Free Republic

Samaritan’s Purse has no expectation of receiving a single penny for the weeks of work they did in Central Park to combat the coronavirus. But now New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is asking them to pay up. Earlier this week, the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the nonprofit organization, told Faithwire, “They’re the ones who called us originally,” referring to officials with the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. “We didn’t call them; they called us,” he continued. “And we agreed to go and we have not charged them one penny. All of our services have been...

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that hospitalizations are still trending downward in the state and there were 335 new deaths. A total of 17,638 people have died in the state from the COVID-19 crisis. As far as reopening, the governor said that it is not for areas with hospitals at 70% capacity or where the rate of transmission reaches an outbreak level of Rt 1.1.

Gov. Cuomo doubled down Sunday on the state’s controversial directive ordering nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients. The governor — who himself has described nursing homes as a “feeding frenzy’’ for the deadly coronavirus — said that the facilities can’t challenge a state regulation forcing them to admit patients with the contagion. But he insisted that nursing homes could transfer those ill with the virus to another facility if the centers lacked such things as quarantine space, proper protective equipment and staff. Asked by a reporter at his daily briefing Sunday if there was anything contradictory about his statements, the...

Cuomo has come under increasing criticism for a March 25 directive requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients. The directive read, in part (original emphasis): “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.” The policy is being scrutinized more closely as some 25% of the state’s fatalities from coronavirus have occurred in nursing homes. Critics argue that the state should not have...

Earlier this week, Allahpundit wrote about New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s strategy of developing a “Trump-proof” strategy for reopening businesses in his state without letting the President take credit for it or Cuomo taking the blame over a longer shutdown and/or a resurgence of the virus, depending on how it plays out. As part of this strategy, Cuomo has hired the consultant firm McKinsey & Company to help him develop the plan. While this may not look like an unusual choice at first glance, a deeper look into McKinsey’s history makes them a very problematic option at best. It’s not...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday requiring all New Yorkers to wear face masks or coverings in public places beginning this week.

Cuomo to order all people to wear masks or face coverings in public ... Cuomo plans to issue an executive order requiring all people to wear a mask

During a press conference on Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, boasted about the lowering rate of novel coronavirus cases in the state while seemingly taking a jab at the faithful. “The number is down because we brought the number down,” he told reporters Monday. “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that.” “A lot of pain and suffering did that,” the Democrat continued. “That’s how it works. It’s math. And if you don’t continue to do that, you’re going to see that number go back up. And that will be...

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo thoroughly embarrassed his New York governor brother Andrew on the air by pulling up an unflattering family photo from the politician's teenage years. The brothers engaged in another round of playful sibling banter on Wednesday night during Cuomo Prime Time, which Chris has been hosting from his basement for the past week while he battles COVID-19.

Dr. Mehmet Oz joined Lou Dobbs on Monday to discuss the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. During their conversation Dr. Oz revealed that Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down his study to determine the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in the early treatment of the coronavirus. And, Dr. Oz is not pleased with the governor’s actions.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in New York have dropped, but he cautioned it’s too early to tell if the new figures will become a trend. New York state has now seen 4,159 virus deaths as of Sunday, an increase of 594 fatalities in the past 24 hours, Cuomo said in a news conference. A total of 122,031 people in New York state have tested positive for the virus, up by around 9,000 cases in the same time-frame. Cuomo said New York City, the hardest-hit area in the United States, has experienced 67,551...

Once again, government intrusion into the health-care sector has proved disastrous. While New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blames the president and the federal government for the lack of beds and ventilators in his state, the power to determine the number of these critical medical supplies in New York hospitals falls squarely upon the shoulders of the governor.During a Tuesday press conference, Cuomo lashed out at the federal government for not sending enough ventilators as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to rattle the state. “Four hundred ventilators? I need 30,000 ventilators,” Cuomo said. “You want a pat on the back for sending...

Now you tell us. As the nation begins to debate when to bring back some economic normalcy, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wondered aloud yesterday whether it should have stopped in the first place. Locking the healthy with the exposed carriers may have backfired by accelerating the spread of the coronavirus, at least in hot spots like New York City.“If you re-thought that or had time to analyze that public health strategy,” Cuomo told reporters, “I don’t know that you would say ‘Quarantine everyone.’” So what would Cuomo do the next time around, and what does he plan to...

"""New York tells nursing homes they'll need to take coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals, report says""" New York told nursing-home operators that they will be required to accept patients infected with the new coronavirus who are discharged from hospitals but may be still convalescing, amid more cases in the state that are straining the health-care system. The decision will draw pushback from some nursing-home officials, who have warned that such moves endanger residents who aren’t infected by the virus, because discharged patients may still be contagious. A group representing doctors who work in nursing homes, known as AMDA, the Society...

RUSH: Grab audio sound bite number 24. Andrew Cuomo today at his daily briefing for the people in New York… CUOMO: You have projection models that have us hitting the apex, coming down from the apex. Models vary at how quickly you come down from the apex. But they all basically say you come down from the apex quickly. Models have it flattening out and continuing through the summer. How many lives lost? There’s only one model that we look at that has the number of projected deaths, which is the IHME model which is funded by the Gates Foundation....

On Saturday, President Trump visited Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to send off the USNS Comfort as the hospital ship departs for New York City. The ship is stocked with medical supplies and has 1,000 beds and other equipment to help aide New York in its response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.  The ship has 12 fully-equipped operating rooms, two oxygen-producing plants, a pharmacy, a medical laboratory, an optometry lab, a CAT-scan, digital radiological services, and a helicopter pad, according to the Navy. Once in New York, the ship will provide medical services to non-coronavirus patients, freeing up New York's...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a measure Wednesday permitting New York state to press charges against those who have received presidential pardons. The measure was passed to prevent President Trump's ex-aides facing prison time or potential sentencing from receiving pardons and avoiding criminal punishment, NBC News reported. The network added that the legislation was a direct response to the president's consideration of giving his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, a pardon. Manafort is serving in a federal prison after being convicted on bank fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy charges. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has also indicted him on state...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday night signed legislation granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants — shortly after the controversial measure passed the state Senate. Cuomo’s action came despite throwing supporters a last-minute curveball by asking the state’s top civil attorney, Solicitor General Barbara Underwood, to review the measure for possible safety concerns — threatening to veto it if he didn’t like her assessment. “You could create a database for the feds to use to actually track down undocumented people,” Cuomo said on WAMC radio. “California passed a law, and they are now in litigation.” But Underwood’s boss, Attorney General Tish...

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday announced a dramatic drop in state income tax revenue of $2.8 billion, which he says will prompt him to revise his 2019-20 budget and reconsider spending on schools, health care and repairs to roads and bridges. Cuomo, a Democrat, blamed the shortfall on a federal tax plan backed by Republican President Donald Trump. Cuomo said the law's cap on deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000 was to blame and suggested it is, anecdotally, triggering high-earners to leave New York. “At this point there is no doubt that the budget we...

<p>One World Trade Center in New York City, NY — the centerpiece of the World Trade Center complex — was illuminated with pink lighting to celebrate the Empire State’s passage of legislation designating abortion a “fundamental right.”</p>