Politics
Mamdani’s NYC World Cup jerseys beat the bots
NEW YORK — There’s no bots about it.
The New York City-themed World Cup jerseys announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in June and released online from July 8 to July 16 sold out every morning within minutes, though the Mamdani administration tells Blue Light News there was no foul play involved.
Frustrated shoppers suspected scalpers using automated bots to buy the jerseys within seconds during each morning’s release at 10 a.m., but New York’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services said it only detected two out of 3,500 orders that came from bots.
“The NYC soccer jerseys have been tremendously popular—thousands have attempted to purchase through CityStore online every day. One thousand very real, very happy New Yorkers have already picked up their jerseys in person—we have not seen widespread bot activity,” a DCAS spokesperson said in a statement.
The two detected bot orders were canceled, the spokesperson added.
The jerseys’ high demand and low supply is a more likely explanation for why they sold out so quickly. The website limited releases to 500 jerseys every morning, and averaged 25,000 visitors to the store during the week it was for sale.
DCAS said it used Shopify’s bot prevention services such as CAPTCHA tests and required in-person pick-ups to prevent automated purchases.
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President Trump on Sunday said the regional grocer, Giant Eagle, would lower prices on “more than” 300 products as he seeks to settle concerns regarding affordability. “I have just been informed that Giant Eagle, a GREAT American Grocery Company, will be lowering Prices, by a lot…
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Maine’s former CDC Director Nirav Shah dropped out of the Democratic primary for Senate on Sunday, a day after pleading his case to delegates in Augusta.
“A few weeks ago, I entered this race because I could not accept the idea of Susan Collins gliding to a sixth term at the very moment Maine families are being forced to pay the price for her votes,” Shah wrote in a statement on X.
“Today, I am stepping aside, and I am doing it for exactly the same reason that led me to get in: we must defeat Susan Collins, and the Democratic Party must be unified to do it,” he added.
His statement follows Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to suspend her campaign.
Both Shah and Bellows were vying for the spot vacated by oyster farmer Graham Platner, whose platform gained traction but was overcome by allegations of rape, abuse and racism.
Democrats in the Pine Tree State are now scrambling to find a replacement for Platner, who pulled in millions from PACs such as Act Blue and Majority Forward.
More than 10 candidates threw their hat in the ring to earn the party nomination, but former state Sen. Troy Jackson (D) is leading the pack.
Shah endorsed Jackson on Sunday, arguing he was the best candidate to defeat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in November.
However, less than 24 hours ago, Shah claimed to be the most electable out of the crowded field of candidates to replace Graham.
“Senator Collins has been able to be elected and re-elected is that every cycle she peels off a small percentage of Democrats who cross over and vote for her. The key to defeating Senator Collins is achieving party unity,” Shah said on Saturday at the Maine Democratic Special Nominating Meeting.
“The candidate who can keep Democrats unified is going to be the candidate who is most able to defeat her. The reason why that matters is that I am the candidate that has the strongest case for electability,” the former Maine CDC director added.
Early in his campaign, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said Maine deserved a “better” candidate than Shah, criticizing the way he handled a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak while leading Illinois’ public health department.
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