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oments before President Xi Jinping climbed down the steps of his aircraft to be greeted by Donald Trump, US marines were filmed on their hands and knees smoothing out the red carpet, Chinese officials looking down from the top of the steps. It was an uncomfortable image, ridiculed on social media for the symbolism of kowtowing to the emperor. But it set the tone for a summit which so far has been heavy on pomp and ceremony, rich in platitudes, but with very little in the way of substance. A strong diplomatic case can be made for political fawning –...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and first lady Rama Duwaji have been invited to the Met Gala — but won’t be attending, sources tell Page Six. New York City’s mayor is traditionally invited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the lavish event every year, but we’re told that Mamdani, 34, won’t be joining Condé Nast’s Anna Wintour and her coterie of celeb guests on Monday, May 4. “He’s not coming,” said a source. “And it would be foolish if he did … can you imagine? It goes against everything he believes in.” Indeed, the event is being financially subsidized by Amazon...

Some celebrities donned anti-ICE pins at the Golden Globes on Sunday in tribute to Renee Good, who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer this week in Minneapolis. The black-and-white pins displayed slogans like “BE GOOD” and “ICE OUT,” introducing a political angle into the awards show after last year’s relatively apolitical ceremony. Mark Ruffalo wore one such pin on the red carpet, and other celebrities were expected to have them on display as well.

The gory discovery was made by a passerby who noticed two feet sticking out of the carpet on the sidewalk outside of the chain coffee joint at the corner of West 145th Street and Bradhurst Avenue just before 6 a.m., cops said. The witness quickly called the police who found the unconscious and unresponsive man with signs of head trauma wrapped in a cardboard box inside of the carpet, authorities said. Medics responded and the man – whose identity was not immediately known – was pronounced dead at the scene. “We’re treating it at this point as a homicide,” ......

CINCINNATI (NNS) -- The Cincinnati Reds honored the service of past, present and future Sailors before the start of their major league baseball game against the New York Mets, ending Cincinnati’s first-ever Navy Week in grand fashion Sept. 3. The pre-game festivities included a crowd-pleasing performance by Navy Band Great Lakes rock band “Horizon,” a parachute demonstration by the Navy Leap Frogs, an on-field enlistment of Delayed Entry Program Recruits (DEPers), the 25th reunion of the Reds-sponsored Navy Boot Camp Hall of Fame Company 233, an on-field presentation of a Bronze Star Medal, and finally the ceremonial first pitch thrown...

/13/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Day and night they arrive -- four-star generals, ambassadors. congressional leaders and even Vice President Dick Cheney. Whether they stop for a formal visit or are here en route to another location, a two-person protocol team is there to greet them with a salute and a smile. “We are the first people (distinguished visitors) see when they get off of the plane here,” said Capt. Edgar Lopez, 447th Air Expeditionary Group protocol chief. “We have to present a crisp military image, because that is often what they base their impression of their...

America welcomed a Vietnamese communist leader for the first time yesterday at the start of a visit to seal an unparalleled series of military and intelligence deals between the former enemies.Prime minister Phan Van Khai, once an official in the administration of the Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, will get the red carpet treatment throughout his visit. Arriving at the head of a 200-strong delegation, the 72-year-old Vietnamese leader will sign a series of deals underlining the extraordinary turnaround in relations. Vietnam will agree to despatch officers for training in the United States, to swap intelligence information and to...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled out the red carpet Tuesday night for some of his old Hollywood friends. The actor-turned-governor hosted a special screening of the upcoming movie, "Be Cool," a sequel to the 1995 film "Get Shorty."