Attached: 2 images The president, on his Truth Social account, posts an AI video portraying him as 'King Trump' piloting a fighter jet which drops shit on 'No Kings' demonstrators. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115398251623299921

Within 72 hours of the October 1st government shutdown, the Trump administration weaponized federal funding against Democratic states with surgical precision.

A state court ruled that Nassau’s law does not violate New York’s civil rights protections. Civil liberties advocates plan to appeal.

## Support local news today! Our nonprofit newsroom relies on readers like you to power investigations like these. **Join the community that powers NYC’s independent local news.** #### ☀️ The best of summer, by and for New Yorkers ☀️ Hey New Yorkers, Earlier this week, the city’s millionth tree — a Lacebark Elm rooted in Joyce Kilmer Park in the South Bronx — officially became the first leafy giant to be recorded into the Parks Department’s fourth decadal tree census. To kick off this yearlong tree-counting effort, Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa personally inspected and sized up the elm, clutching its glossy, serrated leaf in one hand and a tape measure in the other as several inquisitive park goers looked on. Vallery Shands, 69, said she’s watched the trees in the park shoot up since she moved to the neighborhood 35 years ago as “The Bronx was burning.” Her 78-year-old neighbor, Lisa Kahane, noted how the park always feels 10 degrees cooler than the streets because of the trees. As an avid forest bather, I can’t help but to be curious about the effort and about the trees around me, too. And for my fellow tree huggers: You can help with the counting, too, just as more than 2,200 New Yorkers did in the last census in 2015 to help the Parks Department identify where more new trees need to be planted and where older ones need maintenance. Jennifer Chen, a 51-year-old financial manager from Rego Park, Queens, for one, personally counted more than 900 of the 666,134 trees documented the last time around: “It just happened. I kept going, and I kept exploring neighborhoods. I was just curious to see what other species of trees and diversity existed.” You can join Jennifer this year by registering here this week and next to receive a 20-minute on-site training at one of 22 parks across the five boroughs, followed by an hour or two of tree-counting. Once you’ve completed that session, you’re free to start counting and identifying trees for the census in your own time. If you’re just curious to learn more about tree identification, here’s a very cool guide by the Parks Department that you can reference. Now, go touch grass! Happy tree-counting, Haidee Chu and the Summer & THE CITY crew * * * #### Summer Spotlight: Angel Moran and Omar Henriquez _Two high schoolers participating in the once-a-decade tree count._ High schoolers Omar Henriquez, left, and Angel Moran volunteer for a tree census at Joyce Kilmer Park in The Bronx, July 14, 2025. Credit: Haidee Chu/THE CITY Photo: Haidee Chu/THE CITY High schoolers Omar Henriquez, 15, and Angel Moran, 17, part of the Student Conservation Association, are spending their summer learning about trees and tallying them for the tree census. The two native New Yorkers said they were trained on Randall’s Island just last week to collect data for the count and are already starting to recognize apple and red pine trees. **THE CITY:** Are you big plant people? How did you end up becoming a part of this? **Angel:** I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest plant person, but I’m definitely someone who likes going to parks and making sure that parks are nice. Living in the city you don’t get to experience this a lot — you’re just mostly in concrete and stuff — so I always like the opportunity to come out here and into the forests and stuff like that to see the different trees in the environment. **THE CITY:** When would you say is the first time that you really connected with trees? **Omar:** For me it was last year. I wasn’t even in New York, but I did a camp over in New Hampshire, where I was experiencing that environment with all the trees and hiking and stuff like that, and it kind of opened my mind up to wanting to experience it more. Like, when I’m in Harlem, I’m not really exposed to trees, so now when I’m in places with trees, I feel familiar, I like to be around it. But before it wasn’t something I was accustomed to, I would just walk past it like I didn’t even care. **THE CITY:** So what kind of trees are near where you live? **Omar:** So I live not too far from Randall’s Island, and there are a lot of Japanese Zelkova trees. There are _a lot_ of those on Randall’s and I never ever knew that was a type of tree. And it’s my favorite park, my family always did barbecues around there, and it’s a park I always kind of grew up in. **Angel:** I’ve seen, like, London planetrees. I just feel like it looks like the emblem of New York City Parks [Department], so that’s what I find cool about trees in my neighborhood. * * * **Beachcast:** Showers are possible on both weekend days, but either day could turn out to be good beach days between the spurts of rain. Saturday has a chance of showers in the afternoon, but otherwise it’s sunny with a high near 85. Sunday could see thunderstorms throughout the day, with a high near 88. In case you missed it, here’s our guide on how to read a forecast like a local beach expert. (Rule No. 1: The weather in Manhattan and the Rockaway peninsula can be _very_ different on the same day.) * * * #### Things to Do * **Friday, July 18:** NYC Trivia League is hosting a game night at Pier One on the Hudson. Expect bingo, quiz shows and a prize for the winner. 7 to 9 p.m. Free. * **Friday, July 18:** Learn about honey bee colonies and their role in our ecosystem in this beekeeping class that should give you something to buzz about. The Reading Room at Bryant Park. Noon to 1 p.m. Free. * **Saturday, July 19** : DJ Rekha’s Basement Bhangra Beyond, featuring Rashmeet Kaur, Tara Lily, Sonny Singh and guests. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Universe Ct. (around the Pool of Industry, by the Unisphere), 6 to 10 p.m. Free. * **Sunday, July 20** : Return to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for Queens Day, with hours of free events celebrating the borough. Crafts, a mobile library, live music, walking tours, Zumba and more. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Free. * * * * * * #### Survive & Thrive _All summer long, we want to hear your best recs for how to do summer right.__**Send your hot tips and seasonal advice here**_ _and we may feature it in an upcoming edition. This week’s pointers:_ * “Frozen grapes in the freezer at all times.” _— Reader Madeline R._ * “Going to museums or any free space with A/C!” _— Reader Diana P._ * * * #### Catch Up (& Mustard) _Want to be the most informed New Yorker under the sun? Here are three stories from THE CITY you might’ve missed_ : * As it turns out, the “+POOL” that’s slated to float on the East River near Pier 35 is actually being built to look like the shape of a minus sign (a rectangle!). * Eight developers have officially put in their bets for one of three city casino licenses, but it’ll be a while before we learn who hits the jackpot. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the process. * A Queens high schooler is finally home from detention in Louisiana after ICE arrested her at a routine immigration court appearance weeks ago. (We crunched the numbers on these arrests, BTW, to learn more about who’s being arrested, when, and why.) * * * **THE SUMMER KICKER:** The Parks Department depends on everyday New Yorkers to water street trees between May and October each year. Here’s a guide from Parks on how to care for your neighborhood green giant. * * * ### _Related_