Local stories are local stories. This was a local story that was given a blurb in the Associated Press but ignored by the Mainstream Media in the United States. The Daily News is one of the largest newspapers in the world in circulation and readership. They picked up the story, but I didn't notice it in the LA Times, The NYT, The Chicago Tribune, The San Diego Union Tribune, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and all the other large media outlets that are based in the US.
It was picked up and covered in detail only in the local paper and the Daily News.