News Sparks: Mayor Defends Virtual Press Conferences, While Encouraging City to go In-Person

Mayor Defends Virtual Press Conferences, While Encouraging City to go In-Person

Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his virtual press conferences, held daily online, after he was asked by reporters how he can continue the virtual events while encouraging the rest of the city to return to in-person business-as-usual.

The mayor defended his virtual online press conferences as a way to include voices “from all over the city, all over the nation, and allow journalists to participate where they are.”

New Jersey’s Republican Candidate for Governor Refuses to Concede While Votes are Counted

Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who ran against New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is refusing to concede the election, despite trailing the incumbent Murphy by about 65,000 votes, a week after the election.

While Ciattarelli’s campaign warned his Republican supporters against “falling victim to wild conspiracy theories or online rumors,” the campaign said it is waiting for all the mail-in ballots to be counted before deciding whether they will request a recount, which may be possible if he is within 1% of Murphy’s final tally. 

Ten More People Subpoenaed by House January 6 Committee

The House’s January 6 committee subpoenaed 10 more people who were close to former President Trump, including Kayleigh McEnany, who served as White House press secretary during that time, and Stephen Miller, who was a senior advisor to Trump.

The House panel “wants to learn every detail of what went on in the White House on January 6th and in the days beforehand," The chairman of the select committee, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said. 

"We need to know precisely what role the former president and his aides played in efforts to stop the counting of the electoral votes and whether they were in touch with anyone outside the White House attempting to overturn the outcome of the election," Thompson said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Vaccine Mandates Persuade New Yorkers who are not Subject to the Mandates To Get Shots

As the city’s workers continue to get their shots, more than one week after the mandate that forced them to choose between continuing to refuse vaccination and their paychecks, the city has seen New Yorkers in general population who were “vaccine-reluctant” to also step up to get their shots: adding to the citywide vaccination rate of 87%.

“I think the mandates are making a difference and not just for people who are subject to the mandates,” Mitch Katz, MD, the CEO of Health + Hospitals said this morning. “All of a sudden, a group of people who were unsure, who were reluctant, who didn't know whether they wanted to get vaccinated, who were worried about vaccination, got vaccinated. 

“And I think that owes something to their social networks, to their friends, and their families.”

“I really believe that with all of our success, you're going to see those numbers in the reluctant areas really grow.”

photo credit : Wikipedia