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The first confirmed mid-air collision involving a U.S. drone. Helicopter pilots flying over cities have to be extra cautious, as the pilot of this UH-60 (photographed over New York in 2014) undoubtedly was. (Maine Army National Guard) History was made and prophecies fulfilled last week when a quadcopter collided with a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter over Staten Island in New York. According to the FAA, the event represents the first confirmed inflight collision between a drone and a piloted aircraft in the United States, although there have been other unconfirmed reports. The Black Hawk, which carried a crew of four,...

A new era for the Port of New York and New Jersey started this morning with the arrival of the largest ship to ever stop over on the East Coast.  The CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt sailed under the newly-elevated Bayonne Bridge today on its maiden voyage to the United States, as locals gathered at Dennis P. Collins Park to watch the massive ship's arrive. Four times larger than the Statue of Liberty and the length of five football fields, the Theodore Roosevelt can carry more than 14,400 20-foot equivalent units (TEU). Owned by French shipping group CMA CGM, the ship made its...

Indian doctors said Thursday that an Egyptian who is believed to be the world's heaviest woman had successfully undergone weight-loss surgery after losing over 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty, who previously weighed around 500 kilos, had not left her house in Egypt in over two decades until arriving in Mumbai last month for bariatric surgery. "We are happy to inform all well-wishers that the medical team of Saifee Hospital has successfully performed the surgery on Eman Ahmed," said a statement.

<p>NEW YORK – Two New York residents accused of conspiring to support ISIS and plotting to set off a pressure-cooker bomb in the city have pleaded guilty to all charges against them, federal prosecutors and New York City officials said.</p>

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis runs for mayor again, he has the wholehearted support of former Congressman Vito Fossella, who spoke about the Greek-American self-made man on Joe Piscopo's radio show on AM970 Tuesday morning. Asked whether he'd support Catsimatidis, who hosts the station's "Cats Roundtable" on Sunday mornings, Fossella said, "In a heartbeat. John is an American success story. He loves this country and never forgot where he came from. Works like I've never seen anybody work before and truly loves people, loves this city, loves this country and deserves to be elected to whatever...

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Those safe Staten Island streets of ours are feeling less safe by the day. And the crime is hitting us right where we live and shop. Here's the latest example: A string of minivan break-ins in North Shore neighborhoods like West Brighton and Grymes Hill. The method is simple and shocking: There are vans where the rear windows can be forced open without breaking them. The crook then slithers through and takes whatever money or valuables can be found. You have to be pretty thin to get it done, but it's all too possible.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - When Staten Island's seat in Congress becomes vacant, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis will be the first to jump at it. Passed over last year in favor of then-District Attorney Daniel Donovan as the GOP candidate in a special election, Malliotakis is just as eager now to run for the House of Representatives, she indicated in a recent interview. The May 2015 special election saw Donovan elected to fill the remainder of Michael Grimm's term -- he had resigned in disgrace after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

New York City's red state finally got its revenge. Staten Island voters overwhelmingly backed Donald Trump on Tuesday, bucking not only Hillary Clinton, but the other four Democrat-heavy boroughs. "Of course it's vindication," said retired NYPD detective John Sellenthin as he gladly posed next to the "Trump/Pence" sign in front of his cozy Castleton Corners home. "The media, the Establishment, the liberals all wanted Hillary Clinton. And I said, 'Of course I'm doing the opposite!'" This victory was particularly sweet because the professionals on the other side of the Harbor were so sure it wasn't going to happen. But the...

The ‘T’ for Trump has been on the Staten Island lawn since May. Homeowner Sam Pirozzolo had it custom made to show his support, but just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning, while the family was sleeping their T was up in flames. “I jump out of bed, I come down here, and I come downstairs, and I can see this big orange glow,” Pirozzolo said. The fire marshal was investigating damage, Sunday evening and had not yet determined the cause. Ground lights typically shine on the sign, but Pirozzolo said last night they were out. He believes someone was attacking...

A group of anti-cop dissenters burned an American flag outside a Staten Island police station house in protest of the NYPD’s investigation into the death of a black teenage boy who police said suffered a fatal asthma attack after a gang-related street fight last month, video shows. In a video posted to YouTube, demonstrators can be seen gathered outside of the 121st Precinct station house for the staged flag burning on Saturday. “We light fire for the ancestors who have gone before us who were lynched,” a woman can be hearing saying in the video as another person attempts to...

The city wants to spend big so there's no bang for Staten Island's bucks. Comptroller Scott Stringer is allowing the city to fast-track the contracting process on a $2 million plan to perform vasectomies on the borough's male deer. [Snip] An unrestrained and expanding deer herd can harm parks and private property, spread tick-borne illness and wander into roads more often, increasing the risk for deadly vehicle collisions. [Snip] If the city's plan works ... hundreds of bucks would be tranquilized, captured, given vasectomies and released back onto Staten Island parkland over the course of the three-year study. Mayor Bill...

Last Sunday, Krystal Lake, a 22-year-old Home Depot employee on Staten Island, was photographed wearing a hat that says, “America Was Never Great.” It's in the same font and style of Trump's campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again." Of course, death threats and hate mail targeting her have come pouring in — which, if you think about it, lends itself to her feeling like she was right to wear the hat in the first place. About two months ago, I wrote a column about the word "again" in Trump's slogan. I think it's a racist dog whistle and it...

Sadly, Ms. Lake is unaware of our proud history and what needs to be done to restore our country’s greatness. She does not appreciate our many freedoms and American exceptionalism It is sad that so many of our young people today are clueless about our country’s distinguished history. In a troubling story this week that generated national headlines, a 22-year-old Home Depot employee, Krystal Lake, of Staten Island, New York, was pictured at work wearing a hat that read, “America Was Never Great.” The disturbing image sparked an explosion of online comments from across the nation with people expressing both...

Donald Trump's Staten Island supporters were confident the brash businessman would win in the borough, but even his most staunch allies were pleasantly surprised that the GOP front-runner on Tuesday took the Island with 82 percent of the vote, setting a record for the highest margin of victory for the candidate so far in the national race. (SNIP) On Staten Island, he got 73 percent in the North Shore's 61st Assembly district represented by Assemblyman Matthew Titone; 85 percent in the South Shore's 62nd district, that Ron Castorina Jr. was just elected to; 80 percent in the mid-Island's 63rd district...

Early returns from the New York primary have revealed the existence of a small island — just off the coast of Manhattan — that's populated entirely by fans of Donald Trump.

When Maria Andrews’ mother came home with a load of heavy groceries and found a broken elevator at the modest brick Tysens Park Apartments on Staten Island, she wasn’t expecting to get much help from building management. But then she saw Fred Trump pull up in an elegant black limousine. She put down her groceries and rapped on the limo’s tinted window to complain to the real estate royal who owned her building. To her surprise, the elder Trump came out and helped her carry her groceries up five flights of stairs, Andrews says today — and he stayed for...

The Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in Tompkinsville was among several sites under surveillance in that neighborhood by the NYPD, based on a secret department report obtained by The Associated Press. (See full report below.) A tower and crescent moon are silhouetted by the sun at the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in Tompkinsville. The NYPD targeted the Tompkinsville neighborhood within the 120th Precinct because it had seen a "high influx" of Albanian immigrants from Montenegro, Kosovo and a "small percentage" from Albania. The secret NYPD report said that "Albanian businesses" were concentrated along Victory Boulevard and included hangouts such as social...

A New York lawmaker has proposed a bill that would ban iPhones from being sold in the state, unless Apple provides special "back doors" that would allow law enforcement to spy on users. That's a double dose of the Nanny State: setting rules for what can be bought and sold, while giving the government an easier way to spy on residents' everyday activities. The bill is sponsored by State Assemblyman Matthew Titone, D-Staten Island, and it would mandate that iPhones and other cell phones sold in New York be "capable of being decrypted and unlocked." The bill has support, perhaps...

President Obama discussed initiatives he's put in place to change the tense dynamic between "many communities of color" and the police on the one year anniversary of teenager Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Mo. "I convened a task force on community policing to find commonsense steps that can help us drive down crime and build up trust and cooperation between communities and police, who put their lives on the line every single day to help keep us safe. And I've met personally with rank and file officers to hear their ideas," said Obama in his weekly address. Obama said that...

The NYPD has identified a group of suspicious people who were spotted Friday morning on Staten Island with rifles in their hands, NYPD officials told JP. The group four men and two women, with hijabs, were spotted early Friday morning by a retired NYPD officer in the Midland Beach parking lot with rifles in their hands, in two cars with NJ licence plates. Police were initially trying to determine whether the group were preparing an imminent terror attack, or linked to recent paintball attackers who shot several people last week with paintball guns, police said. The description of the group...