Former President Donald Trump has campaigned in one of the most Democratic counties in the nation, holding a rally in the South Bronx as he tries to woo minority voters days before a Manhattan jury will begin deliberations on whether to convict him of felony charges in his criminal hush money trial.

Trump on Thursday addressed supporters in Crotona Park, a public green space in a neighborhood that is among the city’s most diverse and its most impoverished, a change from the majority-white areas where the Republican holds most of his rallies. While the crowd was not quite as diverse as the South Bronx as a whole, it included large numbers of Black and Hispanic voters, and Spanish was heard throughout the crowd.

Trump, in his speech, cast himself as a better president for Black and Hispanic voters than President Joe Biden.

News 12 Senior Reporter Tara Rosenblum had the local exclusive interview with Trump who weighed in on the Presidential race, immigration and his trial.

On Wednesday, May 14, the New York State Legislature unanimously passed a bill to create a new framework for conducting professional performance reviews of teachers and principals. Now, the bill heads to the Governor's desk for a signature.

Once signed, over the next eight years, every district in New York State will be required to collectively bargain a new framework for teacher and principal evaluations. Districts will have the opportunity to design an evaluation process that fits the needs of their students and communities within certain parameters in a new section of the education law.

Evaluations must be holistic, include classroom observation, and prioritize helping teachers and administrators grow in their roles. Teachers and building principals who receive level 1 or 2 ratings must receive personalized professional development plans. Parents will have a right to know their child’s teacher and building principal’s most recent composite evaluation score, providing transparency and accountability.

This legislation decouples evaluation scores from decisions about teacher tenure and does not require districts to consider test scores.

"This is liberating both the school community, giving power to parents, and in the end hopefully will result in a more well-rounded student coming out at the end of the K through 12 experience," Mayer said.