This report was published on YouTube on December 17.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Jazmine Headley, Mom in Viral Video, to File Lawsuit Against NYC
This report was published on YouTube on December 17.
British PM Sets Date for Brexit Deal Parliamentary Vote
This report was published on YouTube on December 17.
Saudi Denounces US Senate Vote as 'Blatant Interference'
This report was published on YouTube on December 17.
Mayor de Blasio Makes NYC Schools Announcement
This video was published on YouTube on December 17.
Source: NYC Mayor's Office
Break in Case of Emergency: The Case for a Strong Public Advocate
By Errol Louis
A
half dozen members of the City Council have introduced a bill to
abolish the office of public advocate. "The office, if it ever served a
purpose, it has outlived it," the bill's lead sponsor, Kalman Yeger,
told Politico recently.
Wrong.
The most important power of the position — having a citywide elected official who can, if need be, temporarily step in as mayor — is greatly underrated. As the first in the line of succession, the public advocate assumes the mayoralty if the mayor dies, resigns or becomes incapacitated.
That happens more frequently than most people realize.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The New York Daily News (via Empire Report New York)
NYC Subway Chief Warns of ‘Death Spiral’ Without $40 Billion Fix
This video was published on YouTube on November 28.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages New York’s transit system, is at a crossroads after decades of underfunding and neglect.
It
either invests as much as $40 billion over the next decade in an
overhaul, or it descends into a “death spiral,” says Andy Byford, who
oversees the subways and buses.
That’s
the pitch Byford, 53, is making to disgruntled riders and taxpayers at
town-hall meetings, to the City Council during hours of testimony, and
to business executives at breakfasts and other gatherings.
“You don’t get the billions you need by just going to Albany
with a begging bowl,” Byford, recruited a year ago to run New York City
Transit, told executives at a Crain’s Magazine breakfast this month.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Bloomberg (via Empire Report New York)
Charter/Spectrum Cable Agrees to Record $174M Settlement for Misleading Customers on Internet Speed: AG's Office
A New York Daily News Exclusive
By Kenneth Lovett
ALBANY
— After being accused of defrauding its internet subscribers, Charter
Communications Monday agreed to a whopping $174.2 million settlement
with state Attorney General Barbara Underwood, the Daily News has
learned.
In
February 2017, the AG charged in a civil lawsuit that Charter
Communication, and its predecessor Time Warner Cable, knowingly
delivered since 2012 slower internet speed to customers than promised.
Click here for the full article.
WNY Gets Albany Leverage as Peoples-Stokes Named Assembly Majority Leader
ALBANY – A veteran member of the Assembly from Buffalo ascended
Monday to one of the top positions in the state Legislature, giving both
her and the region increased leverage in Albany at a key moment for
upstate.
Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, 66, was named as the next
Assembly majority leader, the number two leadership post in the
150-member chamber and one from which she can wield influence over
fiscal and policy initiatives.
“It’s daunting in some ways … and it’s exciting at the same time,"
Peoples-Stokes said in an interview shortly after Assembly Speaker Carl
Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, selected her as majority leader.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Buffalo News (via Empire Report New York)
Federal Court Says New York Ban on Nunchucks Unconstitutional
By Deepti Hajela, Associated Press
NEW YORK — A federal court says New
York's ban on nunchucks, the martial arts weapon made famous by Bruce
Lee but prohibited in the state for decades, is unconstitutional under
the Second Amendment.
Judge Pamela Chen issued her ruling Friday in federal court in Brooklyn.
Click here for summary.
Source: WRAL.com (via Empire Report New York)
New Sergeant William Dougherty Park Opens in Brooklyn
On December 17, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the grand opening of the Sergeant William Dougherty Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The public park was expanded and completely renovated as part of the construction of the nearby Kosciuszko Bridge - the first new bridge constructed in New York City since the Verrazano Bridge in 1964.
The $12 million park is named for Sergeant William T. Dougherty, a World War II hero who was born in Brooklyn and played in the park in his youth.
"Public parks are integral to our communities, and this new and expanded open space will be a vibrant new attraction for local families and residents," Governor Cuomo said. "It's fitting that the new Sergeant William Dougherty Park is named for a war hero and local resident who enjoyed the park in his youth, and his legacy will live on through this public space for generations to come."
Click here for the full announcement.
Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Happening in Harlem: A Special Holiday Toy Drive
Click on the flier to increase its size.
Source: ImageNation
Monday, December 17, 2018
Governor Cuomo Unveils '2019 Justice Agenda' (Full Video)
Governor Andrew Cuomo today unveiled his "2019 Justice Agenda," urging the legislature to act in the first 100 days of the next legislative session. The Governor's agenda represents a suite of ambitious proposals to ensure the promise of full, true justice for all, including economic justice, social justice, racial justice.
Governor Cuomo announced the agenda in a speech hosted by the Roosevelt Institute. This year, in the face of the nation's biggest social crisis, and with the federal government seeking to undo generations of progress, Governor Cuomo broke with tradition, laying out his legislative agenda in December 2018 instead of waiting until the State of the State address to enable the Legislature to commence action on these top priorities immediately upon convening.
Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
EANY Statement on Governor Cuomo's 2019 Priorities
The following statement was issued today by Peter Iwanowicz, Executive Director of Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY).
"Governor Cuomo's comments today on fighting climate change by moving to
100% renewable energy and a carbon-free economy, protecting water by
regulating harmful chemicals, and supporting transportation with a
congestion pricing plan evoke the environmental leadership New York has
long been known for. We look forward to working with Assembly Speaker
Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Governor Cuomo to
protect this and future generations by ensuring these commitments become
law."
Source: EANY
The Quiet Crisis Killing Black Women
Dallas police say Delashon Jefferson, 20, was fatally shot by her boyfriend after years of abuse. Could her death have been prevented?
By Melissa Jeltsen
DALLAS ― Before she died, Delashon Jefferson tacked a certificate to her bedroom wall.
The piece of paper, edged in gold like a diploma, was proof that her boyfriend had completed an anger management program. For Delashon, 20, it was more than that. It was a promise that her boyfriend was getting better.
Lagarius Rainey, 24, wasn’t going to hurt her anymore.
The young Dallas couple were expecting their second child, a sister for their toddler son, whom they called Rayray. A white crib was set up in the corner of the bedroom, ready for the baby. Delashon never got a chance to meet her.
Earlier this fall, police say, Rainey shot Delashon inside her bedroom when she was eight months pregnant. She was killed in front of her son.
Doctors at Baylor University Medical Center performed an emergency cesarean section and rushed her baby to the neonatal intensive care unit. Rainey was arrested and charged with Delashon’s murder.
In death, Delashon became one of the three women killed by their boyfriends, husbands and lovers every day in the United States. Domestic violence does not discriminate, and victims span all races, ages, ethnicities and religions.
The suffering, though, is not equally distributed.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Huffington Post
NYPD Confidential: Why No Outrage?
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
By Leonard Levitt
“Mr. Mayor, Why No Outrage Over a Mother’s Brutal Arrest?”
That was the Dec. 10 online headline from The New York Times
editorial board, which criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio’s initial
non-response to the charge that police “ripped a 1-year-old boy from
his mother’s arms,” as the newspaper’s news story described the
incident.
Granted, this is the same editorial board that in 2015 called
for firing NYPD Officer James Frascatore, who is white, after he
tackled biracial tennis star James Blake as he stood outside a midtown
hotel, mistaking him for a suspect wanted in a credit card fraud ring.
That editorial compared Frascatore to Daniel Pantaleo, who may or may
not have used a chokehold that led to the death of Eric Garner, a death
that fanned the anti-police narrative that police regularly mistreat
and even kill innocent African Americans. [Jazmine Headley, the mother
of the 1 year old, “ripped” from her arms, is black.]
Yet when it comes to de Blasio’s initial lack of outrage over
Headley’s arrest, the Times’ editorial board got it right, at least in
part. “Mr. de Blasio’s handling of the incident shows how far he has
strayed from his righteous roots as a candidate promising to hold the
police accountable and change the way they interact with minority
residents like Ms. Headley,” the Times stated.
Click here for the full article.
Source: nypdconfidential.com
Dementia Patients Fuel Assisted Living’s Growth. Safety May Be Lagging.
By Jordan Rau
They
found Bonnie Walker in a pond behind her assisted living facility in
South Carolina. There were puncture wounds on her ear, her temple, her
jaw and her cheeks.
Her pacemaker was inside one of the alligators that lived in the pond.
Like
four in 10 residents in assisted living facilities, Ms. Walker, 90,
suffered from dementia. Shortly after midnight one day in July 2016, she
slipped out of her facility, Brookdale Charleston, as she had done a
few days before. This time, no one noticed her missing for seven hours.
“No one should have to pass away that way,” her granddaughter Stephanie Weaver said.
Assisted
living facilities were originally designed for people who were largely
independent but required help bathing, eating or other daily tasks.
Unlike nursing homes, the facilities generally do not provide skilled
medical care or therapy, and stays are not paid for by Medicare or
Medicaid.
Dementia care is the
fastest-growing segment of assisted living. But as these residences
market themselves to people with Alzheimer’s and other types of
dementia, facilities across the country are straining to deliver on
their promises of security and attentive care, according to a Kaiser
Health News analysis of inspection records in the three most populous
states.
In
California, 45 percent of assisted living facilities have violated one
or more state dementia regulations during the last five years. Three of
the 12 most common California citations in 2017 were related to dementia care.
In
Florida, one in every 11 assisted living facilities has been cited
since 2013 for not meeting state rules designed to prevent residents
from wandering away.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The New York Times
Where Women Turn When Doctors Don’t Believe Breast Implants Are Making Them Ill
They think their implants are destroying their health and are frustrated that many doctors don’t agree.
By Emily Shugerman
Denise Milisitz has been diagnosed with pneumonia seven times in the
last two years. In between bouts, she suffers from a persistent,
chest-rattling cough that leaves her winded and exhausted. She’s been
hospitalized five times, for at least three days, to get IV antibiotics
that make her veins harder to find each time. At the age of 41, her
doctor has suggested she be tested for cystic fibrosis, a genetic
disease that usually presents itself before age 2.
Milisitz never thought her ailments could be caused by the two saline bags implanted in her chest—until last month.
That’s
when she joined Breast Implant Illness and Healing by Nicole, a
Facebook group for women who believe their various health problems are
caused by their breast implants. The group is one of dozens that women
have flocked to in recent years, complaining of symptoms from depression
to autoimmune illness. They refer to their complaints, which range from
minor nuisances to debilitating diseases, as “Breast Implant Illness.”
Whether
breast implants can actually cause illness is far from certain. The
subject has been studied frequently, though perhaps not thoroughly, and
advocates on both sides point to flaws in the research supporting either
conclusion. Regardless, thousands of women in these groups say they
started feeling sick when their implants were put in, and only stopped
once they were gone.
The Facebook groups act as a virtual support
network for these women, many of whom feel ignored and mistreated by
the medical community. The women validate each others’ complaints, share
suggestions, and reassure themselves that there is life after implants.
Many women post updates from their explants, an increasingly popular
surgery to remove the devices for good.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Daily Beast
A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — So She Lost Her Job
By Glenn Greenwald
A children’s speech pathologist who has worked for the last
nine years with developmentally disabled, autistic, and speech-impaired
elementary school students in Austin, Texas, has been told she can no
longer work with the public school district after she refused to sign an
oath vowing that she “does not” and “will not” engage in a boycott of
Israel or “otherwise tak[e] any action that is intended to inflict
economic harm” on that foreign nation. A lawsuit on her behalf was
filed early Monday morning in a federal court in the Western District
of Texas alleging a violation of her First Amendment right of free
speech.
The child language specialist, Bahia Amawi, is a U.S. citizen who
received a master’s degree in speech pathology in 1999 and, since then,
has specialized in evaluations for young children with language
difficulties (see video below). Amawi was born in Austria and has lived
in the U.S. for the last 30 years, fluently speaks three languages
(English, German, and Arabic), and has four U.S.-born American children
of her own.
Amawi began working in 2009 on a contract basis with the Pflugerville
Independent School District, which includes Austin, to provide
assessments and support for school children from the county’s growing
Arabic-speaking immigrant community. The children with whom she has
worked span the ages of 3 to 11. Ever since her work for the school
district began in 2009, her contract was renewed each year with no
controversy or problem.
But this year, all of that changed. On August 13, the school district
once again offered to extend her contract for another year by sending
her essentially the same contract and set of certifications she has
received and signed at the end of each year since 2009.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_
Messianic Jewish Lobbying Group Builds Support for U.S.-Funded Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Palestine
By Lee Fang
A pro-Israel activist group is quietly pushing lawmakers on
Capitol Hill and key officials in the White House to embrace a plan that
would entail paying Palestinian residents in the West Bank to move
abroad. The plan is a bid to reshape the ethnic and religious population
of territories controlled by Israel, according to the head of the
group, called the Alliance for Israel Advocacy.
If all goes according to the group’s plan, legislation will be
released in January, when the new Congress convenes, that will redirect
U.S. funds once dedicated to the United Nations for Palestinian
humanitarian assistance into a voucher program administered by the
Israeli government. A draft summary of the proposal states that the
money will help finance the permanent relocation of Palestinians from
the West Bank to countries such as Turkey, Sweden, the United Arab
Emirates, or the United States.
The effort is being championed by the Alliance for Israel Advocacy, a
lobbying group formed by the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, a
nonprofit that represents Jews who have converted to Christianity but
who still practice some Jewish customs. The so-called Messianic Jews
broadly share many spiritual beliefs of modern born-again evangelicals.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_
The Week Ahead at the White House
Reuters White House Correspondent Jeff Mason spoke by phone about what's on tap.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Trump Announces New Chief of Staff; James Comey Heads to Capitol Hill
This report was published on YouTube on December 16.
Stephen Miller: White House 'Absolutely' Will Shut Down Government to Get Border Wall
This report was published on YouTube on December 16.
What Happened to Zuckerberg's 2018 Resolution to 'Fix Facebook'?
This report was published on YouTube on December 16.
Thousands in Hungary Protest PM Viktor Orban's 'Slave Law'
This report was published on YouTube on December 16.
The Fallout Canada, U.S. Face Following Huawei CFO's Arrest
This report was published on YouTube on December 16.
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