News without the noise · New York Edition
Friday, July 17, 2026 · 65 stories
The three-alarm fire, which broke out around 7 a.m., led to the evacuation of 200 people from a Midtown high-rise on Friday morning. Five minor injuries were reported.
New York City has been under an Air Quality Health Advisory as the Canadian and Great Lakes wildfire smoke gradually moves through the area, creating a thick haze in the heat. A man wears a face mask in Brooklyn Bridge Park on July 17, 2026 in New York City.
Climate change has caused wildfires in Canada to grow more frequent and more intense, which creates a viscous cycle as the blazes pump more carbon into the atmosphere. The New York City smog caused by Canadian wildfires this week was so thick it obscured the skyline.
New York City air quality is set to gradually improve Friday as a weak front pushes Canadian wildfire smoke to the South, welcome news for many forced to mask up a day ago when the city saw its worst AQI in years. Parts of the country, including Chicago, saw air quality levels in the hazardous zone Thursday from the latest round of wildfire smoke. Smoke concentrations trend still lower Saturday, as rain through the day helps scrub smoke particles from the air.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota is sending air quality indexes to record levels, posing a hazard for millions of people. Here are tips for how to breathe easier in your home.
A 43-story skyscraper was evacuated Friday, sending more than 200 people out into the streets, after a fire broke out at a midtown Manhattan restaurant, authorities said. From Midtown to the Upper West Side to the Lower East Side and all points between, NBC New York covers Manhattan news, weather, traffic and more. Fire officials say they were called to the scene at the 520 Madison Avenue high-rise around 7 a.m.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates the tsunami warning center, forecast waves of less than 0.3m above tide level along the coasts of El Salvador, Colombia, Costa Rice, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Honduras. The US Tsunami Warning System had warned of possible " hazardous tsunami waves" along the nearby coasts of Mexico and Guatemala. No fatalities or significant damage have been reported in Mexico or Guatemala from the quake, which was also felt in El Salvador.
109 Million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the US Tens of millions of Americans face another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over large swathes of the US, affecting about 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east. Smoke from major fires – particularly in Ontario – [is] already having severe air quality impacts across cities in the Great Lakes region and the north-eastern United States,” said Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the Copernicus.
The British Columbia Wildfire Service said that 39 of those fires started in the last 24 hours and more than half (31 fires) are out of control, prompting. The far-reaching impacts of wildfire smoke – and how to protect yourself Canada fires prompt US air quality alerts as smoke blankets major cities In the open letter addressed to Canadian officials, US lawmakers John James, John Moolenaar, Jack Bergman and Lisa McClain said their "patience has run out". Fires are also burning on the country's west coast, where more than 59 active fires in British Columbia were reported on Friday.
I understand anybody who can’t swing it, but we were fortunate enough, and it was a great experience.” Twin boys Aiden and Noah Covrigaru, 6, said they have been waiting their entire lives to meet Brunson, and finally got the opportunity to tell him he’s their hero. 11 jersey onesie in the photo with his Brunson, his dad and his mom Kaitlin. One Knicks fan on line was sleeping when it was his time to have his photo taken with Brunson.