Latest news with #ThePost
New York Post
15 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Andrew Cuomo set to run as an independent in NYC mayoral race — but there's a catch
Not Cuoing anywhere. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce this week that he is staying in the New York mayoral race as an independent, despite the latest polls showing his odds of winning are slim. 3 Andrew Cuomo is reportedly set to announce his run as an independent in the NYC mayoral race. Getty Images Advertisement The former governor is going to unveil his independent candidate bid this week, sources told NewsNation — but there is a catch. After his announcement, Cuomo is going to ask all of the candidates — except for socialist Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani — to vow to drop out of the race come mid-September if they are not in the lead, himself included, a source close to the candidate told NewsNation. 3 Cuomo lost the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani by a significant margin. Advertisement The Post has reached out to Cuomo's campaign for comment. The decision comes despite polls showing the former governor trailing Mamdani. 3 Current Mayor Eric Adams is in fourth with a 11%, according to a recent survey. Paul Martinka The latest survey from from political consulting firm Slingshot Strategies has Mamdani comfotable leading with 35% of the vote, followed by Cuomo on 25%, Republican Curtis Sliwa in third with 14%, and Eric Adams in fourth with a paltry 11%.
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
'Bad Vegan' Sarma Melngailis claims her ex ruined her life
The recognizable duck portraits that once hung in the dining room of Pure Food and Wine now live in an apartment a block and a half away, with the shuttered Gramercy restaurant's co-owner, Sarma Melngailis. 'When the restaurant was opening, it started with those photographs. Those are two of the three. I got two of them back,' Melngailis, 52, told The Post. 'I didn't want to put vegetables on the wall,' she said — despite the fact that the eatery, which was popular with A-listers like Alec Baldwin, Gisele Bündchen, Bill Clinton and Woody Harrelson, was focused on 'raw vegan' dishes. 15 Sarma Melngailis — aka, the subject of the Netflix series 'Bad Vegan' — has written a memoir, 'The Girl with the Duck Tattoo,' about the incidents that led to her arrest. Chris Dempsey Melngailis has a thing for ducks: There's one tattooed on her arm, and she named her mail-order food business (which, according to its website is, 're-hatching soon') One Lucky Duck. But she claims her own luck ran out when she fell for Anthony Strangis, her now ex-husband and the man with whom she was arrested in Tennessee, near the Dollywood theme park, in 2016. The story of her downfall, conviction on charges of grand larceny, and subsequent prison time were detailed in the buzzy Netflix docu-series 'Bad Vegan.' 15 Melngailis claims her ex-husband is to blame for driving her restaurant into the ground after promising he could help her expand the business — and make her beloved dog, Leon, live forever. Chris Dempsey Now, Melngailis is telling her side of the story in a new memoir, 'The Girl With The Duck Tattoo,' and an exclusive interview with The Post. 'That guy took control of me and my mind, for the most part. He dragged me into a delusion,' she said of Strangis. '[People like that] put you in a state of fear and you end up trapped. It puts you in a situation where you don't see your way out.' She claims he is to blame for driving her restaurant into the ground after promising he could help her expand the business — and make her beloved dog, Leon, live forever. The Post has reached out to Strangis for comment. 15 Melngailis was convicted of grand larceny, among other crimes. 15 Her then-husband, Anthony Strangis, also served time for the crimes. Melngailis, who grew up in Massachusetts, was a Manhattan culinary darling before her arrest. She gave up a career in finance to pursue a degree from the French Culinary Institute — a gamble that paid off when she and then-boyfriend Matthew Kenney, a star chef in the city's vegan world opened their first restaurant, Commissary, in 2001, followed by Pure Food and Wine in 2004. The couple split a year later and Melngailis bought out Kenney's stake, throwing herself completely into the restaurant. As former employee Benito Borjas-Fitzpatrick told The Post in 2016, 'She was obsessed. She worked constantly. Sometimes she would even sleep at the restaurant.' It was a celebrity hotspot just as veganism was becoming super trendy. And it brought Melngailis her own fans, including Alec Baldwin — with whom, she claims in her memoir, she had an emotional affair. Baldwin even met his future wife, Hilaria, at Pure. 15 Pure Food and Wine was a hit with A-listers such as Woody Harrelson (left, with Melngailis, her then boyfriend and business partner Matthew Kenney, and actor Jason Lewis). Getty Images 15 The Gramercy restaurant served a raw vegan menu. Victoria Will Melngailis writes in her memoir that Strangis, who also went by the name Shane Fox, came into her life through Baldwin, after the two men had a Twitter exchange in 2011. 'Then [Strangis] followed me, and I followed him back. He started commenting on my posts, and soon, our own back-and-forth ensued. It quickly moved to direct messages,' Melngailis writes. 'He said his name was Shane Fox. I still didn't know much else about him, but since Alec followed him, I assumed they were friends, or at least acquaintances.' Melngailis and 'Fox' exchanged texts, then phone calls, for two months before meeting. 'It wasn't even that we had an emotional connection. It was that he knew how to hook me.' Melngailis told The Post. 15 Alec Baldwin met wife Hilaria at Pure Food and Wine. Getty Images She only found out later that he had lied about his real name — and been convicted nearly a decade before of grand theft and impersonating a police officer. 'There were so many red flags.' But, she added, 'when you meet somebody in person, you're able to sense how you feel around them. You don't get that online. 'What I did by communicating with him so much online is, I let him get into my head before I even met him — and that was dangerous.' She hired him as a manager at the restaurant and, employees told The Post in 2016, they saw a change in her. The staff was also wary of Strangis. 15 Matthew Kenney split from Melngailis and left the restaurant in 2015. Michael Sofronski 15 Among the dishes served at Pure Food and Wine: Zucchini and green zebra tomato lasagna . Michael Sofronski 'He had an air of an Italian-style gangster . . . walking with a big gait and speaking in a cryptic fashion about money,' said former longtime bartender Daniel Schubmehl. Suddenly, employees claimed in 'Bad Vegan,' their once-dedicated boss was rarely around. Despite the duo's high living — spending around $2 million at casinos and on luxury travel and jewelry, according to the Brooklyn DA's office — Melngailis failed to make payroll five times in 2014. According to an indictment, she transferred nearly $1.6 million from her businesses to her personal bank account. When she went AWOL in early 2015, Pure, along with a One Lucky Duck juice bar she had opened next door, shuttered. It reopened a few months later, thanks to funding from wealthy patrons — only for the staff to walk out after not being paid again. 15 Melngailis' book is available now. Chris Dempsey Melngailis told employees the issue was due to her having changed banks; in a media interview, she chalked it up to slim margins and expensive ingredients. Accused of owing nearly $2 million to investors, employees and the IRS, Melngailis and Strangis disappeared — and she was dubbed the 'vegan Bernie Madoff.' But Melngailis, who writes in her memoir that she and Strangis were 'jointly liable' for the financial damages, claims she didn't want to run. 'He [Strangis] took me away. I was screaming my head off in the car,' she told The Post. 'I didn't want to leave. I didn't run. I wasn't aware that we were fugitives on the run. He just took me away.' In the memoir, she details psychological and sexual abuse by Strangis. 15 'I wasn't aware that we were fugitives on the run,' Melngailis said, claiming Strangis 'took me away.' Chris Dempsey The couple weren't seen for nearly 10 months, sparking a manhunt. In May 2016, they were arrested at a $99-a-night Fairfield Inn & Suites in Sevierville, Tenn. — tracked down by police after ordering a Domino's pizza. 'I never thought I was doing anything wrong. That's why it's been really painful… ' Melngailis told The Post. 'I did bad things but I paid my debt to society. At no point in time did I really — I never had the intention of doing anything bad. The last thing I would have ever wanted to do is not pay my employees.' She pleaded guilty to tax fraud, grand larceny and conspiracy to defraud in May 2017 and served four months behind bars. Strangis pleaded guilty to four counts of grand larceny and served a year and three days in lock-up. 15 Melngailis served four months at Rikers for her crimes. R Umar Abbasi 15 Melngailis filed for divorce from Strangis, seen here at a New York State Courthouse in 2017, in 2018. Stefan Jeremiah 'It was very surreal. Wherever you are, you just adapt,' Melngailis told The Post of her time at Rikers Island. 'I could see Manhattan from the dorm I was in. It's very strange to be locked up and have a view across the way of Manhattan. 'It's still on me to figure out how to address everything. I'm not going to lie, it's been hard when people are kind of yelling at me based on this false narrative of what happened and calling me a criminal,' she said. 'Someone will slide in [my DMs] and call me a grifter based on that narrative for which they [Netflix] profited. It's frustrating.' She's referring to the Netflix docu-series 'Bad Vegan,' in which she was interviewed — and which, she claims, did her dirty. 'It's been really painful because with what the director and producers made from selling the show to Netflix — all [my] debt could have been paid. I got $75,000, which I used to pay back the employees, so they were covered early on,' Melngailis told The Post. 'But beyond that I didn't get anything for my participation. But they profited a lot.' 15 Melngailis has dreams of reopening Pure Food and Wine. In January 2024, New York Magazine's Grub Street reported that Melngailis was set to participate in a second documentary — documenting the reopening of Pure Food and wine in its old location — with 'Bad Vegan' producer and former customer Mark Emms, as well as the former restaurant's landlord Jeffrey Chodorow. Melgnilis claims she was promised her current one-bedroom apartment and an $8,000-per-month salary to be a partner in the reopening, but that the deal fell apart. 'I moved back here to reopen,' Melngailis told The Post of returning to NYC from Somerville, Massachusetts, where she was working as an executive assistant. Her would-be partners, she alleged, 'were not honest. I was brought back here and then wasn't paid. That put me in an increasingly vulnerable situation. They were not remotely honest about what their plan was.' 15 Melngailis moved back to New York City after working as an executive assistant in Massachusetts after her jail sentence. Chris Dempsey She claimed that she and Chodorow, himself a longtime restaurateur, could not agree on money. 'I did my best to try and help her resurrect the restaurant in its original location. I wish her nothing but the best, but it just couldn't get done,' Chodorow told The Post. 'Obviously, we both have a perspective on why, but I'm not going to demean the process we went through in any way. I only know I tried. And she tried as well. It's a shame.' For now, Melngailis — who said she is paying her own rent on the apartment — said, 'Everything is in limbo. 'I feel like that restaurant is meant to be there,' she said of the old location. 'That restaurant — everybody wants it back. That place is so special. There's a reason why people used to describe it as special. It needs to come back in the right way, with the right energy behind it.'
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
LeBron or Jordan for basketball GOAT? We're forgetting someone.
Kevin Merida is a contributing essayist for The Post. He is the former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, a former senior vice president of ESPN and a former managing editor of The Post. The spiciest ongoing debate in professional sports, I'd argue, is whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player to ever live.
New York Post
6 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
‘Spared by God': Trump allies reflect on assassination attempt in Butler one year later
God's got his back. One year after President Trump came within an inch of his life after a failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., he is more determined than ever to 'turn around the ship' — and believes divine intervention is allowing him to do it, his allies told The Post ahead of the July 13 anniversary. 'He told me directly that he believes he was spared by God for the purpose of restoring the nation to greatness, and that he believes deeply that he is protected now by the Lord,' Trump's longtime political adviser Roger Stone told The Post. Advertisement 'I also think he gained a sense of urgency, and he realizes he has four years to turn around the ship by closing our borders, deporting those harming [the] country and creating a boom economy.' Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon told The Post the assassination attempt had a lasting effect on the president — and that many in Trump's inner circle now see his survival as an act of 'divine providence.' 5 One year after President Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, PA, he is more determined than ever to 'turn around the ship' — and believes divine intervention is allowing him to do it, his allies told The Post. AP Advertisement 'There's something very different about President Trump today post that assassination attempt,' Bannon said. 'He understands that only by a bare fraction of an inch . . . he didn't have his head blown off on national TV, global TV and that God saved him. And for somebody who's not particularly outwardly religious, it's had a very deep impact.' The near-death experience gave Trump a renewed sense of 'urgency' that's shaped the rapid-fire pace of his second term — and mobilized his base, who believe he was 'saved for greater things' and rallied to get him re-elected, Bannon said. 'It's nonstop . . . whether it's the 12-Day War [between Israel and Iran], Ukraine, the Big, Beautiful Bill — he's whipping the vote at 2:30 a.m.' he said. 'It's like a man possessed to make sure that he finishes his work in the time that he has remaining on this Earth.' 5 Thomas Matthew Crooks caught on video walking during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, PA, on July 13, less than two hours before his failed assassination attempt. via Storyful Advertisement Trump, 79, spoke about the shooting in an interview that aired Saturday night with daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News Channel's 'My View.' He said the agents who protected him were skilled and capable, but the Secret Service had a 'bad day.' 'Well, it was unforgettable,' Trump said. 'I didn't know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There's no question about that. And fortunately, I got down quickly.' 'They should have had somebody in the building [Crooks shot from],' he added. 'They should have had communications with the local police . . . there were mistakes made . . . But I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot.' 5 Authorities stand over the body of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks after his failed assassination attempt. Obtained by NY Post Advertisement The president told Fox News Channel's 'The Will Cain Show' Friday he still occasionally feels a 'throbbing' sensation in his right ear from being struck by a bullet during the assassination attempt. Trump's polling numbers rose following the attack – in which he famously raised a clenched fist and shouted, 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' as blood trickled down his face — with one CBS poll showing his lead over Biden widen from two to five points nationally within five days. Author Salena Zito, who was standing mere feet from Trump when he was shot, said the 'strength and resiliency' he immediately showed after being struck was not lost on the Butler crowd. 'In that moment it created great calm …,' said Zito, also a long-time New York Post contributing writer who authored the new book 'Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland.' 'There [was] 50,000 people there. You would expect them to stampede, but the temperature changed immediately when he did that, and people didn't panic.' 'I still get goose bumps about this,' said Zito. 5 How the New York Post covered the Trump assassination attempt in the following day's newspaper. csuarez But the dramatic moment that helped propel Trump back into the White House came at a devastating cost. Advertisement Corey Comperatore, 50, a fire chief and father of two, was fatally shot at the rally while shielding his wife and daughters from gunfire. Two others in attendance were wounded. 'Evil may have taken you from us, but Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, received you,' Comperatore's sister, Kelly Comperatore Meeder, wrote in a Facebook post in June marking what would have been his 51st birthday. 'Your birthday is a reminder that YOU were a gift to all of us.' The gunman, 20-year-old Pennsylvanian Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper just seconds after firing eight bullets at Trump from a rooftop outside the rally's security perimeter. His motive remains unclear. His immediate family hasn't spoken publicly — not even to relatives. Advertisement 'My dad reached out to my uncle, [Crooks' father, Matthew], multiple times . . . and my uncle just doesn't get back to him,' Crooks' cousin, Mark, told The Post. The assassination attempt stunned the country and prompted a sweeping federal investigation into what lawmakers later called a 'preventable' attack. Six Secret Service employees were suspended for failures related to the assassination attempt, the Secret Service confirmed this week. Their punishment includes unpaid leave and reassignment to restricted roles. The former director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned less than two weeks after the shooting and told the Post Wednesday the incident was 'an organizational failure of the Secret Service.' Advertisement 'It is my sincere hope that the agency has emerged from that day stronger so our nation never has to experience such a tragedy again,' she said. Trump appointed Sean Curran — an agent who helped rush him offstage — as the agency's new director. 5 Video taken by shooting victim James Copenhaver shows a figure moving across a rooftop just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump's rally in Butler, PA, July 13, 2024. Copenhaver was wounded. James Copenhaver 'One year ago, I was by President Trump's side when a lone gunman attempted to assassinate him in Butler, Pennsylvania,' Curran said. 'My heart will always be with all those impacted on that day, especially Corey Comperatore.' Advertisement Curran said the Secret Service has completed 21 of the 46 congressional reforms recommended after the attack. Sixteen more are still in progress. The rest, he added, fall outside the agency's authority. For Comperatore's family, it was the day everything changed. Corey, a proud Army veteran, was remembered as a devoted 'girl dad' and a man of compassion, quiet strength and service. His obituary described him as someone who 'loved Jesus with every fiber of his being' and lifted the spirits of everyone he met. His widow, Helen, has since spoken out, calling the Secret Service 'garbage' and demanding answers for the failures that led to her husband's death. Saturday, hundreds of bikers are expected to ride in his honor at 'Corey's Cruise,' a memorial event starting at Freeport High School and ending with a concert in Russellton, PA. 'Motorcyclists, this is your chance to hit the open road, celebrate Corey's legacy, and make a difference,' organizers wrote.
New York Post
7 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
USMNT captain comes home to New York, has high hopes for 2026 World Cup
As Tyler Adams stood tucked away from the adoring group of youth soccer players, family and friends that had gathered in Wappinger Falls for a special ceremony to honor the U.S. Men's National Team captain, he couldn't help but smile. In the grand scheme of things, Adams has had a lot to smile about as of late, first with the United States' run in the Gold Cup — which ended in a frustrating 2-1 loss to Mexico in the final — and now having the soccer field where he grew up playing renamed in his honor. Advertisement With the house his grandmother used to live in steps behind him and the field that he told The Post this week had 'too many memories to tell you' about in front of him, it was difficult to distinguish what he was prouder of in the moment. 'This one means an awful lot to me,' said Adams, who has partnered with Scotts lawn care products to support youth access to natural-turf sports fields and give away five natural-turf field refurbishments to youth sports nonprofit organizations. 'I was a camper there once. Now to see so many young kids there that have a role model and kind of shows that I'm doing the right thing, or continuing to try to do the right thing, is really cool.' Advertisement The quick stop home was a welcome break after the grueling run the USMNT had during the Gold Cup that took place from June 14-July 6, the final competitive matches the team will play before next year's World Cup — which will be hosted, in part, by the United States. The attention now will only increase in the lead-up to the World Cup, which is being viewed as a monumental moment for soccer in the United States. The U.S. team faces pressure to make a run with the tournament on home turf. 3 USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams takes a penalty shot during penalties in their quarterfinal win over Costa Rica in the Gold Cup. Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Advertisement Asked if there was any concern when several marquee American players didn't participate in the Gold Cup — star Christian Pulisic created the biggest waves opting to take time to rest — Adams said he didn't 'feel any single way' about it and they 'made a decision that was best for themselves.' 'We are continuing to build a culture that we want to build, and I think that showed throughout the tournament,' Adams said. Days after the Gold Cup had wrapped up, Adams looked back and noted the growth the team went through during the tournament and the depth it developed heading into 2026. 3 Adams will return to his club team — Bournemouth — now that the Gold Cup is over. AP Advertisement 'When you come away from this tournament, the amount of players that gained experience now going into a World Cup,' Adams said. 'There's so many variables that go into a World Cup, and to give these guys experience now, every single player that represented the national team during that tournament deserves to be. They've all played amazing at their clubs. They've all grown tremendously.' Adams noted the excitement he got from seeing so many MLS players as part of the USMNT — one of whom was New York City FC goaltender Matt Freese, who became a breakout star during the Gold Cup. Freese appeared in every match during the Gold Cup and made six saves in the loss to Mexico. 'I knew that he would be important to our team, and the way that he stepped up in so many different occasions,' said Adams, who started his professional soccer career with the Red Bulls. 'People obviously talk about the penalty shootout and the saves that he had, but just his personality and how he grew into himself throughout the tournament was amazing. You know, he made big saves in the final against Mexico. He's going to be an important player for us moving forward.' 3 Tyler Adams passes the ball during USMNT's loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. Getty Images Adams will return to his club team — Bournemouth — now that the Gold Cup is over. The New York native will play locally later this month when Bournemouth visits MetLife Stadium as part of the Premier League Summer Series. The 26-year-old mentioned one thing his teammates will need to do to be ready for 2026 is to put themselves in the 'right environment,' noting that some players will move teams, among other potential changes between now and the World Cup. 'We have guys that were on loan, guys in MLS that want to move to Europe, and vice versa,' he said. 'It's just about finding that balance and understanding if it's the right move for you to put yourself in the best position for the team next year.'
