NCC News Brief – Sept. 30, 2020 NCC Newsbrief September 30, 2020

Peyton Smith: Good afternoon. Today is Wednesday, September 30, 20-20. For N-C-C News, I’m Peyton Smith, and here are today’s top stories.

Jefferson County Deputies are searching for two teenagers last seen early Tuesday morning in Natural Bridge. Deputies say 14-year-old Bree Shultz and 17-year-old Jacob House were last seen around 6 oh-clock on Tuesday morning riding an A-T-V on Lewisburg Road. The sheriff’s office believes they ran away but warns they are not prepared for the weather. Officials suspect that the teens are either in the Natural Bridge area or could be heading to Carthage or Harrisville in Lewis County. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office wants anyone with information on the teens to contact them.

And in Franklin County, a missing couple has been found safe after a joint search between the F-B-I and Canadian authorities. 76-year-old James Helm Senior and 70-year-old Sandra Helm were found Tuesday evening in Moira, New York, 20 miles south of the Canadian border. According to the Albany F-B-I Office, co-workers grew concerned when James Helm did not show up to work Monday morning.

And the world has passed a grim milestone — one million coronavirus deaths. More than 200 thousand have been in the United States. This comes as New York State has reported eleven thousand 500 new COVID cases over the past two weeks. More than a quarter of these new cases have come from just ten zip codes in New York City and its northern suburbs. Governor Cuomo worries the spike could be linked to schools in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: ““I’m going to be meeting with religious leaders of the orthodox community and local officials. If you look at those clusters and you look at those zip codes, you will see there’s an overlap with large Orthodox Jewish communities.”

Peyton Smith: Health officials believe the spike in the Hasidic community is linked to religious schools returning to in-person learning in early September.

Starting today in New York State, businesses are prohibited from charging “pink taxes” — when women’s products are more expensive than similar items for men. This ban makes gender-based price discrimination illegal in New York, requiring retailers to charge the same price for substantially similar products and services. Businesses that violate the new law face civil penalties and fines up to 500 dollars.

For more information on these stories be sure to watch our newscasts this afternoon at 4 and 4:45. Also, follow us on Twitter @NCCNewsOnline for the latest Central New York News. You can read these full stories and more on NCCNewsOnline.com. For N-C-C News, I’m Peyton Smith.