Big Oly Radio | radioNOVO News NY News Roundup for May 18, 2026

Good morning,We begin with a critical legal decision unfolding in Manhattan today that could reshape the murder trial of Luigi Mangione. A state Supreme Court judge is scheduled to rule on a defense motion to suppress vital evidence seized during Mangione’s high-profile arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's last year. The defense team argues that items found in his backpack, including the suspected murder weapon and a handwritten journal, were unlawfully taken without a warrant. Today’s ruling will determine whether state prosecutors can use these pivotal pieces of evidence when Mangione faces trial for the assassination of UnitedHealthcare C-E-O Brian Thompson.Downstate, the clock has run out on a massive transportation crisis as the strike against the Long Island Rail Road enters its third day. Nearly thirty-five hundred union workers walked off the job over the weekend after contract negotiations with the M-T-A collapsed over wage hikes and healthcare costs. The historic walkout has completely suspended train service across all lines, freezing the daily commute for more than two hundred fifty thousand riders. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the city is executing major transit contingency plans as federal mediators rush to bring both sides back to the bargaining table.In Upstate news, an eighteen-year-old driver is in custody following a tragic, fatal hit-and-run in Potsdam. State police report that twenty-year-old Emily Smith of Greenville was walking along Pierrepont Avenue early Saturday morning when an S-U-V struck her and fled the scene. Smith later died from her injuries at an area hospital. Authorities quickly tracked down the vehicle and arrested eighteen-year-old Jakob Krise, charging him with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.Meanwhile, privacy regulations are taking center stage in Central New York. The Syracuse Common Council is scheduled to vote this afternoon on a sweeping biometric surveillance bill. The measure aims to legally block local businesses from tracking or collecting data on customers' facial geometry, eye color, or individual walking gates. The strict proposal follows an Onondaga County law that merely required consumer notification, but this city bill seeks a total ban on the technology.And finally, if you are looking for a taste of the best burger in the Empire State, you will have to take a trip down to Orange County. The New York Beef Council has officially named Ben’s Fresh in Port Jervis the winner of the twenty-twenty-six "Best New York Burger" competition. Their signature "Empire State of Prime" burger took the top crown, boasting aged cheddar, espresso-bourbon bacon jam, and maple aioli on a pretzel bun.More news on our radioNOVO app -- Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.