New York City

U.S. seizes around 14 7-Eleven stores during immigration raids on Long Island and in Virginia, arresting nine owners and managers, and seized property which included five homes. According to the New York Times, federal authorities seized 14 different 7-eleven stores and are investigating 10 other franchises in New York City and elsewhere in what is being called by officials: “One of the largest criminal immigrant employment investigations ever conducted by the Justice and Homeland Security Departments.” Reports say that these franchises have taken in “more than $180 million in revenue by running a “modern-day plantation system.” Prosecutors reported that this “system” was built on the unpaid labor of dozens of illegal immigrants hired using fake Social Security numbers. The franchise owners who have been charged with these crimes were licensed to use 7-Eleven buildings, trademarks and Slurpee and hot dog machines. The franchise owners reportedly recruited more than 50 illegal immigrants and gave them identities that had been stolen from American citizens. The identities included both children and the deceased. Authorities said that the employees worked for 100 hours a week and were only paid for a fraction of that time. There were also forced to live in substandard housing owned by the operators of the convenience stores. The New York Times reported, “The store managers escaped notice, some for more than a decade, because the national company, 7-Eleven Inc., which has more than 7,600 stores in the United States, did not have safeguards in place to protect its payroll system from employee fraud, the authorities said.” Ms. Lynch and James T. Hayes, who are in charge of ICE’s (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) office of investigations in New York City, said that the defendants “ruthlessly exploited their immigrant employees.” There were 9 defendants initially identified in the 7-Eleven raids. These raids also come just as Congress is debating a major overhaul of the immigration system, though officials say that these raids are not connected to current debates. Immigrant Raids Lead To Seized Property is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’ve not already done so, you can subscribe to these daily listings and have them delivered to your inbox at 7am every morning. Alternatively, subscribe to Londonist Daily to hear about events further in the future. And help spread the word to your friends, who haven’t discovered us yet!  Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace at V&A. Untitled, 2013 ©Henning Wagenbreth BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at Friends House in Euston. Free, see site for terms and conditions MEMORY PALACE: If you could keep only one memory what would it be? The V&A presents Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace this summer, a walk-in story that brings to life a dramatic look at the future as penned by the author Hari Kunzru. £6, prebook, until 20 October CONCERT: A lunchtime concert at Heath Street Baptist Church in Hampstead takes place today. Featuring duo works by Haydn, Martinu and Arensky, it is a peaceful and informal way to spend your lunchtime. Free, just turn up, from 12.45pm REFUGEE: The Space Between, a week long photographic exhibition to mark Refugee Week, is accompanied by a series of lunch-time talks by different female refugees detailing their particular experiences as refugees in the UK. Today is Female and Foreign: Experiences of Being a Refugee Woman, by Marjorie Nshemere Ojule. Free, RSVP to info.cara@isbu.ac.uk, 1pm DISEASE OUTBREAKS: Carole Reeves is at Museum of London to discuss how modern science is revealing new insights into historic disease outbreaks such as plague and marsh fever. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm DISSECTION AND MAGIC: A lecture from The Last Tuesday Society examines images of human corpses in Early Modern European art in relation to two specific themes: the practice of ‘witchcraft’ or ‘magic’, and the emergent medical profession. £7, prebook, 7pm SEA STORIES: Join Passengerfilms for an evening of film and discussion devoted to exploring the question: is it possible to tell a narrative about the ocean, or is a ‘sea story’ about seeing something else? Go along and you might find out. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm MEMOIR: Meet Nick Coleman, author of music and hearing loss memoir The Train in the Night, at West End Lane Books. Free, prebook, 7.30pm BRIGHT CLUB: The thinking person’s variety show, Bright Club, focuses on all things broken tonight. £5, prebook, 7.30pm COMEDY: One of our favourite sketch groups, Sheeps, are at the Invisible Dot with an Edinburgh preview. £6, prebook, 7.45pm THEATRE: Laura Simms tells fantastic tales of South Africa, the Caucasus and New York City at the Soho Theatre. £9/£7, prebook, 8pm TFL: A new six-part documentary series about how Transport for London keeps London’s roads moving begins tonight on BBC Two at 9pm —————————————————————————————————————————– READER OFFER: Get special £10 tickets for tonight’s performance of Address Unknown, “a timeless tale of friendship and betrayal” at Soho Theatre (full price £17.50). Use promo code LONDONISTAU online, call the box office on 020 7478 0100 or turn up in person. Starts 8.30pm —————————————————————————————————————————– Please contact matt@londonist.com with any suggestions, solutions or contributions for the following sections. Good Cause of the Day Two fantastic charity events which you can sign up to take part in today: Join in a sponsored walk through the streets of London in aid of Action for Children, a charity committed to making a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children, young people and fa

MSNBC President Phil Griffin, ESSENCE President Michelle Ebanks, MSNBC’s PoliticsNation host Rev. Al Sharpton, ESSENCE Acting Managing Editor Vanessa Bush (Photo by Nathan Congleton/MSNBC) *Essence Festival, formerly “Essence Music Festival,” has teamed with MSNBC to broadcast live at the 2013 Essence Festival to take place in New Orleans July 4-7. The big announcement was celebrated at a special cocktail reception hosted by MSNBC’s President Phil Griffin with MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” host Reverend Al Sharpton, Essence Communications President Michelle Ebanks, Essence Acting Managing Editor Vanessa Bush and members of the MSNBC and Essence teams on Thursday, June 13 at the New York City NBC Studio C to discuss the new MSNBC/Essence media partnership and joint-programming plans for this year’s Essence Festival in which MSNBC will broadcast live. Joining Rev. Sharpton will be fellow MSNBC talent Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Ed Schultz, Melissa Harris-Perry, Alex Wagner, Tamron Hall, Joy-Ann Reid, Toure and Mara Schiavocampo who will also participate in Essence Empowerment Experience panels, book signings and meet and greets throughout the weekend.  In addition to the live broadcasts on location MSNBC will host a unique fan experience that will allow festival-goers to join in efforts to strengthen and empower our communities. Ebanks, looking quite chic in a red “power” suit, was Rev. Sharpton’s guest on his popular “PoliticsNation” show prior to the reception in which she eloquently spoke about what festival-goers can expect at this year’s show.  Ebanks explained to me why the change in name.  “The Essence Festival which celebrates the African American culture and music has always been about more than music.  We have wonderful guest speakers, dynamic panels, book signings, art, fashion, gospel shows, etc. which encompasses the global African-American experience.” Since its inception, MSNBC has become the premier cable destination for in-depth analysis of daily headlines, insightful political commentary and informed perspectives around the clock.  The cable station has attracted a young audience because of its world-class reporting and a full schedule of live news coverage, political analysis and award-winning documentary. The following MSNBC programs will broadcast live from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center during the Essence Festival: Friday, July 5:“Now with Alex Wagner” will air at Noon ET followed by “Hardball” at 1 p.m. ET., “NewsNation” at 2 p.m. ET, “PoliticsNation at 3 p.m. ET and then “The Ed Show” at 4 p.m. ET.  Saturday, July 6: “Melissa Harris Perry” will air from 10 a.m. to Noon ET followed by “The Ed Show” at Noon ET and then “PoliticsNation” at 1 p.m. ET.  Sunday, July 7: “Melissa Harris Perry” from 10 a.m. to Noon ET then “The Ed Show” from Noon to 1 p.m. ET and finally “PoliticsNation” from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET. “As you know, MSNBC over the last few years has changed, and we are really making an effort to reflect this country in the 21st century, and I am not sure that there are many news and information outlets really doing that, I think most of them are stuck in the 20th century,” Griffin.  “We are taking a huge team [to the festival], because this is so important to us.  This fits with who we want to be, and what we are about.”  (Photos by Nathan Congleton/MSNBC) Headliner R&B group New Edition will perform at ESSENCE Festival About the Essence Festival There are only three weeks to go until the nation’s largest African American gathering of music and culture converges upon the city of New Orleans from July 4-7.  This year, the 19th annual Essence Festival features a musical line-up that is second to none, including Beyonce, Maxwell, New Edition, Charlie Wilson, Brandy, Jill Scott and more.  Festival-goers can also expect appearances from world-renowned speakers, authors, innovators and celebrities for the Essence Empowerment Experience, as well as an opportunity to engage with the world’s mos

via NY Times

On this day in 1923 the first Checker Taxi hit the streets. The Checker Taxi is the most famous taxi in the United States. It’s history is below. Morris Markin, (a clothier from Chicago, Illinois) became the owner of ‘Markin Automobile Body’, an auto-body manufacturer based in Joliet, Illinois following a default by the owner on a $15,000 personal loan. The facility made bodies for ‘Commonwealth Motors’ who marketed the vehicles to cab companies under the trade name ‘Mogul’. Commonwealth Motors was on the verge of bankruptcy but had an order from Checker Taxi (a privately-owned cab company in Chicago that had no affiliation with Markin at the time). Markin merged Commonwealth Motors with Markin Automobile Body in order to honor the contractual commitment. Inspired by John Hertz who had set up a taxi business in Chicago (later known as Yellow Cab Company) in 1910, Markin began buying up Checker Taxis’ vehicles in 1924, gaining full control of the company in 1937. Markin followed Hertz’s business plan in having drivers open doors for the fares, and outfitted each driver with a uniform. Competition for fares was fierce in the 1920s, and the easily spotted drivers began ganging up on one another between fares. The fighting between the two cab companies escalated to the point where Markin’s home was firebombed which prompted Markin to relocate Checker Taxi to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Checker became the first cab company to hire African-American drivers and the first to require that drivers pick up all fares, not just white ones. Hertz had sold his Yellow Cab to the Parmalee Transportation Company, but in 1929, after a suspicious fire at his stables killed his prized race horses, Hertz sold his share to Markin who then acquiring another one-third in the company from Parmalee, thus taking control of both Parmalee and Yellow Cab. When Hertz had sold off the cab business, the manufacturing arm went to General Motors, which wanted to sell part of the acquired business and made an offer to Markin, but Markin refused. Rather than eliminate the capacity of Yellow Manufacturing, General Motors entered the taxicab business as Terminal Taxi Cab. A second fare war broke out, with Checker Taxi Co and Terminal Taxi Co staff fighting it out in New York City. To end the dispute, New York Mayor Jimmy Walker created the New York Taxi Cab Commission, which ruled that all cabs in New York had to be purpose-built cabs, not consumer car conversions. Markin sold Checker Cab to E.L. Cord, but bought it back again in 1936. In 1940, Parmalee (including Yellow and Checker Cab) became the largest cab company in the United States. From its inception until 1956, Checker taxicabs had unusual and sometimes bulky, styling. A brand-new body was introduced for the 1956 model year, called A8, and that body would be retained for the duration of Checker production until the end, in 1982. 1956 through ‘58 Checkers featured single headlights and a thick, single-bar grille. In 1958, quad headlights became legal in the U.S., and Checkers featured the quad headlights from that time forward, along with a new egg-crate grille insert. Taillights were also changed to the familiar vertical chrome strip housing dual red lenses. Early models also featured a single separate, bumper-mounted backup light. Aside from the body, components for the A8 and subsequent models were sourced from various manufacturers. Studebaker parts were used in the interior, suspensions came from Ford, engines were built by Continental, and the automatic transmissions were originally Bendix units. Starting in 1959, Checker began producing passenger car versions of the taxis to the general public. Called Marathon for most of its life, the Checker car was advertised as a roomy and rugged alternative to the standard American passenger sedan. A Marathon station wagon was also offered, but American buyers preferred style and power over practicality

Yves here. While readers may think development policy has limited relevance to US and advanced economy readers, the IMF and World Bank have been and continue to be vehicles to make the world, particularly smaller or otherwise more influenceable regimes, more friendly to the interests of US multinationals. And at the same time US companies are taking down a record share of GDP in profits, the country’s ranking in inequality is worse than that of many developing economies. New York City is more unequal than China, and as the chart below shows, is also more unequal than Russia, famed for its oligarchs, and India, which still has hundreds of millions living in abject poverty. So the World Bank’s efforts over time to exclude issues like corruption and inequality from its analysis have direct and obvious parallels to policy discussions here. Wade’s anecdotes of the way the World Bank refused to even allow the “c” word to be acknowledged are striking. It’s a near certainty that the big reason inequality is now a regular topic of conversation among economists, for instance, is that the rapid rise of a super rich class while average workers are left in the dust makes it impossible to ignore. By Robert Wade, Professor of Political Economy, London School of Economics. Cross posted from Triple Crisis On May 29 2013 James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank from 1995 to 2005, gave the Amartya Sen lecture at the London School of Economics, on the subject, “Reflections on a changing world, 1950-2050”. His reflections on the changing world were mainly reflections on what he achieved as World Bank president. He emphasised five. • Re-focusing the World Bank – and the whole development “community” – on poverty as the central issue of development. • Elevating “corruption” as a major development problem, instead of sweeping it under the carpet. • Writing-down countries’ debt (especially African) – so that World Bank loans no longer went straight out the door to western banks and instead were used for investment in the country. • Putting Bank operations in a particular country in the context of a broad vision of the economy’s future development path five to ten years ahead, in the format of his “Comprehensive Development Framework” (CDF). • Decentralizing World Bank operations, so that more of the total staff operated from regional or country offices rather than from headquarters in Washington DC, and more meetings with shareholding states were held in borrowing countries rather than in Washington or Paris. Here I comment on the first two: poverty reduction as the central goal of development, and corruption as an explicitly stated problem. I put them in historical context, not least because the World Bank operates without memory of its own history – as seen in the fact that most Executive Directors (the civil servants of member countries who constitute the 25 seat Executive Board, which governs the Bank on a day-to-day basis) and also most staff have never even heard of, let alone read any of The World Bank: Its First Half Century, the independently written but semi-official history published by Brookings Institution in 1997. For most of the time since it was published the World Bank book shop has not even stocked it, on the ostensible grounds that the Bank did not publish it. Or to be more exact, these are my findings from asking just about every staff member and Executive Director I’ve met since 1997 about the two-volume history, and from enquiring about its availability on every visit to the Bank. I have a vested interest, as author of chapter 13, “Greening the Bank: The struggle over the environment, 1970-1995”, volume 2, pp.611-734. Poverty Reduction and Inequality Wolfensohn’s elevation of poverty reduction as the central goal echoes then World Bank president Robert McNamara in 1973, forty years ago, who solemnly proposed in a speech in Nairobi, Kenya, a “new strategy”. The “ambitious objective

A full rack of CitiBikes in Fort Greene. The program could help areas that have to suffer through Sandy-related subway repairs. (Photo via Second Ave. Sagas on Instagram) For New Yorkers and the MTA, an inconvenient truth is looming ever larger. On August 3, the R train’s Montague Tube will close for 14 months as MTA contractors rebuild the tunnel from the ground up in order to repair damage from Sandy. Meanwhile, in three weeks, the G train tunnel will begin its summer of shutdowns, and that work is set to stretch into next year. We’re only just getting started. Ultimately, there’s an end in sight for this inconvenience, but it’s years into the future. The L train’s Canarsie Tube has run into problems lately, and other East River crossings are not well off. It’s easy to close the R train as nearby stations and more reliable subway lines provide redundancies, but as we’ll see in a few weeks, nearly every other train line is tougher to replace. The G train, in particular, poses some problems as it is the only subway link between Long Island City and Brooklyn that doesn’t involve a circuitous trip through Manhattan. As the MTA gears up for the G train shutdowns and extended service changes, the agency is trying to assess alternate service. Greenpointers are resigned to the fate of a shuttle bus, but politicians are already angling for a different solution. As ridership north of Nassau Ave. isn’t overwhelming, the latest craze sweeping the city’s transportation system could help. The solution may lie in bike share. I haven’t written too much about Citi Bike since the program started a few weeks ago, but last May, I examined how it can solve the first mile/last mile problem. With the successful launch of Citi Bikes, New York’s officials have called upon anyone listening to fund an expansion into areas impacted by Sandy, and the Daily News reports that the MTA may oblige. We could have MTA bikes soon enough. Pete Donohue has the story: The first expansion of Citi Bike could be to Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods that are facing extensive subway outages to allow post-Sandy repairs on the G train. MTA and Bloomberg administration officials are exploring an accelerated Citi Bike expansion to Long Island City, Queens, and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, sources said. The possibility of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority picking up some or all of the cost is one focus of the talks, sources said. “It’s an active discussion,” a transit source said. “We recognize the G train serves an area without other subway options.” Details are, of course, scarce at this early stage, but Donohue notes that Greenpoint and Long Island City were originally part of the initial bike share roll out before Sandy destroyed some of the equipment. Still, this is a nearly ideal situation for the area. Since ridership at these G train stations isn’t overwhelming, bike share could make a significant dent in bridging the gap between Court Sq. and Nassau Ave. It is, in fact, that first mile/last mile problem laid bare for all to see. A MTA-funded portion of bike share would raise a number of questions — including those surrounding its future once the Greenpoint Tube is repaired and branding discussions — but these are problems that can be overcome. Already areas of the city without bike share are clamoring for it, and with numerous transit shutdowns on tap, it’s time to ramp up expansion.

Amplify, the new education venture at News Corp., is getting into the gaming business.  On Tuesday, the company rolled out more than 30 digital games designed to help middle school students improve their language arts and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills. The games won’t be made widely available to districts until the spring of 2014, but they’re being piloted now in a few schools across the country. Naturally, the games can be played on Amplify’s own branded tablet – the 10-inch Asus device running the Jellybean Android operating system, which it launched at SXSWedu earlier this year. But the games will also run on other major mobile operating systems, including iOS. Schools can buy them as part of a broader Amplify curriculum or separately, the company said. In pitching its tablet, Amplify talked up the benefits of giving schools an entire learning package of hardware and software (each Amplify tablet is specially optimized at the manufacturer level for use in schools and comes pre-loaded with learning tools and content). But the company also sees an opportunity in offering schools just a tablet-based curriculum, of which the new video games are a part. The games, which include an English language game world called Lexica, an arcade-style game called Food Web and a real-time strategy game called TyrAnt, were designed to hold students’ attention as much as for learning. The hope is that students will be hooked enough to play the games outside of the classroom and extend learning time, the company said. “We’re not designing homework here,” Joel Klein, Amplify’s CEO and the former New York City Schools Chancellor, said in a statement. “These games will improve learning not because kids have to play them in school, but because they want to play them in their own free time.” It remains to be seen just how effective these games will be in boosting students’ skills, but interest in educational games, generally, is growing. Earlier this year, New Schools Venture Fund and social gaming company Zynga announced an accelerator for educational gaming startups. And, last year, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation put their weight behind a project at Electronic Arts called the Games, Learning and Assessment (GLASS) Lab. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.Where the next-generation console fits in today’s video game marketSocial 2013: The enterprise strikes backSocial third-quarter 2012: analysis and outlook

Apparently, there is no need to visit KAWS’ Solo Exhibition in Switzerland for a quick experience in the sense of scale. In fact, just swing by the corner of East 57th Street and 5th Avenue Maison in New York City to observe titans on display as dinosaurs invade Louis Vuitton‘s 5th Avenue Maison. Inspired by a recent trip to Les Jardins des Plantes of Paris’ Natural History Museum, the creative team at Louis Vuitton devised a window display unlike any of their previous designs. Motivated in part by people’s fascination with dinosaurs, the team decided to bring the museum to them instead by re-creating parts of the fossil exhibition hall as the flagship store’s window display. Every bit customized with museum quality display case made of real dark oak, as a way to match the stores’ parquet floors, each then lined with premium quilted velvet in canard-green. Even the skeletal replicas of the pre-historic beasts underwent a “premium make-over,” plated in layers of shining antique gold. But to truly rouse a sliver of “realism,” the team mischievously placed each colossus next to Louis Vuitton’s iconic handbags (the Speedy, the Sofia Coppola, the Alma and the Noe) and mannequins dressed in Pre-Fall 2013 Collection. The dinosaurs on display include: The spiny Dimetrodon, the oldest of the selection, dating from 290 million years ago, with its distinctive sail of spines on its back. The placid Stegosaurus, with plates across its backbone like a jaw full of wonky teeth. The gigantic, pond-paddling Brachiosaurus. The swift-footed, fast-thinking Velociraptor. The predatory Spinosaurus, largest of the meat-eaters, even bigger than the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The three-horned Triceratops, the youngest of the bunch at a mere 65 millions years old. The dinosaurs window display is currently on view at Louis Vuitton‘s 5th Avenue Maison in New York City. Louis Vuitton – 5th Avenue Maison 1 East 57th Street | Map New York, NY 10022 TEL #: 212-758-8877 Read the rest of Dinosaurs Invade Louis Vuitton’s 5th Avenue Maison Windows | NYC © Poe for FreshnessMag.com, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Follow us: Facebook | Twitter Post tags: Louis Vuitton

Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane in the latest Superman movie, Man of Steel, shares her thoughts on Hollywood's self-imposed body issues—and why her wedding plans keep getting delayed, but definitely not canceled. Check out these exclusive photos from her shoot with photographer Norman Jean Roy in New York City.