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Retailers across New York state say there’s no end in sight to the rising epidemic of organized shoplifting rings — and warn it could lead to more store closures, increased costs for consumers and threats of violence against store employees.

Store owners said they lost $4.4 billion last year as a result of retail theft — which they say adds to the urgency for Gov. Kathy Hochul to crack down.

However, Hochul vetoed a bipartisan bill last week — to the chagrin of store owners — that would have created a task force to combat organized theft.

Hochul rejected a proposal that would have created a 15-member panel made up of experts appointed by the governor, Legislature and the state attorney general that would have put together a list of recommendations to respond to retail theft.

The Retail Council of New York State, the Albany-based lobbying group which represents retailers statewide, said it was “extremely disappointed” by Hochul’s veto.

Melissa O’Connor, the president and CEO of the group, released a statement saying that she urged the governor to take “immediate action” so as to formulate “an effective, collaborative response to this problem.”

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“She made it abundantly clear that retail theft prevention will be a priority for her administration, and we look forward to working with her to achieve results,” O’Connor said.

A spokesperson for Hochul said that adopting the proposal would have cost the state $35 million — an expenditure that wasn’t allotted in the most recent budget.

Law enforcement officials from New York City to Albany to Syracuse have reported increases in incidents of retail theft — blaming the spike on progressive prosecutors who encourages criminal behavior with lenient punishment for shoplifters.

Last month, the chief of police in Syracuse said that the city has seen a 55% spike in shoplifting since 2021 — and that’s a conservative estimate.

That number is likely higher because businesses often dont report it — but they do continue to express concerns,” Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile said.

Cecile warned that small businesses are “having trouble sustaining themselves” in the face of the shoplifting campaign.

One local pharmacy chain in Syracuse alone suffered losses of more than $250,000 per year due to the epidemic of organized retail theft, Cecile told WSTM-TV last month.

So far this year, the Albany Police Department has fielded 23 calls for larcenies at a single Stewart’s convenience store on Central Avenue — up from 14 at the same time in 2022.

The rash of retail thefts at the location forced the owner to shut down.

“Retail theft at convenience stores throughout the state is not as organized as at some other retailers but is as dangerous and impactful,” Kent Sopris, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, told The Post.

“My members have reported theft that leaves stores in shambles as criminals seek cigarettes, lottery tickets, and anything they can get their hands on.”

Sopris said that convenience store clerks are “at extreme risk.”

“In fact one store reported a thief threw a pot of coffee at a clerk,” he told The Post, adding that his trade group “stands ready to work with state and local authorities and other business groups to take control of this issue.” 

As of Nov. 19, Albany police have arrested nearly 2,300 people for larceny and nearly 340 people have been accused of motor vehicle theft.

That’s well above the five-year average of 2,057 arrests for larceny and 281 for motor vehicle theft.

Shops in the Buffalo area, which have seen a gradual decline in the number of robberies and larcenies by year, have nonetheless pleaded with local police to step up patrols in response to a rash of organized retail thefts.

Stephen Lands, owner of Buffalo Fleece and Outerwear, told WIVB-TV in September that he may need to close his shop due to rampant theft of his merchandise.

In recent months, Lands said he has been robbed 20 times.

The police “usually blame it on bail reform and say they cant arrest them and it would just be an appearance ticket so its not worth coming I guess, Lands said.

Other businesses in the Elmwood Village district of Buffalo have lodged similar complaints.

This is one of the busiest business districts in Buffalo and it seems like theres no police presence,” Lands said. “People walk in and walk out everyday with stuff and it happens to all these stores.

Organized theft isn’t limited to upstate New York.

The Big Apple saw a 64% increase in reported incidents of retail theft during the four-year period between mid-2019 and June of this year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.

A New York Police Department spokesperson pointed to crime statistics showing that there were more than 93,000 incidents of petty larceny through the end of October which is 29% higher compared to the same period two years ago but 5% lower compared to the same period last year.

Around one-third of all shoplifting arrests in the five boroughs last year involved just 327 people who were collectively arrested and re-arrested a total of more than 6,000 times, according to the NYPD.

These 327 alleged shoplifters targeted 18 department stores and seven chain pharmacy locations, which accounted for 20% of all complaints, the NYPD said.

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Entertainment

Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’

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Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it's 'an underdog just like me'

Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as “an underdog that bites back, just like me”.

The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed the US rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn’t disclose financial details.

“My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,” the music icon said in the announcement.

“The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” he added. “This is a proud, working class city and club.

“An underdog that bites back, just like me.

“I’m proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club.”

Swansea’s American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club’s global brand and increase commercial revenue.

Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team’s 2025-26 home shirt last weekend.

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The club ownership group said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”

Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea’s ownership group in April.

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Politics

Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

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Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.

A party spokesperson confirmed the decision to Sky News but did not give a reason why.

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It comes after the veteran MP defended previous comments about racism which sparked an antisemitism row and led to a year-long suspension.

She apologised at the time and was readmitted back into the party before the 2024 general election.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”

Sky News understands that the suspension is not related to the four rebels who lost the whip on Wednesday for “repeated breaches” of party discipline, including voting against the government’s welfare cuts.

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The action has been taken because of an interview in which she doubled down on her claim Jewish people experience racism differently to black people, which previously sparked a huge controversy.

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Diane Abbott

In a letter to The Observer in 2023, Ms Abbott argued that people of colour experienced racism “all their lives” and said that was different to the “prejudice” experienced by Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers.

Shortly after it was published, she issued a statement in which she said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them”.

However in a new interview with BBC Radio 4’s Reflections programme this week, she said she did not look back on the incident with regret.

Ms Abbott said: “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know.

“But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism.”

She added: “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism.

“I don’t know why people would say that.”

Commenting on the suspension, Ms Abbott told Sky News: “It’s obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept.”

The clip of the interview was re-posted by Brian Leishman, one of the MPs suspended on Wednesday, who said: “Diane Abbott has fought against racism her entire life.”

Bell Riberio-Addy, who lost her role as trade envoy in yesterday’s purge, also came to Ms Abbott’s defence, saying: “Before condemning her based on headlines, I would listen to her clip and note she discussed the different forms that racism takes and condemned all forms of racism.”

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made similar comments, saying that in the interview his colleague “forthrightly condemns antisemitism & discusses the different forms of racism”.

But Labour MP David Taylor told Sky News he has “long thought Diane Abbott shouldn’t be a member of our party due to her appalling positions on everything from Bosnia to Syria”.

He added: “As the Jewish Labour Movement have said, antisemitism targets Jews regardless of how they look, and many in the community are visibly Jewish and suffer racism for it.”

In the interview, Ms Abbott said she “of course” condemns antisemitic behaviour in the same way she would condemn racist behaviour because of the colour of someone’s skin, adding: “I do get a bit weary of people trying to pin the antisemitic label on me because I spent a lifetime facing racism of all kinds.”

Ms Abbott made history when she was elected as Britain’s first black female MP for Labour in 1987.

She is the longest-serving female MP in the Commons, giving her the title “Mother of the House”.

As an MP on the left of the party she has often clashed with the leadership throughout her career – bar her time serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

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Many MPs rallied in support of Ms Abbott last year when it was not clear if she would be reinstated in time for the general election, or allowed to stand.

She went on to retain her seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington with a majority of over 15,000.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hinted action could be taken against Ms Abbott when she told The Guardian earlier on Thursday that she was “disappointed” in her colleague’s remarks.

“There’s no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party, and obviously the Labour Party has processes for that,” she said.

A source close to the decision to suspend her told Sky News there is a “very slim chance” she will be allowed back in, given she did antisemitism training and apologised last time.

It raises questions about whether Ms Abbott could join the new party being formed by Mr Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana.

For the time being, Ms Abbott will sit in the Commons as an independent MP.

Adnan Hussain, who was elected as the independent MP for Blackburn last year, said on X: “We’d be honoured to have a giant like Diane join us, she [should] come to the side that would really appreciate her for the legend she is.”

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UK

Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Flowers outside school
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Pic: PA

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

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Tearful MP reacts to coach crash

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

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“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”

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