Free Republic

ALBANY — The Cuomo administration announced Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State, ending years of uncertainty by concluding that the controversial method of extracting gas from deep underground could contaminate the state’s air and water and pose inestimable public-health risks... That conclusion was delivered publicly during a year-end cabinet meeting called by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in Albany. It came amid increased calls by environmentalists to ban fracking, which uses water and chemicals to release natural gas trapped in deeply buried shale deposits.

The most immediate consequence of the Democrats’ midterm disaster was losing control of the Senate and ceding Congress to the GOP. For the next two years, Democrats will have to deal with conservative legislation, right-wing hijinks, and—in all odds—a vacancy crisis, as Republicans freeze confirmations and refuse to fill spots in the executive branch and on the federal bench. That is bad for the Democratic Party. What’s on the horizon is worse. As Amy Walter notes for the Cook Political Report, Democrats lost big at all levels of government, including the states. “Today,” she writes, “about 55 percent of all...

If you’re a New Yorker who is dissatisfied with the original set of chromosomes you were dealt at birth, good news is on the way. Historically, various types of reassignment surgeries involved in switching genders have been considered to be either cosmetic or optional by insurance companies and have generally not been covered. These procedures are not cheap, so they remained beyond the reach of a lot of people. But now, Governor Andrew Cuomo has sent a letter to insurers in the Empire State letting them know that they are going to have to start footing the bill. Now...

Lee Albertorio felt like a man trapped in a woman’s body. After serving in the Air Force, he began taking hormones, which deepened his voice and made his physique more masculine. He changed his passport to reflect that he was male, and last year he decided to have a mastectomy, known as top surgery. But his insurance company told him the operation was cosmetic and refused to cover it, he said Wednesday. Now Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is warning insurance companies that they will no longer be allowed to deny gender reassignment surgery or other treatment to change a person’s...

When you need advice on a subject, you go to an expert. Gov. Andrew Cuomo did just that when he had a policy meeting on the subject of how cops enforce the laws with hip-hop mogul Jay Z — who earned most of his expertise in crime as a crack dealer. The governor’s spokeswoman, Melissa DeRosa, on Wednesday described their confab in Cuomo’s Midtown office as “productive.’’ The two discussed “a top-to-bottom review of the criminal justice system and how we can all work together to pass a reform package,” she said. The rapper built his musical career on songs...

Officials say New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, has been hospitalized. The governor’s office says Saturday the elder Cuomo is being treated for a heart condition. A gubernatorial spokeswoman says the 82-year-old former three-term governor is in good spirits and is thankful for the best wishes and support he’s received. …

CNN's Chris Cuomo gets tear-gassed covering the riots in Ferguson after the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson.

Gov. Cuomo expressed criticism for the National Weather Service and its forecast of the storm that ravaged the region in a news conference late Saturday.Cuomo said the NWS didn't indicate that the heavy snow bands would remain stationary and blast South Buffalo and the Southtowns with unprecedented snowfall.Cuomo indicated that's a big reason why New York is building its own weather forecasting system, that he states will be superior to any other state system in the country."No one had an idea that it was gonna be that much snow that fast. Snow coming down at the rate of about five...

The state’s most powerful Republican secretly worked for months to help Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo win re-election — in exchange for Cuomo’s promise not to aid Senate Democrats in their Long Island races, a top New York GOP leader has charged.

The state’s most powerful Republican secretly worked for months to help Democratic Gov. Cuomo win re-election — in exchange for Cuomo’s promise not to aid Senate Democrats in their Long Island races, a top New York GOP leader has charged. Former state Republican Party Executive Director Michael Lawler — who managed Rob Astorino’s ill-fated gubernatorial run against Cuomo — told The Post that he learned of the alleged bombshell deal between Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos and Cuomo just days ago, after suspecting for months that it existed. Lawler said he found out about the alleged Skelos-Cuomo arrangement from a...

The menacing letter sent out to a million New York Democrats to bully them into voting was written by a top campaign strategist who was appointed by Gov. Cuomo himself, sources told The Post. The revelation comes as a “circular firing squad” of finger-pointing has erupted over who is responsible for the letter, which was sent out last week by the New York State Democratic Committee and caused “panic” in the Cuomo camp, sources said. The letter warned voters that the party would be keeping tabs on who goes to the polls on Tuesday. “Who you vote for is your...

VIDEO OF AD AND INTERVIEW HERE Basically, Astorino (the GOP candidate for Gov) blast Cuomo for being a lying scumbag about guns. It won't matter much, as Cuomo is up 25 points in polls in NY (can you believe this?!) But it's nice to see an attractive, normal, loyal woman attack a lying Fascist like Andrew Cuomo.

Hickox isn't backing away from challenging the home quarantine that's been forced on her in Maine. Meanwhile, Gov. Cuomo won't reveal the number of health care workers who have been subjected to the policy upon their arrival from West Africa.Civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel has defended countless victims of government abuse over the years, including people swept up in another hysterical call for health quarantines during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. But even the grizzled Siegel has been struck by the bravery and eloquence of Kaci Hickox, the 33-year-old nurse who telephoned him Saturday from a makeshift tent...

Offering the first detailed account of how New York State’s quarantine order for travelers returning from West Africa will be put into effect, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration has issued guidelines that go beyond federal recommendations but seek to allow people to choose where to spend their enforced isolation. The state protocols show an effort by the administration to portray the quarantine, which has been criticized as excessive by some experts and doctors’ organizations, in a humane manner. The protocols are meant to ensure “a respectful and supportive approach” to arriving travelers, who are supposed to be “treated with the...

(CNN) -- There are times when political ambition spurs political leaders to reach new heights of courage and creativity. To date, the Ebola outbreak of 2014 is not proving to be one of those times. By chance, the deadly infection first arrived on American shores in two states, Texas and New York, where powerful governors are each nurturing dreams of the presidency and eager to posture as men with the right stuff to lead the nation. But Rick Perry in Texas and Andrew Cuomo in New York are both being tripped up by a dilemma that has bedeviled recent presidents:...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Ebola quarantine policy is drawing strong opposition from people who work closely with him on another infectious disease: AIDS. New York State’s imposition of a 21-day quarantine on health workers who have had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa “is not supported by scientific evidence” and “may have consequences that are the antithesis of effective public health policy,” according to a letter released Monday with signatures from over 100 H.I.V. activists, researchers and clinicians. They consider the state’s quarantine policy unacceptable even though, as Governor Cuomo announced Sunday night, affected people will be able to serve...

The Obama administration has been pushing the governors of New York and New Jersey to reverse their decision ordering all medical workers returning from West Africa who had contact with Ebola patients to be quarantined, an administration official said. But on Sunday both governors, Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey, stood by their decision saying that the federal guidelines did not go far enough. At the same time, the first person to be forced into isolation under the new protocols, Kaci Hickox, a nurse returning from Sierra Leone, planned to mount a legal challenge...

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday night outlined New York State’s mandatory quarantine policy for health care workers returning from West African nations with Ebola outbreaks , bringing the state closer into line with federal protocols and marking a significant break with the way the policy has been carried out in New Jersey. The announcement comes after the Obama administration pressed New York to revise its order, issued only two days ago in a joint press conference with New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie.

The Obama administration has expressed deep concerns to the governors of New York and New Jersey and is consulting with them to modify their orders to quarantine medical volunteers returning from West Africa as President Obama seeks to quickly develop a new, nationwide policy for the workers, according to two senior administration officials. One administration official said the federal government has been pressing the governors to back off their decisions, which quarantine all medical workers who had contact with Ebola patients. But another official said the administration has not specifically asked the governors to reverse their policies. Mr. Obama held...

The Obama administration has been pushing the governors of New York and New Jersey to reverse their decision ordering all medical workers returning from West Africa who had contact with Ebola patients to be quarantined, an administration official said. But on Sunday both governors, Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey, stood by their decision, saying that the federal guidelines did not go far enough. At the same time, the first person to be forced into isolation under the new protocols, Kaci Hickox, a nurse returning from Sierra Leone, planned to mount a legal challenge...