Ruschell Boone, a prestigious anchor and reporter at New York City TV station NY1, was killed due to pancreatic cancer she battled over the last year, NY1 announced on Tuesday.
Boone, 48, who passed away the day before, NY1 said in an announcement.
Boone joined the all-news channel as a reporter who covered the city of Queens in 2002. He was then promoted to the Anchor Desk in an afternoon time slot by 2021.
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Charter Communications now operates the station, said Boone “had a unique ability to connect with New Yorkers — through the screen and in person — in a way that made her feel like a trusted friend.”
Born in Jamaica, Boone was known for covering Jamaica’s numerous immigrant communities.
She was a reporter on significant news stories such as Superstorm Sandy and protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. She was also an integral part of celebrations such as Brooklyn’s regular West Indian American Day parade and New Year’s Eve in Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop.
Boone was the sole TV reporter at Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s Democratic primary party in June 2018, when the underdog candidate was informed from early reports that she was poised to cause a stir by challenging the incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley. “I cannot put this into words,” the soon-to-be Congress member told Boone live on television.
Boone has won numerous awards throughout her career, including a New York Press Club award for the best feature reportage and the New York Emmy award for her television series “New York: Unfiltered.”
Following her cancer diagnosis, Boone took a leave from NY1 from June 2022 until March of this year to undergo an exhausting course of chemotherapy.
However, she posted on social media on the 27th that the cancer was approaching the worst. “Unfortunately, my cancer has metastasized in my liver, and I’m back in treatment,” Boone declared via X. Previously, it was Twitter. “It’s rough, but the chemo is working.”
She said, “Prayers have carried me through difficult times. Thank you for believing in me.”
Her first appearance on the station in her return on NY1 on March 1 was that of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and she appeared on the radio station Tuesday to pay tribute to the mayor.
“We are all better people because we had a wonderful, wonderful person who reported to us and showed us that no matter how much pain you have, you can turn it into purpose,” Adams stated. “You did not see her smiling. She didn’t utter a word like ‘Woe’s me. She simply said “Why didn’t I. I’d like to be an inspiration for the people around me.'”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed doctors on Tuesday of an increase inrise in cases of severe RSV in children ages 0 to 5 years old in Floridaand Georgia.
Regional increases usually signal the start of RSV season throughout the nation, as the CDC stated in its advice, “with increased RSV activity spreading north and west over the following 2-3 months.”
The increase in late summer indicates that RSV (also known as respiratory syncytial virus is regressing into a regular seasonal pattern following many years of viral activity that was unusually early because of the pandemic.
Between August 5 and August. 19, the frequency of hospitalizations due to RSV increased from 2 per 100,000 children aged four and under to 7 in 100,000 children, according to the CDC. The majority of hospitalizations were for babies younger than one-year-old.
Each year RSV infection causes about two million doctor visits and 80,000 hospitalizations, and the possibility of 300 or more deaths among infants under five years old as per the CDC.