US right-wing influencers falsely linked New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to the Islamic State group, amplifying a fabricated statement that garnered millions of views on social media, researchers said Thursday.Mamdani — the first Muslim and South Asian elected to lead America’s largest city — secured a decisive victory this week in the face of fierce attacks on his policy proposals and religious background.A slew of anti-Mamdani accounts on the Elon Musk-owned platform X have circulated a statement purportedly from IS titled “Operation Manhattan Project,” which alluded to an attack in New York City on Election Day against what it called “American aggression.”Among the influencers who linked the fake communique to Mamdani was Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer who has Trump’s ear.”The Muslims can’t think of a better way for the Muslims to celebrate the victory of a Muslim mayoral candidate today than by committing an ISIS (Islamic State) attack in NYC,” Loomer wrote in a post on X that racked up more than 200,000 views.Other conservative accounts cited the purported statement to falsely claim that the extremist group had endorsed Mamdani as mayor.The posts collectively amassed millions of views across the platform.The purported letter, which displayed the logo of the jihadists’ Amaq News Agency, was fabricated, according to multiple researchers including the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard.Meili Criezis, an American University academic, told the watchdog that the supposed communique did not bear the hallmarks of other statements that emanated from Amaq.”Amaq is used [by the Islamic State] to share news and claim responsibility for attacks,” Criezis said.”It doesn’t make threats like what is stated in the screenshot.”The Information Epidemiology Lab, another research group, also said the circulated communique “sharply” diverged from established IS “media practices in language, style, formatting, and distribution.”The fabricated statement appeared to first surface on the far-right message board 4chan, a known haven for conspiracy theories.In recent months, Mamdani, a long-standing supporter of the Palestinian cause, has vocally denounced antisemitism as well as the Islamophobia he himself suffered following the September 11, 2001 attacks.The 34-year-old state lawmaker — who appealed to voters by pledging to tackle the soaring cost of living — has repeatedly been targeted by racist tropes and misinformation.In the weeks leading up to the highly anticipated election, AFP’s fact-checkers debunked several false internet claims targeting Mamdani, including that a noncitizen illegally voted for him and that one of his campaign staffers posed beside graffiti of Nazi swastika.

Travelers across the United States were left scrambling to rebook flights as the government shutdown heaps pressure on the country’s air traffic control system, prompting hundreds of Friday flight cancellations at major American airports.Airlines starting Friday will begin implementing up to a 10-percent reduction in flights for 40 high-traffic areas of the country, complying with a Federal Aviation Administration order made on safety grounds.More than 750 US flights scheduled for Friday have been preemptively canceled Thursday, according to tracking website FlightAware.American Airlines said in a statement it was reducing its flight schedules “amounting to 220 flights cancelled each day.”Delta Airlines was axing about 170 flights scheduled for Friday, the carrier said, while broadcaster CNN reported Southwest Airlines nixed around 100 flights set for that day.The shutdown has left tens of thousands of air traffic controllers, airport security staff and others without pay, causing personnel shortages.On Thursday, more than 6,400 US flights were delayed, with some 200 cancellations, FlightAware data showed, as passengers faced long lines at security checkpoints.Major airports were impacted, with travelers at Boston and Newark airports facing average delays of more than two hours, and those at Chicago’s O’Hare and Washington’s Reagan National more than an hour.Authorities said they wanted to act before an accident occurred.”We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself, when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.- Peak travel season -The reduction measures come as the country enters its busiest travel time of the year, with the Thanksgiving holiday just weeks away.As millions of Americans face likely travel chaos amid a shortage of air traffic control personnel, President Donald Trump’s administration sought to reassure people that flying remained safe.”It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the proactive actions we are taking,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late Thursday on X.The new cancellations could affect thousands of flights every day. Flight reductions will begin at four percent on Friday and rise to 10 percent, media outlets reported.Flight reductions are set to hit some of the country’s busiest airports, including in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.Implementing the order on short notice will be a challenge for airlines, which operate complex networks that rely on many moving parts and personnel.United Airlines and Delta, two of the country’s largest carriers, have said they are complying with the order but that it would not affect their international routes.United added that “hub-to-hub” flying would also not be affected, indicating cancellations might hit more local routes.Federal agencies across the United States have been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to approve funding past September 30, with some 1.4 million federal workers, from air traffic controllers to national park rangers, still on enforced leave or working without pay.Many in high-stress aviation-related jobs are now calling in sick and potentially working second jobs in order to pay their bills, Duffy said Wednesday.FAA Administrator Bedford said the situation was unprecedented.”I am not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” he said Wednesday.”Then again, we’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”

US lawmakers wrote to Britain’s disgraced former prince Andrew on Thursday requesting he sit for an interview about his friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The letter was disclosed as King Charles III formally stripped his younger brother of his titles after last week’s announcement that Andrew was being banished from the monarchy.Sixteen Democratic Party members of Congress signed a letter asking Andrew to participate in a “transcribed interview” with the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating Epstein, who took his own life in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.”The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations,” the letter read.”Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation.”The letter asked Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, to respond by November 20.It was signed by Democrats who are in a minority in the House. US Congress also has no power to compel testimony from foreigners, making it unlikely that Andrew will give evidence.A spokesperson for the former prince did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.Emails recently released by the committee as well as a posthumous memoir written by Andrew’s sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre reignited UK anger over Andrew’s ties to Epstein.It culminated in Charles deciding to remove all of Andrew’s royal titles and honours and announcing that he would be ousted from his 30-room mansion on the royal estate at Windsor, west of London.Charles has formally made the changes with an announcement published Wednesday in The Gazette, the UK’s official public record.Andrew has always denied that he sexually abused Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked to have sex with him on three occasions, twice when she was just 17.After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, died by suicide at her home in Australia in April.

A US man charged with using a sandwich to assault a law enforcement officer was acquitted Thursday after a jury decided that charges brought by President Donald Trump’s prosecutors were baloney.The prosecution made a surprise local hero of 37-year-old Sean Dunn, who was protesting Trump’s shock takeover of law enforcement in the capital Washington.He was accused of flinging a “sub-style sandwich” at an armed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent on August 10 in a busy nightlife district after shouting expletives at the officer.The officer was part of a huge crackdown ordered by Trump, with multiple agencies and troops deploying in Washington and several other Democratic-run cities, ostensibly to fight what the Republican president says are crime waves and anarchy.Prosecutors wanted serious felony charges, but a grand jury refused to indict Dunn — a rare occurrence. A misdemeanor charge was filed and Dunn faced a maximum of one year in prison if convicted.While prosecutors ultimately proved ham-fisted, Dunn had appeared to be in a serious pickle.Right after hurling his sandwich he was chased down, then released, only to be arrested in a raid on his home that was publicized by the White House.As video of the initial altercation went viral, Dunn was quickly dubbed “DC sandwich guy,” becoming a symbol of resistance to Trump. Stylized images of him in mid-sandwich-attack appeared on posters, graffiti, T-shirts and even a popular Halloween costume.  Trump’s much-touted crime crackdown has seen an increase in arrests and indictments, but US media analysis of the data shows much of that has come from pursuing minor offenses in court.The top Trump-appointed prosecutor for Washington, Jeanine Pirro, has pursued maximum penalties for all arrests since taking office, including in the Dunn case.Dunn was a paralegal at the Justice Department at the time of the altercation and was fired from his position.On Monday, as proceedings opened, Judge Carl J. Nichols noted that he expected the trial to be a short one as “this is the simplest case in the world.”Dunn’s defense did not dispute that he threw the sandwich at the officer, instead arguing that his action did not constitute an offense, and that the charges against him were a “blatant abuse of power.”Much of the case centered on the definition of key terms, including whether the throwing of a soft object constitutes an act that is “forcible,” and whether Dunn’s action impeded the officer in the conduct of their duties.On the first day of court proceedings, the defendant, dressed in a black-and-white patterned sweater, appeared subdued as his defense team engaged in feverish consultation.Dunn’s defense has contended that he was being selectively prosecuted due to his political views, having called the federal officers “fascists” before he threw the sandwich.