Tag: Samantha Woodruff

ICE Activity Pushes Minnesota Schools to Reinstate Online Learning

ICE Activity Pushes Minnesota Schools to Reinstate Online Learning

Schools in Minnesota have reinstated COVID-era online learning protocols due to an increase in ICE activity in the state. Many students are afraid to go to school due to the threat of parents and caregivers being detained by ICE agents during pickup and drop-off. In an attempt to keep students on track academically, school districts […]

Spy Software Used by ICE Agents

Spy Software Used by ICE Agents

Let’s take a look at some of the technology ICE is using to conduct its activities in the US. Tangles and WeblocTangles is a monitoring tool that scrapes sites for posts and personal information. When ICE adds individuals to a watchlist, they are alerted whenever that person posts on social media. It can also be […]

New Jersey Legislature Passes 3 Anti-ICE Bills

New Jersey Legislature Passes 3 Anti-ICE Bills

Last week, New Jersey lawmakers passed a trio of bills in response to ICE actions across the United States. The passing of these bills only gained urgency after the events in Minnesota with the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent. These bills include a variety of provisions aimed at protecting the people of […]

How Increased Demand for AI Affects the Smart Appliance Industry

How Increased Demand for AI Affects the Smart Appliance Industry

At the end of last year, Micron Technology announced that it would be focusing all sales of RAM (Random Access Memory) hardware on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. This has led to a dramatic increase in RAM prices as consumer-available supplies begin to disappear. What does this mean for the average American? Well, RAM in […]

Books with Adult Content Shouldn’t Have Cute Cartoon Covers

Books with Adult Content Shouldn’t Have Cute Cartoon Covers

Regardless of the saying, many people judge books by their covers. And why shouldn’t we? A picture is worth a thousand words, right? The design of a book cover can tell readers a lot about what’s inside. Between a book cover with a title in bold font and an image of a dark cabin in […]

Changes to USPS Postmark Rules will Affect Mail-in Voting and Taxes

Changes to USPS Postmark Rules will Affect Mail-in Voting and Taxes

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has recently updated its postmark rules. As of December 2025, instead of mail being postmarked the day it was sent, the postmark will reflect when that piece of mail was processed by an “automated USPS sorting machine,” which means that some mail could be postmarked days after it was […]

NYC Celebrates National Bagel Day

NYC Celebrates National Bagel Day

Most food historians agree that bagels originated in Poland, created by Jewish communities. The circular shape was said to “symbolize continuity and good fortune, making [bagels] a popular gift for new mothers”. It didn’t take long for these baked goods to become household staples. In the late 1800s, Jewish immigrants from Poland and Ukraine began […]

NCAA Basketball Rigging Scandal Related to Sports Gambling

NCAA Basketball Rigging Scandal Related to Sports Gambling

Federal indictments against over 20 people for rigging basketball games in the US, as well as “professional contests in the Chinese Basketball Association,” were announced today. Charges included “bribery in sporting contests” and “conspiracy to commit wire fraud”. These files allege that an estimated 29 college basketball games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons were […]

ICE Agents Exposed for Lacking Basic Training

The AI (artificial intelligence) tool ICE has been using to assess applications has made a deadly mistake. The original purpose of this AI tool was to identify any applicants who already received “law enforcement officer training” so they could skip the in-person training. These applications were automatically fast-tracked to the 4-week online courses ICE uses […]

Why Viewers Keep Coming Back to Apocalyptic Movies

Why Viewers Keep Coming Back to Apocalyptic Movies

I’d wager a guess that most people don’t look upon the idea of the end of the world very fondly. Yet, a popular genre of film focuses on just that, humanity’s destruction. We see this type of narrative played out again and again on the big screen. Why? Most apocalyptic films have two main things […]

FIFA Fans Cancel Tickets Ahead of 2026 World Cup

FIFA Fans Cancel Tickets Ahead of 2026 World Cup

What began as discontent over ticket prices and potential visa issues has turned into a full-force boycott of this year’s FIFA World Cup. Approximately 16,000 people have cancelled their tickets already, and that number is continuing to grow. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It will […]

A Look at the First Two Weeks with Mayor Mamdani

A Look at the First Two Weeks with Mayor Mamdani

Winning with over 565,000 votes, Mamdani took the New York mayoral election by storm with his ambitious plans and focus on making NYC affordable for all. It has been just two weeks since Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor. What has he been able to accomplish in that time? Mamdani wasted no time after […]

Hey! Are you enjoying NYCTastemakers? Make sure to join our mailing list for NYCTM and never miss the chance to read all of our articles!