🌱 AOC Tested Positive For COVID + Rockaway Man Threatens Trump

Good morning, people of Queens! It's me again, Miranda Fraraccio, your host of the Queens Daily.

First, today's weather:

Sunshine, brisk and very cold. High: 19 Low: 12.

Here are the top three stories today in Queens:

1. On Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's office announced she has tested positive for COVID-19. The Queens-Bronx congresswoman, who had recently returned from a vacation to Florida, announced she is currently symptomatic and quarantining at home. Ocasio-Cortez had been vaccinated twice and boosted, and is one of many Queens legislators to have contracted the virus in recent days. (Astoria Post)
2. A Queens man was taken into custody after an Indiana State Police trooper found 115 pounds of cocaine in a semi tractor-trailer during a motor carrier inspection. 32-year-old Vikram Sandhu had been traveling from Houston, Texas, to Indianapolis when he was stopped by a trooper on Interstate 70 in Putnam County, west of Indianapolis. He was taken into custody on felony charges of Dealing Narcotics and Possession of Narcotics. (WANE)
3. Secret Service arrested a Queens man on Monday for making numerous threats to kill former President Donald Trump. On Jan. 4, 72-year-old Rockaway Beach resident Thomas Welnicki called the Secret Service’s Long Island Branch and left voicemails saying he would kill Trump as well as 12 other people who supported the former president, including House members and senators. Welnicki made his first appearance in Brooklyn federal court on Monday afternoon. (Yahoo)

Today in Queens:

• Creating Impactful Resumes, At Broadway Branch Library (2:00 PM)
• Cloud Formations: A Hunters Point Environmental Education Center Program, At Glen Oaks Branch Library (4:00 PM)
• Western Art History: The Big Picture: From The Stone Age To The Beginnings Of Modern Art, At Glen Oaks Branch Library Virtual (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Join the Queens Museum for an online panel discussion led by Year of Uncertainty Artist-In-Residence Tecumseh Ceaser and local language teachers Karen Mosko, Dwayne Tomah, and Chief Harry Wallace – all educators and knowledge bearers working to revitalize and reclaim Indigenous languages in their communities. (Facebook)
• Check out this week's list of COVID-19 testing sites hosted by NYC Health + Hospitals in Queens. Certain sites have vaccination and boosters available for those who haven’t received their shots yet. (Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday! See you tomorrow for your next update.

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a staff writer for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners, and is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island, where she earned a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.