As New York City prepares for a multi-billion dollar budget deficit due to the pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he and 400 members of his City Council staff would take a week’s unpaid leave of absence in the next few months. And it is not just a gesture of solidarity with the rest of the besieged city. This resolution would reduce the city’s budget by 12%. “It is painful for them and their families, but it is the right thing to do,” de Blasio said Wednesday. Blasio’s management “has been in secret talks with union leaders for weeks to identify other economies as well,” the New York Daily reported. Among the concepts that are being considered are incentives for early retirement for municipal workers. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the new coronavirus infection rate in the state had fallen below 1%, but suggested New Yorkers stay tuned. “There is no margin for error,” Cuomo said. “We will all have to keep wearing our masks, our hands and remain socially distant. In March and April, New York is the hot spot. across the country and thousands have died as public fitness officials grappled with how to involve the crisis. New York still leads the country with 33,903 deaths, the most since the start of the pandemic.
The Big Ten called an audible and announced that they will play football this fall after all. The league, which includes school football powers such as Ohio State, Penn State and the University of Michigan, will be back in the box starting October 23. Just a month ago, schools agreed to postpone the 2020 season due to the pandemic. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said the progression of immediate check generation has made it imaginable to resume play without putting players at risk. “It’s a fluid scenario and at all times we’ve tried to make sure we put the physical condition and protection of our student athletes first,” he said. Trump, who was furious when the Big Ten suspended the game, applauded the league’s 180-degree turn and credited for the resolution. “President Trump has nothing to do with our resolution and had no effect on procedures,” a Big Ten University president told NBC News. “In fact, when his call came in, it was negative because no one sought him for being a politician. “
Corky Siemaszko is senior editor of NBC News Digital.
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