Good morning. The FBI raided the home of Governor Kathy Hochul’s former aide Linda Sun on Tuesday. No motive for the raid has been publicly released, but Special Agent Jason Pack said the search was “court-authorized.”
Sun worked under Hochul as deputy chief of staff in 2021 but left that position in 2022. After over a decade in state government, she left to manage the campaign of Austin Cheng, a Democrat who ran for Congress in New York's third district. She bought her $3.55 million Manhasset mansion in 2021. No one has been arrested, nor has Sun been accused of wrongdoing.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we’re hearing:
Mosquitos in Canterbury, Connecticut, are infected with the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus. This is the first instance of mosquitoes infected with the virus in the state so far this year. According to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the virus rarely infects humans, but it has a 40% mortality rate and can cause significant brain damage to survivors. Station Chief Scientist Dr. Philip Armstrong suggested residents wear mosquito repellent and cover their skin to lower the risk of being bitten.
Long Island’s unemployment rate continues to increase this summer. According to the Department of Labor, June unemployment rates for both Nassau and Suffolk counties were 3.3%. This is a 2% increase from June 2023’s unemployment rate, but a 0.1% decrease from May 2024’s unemployment rate. Despite the statistics, Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said residents shouldn’t be alarmed because unemployment rates are often volatile.
A Riverhead man was sentenced to 25 years in prison at a Central Islip federal court on Tuesday. In 2021, Marquis Douglas sold fentanyl-laced cocaine to four people, all of whom died from the drug later that day. Douglas was arrested in 2022 and had fentanyl and cocaine on his person. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said the sentencing should be a deterrent for those who distribute lethal drugs.
New York’s state Supreme Court has upheld installing a Verizon cell tower in Woodbridge. Verizon plans to build a 100-foot cell tower on a six-acre property, zoned for residential use, on Newton Road. The town’s environmental trust filed an appeal against the tower because it owns a residence along the road. The trust filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision.
