On #TheUpdate this Thursday, the defense at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial is now trying to play offense. They're trying to cast doubt on a key accuser's allegation that the British socialite helped financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse the woman for years, starting when she was 14. A lawyer confronted the witness with FBI documents that the defense says show that she's made inconsistent statements about Maxwell's participation in the abuse. The holly, jolly, beat time of the year has gotten a light-filled launch. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was kit in a midtown Manhattan ceremony on NBC, once again open to the public, in contrast to last year's virus-impacted event. And in an Associated Press investigation, the U.S military has a missing explosives problem. Hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives have vanished over the past decade, as have hundreds- and possibly thousands- of armor-piercing grenades. 🇺🇲🧨💣

From New York, the greatest city in the world, it's The Update with Brandon Julien!

On #TheUpdate this Wednesday, there's a surprise exit from an unexpected person. Less than a year after Meisha Porter became the first black woman to take the helm of the New York City public school system, the born and bred New Yorker from a family of educators is stepping down from the job. She told NY1 she'll leave the school chancellor position at the end of the year and take a new role as the CEO of The Bronx Community Foundation.

CNN says that they're suspending Chris Cuomo indefinitely pending a further review of documents from that Assembly investigation that revealed how he helped his brother, former governor Andrew Cuomo, when he was going charges of sexual harassment.

And in Washington, abortion rights are on the line at the Supreme Court in historic arguments over the landmark ruling Roe V. Wade nearly 50 years ago that declared a nationwide right to end a pregnancy. The justices today will weigh whether to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks and overrule Roe v. Wade.🤰🏽⚖️

From New York, the greatest city in the world, it's The Update with Brandon Julien!

From New York, the greatest city in the world, it's The Update with Brandon Julien!

On #TheUpdate this Tuesday, it's time to mask up once again. Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi are now urging people to wear masks in indoor public settings such as grocery stores and offices as scientists work to learn more about the newly identified omicron varient of the COVID-19 virus. Scientists have detected a rare species of whale southeast of New York City, and the federal government is using a voluntary protected zone to try to keep them safe. They are North Atlantic right whales, and there are fewer than 350 of them left in the world. And Barbados is making history in the 21st century. They've stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history. 🇧🇧🇬🇧

From New York, the greatest city in the world, it's The Update with Brandon Julien!

From New York, the greatest city in the world, it's The Update with Brandon Julien!

Boy that was one hell of a Thanksgiving holiday weekend, wasn't it? Hope you had a good holiday with those you love and care about. On #TheUpdate this Monday, the stage is finally set. Two years after Jeffrey Epstein's suicide behind bars, a jury was being picked here in New York City to determine a central question on the long-running sex trafficking case: Was his longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's puppet? Or accomplice?

We lost two icons over the holiday weekend. Stephen Sondheim, the songwriter who reshaped the American musical theater in the second half of the 20th century, died suddenly at the age of 91. And designer Virgil Abloh, a leading fashion executive that was hailed as the Karl Lagerfeld of his generation, died of cancer at the age of 41.

And the WHO says that it could still take some time to get a full picture of the threat posed by Omicron, a new varient of the coronavirus as scientists worldwide scrambled to assess its multiple mutations. Meanwhile in Australia, authorities have announced a third case of the new varient as government leaders are reconsidering plans to relax border restrictions this week. 😷🇦🇺

From New York, the greatest city in the world, it's The Update with Brandon Julien!