Morning Headlines: Health Officials Say Harlem Legionnaires’ Outbreak Slowing Despite Seven Additional Cases, President Trump Considers Boosting Federal Law ...

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Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City, from WNYC. It's Tuesday, August 12th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: Seven more cases of Legionnaires' disease since Friday in that Harlem outbreak, but a health department spokesperson says cases are trending downward. Confirmed Legionnaires' cases grew to 90, but the number of deaths remained unchanged at three. Nevertheless, city council members still are searching for answers.

Health Committee Chair Lynn Schulman says an oversight hearing next month will look at enforcement of regulations passed after Legionnaires' outbreak in 2015 requiring buildings to test for Legionella bacteria in water cooling towers.

Lynn Schulman: We want to look at the legislation from back then and see what that does. Want to figure out the gaps that we had this go round.

Michael Hill: Schulman says the council will also scrutinize public health messaging during this outbreak. President Trump says he'll explore stepping up the number of federal law enforcers in New York City in the coming months. He made the comment as he rolled out the details of the federal government's takeover of the Washington, D.C. Police Department. Lenni Benson of New York Law School says New Yorkers should notice the move.

Lenni Benson: Well, again, Mr. Trump's administration seems to do first and ask permission later. Yes, I think we can be alarmed.

Michael Hill: Benson and other legal experts tell WNYC that Trump's legal powers to exert federal control in New York will be far more limited than what's possible in Washington, D.C. They say Trump's leverage in the city will likely be limited to how he spends federal dollars. Trump could also, in some circumstances, deploy the National Guard. In other news this morning, newly released state test scores show gains for New York City Public Schools. WNYC's Jessica Gould reports.

Jessica Gould: For New York City's third through eighth graders, scores went up more than seven percentage points in reading and more than three percentage points in math. Though there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only about 56% of the third through eighth graders scored proficient in those subjects. Still, city officials celebrated the scores, saying changes to reading and math curricula are starting to pay off. The Adams administration has made reading reform, in particular, a top priority.

Officials required schools to replace disproven strategies like encouraging kids to use context clues to guess at words, with a stronger emphasis on phonics. It's part of a broader movement to make sure kids are learning to read based on methods backed by brain science.

Michael Hill: 72 and clear now sunny and a high near 90 today with an air quality alert.

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Janae Pierre: Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.

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