Contractor, landlord at site of deadly Brooklyn building collapse cited for numerous violations

NEW YORK — A contractor involved in construction at the site of the deadly Brooklyn collapse had been cited by New York City for problems related to demolition at the Bedford Avenue location, including violating a stop-work order aimed at halting problematic work, city records reviewed by the Daily News show.

The records reviewed by the Daily News also show the man behind the ownership of the collapsed building, Olufemi Falade, was once imprisoned for ignoring housing violations at his properties.

That building,1321 Flatbush Ave., which was adjacent to the construction site, had 98 open violations, including defective doors, unsafe electrical wiring, leaking ceilings, defective fire retardant material, and missing or malfunctioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. The death toll in the tragedy now stands at eight, including an immigrant construction worker with a pregnant wife.

—New York Daily News

Stephen Miller expected to push hard-line Trump agenda. Will courts stand in the way?

Stephen Miller was already one of the most powerful people in Washington when he stepped in to replace Susie Wiles as President Trump's chief of staff on Monday, a position that expands his extraordinary influence over the hard-charging executive.

But whether the bellicose former Santa Monica High School Viking can make good on his muscular threats as Trump's new right-hand man remains an open question — one the courts have begun to answer, even as pundits disagree.

"The single biggest takeaway of this whole announcement is what it symbolizes and the message it sends to Democrats," said Josh Hammer, senior counsel for the Article III Project, a conservative advocacy organization that promises to "bring brass knuckles to fight leftist lawfare."

Miller has long sought to jail journalists, undermine the authority of judges, surge armed soldiers into American streets and suspend the writ of habeas corpus, a legal process that allows immigrants to challenge their detention.

—Los Angeles Times

NC State chancellor reacts to hazing at Sigma Nu fraternity: ‘It’s deplorable’

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State University leaders gathered Thursday for Board of Trustees committee meetings — their first since police search warrants revealed evidence of horrific hazing at the school’s Sigma Nu fraternity.

Fraternity brothers, according to search warrants, were being forced to eat one another’s vomit, put together puzzles in the pitch dark, interact with sex workers, huff nitrous oxide, snort cocaine and more.

NC State’s Sigma Nu chapter has been suspended by its national fraternity, and the on-campus frat house currently sits empty. A criminal investigation is underway, and fraternity brothers could face charges for the conduct that took place within, The N&O previously reported. The university’s oldest fraternity can’t return to campus for at least four years.

Chancellor Kevin Howell told The News & Observer that he finds the details in the search warrants “deplorable.” He said that the school does not tolerate hazing, and that ensuring student safety is of the utmost importance to him.

—The News & Observer

In Peru, Pope Leo condemns ‘macho mentality,' calls for women's rights

LIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV urged his followers on Thursday to abandon the “macho mentality” and give women a greater role in public life. In a speech to tens of thousands of people in Lima, Leo attacked machismo, which is prevalent in many South American countries and elsewhere, and called for equal rights for women.

"Their contribution in all areas of society and the Church is indispensable," he said, adding that "in marriage and family life, both partners must have equal rights." At the same time, the head of the Catholic Church condemned all forms of violence against women.

Leo is on a six-day visit to Peru as part of a 12-day trip that included Uruguay and Argentina.

The U.S.-born Pope, who also has Peruvian citizenship, served in Peru as a missionary and bishop for two decades before moving to Rome. In Lima, he was once again celebrated. The Vatican said three million people lined the streets of the capital upon his arrival on Wednesday evening.

—dpa