Good Monday afternoon in New York City, where municipal worker-core remains a hypebeast staple. Here's what else is happening:

  • Steven Lopez, who, at 15, was arrested along with the Central Park Five but charged with burglary instead of rape after making a deal with prosecutors, has finally been exonerated.
  • Paul Sorvino, a Brooklyn-born actor best known for his roles in Law & Order and Goodfellas, has died at the age of 83.
  • A Canarsie pastor known for his lavish lifestyle (and friendship with Eric Adams) was robbed of $1 million worth of jewelry during a live-streamed service yesterday.
  • Steven Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana, was charged with insider trading in a federal courthouse in Manhattan.
  • In other Republican news, GOP politicians have simply stopped talking to the mainstream press.
  • Joe Manchin has COVID.
  • Facebook is changing its formula to give you a feed of random stuff, a la TikTok, as opposed to showing you stuff from people you follow, signaling another move by social network companies away from being social networks.
  • Sunscreen is hip now. Specifically, the Trader Joe's $9 sunscreen that's basically the same thing as a $36 Supergoop bottle.
  • In a follow-up to the great chicken sandwich wars of 2019, fast food restaurants are now hyping up their chicken nugget offerings.
  • An octopus has a miniature brain in each of its arms, prompting philosophers to wonder if octopuses have multiple selves.
  • Here's a picture of Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette on a balcony and looking sad (or deeply at peace?) on his honeymoon in France.
  • Follow Gothamist on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and like us on Facebook. You can also get the top stories emailed to you —sign up here.
  • And finally, the beds!: