Jason Minard, whose family history with Minard’s Family Farm dates back to the early 1900s, told Newsweek the coronavirus pandemic helped demonstrate the importance of temporary work visa programs that enable migrants to legally obtain employment in the U.S., particularly in the agricultural sector. He put it simply. “If the food’s not grown,” Minard said, “America doesn’t eat.” But the pandemic isn’t the only factor bringing attention to temporary work programs like H-2A, the legal process through which Minard employs workers for his farm....

Yet several hours before terrorists flew hijacked jetliners into the twin towers, carrying out the worst terrorist attack ever on United States soil, the weather was turbulent—even ominous. On Monday, September 10, a series of thunderstorms rumbled through New York City, and hundreds of miles to the east of the city, a massive hurricane loomed off the coast. Footage of the storms was caught on video by a New York City-based artist who had been using studio space near the top of the North Tower that she and 15 other artists, who were working there through a residency program, had been provided by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center....

Chris Smalls and other workers at the warehouse, which is known as JFK8, walked out on Monday as part of a call to the online giant to close the facility after a worker tested positive for COVID-19 last week. He said that there were many more workers who tested positive there than the company has publicly admitted, CNN reported. But James tweeted: “In this midst of a pandemic, Chris Smalls & his colleagues bravely protested the lack of precautions that @amazon employed to protect them from #COVID19....

As the club named its roster for the regular season on Thursday, NYCFC announced it used its one offseason buyout of a guaranteed contract on the 26-year-old. MLS GM survey: Giovinco and FC Dallas lead the way Diskerud remains under contract with MLS, and could also be loaned to a European club. The 26-year-old fell out of favor with Patrick Vieira’s side in 2016, making just 12 MLS appearances and failing to play a single league minute after June 2....

Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney who is representing survivors and families of victims of the fire, told WPIX Tuesday morning that an investigation is still underway. “Believe you me, if the city has culpability, we’re going to make sure that these Black people get full justice,” he said. The fire was the deadliest in New York City since the 1990 fire at the Happy Land social club, also in the Bronx, that killed 87 people....

Cases of a new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in the U.S. surpassed 69,000 on Thursday morning, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. More than 33,000 of those cases are in the Empire State and at least 363 people have died, the most deaths in a single state in the country. On Thursday, NYC Health + Hospitals spokesperson Christopher Miller told WNBC Elmhurst Hospital in Queens had 13 people die in a 24-hour period....

Employees within the health care system, including support staff like food service workers and cleaners, have until September 27 to get their first jab. It’s one of the most aggressive plans to protect patients being rolled out in the U.S. Many still have not received their vaccine ahead of the deadline. Thousands of health care workers face being forced off the job next week. “We would like to see some more time to be able to comply and implement the vaccine mandate, because at the end of the day, it’s a situation where we’re very concerned about our ability to care for the patients,” said Tom Quatroche, CEO of the Erie County Medical Center Corporation, which operates a busy 573-bed hospital in Buffalo....

MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye wrote a letter on Friday addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking the company to upgrade the facial recognition software so that it detects users’ faces with their masks on. “We urge Apple to accelerate the deployment of new technologies and solutions that further protect customers in the era of COVID-19,” Foye said. “Upgrades enabling users to unlock their phones while keeping their masks securely covering their nose and mouth would be beneficial in all public spaces, not just on public transportation....

The New York Daily News, one of the Big Apple news sources known for having a boisterous back page, questioned the Giants’ decision-making, a sentiment echoed by several of the team’s fans. The seemingly light return for Beckham has been one of the more talked-about aspects of the trade, and the NYDN opted to go that route rather than taking a parting shot at the newest Browns wide receiver....

In a recent appearance on PBS NewsHour, Brooks, a longtime columnist for the newspaper, implied there is a “big philosophical difference” between what Democrats and Trump himself see from the hearings. Brooks expressed skepticism that the “pundit class” is able to predict how the impeachment inquiry is changing voters’ minds, if at all. He also claimed that many primary voters believe Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren has “poisoned herself” by touting Medicare-for-all and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is on the rise....

Should it pass the referendum, the bill will allow patients with less than six months to live to seek assisted suicide. Patients must have been diagnosed with terminal and incurable medical conditions. Originally introduced in 2017, the End of Life Choice Bill passed with 69 votes over 51. Bill sponsor David Seymour told Parliament he had listened to people across New Zealand talk about their experiences with death, reported the New Zealand Herald....

After a streak of poor results, the Magpies returned to winning ways on with a 3-2 triumph over the Hammers at London Stadium. “We have Man City,” winger Christian Atsu said, as reported by The Chronicle. “We have to shift our focus. “It’s a massive game, so we’re concentrating on that.” Three points over a ruthless Manchester City side could probably be Newcastle’s biggest win of the season. It is for this reason that the return to victory lane after eight defeats and one draw in their preceding nine games in all competitions is just so timely....

DirecTV said it would have liked to continue offering the channel, but that Newsmax demanded a fee—as other major news channels do—to supplement advertising revenue. The channel and a raft of GOP congressmen have argued the channel was “de-platformed” for being a conservative outlet, a claim the cable provider has contested. Part of DirecTV’s reasoning for not offering a carriage fee to Newsmax was its low ratings compared with other news channels, including conservative outlets....

The governor’s new plan goes into effect for California regions where ICU capacity falls below 15 percent. Residents in those areas will be expected to remain home for three weeks as bars and personal care services close. Restaurants will move to takeout only and retail will operate at 20 percent capacity. Although no areas in the state currently face such a serious hospital conditions, health officials said some regions could hit the threshold as soon as this week....

The Lowell Sun and the Sentinel & Enterprise, which are both owned by MediaNews Group, published a joint endorsement of Yang on Monday, praising him for his willingness to reach out to all voters. The Massachusetts newspapers, which are published in Lowell and Fitchburg respectively, argued that Yang, similar to Trump, would disrupt “the political status quo” but would do so like “a nimble tech startup and not a wrecking ball....

The president’s overall job performance rating now stands at 52 percent, up a point from last week. Bush’s rating for his handling of handling the situation in Iraq, however, remains below the 50 percent mark (47 percent) essentially unchanged from last week (46 percent). The NEWSWEEK poll was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, which interviewed a total of 1,004 adults by telephone on Sept. 25 and 26. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points overall....

In this context, I was startled recently to hear Congresswoman Elise Stefanik say 2020 was going to be the year of the House Republican woman. She went on to assert that there was an historic record being set for Republican women filing to run for the House. I checked in with Chairman Tom Emmer at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and found that, if anything, Representative Stefanik had understated the momentum of new recruits....

More than 20 years after the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the high degree of autonomy and freedoms that were promised to the Hong Kong people have been suppressed and violated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Though the extradition bill that ignited these protests has been withdrawn, the demonstrations have evolved into demands for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s resignation, an investigation into police brutality, the release of arrested demonstrators and more democratic freedom....

In penal lore, the massive concrete fortress on the shores of the bay ranks among the nation’s most notorious. Since 1852, San Quentin has housed many of California’s worst criminals-from the scoundrels of the gold rush to Robert Alton Harris, executed last spring in the gas chamber (the state’s first condemned inmate to die in 25 years). Now the prison is showing off some of its history. The nonprofit museum occupies the home of a former warden, just inside the electronic gates, several hundred feet from death row and the other cells....