becker and Stephen Loffredo of Hospitality Department restaurant group. Owl be seeing you been dating the Rolling Stones singer, 80, since 2014 and has a son, Deveraux, 7, with the rocker — also revealed that she’s planning on joining her rock ’n’ roll beau on tour with his band this summer. “I’ll be in and out, maybe I’ll do two cities at once,” she said. “We have a 7-year-old, it depends on how he does on the road — he needs breaks.” We exclusively reported in 2022 that Hamrick was writing a “salacious behind the scenes” novel set in the world of the dance. Instagram Taylor Swift isn’t joining Travis Kelce at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but that didn’t stop him from donning dapper duds for the big race. @Page Six

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 19 CELEBS have been flocking to see Best Musical Tony nominee “Illinoise” since it opened on Broadway a week and a half ago following a sold-out run at the Park Avenue Armory. Anna Wintour, Baz Luhrmann, Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley, Phoebe Bridgers, Lea Michele and Busy Philipps have all been spotted checking out the Justin Peckhelmed musical based on the cult Sufjan Stevens album of the same name. ‘Noises’ on for B’way More celebrity photos at nypost.com THAT the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation’s 10th annual Waxman Luncheon will include a fashion show by designer Josie Natori at Riverpark in Kips Bay on May 15 . . . THAT award-winning Leah Crocetto and Grammy winner Lucas Meachem will be guests of honor at the Viennese Opera Ball hosted by Denise Rich and Jean Shafiroff on May 10 . . . THAT the Luisa Diaz Foundation will hold its 10th black-tie Mi Amor Graciousness Gala on May 15 at the Plaza . . . THAT abcV by Jean-Georges Vongerichten is open at the Mark Hotel through the summer. The beard on Jason Bateman is hardly in a state of arrested development as he films the Netflix miniseries “Black Rabbit” in Manhattan. GC Images It’s Madonna and child — live in Rio, as teenage daughter Mercy tickles the ivory for the Queen of Pop’s world tour finale on Copacabana Beach. SplashNews.com We hear BROOKE Shields still shares a bed with her kids. The model said on SiriusXM’s “Jess Cagle Show” that her adult daughters, Grier and Rowan Henchy, still join her in bed whenever her husband, Chris Henchy, is out of town. “My younger daughter [Grier] just turned 18,” she said. “You know, the minute my husband is on any type of work trip or gone or something, you know, they still sleep in the bed with me. They’re my babies and they will never not be.” With Grier starting college and Rowan, 20, already out of the house, Shields said she’s “avoiding” the thought of them being gone. “People will say to me, ‘Oh, you’re gonna be so relieved,’ and I just don’t see it happening. I was like, ‘Well, they’re still gonna come back.’ And by the way, the cost of just living in this city is so prohibitive anyways that it may work in my favor!” she quipped of her New York City-raised girls. Shields in the sheets DRAKE shut down Kendrick Lamar’s claim that he has a secret child amid their rap beef. “nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me . . . these guys are in shambles,” the Canadian rapper wrote alongside of photo of himself looking somber Friday night. Drake’s post came moments after Lamar dropped his new diss song, “Meet The Grahams.” In the track, the Compton emcee raps directly to Drake’s 6-year-old son, Adonis, and mother, Sandi Graham — and to a “baby girl” who doesn’t have an active father in her life. Drake in his own diss track accuses Lamar of beating his fiancée, sleeping with other women and being a fake activist. Rap feud no child’s play IT’S FORE O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE MonsterGolfClub.com Monticello, NY BOOK NOW Reimagined by Rees Jones

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 20 Gimme Shelter JENNIFER GOULD Jon Nissenbaum Chop gun 50 W. 86th St. MW Studio for Brown Harris Stevens “MILLION Dollar Listing New York” alum Steve Gold (inset) has listed his chic Soho loft for $10.8 million, Gimme Shelter has learned — and it’s all because there’s a baby on the way. The three-bedroom, 3½-bath penthouse takes up the top floor of 22 Wooster St., a five-story cast-iron and brick building built in 1920. Gold, of the Corcoran Group, is the home’s sole broker. He first listed the co-op, which had a close-up in an Architectural Digest feature, for $9.95 million in December 2021. Gold, who lives with his partner Luiza Gawlowska and their daughter Rose, told Gimme Shelter exclusively it’s time to find a bigger place, adding that he is considering One High Line, where he is co-leading sales with fellow Corcoran broker Deborah Kern. This home features 11-foot ceilings, exposed beams and columns, and 16-inch-wide hardwood floors. 22 Wooster St. Go for the Gold Nina Poon Xxxxxx S UPERMODEL and single mom Gisele Bündchen’s (above) former bachelorette pad — a smashing West Village townhouse — is back on the market. The historic red brick home, at 42 Barrow St., was built in 1851 — and it’s asking $16.99 million, Mansion Global reported. At 5,336 square feet, the fully renovated, smart-wired residence comes with four bedrooms — including a full-floor main bedroom suite. There’s also an elevator, a chef’s kitchen, a garden and a finished basement. Bündchen bought the Italianate brownstone for $5.8 million in 2005 — the year she broke up with Leonardo DiCaprio. The couple had been dating on and off since 1999. Bündchen then sold the home to its current owners for $12.95 in 2009, the year she married NFL quarterback legend Tom Brady. Bündchen and Brady divorced in 2022. “This has always been a pied-à-terre [for the sellers], and they haven’t been using it lately,” the listing broker, Rachel Glazer of Compass, told Gimme Shelter. “To my knowledge, it’s the only house in the West Village currently on the market that is turnkey and has an elevator.” At nearly 23 feet wide, the four-story townhouse also features high ceilings, a terrace and seven fireplaces. The main bedroom suite boasts a double-height skylight and a spa-like bath. Bündchen is now spending time in Miami where a video of her crying to a police officer while trying to flee paparazzi recently went viral. In 2022, shortly before she and Brady divorced, Bündchen secretly paid $11.5 million for a Surfside residence that faces the Indian Creek Island estate she was building with Brady. Bündchen also bought a 7.5-acre Florida property at Southwest Ranches for $9.1 million. The former Victoria’s Secret angel is now spending time with her jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente. 42 Barrow St. THANKS A BÜNDCH THE Upper West Side townhouse where Tom Cruise (below), now 61, used to work as the super — changing light bulbs and sweeping floors in exchange for cheap rent when he was an up-andcoming actor — has just received a $3 million price cut. The landmarked, Renaissance Revival property, at 50 W. 86th St., is now asking $12 million — down from its $14.99 million ask last fall, as Gimme Shelter reported at the time. At 25 feet wide, the grand five-story townhouse is divided into eight separate, market-rate units, including two duplex apartments — but it can be converted back to single-family status. All combined, the home features 15 bedrooms and 8½ baths. The address was also aptly known as the “Good Luck Building” because of all the actors who gained good fortune while there. Cruise was living in a 300-square-foot studio in the building shortly before his big break in 1981’s “Taps.” At 9,165 square feet, the gated townhouse features an ornate staircase. The listing broker is Rex Gonsalves of Brown Harris Stevens. CELEBRITY developer Joe Farrell has re-listed his five-bedroom Park Avenue pied-à-terre for $5.99 million following a broker swap. With clients such as Madonna, Justin Bieber, and Jay-Z and Beyoncé — who once famously rented his Sandcastle dream house in the Hamptons — Farrell knows a thing or two about high-end luxury. The 3,000-square-foot, gut-renovated apartment, at tony 510 Park Ave., comes with custom finishes like floor-to-ceiling steel doors with laminated glass. It’s on the market, Farrell said, because he “rarely” spends time in the city — spending most of his time in the Hamptons and Florida where his company, Farrell Building Co., also has offices. The unit features five bedrooms and a semiprivate elevator landing. It’s anchored by a 48-footlong sunlit corner living and dining room with eight oversize windows, and is fit for entertaining. There’s also a chef’s kitchen and a main corner bedroom suite that includes a walk-in closet and a spa-like bath with radiant-heat floors. The listing broker is Kelly Killoren Bensimon of Douglas Elliman. 510 Park Ave. Richard Caplan Joe millionaire 21808 Pacific Coast Hwy. DISCOVERY’S “Undercover Billionaire” star Grant Cardone (inset) is listing his Malibu home off-market for $65 million, Gimme Shelter has learned. And more than having the property available via a whisper listing, Cardone said he’d ideally like to be paid for the mansion in Bitcoin. (For those not into crypto, US dollars are also fine.) The finance guru, social media star and best-selling author bought the oceanfront manse on exclusive Carbon Beach — otherwise known as Billionaire’s Beach — from a Ukrainian oligarch for $40 million in January 2022. The six-bedroom Malibu manse, at 21808 Pacific Coast Highway, is a massive 10,000 square feet and sits on 150 feet of oceanfront. Cardone says he got it for around $10 million less than what the former owner wanted after lengthy negotiations. Cardone then renovated the home, adding a “biohacker gym” and a new chef’s kitchen. The spread’s interiors include new oak hardwood floors and floorto-ceiling glass doors that open to a 3,800-square-foot oceanfront deck and a 75-foot infinity pool. Every Bit helps Roger Kisby

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 21

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 22 A North Korean propaganda song celebrating strongman Kim Jong-un has been dubbed an “ABBAcoded” pop banger by Gen Z TikTok users, according to a report. The synth-laden earworm, “Friendly Father,” lavishes praise on the Hermit Kingdom’s dictator, describing Kim as “warmhearted like your mother” and “benevolent like your father.” An accompanying video for the two-minute hit drives home the message conveying the powerhungry tyrant as a benevolent leader. The song has racked up millions of views, including from many young users who are oblivious to the song’s lyrics that shower adoration on the man who earlier this year promised to “thoroughly annihilate” the United States and rival South Korea if provoked, the BBC reported. Matthew Sedacca Kim has a ‘hit’ out on Tok users HOLDING PATTERN: Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is reportedly scrambling after a planned podcast was pushed back into next year. MARKLE FAD’S FADED ‘A-listers laughing at’ failed duchess By ANDREW COURT Meghan Markle may be one of the most famous women on the planet — but Hollywood power players are purportedly less than impressed with her show-biz prowess. The Duchess of Sussex, 42, is said to be scrambling after the launch of her forthcoming podcast with Lemonada Media was reportedly pushed back to next year. According to In Touch, honchos at the company put the project on pause for fear that the upcoming launch of her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, would take attention away from her audio endeavors. “Meghan gets greedy,” an inside source told the publication. “She wants everything all at once, and it’s backfiring on her again. She’s become a total joke and is overplaying her hand.” Lemonada execs are also allegedly worried that Markle’s upcoming Netflix cooking show will divert attention from the podcast. ‘Ended in disaster’ “That clearly didn’t go down well with Lemonada,” the source stated. “They surely expected to be Meghan’s priority project, but she must have decided she had bigger fish to fry with Netflix.” The purported pushback of the podcast comes after Markle’s Spotify series “Archetypes” was not renewed for a second season. The source says Markle now desperately needs a hit with her Netflix show or her lifestyle brand in order to prove that she and husband Prince Harry are still viable in Hollywood. However, the insider isn’t holding out hope. “Almost everything they’ve tried has ended in disaster,” they tartly declared. “Hollywood is glam and glitz on the outside, but the real stars have worked hard for their success — and you get the impression hard work isn’t really Meghan’s thing,” the anonymous source said. “Now, after all her failures, those A-listers — and the royals — are laughing at her!” [email protected] Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP 1Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 4/16/2024. Tier 1 $25,000.00–$999,999,999.99 features an annual percentage yield of 5.55%. Tier 2 $0–$24,999.99 features an annual percentage yield of 0.10%. Initial minimum opening deposit to earn the higher interest rate on the Promo Flagstar Savings Plus account is $25,000.00 and must be “New Money,” which is defined as money that is not currently on deposit in any Flagstar Bank account (except maturing CDs). Additionally, (i) account must be funded within 60 days of the approval date and (ii) early account closure fee and reclamation of interest paid may be imposed for accounts closed within 180 days. The 5.55% APY is guaranteed for the first 5 months after account opening. After the promotional period, the account will earn the posted interest rate of the Flagstar Savings Plus accounts, which is a variable rate and subject to change. A maintenance service charge of $15 will be imposed every statement cycle if the average daily Collected Balance in the account is less than $10,000. This charge may be waived if the account is linked to any Flagstar Bank personal checking account. Not available for public units. Fees may reduce earnings. Personal accounts only. Limited time offer. Area restrictions may apply. If you are a Private Bank client, please contact your Private Client Group to enroll. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender Let the numbers do the talking. Earn 5.55% APY for 5 months when you deposit $25,000 or more. Open today at flagstar.com/555 Promo Flagstar Savings Plus 5.55% APY1 Let’s align the stars

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 23 NATIONAL NURSES WEEK We thank our Nurses for their dedication, outstanding eforts, and accomplishments. You represent the very best in patient care. bronxcare.org

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 24 T HE guest list for Monday’s Met Gala is like Vogue magazine come to life: Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Gisele Bündchen, Kendall Jenner, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift are all expected for the photo call on the Metropolitan Museum’s iconic stairs. But one star is bigger than all the others. For it is queen Anna Wintour who wields the real power Monday and who will hold all those A-listers, not to mention the world’s biggest business movers and shakers, in her thrall. Over the past 30 years, the editor-in-chief of Vogue and Global Chief Content Officer of Condé Nast has transformed the event from a relatively humble fundraiser for the Met’s costume exhibit — with tickets once costing around $1,000 — to New York City’s most important event of the season. “It’s through her hustle that she made this happen,” one attendee who has gone for decades told The Post. “If she didn’t do it no one could make it happen.” As with other well-placed sources for this story, he asked to withhold his name lest he fall from Wintour’s good graces. It is because of Wintour that billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg and Steve Schwarzman are eager to shell out $350,000 to buy a table. And she spends a good deal of the entire year courting them. TikTok tribulations While Wintour is integrally involved in the planning — she approves every name on the approximately 600-person guest list and the seating arrangement — she has a coterie of assistants and associates to do initial rounds of outreach. Wintour’s own presence is said to be reserved for closing deals and reeling in the big fish — which, over the past few years, has meant tech. The cornerstone for every Met Ball is finding a sponsor who will write a big check, and tech is where the money is. This year’s primary sponsor is TikTok, along with the luxury fashion brand Loewe, and sources say the social media company spent “in the high seven figures” to make it happen. CEO Shou Zi Chew and his wife, Vivian Kao, attended the 2022 Met Gala — which may have been the beginning of Wintour’s courting him. Two sources familiar with the inner workings of the event told The Post that sponsorship is usually finalized a year in advance. But the choice of TikTok has come under scrutiny after President Biden signed a bill into law to either ban the Chinese social media platform or force its sale. “It’s true that the deal was cut way before this bill passed, but this is a PR disaster,” one Met Gala source previously told Page Six. A media executive said, “I’m sure they could probably find other sponsors . . . but it would be a struggle to find someone who can spend the kinds of money TikTok spends.” Indeed, Wintour has made a smart but vital pivot toward deep-pocketed tech companies to underwrite the event. “She and her team have the knowledge of how to embrace the start of the moment and see how the culture is changing,” a source who has known Wintour for years told The Post. “She knows how to read the tea leaves.” Wintour’s decision to have Amazon sponsor the event in 2012 was the beginning of a new era both for Vogue and for Amazon. “It was the first time someone legitimized Amazon in the fashion space,” the longtime attendee added. “For them it was hugely important.” It’s also proved to be a lasting relationship. Page Six reported last month that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — who attended in 2012 with his then wife Mackenzie — will be back this year with fiancée Lauren Sánchez, who landed a splashy Vogue fashion story in December 2023. Fashion journalist Amy O’Dell, who wrote 2022’s “Anna: The Biography,” reported that Wintour has weighed in on Sánchez’s gown, “choosing between custom looks by Oscar de la Renta and two other designers.” In 2021 and 2022, Wintour brought in Instagram — which has become a key advertising platform for fashion brands — as a sponsor. Eva Chen, the director of fashion partnerships at Instagram, is a Wintour protégé who was hand-picked to be the editor of Condé’s Lucky magazine from 2013 to 2015. It also provided a natural partnership for Vogue, which began streaming red carpet coverage on Instagram in 2021 to 16.5 million viewers that year, according to a report. SBF’s faux pas Vogue’s ability to embrace new distribution platforms like Instagram and TikTok to amplify their content is a key to Wintour’s relevance, a source added. “She always wants to remain current,” the source who has known Wintour for years said. “She can find an angle for everyone.” But not even Wintour can control the mercurial foibles of the tech world. In 2022, she allegedly hopped on a Zoom call with FTX founder and then billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried — months before his crypto exchange collapsed and he was arrested for fraud — to invite him to the gala and ask for big donation. SBF was worth a reported $26.5 billion at the time. According to the book “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” by Michael Lewis, the crypto bro continued playing a video game, Storybook Brawl, while Wintour successfully pitched him. SBF, according to the book, canceled the day before the big event. Wintour’s team “called and shouted and said Sam will never set foot in fashion again!” FTX’s head of public relations Natalie Tien told Lewis. HOW QUEEN ANNA Ahead of NYC’s big party, insiders HI, TECH: This year’s Met Gala sponsor is TikTok (top left: CEO Shou Zi Chew and wife Vivian Kao at 2022’s event). Wintour has also wooed Amazon’s Jeff Bezos (clockwise from top center, with Kendall Jenner and Jared Leto), Snap (CEO Evan Spiegel with model wife Miranda Kerr) and Instagram (CEO Adam Mosseri and wife Monica). OUT OF STYLE: According to author Michael Lewis, Wintour got FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to agree to attend the gala, but he bailed a day before. AP Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images LYDIA MOYNIHAN

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 25 A Vogue spokesperson previously told The Post the book anecdote was “not accurate.” Wintour’s business strategy for the event is twofold, sources told The Post. The obvious purpose is to make sure the Anna Wintour Costume Center, which hosts the gala’s accompanying annual fashion exhibit, is generously funded. The Met’s costume exhibit space was named for Wintour in 2014 and has received some $223 million since she began chairing the event. “The Met Gala has always been about Anna, but [with the center named for her] it’s another level,” the longtime attendee added. A second purpose is to make sure that Vogue, the magazine with which her brand has been intertwined since 1988, protects its cache — and its advertisers, as other media brands hemorrhage money. “If you are not in her good graces, people are afraid they’ll get punished,” a former attendee and industry insider said. $75K to attend Another key revenue stream for the event is the tickets, which jumped in price this year to $75,000 a pop — up from $50,000 last year. Over recent years, as celebrities have become the focus of the event, the wealthy attendees who can afford to shell out hundreds of thousands are expected to essentially subsidize the beautiful people who show up for free. “They’ve tried to make it less about rich people and more about pop culture,” a source familiar with the inner workings of the event said. “The bar for anyone in business to attend has gotten higher since celebrities have taken over the event the last decade.” This year, with a legion of TikTok stars showing up, there will likely be even fewer seats available for the suits, the source added. And it’s not enough to simply be rich. Every business titan who attends — like Disney CEO Bob Iger, Instagram CEO Adam Mosssider said. “You’re way up in the bleachers . . . it is humiliating and tiresome.” A spokesperson for Conde Nast declined to comment. A representative for the Met did not respond to requests for comment. While every dollar raised goes to The Met, Wintour ensures Vogue benefits from the event in more subtle ways. According to sources, some fashion and beauty brands spend a chunk of their marketing budget on advertisements with Vogue throughout the year in the hopes of getting approved to attend the Met Gala. One industry executive told The Post that some CEOs have wondered if they weren’t invited this year because they didn’t buy enough ads, adding: “[Wintour] cares about advertising in print and digital — and she wants it all year long.” Many say that Wintour’s work on the gala is not just a boon for the Met — but for the whole city. “It’s a global event that attracts celebrities from all over the world and they descend on New York in what has become a tentpole event for the city,” one longtime New Yorker and attendee told The Post. “There is no event in NYC that has this much fire power.” RULE$ MET GALA reveal how Wintour courts tech titans’ cash DRESS FOR SUCCESS: Zendaya — above left, in a Tommy Hilfiger Cinderella dress at the 2019 Met Gala — and Jennifer Lopez (above right, at last year’s ball) are two of this year’s celebrity hosts. CROWNING GLORY: Vogue’s Anna Wintour (seen here at the 2022 Met Gala) is the mastermind behind the annual fashion spectacular — including who gets to buy tables and tickets. The event is a fundraiser for the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she knows where the real money is now: tech. James Devaney/GC Images eri, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel — is plugged into media, tech or fashion and can be helpful to Wintour in some way. These uber-wealthy people typically buy an entire table with 10 seats, but it’s Wintour who decides who else will sit with them. “She either uses your Rolodex to invite your coolest friends or just seats whoever she wants to there,” the source familiar with the event added. “Even though The Met advertises it as a selective event, it’s still commercial because they have to get people to pay for the A-Listers.” Ad-ing up Every attendee is allowed to walk the red carpet but they aren’t allowed to decide where they sit. Per Wintour’s direction, the prime real estate in the dining room — near the front of the stage — is given to the crème de la crème. “When you’re on the business side of a beauty company or are a wealthy person buying your way in, you feel like a poor relative because you’re in the nosebleed section in the back,” the longtime attendee said. “It’s a dreadful night for anyone who isn’t an influencer,” the former attendee and industry inGetty Images WireImage

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New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 27 An Arizona family is mourning the loss of twin sisters, 3, who both fell into a backyard swimming pool in Phoenix and drowned Friday. Their frantic father tried desperately to revive the girls — identified as Valentina and Penelope Ruiz, according to Fox 10 Phoenix. They died at the hospital. “Preliminary information suggests that this incident is consistent with an accidental drowning,” Phoenix police told ABC 15 in a statement on Friday. “At this time, there is nothing that investigators have found that appears suspicious.” Paramedics took three minutes to get to the home on Lower Buckeye Road and 63rd Avenue after a report of a toddler in a pool. But when they got there they found two little girls unconscious. The pool did not appear to have a fence around it. Dana Kennedy SCHOOL OF ‘ROCK’ Actor sings to SI students FOR A SONG: P373R teachers Christie Byrnes (left) and Jamie Forlenza show off The Rock’s video message Friday. Helayne Seidman By ANGLEA BARBUTI Reading, ’Riting, ’Rithmetic — and The Rock. The students at P373R on Staten Island got a big surprise when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sent a personalized video — and even serenaded them with a song his character Maui sings in the beloved Disney animated film “Moana.” Pupils had voted to put the musical on as their annual school play — and The Rock delivered the election results to the shocked students by video. Christie Byrnes, a specialeducation teacher at the West Brighton middle school for children with developmental, emotional and cognitive delays, decided to DM Johnson recently to let him know the Disney film had won “by a landslide.” “I was like, ‘I’m just going to message him, you know, to see what happens,’ but never thinking that it would transpire into what it did,” Byrnes told The Post. A couple of days later, the actor and WWE star’s team replied to say that not only would he be providing a video message, but wanted to film the students’ reactions to the news. “He wanted to see the kids’ live reactions,” said Lauren Zdanowicz, a speech therapist at P373R. “It was very important to him. He loved the story. He loved the school.” While they were at the school, Johnson’s team also spent time interviewing staff and students and compiled a video, which the star shared with his nearly 400 million Instagram followers. In the clip, Johnson addresses the 75 students gathered in the auditorium as they erupt in cheers. “This message goes out to all the amazing students at P373R out in Staten Island,” he begins. “Your awesome teachers told me that every year, you guys love choosing a musical because you’re so talented and you’re so excited . . . I hear that you guys are incredible . . . I love you guys, have the best time. I cannot wait to see it.” He even sings verses of the song “You’re Welcome.” The crowd was “blown away.” “We were not expecting him to be singing in it, it was like two minutes long,” Zdanowicz said. Johnson’s Instagram post received over 161,000 likes. The school’s musical takes place on June 12. Twins, 3, in pool tragedy WEB PRICE $129 62% OFF NOW JUST $49 plus s&h PAY BY CHECK: Timepieces International Inc. 10701 NW 140th Street, Suite 1, Hialeah Gardens, FL 33018 CALL NOW TOLL FREE 24/7 ON: 1-800 733 8463 PLEASE QUOTE NP4RTD OR ORDER ONLINE AT: www.timepiecesusa.com/NP4RTD •Digital Display •Butterfly Buckle •Stainless Steel Band •Easy to Read Touch Screen GO BACK TO THE FUTURE IN STYLE The Retro Digital: A Blast from the Past, Powered by the Future - Now Only $49 Step into a world where vintage charm meets digital precision with our Retro Digital watch. This timepiece is the perfect blend of old-school elegance and cutting-edge technology, designed to make a bold statement on your wrist. Featuring a touch digital display, this watch puts intuitive control at your fingertips. Navigate effortlessly through its various functions with a simple touch, unlocking a seamless user experience. Stay connected and on top of your schedule with the convenience of modern digital timekeeping. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, the Retro Digital showcases a gold-plated stainless steel band and case back, exuding a luxurious and timeless allure. The seven-link intricate detail of the band, with its matte and polished finish, adds a touch of sophistication to your ensemble. The shield-shaped case harks back to an era of vintage charm, paying homage to classic timepieces while embracing modern style. For a limited time only this watch can be yours for the low price of just $49 using special offer code NP4RTD.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 28 By CHRIS HARRIS An estimated 1,260 Russian troops were killed on the battlefield Saturday — the sixth straight day Russia lost over 1,000 men to fighting, new tallies show. The slaughter brings the total Russian deaths to nearly 500,000 troops since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion on Ukraine more than two years ago. The figures from the general staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces were validated by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense in a statement Saturday. With a depleted fighting force, Russia has started actively recruiting women for the war, The New York Times reported — even extending the efforts into prisons. Recruitment is also an issue for Ukraine, which has started tracking down draft-evaders, The Guardian reported. In addition to the heavy human toll, Russia has also lost 7,366 tanks, 348 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 9,611 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine since the start of the war. These latest estimates come as Ukraine claimed to have downed 13 drones launched overnight from the Russian region of Belgorod on the northeastern border of Ukraine. Kyiv’s forces also shot down another Russian Su-25 fighter jet over the eastern region of Donetsk on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to the Kyiv Independent. Falling drone debris injured six people — including two women and a child — on the ground, and started fires at residential and office buildings in Kharkiv, according to reports. The Independent further reported that Russia also fired four surface-toair guided missiles toward Ukraine, but it was unclear if they reached any of their intended targets. Meanwhile, new drone footage showed the devastation wrought on Ocheretyn, a small village in eastern Ukraine that has been overtaken by Russian troops. With Wires VLAD’S TOLL Russia has lost 1,000+ soldiers 6 days in a row Post Weather Report World cities TODAY TOMORROW Regional cities TODAY TOMORROW Sun and Moon New York Tides TODAY TOMORROW High Tide for 1st 2nd 1st 2nd Bridgeport 53/51 Peekskill White Plains Garden City Sussex Newark Paterson Asbury Park Manasquan Toms River Long Beach Atlantic City Ocean City La G Sandy Hook Long Beach Deer Park JFK Montauk Riverhead Southampton Showers T-storms Rain Flurries Snow Ice Cold Warm Stationary Fronts Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Forecast high/low temperatures are given for selected cities. -10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s Almanac Temperature Departure from Normal Precipitation Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, r-rain, t-thunderstorms, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice Stamford Huntington Athens 75/56/s 74/57/s Baghdad 88/69/c 84/62/t Beijing 75/59/c 82/57/c Berlin 67/48/c 67/47/c Cairo 80/64/s 82/61/s Dublin 60/44/pc 60/43/sh Geneva 69/53/sh 59/50/r Hong Kong 82/77/t 85/78/pc Jerusalem 72/54/s 66/53/sh Kabul 71/50/s 77/51/s London 63/49/c 61/51/r Madrid 66/51/c 70/48/pc Mexico City 90/60/s 91/61/c Montreal 57/49/r 71/48/pc Moscow 51/35/sh 52/35/pc Paris 64/53/sh 65/47/r Rio de Janeiro 86/72/s 86/75/s Rome 71/50/pc 71/54/pc Sydney 65/62/r 68/60/r Tokyo 81/66/c 75/67/c Albany 54/51/r 74/49/pc Danbury 54/52/r 75/55/pc Glens Falls 53/48/r 72/44/pc Gr Barrington 51/48/r 72/49/c Kingston 53/50/r 76/50/pc Liberty 48/46/r 71/47/pc Monticello 49/47/r 70/47/pc Newburgh 53/51/r 75/53/pc Poughkeepsie 54/51/r 76/50/c Saratoga Springs 53/50/r 74/45/pc Stroudsburg 54/51/r 75/53/c Torrington 50/48/r 72/55/pc Syracuse 60/55/r 69/45/sh Coney Island 5:57a 6:28p 6:52a 7:18p Fire Island 6:01a 6:34p 6:52a 7:25p Hempstead 9:59a 10:16p 10:52a 11:04p Huntington 9:48a 10:08p 10:42a 10:57p Jones Inlet 5:41a 6:12p 6:36a 7:02p Montauk Point 7:08a 7:38p 7:58a 8:26p Port Washington 10:07a 10:23p 10:59a 11:10p Sandy Hook 6:01a 6:32p 6:56a 7:22p YESTERDAY’S CONDITIONS AT CENTRAL PARK THROUGH 12PM Sunrise today ........................ 5:49 a.m. Sunset tonight ...................... 7:56 p.m. Moonrise today .................... 4:22 a.m. Moonset today ...................... 5:14 p.m. High: 62, Low: 49, Mean: 56 Yesterday: -5 degrees Yesterday: 0.00”, Month: 0.02”, Year: 19.88”, Normal year to date: 15.83” Cooling Degree days yesterday.................0 Total for the month (normal) ...............3 (4) Total since Jan. 1 (normal) ...............22 (18) Last year to date .......................................41 Heat Index (at noon yest.) ..................... 64 UV index (for Sun.) ......................... 2 (Low) Humidity (at noon) .............................. 54% Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather.com ©2024 Forecast data is current as of 12 p.m. yesterday. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Today: Periods of rain. High 54 to 60. Tonight: Cloudy with a bit of rain. Low 50 to 56. Clouds and sun. High 75 to 81. Evening Partly cloudy. Low 57 to 63. Tomorrow night: Overcast. Low 58 to 64. Tomorrow: Warmer; cloudy, then clouds and sun. High 72 to 78. A stray t-storm. High 71 to 77. Evening A t-storm around. Low 56 to 62. New May 7 First May 15 Full May 23 Last May 30 Sunday, May 5, 2024 52/50 53/51 53/50 55/51 54/52 56/52 55/52 57/54 57/55 59/57 59/57 61/57 60/57 57/53 57/54 55/52 55/53 55/52 55/52 53/51 55/53 53/52 Pollen: High Predominant pollen: Mulberry, Birch, Oak AQI rating: (for Sun.) .......................... Good AIR QUALITY There’s a perfect place for your mom or dad. And we’ll help you find it. ASSISTED LIVING MEMORY CARE INDEPENDENT LIVING HOME CARE We know that finding the right senior care for your mom or dad is a big decision. That’s where A Place for Mom comes in. 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New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 30 V EGAN fare — from Eleven Madison Park’s plant-based menu to Superiority Burger’s meatless patties — may grab headlines, but when it comes to grabbing dinner, many New Yorkers just want a good steak. Restaurateurs know this and are eager to satisfy the city’s hunger for beef. A herd of new steakhouses — with rockstar chefs, prime locations and megabucks designs — are opening in Manhattan. Among them will be the first full-scale, street-level restaurant at the World Trade Center since 9/11 — Brazilian-style Fogo de Chao. They follow a flood of other recent, high-profile openings, including Delmonico’s downtown and Fogo de Chao at Albee Square in Brooklyn. “The number of New York City steakhouses has quadrupled from the time we started the survey in 1979,” Zagat Survey founder Tim Zagat told The Post. Classics such as Keens and Peter Luger are packed with big spenders as are steakhouses that have opened this century, such as Hawkmoor and Mastro’s. So are eateries that are basically steakhouses but don’t use the word, including The Grill, Minetta Tavern and Knickerbocker Bar & Grill. Scott Solasz, vice president of Master Purveyors, a Bronx-based meat supplier whose customers include Peter Luger and Wolfgang’s, cited a “10% increase in New York steakhouse demand since pre-COVID.” He noted that new establishments “aren’t just about opening — they’re all providing the highest grades of beef.” That typically means USDA Prime — the gold standard of domestic beef — as well as the highest-rated imported products such as Japanese A5-grade Wagyu. Butcher Pat La Frieda said his company has seen a 15% increase in restaurant demand by volume since before the pandemic. “Especially for primeaged and Wagyu agedsteak, the most expensive,” he said. “It’s quite shocking.” Chef David Burke noted meaty restaurants have a level of familiarity that’s especially appealing in uncertain times. They offer “a level of comfort” that’s missing in places that are “creative and experimental,” said Burke, who was the founding chef at Maloney & Porcelli and today owns Park Avenue Kitchen and David Burke Tavern. “You can make a little noise. The drinks are bigger.” LaFrieda agreed that the enduring appeal of steakhouses is their unique blend of luxury and boisterous conviviality. “People want interaction since the pandemic, especially with some people still working at home,” he told The Post. “Steakhouses are our new golf course.” Ready to hit the T-bones? Have a look at all the new places that have just opened or are coming soon. 1) Beefbar 105 Hudson St., now open This rapidly expanding Monte Carlobased outfit, which has dozens of locations, from Sao Paulo to Saudi Arabia, opened its first location in Tribeca. It occupies the former Nobu space, and the inviting dining room boasts arched windows, velvet banquettes and marble tables. The menu has some sticker shocks — a 40-ounce Snake River American wagyu for $495, Japanese Kobe at $155 for four ounces — but there are also delicious, reasonable options for those lacking in oil wealth. I had wonderful, spicy mayo-charged rock corn tempura for just $19 and a Black Angus New York strip with a crusty char that served two for a reasonable $95. Good wines by the glass for less than $20 help blunt the painful roar of happy customers and a thumping soundtrack. 4) Empire Steak House 233 W. 49th St., now open The third outpost of the local chainlet opened late last year. It’s a stroke of faith in the rebounding market by the owners — brothers Russ, Jack and Jeff Sinanaj, who are all alumni of legendary Peter Luger. 5) Le Relaise de Venise L’Entrecote 155 E. 54th St., now open The $34 steak-and-fries spot has been packed since it reopened at a new location in late November after being closed for more than two years. 2) La Tête D’Or One Madison Ave., opening November Daniel Boulud’s first steakhouse will be on the ground floor of a new office tower developed by SL Green, which is also the landlord for his Le Pavillon at One Vanderbilt.” “I became an American so now I can open an American restaurant,” the great French chef (right), who got his US citizenship in 2021, told The Post. The elegant, 150-seat dining room is designed by Rockwell Group and will aim to blend American comfort with French elegance. There will be an option for an “omakase”-style tasting menu of different steaks as well as an à la carte menu. Boulud promises “a lot of seafood starters” as well as a “French triple branding of soul, seasoning and sauces.” 3) Cote 550 Madison Ave., opening 2025 The original Flatiron location of Simon Kim’s sexy Korean steakhouse (don’t call it a barbecue joint) opened in 2017 to much fanfare. It went on to earn a Michelin star and expand to Miami and Singapore. Midtown Manhattan is next. The new Cote will be part of a 15,000-squarefoot dining complex that will also include an exclusive sushi restaurant from Japan’s Michelin star-holder Masahiro Yoshitake. Empire Steak House Brian Zak/NY Post Thomas Schauer STEVE CUOZZO Post restaurant critic

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 31 Marion Butet Studio WE’VE GOT THE BEEF! Vegan, schmegan. A stampede of new steakhouses have opened in NYC — and more are on the way 7 6 1 2 8 3 4 5 Manhattan 8) Bourbon Steak JW Marriott Essex House Hotel 160 Central Park South, opening late May This large-scale, 7,500 square-foot beef behemoth designed by AvroKO opens later this month in the hotel’s former Alain Ducasse space. James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Mina (above) aims to elevate steakhouse fare without straying too far from beloved classics. I once had a great meal at Bourbon Steak in Aventura, Fla., near Miami. 6) Baires Grill 200 Chambers St. and 350 W. 35th St., opening late 2024 The Miami-based, Argentine-style steakhouse is on an expansion roll with uptown and downtown Manhattan locations on the way. The one at 200 Chambers St. replaces a former outpost of the Palm. Both are set to bow this year but dates are uncertain. It’s hard to name the “best” steak in a city with tens of thousands, but I return to these three again and again. I order “medium rare plus” because many kitchens now interpret “medium rare” as “rare.” 9) Porterhouse at Porter house Bar and Grill (formerly known as Porter House NY) The 28-day dryaged, USDA prime signature dish scores on all counts: rich mineral flavor, crispy char and abundant jus. $180, 10 Columbus Circle located in The Shops at Columbus Circle, 4th Floor, PorterHouseNYC.com. 10) Bone-in ribeye at Delmonico’s The cut’s deep, earthbound flavor powerfully emerges after 65 days of dryaging. $86, 56 Beaver St., TheOriginalDelmonicos.com. 11) Gorgonzolacured Wagyu strip loin at Carne Mare Andrew Carmellini’s 12-ounce masterpiece (pictured) is the smallest of my faves, but its lasciviously strong flavor makes it worth every cent. $135, 89 South St., CarneMare.com. Steve Cuozzo writes: Great steaks FOX Image Collection via Getty Images Stefano Giovannini bairesgrill/Instagram Gabbie Reade Fogo de Chao 3 World Trade Center, opening 2025 This game-changing outpost of the popular Brazilian-style restaurant will debut next year on the ground floor of the lower Manhattan skyscraper. An expansive dining room will be centered around an open churrasco grill, offering a view of gaucho chefs (above) butchering and cooking high-quality cuts over an open flame. A Market Table will offer seasonal salads, cured meats and more. 9 10 11 6

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New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 34 By DANA KENNEDY T HE sky is falling — at least on Boeing. A second whistleblower has died under mysterious circumstances, just two months after another one allegedly shot himself in the head — and the attorneys for both men hope their deaths don’t scare away the at least 10 other whistleblowers who want the company to clean up its act. Joshua Dean, 45, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems which assembles fuselage sections for Boeing, died Tuesday morning from a fast-growing mystery infection. Dean’s death comes less than two months after Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9. Barnett was found dead in his truck in the parking lot of his South Carolina hotel after he failed to show up for the second part of his testimony for a bombshell lawsuit against the company. Meanwhile, Boeing said last month that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of surviving whistleblowers. It was announced abruptly in March that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun would step down by the end of the year in a move widely seen as a reaction to the ongoing safety crises. Brian Knowles, a Charleston, SC, attorney who represented both Barnett and Dean, hopes their deaths were not in vain. “These men were heroes. So are all the whistleblowers. They loved the company and wanted to help the company do better,” Knowles told The Post. “They didn’t speak out to be aggravating or for fame. They’re raising concerns because people’s lives are at stake.” ‘Unstable top to bottom’ Knowles and others inside the Boeing scandals are hesitant to speculate about conspiracy theories swirling around the two whistleblower deaths. “I knew John Barnett for seven years and never saw anything that would indicate he would take his own life,” Knowles said. “Then again, I’ve never dealt with someone who did [commit suicide.] So maybe you don’t see the signs. I don’t know.” Knowles pointed out that Charleston police are still wrapping up their investigation of Barnett’s death — and that it may take some weeks for tests to reveal more about Dean’s passing. “It’s a stunning loss,” Spirit AeroSystems spokesman Joe Buccino said of Dean. (The company is not to be confused with Spirit Airlines.) “Our focus here has been on his loved ones,” the spokesman said. Buccino insisted that Spirit “encourages” employees to come forth with their concerns and that they are then “cloaked under protection.” A Boeing spokeswoman declined to answer questions on Barnett but in a statement said that OSHA had determined Barnett was not retaliated against, and that the company’s own analysis found that the issues he raised “did not affect airplane safety.” “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing and our thoughts continue to be with his family and friends,” the statement said. “We encourage all employees to speak up when issues arise. Retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing.” It’s news to other Boeing whistleblowers that Boeing and Spirit “encourage” workers to speak out. Instead, they say, they’ve either been retaliated against — or ignored. Ed Pierson, 61, a former senior manager at Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Wash., left Boeing six years ago and created the Foundation for Aviation Safety. He had tried in vain to get Boeing executives to shut down production of the plane before the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people and led to the planes being grounded. “It’s an unstable company right now from the top to the bottom,” Pierson told The Post. “Senior corporate leadership is so fixated on not admitting the truth that they can’t admit anything.” Pierson did not mince words as testified before Congress last month about what he called the “criminal cover-up” he believes Boeing bosses have led. Post photo illustration IT’S BOEING’S Reuters A harrowing video (above) captured the moment a young girl’s arm was caught in a New Jersey elevator door — and how her mother struggled to free her before a heroic doorman heard the girl’s screams and ran to the rescue. Zoe Garatziotis, then 5, was en route to the pool at 1450 Washington at Hudson Tea in Hoboken with her mother and siblings in July 2023 when her arm was violently sucked into the elevator door shaft, video from inside the lift obtained by WABC showed. Doorman Manny Batista told The Post that he heard Zoe’s screams from the front desk, seven flights away. “I ran up all seven flights of stairs and I was hearing screams the whole time,” he said Saturday. “It was very scary because I have kids of my own, so I know the scream of hurt, of pain. She was in pain,” Batista added. “I had to run up the stairs to stop the elevator, to put the key in and shut down the elevator so that it didn’t keep going up and down.” Zoe’s mom, Loni Garatziotis, told WABC that the adults struggled to hold the door still while also trying to yank the little girl free. When Zoe’s arm was finally free, Batista provided some on-the-spot first aid while the family waited for EMS and police. Zoe ended up getting 12 stitches on her wrist, which required weekly wound care at the hospital for three months after the injury, her mother told WABC. The family is now suing the building’s owner, Taylor Management Co., and Kone Elevators and Escalators, WABC reported. Neither Taylor nor Kone replied to The Post’s request for comment. Georgia Worrell and Olivia Land Arm caught in door A Long Island vegan bakery “voluntarily recalled” some of its baked goods Tuesday amid a state probe after allegedly trying to pass off a Dunkin’ doughnut as its own tasty treats. Michell Siriani, owner of The Savory Fig in Patchogue, was called out by a local vegan grocer after a doughnut similar to those from the chain was found mixed with other baked goods during a recent delivery. “In February I sold a vendor nearly $800 worth of my products and somehow they claimed that a Dunkin’ Donut was mixed in with the order,” Siriani told News12 Long Island. “I adamantly stand by that I would never pass off a Dunkin’ donut as either gluten-free or vegan.” Siriani’s response came two months after CindySnacks, a specialty vegan grocer formerly in Huntington, said it received a doughnut with the chain’s telltale sprinkles. Nicholas McEntyre ‘Fakery’ recalls treats Elevator horror vid

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 35 AIRWORTHY? Boeing, led for now by CEO David Calhoun (bottom), has been beset by crisis. In January a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max (far left). In March whistleblower John Barnett, 62, (top) apparently shot himself. Last week another whistleblower, Joshua Dean, 45, (center) died of a mystery infection. PERFECT STORM 10 more workers blow whistle on safety amid two mystery deaths “Boeing is an American icon,” Pierson said. “This company is incredibly important to our country, both economically and in terms of national security with its commercial aviation side and its military defense work. But it doesn’t work when you have the wrong people driving the bus.” ‘Repeated failures’ Barnett was a quality control engineer who worked for Boeing for more than three decades before he retired in 2017. He broke his silence two years later to warn that Boeing cut corners to speed its 787 Dreamliners into service. In numerous interviews he described how he had complained internally to the company about what he claimed were serious safety flaws. After his apparent suicide in March, Boeing employees told The Post that Barnett had made “powerful enemies” and one said workers were skeptical that Barnett’s death was suicide. Dean had raised the alarm in 2022, while working at Spirit AeroSystems, a Kansas-based company which manufactures major aircraft parts for Boeing. He was a quality auditor when he raised concerns about improperly drilled bulkhead holes on parts for the 737 MAX. But, Dean alleged, flagging the issue with his management had no effect. Less than a year later, he was fired. “I think they were sending out a message to anybody else,” Dean later told NPR of his firing. “If you are too loud, we will silence you.” Boeing has been dogged by whistleblower testimony and Congressional investigations. A scathing House report issued in September 2020 found that the two 737 MAX crashes were the “horrific culmination” of “repeated and serious failures” by the company and air safety regulators. “Boeing was a Seattle company. Back in the day a typical Boeing CEO was a hyper-Midwestern farm boy who saw airplanes as a kid and went off to Seattle to conquer the world,” Craig Jenks, who runs the Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc. consultancy, told The Post. “Then the finance people started taking over in the 1980s and they moved the corporate headquarters to Chicago and then to DC. It means senior management is never around the factory floor,” he said. The most headline-grabbing safety lapse was in January, when a fuselage panel blew off a new Alaska Airlines 737 — although late last month, a safety slide fell off a Delta 767 and washed up, with perfect irony, in front of the home of an attorney suing Boeing over safety issues. ‘Very, very stupid’ In the Alaskan airlines case, a whistleblower told the Seattle Times that the fault lay with Boeing, whose records showed that after the fuselage was delivered by Spirit, a panel had been removed at Boeing’s Renton factory and re-installed minus four crucial bolts. In the air, the panel flew off — fortunately, at a low enough altitude that the plane did not depressurize. “It is . . . very, very stupid and speaks volumes about the quality culture at certain portions of the business,” the whistleblower told The Seattle Times. A number of Boeing and Spirit employees have alleged that the manufacturer has allowed mechanics to sign off on their own work, cutting out a layer of safety assurance. “Profit has overtaken the historically famous pride of Boeing,” Peter Lake, an aviation expert who has investigated a number of plane crashes over the years, told The Post. “It’s all corporate greed now. It’s become a standing joke that when there’s any malfunction in an airplane people say it’s Boeing,” Lake said. “Southwest Airlines had an engine failure recently and people ignorantly blamed Boeing. That shows what a cloud the company is under. “Who knows if they’ll be able to pull themselves out of this disaster?” Facebook; NBC News; Getty Images

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 36 Carroll Donahue Swan, widow of the late Thomas J. Swan Jr., died peacefully at home in Palm Beach on April 19, 2024, after a brave battle with four diferent cancer diagnoses in as many years. Mrs. Swan was born in Boston to the late Dr. Hugh Carroll Donahue, a prominent ophthalmologist who helped advance the treatment of cataract disease and published widely on the subject, and Mrs. Rose Fitzgerald Donahue. Mrs. Donahue was a niece of Boston Mayor John Francis “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald and the first cousin of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Despite her family’s Democratic roots, Mrs. Swan volunteered for Senator Barry Goldwater’s 1964 Presidential Campaign, and when she was old enough to vote for the first time four years later, she cast her vote for President Richard Nixon, remaining a lifelong proud and dedicated Republican. She attended Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Newton, Massachusetts, and Trinity College in Washington, D.C. At Sacred Heart she was a blue-ribbon recipient for academic excellence, was a Child of Mary, and served as class president. From an early age Mrs. Swan was a talented and avid golfer. When she was a child, Dick Chapman, a United States and British amateur winner, took Mrs. Swan under his wing and helped her become an excellent player. Mrs. Swan had her first of 3 holes-in-one on the third hole of Oyster Harbors around the age of 12. She won many tournaments in many diferent places over the years before orthopedic injuries forced her to retire from golf. Among the more notable was a club championship victory less than 3 weeks before giving birth to her son, and her third victory in the Cape Cod Indian Summer tournament on the very last round of golf she ever played. When she could no longer play golf, Mrs. Swan became an avid swimmer. For more than two decades she swam at least half a mile most days of the week in the north pool of the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach. She also channeled her inner competitive spirit into a passion for duplicate bridge. She was a past chairman of the Duplicate Bridge Committee at the Bath and Tennis Club. In the winter she played bridge there and at the Everglades Club. In the summer she played at the Wianno Club and the Oyster Harbors Club, where she enjoyed fun dinners with some of her favorite friends several nights a week after bridge. Notwithstanding all these accomplishments, Mrs. Swan’s true pride, joy and purpose in life was being a mother, wife and grandmother. She was married to Thomas J. Swan Jr. for almost 43 years before his death in Palm Beach 13 years ago. Mrs. Swan’s long roots in Palm Beach began with her childhood Christmases, which she spent at the Breakers. The Swans were engaged in Palm Beach on an Easter Saturday evening, and by the early 1980’s they spent every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter as a family in Palm Beach before making it their principal home several years later. They had one son, Thomas J. Swan III, who remembers the family’s early years in Palm Beach fondly, and now lives in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts and in Osterville, Massachusetts during the summer. In addition to her son Tom, Mrs. Swan leaves six grandchildren whom she adored: Thomas J. Swan IV (Sam), Rose Fitzgerald Swan, Grace Carroll Swan, Hope Reilly Swan, Joseph Jake Swan (Jake) and Sebastian Swan. She threw herself into being a wonderful grandmother, spending many months each year with Tom and his children, both at their former home in Los Angeles and during the summers in Osterville, where she was just four houses down the street from Tom and her grandchildren. To her grandchildren she was “Moo Moo.” Moo Moo’s kindness and generosity to her grandchildren knew no bounds, and she was a true blessing in their lives. Mrs. Swan was predeceased by her parents, her husband, and her brother, Gerald Donahue. In addition to her son and grandchildren, she is survived by her brother-in-law, Joseph Edward Swan, Sr. (married to Denise) and his three children, Jed (married to Alexis), Tifany (married to Keith), and Keith (married to Michelle). In addition, she leaves a large roster of close friends from every period, place, and chapter of her life. Many of these friends confided things to Mrs. Swan which she brought to the grave with her. Several of them would consider her to be a second mother. If a life can be judged by the quality of friendships, Mrs. Swan certainly left the world as a winner. Finally, Mrs. Swan was a proud member of the Bath and Tennis Club (Palm Beach), the Everglades Club (Palm Beach), the Society of Four Arts (Palm Beach), the Somerset Club (Boston), and the Wianno Club (Osterville). In addition, she was a recent former member of the Sailfish Club (Palm Beach), The Country Club (Brookline, MA), the Oyster Harbors Club (Osterville) and The Beach Club (Craigville, MA). A memorial service and reception will be held in Boston at a date to be determined in June. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478 (federal tax ID number 04-2697981). OBITUARY

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 37 New York City needs to restore employment growth in sectors that bring income into the city and generate tax revenue, rather than consuming it. That would provide opportunity for New Yorkers at all levels of education and support the quality public services they need. Unfortunately, the city’s economy can no longer coast on the jobs generated by its powerhouse central business districts. Despite private-sector job growth, those areas have a smaller daytime population of in-person workers and visitors, and less economic activity than before the pandemic. Rather, new economic activity needs to be generated in ways that succeed despite this environment of high taxes, restrictive zoning, and business regulations that are hostile to private investment. Luckily, both Hochul and Adams seem to understand this and have pushed for better policies from resistant state legislators and city council members. The latest state budget includes small steps to contain Medicaid home-care spending. However, the centerpiece housing deal is a mixed bag. Welcome changes reinstate tax incentives for construction of new rental apartment buildings, encourage conversion of unneeded office space to housing and relax a cap on the cost of apartment renovations in rent-regulated buildings. However, these are encumbered with so many regulatory conditions that their effectiveness in delivering much-needed construction jobs will be modest. Adams, for his part, is proposing zoning changes that ease restrictions on where small businesses can locate and allow more housing to be built throughout the city. These state and city actions will encourage private business investment, and thus jobs, but much remains to be done. For example, the state retains onerous laws affecting new building activity, including environmental-review requirements for local zoning changes. The state has also enacted new, dubious rent caps on previously uncontrolled apartments as part of its recent housing deal. The city maintains unnecessary restrictions on retail-store size and impractical parking requirements. And an ill-considered zoning amendment under de Blasio stifles investment in new hotels. Sound fiscal guardianship at both the local and state levels means adding private-sector jobs in the city. That imperative has been neglected for years and only rediscovered as empty office buildings have exposed the weaknesses of policies on taxes, spending, and business regulation. The state and city’s fractious and freespending politics have taken a welcome turn towards fiscal and regulatory reform. Here’s hoping they drive the much-needed job growth that will keep New York going strong. Eric Kober is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. OPINIONS & IDEAS Inside ‘The Battle for the Arctic’ P. 40-41 B ACK in March, Mayor Adams celebrated record New York City employment. At first glance, there’s much to be pleased about. In 2023, New York City’s private employment stood at a record, surpassing the 2019 pre-pandemic peak. Total employment, which includes government, also set a record, even though the city has recently shed payroll employees, compared with levels under Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio. But a deeper look at changes in private employment from 2019 to 2023 raises some disquieting questions. As I noted in a recent brief for the Manhattan Institute, there’s good news, for sure. Wall Street is doing well, and tech services are growing fast, adding high-paying jobs. That job growth will help sustain the demand for office space, despite the lingering workfrom-homers. However, those jobs are not accessible to all New Yorkers. In sectors that employ the roughly three in five New Yorkers who are not college graduates, the picture is more concerning. Most of the sectors that, prior to 2019, were adding jobs for non-college graduates are now declining — including construction, retail trade, restaurants and hotels. Jobs being added in health care and social assistance are nominally private but largely government funded. Which means this type of job is likely to be reined in by budget cuts. Some health-care employment growth is in hospitals and medical offices, reflecting an aging population. However, a strikingly large increase — 59,000 jobs between 2019 and 2023 — was in home health care, mostly paid for by Medicaid. By 2023, New York City had 267,000 home health care jobs. That was 16.4% of the nation’s total — for a city with just 2.7% of the nation’s population. Home health care is a valuable service, enabling disabled people, mostly elderly, to avoid nursing homes. A recent report found, however, that New York state is unusually generous in allowing people to get state-funded home care, and in the hours of service each recipient is provided. This might be viewed by some as an unusually clever way to secure federal aid. But Gov. Hochul and her budget director say the state’s ever-growing 50% match is “unsustainable.” State officials characterize its home care program as “riddled with fraud.” The other big growth sector is social assistance, where spending has ramped up due to the city’s migrant influx. That led to a gain of 39,000 jobs from 2019 to 2023. That’s mostly city funds, and Adams has looked for ways to reduce the burden. His reported intention to appoint an aggressive litigator as the city’s new top lawyer may also indicate a renewed effort to reduce the costly legal mandates that drive migrant spending. ERIC KOBER NY Post composite Labor report More New Yorkers are employed than ever. But the city and state need to promote the right kind of job growth — from construction to finance Mayor Adams and Gov, Hochul are presiding over strong post-pandemic job growth, but as sectors like home health care surge, private-sector office work, and Big Apple office real estate, continue to languish.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 38 “I might be crazy, but I was like, ‘You’re going to shoot me over a phone? You don’t have the balls to pull the trigger.’ ” — Ashikur Chowdhury, one of three recent Central Park attack victims Chatter “Wasn’t a payoff, and it wasn’t hush money.” — Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Keith Davidson, testifying at Donald Trump’s trial of a 130G payment made to Stormy “It’s like a cancer. The more stores close, fewer want to return.” — State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar, on shuttered businesses in the Flatiron District “The crackdown should have started last week.” — Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, on unlicensed pot shops POSTSCRIPT Culture Club there leads to families being placed on “learnfare probation.” If that’s followed by four or more unexcused absences in a month, only then is the child’s portion of public assistance cut off. Three months of chronic absence leads to a referral to state social services. Students with disabilities are exempt. Incredibly, even schools in Mexico get the point. Its “Progresa” program — aimed at keeping kids in school and discouraging child labor — required school attendance as a condition of receiving an “education stipend” in some 500 poor rural areas. An NBER study, found again, that money talks: “childhood exposure to Mexico’s Progresa program raised average educational attainment by 1.4 years. Girls were 30% and boys 18% more likely to obtain some secondary education.” Tough love perhaps — but, as in Wisconsin, showing positive results. The school absenteeism problem is not limited to low-income households nor to those on public assistance. Wealthy, self-indulgent families are taking their kids out of school for extended vacations. Still, Nat Malkus of the American Enterprise Institute has found that chronic absence especially afflicts lower-income homes. Some 36% of Hispanic students and 39% of Black students, he finds, are chronically absent. Writes Malkus: “Chronic absenteeism increased for all district types, but rates were highest in districts with low achievement and higher poverty, affecting over one in three students.” Sadly, New York City is such a school district. Childhood poverty is an imposing obstacle but need not be a lifetime barrier to success. The so-called “success sequence” — finishing high school, getting a full-time job or post-secondary education and postponing child-bearing until after marriage — is a recipe for overcoming disadvantage. But that sequence starts with finishing school — and not attending means not graduating. Indeed, the very habit and discipline of classtime is the first step to success. We all have a stake in an educated workforce. There’s no good reason our toolkit should not include bringing back “learnfare.” Howard Husock is an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow and the author of “The Poor Side of Town — And Why We Need It.” American Enterprise Institute analyst Nat Malkus has shown the troubling overlap between absenteeism and poverty rates. American Enterprise Institute and to improve the attendance of children in school.” Households on public assistance account for some 148,000 city school kids, per the most data compiled by the Citizens Committee for Children of New York. And sending one’s kids off to school is in keeping with the name of federal welfare law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. What’s more, “learnfare” has been tried elsewhere — with positive effects. In Wisconsin, where “learnfare” originated, reductions in public assistance ranging from $60 to $190 a month “increased school enrollment by 3.7% and school attendance by 4.5%.” For students with the highest risk of dropping out, “learnfare” increased school enrollment by 25%, per the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Learnfare” is the law today in liberal Massachusetts, which shows that such an approach does not have to be draconian. Chronic absence T HE COVID pandemic has ebbed, but one of its most damaging long-term effects has not. Chronic school absenteeism — collateral damage from students accustomed to staying home for alleged online learning — persists across the country. In New York City, a stunning four in 10 students — some 353,000 — were chronically absent, for the last full school year (2021-22). The national figure is 22%. It’s hardly a way to combat the learning loss of school lockdowns, which, per the National Assessment of Educational Progress, set back math and reading proficiency by two decades, especially for low-income students. New York has tried a carrot approach to push parents to get their kids up and out in the mornings. In 2022, Gov. Hochul authorized some $214 per child in back-to-school aid for families on public assistance. The city schools deploy a legion of “attendance teachers” to “work with parents, schools and city agencies to find solutions to a child’s attendance problem.” The problem has gotten worse but it’s not new. In 2013, Mayor Bloomberg started a Truancy Reduction and Public Safety center — to little avail. It's time to remember that a child’s school attendance is first and foremost a parent’s responsibility — and a stick as well as a carrot can be deployed. Under the state’s last Republican Governor, George Pataki, this was understood. For two short years, beginning in 1998, the state authorized “learnfare.” Households receiving public assistance whose children were chronically absent could see their payments docked $60 a month — in order “to prevent children from dropping out of school HOWARD HUSOCK Money talks Thousands of NYC students are chronically absent from school — making their parents pay a penalty could reverse the problem Adobe Stock; AFP via Getty Images Financial penalties for chronic absences — a k a “learnfare” — have gotten results from Wisconsin to Mexico. Gov. Hochul should take note.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 39 “After the university learned that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized and blockaded, we were left with no choice.” — Columbia officials after hundreds of NYPD cops were mobilized “My alma mater is barely functioning as a university, a fact now painfully obvious to the entire nation.” — Columbia grad Luke Seminara, a witness to the chaos CLASS DISMISSED The left and right agree that socialmedia companies have too much say in today’s politics. TECH FOUL Republicans Independents Democrats 84% 78% — Pew 74% — Pew Rising numbers of Americans say there is “a lot” of discrimination vs. Muslims and Jews. HATE WATCH 2021 2024 Muslims Jews 39% 44% 20% 40% All this promise could have been far better channelled. After all, Markle was a highly educated, mixed race Diana 2.0 — a photogenic stylecrush with beauty and substance to drive global causes with equal doses of passion and purpose. Instead, Megan pitted herself as oppressed and misunderstood — imperiled by an out-of-touch royal establishment that “failed to protect her.” When the shackles and gloves finally came off, and she was free to make her own choices, she opted for silly pet projects and high-profile point scoring. Recently, we’ve had the polo wife in pretty dresses presenting pointless trophies for victories no one cares about. The launch of her homeware brand, American Riviera Orchard, feels similarly uninspired and derivative — despite the shout-out from Kris Kardashian. The much-derided strawberry jam — given edition numbers like some important artwork and sent to the usual A-list network — combines all of Markle’s worst traits: the ego, pretensions, social climbing, limpet-like association with fellow rich and powerful. What’s more, the eloquence and spontaneity that could impress when making school visits or casual speeches have given way to therapy-speak cliches in self-congratulatory podcasts. Harry and Markle came to fame with all the provenance and potential of Carolyn and John Jr. But rather than thrive quietly, they reduced themselves to the pursuit of class (and cash!). Instead of the Kennedys’ quiet luxury, the Sussexes opted for the blingy and the bourgeois. What a waste. W HITE shirt, pencil skirt, cashmere sweaters. Perhaps Meghan Markle thought a wardrobe echoing Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s eternal cool was a fast track to icon status. It’s easy to see why. Both were smart, successful thirty somethings who married into two of the world’s biggest dynasties. The parallels are certainly there — extending most dispiritingly to their unfulfilled potential: Kennedy erased in a plane crash in 1999 with her husband John F. Kennedy Jr.; Markle swallowed up in the sprawl of her Montecito mansion playing the victim. Yet Bessette Kennedy’s understatement extended beyond her minimalist aesthetic. In her short time on the ’90s world stage, she never gave an interview. Meghan, on the other hand, almost immediately summoned Oprah. Herein lies the difference between icon and pretender, the power of restraint versus blab, the fine line between reverence and ridicule. Ultimately, it’s why 25 years after her death, Kennedy — a Calvin Klein sales assistant turned publicist — remains an enigma. A master of stealth wealth well before the Roy family on “Succession,” Kennedy’s minimalist froideur still packs a punch in today’s world of try hard, flesh-flashing celebrity. This summer sees the release of Elizabeth Beller’s, “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,” the latest in a line of biographies drip-feeding insight, and often darker revelations of affairs and drug-taking, into an otherwise superficial fairy tale. Yet nothing really tarnishes Kennedy’s legacy. Like Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, Kennedy remains frozen in time at her peak, unsullied by family rifts or any fall from grace. Her CAROLINE BULLOCK Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (above with husband JFK Jr.) was minimalist and mysterious, avoiding press — unlike Markle. ZUMAPRESS.com trademark remains mystery, aided by an age before social media — in short, Kennedy left them wanting more. By contrast Markle has looser lips, too much talk, dirty laundry, tit for tat fallouts with her blood and royal relatives. As she reaches for sophistication, her delivery feels contrived, impatient and ruthless. As a smart, independent woman, the former “Suits” actress was ready to subvert some of the rules of royalty. But Markle failed to at least pretend to play by them. She was freespeaking and unrestrained — forgetting it was their mystique that allowed Kennedy and Diana to become the most compelling characters in their respective courts. Markle’s version cherry picks elements of both — Bessette- Kennedy’s all-American quiet luxe, Diana’s charitable legacy — with her own half-hearted humanitarian pretensions, but with far less integrity. When Bessette Kennedy struggled with press attention, she would retreat to her loft in Tribeca. The Sussexes, meanwhile, complain about a lack of privacy while constantly revealing both their inner and outer turmoil — often amid a backdrop of their posh Montecito home. How different it all could have been. Cast your mind back to 2018, when Harry and Meghan were viewed as a cooler antidote to the more staid William and Kate. Markle’s future inlaws were spooked — and rightly so. In the House of Windsor, the ultimate offense is to be upstaged — particularly if hierarchies are breached in the process. Unease simmered at joint engagements as William and Kate’s plummy platitudes were overshadowed by Meghan’s more fluid and engaging offthe-cuff delivery. KNOCK-OFF VERSION Harry and Meghan aimed for Kennedy levels of cool. But as they preen and preach, their brand remains far from Camelot The Palm Beach Post/ USA Today Network Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were initially seen as cooler than the rest of the staid royals. “We believe in this case and will be retrying this case.” — Manhattan prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, vowing to quickly retry Harvey Weinstein

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 40 POSTSCRIPT The North Pole by BILL HEMMER I T started with a call from the US Navy back in November, asking if I’d be interested in taking a trip to the Arctic later that winter. It’d be part of a three-week operation in the Arctic Ocean in March called Operation Ice Camp, which has happened every two years since 1946. It involves scientific research, evaluating military operational capabilities in the region, and the security of our nation. They don’t usually bring along civilians, I was told, but they wanted me to tag along to see what actually goes on during these operations. “I’m intrigued,” I said. “Tell me more.” They told me I’d be flying to the northern slope of Alaska, right next to the Arctic Ocean, where I’d meet with several dozen sailors and scientists, and spend a few days (and nights) watching them at work. Then we’d get on a helicopter, which would take us to an active ice floe — a large free-floating mass of ice on the open water, specifically the Beaufort Sea — and meet up with a US nuclear submarine, which would have to break through the ice so we can board, and then descend into the chilly depths, 180 feet below the ice. I considered it for a minute, and then said, “Fantastic. I’m in.” I couldn’t possibly turn it down. If you asked me to come up with the ultimate fantasy adventure trip, I never could have even imagined this one. The experience — which we documented in the new TV special “Battle for the Arctic with Bill Hemmer,” now streaming on Fox Nation — was a new one for me. It took almost eight hours to fly from Washington, DC to northern Alaska, and when you cross the Yukon, it’s almost exclusively ice and snow as far as the eye can see. By the time we got to Deadhorse, Alaska, an oil town that more than lives up to its name, you can’t tell where the Arctic Ocean ends and the land begins. My only thought was, “Sir, can you please turn this plane around? Because nothing can live down there.” WHEN we touched down on that ice, it was probably the softest landing I’ve ever felt. It was like hitting a pillow. And then the door flew open and we felt the first blast of arctic cold on our faces. You can’t really prepare yourself for Alaskan cold, especially in Deadhorse, where the temperatures can get as low as 50 below zero, with a real feel of 88 below. (No, I’m not kidding.) I’m no newbie when it comes to frigid temperatures. I was in the crowd for the 1981 “Freezer Bowl,” the coldest football game ever played, between the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers. (It was so cold, some claimed, a hot chocolate from the concession stand would turn into a milkshake.) But those frigid temps were nothing compared to the Arctic. The difference is, there’s no place in Alaska to hide from the cold, especially at the Ice Camp. When those skin-cracking winds start blowing, you can’t avoid them. We did a pretty good job with clothing prep. Except for boots. My boots were absolutely not effective. My right toe was numb for about a month after we returned. And we were only there for three days. I have no idea how these scientists stay there for five full weeks. T HE other concern was polar bears. They weren’t exactly an imminent threat, but polar bears do occasionally wander through, enough that there were monitors keeping a close watch for furry intruders, and rifles in every tent, just in case you needed to fire a warning shot. I wasn’t exactly looking over my shoulder, but it was one more thing at the back of my mind. The day-to-day operations at Ice Camp spanned everything from military drills — communicating with submarines or aircraft — to scientific research. In one of the tents, they’d drilled massive holes in the ice, as part of ongoing studies on water temperature and how (and when) the ice is melting. It’s a fascinating topic, especially when you talk to the scientists directly involved in climate science. The White House has suggested that the Arctic’s summer ice will be completely melted by the year 2030, but when I mentioned this to one of the Ice Camp scientists, a researcher from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who’s been studying climate science for almost three decades, he believes that estimate is “way too fast.” This year’s operation has extra ARCTIC Bill Hemmer and his Fox Nation crew brave frigid arctic temperatures and cramped conditions some 180 feet below the surface in his Arctic expeditionary documentary series, “Battle for the Arctic.” Courtesy of Fox (2) Rifles in every tent, just in case you needed to fire a warning shot. — Bill Hemmer, on proper polar-bear precautions in the Arctic

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 41 Fox anchor Bill Hemmer waves Old Glory from the Arctic Circle amid participating in the US Navy’s annual Operation Ice Camp. Getty Images; Courtesy of Fox; Anadolu Agency via Getty Images THRILL Subzero temps, barren ice-scapes, choppers and submarines — Fox host Bill Hemmer braved them all for his new show ‘Battle for the Arctic’ The mercury dips as low as 50 degrees below zero in Deadhorse, Alaska, part of the mineral-rich Arctic Circle that includes territory held by the US, seven allied NATO member states and Russia. Universal Images Group via Getty Images; Arctic Council Admiral Daryl Caudle says of the USS Hampton’s icebreaking prowess, “We want Beijing and Moscow to know we can pop up anywhere.” Hum Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images; WireImage significance, mostly because of increased geopolitical tensions in the region. There are eight nations with territory in the Arctic and seven belong to NATO. The other is Russia. There are an estimated one trillion dollars in minerals in the region, and Arctic warming means there are more opportunities to mine them. Admiral Daryl Caudle, who’s been the 35th commander of United States Fleet Forces Command since 2021, told me that Russia’s ability to mine those minerals is (at the moment) minimal. But what about 20 years from now, or 40 years? That’s what concerns him. A ND then there’s China, which declared itself a “near-Arctic state” in 2018. There’s no part Circle. Why would they do that? The Chinese are very invested in rare earth materials, and there’s a lot of that below the Arctic ice. Right now, those are international waters, and the US, along with their allies in Britain and Canada, want to make sure they stay that way. When I asked Caudle why the military bothered to take a nuclear submarine and burst it through the Arctic ice, he told me, “We want Moscow and Beijing to know that we can pop up anywhere.” Speaking of that submarine, it was my next stop. We traveled 200 miles north by helicopter to an ice floe camp to catch our ride: the USS Hampton, a 360-foot, 6,900 ton nuclear-powered sub from San Diego. This particular ice floe had been picked after months of searching for the perfect location. The sub needed almost exactly three feet of ice to break through. Less than two feet wouldn’t be enough to hold the vessel in place. MY biggest concern, to be honest, was claustrophobia. I don’t know about you, but I’d never been inside a nuclear submarine. After they’d chipped away enough ice to open the hatch, we climbed down a ladder and into the belly of the sub, and right away you realized there wasn’t a lot of room. The passageways — they didn’t call them hallways — were only 24 inches wide. This doesn’t seem to bother the other 150 men on board. Every one of them has an objective at all times, and they’re constantly moving. It wasn’t just the human passengers; every last inch on that submarine has a purpose. Nothing’s extraneous. Caudle explained the commodity of space to me in a way that was downright poignant. He said, “Bill, you live this big,” and he held his hands far apart, “and then you understand you’ve got to live this big,” and he held his hands closer together, “but in the end, all you really need is this,” and then he held his hands just inches from each other. That, he said, is submarine life. If the confined living doesn’t get you, loneliness probably will. At least that’s what I assumed. I was only down there for 24 hours, and it was weird to be so utterly cut off from the outside world. A submarine has the capacity to receive and transmit some signals, but to be truly stealth, any communication is few and far between. I remember talking to a commanding officer after we’d watched ourselves on a monitor disappear into the depths of the Arctic Ocean. He’d just come from a 15-day trek from San Diego through the Bering Strait. I told him, “You have no ability to look at an iPhone, to check Instagram or Facebook or any other social media. What does that feel like?” Without missing a beat, he said, “Freedom.” That instinct doesn’t come from the same place in every sailor. For that commanding officer, both his father and grandfather had served on a Navy submarine. It was part of his lineage, in his DNA. Most of the guys on that submarine had some Naval history in their past. The others, at least the ones I spoke with, told me that before joining the Navy, they’d felt lost. They needed direction. One guy told me, “I found my family on board this submarine.” The entire trip was exhilarating, and gave me even more respect for our military. They’re protecting us in ways, and in parts of the world, that many of us never think twice about. Would I go back and do it again? Would I brave the Arctic cold, and the risk of frostbite and polar bears and cracks in the ice, and being stuck inside a crowded submarine with some of the smartest, bravest men I’ve ever met? Sure. But next time, I’m bringing warmer boots. Bill Hemmer’s new series, “Battle for the Arctic,” is now streaming on Fox Nation. of China that physically touches the Arctic Circle, but the country has struck up a relationship with Norwegian businesses and opened a science lab north of the Arctic

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 42 AMERICA’S OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY PUBLISHED DAILY NEWSPAPER The Legislature’s latest fiddles to the mayoral-control law leaves Mayor Adams’ power over the city Department of Education hanging by a thread — and that was the intention. Combined with similar changes two years ago, it makes it certain that decisions by Adams’ schools chancellor, David Banks, will regularly be blocked by the Panel for Education Policy, which must approve many key moves. Back in 2022, lawmakers insisted on limiting Adams to choosing just 13 of the PEP’s 23 members, and removing his power to replace his nominees at will. This year, they brought it down to 13 of 24, just over half — by adding a new independent voting member who will chair the panel. The mayor gets to choose that chairman, but only from candidates nominated by the state Senate, Assembly and Board of Regents (who are themselves chosen by the Legislature). In practice, this means no one will get nominated to chair the PEP without an OK from the city United Federation of Teachers, which bosses the Legislature on these issues. And the chair runs the meetings, no matter what other PEP members think, which is an enormous power when it comes to setting the agenda. In the original mayoral-control law, the PEP was supposed to support the mayor and chancellor; now they’ll struggle to get their agenda voted on at all, let alone approved. Unless City Hall manages to ensure every one of the mayor’s picks for a PEP seat will be a blind loyalist, the panel will regularly wind up going rogue: UFT lobbying and intimidation is sure to be relentless (it always is). Even without the lunatic new chair, the UFT last year was able to engineer PEP rejection of DOE decisions to award (perfectly available) space to charter schools looking to expand. This is pretty much the culmination of a long UFT drive to eviscerate mayoral control. We’re nearly back to the days of the old Board of Education, when voters had no one to hold accountable for failing schools — and so the city wound up with a lot of them. Except now the Legislature is sporadically micromanaging the DOE, as with the new PEP-chair gimmick as well as the “class size” law — which will wind up downgrading the teacher corps for the city’s neediest students, among other ill effects, while doing “good” only for the UFT. And UFT pawns like Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bx) and state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) will keep at it until someone holds them to account. Mayoral control was always about ensuring someone would have the power and the motive to demand accountability from teachers, principals and the sclerotic education bureaucracy. The Legislature’s steadily turned that back into a dream: Parents and voters furious at the state of the schools are stuck driving north up I-87 to gripe to Albany. School Sabotage The insanity’s not confined to West Virginia. Take Aayden Gallagher, a trans female (again, that’s a biological male) runner in Oregon who sparked outrage when a video surfaced of her easily leaving her biologically female competitors in the dust. Or Maine’s Soren Stark-Chessa, who placed fourth in the girl’s high-school running division in October after coming in 172nd competing against boys. Or Alicia Paans, a grad student now competing on the University of Michigan women’s water polo team in the 2024 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship for the second straight year. (And, yes, the Wolverines won the tournament in 2023.) Now, to every rational person, these outcomes are no surprise. Men are bigger, faster and stronger than women. That’s the whole reason women’s and girls’ divisions exist in the first place. For confirmation, look no further than Serena Williams, likely the woman’s tennis GOAT. She got beaten by a 203rd-ranked male player (German has-been Karsten Braasch) in 1998, as did her sister. The demand to ignore simple biological facts in the name of “gender justice” insults women in all disciplines, not just sports. So stand with the brave girls of West Virginia — and everywhere else. The trans sport madness is steamrolling even little kids in its path. Five West Virginia middle-school girls rightly objected to the inclusion of trans girl Becky Pepper-Jackson — i.e., a biological boy, with all the attendant strength advantages — in a track and field competition. Just for refusing to shotput against Pepper-Jackson, the girls got barred from all future meets. They didn’t shout or scream or hurl slurs; they exercised a totally non-threatening, totally nonviolent form of protest at what they — again, correctly — see as an injustice. And because they dared to modestly and silently object to woke madness, the state came down like a hammer. It’s Orwellian. Happily, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has filed suit against the county ed board responsible for the travesty, and we wish the kids all the luck in the world in their quest for justice. Mind you, West Virginia law forbids letting biological boys compete against girls; only a woke federal judge’s intervention got Pepper-Jackson into the female competition in the first place. Yet the board still tried to abuse its power to make teen girls pay for their principled stand, all the better to ram gender extremism down the public’s throat. More Trans Sports Madness The New York Post is published by N.Y.P. Holdings Inc. 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 Chair Lachlan Murdoch Publisher Sean M. Giancola Print Editor-in-Chief Stephen Lynch ‘P RIVACY” is a fashionable term among both federal and state lawmakers because it is one of the few policy objectives that generally curries favor on the left and the right. For this reason, the grandly named American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) has momentum in Congress. If approved, APRA would erect a complicated new web of regulations and mandates for how companies treat their users' data, with the goal of making it harder to mine said data for misuse against individuals. As the saying goes: buyer beware. An all-but-certain side effect of APRA is that it could make it dramatically harder for tech startups to get off the ground and for small businesses to compete — while providing yet another competitive advantage to already massive companies like Meta and Amazon. A core provision of APRA is its requirement that companies de-identify their user data in order to develop a product or service. De-identifying means stripping data of anything that could be connected to a person. For highly technical reasons, de-identifying is a process that is very difficult and expensive, even for highly skilled data scientists. The cost of compliance with this rule would be enormous – likely available to only the largest and most established companies — and its effect on innovation and entrepreneurship would undoubtedly be chilling. APRA proponents have tried to keep the little guy in mind by letting startups and small businesses off the hook. Companies that make less than $40 million in a year and collect the data of less than 200,000 people are exempt. This might sound like large numbers, but revenue and customer logs of this size generally typify niche e-commerce sites or small regional banks. In other words, the growing small businesses that power US innovation. For that reason, the exemption may actually prove useless. Engine Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for startups, notes that “many . . . will quickly find themselves inscope [of APRA].” The foundation concludes that startups likely “will build their companies with the APRA in mind.” And this is bad for business. Indeed, in this light, the next generation of tech startups will have less motivation to take risks and will avoid growth that would trigger costly regulations. The next great American tech company might never come to be. Recall that even Amazon was once a startup. One imagines the C-suites of Silicon Valley will hardly be saddened to have fewer hungry competitors biting at their flanks. And so they will have even less incentive to keep their prices low and quality high for American consumers. To be clear, privacy law is an area in desperate need of clarity and rules, and a new federal statute is not an idea that is without merit. Today more than TAYLOR BARKLEY New laws to protect user data will reward big tech — and stifle innovation POSTSCRIPT Editorial Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch Editor-in-Chief Keith Poole Editorial Page Editor Mark Cunningham

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 43 a dozen states (and counting) have widely disparate privacy laws. Complying to this regulatory hodge-podge can costs startups tens of thousands of dollars. A federal standard would provide consistency and make doing business cheaper. In New York in particular, the regulatory landscape has big implications for startups. A sobering report released late last year from Lightspeed, a venture capital firm, found that New York’s “[n]et new tech jobs in 2023 are forecast to decline 30%” year over year. Key tech industries such as “CloudTech/Dev Ops, Artificial Intelligence, big data, and cyber” are suffering in New York City, the report found. Indeed the New York City metro area has half the market share of the California Bay Area. But it’s not just the startups who are having a hard time and taking their business elsewhere. The crown jewels of New York and provider of more than a quarter of state tax revenue, the securities and banking industries, seem to be leaving the state, as well. In an op-ed from The Post earlier this month, City Journal contributing editor Nicole Gelinas notes that “the industry isn’t losing jobs; it’s moving them to other states.” Unfortunately, New York’s own pending comprehensive privacy bill would impact startups even worse than the federal proposal. The New York Privacy Act, currently winding its way through the legislature, would affect even smaller businesses than the federal proposal. New York lawmakers say that startups making more than $25 million a year and processing the data of only 50,000 consumers would need to comply. For New York-based tech startups and small businesses, the proposed federal privacy bill would therefore be an improvement, even with its flaws. But it’s not too late to make this so-so law far better. Lawmakers have time to revise their legislative drafts, such as raising some of these thresholds so startups have the best shot of taking off rather than suffocating under some arbitrary regulatory ceiling. Such a strategy could make New York — and the US — a prime incubator for small businesses and startups, which are the core of a bright and abundant future for the American economy. Taylor Barkley is the director of public policy at the Abundance Institute. Post your comments on stories at www.nypost.com E-mail [email protected], or write to: The Editor, The New York Post, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, NY 10036. Include name, address and daytime phone number. No unverifiable letter will be published. The Post reserves the right to edit all letters. CHATTER Kangaroo court The International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction in Israel (“Unwarranted,” Post Opinion, Orde F. Kittrie, May 1). If the ICC issues a warrant for the arrest of Israeli officials (including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) on bogus war-crimes charges, it would not be enforceable. It would, however, complicate United States and Israeli diplomacy. For President Biden, it complicates his failing campaign. The Israel Defense Forces are justified in their campaign to destroy Hamas terrorists anywhere in Gaza, including Rafah. Officials at the ICC are playing into the hands of Hamas by making outrageous and inflammatory claims about fake war crimes, human-rights violations and genocide by Israel. James Patterson, Washington, DC Flatiron heyday The Post’s story on the Flatiron District is inaccurate on multiple counts (“Flatline,” April 30). Flatiron is thriving. Retail vacancies are between 10% and 13%, lower than the Manhattan average. Since January, 32 businesses have either opened in the district or announced they will be opening soon. Robberies and burglaries are down from last year, by 36% and 64%, respectively. In March, average daily pedestrian counts on the vibrant Flatiron Public Plaza hit a post-pandemic record of 67,000. The district’s residential population has grown nearly 20% in the last decade. The closure of big-box stores, like those The Post reported on Sixth Avenue, is a nationwide trend and not a symptom of a declining neighborhood. Just walk a couple of blocks east and north, into the Flatiron District, to see a resilient mixed-use neighborhood that remains a hub for hospitality, culture and businesses of all shapes and sizes. James Mettham, President, Flatiron NoMad Partnership, Manhattan A dictator’s dream To be completely honest, I feel that it’s quite possible that the Supreme Court rules that former President Donald Trump’s immunity claims are legitimate (“Constitutional abyss runs deep,” April 26). The court sure appears to favor Trump over democracy. Why else would it support his delays? Nothing in our 248-year history suggests a president needs absolute immunity. The Supreme Court is losing its legitimacy, spiraling down a path where its rulings will eventually be rejected by the American people. Richard A. French, Pasadena, Calif. Brooklyn’s bard So sad to hear about the passing of literary giant Paul Auster (“Paul Auster, best selling author of ‘New York Trilogy,’ dead at 77,” May 1). His words painted worlds, stirred emotions and ignited imaginations. Rest in peace, Paul Auster. Your legacy lives on through the pages you’ve gifted to the world. Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Fla. C’mon, Marjorie I mean, really: Where is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene going to go with this (“MTG vows vote to boot Mike,” May 2)? The bottom line is she simply doesn’t have the votes to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson — and she knows it. This is beyond courtroom theatrics. This is childish, immature and just plain stupid. Greene should look for a facesaving way out of the fiasco she has created for herself. This is what happens when you see yourself as much more than you really are. One way or another, MTG’s hubris will be humbled. All that Johnson needs do is stay his course and wait her out. Arthur Saginian, Santa Clarita, Calif. DIGITAL DIVIDE Startups and small businesses are wary of the potential regulatory minefield unleashed by proposed legislation like the American Privacy Rights Act. Adobe Stock The cost of compliance for a small biz like Tashana’s Kitchen in Blue Point, NY, is hardly a level playing field against tech industry giants. Newsday via Getty Images

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 44 POSTSCRIPT Books Five Broken Blades Mai Corland (Red Tower Books) This epic fantasy is expected to be another blockbuster for the publisher behind Rebecca Yarros’s hit “Empyrean” series. The first book in a trilogy, it’s inspired by Korean legend and told from the point of view of six different characters — five of them are assassins all trying to kill the same king. 24th Hour: Is This the End? James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown and Company) The latest “Women’s Murder Club” installment finds San Francisco police sergeant Lindsay Boxer and Co. investigating the murder of a prominent billionaire couple. Shanghailanders: A Novel Juli Min (Spiegel & Grau) This debut starts in 2040 and works backwards to 2014 to tell the story of a sophisticated Chinese family headed by a wealthy Shanghai businessman and an elegant Japanese-French woman. Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food Michelle T. King (W. W. Norton & Company) Fu has been called “the Julia Child of Chinese food.” King traces her transformation from a Taiwanese housewife with only basic kitchen skills to global celebrity chef, whom many credit with bringing Chinese food to America. Clive Cussler: The Heist Jack Du Brul (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) The 14th Isaac Bell adventure book is set in 1914, as Detective Bell investigates the link between an attack on Woodrow Wilson’s yacht, a dead heiress in Newport and a plan to steal billions from the Federal Reserve. I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv Illia Ponomarenko (Bloomsbury) Ponomarenko, a reporter for the Kviv Independent, was on the front lines when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He gives a personal account of the attacks and how Ukrainians united to fight back. REQUIRED READING by Hailey Eber WNBA and a two-time Olympic gold medallist with the United States women’s team, Griner, like many other female players, often played abroad in the WBNA’s off-season to supplement her income. In Russia, for example, she commanded a base salary of $1.2 million — five times what she earned in the WBNA. In early 2022, Griner was due to join UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Women’s Premier League, a team she had played for, without any trouble, in most of her off-seasons since 2014. But when she arrived in Russia on Feb. 17, she was stopped at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport when a customs sniffer dog indicated drugs in the player’s carry-on luggage. A thorough search ensued at which point officers from the Russian Federal Customs Service discovered vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. Even though it was a product she had been prescribed by her doctor, Griner was taken into custody and charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” into the country. It was, says Griner, nothing more than a simple oversight but it proved anything but. “It’s so easy to have a mental lapse,” she says. “Granted, my mental lapse was on more of a grand scale.” Seven days after Griner’s arrest, on Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine and, as the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on the Putin regime, suddenly Brittney Griner’s situation became immeasurably worse. No longer was she just a basketball player facing minor drug charges in a foreign country, now she was a bargaining chip in a conflict with major multinational implications. S HE was also entirely reliant on Russian lawyers to steer her through the complex local legal system. “I remember one time there was a stack of papers that [the translator] needed to translate for me. He took a brief look and then said: ‘Basically you are guilty,’ ” Griner recalls. Griner’s lawyer was rock fan Alexander Boykov. As he worked on her case, he brought Griner books to keep her occupied, including a biography of Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee, a memoir by Southern rock legend Gregg Allman and Supporters of Brittney Griner at a Phoenix, Ariz., event rally for her release from a Russian prison in July 2022, some seven months into her jail stint. Getty Images by GAVIN NEWSHAM B RITTNEY Griner was desperate. It was February 2022 and the WNBA star had been detained in the Russian capital Moscow awaiting trial on drugs charges. Facing a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years and with her options fast running out, Griner wrote to President Biden, pleading for his assistance in securing her release, as she explains in her new memoir, “Coming Home” (Penguin Random House). "I'm terrified I might be here forever," she wrote in a handwritten letter. "I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don't forget about me and the other detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.” The letter, hand-delivered to the president on Independence Day 2022, also mentioned her father and his service in the US Marine Corps, including his two tours of duty in Vietnam. “On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those men who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran,” she continued. “It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.” In her book, Griner reveals how a simple security check at a Moscow airport became a “gateway to hell.” WRITTEN with bestselling author Michelle Burford (who co-authored memoirs by stars like Alicia Keys and Cicely Tyson), “Coming Home” is the story of a “geopolitical nightmare spanning 10 months” where Griner found herself “bewildered and isolated” while navigating a foreign legal system in a language she didn’t comprehend. “There’s no understanding. In the US, I can articulate what happened, how this happened,” she says. “[But] I didn’t plan to do this . . . it was a mistake, an accident.” Though she was a six-time All Star in Like many WNBA stars, Brittney Griner sought out extra work in Russia’s lucrative women’s league, only to wind up in Moscow custody (right) when a pot vape cartridge was found in her luggage.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 45 A vape pen like this was all it took to put Griner at risk of up to 10 years in prison under Russia’s stiff drug laws. Adobe Stock She was also fined 1 million rubles (around US $15,000). Not surprisingly, Griner’s head went into a spin. “I was thinking about my wife, I was thinking about what my family were going to think, what public opinion is thinking. I can see the headlines. “I can visualize everything I’ve worked so hard for just crumbling away.” In November 2022, Griner was transferred to Corrective Colony No. 2 , or IK-2, a female penal colony in Yavas, around 300 miles east of Moscow, with a reputation for overcrowding, brutal wardens and long days of backbreaking work. When she was shown to her bed, the mattress had a huge blood stain on it. She also had little or no access to toilet paper or soap. “I felt less than human,” she recalled. Indeed, of the 36 all-female penal colonies in Russia, IK-2 was considered one of the most inhospitable and in “Coming Home,” Griner charts not just the “emotional and physical anguish” she suffered during her time in detention (where she mostly worked in a sewing workshop), but also the effect her absence had on her friends and family back home in the United States. Griner’s memoir (inset) reveals how President Biden (here with her wife, Cherelle, and VP Kamala Harris) aided in springing her. The Washington Post via Getty Images another by the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards. Held in a former orphanage in Khimki, Griner shared a cell with two local women also being held on narcotics charges. While they spoke some English and could help her communicate with the prison staff, they could do little about her sleeping arrangements with her tiny, narrow bed less than ideal for her 6-foot-9 frame. More than four months in detention would pass before Griner’s case came to trial. When she entered the courtroom, she did so holding a photo of her wife and college sweetheart, Cherelle. As instructed, Griner pled guilty to the charges in the hope that the judge might offer a more lenient sentence. B UT she could not have been more wrong. Indeed, Griner was aghast when the judge read out her sentence. Although the typical sentence for possession of such a small amount of cannabis was no more than 15 days, Griner was told she would spend nine years in an all-female prison. “[I would be] the first American woman ever to endure a Russian penal colony,” she notes. Terrified that she “might be here forever” Griner also contemplated ending her life. “I just didn't think I could get through what I needed to get through.” Ten long months and an unsuccessful appeal would pass before there was finally some positive news. O N the morning of Dec. 8 2022, America awoke to the news: Brittney Griner was free.” A prisoner swap with Russia, signed off by Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had been arranged whereby convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout — the inspiration for the 2005 film “Lord of War” starring Nicolas Cage and serving a 25- year sentence in the US for arms smuggling — would be returned to his homeland in exchange for Griner’s freedom. “Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She’s safe, she’s on a plane,” Biden posted on X. “She’s on her way home.” Today, 17 months after she was freed, Griner is looking forward to a new season with her team, the Phoenix Mercury. Finally reunited with wife Cherelle — with whom Griner is expecting a baby — there was just one thing that had kept her going through the darkest of days. “Love,” she says. Reuters; Russian state television RED SCORE Held in a former orphanage, where she considered suicide and was too tall to fit into her bed, WNBA pro Brittney Griner details her 10-month imprisonment by Russian authorities I can visualize everything I’ve worked so hard for just crumbling away. — Brittney Griner, on losing hope in Russian captivity.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 46 POSTSCRIPT Books Whoopi Goldberg grew up poor in the New York projects of Chelsea with her mother, Emma Johnson, and big brother, Clyde. But as the Oscar winner writes in her memoir, “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me,” she never considered their circumstances as reduced. Her mother, who worked as a nurse, managed to enrich her children’s lives with regular trips to shows, museums, Shakespeare in the Park, Radio City Music Hall and excursions to Coney Island. It was a life full of music, old movies and culture. Emma encouraged her daughter’s aspirations. “My mom made me believe I could do anything I wanted,” the Oscar winner writes. “Because of my mom, I was able to go from being Caryn Johnson [Whoopi Goldberg’s real name], the ‘little weird kid’ from the projects who no one ever expected to achieve all that much, to being me, Whoopi Goldberg.” Emma, who helped raise Goldberg’s daughter, Alex, also instilled in her own daughter a ferocious work ethic and selfreliance. “She really wanted me to understand that I had to be able to count on myself,” she writes. “And do for myself . . . She let me know there was no guarantee, no matter what.” Goldberg, 68, writes of her utter shock upon hearing of her mother’s sudden death in 2010 followed five years later by her brother. “The View” host told The Post recently that she wanted to take on a memoir “because I was forgetting things, I realized I needed to write stuff down.” Goldberg shared that losing a mother is different from losing any other family member. “You don’t realize that’s the first person that ever looked at you and said, ‘I like you,’ or ‘come here,’ or any of those things.” She admits that after her mother’s death she waited “to fall apart” but it never happened. “It still hasn’t,” “The Color Purple” star confessed. — Nicki Gostin BUZZ BOOK: Making Whoopi rotgut shit, but I didn’t give a f--k. “I was loaded by lunch, and the days went by quicker.” But as Hicks writes, “being a model inmate did not translate to me being a model citizen.” Just four months after release, Hicks was indicted for a stolen traveler’s check scam and for his association with an incident that saw NBA star Paul Pierce stabbed in Boston in 2000. Inside prison and out, Hicks reconciled his actions with alcohol. “The angel on my shoulder went on a 30-year bender, leaving the devil to call the shots,” he writes. After another prison release in 2016, he drank himself into a three-day coma only to be discharged from hospital “and thrown back into my shitty existence.” It was only after his ninth and final release, in 2020, that Hicks finally found freedom. This time, none of his old partners in crime, armed with liquor and another job to do, were there to greet him. “There was nothing outside and I couldn’t have been happier,” he writes. Today, Hicks is sober. He is also an actor, producer and a rapper, releasing tracks under stage-name “Ghost,” the nickname he acquired during a two-year spell on the run from the police. There are regrets, but not many. “Looking back on everything, it all seems so f--king crazy. “It’s no wonder I wound up the way I did. A disastrous childhood, a cataclysmic adolescence and an apocalyptic adulthood,” he reflects. “Not exactly a recipe for success, is it?” volved in the more violent side of mob work. The result, explains Hicks, was that he skipped manhood. “I went from boy to monster,” he writes. But he was clever. When he was 16, Hicks converted an old lobster boat so it had a hidden vault, perfect for transporting contraband. “The space was only just large enough to hide a couple hundred pounds of cargo or one large man,” he explains. It was big business. Within three months, he expanded. “I took every penny of profit . . . and added three more boats to my burgeoning fleet of quasi pirate ships,” he writes. Later, he turned to garbage disposal for criminals, although he drew the line at the dead. But he did investigate how to dispose of bodies. One option was sodium hydroxide that “completely dissolves the flesh,” he writes. The other was feeding it to pigs. “However cliché, pigs do eat anything . . . but that doesn’t mean it can digest everything. For that reason, hair must be shaved and teeth must be pulled.” While in prison, Hicks was a model inmate — but only so he could get out early. During his time in Massachusetts Correctional Institution in the 1990s, he attended courses in anger management, understanding addiction, engine maintenance and even hairdressing. His good behavior saw his sevenand-a-half year term reduced to a third of his original sentence. He wasn’t entirely clean. Each week, Hicks received packages containing heroin, coke and marijuana which he passed via associates who stored it by “putting it in the vault.” He also had a regular supply of “eighty-proof spring water.” “There was no f--king way I was going to stay sober for seven and a half years,” he writes. “It was cheap Telegram & Gazette via Imagn Content Services, LLC; Getty Images (2) by GAVIN NEWSHAM S EAN Scott Hicks doesn’t care what you do with his new memoir, “The Devil To Pay: A Mobster’s Road to Perdition” (Blackstone). “Like it, hate it, use it as kindling to thwart off the chill of winter, I don’t give a flying f--k what you do with the book at this point,” he writes. “Completing it was a burden I needed unloading, a s--t I needed shat, returning the weight back to Atlas, all 12 steps of recovery wrapped up in a nice bow — take your pick, whatever metaphor suits you best.” Hicks’ apathy is understandable. For half a century, the serial criminal walked a “well-trodden road to eternal damnation” that saw him spend over 20 years in more than a dozen different prisons. His rap sheet encompassed conspiracy, racketeering, counterfeiting, money laundering, bank robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and attempted murder. He started young. Born in Weymouth, Mass., in September 1971 to a “s--t-faced” mother and a father he never met, he was first exposed to the country’s most powerful Irish American mob, the Winter Hill Gang, when his mother was dating mob fixer William “Red” Baker while simultaneously having an affair with Bill Winter, older brother of Howie T. Winter, the gang’s leader. (The gang's most infamous member, of course, is longtime bandit Whitey Bulger, who evaded capture for decades.) He liked what he saw. “It was about one thing: respect. The money, power, and responsibilities were just by-products, but pretty f--king good ones if you ask me,” he writes. When his formal education ended at age 10, Hicks found himself working for mobster Toby Rust, bagging 50 bucks a time to empty trucks of hijacked whiskey and cigarettes. He also collected loan repayments and stole cars and, later, became inHow to dispose of bodies and survive prison: Confessions of a Boston gangster Sean Scott Hicks (left) grew up around Howie T. Winter’s (top) Winter Hill Gang and drank his way through his time at Massachusetts Correctional Institution.

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 47 Celebrity Pics of the Week / TV / Horoscope / Puzzles Very Easy #6,539 Difcult #6,329 28 3974 3 1 6 472 8 17 6 92 8 84 2 987 7 3 1 8467 25 64 7 21 3 9 2 347 4 5 859 8 1 4 61 9 24 4 7 1 2 5 76 53 2 5 8 1 5 9 6 7 38 26 2 1 5 7 3 Challenging #449 “Name That Tune” By Katy Steinmetz & Rich Katz Across 1 “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” novelist Jamie 5 Low-end speaker 9 Emulate successfully 15 Cooling units, for short 18 One throwing out the first pitch? 19 __ research: some dirt-digging 20 Baseball level just below the Majors 22 Hall of Fame slugger Mel 23 Power line? 26 Parched 27 Two-time Best Female Golfer ESPY winner Ko 28 Leaf wrangler 29 Bewitch 31 Fright 33 Life line? 37 Like some candles 39 Home of many Goyas and El Grecos 40 “Fire” gemstone 41 Unlikely duo? 42 “The Boy and the Heron” genre 44 Gifts at some Honolulu hotels 46 The blue in blue cheese, e.g. 49 Party line? 54 Follower of up, down, and mid 56 Shake 57 Ireland, to the Irish 58 Like some adoption records 60 “The Matrix” hero 61 Train cos. 64 Prehistoric 66 Data on dashboards 68 Opening line? 75 Yoga asana that requires balance 76 MSNBC journalist Cabrera 77 Like this clue’s number 78 “Am __ time?” 79 Require 82 High point of the “Odyssey”? 85 Meter or liter 89 Dirty 91 Time line? 95 Swap __ 97 Room in una casa 98 HS course covering the facts of life 99 Curse 100 Guides with keys 103 __-panky 105 Writer of pastoral poems 107 Dividing line? 111 Didn’t cook, but didn’t order in 112 Totalitarianism, metaphorically 113 Villain’s hangout 115 Rims 118 Relieved (of) 119 Shore line? 124 Female deer 125 Spring agricultural machines 126 Beauty spot? 127 “That could work for me” 128 “Weekend Update” show, casually 129 Restoration poet dubbed “Glorious John” 130 Headed to overtime 131 __ pool Down 1 Duck or goose 2 Comply 3 Consumer Reports tasks 4 “Merci” response 5 Social media annoyance 6 Goddess of love who had five children with the god of war 7 Fishing tool 8 “__ it to me!” 9 Old school crowdfunding org.? 10 Branch 11 Wee drink 12 Pitch 13 Mets slugger Pete nicknamed “Polar Bear” 14 Mocked 15 Vietnamese tunic 16 PC paste shortcut 17 Flair 21 Place for a spiritual retreat 24 Livestock marker 25 Successor 30 KOA option 32 Actress Russo 34 Mickey’s cocreator 35 Brainstorming output 36 French wine valley 37 Go like hotcakes 38 Egyptian queen, familiarly 39 Gas, across the pond 43 Nintendo avatar 45 Snail mail need 47 Piece of cake? 48 Square peg in a social circle? 50 Durable twill fabric 51 Ward with two Emmy Awards 52 Director Kazan 53 Big name in car batteries 55 Snoopy 59 Heroic act, say 62 Tug of war need 63 Full of rocks 65 Genetic letters 67 Pop star Paula who was once a Lakers cheerleader 68 “Can confirm” 69 Noise made while playing with a Matchbox car 70 “__ Meenie”: 2010 pop single 71 Regarding 72 Quaint baes 73 Two half hitches, maybe 74 Verb that comes from a corruption of the ballet term “chassé” 80 Mogul Carl 81 Former TV drama about SoCal attorneys 83 “How’s it hangin’?” 84 Get in the middle of, in a way 86 One of Nolan Ryan’s record seven 87 Currier and __ 88 Words on a page 90 __ juice 92 Gran 93 Log flume, e.g. 94 Went up and down, say 96 Many a spring birth 101 Cut back 102 Machine shop alloy 104 Six-time NBA All-Star Lowry 106 __ van Beethoven 107 Supports 108 Constellation with a belt 109 Sound that comes from on high 110 Like some unkempt gardens 111 Garlicky sauce 114 Border 116 Flair 117 Ione of “La Brea” 120 __ velvet 121 Green Day drummer __ Cool 122 Channel for bargain hunters 123 “Gnarly” Sunday Break Post SU DOKU You must put a number, from 1 to 9, in each empty box. Each number must appear once in each horizontal row, as well as in each vertical column and in each of the 3-by-3 grids. Super Su Doku, inside, multiplies the challenge — and your enjoyment. For that one, put a number from 1 to 12 in each empty box, making sure each number appears once in each horizontal row, as well as in each vertical column and in each of the 3- by-4 grids. Tips and in-depth strategies at www.SudokuWiki.org. For more Su Doku puzzles, see tomorrow’s New York Post. © Syndicated Puzzles Inc. All Sunday puzzle answers on Page 56 © 2020 Tribune Media Services

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 48 Black to play and win. D. Deshmukh-B.Bellahcene Djerba 2024 Last week: 1 Rc7! Nxc7 2 Nc5 Qe8 3 d7 and queens. 1 d4 ................... Nf6 2 Nf3.................... g6 3 g3 ...................Bg7 4 Bg2 ................... c5 5 c4................... O-O 6 O-O...................d6 7 Nc3 .................Nc6 8 dxc5.............. dxc5 9 Be3 .................Be6 10 Qa4.............. Nd4 11 Rad1.............Bd7 12 Qa3...............Nc2 13 Qxc5 ...............b6 14 Qg5................. h6 15 Qh4.............Nxe3 16 fxe3 ............. Qe8 17 Nd5?.............Rc8 18 b3 .................Rc5 19 Nd2?......... Rxd5! 20 Bxd5 ............ Ng4 21 Ne4.............Nxe3 22 Qf4.............. Nxf1 23 Rxf1................ e6 24 Bb7 .............. Qb8 25 Ba6 ............. Qxf4 26 gxf4 ..............Bc6 27 Nf2................Rd8 28 Rc1 ...............Bd4 29 Resigns KING’S INDIAN DEFENSE Bundesliga 2024 Johannes von Mettenheim Patrick Zelbel A club player brought me today’s deal. “I know the definition of ‘discretion,”‘ he said. “It’s when you think you’re right about something -- but you check with your wife to make sure.” He and his wife had reached four hearts after East opened one spade. West led the ace and jack of spades, and East won and led a third spade. “West ruffed my nine with the seven of trumps,” my friend said. “I overruffed with dummy’s nine, led a trump to my ace and then led the ten of spades. When West discarded, I threw a diamond from dummy. But when I led a diamond to the queen next, East won and led the jack of trumps, removing dummy’s last trump, and I lost another diamond. “I thought the contract was hopeless, but to be sure, I consulted my wife.” “What did she say?” “A lot. First she said I had no business bidding four hearts. She said she might have bid four herself, but she didn’t trust my dummy play. Then she said the contract was cold.” Instead of overruffing West on the third spade, South must pitch a diamond from dummy. If West shifts to a diamond, South takes the ace, declining to finesse since East opened the bidding. South then takes one high trump and leads the ten of spades. When West can’t ruff, dummy discards the queen of diamonds. South ruffs a diamond in dummy, ruffs a club and ruffs his last low diamond. He wins six trump tricks in his hand, a spade, the ace of diamonds and two ruffs. The winning line of play is indicated. If West has three trumps, the contract can’t be made. East dealer Both sides vulnerable NORTH ♠ Q 6 ♥ 962 ♦ AQ5 ♣ K9652 WEST EAST ♠ A J ♠ K8752 ♥ 8 7 ♥ J 5 ♦ J643 ♦ K 10 9 ♣ J8743 ♣ A Q 10 SOUTH ♠ 10 9 4 3 ♥ A K Q 10 4 3 ♦ 872 ♣ None East South West North 1 ♠ 2 ♥ Pass 3 ♥ Pass 4 ♥ All Pass Opening lead — ♠ A ©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC From the word or phrase above, form at least 26 five-letter words, without using more than one form of the same word. For example, drink or drank, not both. Sunday LUNCHTIME Word Force One more reason why great players are great: They are calm when everyone else is frantic. A company that make heart-rate monitors sponsored a recent tournament in Germany and recorded the beats-per-minute of elite grandmasters. In a must-win game, Magnus Carlsen’s rate was in the 75 to 95 beat range, remarkably close to his baseline. But the rate for his rival, Fabiano Caruana, soared to 155- 170 when he had winning positions, just before he blundered. Ashwin Subramanian, an amateur with an avid interest in the data, said heart rates are lower when a quick time limit requires the players to move faster. They rely on intuition and don’t agonize over their calculation. Baseline drive By Andy Soltis Chess © Andrew Stuart, Syndicated Puzzles #449 5 28 15 14 13 7 27 12 22 8 7 29 4 23 14 11 8 5 9 12 17 16 11 6 10 8 10 11 18 8 9 27 3 3 6 3 3 5 3 12 11 7 7 Place 1 to 9 in each white cell. To choose the right number, you need to work from the clues in around the edge. The numbers below the diagonal lines are the sums of the solutions in the white cells immediately beneath. The numbers above the divide are the sums of the solutions immediately to the right. Rows and columns do NOT have to be unique. All Sunday puzzle answers are on Page 56 Kakuro Bridge Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. KENKEN

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 49 INSTRUCTIONS: Find as many words as you can by linking letters up, down, side-to-side and diagonally, writing words on a blank sheet of paper. You may only use each letter box once within a single word. Play with a friend and compare word finds, crossing out common words. R YOUR BOGGLE RATING R BOGGLE POINT SCALE B G P H E A M I U W O O G L S K BOGGLE is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. 2024 Hasbro, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. All Rights Reserved. By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek R 5-5-24 R 151+ = Champ 101-150 = Expert 61 -100 = Pro 31 - 60 = Gamer 21 - 30 = Rookie 11 - 20 = Amateur 0 - 10 = Try again 3 letters = 1 point 4 letters = 2 points 5 letters = 3 points 6 letters = 4 points 7 letters = 6 points 8 letters = 10 points 9+ letters = 15 points Boggle BrainBusters Bonus We put special brain-busting words into the puzzle grid. Can you find them? R Find AT LEAST EIGHT FRUITS in the grid of letters. ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ BONUS Complete the crossword puzzle by How to play looking at the clues and unscrambling the answers. When the puzzle is complete, unscramble the circled letters to solve the BONUS. by David L. Hoyt Sunday Puzzle J U M B L E R ACROSS CLUE ANSWER DOWN CLUE ANSWER 1. Many 2. Tasteful 6. Eating ____ 3. Simple 8. ____ mine 4. Thrive, prevail 11. Followed, tracked 7. Handbill 9. Placid 5. ____ Triangle 12. Truthfulness 10. Lois ____ R E L AV S E N G E E LTA N E L I S T U S A E Y L A C O D C E S C E U L M A C M E B D U R A R L I D E TA E LT F E L A N T E S O Y H N L A E 2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. & Hoyt Designs. All Rights Reserved TM 5-5-24 1 4 5 7 10 9 11 12 6 8 2 3 CLUE: This U.S. president’s full name at birth was John ____ ____ Jr. All Sunday puzzle answers are on Page 56 LEADER QUALIFICATIONS SOLUTION: 11 LETTERS © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication www.wonderword.com RO L EMO D E L A I E LP I CN I RP E N T H U S I A SMW I S E T A D P UR SMAN A G E R E S I L I E N T A R NO POPCO E L BA I L E RD T S P E DB OT EO T I L NMRO F N I SOS L E L N I RPW I S A T AD I B I SOKARE S V S E O E O S I H K A OE T P I T SM I AENG L RN I CHNRPS T L I TS BT VME A I E EMO E LO L I L OAO L E E I N Y L T H L K S I H AMONNL ERRNU O DY E AB E HTO I RSDV LA ED I L GRMVRA ECGS T HSE BWSG N R E N I U S D HD AMN O SR A A U E E K O S T V N T WC R O O N E Y D F MN A I I A P L E H AO A A C O R T N L E E S OMS T RON GF ROWRG I EEP I N E T ACOVD AT FKREOL PSCJUS T I CEV I TCAORPR I E E GD E L WON K R E V I T I S O PG D I REC T I ONE L B AT NUOCCA First read the list of words, then look at the puzzle. The words are in all directions - vertically, horizontally, diagonally, backward. Circle each letter of a word found and strike it off the list. The letters are often used more than once, so do not cross them out. It’s best to find the big words first. When you find all the words listed in the clues, you’ll have a number of letters left over that spell out the Wonderword. Accountable, Action, Advocate, Agility, Approachable, Charisma, Coach, Control, Data, Decision-maker, Dependable, Detail, Direction, Driven, Empower, Energy, Enthusiasm, Fair, Genuine, Goals, Habit, Hard Work, Help, Honor, Hope, Inform, Justice, Kind, Knowledge, Loyal, Manage, Mature, Mission, Motivate, Open Mind, Optimism, Passion, Persevere, Polite, Positive, Principle, Proactive, Problem-solver, Progress, Purpose, Relations, Reliable, Resilient, Responsible, Résumé, Reward, Role Model, Self-aware, Skill, Social, Speaker, Staff, Strong, Understand, Update, Vision, Wise Wonderword 1 10 8 9 3 5 5 11 7 12 1 4 1 11 12 4 9 3 6 2 11 5 5 3 9 10 11 5 2 10 8 12 7 12 9 4 12 5 11 8 12 2 1 12 7 8 10 4 9 1 Super Su Doku

New York Post, Sunday, May 5, 2024 nypost.com 50 By Eva Dougherty, Kelly Gordon, Darby Hyde, Tori Schneebaum & Donna Grace Snaps Eva Longoria / Instagram GC Images TheImageDirect.com Jennifer Aniston / Instagram