Rollover crash involving tour bus in New York leaves several dead, others injured

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PEMBROKE, N.Y. (AP) — A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls with more than 50 passengers crashed and rolled Friday on an interstate highway, killing and injuring multiple people, police said.

The bus apparently lost control on I-90 near Pembroke, about 25 miles east of Buffalo. People inside were ejected as the windows shattered.

“At this time we have multiple fatalities, multiple entrapments and multiple injuries,” said Trooper James O’Callahan, a spokesperson for the New York State Police.

Rescue personnel work the scene of a tour bus that crashed and rolled over on the New York State Thruway near Pembroke, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Libby March/Buffalo News via AP)

Several ambulances and medical helicopters transported patients from the crash. O’Callahan said most people on the bus were Indian, Chinese and Philippine, and translators were being brought to the scene. The driver survived.

“The bus was traveling eastbound right before the Pembroke exit and for unknown reasons the vehicle lost control, went into the median, overcorrected and ended up in the ditch, which would be on the right side of the roadway,” he said.

The Mercy Flight air medical transport service said its three helicopters were transporting people from the crash site to area hospitals. Erie County Medical Center, a Buffalo hospital known as ECMC, said it had at least eight patients by 2:10 p.m.

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Three other helicopters from other services were being called to the scene, as well as ambulances from multiple area agencies, Mercy Flight president Margaret Ferrentino said.

“It’s a very active scene,” Ferrentino said. “At this time we’re praying for the victims.”

The New York State Thruway Authority said a lengthy stretch of the roadway had been shut down in both directions and drivers were being urged to avoid the area.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X that she was briefed on the “tragic tour bus accident” and that her office was working with police and local officials.

“There was glass all over the road and people’s stuff all over the road,” Powell Stephens of Medina told The Buffalo News after he drove by the crash. “Windows were all shattered.”

A judge has ordered the Florida Everglades detention center to wind down operations. What happens now?

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By MIKE SCHNEIDER and CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has put a stop to further expansion of the immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” ordering that its operations wind down within two months.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami wrote in her 82-page order late Thursday that Florida officials never sufficiently explained why an immigration detention center needed to be located in the middle of sensitive wetlands cherished by environmentalists and outdoors people.

She also said that state and federal authorities never undertook an environmental review as required by federal law before Florida officials hastily built the detention camp which they championed as a model for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. That failure adversely affected the “recreational, conservational, and aesthetic interests” of the environmental groups and Miccosukee Tribe which brought the lawsuit, she said.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday reacted to the ruling, saying he would not be deterred by “an activist judge.”

“We knew this would be something that would likely happen,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City. “We will respond accordingly. You either have a country or you don’t.”

Here’s what to know about the situation and what might come next:

What did the judge say?

Williams said she expected the population at the facility to drop within 60 days by transferring detainees to other facilities. Once that happens, fencing, lighting, gas, waste, generators and other equipment should be removed from the site. No additional detainees can be sent to the facility, and no more additional lighting, fencing, paving, buildings or tents can be added to the camp. The only repairs that can be made to the existing facility are for safety purposes. However, the judge allowed for the existing dormitories and housing to stay in place as long as they are maintained to prevent deterioration or damage.

A sign marks the entrance to the Baker Correctional Institution, Sanderson, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

Here’s where detainees might end up

During court hearings, lawyers said at one point there were fewer than 1,000 detainees at the facility, which state officials had planned to hold up to 3,000 people. Although the detainees could be sent to other facilities out of state, Florida has other immigration detention centers including the Krome North Processing Center in Miami, the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach and the Baker County Detention Center managed by the local sheriff’s office. Earlier this month, DeSantis announced plans for a second state-initiated immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison about 43 miles west of downtown Jacksonville. State officials say it is expected to hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000 beds.

How does this decision impact the other “Alligator Alcatraz” lawsuit?

Civil rights lawyers had filed a second lawsuit over practices at “Alligator Alcatraz,” claiming that detainees weren’t able to meet with their attorneys privately and were denied access to immigration courts. Another federal judge in Miami dismissed part of the lawsuit earlier this week after the Trump administration designated the Krome North Processing Center as the court for their cases to be heard. The judge moved the remaining counts of the case from Florida’s southern district to the middle district. Eunice Cho, the lead attorney for the detainees, said Friday that the decision in the environmental lawsuit won’t have an impact on the civil rights case since there could be detainees at the facility for the next two months.

“Our case addresses the lack of access to counsel for people detained at Alligator Alcatraz, and there are still people detained there,” Cho said.

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Status of the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts

No one has said publicly what will happen to the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts involved in the facility. DeSantis’ administration in July signed contracts with private vendors to pay at least $245 million to set up and run the center, according to a public database. That amount — to be fronted by Florida taxpayers — was in line with the $450 million a year officials have estimated the facility was going to cost. The governor’s office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Friday didn’t respond to questions about whether Florida taxpayers would still be on the hook for the contracts if the facility is shuttered.

Is this a final decision?

No. This case will continue to be litigated. The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued. As its name suggests, a preliminary injunction is only an initial action taken by a judge to prevent harm while a lawsuit makes its way through the court process and when it appears that one side has a good chance of succeeding based on the merits of the case.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social

Adams’ Official Accused of Taking Bribes to Help Projects Jump the Line, and What Else Happened This Week In Housing

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Manhattan prosecutors accused former Eric Adams aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin of using her influence to benefit landlords with business before the city in exchange for bribes and gifts.

Mayor Eric Adams and former adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin at a City Hall press conference in 2023 ( Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.)

In a wide-ranging indictment Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors accused former Eric Adams aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin of four counts of bribery, including several instances of her using her influence to benefit landlords with business before the city in exchange for bribes and gifts.

In the first count, prosecutors alleged that Lewis-Martin helped property owner Tian Ji Li secure leases with New York City to house asylum seekers, over the objections of a city employee who said a site was “problematic.” Lewis-Martin and her son also allegedly expedited decisions and approvals by the New York Fire Department and Department of Buildings for a karaoke club in Queens. Li paid her son $50,000 for the efforts and threw “lavish” parties for Lewis-Martin. “I want you all to go back to the sites for TJ Li,” Lewis-Martin told Hamilton, according to the indictment. “I need those done…whatever site TJ wants, I need him to get them. Because that’s our f***ing people.”

Lewis-Martin also intervened, the indictment said, on behalf of developer Yechiel Landau to help his Red Hook affordable housing project jump the line at the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD). Lewis-Martin pressured Deputy Mayor for Housing Maria Torres-Springer and HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion, who resisted—but the first part of the project closed in December 2024. “We gotta get that place [HPD] under control, so when we f***ing tell them something, we expect them to make that s*** move,” Lewis-Martin wrote in a text message to Landau. In exchange, Landau paid for and ran renovations at Lewis-Martin’s house and the home of Jesse Hamilton, the former deputy commissioner for real estate services at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Finally, Lewis-Martin intervened to secure permits for a residential renovation for an unnamed co-conspirator in exchange for $10,000 worth of seafood catering for events at Gracie Mansion and City Hall in spring and summer 2024, the indictment alleged.

Prosecutors said that Lewis-Martin and her son received over $75,000 in benefits, $50,000 of which was direct kickbacks of taxpayer money from migrant shelter contracts. Both have pleaded not guilty, according to the New York Times.  

Here’s what else happened this week—

ICYMI, from City Limits:

Incentives for landlords to hold units for CityFHEPS voucher holders will continue, at least temporarily, after a court appearance Thursday where lawyers for the City of New York stated their intention to send the rule change through an official public review process. The city wants to do away with the bonus payments in an effort to rein in CityFHEPS spending, though advocates say it that would make it even harder for people to use their vouchers.

NYCHA is looking to partner with more private developers to create new housing near its campuses.

Homeless New Yorkers are disproportionately vulnerable to increasingly hot weather, says one outreach group looking to provide refuge. “The people we serve are often the ones who feel the impact of these changes most, and they can’t escape it.”

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

Monthly eviction numbers in the city’s housing courts have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to Gothamist.

Tenants at Carnegie House, dubbed “the only remaining affordable building” on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, are facing a 450 percent rent hike, the New York Post reports.

Trump’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will now only offer its materials in English, a move that critics say will make it harder for non-English speakers to access affordable housing and other needed services, according to the New York Times.

Just how many apartments would be subject to a rent freeze if mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani gets his wish? City & State breaks down the numbers on the city’s stabilized and non-stabilized housing stock.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

The post Adams’ Official Accused of Taking Bribes to Help Projects Jump the Line, and What Else Happened This Week In Housing appeared first on City Limits.

Pop Mart rolling out mini Labubus and a long-fur version of the popular plush toy

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By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press

China’s Pop Mart says it is rolling out a mini version of its popular Labubu plush toys this month, along with a new long-fur version of the toothy little monster.

The Labubu, by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung, first appeared with pointed ears and pointy teeth, in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in 2015.

In 2019 Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart, a company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers, to sell Labubu figurines. But it wasn’t until Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings in 2023 that the toothy monsters suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

This image provided by Pop Mart shows Pop Mart’s Labubu Rock The Universe (Pop Mart via AP)

Pop Mart said Friday that the mini-sized Labubu vinyl plush pendant, which is part of The Monsters Pin For Love series, will be available in various colors corresponding to letters of the alphabet. They will cost $22.99 each.

The series also includes 30 letter pendant blind boxes, each with a unique pattern and Monsters charm. They will be priced at $18.99 a piece.

In addition, Pop Mart is launching the Rock the Universe vinyl plush doll, which is part of The Monsters Big Into Energy Series. The plush, which will have a pearl-and-alloy heart necklace, will be the first of the Monsters to have long fur and uses a specialized dyeing technique that ensures no two figures are exactly alike. The dolls will cost $114.99 each.

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All of the new products will be available starting Aug. 29 on Pop Mart’s website either for in-store pickup or shipping. They will also be available on the company’s app and its official TikTok accounts.

Labubu has been a bonanza for Pop Mart. Its revenue more than doubled in 2024 to 13.04 billion yuan ($1.81 billion), thanks in part to its elvish monster. Revenue from Pop Mart’s plush toys soared more than 1,200% in 2024, nearly 22% of its overall revenue, according to the company’s annual report.

Earlier this week Pop Mart reported that its profit attributable to shareholders skyrocketed almost 400% for the first six months of the year. Revenue jumped more than 200% to 13.88 billion yuan ($1.93 billion). Revenue for the Asia Pacific region surged more than 250%, while revenue for the Americas soared more than 1,000%.