Latest news with #Metellus
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vikings Star Gets Honest About Missing Practice Amid Contract Dispute
Vikings Star Gets Honest About Missing Practice Amid Contract Dispute originally appeared on Athlon Sports. It was out of character for Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus to be missing from the practice field for voluntary OTAs a week ago. Advertisement However, a trend has continued for the Vikings team captain and emotional leader of the team, who sat out 7-on-7s during mandatory minicamps on Tuesday. The assumption: Metellus, in the final year of his contract, is looking for a new deal. After practice on Wednesday, June 11, Metellus addressed his absence from team activities. Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) is a limited participant at mandatory minicamps amid a contract negotiation with the team.© Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports "It's all good, that's part of the process right now. I mean, the coaches, front office, everybody understands, you know, situation I'm here," Metellus told KSTP's Darren Wolfson on June 11. "I'm building that chemistry with my new teammates and the old teammates, and I'm here being the same guy I am all the time. So you guys know me. It ain't nothing change.' Two summers ago, the Vikings proactively signed Metellus to a two-year, $8 million extension with the hopes that he would seize a prominent role in the first year under Brian Flores. Advertisement He did that, and then some. After starting just three games in three years as a 2020 sixth-round pick, Metellus has started 27 games and surpassed 1,000 defensive snaps each of the past two seasons since Flores arrived. Metellus has become an integral part of the Flores' amoebic defense that lines versatile players all over the field. Metellus is arguably the defense's most versatile player, capable of lining up at over a dozen positions as both a cover man and a pass rusher. That's made his contract negotiations tricky when considering what he is worth to the team. Metellus said that despite all the versatility, he values himself as a safety and merely learned all those roles to have an impact behind Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, who signed with a $15-million-a-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts in March. Advertisement "I kind of had to, we had a Hall of Famer and a guy getting paid $15 million back there," Metellus said of his learning his hybrid role. "I had to find a way to fit in." Metellus should garner a contract in the ballpark of Bynum's deal in Indianapolis, which ranks 10th in average annual value at the position. "At the end of the day, I came in this league at safety, that's forever going to be my true position," Metellus added. "All the other stuff, I think, adds to my value. But at the end of the day, I'm a ball player -- 1,000 snaps at whatever position, I'm going to do everything to help the team win.' Related: Randy Moss' Son Reacts After Going Unsigned at Vikings Tryout Related: Packers Predicted to Replace Jaire Alexander With Ex-Viking, Former All-Pro This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
American Military News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Rubio's plan to designate Haiti's gangs as terrorists could deepen humanitarian crisis
In the areas of Haiti controlled by gangs, nothing moves without their getting a cut: not food, not fuel, not even humanitarian aid. Their extortion racket is so extensive that the country's finance minister, Alfred Metellus, estimates that gangs, which charge $2,000 to allow passage for a shipping container, are pulling as much as $75 million a year from the ransoms they charge to allow goods transiting through the Dominican Republic to arrive at their destinations. Metellus made the comments in an interview this week with Haiti's Le Nouvelliste newspaper. That reality is prompting concerns that a plan by the U.S. State Department to designate the country's gangs as foreign terrorist organizations could exacerbate suffering at a time when more than five million Haitians are struggling to find food and nearly 250,000 of the one million Haitians who are internally displaced reside in makeshift encampments, some with no latrines and dirt floors. 'The reality is that almost no commercial or humanitarian activity takes place in or near Port-au-Prince without some level of negotiation or payment to gangs. Even the U.S. ambassador acknowledged speaking with gangs,' said Jake Johnston, an analyst on Haiti with the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of 'Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti.' 'The effect of this policy is likely to be the further isolation of Haiti, a de facto embargo that harms those most impoverished and does little to alter the power of the gangs,' he added. Johnston's concerns were echoed Wednesday by two Democratic lawmakers following a briefing by the State Department to members of Congress about the planned designation, which was first reported by the Miami Herald earlier this month. The designation, already imposed on several Latin American criminal groups by the Trump administration, relies on the use of the centuries' old Alien Enemies Act. The designation would allow the U.S. government to target Haiti's powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, now in control of up to 90% of metropolitan Port-au-Prince, and the Gran Grif gang operating in parts of the rural Artibonite region. Under the plan, gang members and their enablers would face criminal sanctions, including possible imprisonment in El Salvador's maximum-security prison, a senior administration official told the Herald at the time. While the plan has support among some groups in Haiti, it is prompting concerns that aid groups and others in Haiti will face the impossible choice of trying to help at the risk of being labeled terrorists or letting the population suffer further. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, the only Haitian-American member of Congress and current co-chair of the House Haiti caucus, expressed 'grave concern' about the designation. The lawmakers fear it will unintentionally exacerbate the suffering of Haitians and help gangs consolidate control. They are demanding answers from Rubio on the administration's rationale for the designation. 'While we support efforts to target the financial support of violent gangs wreaking havoc on innocent Haitians, we are concerned that an FTO designation, absent a clear, comprehensive U.S. strategy to defeat the gangs and their enablers, is counterproductive and will only exacerbate Haitians' suffering,' the lawmakers said. Meeks and Cherfilus-McCormic noted that the State Department has already made cuts to health services and humanitarian aid while diseases like scabies and cholera are on the rise in Haiti. If aid delivery across Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region is undermined, Haitians will be further punished, they argued. A foreign-terrorist organization 'designation imposes broad legal and financial sanctions that deter non-governmental organizations and international agencies from operating due to fear of legal exposure — even when their work is purely humanitarian in nature,' the lawmakers wrote. The representatives are not alone in their concerns about the possible chilling effect the designation would have on the delivery of aid in Haiti, where non-governmental organizations, community groups and others employ various techniques — including making donations to gangs — in order to get humanitarian assistance to those living under the control of the armed groups. Many do so through 'foundations' that several gangs have set up to serve as fronts for aid delivery. The issue, however, is so sensitive that aid groups refuse to speak about it, even privately. They are also reluctant to discuss the planned designation but also note they are concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis. 'We do not take a position on any State's use of such designations and refrain from communicating publicly on them,' said a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates in Haiti. 'However, the ICRC will always call to all concerned to make all necessary efforts to prevent further humanitarian consequences on the ground, to facilitate humanitarian action and to preserve the required humanitarian space — particularly, regarding Haiti, we call for all concerned to protect the population and prevent a humanitarian collapse in the country.' In a new report published on Wednesday, the United Nations noted that the human rights situation during the first quarter of this year was marked by mass attacks, including killings, kidnappings and sexual violence. At least 1,617 people were killed and 580 were injured in violence involving armed gangs, self-defense groups and members of the population, between January and March, the report said. At the same time, 161 kidnappings for ransom were documented, 63% of them in the Artibonite region, where two Kenyan police officers were also killed this year. Along with the intensification of the violence has also come a shift in which armed groups today rely less on kidnappings and more on their extortion rackets. This has allowed them 'to further insert themselves within local economies and making it more difficult to dismantle them,' the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a Switzerland-based group, said in its latest report examining the recent push by Haiti's gangs to expand their territorial control. The gangs impose taxes on all activities, within the territories they control as well as on the country's main roads, as well as around port or border infrastructures, the report said. That has raised questions about how the U.S. intends to arrest gang leaders when they have no troops in country, the future of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission remains uncertain and even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office isn't active. 'Some U.S. officials see the FTO designation as a way to escalate pressure and increase the risk for individuals who support gangs. In theory, it could also make it easier to go after individuals or networks involved in arms trafficking,' said Diego Da Rien, a Haiti specialist with the International Crisis Group, which closely monitors the security crisis. 'But the negatives of an FTO designation often outweigh the positives.' Da Rien, said the designation 'is a heavily politicized tool that's rarely reversible and has limited coercive effect on actors already outside the law. If the goal is ever to bring gangs into a legal framework, the FTO label makes that far more difficult.' Haiti's gang problem, which includes the recruitment of children, is unlikely to be solved through force alone, he said, and at some point will likely require 'a demobilization process, including exit ramps for minors, something an FTO designation' would make difficult. 'FTO designations would also disrupt local violence-reduction efforts, humanitarian aid operations, and even trade, particularly since most access and commerce involves negotiation' with gangs, Da Rien added. 'Businesses and aid groups in these kinds of situations often over-comply, cutting off operations entirely even if enforcement is limited, due to the severe civil and criminal penalties attached to FTOs,' he said. Since he took office, President Donald Trump has invoked the war-time Alien Enemies Act to go after noncitizens, and has designated six criminal groups from Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations. But both the designation and his broad use of executive authority have come under attack, as Venezuelan nationals targeted as members of the Tren de Aragua gang have no criminal records. That worries both Da Rien and Johnston, who fear the designation could be used to justify deportations of Haitians or visa denials. 'This seems more about domestic politics and giving the administration a justification to deport upwards of hundreds of thousands of Haitians than about addressing the dire security situation inside Haiti,' Johnston said. ___ © 2025 Miami Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rubio's plan to designate Haiti's gangs as terrorists could deepen humanitarian crisis
In the areas of Haiti controlled by gangs, nothing moves without their getting a cut: not food, not fuel, not even humanitarian aid. Their extortion racket is so extensive that the country's finance minister, Alfred Metellus, estimates that gangs, which charge $2,000 to allow passage for a shipping container, are pulling as much as $75 million a year from the ransoms they charge to allow goods transiting through the Dominican Republic to arrive at their destinations. Metellus made the comments in an interview this week with Haiti's Le Nouvelliste newspaper. That reality is prompting concerns that a plan by the U.S. State Department to designate the country's gangs as foreign terrorist organizations could exacerbate suffering at a time when more than five million Haitians are struggling to find food and nearly 250,000 of the one million Haitians who are internally displaced reside in makeshift encampments, some with no latrines and dirt floors.. 'The reality is that almost no commercial or humanitarian activity takes place in or near Port-au-Prince without some level of negotiation or payment to gangs. Even the U.S. ambassador acknowledged speaking with gangs,' said Jake Johnston, an analyst on Haiti with the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of 'Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti.' 'The effect of this policy is likely to be the further isolation of Haiti, a de facto embargo that harms those most impoverished and does little to alter the power of the gangs,' he added. Johnston's concerns were echoed Wednesday by two Democratic lawmakers following a briefing by the State Department to members of Congress about the planned designation, which was first reported by the Miami Herald earlier this month. The designation, already imposed on several Latin American criminal groups by the Trump administration, relies on the use of the centuries' old Alien Enemies Act. The designation would allow the U.S. government to target Haiti's powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, now in control of up to 90% of metropolitan Port-au-Prince, and the Gran Grif gang operating in parts of the rural Artibonite region. Under the plan, gang members and their enablers would face criminal sanctions, including possible imprisonment in El Salvador's maximum-security prison, a senior administration official told the Herald at the time. While the plan has support among some groups in Haiti, it is prompting concerns that aid groups and others in Haiti will face the impossible choice of trying to help at the risk of being labeled terrorists or letting the population suffer further. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, the only Haitian-American member of Congress and current co-chair of the House Haiti caucus, expressed 'grave concern' about the designation. The lawmakers fear it will unintentionally exacerbate the suffering of Haitians and help gangs consolidate control. They are demanding answers from Rubio on the administration's rationale for the designation. 'While we support efforts to target the financial support of violent gangs wreaking havoc on innocent Haitians, we are concerned that an FTO designation, absent a clear, comprehensive U.S. strategy to defeat the gangs and their enablers, is counterproductive and will only exacerbate Haitians' suffering,' the lawmakers said. Meeks and Cherfilus-McCormic noted that the State Department has already made cuts to health services and humanitarian aid while diseases like scabies and cholera are on the rise in Haiti. If aid delivery across Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region is undermined, Haitians will be further punished, they argued. A foreign-terrorist organization 'designation imposes broad legal and financial sanctions that deter non-governmental organizations and international agencies from operating due to fear of legal exposure—even when their work is purely humanitarian in nature,' the lawmakers wrote. The representatives are not alone in their concerns about the possible chilling effect the designation would have on the delivery of aid in Haiti, where non-governmental organizations, community groups and others employ various techniques — including making donations to gangs — in order to get humanitarian assistance to those living under the control of the armed groups. Many do so through 'foundations' that several gangs have set up to serve as fronts for aid delivery. The issue, however, is so sensitive that aid groups refuse to speak about it, even privately. They are also reluctant to discuss the planned designation but also note they are concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis. 'We do not take a position on any State's use of such designations and refrain from communicating publicly on them,' said a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates in Haiti. 'However, the ICRC will always call to all concerned to make all necessary efforts to prevent further humanitarian consequences on the ground, to facilitate humanitarian action and to preserve the required humanitarian space—particularly, regarding Haiti, we call for all concerned to protect the population and prevent a humanitarian collapse in the country.' In a new report published on Wednesday, the United Nations noted that the human rights situation during the first quarter of this year was marked by mass attacks, including killings, kidnappings and sexual violence. At least 1,617 people were killed and 580 were injured in violence involving armed gangs, self-defense groups and members of the population, between January and March, the report said. At the same time, 161 kidnappings for ransom were documented, 63% of them in the Artibonite region, where two Kenyan police officers were also killed this year. Along with the intensification of the violence has also come a shift in which armed groups today rely less on kidnappings and more on their extortion rackets. This has allowed them 'to further insert themselves within local economies and making it more difficult to dismantle them,' the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a Switzerland-based group, said in its latest report examining the recent push by Haiti's gangs to expand their territorial control. The gangs impose taxes on all activities, within the territories they control as well as on the country's main roads, as well as around port or border infrastructures, the report said. That has raised questions about how the U.S. intends to arrest gang leaders when they have no troops in country, the future of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission remains uncertain and even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office isn't active. 'Some U.S. officials see the FTO designation as a way to escalate pressure and increase the risk for individuals who support gangs. In theory, it could also make it easier to go after individuals or networks involved in arms trafficking,' said Diego Da Rien, a Haiti specialist with the International Crisis Group, which closely monitors the security crisis. 'But the negatives of an FTO designation often outweigh the positives.' Da Rien, said the designation 'is a heavily politicized tool that's rarely reversible and has limited coercive effect on actors already outside the law. If the goal is ever to bring gangs into a legal framework, the FTO label makes that far more difficult.' Haiti's gang problem, which includes the recruitment of children, is unlikely to be solved through force alone, he said, and at some point will likely require 'a demobilization process, including exit ramps for minors, something an FTO designation' would make difficult. 'FTO designations would also disrupt local violence-reduction efforts, humanitarian aid operations, and even trade, particularly since most access and commerce involves negotiation' with gangs, Da Rien added. 'Businesses and aid groups in these kinds of situations often over-comply, cutting off operations entirely even if enforcement is limited, due to the severe civil and criminal penalties attached to FTOs,' he said. Since he took office, President Donald Trump has invoked the war-time Alien Enemies Act to go after noncitizens, and has designated six criminal groups from Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations. But both the designation and his broad use of executive authority have come under attack, as Venezuelan nationals targeted as members of the Tren de Aragua gang have no criminal records. That worries both Da Rien and Johnston, who fear the designation could be used to justify deportations of Haitians or visa denials. 'This seems more about domestic politics and giving the administration a justification to deport upwards of hundreds of thousands of Haitians than about addressing the dire security situation inside Haiti,' Johnston said.
Miami Herald
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Rubio's plan to designate Haiti's gangs as terrorists could deepen humanitarian crisis
In the areas of Haiti controlled by gangs, nothing moves without their getting a cut: not food, not fuel, not even humanitarian aid. Their extortion racket is so extensive that the country's finance minister, Alfred Metellus, estimates that gangs, which charge $2,000 to allow passage for a shipping container, are pulling as much as $75 million a year from the ransoms they charge to allow goods transiting through the Dominican Republic to arrive at their destinations. Metellus made the comments in an interview this week with Haiti's Le Nouvelliste newspaper. That reality is prompting concerns that a plan by the U.S. State Department to designate the country's gangs as foreign terrorist organizations could exacerbate suffering at a time when more than five million Haitians are struggling to find food and nearly 250,000 of the one million Haitians who are internally displaced reside in makeshift encampments, some with no latrines and dirt floors.. 'The reality is that almost no commercial or humanitarian activity takes place in or near Port-au-Prince without some level of negotiation or payment to gangs. Even the U.S. ambassador acknowledged speaking with gangs,' said Jake Johnston, an analyst on Haiti with the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of 'Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti.' 'The effect of this policy is likely to be the further isolation of Haiti, a de facto embargo that harms those most impoverished and does little to alter the power of the gangs,' he added. Johnston's concerns were echoed Wednesday by two Democratic lawmakers following a briefing by the State Department to members of Congress about the planned designation, which was first reported by the Miami Herald earlier this month. The designation, already imposed on several Latin American criminal groups by the Trump administration, relies on the use of the centuries' old Alien Enemies Act. The designation would the U.S. government to target Haiti's powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, now in control of up to 90% of metropolitan Port-au-Prince, and the Gran Grif gang operating in parts of the rural Artibonite region. Under the plan, gang members and their enablers would face criminal sanctions, including possible imprisonment in El Salvador's maximum-security prison, a senior administration official told the Herald at the time. While the plan has support among some groups in Haiti, it is prompting concerns that aid groups and others in Haiti will face the impossible choice of trying to help at the risk of being labeled terrorists or letting the population suffer further. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, the only Haitian-American member of Congress and current co-chair of the House Haiti caucus, expressed 'grave concern' about the designation. The lawmakers fear it will unintentionally exacerbate the suffering of Haitians and help gangs consolidate control. They are demanding answers from Rubio on the administration's rationale for the designation. 'While we support efforts to target the financial support of violent gangs wreaking havoc on innocent Haitians, we are concerned that an FTO designation, absent a clear, comprehensive U.S. strategy to defeat the gangs and their enablers, is counterproductive and will only exacerbate Haitians' suffering,' the lawmakers said. Meeks and Cherfilus-McCormic noted that the State Department has already made cuts to health services and humanitarian aid while diseases like scabies and cholera are on the rise in Haiti. If aid delivery across Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region is undermined, Haitians will be further punished, they argued. A foreign-terrorist organization 'designation imposes broad legal and financial sanctions that deter non-governmental organizations and international agencies from operating due to fear of legal exposure—even when their work is purely humanitarian in nature,' the lawmakers wrote. The representatives are not alone in their concerns about the possible chilling effect the designation would have on the delivery of aid in Haiti, where non-governmental organizations, community groups and others employ various techniques — including making donations to gangs — in order to get humanitarian assistance to those living under the control of the armed groups. Many do so through 'foundations' that several gangs have set up to serve as fronts for aid delivery. The issue, however, is so sensitive that aid groups refuse to speak about it, even privately. They are also reluctant to discuss the planned designation but also note they are concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis. 'We do not take a position on any State's use of such designations and refrain from communicating publicly on them,' said a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates in Haiti. 'However, the ICRC will always call to all concerned to make all necessary efforts to prevent further humanitarian consequences on the ground, to facilitate humanitarian action and to preserve the required humanitarian space—particularly, regarding Haiti, we call for all concerned to protect the population and prevent a humanitarian collapse in the country.' In a new report published on Wednesday, the United Nations noted that the human rights situation during the first quarter of this year was marked by mass attacks, including killings, kidnappings and sexual violence. At least 1,617 people were killed and 580 were injured in violence involving armed gangs, self-defense groups and members of the population, between January and March, the report said. At the same time, 161 kidnappings for ransom were documented, 63% of them in the Artibonite region, where two Kenyan police officers were also killed this year. Along with the intensification of the violence has also come a shift in which armed groups today rely less on kidnappings and more on their extortion rackets. This has allowed them 'to further insert themselves within local economies and making it more difficult to dismantle them,' the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a Switzerland-based group, said in its latest report examining the recent push by Haiti's gangs to expand their territorial control. The gangs impose taxes on all activities, within the territories they control as well as on the country's main roads, as well as around port or border infrastructures, the report said. That has raised questions about how the U.S. intends to arrest gang leaders when they have no troops in country, the future of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission remains uncertain and even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office isn't active. 'Some U.S. officials see the FTO designation as a way to escalate pressure and increase the risk for individuals who support gangs. In theory, it could also make it easier to go after individuals or networks involved in arms trafficking,' said Diego Da Rien, a Haiti specialist with the International Crisis Group, which closely monitors the security crisis. 'But the negatives of an FTO designation often outweigh the positives.' Da Rien, said the designation 'is a heavily politicized tool that's rarely reversible and has limited coercive effect on actors already outside the law. If the goal is ever to bring gangs into a legal framework, the FTO label makes that far more difficult.' Haiti's gang problem, which includes the recruitment of children, is unlikely to be solved through force alone, he said, and at some point will likely require 'a demobilization process, including exit ramps for minors, something an FTO designation' would make difficult. 'FTO designations would also disrupt local violence-reduction efforts, humanitarian aid operations, and even trade, particularly since most access and commerce involves negotiation' with gangs, Da Rien added. 'Businesses and aid groups in these kinds of situations often over-comply, cutting off operations entirely even if enforcement is limited, due to the severe civil and criminal penalties attached to FTOs,' he said. Since he took office, President Donald Trump has invoked the war-time Alien Enemies Act to go after noncitizens, and has designated six criminal groups from Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations. But both the designation and his broad use of executive authority have come under attack, as Venezuelan nationals targeted as members of the Tren de Aragua gang have no criminal records. That worries both Da Rien and Johnston, who fear the designation could be used to justify deportations of Haitians or visa denials. 'This seems more about domestic politics and giving the administration a justification to deport upwards of hundreds of thousands of Haitians than about addressing the dire security situation inside Haiti,' Johnston said.
New York Times
14-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A New Route for Half Marathon Runners
Good morning. It's Friday. Today we'll look at why the New York City Half Marathon on Sunday will follow a new route. We'll also get details on a protest at Trump Tower by a progressive Jewish group in support of a Palestinian activist whom the Trump administration wants to deport. The organizers of the New York City Half Marathon insist that they love the Manhattan Bridge. But they are forsaking it. The 13.1-mile race on Sunday morning will take the Brooklyn Bridge. The runners will stream onto the Manhattan-bound lower roadway, not the wooden-planked pedestrian walkway on the upper level. It will be the first time that a race has gone over that bridge, according to the city Department of Transportation. The new route is 'anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute faster,' said Ted Metellus, the race director for New York Road Runners, which organizes the Half. The runners will not have to cope with a couple of uphills on the way to the bridge — and the Brooklyn Bridge is flatter than the Manhattan Bridge, he said. So everyone — all 27,000-plus entrants — will set a personal record, because no one has run that course before. Why is New York Road Runners making the change? Construction in Lower Manhattan, according to Metellus — specifically, a part of the $1.45 billion Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project, which is intended to protect against flooding as water levels rise with climate change. The massive project has made the section of the New York City Half's usual route, from the Manhattan Bridge to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, impassable for runners. Drivers would probably say the same. Only one lane on South Street is open during the day. And the bike lane has been closed completely. The runners will start at Prospect Park, the same as always. They will run along Flatbush Avenue, the same as always — until just before Mile 4, when they will make a left turn onto Tillary Street and, a block or so later, a right onto what the city calls Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard, the elbow-shaped thoroughfare leading to the span. There are other ways to get there, but 'Tillary made the most sense,' Metellus said. 'It's a wide intersection. It's big enough to clear the athletes safely, get them onto the bridge Manhattan-bound.' The change will put the runners onto the F.D.R. about a mile south of where the Manhattan Bridge would have. Of the 27,000-plus entrants, 23,000 or so might notice the difference. New York Road Runners says that more than 4,200 will be running their first half marathon. The four defending champions have signed up: Abel Kipchumba of Kenya and Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway in the men's and women's open, and Geert Schipper of the Netherlands and Susannah Scaroni of the United States in the men's and women's wheelchair divisions. Also running will be Conner Mantz, who broke the American men's record in the half marathon with 59:17 at the Houston Half Marathon in January. Kipchumba's time in the New York City Half last year was 1 minute 10 seconds faster. When it became clear that the route had to be changed, New York Road Runners worked up 'seven or eight variations of courses,' Metellus said. 'The Brooklyn Bridge was going to be our last option because we wanted to keep the sanctity of the course, which was having us go over the Manhattan Bridge.' Will the runners move back to the Manhattan Bridge in 2026? Metellus called that 'the million-dollar question.' He said the construction was scheduled to continue for at least 10 months. 'So we'll see where that plays into what decisions are made about where to go next year,' he said. One of the awards in the New York City Half is the Commissioner's Cup, based on the times of the top three runners from each of the city departments and offices that enter. Last year — as Ydanis Rodriguez, the transportation commissioner, noted — his department's top three finishers were second, behind the top three from the Police Department and ahead of the top three from the Fire Department. The commissioners of city agencies serve as honorary captains, and while Rodriguez is not running, the entrants from his department include Joshua Benson, a deputy commissioner whose portfolio includes the city's speed cameras. They measure the speed of cars, not runners. Expect mostly sunny skies with a high in the mid-50s. The evening will be partly cloudy with a low of 44 degrees. Suspended for Purim. The latest Metro news Nearly 100 protesters backing Khalil are arrested at Trump Tower About 150 demonstrators led by a progressive Jewish group streamed into the lower level concourse at Trump Tower to support Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist whom the Trump administration arrested and wants to deport. They chanted 'Fight Nazis, not students' — their words reverberating against the coral marble tiling — and raised banners. One read: 'Free Mahmoud, Free Palestine.' The police said that they had arrested 98 protesters. The demonstration came as Khalil and seven anonymous students filed a lawsuit seeking to block Columbia University from producing student disciplinary records to a House committee that demanded them last month. The lawsuit said that the committee's request — and Columbia's compliance with it — would violate the First Amendment rights of Khalil and the students as well as Columbia's obligation to protect student privacy. Columbia, embroiled in crisis after the Trump administration revoked $400 million in grants and contracts for what it called the university's 'inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students,' announced disciplinary actions against students who occupied a campus building last spring. The punishments included 'multiyear suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions,' according to a statement. Khalil, a legal permanent resident, was a graduate student at Columbia who helped lead pro-Palestinian protests there. His arrest marked an escalation of the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on the protests, which officials have described as antisemitic and a threat to the safety of Jewish students. The protesters at Trump Tower, many of whom are Jewish, took issue with that view. As their protest began, they pulled their coats, revealing T-shirts that said 'Not in Our Name' on the front and 'Jews Say Stop Arming Israel on the front.' Security officers turned up the music in the lobby and stopped more people from joining the group. After about 15 minutes, police officers who had been watching from a distance warned that those who did not leave would be arrested. Some began walking away slowly. Others stayed where they were and continued to chant. Eventually officers began detaining demonstrators, zip-tying their hands behind their backs, lifting them to their feet and carrying them up the escalator to the street level. Long day Dear Diary: After a long day of navigating trade-show booths at the Javits Center, I made my way to the 7 train. When one pulled in, there was an empty seat in the car I got on. I sank into it gratefully. Next to me was a gray-haired woman who was resting her hands on a large canvas bag with its contents peeking out. She looked as worn out as I felt. Suddenly, a memory surfaced: A friend once confided her frustration that, after a long day, all she really wanted from her boyfriend was a simple acknowledgment: 'How was your day, dear?' I smiled and then turned to the woman. 'How was your day?' I asked. She offered a small, tired smile. 'It's been long,' she said. 'I can't wait to get home, have a quiet dinner and put my feet up.' I nodded. We didn't exchange any other words. The energy for conversation wasn't there. As the train slowed to a stop at Queensboro Plaza, the woman stood, got ready to exit, then paused and turned to meet my eyes. 'Thank you for asking,' she said before disappearing into the crowd. — Carol Bradbury Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. See you Monday. — J.B. P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Natasha Cornelissen and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@ Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
