The Mets are adding two more colors to their wardrobe while elevating the essence of what it means to represent New York.  While the standard blue and orange will still be in the rotation, the Mets will incorporate gray for New York City’s concrete jungle and purple for the 7 subway line that hits Citi Field. The Mets’ City Connect uniforms will be worn on Saturdays exclusively for home games beginning April 27. The New York City connection does not stop there.  The pinstripes on both the uniform’s top and bottom are comprised of circles and diamonds, representing the city’s countles ..read more

Authorities in New Jersey are investigating what caused a school bus to burst into flames on a busy highway with 10 students aboard. The driver and all 10 students were able to safely get off the bus after the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon on the Garden State Parkway in Upper Township and no one was hurt. The bus was carrying students from Ocean City Intermediate School from an outing to their homes in Sea Isle City. The vehicle was destroyed by flames. New Jersey State Police said Friday the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the mo ..read more

Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in nearly half the states and the nation’s capital. Many states have instituted “social equity” measures to help communities of color, harmed the most by the drug war, reap financial benefits from legalization. And the White House has shown an openness to ..read more

Grammy-winning singer Mandisa, who rose to fame on season five of “American Idol,” has died, her representative said Friday. She was 47. “We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,” her representative said in a statement to NBC News. “At this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details.” “We ask for your prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement concluded. She was found dead in her Nashville home, according to The Tennessean. A post on the artist’s Facebook page  ..read more

Attention shoppers, you may be eligible to receive up to $500 from Walmart if you purchased certain groceries from the big box retailer over the past six years. But the June 5 deadline to file a claim is quickly approaching. A class action lawsuit filed in Florida claims that “Walmart uses unfair and deceptive business practices to deceivingly, misleadingly, and unjustly pilfer, to Walmart’s financial benefit, its customers’ hard-earned grocery dollars.” The lawsuit specifically alleges Walmart “falsely inflates the product weight” and overcharged shoppers for certain “weighted goods” and “bag ..read more

Calling all stargazers! Break out the binoculars and dust off your telescopes, this weekend is your best opportunity to sneak a glimpse of the Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks before it moves out of our view. Affectionately known as the “devil comet“, thanks to its horseshoe-like appearance, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will be at its perihelion, or closest point to the sun, this Sunday, April 21. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is not exceptionally bright, even at its near-peak brightness, so sky conditions are going to be key to maximal viewing. Saturday evening is expected to be mostly clear, while Sunday looks partly ..read more

A man set himself on fire outside the courtroom where former President Donald Trump is facing charges in a hush money case, witnesses and officials said. The person, identified as Maxwell Azzarello, set himself aflame after walking into Collect Pond Park around 1:30 p.m. Friday, in the designated protest area across the street from the courthouse in lower Manhattan where Trump’s trial is taking place, according to NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey. He started shuffling around his clothes and opened a backpack, taking out pamphlets and throwing them around the small park. Azzarello then ..read more

What to Know The Queens Crew is a new 19-member and co-ed hype team for the Mets that will be entertaining crowds at Citi Field Long Island mother Gina Mormando is the head coach and choreographer of the squad, made up of members from the New York City metro area The Mets join other MLB teams, such as the Braves and Astros, in launching their very own dance team The New York Mets are bringing a new type of entertainment to Citi Field that will have fans dancing from the Jackie Robinson Rotunda to the dugout. Meet The Queens Crew, a 19-member co-ed hype team for the “Amazins” aimed ..read more

We have a play call from Taylor Swift: “Call the amateurs and cut them from the team!” The second-to-last song on “The Tortured Poets Department,” “The Alchemy,” is one of the only pure love songs on an album that skews melancholy. This is a story of a love that “happens once every few lifetimes,” Swift’s narrator sings. Alchemy refers to the quest in ancient and Medieval times to find a philosopher’s stone, which would make it possible to turn any substance, like lead, into gold. In the context of relationships, like this song, alchemy could suggest the meeting of two people to form something ..read more

A New Jersey school district that canceled classes a day ago out of an abundance of caution after getting an emailed bomb threat has received another one, authorities said Friday. Marlboro Township Schools opted to delay school openings by two hours as authorities investigated. Details on the nature of the threat weren’t clear, though the superintendent said it was similar to the threat made on Thursday. The delayed opening was the initial plan for the district, which enrolls nearly 5,000 students in pre-K-8th grade, that day but administrators chose to close to allow a thorough investigation ..read more