Graham’s relationship with Trump comes back to bite him by: Alexander Bolton, The Hill via Nexstar Media Wire Posted: Jul 7, 2022
(The Hill) – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) achieved new heights of political celebrity during the Trump years, but now finds himself in the middle of a criminal investigation linked to the battle for Georgia in the 2020 presidential race.
A special grand jury in Fulton County has subpoenaed Graham along with other Trump insiders as part of an investigation into potential criminal interference in the 2020 election in Georgia, which Joe Biden narrowly won by 12,670 votes.
Music lineup announced for Troy’s River Festival by: Sara Rizzo Posted: Jul 6, 2022
TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The music lineup has been announced for the Troy River Festival on Sunday, July 17. The free family-friendly festival is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and celebrates art, music, handmade crafts, and culture with more than 100 vendors and shops.
Albany man charged after fatal Lake George crash by: Courtney Ward Posted: Jul 5, 2022
LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — An Albany man is facing several charges after a fatal crash in Lake George. Officials said Anthony Futia drove a motorcycle onto a bike path and struck several pedestrians. One adult and one child died in the crash.
Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of federal abortion rights PUBLISHED FRI, JUN 24 202210:11 AM EDTUPDATED FRI, JUN 24 20223:03 PM EDT Dan Mangan@_DANMANGAN Kevin Breuninger@KEVINWILLIAMB
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion. Roe since 1973 had permitted abortions during the first two trimesters of pregnancy in the United States. Almost half the states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision on a Mississippi case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, joined by four other conservatives. The three liberal justices opposed the decision. Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the majority to uphold the Mississippi abortion restrictions but did not approve of tossing out Roe altogether.
Almost half the states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, which is related to a highly restrictive new Mississippi abortion law. The laws will affect tens of millions of people around the country, who may have to cross state lines to seek reproductive health care.
Supporters of abortion rights immediately condemned the ruling, while abortion opponents praised a decision they had long hoped for and worked to ensure. Protesters descended on the Supreme Court on Friday to speak out both for and against a decision that will upend decades of precedent in the U.S.
Roe v. Wade
1973 United States Supreme Court case
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. The decision struck down many U.S. federal and state abortion laws. wikipedia.org
January 22, 1973
Opinion (7-2)
The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy" that protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose whether to have an abortion. This right is not absolute, and must be balanced against the government's interests in protecting women's health and protecting prenatal life. The Texas law making it a crime to procure an abortion violated this right.
MAY
Career and Technical Education students compete at SkillsUSA
Top Republican says no-fly zone over Ukraine could lead to 'beginning of World War III'
"It's not some rule you pass that everybody has to oblige by," Sen. Rubio said.
["I think people need to understand what a no-fly zone means ... it's not some rule you pass that everybody has to oblige by," Rubio, R-Fla., told ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. "It's the willingness to shoot down the aircrafts of the Russian Federation, which is basically the beginning of World War III."]
Complaint against former Governor Cuomo could have him disbarred by Liz Bishop
New York State (WRGB) — The Sexual Harassment Working Group is made up of former state legislative employees who say they experienced, witnessed or reported sexual harassment by former state lawmakers and their staff.
On Wednesday they filed a complaint with the state bar Attorney Grievance Committee, asking that disciplinary action be brought against Andrew Cuomo---that could ultimately include disbarment in New York.
CBS 6 Investigates: New information in case against funeral home owner by J.T. Fetch
Johnstown, NY (WRGB) — CBS 6 has an update on the disturbing case authorities say they have against Johnstown funeral home owner Brian Barnett, accused of mishandling human remains and operating without a license.
We now know Barnett, who owns the Ehle and Barnett Family Funeral Home, is being defended by Albany Attorney Ted Hartman. this, after Barnett turned himself in to Johnstown Police Monday. Barnett now faces several charges.
Questar III is launching a new #CTE program at Durham Elementary School in September 2022. The Agriculture Science Program is a two year program that allows students to learn more about plant and animal science. Through hands-on activities and labs students will learn the value of plant and animal science and its impact locally, regionally, and globally. Find out more about the program here https://www.questar.org/.../questar-iii-to-launch-new.../...#CTEMonth
JANUARY
Police discover 100 bags of fentanyl at home of deceased Connecticut 13-year-old
The fentanyl found at the teenager’s home was packaged in the same manner as the bags of fentanyl found at his school after he overdosed.
By The Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. — About 100 bags of fentanyl were found at the home of a 13-year-old Hartford boy who overdosed on the drug at school, police said.
[The teen’s death prompted renewed calls for schools to stock the opioid antidote naloxone, as well as for training on how to recognize and respond to overdoses.]
Howard Hesseman, star of 'WKRP in Cincinnati,' dies at 81 A staple of '80s comedy television, Hesseman played Dr. Johnny Fever on “WKRP in Cincinnati" and Mr. Moore on "Head of the Class."
Jan. 30, 2022, 2:16 PM -05 / Updated Jan. 30, 2022, 7:50 PM -05 By Doha Madani Beloved improvisation comedian and Emmy-nominated actor Howard Hesseman, best known for his role in "WKRP in Cincinnati," died following surgery Saturday afternoon.
Hesseman, 81, died of complications from colon surgery, manager Robbie Kass confirmed to NBC News in a statement Sunday. He added that Hesseman will be "sorely missed and always treasured."
Tens of thousands left without power as East Coast plunges into deep freeze
Dangerous wind chills persisted into Sunday morning in one of the worst storms to hit the region in four years.
Jan. 30, 2022, 6:56 AM -05 / Updated Jan. 30, 2022, 7:54 PM -05 By Yuliya Talmazan
Tens of thousands of people woke up without power Sunday as the East Coast was plunged into a deep freeze after a powerful nor’easter dumped mounds of snow and flooded coastlines.
Massachusetts bore the brunt of the storm, with the town of Sharon getting more than 30 inches of snow Saturday night, the National Weather Service said in a tweet.
It was one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast in four years, with blizzard conditions recorded in several states, said NBC News meteorologist Kathryn Prociv.
Just over 60,000 households in the state were without power early Sunday, according to online tracker PowerOutage.us. At the peak of the storm on Saturday, it said as many as 100,000 had been left in the dark.
Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say
Get ready to learn more Greek letters. Scientists warn that omicron’s whirlwind advance practically ensures it won’t be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world.
Virus Outbreak-New Variants
FILE - People wait in line at a COVID-19 testing site in Times Square, New York, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. Scientists are warning that omicron’s lightning-fast spread across the globe practically ensures it won’t be the last worrisome coronavirus variant. And there’s no guarantee the next ones will cause milder illness or that vaccines will work against them. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Experts: CDC quarantine guidance shift creates 'perfect storm' for confusion
by STEPHEN LOIACONI, The National Desk Thursday, January 6th 2022
WASHINGTON (TND) — As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fends off mounting questions and criticism over its latest shifts in COVID-19 guidance, White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted Wednesday President Joe Biden has confidence the agency continues to be “led by data and science.”
[“If the actions being described exceed the abilities of those you are trying to help, or if you are asking people to do certain actions, without also focusing on assuring them that they ‘can do this,’ then you have set yourself up to fail,” he said.
Outside the context of the pandemic, many Americans routinely ignore federal health guidance on diet, exercise, and hygiene. Loge said understanding how people make health decisions and why they do or do not do things is vital to effective public health communication, and that might be what the CDC is trying to do.]
More Capital Region schools shift to remote learning amid mounting COVID-19 cases Rachel Silberstein Jan. 6, 2022Updated: Jan. 6, 2022 5:34 p.m.
A number of Capital Region school districts have switched to remote learning this week as omicron cases rise, impacting staffing levels.
Paul Buckowski/Times Union The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district will transition to remote instruction Friday due to a critical staff shortage caused by COVID-19 illness and quarantine.
The district has seen over 90 positive cases among staff and students just this week, with more cases being reported every hour, school officials said. The district enrolls about 1,770 students.
"We will not be able to safely have our students at school tomorrow," district officials wrote in a letter to families.
Albany schools on Wednesday became the first local district to announce it would shift all of its buildings to a distance learning model through the end of next week to stem the rapid spread of COVID-19 cases.
From Dec. 23 through Wednesday, the district reported 333 new COVID-19 cases, with 248 additional unvaccinated contacts required to quarantine.
U.S. weekly jobless claims rise slightly despite spiraling Omicron cases
WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week as soaring COVID-19 infections disrupted activity at businesses.
But the increase in initial claims reported by the Labor Department on Thursday was moderate. The labor market is tightening amid an acute shortage of workers. With coronavirus infection, driven by the Omicron variant, expected to peak soon, a substantial rise in claims is unlikely.
Ruling allows Albany County to move toward seizing building Steve Hughes Dec. 20, 2021Updated: Dec. 20, 2021 6 p.m.
The ruling appears to clear the way for Albany County to seize the Central Warehouse for back taxes, and then turn it over to real estate companies for redevelopment
Will Waldron/Times Union Will Waldron/TimRead more...
Sarah Weddington, Lawyer Who Argued Roe V. Wade, Dies At 76 The Texas lawyer successfully argued the landmark reproductive rights case before the Supreme Court at 26 years old, legalizing abortion nationwide. Jake Bleiberg 12/26/2021 06:43pm EST
DALLAS (AP) — Sarah Weddington, a Texas lawyer who as a 26-year-old successfully argued the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court, died Sunday. She was 76.
Susan Hays, Weddington’s former student and colleague, said she died in her sleep early Sunday morning at her Austin home. Weddington had been in poor health for some time and it was not immediately clear what caused her death, Hays told The Associated Press.
E.O. Wilson, The 'Father Of Biodiversity,' Dead At 92 The former Harvard professor was the world’s leading authority on ants and a titan of conservation.
Longtime Harvard biology professor, revered conservationist and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward O. Wilson died Sunday in Burlington, Massachusetts. He was 92.
Widely known as the “father of biodiversity,” Wilson was the world’s leading myrmecologist, or ant expert, and spent much of his life advocating for protecting the planet and the species that call it home. For his dogged efforts, he earned himself a place in history among the most celebrated conservation heroes, including Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold and Jane Goodall.
The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation announced his death on its website.
Central Warehouse seen from Broadway on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, in Albany, N.Y. The warehouse's owner lost a bid before a judge to stop the county from seizing the building.
Will Waldron/Times Union
NOVEMBER
Cuomo attorney calling for investigation into Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple by WRGB STAFFMonday, November 8th 2021
ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — The legal camp for former Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for an investigation to Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple over disclosing certain information in connection to a forcible touching charge against Cuomo.
In a document filed by Cuomo's attorney, Rita Glavin, she calls for an independent prosecutor into allegations that he unlawfully disclosed grand jury information to the media back at the end of August.
NY AG releases transcripts on Cuomo investigation by WHAM Wednesday, November 10th 2021
Albany, N.Y. — New York Attorney General Letitia James is providing insight into her office's investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo, including some of the evidence gathered.
Dean Stockwell Of ‘Quantum Leap,’ ‘Blue Velvet’ Dies At 85 In a career that spanned seven decades, Stockwell was a supreme character actor. AP Jake Coyle
NEW YORK (AP) — Dean Stockwell, a top Hollywood child actor who gained new success in middle age in the sci-fi series “Quantum Leap” and in a string of indelible performances in film, including David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas” and Jonathan Demme’s “Married to the Mob,” has died. He was 85.
Agent Jay Schwartz, a family spokesperson, said Stockwell died of natural causes at home Sunday.
What will General Electric split mean for its Capital Region operations? by Briana Supardi Tuesday, November 9th 2021
CAPITAL REGION, NY (WRGB) — After 129 years, one of America’s most iconic industrial corporations with deep roots to the Capital Region will be breaking up.
General Electric announced on Tuesday that it will be splitting up into three different publicly traded companies focused separately on aviation, healthcare, and energy.
By splitting, the company believes it’ll maximize its value.
Rensselaer County man charged with receipt and possession of child pornography By RECORD STAFF |November 8, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Derek Luch, 49, of Troy, appeared in federal court recently on charges that he received and possessed child pornography.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Luch initially appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart. He waived his right to a detention hearing, and will remain detained pending trial.
If convicted, Luch faces at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-release supervision of at least five years and up to life, and a fine of up to $250,000. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Luch would also be required to register as a sex offender.
Paul Rudd is named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 2021 Rudd revealed that his wife of 18 years, Julie, was the only person he told in advance of the big reveal and she was "stupefied."
The "Clueless" star told People Magazine he hopes he'll be invited to "some of those sexy dinners with Clooney and Pitt and B Jordan." "I mean I'm going to lean into it hard. I'm going to own this. I'm not going to try to be like 'Oh, I'm so modest.' I'm getting business cards made," Rudd told the magazine.
OCTOBER
Now 41, man who killed 4-year-old at age 13 granted parole by Associated PressSunday, October 17th 2021
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Eric M. Smith, who was 13 when he killed a 4-year-old boy with a rock in western New York, has been granted parole, corrections officials said on Saturday.
Smith, now 41, appeared for the 11th time before the Board of Parole on October 5 and was granted release as early as Nov. 17, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said in an emailed statement. Read more...
Report: Haiti gang seeks $17M for kidnapped US missionaries
by DÁNICA COTO and EVENS SANON | Associated PressTuesday, October 19th 2021
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A gang that kidnapped 17 members of a U,S.-based missionary group has demanded a $17 million ransom for them, according to Haiti's justice minister, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
A protester takes a selfie at a burning barricade set by protesters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Justice Minister Liszt Quitel said the gang was demanding $1 million per person. Quitel did not immediately return messages for comment, but he also confirmed the figure to the New York Times. The Journal said he identified the ages of the abducted children as 8 months and 3, 6, 14 and 15 years. Read more...
IRS monitoring $600 accounts likely to snare small businesses, under-the-table workers by LEANDRA BERNSTEIN | Sinclair Broadcast GroupMonday, October 18th 2021
WASHINGTON (SBG) — President Joe Biden pledged to go after corporations and wealthy individuals who are not "paying their fair share" in taxes. But experts say the plan to allow the Internal Revenue Service to gather information on U.S. bank accounts would disproportionately impact small businesses and the very individuals the administration says it's trying to protect.
"I think the net will catch a lot of small fish and not the big fish that Biden purports to target," said Steven Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. "It seems to me, a bait and switch. They purport to go after the one-percenters but in the crosshairs will be small businesses."
If approved by Congress, banks would be required to monitor personal and business accounts with more than $600 of activity. Banks would then submit an annual report to the IRS with that aggregated data. According to the Treasury, the reports would allow auditors to identify discrepancies between declared income going into the bank and deposits andinvestigate irregularities. Read more...
Ex-Saratoga County sheriff's deputy sentenced for abusing kids
WNYT StaffUpdated: October 04, 2021 06:49 PM Created: October 04, 2021 01:11 PM
Former Saratoga County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Willetts was sentenced Monday for sexually abusing children.
It was an emotional day in court, as his victims talked about a manipulative, controlling predator. Willetts received 16 years in state prison as part of a plea agreement. Read more...
Ex-Saratoga Co. deputy sheriff sentenced for sexually assaulting children
Rensselaer County to hold meeting on Poestenkill PFOA contamination
Kenneth C. Crowe II Sep. 17, 2021 POESTENKILL – Rensselaer County has set a virtual public meeting for town residents on PFOA contamination found at two homes and the Algonquin Middle School as a second round of testing of local drinking water takes place.
Officials remain baffled by the source of the PFOA contamination that’s been found there. Unlike in the communities of Hoosick, Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh in the northeastern part of the county where PFOA water pollution has been traced to industrial sources, there is no similar source in Poestenkill.
“The virtual meeting on Sept. 21 will be an opportunity for the county to provide new information on a second round of testing in the area, and to answer questions from the public. Because the second round of testing is just starting, there will not be data available until late next month,” the county said in announcing the meeting.
National Guard Deployed in Massachusetts to Combat School Bus Driver Shortage Up to 250 Guardsmen will be available to assist Massachusetts towns with public school transportation. BY ROB STUMPF SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
The governor's order will immediately activate 90 Guardsmen to serve in the areas of Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell, and Lynn, with another 160 available for additional communities should the need arise.
Boston Globe
Joanna McFarland, CEO of school transportation provider HopSkipDrive, told the Associated Press that about half of the school bus driver workforce was over 65 years old and therefore more vulnerable to COVID-19. This, combined with what economists have dubbed "The Great Resignation," has left the school transportation category in shambles and unable to keep up with the demands of in-person learning.
Bethlehem Republicans apologize over affordable housing ban reform item posted on their website
GOP committee members say the post was unauthorized
Massarah Mikati Sep. 17, 2021
The Republican Committee in Bethlehem, N.Y. apologized on its Facebook page for an anti-affordable housing reform plan that was posted to its website on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, and later removed. Committee members say it was an unauthorized post. Bethlehem Town Hall is pictured on March 12, 2018. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)
SKIP DICKSTEIN
BETHLEHEM — The Bethlehem Republican Committee has come under fire after a reform plan posted to its website included a proposal to ban affordable housing in the town.
The plan, posted online Wednesday, was quickly taken down Thursday morning. The Republican Committee said the plan was posted by mistake.
“These housing projects will only bring in people who do not pay taxes, creating a further strain on our taxpayers and our schools," the item about banning affordable housing stated. "In addition, these housing units bring drugs and crime, making them a detriment to our town. We do not want Bethlehem to become like the city of Albany.”
"It was just open racism, equating affordable housing folks with drugs and crime," said Joanne Cunningham, chair of the Bethlehem Democratic Committee. "It was just terrible and blatantly racist."
National Grid welcomes BOCES students for Career Day
WNYT Staff Updated: September 17, 2021 07:53 PM Created: September 17, 2021 07:48 PM
SCHENECTADY - Friday was Career Day at National Grid.
The company welcomed students from local BOCES and career and technical education programs.
The young people got a firsthand look at different jobs available within the electric and gas industry, including fleet management and customer service.
Friday was also a day of service for National Grid employees.
"It gives them an opportunity to talk to workers that work here at National Grid, it gives them an opportunity to see what they’re doing, and learn about the jobs that are going to be available to them when they graduate," said Matthew Ward with Capital Region BOCES.
The Twin Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be selling off more properties to pay into a trust for survivors of sexual abuse. Pictured here is the boathouse at the old Boy Scout camp of Boy Haven from 2017 in Milton, N.Y. Now, a parcel of land from the 1,000-acre Camp Wakpominee in Fort Ann is slated to be sold. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union archive)John Carl D'Annibale
ALBANY – As part of a settlement for survivors of sexual abuse, the Twin Rivers Council of the Boys Scouts of America will pay $2.53 million into a trust for survivors, a move that will force the council to dig into savings and sell off assets including a "small parcel" of the 1,000-acre Camp Wakpominee in Fort Ann.
In an email sent on Thursday afternoon to council supporters, officials did not specify how much of the year-round camp it plans to sell off, but indicated it was necessary as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization that the century-old organization is undergoing after it was inundated with lawsuits claiming sexual abuse. In New York alone, the Times Union found more than 75 cases, including five in Albany County, that named the Boy Scouts as a defendant.
In an email sent on Thursday afternoon to council supporters, officials did not specify how much of the year-round camp it plans to sell off, but indicated it was necessary as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization that the century-old organization is undergoing after it was inundated with lawsuits claiming sexual abuse. In New York alone, the Times Union found more than 75 cases, including five in Albany County, that named the Boy Scouts as a defendant.
Two powerful bomb blasts struck the perimeter of Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, as civilians continued to seek to escape on flights from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
At least 90 people were killed and 150 others wounded. The Pentagon confirmed 13 US service personnel were among those killed.
EPA plans more water testing August 25, 2021 by EMILIA TEASDALE
VALATIE – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its initial evaluation of the waterbodies connected to the Dewey Loeffel Landfill Superfund site after the July 14 severe weather event.
Operations at the landfill caused polychorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to migrate to waterbodies connected to the site, such as Little Thunder Brook and the Valatie Kill. During the storm, these waterbodies experienced high flows, erosion, and flooding. Following the storm event, samples were collected to assess conditions in the waterbodies. Surface water samples were collected and sediment samples were also collected downstream on residential properties where sediment was deposited as a result of the flooding.
COPAKE—The people of Copake need to be protected and so do their chickens.
At the August 14 Town Board meeting Town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler brought up the issue of illegal parking on and along Underhill Road by people trying to access the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, which crosses the road.
The supervisor said she had heard from the executive director of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA) that she received complaints about people parking on private property along the road and leaving their vehicles there while they use the rail trail.
Councilmember Terry Sullivan spoke up, saying the problem there was not just about parking—but about people trespassing on private property and walking their dogs off-leash along the trail.
She said one of these unrestrained canines killed a family’s chicken—and this was the third time it has happened.
As if the fowl’s violent demise wasn’t upsetting enough, Ms. Sullivan went on to say that the human, who was allegedly in charge of the dog, actually tried to flee the crime scene with the dog, which still had the chicken in its mouth.
Moving day: Cuomo begins to pack up at Executive Mansion Joshua Solomon Aug. 20, 2021
ALBANY — Moving trucks were being loaded up outside the residence of outgoing Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday morning.
The governor's resignation is expected to go into effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday. He issued two weeks' notice for his job as the state's chief executive last week, amid mounting scandals and a looming impeachment proceeding.
Taliban going 'house to house' in Afghanistan 'hanging' people who worked with US: source
Marine Sgt. Ryan Rogers says the interpreter he worked alongside in Marjah is now trapped in Kabul
As the U.S. military and State Department rush to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies from Kabul’s airport, Taliban checkpoints are cutting off many from freedom and safety – and reports on the ground indicate the militants are summarily executing people who helped U.S. forces over the years.
Ryan Rogers, a retired Marine sergeant, told Fox News Thursday that the interpreter he worked with during the bloody 2010 battle of Marjah in Helmand province is currently trapped in Kabul, prevented from reaching the airport as Taliban fighters seek out and murder former Afghan commandoes and interpreters.
COVID anxiety rising amid delta surge, AP-NORC poll finds By JAMES ANDERSON and HANNAH FINGERHUT
DENVER (AP) — Anxiety in the United States over COVID-19 is at its highest level since winter, a new poll shows, as the delta variant rages, more states and school districts adopt mask and vaccination requirements and the nation’s hospitals once again fill to capacity
.
“I wouldn’t have said this a couple of years ago, but I’m not as confident as I was in America’s ability to take care of itself,” said David Bowers, a 42-year-old business analyst in the Phoenix suburb of Peoria.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that majorities of American adults want vaccination mandates for those attending movies, sports, concerts and other crowded events; those traveling by airplane; and workers in hospitals, restaurants, stores and government offices.
WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate returns on Monday to one of its most ambitious agendas in years as Democratic President Joe Biden seeks trillions of dollars in infrastructure spending and Republicans promise "a hell of a fight" against raising taxes to pay for it.
Over the July 4 holiday break, a bipartisan group of senators tried to work out final details of the first piece of the infrastructure jigsaw puzzle, a plan they sketched out in late June. Agreeing on ways to finance the $1.2 trillion price tag was proving to be a challenge, according to lawmakers and congressional aides.
ALBANY — Two teenagers are expected to recover after being shot Sunday night in front of the state Capitol.
Police said the two 15-year-old boys were brought to Albany Medical Center Hospital with gunshot wounds to the legs.
Hospital staff contacted police who said they determined both were shot on State Street, just east of Eagle Street. The scene is on the edge of East Capitol Park and less than two blocks from City Hall. The gunfire occurred at 9:45 p.m.
Manufacturers embrace robots, the perfect pandemic worker
After social distancing measures forced layoffs in labor-intensive factories, manufacturers turned to automation, despite the high cost. Now, they aren't going back.
Boston Dynamics' new "Stretch" robot can lift up to 50 pounds at a time and move up to 800 boxes an hour. The company said the pandemic highlighted the growing need for warehouse labor that humans alone can't provide.Boston Dynamics
Robots could replace as many as 2 million more workers in manufacturing by 2025, Acemoglu found, contributing to wage inequality, a slowdown in labor demand, and an even higher share of GDP going to the owners of capital than labor.
"Typically, automation tends to have a range of negative effects on workers, but then it is counterbalanced by other technological changes that create opportunities," Acemoglu said.Read more...
The number of people missing in the Surfside, Florida, building collapse rose to 159, with four confirmed dead, as hundreds of search-and-rescuers worked through Friday. Rescuers have found no new survivors since Thursday.
With the most accessible victims already pulled from the rubble, efforts now are largely focused on "void spaces," protected pockets formed by large objects like refrigerators or sofas that might have created a place where someone could be trapped without being crushed, The Washington Post reports. Read more...
"Small but Mighty" this team of 11 took this 2021 nineteen event sectional competition by storm and ended their season the Group 5 sectional runner ups. Congratulations on a great season ladies!!!
Analysis-Out of power in Washington, Republicans pursue hard-right agenda across the country By James Oliphant, Nathan Layne
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shut out of power in Washington, Republicans are using their dominance in state houses across the country to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda and appease the diehard supporters of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
FILE PHOTO: Florida Governor Ron Desantis speaks during a campaign rally by U.S. President Donald Trump at Pensacola International Airport in Pensacola, Florida, U.S., October 23, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo/File Photo
In Texas, Republican lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would allow citizens to carry a handgun without a permit or any training.
In Florida, Oklahoma and Iowa, Republican legislators passed bills granting immunity to drivers who hit protesters, part of a wave of Republican-led legislation aimed at cracking down on public protests of the kind that followed the police killing of George Floyd. Across the country, a bevy of states have passed bills preventing transgender athletes from playing high school sports.
Republicans are using that power to serve as “counterweight to the Democratic trifecta” in Washington, said Dee Duncan, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, an arm of the party that supports state legislative candidates.
Florida, with DeSantis at the helm, is leading the way in advancing right-wing legislation.
K’hook puts new solar plan on ice for now May 6, 2021 by EMILIA TEASDALE
VALATIE—The Kinderhook Town Board tabled a motion to approve proposed zoning regulations on solar farms Monday night.
The board also voted to condemn the recent statements made on social media by a councilperson.
There were five public hearings on proposed local laws set for the May 3 meeting. The board held an in-person meeting in the gym at the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building with just under 50 attendees. Everyone wore masks and there was a sign-in for Covid-19 contact tracing.
The local law that received the most comments was a proposed amendment to the zoning law on solar power. The town adopted zoning regulations for solar energy equipment in 2017 after a committee review. The board at the time discussed the regulations with the public comment during board meetings and a public hearing.
Board of Ed Approves 6th Grade Moving to 4 Days a Week of In-Person Learning May 5, 2021 | District, Goff
The East Greenbush Central School District Board of Education unanimously approved a proposal to bring back all 6th graders for four days a week of in-person learning at Howard L. Goff Middle School while maintaining the required 6 feet social distancing requirements set by New York State.
Starting Monday, May 10, 6th grade students can report to school four days a week. A Day and B Day students in 6th Grade would learn at school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays through the use of learning pods.
This change requires the elimination of the current hybrid model at 6th grade. This means there will be no more remote days or remote assignments for 6th grade students.
Live Virtual Wednesdays will continue because several 7th grade teachers also teach 6th grade students and all special area teachers including physical education, art, music and technology teach all grade levels, 6-8. The school cannot operate two separate master schedules on the same day because of shared staffing.
George Segal, the Oscar-nominated actor whose credits range from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Where’s Poppa? to Just Shoot Me! and The Goldbergs, died today in Santa Rosa, CA, of complications from bypass surgery. He was 87.
His wife, Sonia Segal confirmed the news. “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” she said in a statement.
Report says aides to Gov. Andrew Cuomo sought to discredit one of his accusers Lindsey Boylan claims the aides made calls for information on her. ByMarlene Lenthang March 19, 2021
Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to publicly accuse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, claims the governor's network of aides has sought to discredit and tarnish her reputation.
At least seven women have accused the three-term Democrat of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior. There are two probes underway into Cuomo’s alleged conduct -- one by the attorney general and an impeachment inquiry by the state assembly.
Boylan, who served in several roles in the Cuomo administration from 2015 to 2018 including deputy secretary for economic development, accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in a Twitter thread in December.
Days later, Ana Liss, who also accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, said Cuomo's aide Richard Azzopardi called her to inquire about Boylan.
"In no uncertain terms, he asked me, 'Have you been in touch with Lindsey Boylan? Has she contacted you? What’s the nature of your relationship with Lindsey Boylan? If she contacts you, let me know,'" Liss recalled.
Liss said the call was either an effort to flag her as “somebody they might want to dig up dirt on in case I did say something” or a prod to “encourage me to speak out in support of the governor.”
“I don’t think the average person in New York would like to know that their governor is an absolute monster,” she told WHAM.
Rensselaer County executive calls for state to ease up on vaccine eligibility Jonathan Hunter
Steve McLaughlin, the Rensselaer County Executive, is calling for the state to ease up the restrictions of who is eligible to get the vaccine.
"We are spending a lot of time on the phone reaching out to people trying to get them to get a shot," said McLaughlin.
That's the dilemma they're facing in Rensselaer County. McLaughlin says county staff spends anywhere from three to four hours calling people looking to fill open slots.
"We had 300 open slots just a day ago. We filled up yesterday. We filled up every slot that we have. We will get it done. We'll fill all of our slots, but it's taking a lot of effort and time to do that," said McLaughlin.
McLaughlin wants to change who is eligible to get the vaccine because he says at the current moment it is very confusing who is eligible to get the vaccine.
Troy pizza restaurant owner admits to price gouging facemasks by: Dave McQuillingPosted: Mar 5, 2021
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A 35-year-old Troy pizza restaurant owner has pled guilty to hoarding and price gouging around 125,000 face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Big Apple Pizzeria owner, Imran Selcuk, purchased around 100,000 KN95 facemasks and 25,000 surgical-style facemasks in March 2020, which he then placed for sale at up to 500% of the purchase price.
Selcuk, who purchased the masks for around $1.50 each, also admitted to falsely claiming the KN95 masks he offered for sale were certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA does not “certify” facemasks.
“Selcuk saw the pandemic as an opportunity to rip off Capital Region residents and prey upon their fears."
He purchased thousands of masks from overseas and offered them for sale at highly inflated prices when masks were scarce and the pandemic had just started to take hold. This office will continue to work in coordination with the COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force to prevent greedy profiteers from taking advantage of this emergency for illicit gain.”
Selcuk offered the masks for sale at his Troy restaurant, Big Apple Pizzeria on 14th street, and through a website.
Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Buffalo, said it is “unfathomable” that people like Selcuk “place their selfish greed above service to community,” during a global pandemic.
Albany's challenge: What to do with $79 million Steve Hughes March 5, 2021
ALBANY – Common Council members spent Thursday questioning city officials on how the city might spend its potential $79 million in aid from the proposed federal stimulus package.
The city tentatively plans to spend the money over the next few years on a variety of priorities, Budget Director Michael Wheeler and Treasurer Darius Shahinfar told the council's finance committee during discussion on the aid package and the financial fallout from the coronavirus
"There's still a lot of uncertainty of what that number is going to be," he said.
The city might also use some of the money to settle outstanding labor contracts, including the one with its largest police union. The union has not had a new contract in years and any agreement would likely include retroactive raises that would cost the city millions.
ALBANY, N.Y. (PIX11) — New York legislative leaders voted to modify Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s emergency COVID-19 powers Friday amid sexual harassment allegations and the ongoing nursing home scandal. Under the new legislation, Cuomo will be blocked from issuing new directives.
However, he has the ability to make modifications and extensions to the hundreds of orders he issued this year current directives, and those changes need to be sent to committee chairs, and the leadership of the chambers at least five days ahead of time with an explanation, and the chance for them to give feedback.
Jammella Anderson, founder of Free Food Fridge Albany, stands next one of the Free Food Fridges on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 in Albany, N.Y. She will be featured in a special Time magazine issue on women and the pandemic in March 2021. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union) Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union
ALBANY - Free Food Fridge Albany and its founder Jammella Anderson will be featured in Time's double issue on Women and the Pandemic.
The March 15 issue, which can be now read online, spotlights Anderson's work to feed the hungry by stocking outdoor refrigerators with free food from local farmers, markets, restaurants and good Samaritans. The Times Union profiled Anderson and Free Food Fridge Albany in August.
Virginia school district cancels Dr. Seuss, claims his books contain 'racial undertones' by CHRISTOPHER WHITE Sinclair Broadcast Group
SHINGTON (SBG) — One of the most affluent school districts in Virginia is dissociating itself from Dr. Seuss, claiming the children's books contain "racial undertones" that are unsuitable for teaching children in a "culturally responsive" way. According to a recent report from The Daily Wire, Loudon County Public Schools is dropping its celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, which has been recognized in schools as Read Across America Day for more than two decades. Read Across America Day comes every March 2 and is dedicated to the importance of reading and literacy.
Researchers at the university read through 50 Dr. Seuss books and concluded they lacked diversity. Many of Dr. Seuss' books were written during the 1950s and 1960s. The district also noted in the statement that Dr. Seuss books are still available in the district's libraries and classrooms. Read more...
CHATHAM—Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka announced Thursday, February 11, that Peter Volkmann, 57, of Stuyvesant, formerly the chief of the Village of Chatham Police Department, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and official misconduct before County Court Judge Richard Koweek.
The DA said the conviction was the result of a two-year investigation that began shortly before State Police executed a search warrant issued by County Court Judge Jonathan Nichols January 8, 2019.
Mr. Volkmann pleaded guilty to fourth degree grand larceny for circumventing the state’s post-retirement income restrictions, cheating the New York State and Local Retirement System out of $74,222, according a press release from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office. Mr. Volkmann hid public-source income from 19 municipalities and school districts in excess of the statutory limit by funneling the earnings through a private business, PF Volkmann & Associates. The Times Union cited authorities who said he “funneled the government payments through his firm from about 2012 to 2019.”
The women, aged 34 and 44, presented valid CDC cards indicating that they had already received their first coronavirus vaccine doses, said the health administrator for Orange County. “I don’t know how they escaped the first time,” he said.
President Biden declares major disaster in Texas following severe winter storm The move unlocks federal money for the state after a dayslong freeze resulted in deaths, power outages and boil water orders. Feb. 20, 2021,By Nicole Acevedo
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Texas as the state reels from a severe winter storm that initially left millions of people without power amid freezing temperatures.
Biden's action makes federal funding available to communities across 77 counties, including hard-hit Harris County, where Houston is located. Additional disaster designations may be made after further damage assessments, the White House said Saturday morning in a statement.
During their last meeting ahead of the winter storm that left millions of Texans without electricity and potable water for days on end, top officials at the state electric grid operator spent less than one minute discussing the impending storm and whether the state was prepared.
“So more on that in the next couple of days, but it does look like we’ll have a little bit of winter weather to contend with during the course of the rest of this week. We do have a cold front coming this way.”
Ex-Nazi concentration camp guard living in Tennessee deported to Germany
Last year, a Memphis immigration judge ruled that Friedrich Karl Berger, now 95, could be deported because he assisted in "Nazi-sponsored persecution." Feb. 20, 2021,By Minyvonne Burke
A 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard who has been living in Tennessee was deported Saturday back to his home country of Germany.
In February 2020, a Memphis immigration judge ruled that Friedrich Karl Berger could be deported because he assisted in "Nazi-sponsored persecution" when he served as an armed guard in the Neuengamme Concentration Camp system, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
“After 75 years, this is ridiculous. I cannot believe it. I cannot understand how this can happen in a country like this. You’re forcing me out of my home," he said.
TROY NEIGHBORS FIGHT TO SAVE HISTORIC MOHICAN SITE FROM DEVELOPMENT By Michelle Polacinski for Albany Proper
Developer Kevin Vandenburgh is asking the City of Troy to rezone this historic site so that he can build three four-story apartment buildings, a clubhouse, boat dock area, and an underground parking lot, all of which would decimate this land and its historical artifacts.
Group Targeting Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz in $1M Billboard Campaign Wants Them to Apologize BY JACOB JARVIS ON 2/1/21
The director of a group targeting Republican lawmakers who backed claims of election fraud in a raft of ads has urged them to apologize for how those involved in the violence of January 6 might have interpreted their comments.
FBI Albany arrests Capital Region man for his role in DC riots by WRGB StaffSunday, January 17th 2021
On the left: a photo Fellows posted on his Instagram, <p>On the right: Brandon Fellows' drivers license photo{/p}
Albany, WRGB — FBI Albany says it has arrested a Capital Region man for his role in the riot and assault on the Capitol in Washington, DC.
The FBI has identified the man as 26-year-old Brandon Fellows, of Schenectady. Read more...
Schodack woman seeks Democratic support to run for Rensselaer County executive Kenneth C. Crowe II Jan. 17, 2021
TROY – Republican Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin opened his 2021 re-election effort with a financial shock and awe of $238,000 in campaign funds as county Democrats ponder endorsing Gwen Wright as their candidate.
Wright, a 65-year-old Schodack resident who retired as executive director of the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, isn’t fazed by McLaughlin’s treasury. She plans to raise $200,000 to $250,00 for her campaign.
“I’m very confident that we’ll get it,” said Wright, who was recruited to run by the progressive Rensselaer County Women for Change organization. She would be the first Black woman to run countywide.
Wright said she will be campaigning on protecting the county’s environment including water resources, taking advantage of the county’s Hudson River frontage for quality of life for residents and building the tourism industry, developing infrastructure that will benefit residents and pursuing economic development.
Kremlin foe Navalny held in pre-trial detention, Moscow tells West to butt out
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian judge remanded Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in pre-trial detention for 30 days on Monday for violating the terms of a suspended jail sentence, ignoring calls from Western countries to free the opposition politician immediately
The death of the officer, Brian D. Sicknick, appeared likely to lead to calls for profound changes to the Capitol Police, a centuries-old force.
Marriott will suspend donations to U.S. lawmakers who voted against Biden certification
By Reuters Staff JANUARY 10, 20212:31 PMUPDATED 18 MINUTES AGO
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Marriott International Inc, the world’s largest hotel company, confirmed Sunday it will suspend donations to U.S. lawmakers who voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory last week.
“We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim said, confirming a report in Popular Information, a political newsletter, that surveyed more than 100 companies about donation plans.
Citigroup Inc said in a memo to employees Friday seen by Reuters it had reviewed lawmakers who led the charge against the certification of the Electoral College and found it gave $1,000 to the campaign of Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
“We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law. We intend to pause our contributions during the quarter as the country goes through the Presidential transition and hopefully emerges from these events stronger and more united,” wrote Candi Wolff, who heads Citi’s global government affairs team. Read more...
Mike Pence to attend Biden's inauguration, source says
President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not attend.
ByLibby Cathey,Catherine Thorbecke,Morgan Winsor,Rosa Sanchez, andJack Arnholz Last Updated: January 9, 2021, 9:56 PM ET Pressure builds on Trump as calls to resign grow louder Many are demanding the president either resign or be removed from office in the wake of the U.S...
President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 11 days.
Multiple people arrested following fight and stabbing in East Capitol Park 07 January 2021 PRESS RELEASE A preliminary investigation into Wednesday’s stabbing in East Capitol Park has led to the arrest of multiple people.
On January 6, 2021, shortly after noon, State Police responded to a stabbing during a pro-Trump rally in the East Capitol Park. A preliminary investigation into the incident has determined after a fight broke out between rally-goers and counter-protestors, two of the rally-goers were stabbed by a counter-protester.
The suspect, later identified as Alexander Contompasis, got into a vehicle and left the scene. He was stopped by State Police a short time later and taken into custody.
State Police arrest Troy man in connection with string of larcenies in Latham, Clifton Park PRESS RELEASE *UPDATE* State Police in Clifton Park have arrested 36-year-old Lawrence R. Sharp of Troy, for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property 4th degree (E felony) and three counts of Petit Larceny (A misdemeanor).
Sharp has been charged in connection with a string of larcenies which occurred in the areas of Latham and Clifton Park between December 6, 2020 and December 7, 2020. He is accused of traveling to multiple automotive shops and car dealerships to steal scrap metal.
At least two Seattle police officers have been placed on leave and are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the U.S. Capitol protests.
The Seattle Police Department released a statement Friday night saying that it was made aware Friday of the officers' involvement in the Jan. 6 siege and is now taking the appropriate measures.
"The Department fully supports all lawful expressions of First Amendment freedom of speech, but the violent mob and events that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol were unlawful and resulted in the death of another police officer," Chief Adrian Diaz said in the statement, referring to Brian Sicknick, who died of injuries he sustained during the attack.
(Reuters) - As the mob swarmed into the U.S. Capitol, Pennsylvania congresswoman Susan Wild took cover, squeezing into a tight aisle in an upper-floor gallery and inching across the floor as supporters of President Donald Trump banged on the doors.
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump climb on walls at the U.S. Capitol during a protest against the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo
“That was when it really started to get scary,” said Wild, 63, describing Wednesday’s dramatic siege of the complex that houses the U.S. Congress. After she fumbled to work a gas mask and briefly lost a shoe while dragging herself toward a door to evacuate, gunfire rang out. Police shouted, “Get down. Get down. Get down!” as people screamed, Wild said in an interview with Reuters.
Moments earlier, as hundreds of rioters stormed the building, U.S. Capitol Police officers barricaded the lawmakers inside the chamber of the House of Representatives, where they had just started the final certification of electoral votes showing Democrat Joe Biden had beaten Trump in the November election.
“It wasn’t until things really escalated that there was a kind of a panicky state,” said the Pennsylvania Democrat. The siege that left five people dead, including a police officer, and up to 60 officers injured, prompted lawmakers to demand an investigation into security lapses. Fallout has been swift.
Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies and chief defenders, said the invaders, many carrying weapons or unsearched backpacks, “could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all. They could have destroyed the government.”
Reporting by Susan Cornwell, Linda So, Michael Berens and Andrea Januta; Additional reporting by Joseph Tanfani, John Shiffman, Idrees Ali and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Jason Szep and Brian Thevenot Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
The East Greenbush Central School District was notified today that four employees and two students have tested positive for COVID-19.
Those with questions are advised to call the county health department directly at 518-270-2655 or contact the district’s COVID-19 Coordinator at Columbia High School at 518-207-2180. Read more...
36-mile Empire Trail section opens from Albany to Hudson
NASSAU, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The 36-mile section of the new Empire State Trail running from the City of Hudson to Albany was once an electric troll line. The systems opened in 1899 and ran until the end of December 1929. At its peak, 1.4 million riders used the trolley to commute around Columbia and Rensselaer Counties.
“It’s a ten-foot-wide paved or stone dust trail. It’s flat, it’s level, and it’s accessible to all ages and abilities,” said Andy Beers, Director of the Empire State Trail. “Bicyclist, runners, walkers, dads, and moms pushing strollers. In the winter, the trail is not plowed. It’s available for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.”
Ribbon cutting on January 1, 2021 for 36-mile section of the Empire State Trail.Read more...
DECEMBER
Valatie man accused of sexual conduct against a child
WRGB
VALATIE, NY (WRGB) — A Valatie man is behind bars Thursday, accused of sexual offenses against a child. Columbia County Sheriff David P. Bartlett reports the arrest of Heath E. Harrison, 46, on Dec. 29, following an investigation. at approximately 8:38 pm and charged him
Longtime aide to Albany County DA dies of coronavirus by WRGB Staff Wednesday, December 23rd 2020
ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) — Jeanenne Holt, one of several members of the Albany County District Attorney's Office to contract COVID-19, has died.
DA David Soares announced Wednesday that Holt, who had worked in his office for 10 years, died on Friday, Dec. 18.Read more...
Three New COVID Cases Reported to East Greenbush CSD
The East Greenbush Central School District was notified today that an individual in the school district has tested positive for COVID-19 and two additional cases were confirmed last evening.
Those with questions are advised to call the county health department directly at 518-270-2655 or contact the district’s COVID-19 Coordinator at Columbia High School at 518-207-2180.
December 21 marks the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, but in 2020 the longest night of the year is also going to be a witness to an incredible astronomic event known as the “great conjunction”. ... This rare double planet sighting–or “Great Conjunction”–can be viewed from anywhere around the globe.
Chuck Yeager, Ace Pilot And First To Fly Faster Than Speed Of Sound, Dead At 97 Nick Visser ·Senior Reporter, HuffPost Mon, December 7, 2020, 11:44 PM EST·3 min read
Chuck Yeager, the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound and an ace pilot who fought in World War II, died Monday night. He was 97.
“It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET,” Yeager’s wife, Victoria, announced on Twitter. “An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever.”
NOVEMBER
Albany County Reports Second Highest Number of New Covid-19 Cases by WRGB STAFFFriday, November 27th 2020
ALBANY (WRGB) Albany County announced 140 new Covid-19 Cases on Friday, the second highest number of new Covid-19 Cases in the county since the start of the pandemic.
McCoy told reporters the month of November has certainly been a record breaker, as 140 cases is the second highest number overall, only behind a recently reported record of 147 cases in one day. There’s been a total of almost 2-thousand cases in the month of November alone. The County Executive expects this number to go up over the coming days and weeks, following the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Rudy Giuliani, lawyer to President Donald Trump, speaks about the president's legal challenges to his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the Republican National Committee Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Nov. 19, 2020 Read more..
County reeling under COVID By Natasha Vaughn,Columbia-Greene Media
HUDSON — More than 30% of all COVID cases in Columbia County have occurred in the past month.
After a steady increase of positive COVID cases in recent weeks, 30.3% of all of the county’s cases since the pandemic began have occurred in the last 30 days.
“It’s clearer that we’re in the grips of the second wave that was hypothesized over the summer months,” Columbia County Health Department Director Jack Mabb said. “I know that looking at the Forward New York website, our positivity rate is 2.9%, second [in the Capital Region] only to Albany. The yellow level is a 3.5% positivity rate and we’re rising towards that level. It’s getting a little scary. We’re not there yet, obviously, but we’re rising. The most concerning thing is that it is all community spread.” Nov 19, 2020
Rensselaer County reports highest-single day total for positive COVID-19 cases WNYT Staff Created: November 17, 2020
Rensselaer County is reporting a large spike in cases of the coronavirus. County health officials reported 38 new cases between Sunday and Monday, shattering the previous record of 32 cases in a single-day. Read more...
Americans across party lines, regions embrace marijuana Recreational marijuana initiatives passed in four states this year, from liberal New Jersey to conservative Montana and South Dakota By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press November 16, 2020, 3:06 AM • HELENA, Mont. -- Bill Stocker could be considered the archetype of a conservative voter: He's a retired Marine and former police officer who voted for President Donald Trump. But he's also among the majority of South Dakota voters who broadly legalized marijuana this month.
Stocker, 61, said enforcing marijuana laws gets in the way of pursuing other drug crimes and called warnings about the ills of marijuana “a bunch of baloney" that even people in a Republican stronghold like South Dakota no longer believe.
South Dakota's values of “personal responsibility and freedom” won out, said Stocker, who lives in Sioux Falls.
As colleges go remote before Thanksgiving, should on-campus housing be discounted?
by Briana Supardi
NISKAYUNA, N.Y. (WRGB) — CAPITAL REGION (WRGB) A number of colleges are finishing the fall semester remote as the state deals with the rise in COVID cases. UAlbany has gone fully remote about two weeks early due a spike in COVID-19 cases among students.
But according to a spokesperson with the university, this doesn’t mean less time on campus. In fact, they actually want students to stay on campus.
“We want our students to stay on campus for the next two weeks and the reason for that is we want to send them home in an orderly and healthy way,” said Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, UAlbany spokesperson.
Win or Lose, Trump Will Remain a Powerful and Disruptive Force
NewYorkTimes Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman WASHINGTON — If President Trump loses his bid for re-election, as looked increasingly likely on Wednesday, it would be the first defeat of an incumbent president in 28 years. But one thing seemed certain: Win or lose, he will not go quietly away.
At the very least, he has 76 days left in office to use his power as he sees fit and to seek revenge on some of his perceived adversaries. Angry at a defeat, he may fire or sideline a variety of senior officials who failed to carry out his wishes as he saw it, including Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases specialist in the middle of a pandemic.
Trump Train Trailing former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Mr. Trump spent the day trying to discredit the election based on invented fraud claims, hoping either to hang onto power or explain away a loss. He could find a narrow path to re-election among states still counting, but he has made clear that he would not shrink from the scene should he lose.
The FBI is investigating a “Trump Train” incident from Friday, in which a Biden campaign bus was surrounded by a dozen pickup trucks driven by Trump supporters as it traveled down a Texas interstate, according to a report.
Enlarge Image
A Twitter user captured the moment a truck and a vehicle collided as the Biden-Harris presidential bus tour was being followed by a caravan of Trump supporters on Interstate 35.
Those inside the trucks honked their horns and shouted while surrounding the Biden bus and slowing it down, witnesses told the paper.
Still, the incident was celebrated by President Trump, who
"As elsewhere in Europe, we are overwhelmed by a second wave that will probably be more difficult and deadly than the first," Macron said, though he assured that this lockdown would be less severe.
A man sits at an empty terrasse of a cafe in Bordeaux before a new Covid-19 lockdown comes into effect.
France and Germany moved Thursday toward shutting down sectors of their economies as part of accelerating efforts worldwide to check a resurgent
coronavirus and still limit the financial fallout.
Starting Friday, France, whose death toll Thursday surpassed 36,000 after 250 more fatalities since Wednesday, will bar people from leaving their homes without authorisation, recalling the drastic stay-at-home measures seen around the world in early spring.
Bars and restaurants will also be closed until at least December and travel between regions will be limited, President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of new infections took the known global caseload past 44.5 million with nearly 1.2 million deaths, as the disease continues its deadly spread worldwide.
Searchers find 59 bodies in Mexico mass graves, dig for more
SALVATIERRA, Mexico (AP) — Search teams dug for more remains Thursday at a site in central Mexico where 59 bodies have already been found in clandestine graves over the past week in an area known as a cartel battleground.
It was the largest such burial site found to date in Guanajuato, the state with the largest number of homicides in Mexico, though bigger clandestine burial sites have been excavated in other parts of the country.
“This place is in a neighborhood,” Quintana said. “To get there you have to pass homes, you have to pass streets ... the people know.”
The bodies were extracted over the last week from 52 pits at a property in Salvatierra. The scene was considered dangerous enough that the army and National Guard provided security for the excavations. The area is near the border with Michoacan state and there is known to be a significant organized crime presence.
A small group of New York City actors and artists looking for a more affordable place to live and practice their craft during the Covid-19 pandemic have set their sights on a historic mansion in downtown Troy.
The building at 49 2nd St. is known as "The Castle," a four-story home with limestone exterior built in the early 1890s by industrialist John W. Paine.The group call themselves Castle Arts LLC, inspired by the nickname for the four-story home with limestone exterior at 49 2nd St. built in the early 1890s by industrialist John W. Paine.
He said the group includes about 10 actors and artists who were looking for an alternative place to live upstate during the pandemic. They anticipate being able to invite the public in as public health restrictions are lifted.
"They have worked in various collaboratives in the past," said Paul Safran, a member of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni board that owns the building. "They're all close friends. They do 'immersion' theater. The first floor is 4,000 square feet of opulent open space.
Leanza Cornett, who was crowned Miss America in 1993, has died at the age of 49.
Her death was confirmed by the Miss America Organization on Wednesday in a statement reading, "Leanza had a bright and beautiful spirit and her laugh was infectious. We know she meant so much to so many, including all of you." A cause of death was not given, though News 4 Jax — an NBC News affiliate based out of the pageant queen's hometown of Jacksonville, Florida — reported that Cornett died after she was hospitalized for a head injury.
Rensselaer County dairy farm donates $1,000 to elementary school
by WRGB STAFF
Dutch Hollow Dairy Farm honored with Dairying for Tomorrow award in Community Outreach. (WRGB)<p>{/p}<p>{/p}
SCHODACK, NY (WRGB)- The Dutch Hollow Farm in Schodack Landing has been named a winner for the annual Dairying for Tomorrow award, in the Community Outreach category.
October is National Farm-to-School month.
In honor of this, Dutch Hollow Farm will donate $1,000 to Castleton Elementary School. The money will provide equipment to keep dairy products fresh during transport. The goal is to ensure more students have access to healthy, nourishing meals during hybrid learning models.
Monday, October 12 is National Farmer's Day.
Fauci says his remarks were taken out of context in Trump ad By Pete Schroeder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday he had not agreed to be featured in an ad by President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and that his comments were taken out of context.
FILE PHOTO: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2020. Kevin Dietsch/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo The ad, released last week, discusses Trump’s effort to recover from the coronavirus personally, as well as his administration’s work to address the pandemic. The 30-second spot uses older remarks from Fauci in a way that suggests he was praising the president.
“I can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more,” the ad shows Fauci saying.
But those remarks are from a March interview, where Fauci, who has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984, was discussing the broader effort, including by the White House coronavirus task force.
“In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate,” Fauci said in a statement.
“The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials,” his statement added.
Human poop used to map, prevent COVID-19 on campus Sewage surveillance has been used for decades in the fight against polio Rachel Silberstein
ALBANY — College students in the Capital Region are doing the dirty work in the fight against COVID-19 -- by collecting human poop and testing it for the virus that causes the disease.
Siena College in Loudonville was among the first educational institutions in New York to launch a wastewater testing program that can potentially identify areas where the coronavirus is present and detect the pathogen more than a week before it would turn up on a diagnostic swab.
When the studies are complete, the data will help map where the virus is present and provide valuable insight into the overall health of the Capital Region.
Califonia is burning. California surpasses 4 million acres burned as battle against wildfires goes onFirefighters are battling more than 20 active wildfires in the state. By Bill Hutchinson In already the worst wildfire season in California history, the state marked another grim milestone on Sunday when it surpassed 4 million acres burned, more than doubling the previous single-year record set in 2018.
"We are dwarfing that previous record, and we have a lot of season left to go," said Chief Thom Porter, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire.
White House acknowledges Trump's condition had been worse than revealed By Reuters Staff WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows revealed that President Donald Trump’s condition on Friday was far worse than officials had made public, saying doctors recommended the president go to the hospital after seeing he had a fever and his blood oxygen level dropped rapidly.
Factbox: White House staff, top Republicans who have tested positive for COVID-19 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A growing number of White House staff and senior Republicans have tested positive for COVID-19 since President Donald Trump revealed he had contracted the respiratory disease.
(Reuters) - Early in the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump put his faith in a toaster-sized machine that could spit out test results in a matter of minutes.
His strategy was no match for the virus.
“The reliance on a rapid test, with its limitations, unfortunately gave the White House and its staff a false sense of security that they were in control of the virus,” said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“Trump was playing with fire and it was really a matter of time before something like this was going to happen,” Krutika Kuppalli, an assistant professor and expert on infectious diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina
SEPTEMBER
Mayor, NYPD Officials Fume After Bridge Assault Suspect Released Without Bail
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – City officials mount a sharp attacked on the court system after a man accused of attacking several cops – including Chief of Department Terence Monahan — was released without bail.
But court officials are fighting back saying the mayor and the police commissioner are trying to shift blame for failed gun violence policies. Read more...
Various outltes
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal leader of the Supreme Court and a trailblazing champion of women’s rights, died Friday. She was 87 years old.
The Supreme Court said in a statement that Ginsburg died "surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C., due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer."
Seen as a moderate when President Bill Clinton nominated her to the bench in 1993, Ginsburg went on to leave a lasting mark in the realm of gender equality, civil liberties and pay equity, and grew to achieve improbable late-in-life recognition as a pop culture icon and hero of the progressive movement.
COVID cancelation: Empire State Plaza Ice Rink, tree lighting cancelled
by WRGB STAFF ALBANY, NY (WRGB) Another tradition in the Capital District has been canceled due to COVID.
According to the Office of General Services, Empire State Plaza ice skating season and annual holiday tree-lighting and fireworks will not be held this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials with the state say while the tree lighting is cancelled, they will still place trees in the area of East Capitol Park and the Empire State Plaza.
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday that The Clubhouse, a bar on Central Avenue, is among 33 businesses in New York that have recently had liquor licenses suspended for alleged violations of state coronavirus orders.
Thirty-three bars and restaurants statewide have had their liquor licenses suspended.
Cuomo maintains that the statewide crackdown is necessary to prevent a second COVID-19 wave in New York.
"We cannot let ourselves become complacent or allow those coming from other states to import indifference for these critical public health rules," the Democrat said in a statement. "This action should serve as a reminder to the small number of establishments who openly flout the rules that they are putting all New Yorkers at risk, and they will be held accountable."
Trump seemed to be musing about a scenario in which Harris succeeds Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, who Trump has frequently claimed is physically unfit for office.
Attacking Harris hasbecome a major part of the Trump campaign playbook. The president repeatedly characterizes Harris as a California liberal and among the most far-left candidates in the Senate, someone who he says is out of touch with the concerns of everyday Americans.
Harris is the first woman of color to be nominated for vice president by one of the major political parties. The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants would also be the first woman vice president in U.S. history.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah police officer was charged with aggravated assault after ordering a dog to attack a Black man who had put his hands in the air, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Jeffery Ryans was in his backyard on April 24 when police responded to a domestic dispute call. The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office said Ryans complied with officers' orders to raise his hands and remain in the backyard.
K9 officer Nickolas Pearce then told Ryans to get on the ground before kicking him in the leg, forcing him to his knees, and ordering the dog to bite Ryans, prosecutors said. Read more..
Mohonasen School District going all-remote for now WNYT Staff
The Mohonasen School District will be moving to all remote learning after a coronavirus case in an adult at the high school.
The district says schools will be remote until it is safe to return. Contact tracing is currently underway.
A complicating factor is that almost all of our administrative team was at a lunch with the infected individual during one of our Professional Development days prior to the reopening of school. Read more...
Don Jr.on the White Teen Who Killed Two Protesters:“We All Do Stupid Things at 17”
How would the law look differently upon Rittenhouse if he were Black?
Donald Trump Jr. seems to think that the shooting by Kyle Rittenhouse, the white 17-year-old from Illinois, of three protesters last month in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is just another case of “boys will be boys.”
Speaking in an interview on September 8 on the TV show Extra that has since gone viral, Don Jr. said he and his father had not condemned Rittenhouse for killing two people and injuring a third because they were still waiting for due process in the case.
He then added, “He’s a young kid. I don’t want 17-year-olds running around the street with AR-15s—maybe I wouldn’t have put myself in that situation, who knows? But we all do stupid things at 17.”
Black teens are significantly more likely than white teens to be sent to prison for the rest of their lives when they commit violence.
“That’s a little bit beyond stupid,” the interviewer, Extra correspondent Rachel Lindsay, responded. Don Jr. didn’t really take the point. “Really stupid, fine,” he said. “But we all have to let that process play out.”
Trump's threat to defund cities 'unconstitutional,' mayors say Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mayors of major U.S. cities on Thursday blasted President Donald Trump’s threat to cut federal funding to cities facing ongoing protests as a violation of the U.S. Constitution, and New York state said it would challenge any move to defund the city in court.
Trump on Wednesday instructed Attorney General William Barr to develop a list of “anarchist jurisdictions” that “permitted violence and the destruction of property ... and have refused to undertake reasonable measures” to restore order.
The mayors of Washington, Portland, Seattle and New York City - who were singled out in the Trump memo - condemned the action.
“We are confronting unprecedented challenges — fighting back a pandemic and economic devastation without another stimulus. Now, instead of leadership from the White House, we are faced with new attacks that are unlawful, unconstitutional and will be undoubtedly defeated in court,” they wrote in a joint statement.
New York City was ready to take immediate legal action if the White House attempts to defund the city, Attorney General Letitia James said in a Thursday statement.
“The president is not a dictator and his efforts at tyrannical rule will be met with fierce opposition,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer on Twitter called it a “foolish stunt” and said the president “ought to be focused on getting our country out of the COVID crisis.”
Oregon man says Portland shooting was self defense (Reuters) - A 48-year-old Oregon man said he acted in self defense during the fatal shooting of a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland as he thought he and a friend would be stabbed, Vice News reported on Thursday.
“I had no choice. I mean, I, I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color. But I wasn’t going to do that,” Michael Reinoehl said in a video interview published by Vice News about the Saturday shooting of Aaron Danielson, 39.
Reinoehl did not say he shot Danielson in the fragment of video shown by Vice News before the full interview is aired on Thursday night.
The Oregonian newspaper reported Reinoehl was under investigation in the killing that took place after Danielson, a supporter of the Patriot Prayer group, participated in a rally in support of President Donald Trump.
“I am 100% ANTIFA,” he said in a June 16 post, using the term for the anti-fascist movement. “We truly have an opportunity right now to fix everything. But it will be a fight like no other! It will be a war and like all wars there will be casualties.”
Health officials worry Labor Day could prompt another virus surge
by: Raquel Martin
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Anticipating Labor Day weekend gatherings, officials are urging the public to take steps to avoid another spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Summer is a social time. People like to get together for barbecues, for cookouts,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said. “We are set up for spread of a highly contagious disease.”
The fear is that people won’t follow coronavirus mitigation practices with disastrous consequences.
“What we don’t want is to have a big surge in cases right before flu season starts,” Adams said.
College campuses and some Midwest states like Iowa are the latest hotspots for outbreaks. Health care workers in those places are reminding people to take the virus seriously this weekend.
9 coronavirus cases found in Albany County Steve Hughes
Albany County saw nine more coronavirus cases overnight, the county said Thursday. The new positive cases bring the total to 2,550 since the pandemic began and the county’s five-day average is 8.8 cases per day.
RENSSELAER COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Officials announced Thursday that there are two additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the county. The total number of confirmed cases sits at 887. There are now 31 active cases in the county.
There are now nine residents hospitalized for COVID-19, including three in ICU. No new cases were cleared for recovery on Thursday, that number stands at 815. There have been 41 COVID-19 related deaths in the county.
New apple disease surfaces in Twin Counties By Natasha Vaughn, Columbia-Greene Media
A newly discovered fungus that can cause bitter apple rot has been seen in the Twin Counties, according to results from a recent study.
Cornell University plant pathologists identified a new fungal pathogen that could affect apple orchards in New York state. Scientists are also concerned about a formerly known fungus that has been found for the first time in apples.
The new fungus can be detrimental to apples and could hurt farms across the state, according to the study. Bitter rot causes brown lesions on apples, which makes them unappetizing to consumers and for growers, impossible to sell.
Jeanette Epps to make history as first Black female astronaut to join NASA ISS crew in 2021 NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will be making history in 2021 as the first Black female astronaut to become a crew member on a mission to the International Space Station.
Joining her will be fellow NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada.
The space agency announced on Tuesday that Epps would be joining Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for NASA’s first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Williams, who will be embarking on her third expedition, and Cassada, on his first, were assigned to the mission in August 2018. On Twitter, NASA’s administrator Jim Bridenstine said that Epps is a “fantastic addition.” Epps responded with a video sharing her thanks.
Ex-UAW President Williams charged with conspiracy to embezzle union funds: prosecutor
DETROIT (Reuters) - The former president of the United Auto Workers, Dennis Williams, was charged with conspiring with other union officials to embezzle UAW funds, U.S. prosecutors in Detroit said on Thursday.
The charging of Williams, 67, in a document called a criminal information follows the guilty plea in June of Williams’ successor Gary Jones. A criminal information is a court document typically used when the government has reached a plea deal with a defendant to plead guilty.
Based on the charge, Williams faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, prosecutors said. Read more...
Mike Pence Doubles Down on ‘Miracle’ as Plan for Moving Past Pandemic The vice president’s emphasized the need for magical thinking during his RNC speech from Fort McHenry By RYAN BORT
Somewhat surprisingly, the Republican National Convention hasn’t shied away from addressing the coronavirus, which has killed over 175,000 Americans thanks largely to Trump administration incompetence. Unfortunately, the pandemic is being portrayed this week not as a crisis that is still very much ongoing, but as something President Trump’s decisive leadership has already put to rest.
He also bashed Joe Biden for taking a sober-minded approach to moving beyond the crisis.
“Last week, Joe Biden said that no miracle is coming,” Pence said. “What Joe doesn’t seem to understand is that America is a nation of miracles, and I’m proud to report that we’re on track to have the world’s first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.”
But America is a “nation of miracles,” Pence argues, echoing Trump’s repeated claims that the virus will simply vanish into thin air. “It’s going to disappear,” the president said in February. “One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” In early August, nearly 200,000 deaths and tens of millions of lost jobs later, Trump again insisted that the virus will simply “go away.” On Wednesday night Pence essentially confirmed that the administration’s strategy for moving past the pandemic doesn’t amount to much more than asking everyone to cross their fingers and hope all the scientists are wrong.
2 New Jersey cops admitted they dressed in disguises and vandalized the cars of a man who filed complaints against them horecchio@businessinsider.com (Haven Orecchio-Egresitz),INSIDER•August 26, 2020
Two New Jersey cops admitted to vandalizing the cars of a man who complained about them.
Stephen Martinsen and Thomas Dowling pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal mischief and agreed to forfeit any future public employment in the state.
The wore disguises to smash the windows and slash the tires of two vehicles in September.Asbury
Park Police Officer Stephen Martinsen, 31, and former officer Thomas Dowling, 27, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal mischief in Monmouth County Superior Court, according to a statement from the county prosecutor.
The two vehicles belonged to Ernest G. Mignoli, an Asbury Park resident who had criticized the police department, New Jersey Advance Media reported. The officers were dressed in disguises at the time, authorities said at the time.
More than 70 former Republican national security officials, including some former members of the Trump administration, came out in support of Joe Biden's bid for president Thursday, according to an open letter that also offered a scathing rebuke of President Donald Trump's first term in office.
"While we – like all Americans – had hoped that Donald Trump would govern wisely, he has disappointed millions of voters who put their faith in him and has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term. In contrast, we believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation," the letter reads.
Lori Loughlin sentencing: Husband Mossimo Giannulli gets 5 months in prison as it's revealed he took infamous rowing pictures
Sentences are being handed down to Full House star Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli for their roles in the college admissions scandal.
Giannulli faced Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton first on Friday morning to receive his sentence for his involvement in the widespread scam; it saw him and his wife plead guilty to paying $500,000 to college admissions fixer William “Rick” Singer to get their YouTube star daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, into the University of Southern California as fake crew recruits.
Following a virtual roll call vote, former Vice President Joe Biden is now the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nominee. He gave a brief speech, thanking delegates and voters from "the bottom of my heart," adding that the honor "means the world to me and my family." He will formally accept the nomination on Thursday during the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
The hits keep coming in 2020 and while this one doesn't come as surprise to anyone, a long running tradition for one of Albany's most interesting and colorful streets has been canceled.
According to CBS 6 News, this is only the second time since it's inception back in 1981 that LarkFest has been canceled. According to the report, Patrick Noonan, Chairman of the Lark Street BID was obviously upset having to reveal the news saying, "While we are saddened to not be able to host the event this year, our biggest priority is the safety and well-being of our community. "
According to CBS 6 News, the only other time the festival had to be canceled was after the 9/11 tragedy in September of 2001.
The annual Lark Street festival, held in the middle of September, is usually jam packed from one end of Lark Street the other. It's a huge boom to all the local businesses as tens of thousands of people normally come to the center square festival to listen to live music, eat, drink, shop and people watch. Read more...
Albany officials and business owners call for state to allow movie theaters to reopen
In New York State, you can go to the mall, the bowling alley, retail stores, and soon, you can go to the gym. Movie theater owners are feeling left out, and believe they can make a reopening plan that meets any and all safety concerns. Read more... Skate park upgrade offers cool way to maintain social distance August 15, 2020 by TAYLOR CALL
Work to upgrade and renovate the skate park at Chatham’s Crellin Park took place over the last two weekends. The genesis for this improvement came from Chatham Area Recreation Project (CARP), a local non-profit. In talking with some of the veteran skaters in the area CARP came up with several modifications to make the current park much more open, enjoyable and “skateable.” The skate park was created and funded by The Crellin Park Foundation in 2008. With the support of the town and the funding by The Crellin Park Foundation, CARP worked with Bonded Concrete, Herrington’s, ACP, Dan Crellin and Sam Gleason for the donations of materials and equipment to make the improvements possible. The park is now open sunrise to 9 p.m. Working on the upgrades were Tiger Coleman, Matt Fisher, Justin Smith, Mike Cerqua and Eammon McBride. Photo by Taylor Call
ALBANY — Albany County recorded 11 new cases of novel coronavirus Friday. Bethany Bump County Executive Dan McCoy said five of the cases stemmed from people who had close contact with an infected person, four had no clear source of transmission, and one was a health care worker.
While the county has been seeing fewer confirmed cases in the last week following several large spikes in July, the five-day rolling average of new daily cases rose from 7.8 to 8.8 Friday. That’s down from last month’s high of 22.4, though, which was observed on July 25.
“You can imagine it’s like a ripple effect in the homeless community when people aren’t socially distancing and wearing masks and they’re sharing alcohol together or drinking out of the same bottle or sharing drugs,” he said. “It was something we really had to address and get really deep into to make sure that we stopped the spread to the best of our ability.”
Three people remained in the hospital Friday, the same as Thursday, McCoy said.
Officials warn of potential COVID-19 exposure at Halfmoon Burger King by WRGB STAFF Friday, August 7th 2020
The Health Department says an employee at the Burger King in Halfmoon tested positive for the virus. (Photo by Michael
SARATOGA NY (WRGB) - The Saratoga County Public Health Department is advising residents of potential COVID-19 exposure.
The Health Department says an employee at the Burger King in Halfmoon tested positive for the virus.
The potential exposure took place during the following times:
The Health Department says the employee was wearing a mask at all times, but advises anyone who visited this locations on these dates should self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
JULY
Coronavirus updates: NJ sees 112% increase in cases, deaths double in Atlanta area
The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 669,000 people worldwide.
Over 17.1 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their nations' outbreaks.
Over 17.1 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their nations' outbreaks. Read more...
Ex-police officer in George Floyd death asks for charges to be dropped Matt Mathers A police officer charged in connection with the death of George Floyd has applied to have his charges dropped, court documents show. Lawyers for Tou Thao, 34, have put forward a motion stating that the former Minneapolis police officer could not have known that Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, was about to commit a crime.
Floyd’s death proved to be a tinderbox moment for race relations in the US.
According to a court document filed on Wednesday, defence attorney Robert Paule will argue that the charges against his client are not supported by “probable cause”.
Mr Thao, Thomas Lane, 37 and J Kueng, 26, have all been charged with aiding and abetting both second degree murder and manslaughter.
Austin, Texas, joins growing number of U.S. cities in declaring racism a 'public health crisis' Christopher Wilson
Demonstrators in downtown Austin on Sunday after a vigil for Garrett Foster, a Black Lives Matter protester who was shot and killed after an altercation with a motorist. (Sergio Flores/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, the City Council in Austin, Texas, passed a resolution declaring that racism is a “public health crisis.”
“We do know that health inequities at their very core are due to racism,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the APHA. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Citing racial disparities in the rates of poverty, unemployment, homeownership and arrest, the Austin measure echoes the language of resolutions passed in other cities around the country. According to tracking by the American Public Health Association (APHA), dozens of cities and counties have made similar declarations over the past two months.
Portland mayor tear-gassed by federal agents at protest The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear-gassed by the U.S. government late Wednesday as he stood at a fence guarding a downtown federal courthouse during another night of protests. Demonstrators have clashed repeatedly with federal agents sent in by President Trump to quell ongoing unrest in the city.
Turns Out Mass Death Is Bad For The Economy Zach Carter
CNBC commentator Rick Santelli said something inane about the novel coronavirus in early March as it was beginning its spread across the United States.
“Maybe we’d be just better off if we gave it to everybody, and then in a month it would be over,” Santelli said during a segment for the business network. “Because the mortality rate of this probably isn’t going to be any different if we did it that way than the long-term picture, but the difference is we’re wreaking havoc on global and domestic economies.”
None of this magical thinking ever made any economic sense. You cannot get the economy roaring and the unemployment rate down if citizens are constantly dying in a pandemic.
The problem was not an ideological unwillingness to let the state support the economy through the pandemic ― it was an ideological commitment to social hierarchy.
Read more... 'A free man': Trump commutes longtime adviser Roger Stone's prison sentence
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone on Friday, sparing him from prison after he was convicted of lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
“Roger Stone has already suffered greatly,” the White House said in a statement. “He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!”
The veteran Republican political operative’s friendship with Trump dates back decades. Stone, 67, was scheduled to report by Tuesday to a federal prison in Jesup, Georgia, to begin serving a sentence of three years and four months.
Trump, seeking re-election on Nov. 3, opted to give Stone a commutation, which does not erase a criminal conviction, rather than a full pardon. Read more...
California to release 8,000 prisoners to slow pandemic
(Reuters) Prisoners with a year or less left to serve will be eligible for release. Among prisoners excluded from early release are those convicted of violent felonies and sex crimes, the department said.
“These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff,” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz said in a statement.
The move follows a reduction in inmate populations statewide by around 10,000 since the pandemic began. Read more... Investigation continues into assault at Valatie gym owner's home Jill Konopka & WNYT Staff Updated: July 09, 2020 08:56 PM Created: July 09, 2020 06:07 PM The wife of a Valatie gym owner is on administrative leave from her job as a sheriff's deputy. As NewsChannel 13 has been reporting, an assault at their home has been at the center of controversy. Columbia County Sheriff's Deputy Kelly Rosenstrach was put on leave after the weekend beating of local mechanic Harold Handy.
Handy was at the eye doctor Thursday and may need eye socket surgery. The swelling to his head has gone down tremendously.
Bartlett won't say whether Deputy Rosenstrach's leave is paid or who specifically was involved in the attack on her Kinderhook property Read more...
Rensselaer school board votes to cut sports funding Community effort launched to cover $219,000 gap Kenneth C. Crowe II July 9, 2020 Updated: July 9, 2020 9:20 p.m.
RENSSELAER – The city Board of Education eliminated funding the district’s interscholastic sports program Thursday when it unanimously adopted a proposed $27.18 million budget for the 2020-21 year. And officials are promising a campaign for community donations to keep students competing athletically.
The district will need a supermajority of 60 percent of city residents voting "yes" in order to pass the proposed $27.18 million budget on July 28. The previous budget was defeated in a 1,130 to 560 vote.
Under the proposed budget, taxes on a home with a full value assessment would increase by $100 to $1,442.
Read more... JUNE Grand jury indicts 3 suspects for murder of Ahmaud Arbery A grand jury indicted three men for murder in the the February killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, prosecutor Joyette Holmes said Wednesday. Holmes said the indictment of Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. "is another positive step, another great step for finding justice for Ahmaud, for finding justice for this family and the community beyond." The McMichaels, a white father and son, pursued and killed Arbery, who was Black and unarmed, while he was jogging in a neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia. In addition to malice and felony murder, the three suspects were also charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
NASA names D.C. headquarters after 1st Black female engineer
NASA is renaming its headquarters in Washington, D.C., after trailblazer Mary W. Jackson, the agency's first African American female engineer.
Jackson was "part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Wednesday. "Mary never accepted the status quo — she helped break barriers and open opportunities for African Americans and women in the field of engineering and technology."
Her story was told in the book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of he Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, and she was played by Janelle Monáe in the subsequent movie. Jackson retired from NASA in 1985 and died in 2005; she posthumously received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.
Nancy Green, American model
Nancy Green was a storyteller, cook, activist, and the first of many African-American models hired to promote a corporate trademark as "Aunt Jemima". The famous Aunt Jemima recipe was not her recipe, but she became the advertising world's first living trademark.
You probably don't know the name Nancy Green, but you'd recognize her face.
The Chicago woman originally portrayed the Aunt Jemima trademark, and efforts are being made to preserve her legacy as Quaker Oats removes the Aunt Jemima name and image from their popular pancake products. But Green did not die a millionaire. In fact, she could not live off the earnings she made from her portrayal of Aunt Jemima, and continued to work as a housekeeper until a few years before her death in 1923.
Second wave inevitable; testing dates upcoming June 23, 2020 by STAFF
HUDSON—Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb reported experiencing a disturbing lack of mask-wearing and social distancing on a weekend visit to Lake George.
“I believe what I observed tells me a second wave of the coronavirus is inevitable. The streets were just as crowded as they were last year and I would estimate only 10% of those walking by us were wearing masks. At times my wife and I were the only people on the street wearing masks and we also heard derogatory remarks from those mask-less people walking by,” Director Mabb said in the June 22 Covid-19 update press release issued by the Columbia County Board of Supervisors
Mr. Mabb had high praise for shop and restaurant owners, who required masks before entering, adding he did see some unhappy people turned away because they didn’t have one. Read more…
Gov. Cuomo sounds off on Trump's decision to hold rally New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta about President Trump's upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the implications it may have on coronavirus cases. Source: CNN Study suggests 80% of Covid-19 cases in the US went undetected in March
(CNN)A new study suggests that as many as 8.7 million Americans came down with coronavirus in March, but more than 80% of them were never diagnosed. A team of researchers looked at the number of people who went to doctors or clinics with influenza-like illnesses that were never diagnosed as coronavirus, influenza or any of the other viruses that usually circulate in winter. Read more...
The New Normal: Shopping Malls and stores prepare for social distancing by Leanne DeRosa June 22nd 2020
ALBANY NY (WRGB) - Shopping Malls in New York state are still waiting for guidance on when they can reopen. Crossgates Mall leaders and store owners say they've been ready since Phase Two. See WRGB coverage
Volume 96%
They've been urging the governor for answers. Right now there still is no reopening date set for malls in New York State. (WRGB FILE)
City of Albany sees nine shootings in less than a week, officials seek end to the violence
by Lynsey Smith
ALBANY NY (WRGB) - Between Thursday and Monday, The Albany Police Department has responded to 9 shootings across the city. Read more...
American citizen among those killed in U.K. terror attack
By Saphora Smith
LONDON — An American citizen was among those killed in a terror attack in a town in southern England on Saturday, the U.S. Ambassador has confirmed.
Three people were stabbed to death in a “terrorist incident” in the town of Reading on Saturday, police said. Read more...
MAY
Police hope to thwart 'hide & seek' at abandoned Castleton property
CASTLETON-ON-HUDSON — Ready or not, here they come -- the authorities, that is Officials in Rensselaer County are warning young people against participating in a "large" competition at the former Fort Orange Paper Co. property in Castleton that was apparently advertised to teens in a mass text, saying those found on the private property could face trespassing charges.
Both Rensselaer County and the Schodack Central School District posted warnings on their Facebook pages, urging people to not trespass on the property.
Read more... Saratoga horse racing will go on without fans - a season like no other Tim Wilkin May 23, 2020As we barrel toward the opening of the Saratoga Race Course meet — and we are only 53 days away from July 16 — one thing we know is this:
The 152nd summer of thoroughbred horse racing is going to be like none other in the storied history of the most popular meet in the country, maybe the world. And it is not going to be remembered for which horse won the Travers or which trainer, jockey and owner won the most races.Read more...
Malta, Hi-Way Drive-In movie theaters reopen Friday WNYT Staff Created: May 22, 2020 08:38 AM
At least two more drive-in movie theaters in the Capital Region are reopening.
The drive-in theater in Malta and the Hi-Way Drive-in in Athens are opening up Friday.
The owners held off on opening last week because they were still working on new safety measures and signage, and their employees were going through some additional training.
New social distancing rules for the Malta Drive-In Theater can be found by clicking here. New rules for the Hi-Way Drive-In can be found here.
Rensselaer County sends warning about laced drugs causing 30 overdoses in the Capital Region TROY – Rensselaer County is warning the public about laced drugs that have hit the Capital Region. Emily De Vito Updated: May 21, 2020 02:06 PM Created: May 21, 2020 12:20 PM
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said there were about 30 overdoses in the Capital Region in less than 24 hours with Troy Police responding to more than 12.
"It's scary stuff," said Troy Deputy Chief Dan DeWolf. "Thankfully there were many saves over this period of time, but there were at least two deaths as a result of drug overdoses."
"We're not looking to rat people out, but we're looking to save people's lives," said DeWolf.
Jerry Stiller, Comedian With Enduring Appeal, Is Dead at 92 By Peter KeepnewsMay 11, 2020 Updated 9:09 a.m. ETIn the 1960s, he and his wife, Anne Meara, found success as a comedy team. In the 1990s, he found it again as Frank Costanza on “Seinfeld.”
Jerry Stiller, a classically trained actor who became a comedy star twice — in the 1960s in partnership with his wife, Anne Meara, and in the 1990s with a memorable recurring role on “Seinfeld” — has died. He was 92. Read more..
Jerry Stiller and wife Anne Meara turned their marriage into a comedy act Read More:
Valatie farm offers hand sanitizer made from apples Kumi Tucker Updated: May 07, 2020 06:55
VALATIE - At Harvest Spirits Farm Distillery, until the pandemic they were focusing on creating things like vodka made from their apples, and now they're filling apple cider jugs with hand sanitizer.
Golden Harvest Farms on Route 9 in Valatie is known for its apples and pastries. Now on the counter, you can also find hand sanitizer for sale.
Harvest Spirits Farm Distillery is just behind the farmstand. They usually make vodka from their apples, plus apple jack, brandy, and gin.
McCoy: County closer to re-opening threshold but won't hit final requirement
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy holds his daily coronavirus news briefing on Monday, May, 4, 2020, at the Albany County Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)
ALBANY — County Executive Dan McCoy said he believes the county is getting closer to meeting the state's threshold to begin re-opening, except for one key requirement. Read more... ALBANY — County Executive Dan McCoy said he believes the county is getting closer to meeting the state's threshold to begin re-opening, except for one key requirement.APRIL APRIL
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, homebrewing surges in popularity
SALEM, Ore. — On March 14, the day after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a national emergency in the United States, I decided to take up an activity that I had abandoned decades ago.
I brewed some beer.
It did take my mind off the pandemic. I put some music on, made sure the brewing kettle didn’t boil over, poured in hops and malt extract and, using a timer, followed the other steps.Read more..
Some Americans prepare to go back to work as jobless claims spike over virus
Some businesses prepared on Thursday to reopen in Georgia and a handful of other U.S. states for the first time in a month, as another week of massive unemployment claims highlighted the grim economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s factored into our thinking and our planning about why we’re doing it gradually and carefully. If we just were to flip the switch and open things back up like a lot of people want... there’s no question it would be worse and flash back in the fall,” [Maryland Governor Larry Hogan]said. Read more...
New York City overwhelmed by coronavirus fatalities as plasma treatment brings hope Refrigerated trailers are housing the dead as makeshift morgues in New York City, but antibodies in the blood of those who've recovered from COVID-19 may help bring relief to the pandemic. Trailers like these are being used as temporary morgues in New York City. CBS NEWS
A mass grave on Hart Island, New York City's potter's field.
Read more... Rensselaer County announces new coronavirus cases, deaths
RENSSELAER COUNTY Seven new coronavirus cases, and two new deaths. Rensselaer County Health Department Announced the numbers Sunday, bringing the total of cases in the county to 193.
The two deaths were both at Diamond Hill adult care facility in Schaghticoke, which also saw three of the new positive cases. Read more...
Antibody testing begins in NY after Cuomo announcement
Gov. Cuomo announced Sunday that testing for coronavirus antibodies would begin this week -- and it did, on Sunday afternoon.
Tests were performed at Price Chopper/Market 32 locations, including the one on Kendell Way in Malta.
No appointments are needed for the testing, but people who come in are asked to wear masks, and to practice social distancing. Read more...
Is fungus the answer to climate change? Student who grew a mushroom canoe says yes.
“Mushrooms are here to help us — they’re a gift,” college student Katy Ayers said. “They’re our biggest ally for helping the environment.”
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in the first known case of a human infecting an animal and making it sick, the zoo's chief veterinarian said on Sunday.
The number of crew on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier who have tested positive for the coronavirus has risen 13% in the past 24 hours to 155, the Navy said on Saturday, in the wake of the firing of the carrier's captain.
SUNY Poly joins in effort to make virus protection equipment
SUNY Poly nanobioscience professor Nate Cady making face mask shields with a 3-D printer
ALBANY - Researchers at SUNY Polytechnic Institute – who are experts in the building of computer chips and mechanical devices – are turning to making personal protection equipment for hospital workers on the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak. The protective face masks are being made using 3-D printers at SUNY Poly's campuses. The effort is being led at SUNY Poly's Albany campus by SUNY Poly Empire Innovation Professor of Nanobioscience Nate Cady.
Read more... MARCH Local manufacturer looks to help build ventilators during shortage Hart said switching gears to build ventilators isn’t a major transition. The company traditionally builds custom automation equipment.. “Frankly ventilators aren’t a far reach for what we do everyday,” Hart said. “We know what goes into them. We know the amount of time that our customers need to scale and we believe we can do it faster,” Hart said. Read more...
Cohoes Company Manufactures Device to Help With Statewide Ventilator Shortage Cohoes Company Manufactures Device to Help With Statewide Ventilator ShortageNew York Farm Bureau Donates 7.3 Million Pounds of Food to Food Banks by Joseph Fetch Thursday, March 26th 2020
New York Farm Bureau Donates 7.3 Million Pounds of Food to Food Banks (File: Squash, apples and onions previously donated to the Food Bank of Northeastern NY during the 2017 Harvest for All campaign.)
9 inmates escape from South Dakota jail where there was a positive coronavirus test
March 24, 2020, By David K. Li
Four of the women have been captured since breaking out of the minimum-security unit of the Pierre Community Work Center.
Three female inmates who escaped from a South Dakota jail where a prisoner had tested positive for the coronavirus were returned to custody Tuesday, authorities said.
Over one-fifth of the world's population has been ordered or urged to stay home.
Over 1.5 billion people across the globe -- more than one-fifth of the world's population -- have been ordered or urged to stay home amid a deadly pandemic of the novel coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has warned "is accelerating."
Dow plummets despite Fed's emergency rate cut over coronavirus Citing the risk of coronavirus, the Fed announced a rate cut Tuesday. By Catherine Thorbecke March 3, 2020, 4:13 PM Fed cuts interest rates by half a percentage point over coronavirusLast week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst week since the financial crash of 2008.
Mike Tyson cries as he reveals he feels 'empty' after retiring from boxing
Tyson, a former heavyweight champion, said he is working on "the art of humbleness." Mike Tyson attends a boxing match at The Grand Garden Arena at MGM Grand, Las Vegas on Feb. 22, 2020.Steve Marcus / Reuters
James Lipton, Creator and Host of 'Inside the Actors Studio,' Dies at 93 10:09 AM PST 3/2/2020 by Chris Koseluk
James Lipton, the elegant, articulate wordsmith and theater academic whose desire to give his acting students a greater insight into their art led to the popular Bravo series Inside the Actors Studio, has died. He was 93.
Lipton did all of his own research in preparation for each interview. A lover of words, he was known for his intricately crafted questions and precise manner of delivery. His style was so distinctive, it led to a number of parodies, most notably Will Ferrell's dead-on imitation in a series of Saturday Night Live sketches.
"I love it. It's very flattering," Lipton said during a 2012 CNN interview. "I think he's got me cold."
Lipton's popularity, thanks to Inside the Actors Studio, helped facilitate interest in the musical, and in 2004, a studio recording featuring Nathan Lane, Bernadette Peters, Carol Burnett, Tommy Tune and Mike Myers was produced.
Read more...
FEBRUARY
DiNapoli Audits Find $790M In Medicaid Savings
BY NICK REISMAN CITY OF ALBANY PUBLISHED 12:12 PM ET JAN. 17, 2020
How can you close a $4 billion Medicaid gap? One audit at a time.
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office on Friday released a package of audits of aspects of the Medicaid program, finding $790 million in potential savings. The four audits come as New York faces a $6.1 billion budget gap in the coming fiscal year, which begins April 1.
“New York state faces a projected budget gap of $6 billion for the coming fiscal year, in part because of higher Medicaid spending,” DiNapoli said.
SCHENECTADY - Union College has received what they say is the largest gift in their 225-year history.
Rich & Mary Templeton, who both graduated in 1980, have donated $51 million.
Rich is CEO of Texas Instruments and Mary spent 14 years at GE. Both now live in Dallas.
The money will be used to start Templeton Institute for Engineering and Computer Science - and for the recruitment and retention of women pursuing related degrees.
It will also help enhance the college's curriculum, faculty, and spaces.
Concerns raised over effectiveness of upcoming NY plastic bag ban Asa Stackel Updated: February 13, 2020 06:12 PM Created: February 13, 2020 11:06 AM
Ready or not, New York's plastic bag ban goes into effect March 1, and the way you do things is going to have to change. Here's the new law: Read more...
19-year-old worker dead after fall from Albany scaffolding
ALBANY — A 19-year-old construction worker who fell from scaffolding outside an Albany apartment complex Thursday has died, according to city police.
Stride Adaptive Sports transforms the slopes at Ski Sundown
NEW HARTFORD – Stride Adaptive Sports has opened-up these slopes to skiers of all abilities. “We can get anyone skiing that’s the wonderful thing,” says Karen Cook, Adaptive Program Director at Ski Sundown.
In group lessons, volunteers, who have intense training, provide support. “They help me,” says 15 year old Kyle Skora-Thomas.
Socialization is key.
“Making new friends,” says 16 year old Jessica Burt, who – like Kyle, is on the autism spectrum.
The takeaway of the Iowa caucuses was not who won the nation's first 2020 election contest. It was instead a story of confusion and chaos as the Iowa Democratic Party failed to release the results hours after the caucuses ended. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was the first candidate to come out and admit that she, too, was in the dark about what was taking so long. Shawn Sebastian, a precinct chair in Ames, Iowa, tried to call a hotline number they were given to report results.
After being on hold for more than an hour, the operator hung up on him while he was live on CNN.
Kirk Douglas, legendary Hollywood tough guy, dead at 103
Douglas starred in such iconic films as "Spartacus" and "Lust for Life," and he was a vocal and dedicated philanthropist.
Douglas' progressive values may been the product of his upbringing as the poor child of Jewish immigrants from what's now Belarus — his birth name was Issur Danielovitch — who grew up in Amsterdam, New York. And even as his production tailed off in later decades, the cleft-chinned star remained a virile sex symbol well into his 60s.
Read more... Douglas’ many honors include the highest award that can be given to a U.S. civilian, the Presidential Medal of Freedom Read more...
Not Guilty: Split Senate acquits Trump of impeachment The outcome Wednesday followed months of remarkable impeachment proceedings, from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's House to Mitch McConnell's Senate, reflecting the nation's unrelenting partisan divide three years into the Trump presidency.
The Wednesday afternoon vote was swift. With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding over the trial, senators sworn to do "impartial justice" stood at their desks for the roll call and stated their votes - "guilty" or "not guilty."
On the first article of impeachment, Trump was charged with abuse of power. He was found not guilty. The second, obstruction of Congress, also produced a not guilty verdict.
The Wednesday afternoon vote was swift. With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding over the trial, senators sworn to do "impartial justice" stood at their desks for the roll call and stated their votes - "guilty" or "not guilty." Read more...
Ichabod Crane community calls for BOE member to resign Emily Burkhard Updated: February 05, 2020 11:03 AM Created: February 04, 2020 11:59 PM
VALATIE - Many people showed up to speak at an Ichabod Crane Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. They were there to voice support for a student who was accused of being on drugs by a board member at the last meeting.
"I would like to publicly state that this allegation is not true," Trevor said Tuesday.
The chair of the board made a statement in response, but many people feel that wasn't enough.
Read more... Malta man's record leaves Saratoga County law enforcement concerned about bail laws Mark Mulholland Updated: January 31, 2020 06:14 PM Created: January 31, 2020 03:18 PM
Copyright 2020 - WNYT-TV, LLC A Hubbard Broadcasting Company
Saratoga County law enforcement worries a Malta man could be a poster boy for all that's wrong with the state's new bail laws.
Alexander Jones is accused of stealing money and credit cards from cars in Malta this week and using a credit card to buy gift cards at a grocery store.
It turns out that when he allegedly committed those crimes, he had been freed by a judge in Rotterdam where he was accused of burglary.
Neither the Schenectady County or Saratoga County judge had the authority to set bail, so Jones is free pending prosecution.
Jones is a convicted rapist and registered sex offender with four prior felony convictions, and has failed to appear for court five times in the past.
JANUARY
34 years ago today, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart and killed everyone on board By Allen Kim, CNN Updated 3:15 PM ET, Tue January 28, 2020
(CNN)Thirty-four years ago, NASA experienced an in-flight tragedy when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members aboard. Taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the cold weather conditions that morning combined with a design flaw led to a rocket booster failure and caused a structural collapse.
Backatcha:Greta Thunberg has wasted little time in pushing back against President Donald Trump's description of climate campaigners as “the perennial prophets of doom
By PAN PYLAS and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press January 21, 2020, 2:19 PM
DAVOS, Switzerland -- Greta Thunberg isn't easily intimidated.
The 17-year-old Swedish activist wasted little time on Tuesday to push back against U.S. President Donald Trump's description of climate campaigners as “the perennial prophets of doom" who predict the "apocalypse.”
Thunberg is not the only young activist to highlight the climate emergency, and was joined on a keynote panel by three others, all of whom said politicians and executives are not doing enough.
Read more... Black man claims bank discriminated against him by not cashing checks
A Michigan man has filed a lawsuit against a Midwest banking chain this week, accusing it of racial profiling, after a teller called the police on him and wrongfully accused him of fraud.
He said he was treated as if he'd done something wrong and he's convinced that the bank assumed the checks were bad because he is black.
Ironically, Sauntore Thomas was attempting to deposit two large checks that he'd received as part of a workplace racial discrimination settlement with his previous employer when a TCF Bank branch in Livonia, Michigan, refused to accept the checks, saying they weren't legit.
“Tulsi Gabbard is running for President of the United States, a position Clinton has long coveted, but has not been able to attain,” Wednesday’s Manhattan federal lawsuit reads.
Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has filed a defamation suit against Hillary Clinton for calling her a “Russian asset,” according to newly filed court papers.
“If the nesting doll fits.”
The lawsuit goes on to claim that Clinton demonstrated actual malice — and says the failed Democratic presidential candidate has had it in for Gabbard since the congresswoman endorsed Clinton rival Bernie Sanders in 2016.
Gabbard is suing for $50 million, citing defamation claims.
New York Yankees great Derek Jeter elected to Hall of Fame, one vote short of unanimously By David K. Li
Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who thrived under the city's unforgiving lights and lived up to the impossible expectations of some of professional sports' most demanding fans, was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday — just one vote short of a unanimous decision. Read more...
How the Senate entered Trump impeachment trial mode With mini-squats, a phone cubby and a candy smorgasbord, lawmakers geared up as the trial of President Donald Trump began in earnest.
John Kennedy, R-La., brushed off what seemed likely to be a string of late-night sessions. "Most Americans work past 5:30. It'll be good for us," he said.
So did James Inhofe, R-Okla. "Doesn't bother me a bit," he said, "if I can stay awake." Read more...
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY 1 MONTH AGO For The First Time In History, Girls Win All The Top 5 Prizes Of The National STEM Competition
This year, something truly amazing happened in the Broadcom MASTERS National STEM Competition. Both the participants and organizers were excited to witness a historic moment. For the first time since the competition was launched in 2010, all top 5 prizes were awarded to girls. It’s not the only new milestone in the event, which took place last month.
Read more... Court docs: Kolb was double legal limit when he crashed car on NYE By Cayla Harris on January 7, 2020 at 12:25 PM
Former Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb had a blood alcohol content of .16 percent when he crashed his car near his Victor home on New Year’s Eve, court documents show.
Kolb had about “four or five cocktails” before he drove his state-issued SUV off the edge of his driveway and into a ditch near his house.
January 3, 2020 | 11:15 AM EST Governor Cuomo unveiled the 19th proposal of the 2020 State of the State - growing New York's craft beverage manufacturing industry by reforming Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled the 19th proposal of the 2020 State of the State - growing New York's craft beverage manufacturing industry by reforming antiquated prohibition-era laws that will remove barriers to new investments. New super announced, principals’ roles adjusted at ICC January 2, 2020 by EMILIA TEASDALE
KINDERHOOK– The Ichabod Crane Board of Education appointed Jason Thomson as the next superintendent of schools at a special meeting Wednesday, December 18. According the resolution passed unanimously by the board, Mr. Thomson’s appointment will start “on or about February 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023.”
As we enter 2020, the 100th anniversary year of women’s suffrage, we must take time to recognize the courage and determination of those who led the long fight to achieve the right to vote for women in the United States. Read more... Not For Ourselved Alone Watch here:
As robots take over warehousing, workers pushed to adapt MATT O'BRIEN Dec. 30, 2019Updated: Dec. 30, 2019 7:20 p.m.
RENSSELAER – Former Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove is under consideration to be a part-time city attorney, which would have him working in the City Hall where a special county grand jury indicted him for perjury and official misconduct in his handling of the fatal police shooting of a DWI suspect.
Republican Mayor-elect Michael Stammel confirmed Friday that he has asked Abelove, also a Republican, to take a $9,000-a- year, part-time job in his administration after he takes office Jan. 1. But Abelove wouldn’t be sworn in any time soon as he currently faces the criminal charges. Suspicious death investigation underway in East Greenbush Emily Burkhard & WNYT Staff Updated: December 13, 2019 11:13 PM Created: December 13, 2019 04:28 PM
EAST GREENBUSH - A suspicious death investigation is underway in East Greenbush. That's after a 25-year-old woman's body was discovered in a home on Electric Avenue on Thursday.
Police have identified the victim as Emily Adams of East Greenbush. Police are calling her death suspicious, but they said they're waiting on autopsy and toxicology results before commenting any further.
A neighbor told NewsChannel 13 police were called to the home around 7:30 Thursday night.
The neighbor said she's not sure not sure who called police, but she said she heard Adams and her boyfriend arguing on Wednesday. The neighbor said the couple argued often.
Read more... Missing Columbia County man found dead on farm News staff Dec. 12, 2019 Updated: Dec. 12, 2019 9:44 p.m.
STUYVESANT — The body of a missing Elizaville man has been found on a farm property in Stuyvesant eight days after the 29-year-old was last seen, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday.
"At this time, it does not appear that there is any foul play with the death of Mr. Amato," said Sheriff David P. Bartlett. "However, the investigation is continuing and Sheriff’s Office investigators are awaiting the autopsy results." Read more... Cuomo Plans State Of The State for Jan. 8 DEC 13TH - 3:45 PM Posted by Nick Reisman in Andrew Cuomo
Gov. Andrew Cuommo will hold his 2020 State of the State address on Jan. 8, his office announced on Friday.
The address coincides with the first day of the legislative session for the year. Read more...
Documents: Mining company writing own environmental report KEITH RIDLER Dec. 13, 2019Updated: Dec. 13, 2019 6:45 p.m.
The report, called a biological assessment, would typically be written by the Forest Service or an independent contractor. Its purpose is to examine the potential effect the open-pit mines would have on salmon, steelhead and bull trout protected under the Endangered Species Act.
The assessment could sink Midas Gold's Stibnite Gold Project if it results in habitat restoration work that makes the mines economically unfeasible.
Federal Court Upholds Green Light Law DEC 13TH - 3:24 PM Posted by Nick Reisman in Albany A federal court on Friday upheld New York’s law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses — paving the way for the measure to take effect on Saturday.
The court rejected a challenge to the law from Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola, who had challenged the measure’s constitutionality.
Green Light Law ALBANY — The U.S. Department of Justice is backing the federal lawsuit brought by the Rensselaer County clerk that questions the constitutionality of New York's new "Green Light" law, which makes drivers licenses available to undocumented immigrants. By Rebecca Carballo Updated 6:29 pm EST, Thursday, December 5, 2019 Photo: Paul Buckowski, Albany Times Union
Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola voices his opposition to legislation that would provide illegal immigrants with driver's license during a press event at the Rensselaer County DMV office on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Troy, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union) Read more...
Red,White and Brew. Man with Autism Opens His Own Coffee Shop After Struggling to Find a Job: 'It's Just a Beacon of Hope'
"After I turned 21, I applied to multiple places. None of them would hire me," Michael Coyne said of his initial job search before taking business classes
Sperm whale found dead on Scotland beach with 220 pounds of trash in stomach
The whale was found on Luskentyre beach on Saturday and had been dead for 48 hours by the time workers from the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) got there.
Read more... Critical day in the impeachmentshowdown The House Judiciary Committee is then expected to hold its first hearing on impeachment Wednesday. Read more... OCTOBER
The Cars’ frontman died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the NYC Medical Examiner’s Office. This is plaque build-up in arteries related to untreated high blood pressure.
According to an autopsy report released Monday by the New York City medical examiner’s office, Ocasek died of cardiovascular disease. Ocasek was 75.
The autopsy findings coincide with two touching social media posts by the Ocasek family that have provided deeper insight in the singer-songwriter’s final hours. The first post, by Ocasek’s wife Paulina Porizkova (from whom he amicably separated in 2018) says the new wave pioneer died in his sleep after undergoing surgery.
“Ric was at home recuperating very well after surgery. Our two sons, Jonathan and Oliver, and I were making sure he was comfortable, ordering food and watching TV together,” Porizkova wrote. “I found him still asleep when bringing him his Sunday morning coffee. I touched his cheek to rouse him. It was then I realized that during the night he had peacefully passed on. We appreciate the great outpouring of love. We, his family and friends, are completely and utterly devastated by his untimely and unexpected death and would appreciate the privacy to mourn in private.”
Genetic genealogy leads to arrest of "Daytona Serial Killer" suspect, officials say
Police in Florida have arrested a former criminal justice student they suspect to be a serial killer, linked to the murders of at least four women across the state spanning a decade. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has charged Robert Tyrone Hayes with the murder of 32-year-old Rachel Elizabeth Bey, whose battered body was found off a Jupiter highway in 2016. Police in Daytona Beach, nearly 200 miles north, said Hayes, 37, is also linked by DNA or ballistic evidence to the shooting deaths of three other women in 2005 and 2006.
Investigators used genetic genealogy, an emerging and controversial method that compares unknown suspect DNA profiles with genetic information available on genealogy databases, to identify Hayes as a suspect, authorities said.
"I can't be more happy today that we got this killer off the streets so nobody else can become a victim," Daytona Beach police chief Craig Capri said at a press conference Monday.
New York state bans flavored e-cigarettes
DOH commissioner will meet with panel this week to put ban in place
By Lauren Stanforth Updated 4:56 pm EDT, Sunday, September 15, 2019
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday "an emergency action" to ban the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes statewide.
Cuomo said state Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker will hold a meeting with the Public Health and Health Planning Council this coming week that will formally ban the flavored use of nicotine that is also known as vaping.
The action comes as federal and state investigators are trying to figure out why some e-cigarette users have been racked with a serious respiratory illness. As of last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were 380 cases of lung illness nationwide, with six deaths.
The concern lies with not knowing what possible ingredients in flavored electronic cigarettes might be contributing to the sudden, devastating illness — and the fact that fruit or candy-flavored electronic cigarettes are causing use to soar with teens nationwide.
After the state health planning council votes, stores would have a two-week grace period to get the flavored e-cigarette products off the shelves before facing possible fines.
Michigan was the first state just after Labor Day to ban flavored electronic cigarettes.
Former Albany bishop denies second abuse claim
Hubbard named in new Child Victims Act lawsuit By Cayla Harris and Steve Hughes Updated 6:58 pm EDT, Monday, September 16, 2019
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale IMAGE 1 OF 4
Bishop Howard Hubbard his pictured in his office Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, at the Albany Diocese Pastoral Center in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) ALBANY — Former Catholic Bishop Howard J. Hubbard has been accused of sexual abuse in a second civil complaint — this one alleging he and two other Albany priests sexually assaulted a girl in the rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Schenectady in the late 1970s. In a statement released Monday, Hubbard denied the new claim and reiterated his earlier assertion that he has never sexually abused anyone. The new claim does not identify the gender of the alleged victim, but according to attorneys on both sides it involves the alleged abuse of a young girl. Those allegations comprise just a few paragraphs in a 14-page complaint brought on behalf of another alleged abuse victim, a John Doe plaintiff whose legal action primarily targets Father Gerald R. "Jerry" Miller, who ran the the Home for Wayward Boys in Knox. The John Doe plaintiff does not allege he was abused by Hubbard, but claims the former bishop was negligent in his oversight of Miller, a priest with the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette order who had performed Mass at two churches within the diocese. Read more...
School in Session!
As students return to school this week, drivers are reminded it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus. Fines up to $400 for passing a stopped school bus.
When overtaking a school bus, you may not pass when red or amber warning lights are flashing. ... By law you must remain stopped until all people are clear of the roadway and the bus is in motion.
When a stopped school bus flashes its red light(s), traffic approaching from either direction, even in front of the school and in school parking lots, must stop before reaching the bus. You should stop at least 20 feet (6 m) away from the bus. This law applies on all roadways in New York State. You must stop for a school bus even if it is on the opposite side of a divided highway.A stop is NOT required when approaching a stopped bus from the opposite direction upon a highway of four or more lanes.
Even though Dorian’s eye may stay offshore, Florida authorities are warning of life-threatening storm surge, and more than 4,000 National Guard troops are standing by.
Mandatory evacuations ordered in Florida after Hurricane Dorian batters the Bahamas
Elder care facilities remain under heightened scrutiny two years after Hurricane Irma struck Florida, leading to deaths at a nursing home that lost power.
SCHODACK- Police are engaged in a stand-off in Rensselaer County.
They received a call sometime after 5 p.m. on Wednesday night and responded to the scene near Schodack-Nassau Road.
New York State Police have closed off Schodack-Nassau Road in both directions.
Police have been moving equipment from a staging area about a mile away. New York State Police also have a SWAT team assembled.
Police have pushed back neighbors and local media from the scene.
NewsChannel 13’s John Craig has reported that he can hear shouting and a bull-horn coming from the scene.
Body found in Mohawk River July 18, 2019 06:15 AM
Troy police pulled a body out of the Hudson River.
They say it's a 20 year old man from Troy and there are no signs of foul play.
Cohoes police say someone on the Cohoes side of the river saw the remains shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday and called them.
Troy’s fire boat then recovered the body.
JUNE MAY
Denver suburb seeks answers after school shooting HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (Reuters) - A Denver suburb sought answers on Wednesday as to why two students walked into their school and opened fire with handguns, injuring eight people and killing one just a few miles from where a school massacre took place 20 years ago.
Two surviving victims of the Tuesday attack at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch remained in a serious condition, medical officials said. Another was stable and five had been discharged from hospital. Read more...
Colorado STEM school student Brendan Bialy helped disarm gunmanThe teen plans to join the Marine Corp s after graduating, according to his father.
Robot Revolution
How many times in the past week do you think your life was affected by a robot? Unless you have a robot vacuum cleaner, you might say that robots had no real impact on your life.But you’re wrong. Let’s take a look at some of the ways robots are being used right now but that you probably have no idea about.
Read more... Founder, execs of drug company guilty in conspiracy that fed opioid crisis The founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc on Thursday became the highest-ranking pharmaceutical executive to be convicted in a case tied to the U.S. opioid crisis, when he and four colleagues were found guilty of participating in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive painkiller.
Maine could soon prohibit parents from citing religious or personal beliefs to avoid vaccinating their children, making the U.S. state one of a half dozen cracking down during the nation's largest measles outbreak in 25 years.
Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Friday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap.
Florida's legislature on Wednesday passed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in the classroom, expanding a program launched after the deadly high school shooting in Parkland with the aim of preventing another such massacre.
These squishy robots are designed to survive falls, save lives
Squishy robots are now being field-tested by fire departments in Los Angeles and in Texas, according to Agogino, with the first commercial version possibly available by the end of this year.
Greg Price, a division director for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., expressed enthusiasm for the squishy robot technology, saying it could enhance the “situation awareness” of first responders headed to disaster zones.Squishy robots are now being field-tested by fire departments in Los Angeles and in Texas, according to Agogino, with the first commercial version possibly available by the end of this year.
Greg Price, a division director for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., expressed enthusiasm for the squishy robot technology, saying it could enhance the “situation awareness” of first responders headed to disaster zones. States declare war on Styrofoam - "People think it breaks down." BY IRINA IVANOVA UPDATED ON: MAY 1, 2019 / 5:39 PM / MONEYWATCH
Maine Gov. Janet Mills has signed a ban on polystyrene food containers at restaurants and grocery stores, making it the first state in the nation to ban some types of plastic foam. But that could be merely the first shot in a broader national campaign against a product better known as Styrofoam.
Along with Maine's action, which takes effect in 2021, the Maryland legislature passed a ban earlier this year that now awaits the governor's signature. Similar bills are in progress in Vermont, Colorado, Oregon and New Jersey.
Expanded foam has been a target of environmental groups since the 1980s.
AJ Freund: Coroner confirms cause of death for boy found in shallow grave
A coroner's office in northern Illinois has confirmed a body found in a shallow grave is a 5-year-old boy who went missing from his suburban Chicago home a week ago. Andrew "AJ" Freund died of head trauma as a result of multiple blunt force injuries, the McHenry's County Coroner's office said Thursday afternoon.
"House of horrors" parents get 25 years to life in prison as siblings speak out: "I'm taking my life back" Some of the 13 children held captive for years in a horrific child abuse case gave emotional statements in court as their parents were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday. The "house of horrors" case shocked the country in January 2018 after a 17-year-old girl jumped out a window from the filthy home where she lived in isolation with her parents and 12 siblings. Deputies testified that the children said they were only allowed to shower once a year. They were mainly kept in their rooms except for meals, which had been reduced to one per day, a combination of lunch and dinner. Read more...
Notre Dame Officials had said a fire alarm was triggered at 6:20 p.m., but no fire was discovered. Then, at 6:43 p.m., another alarm sounded.
C.Sager
At that point, fire spread quickly from the roof near the rear of Notre Dame. In less than an hour, it engulfed the spire, which -- just 13 minutes later -- collapsed as onlookers watched in horror.Notre Dame fire: What we know
A major fire erupted at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday.
The cause of the blaze remains unclear, but officials do not suspect terrorism or arson.
About 40 people have been questioned by investigators.
So far, about a billion dollars have been pledged to help restore the landmark.
Notre-Dame de Paris, often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Read more...
Notre Dame Cathedral's famed rose windows, organ spared: Church official
As towering flames shot through the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral, some witnesses thought the Gothic structure that has stood for 850 years was doomed.
But after firefighters battled for nine hours to put out the blaze, officials said Tuesday that despite the extensive damage that will take years to repair, many of the historic building's iconic features were left intact.
K’hook solar farm awaits approval vote March 27, 2019 by EMILIA TEASDALE
VALATIE–The town Planning Board held a workshop meeting Thursday, March 14 to go over the plans for a solar farm from East Light Partners and to hear from a representative from the Bank of Greene County about a new branch. Both projects are planned for properties along Route 9 and both companies will be back in front of board this week.
The Planning Board is scheduled to conduct a public hearing on the East Light Partners project this Thursday, March 21. Neighbors have been notified about the project to put about 20 acres of solar panels on a site of about 100 acres off of Route 9 across from Knickerbocker Lake Road on the town border with Rensselaer County. The company will lease the land. Read more... Looking for work? https://regionalhelpwanted.com/capital-area-jobs/ Slippery Shelly wins again Sheldon Silver gets to stay out of jail as judges consider his conviction
Twice-convicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will stay out of jail while a three-judge panel mulls whether to throw out his most recent conviction for taking $4 million in bribes.
The appeals court on Thursday granted the disgraced pol’s application to remain free, a day after the panel took a hard look at Silver’s conviction, with judges questioning whether prosecutors proved his actions could be defined as public corruption.
Second Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan said at the hearing that prosecutors gave a “pretty squishy” definition of what Silver, who was once one of the three most powerful politicians in New York, said he would do in exchange for passing business along to a law firm.
Silver, 75, faces seven years in prison if his conviction stands. He has been out of jail on $200,000 since he was first charged in 2015.
Sheldon Silver wins delay of prison sentence as court considers his appeal
Appeals court panel sympathetic to Sheldon Silver's claims WNYT
TV stars and coaches charged in college bribery scheme
BOSTON (AP) - Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were charged along with nearly 50 other people Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the most elite schools in the country, federal prosecutors said.
Authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department.
"These parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in announcing the $25 million bribery case, code-named Operation Varsity Blues, against 50 people in all.
The scandal is certain to inflame longstanding complaints that children of the wealthy and well-connected have the inside track in college admissions - sometimes through big, timely donations from their parents - and that privilege begets privilege.
Prosecutors said parents involved in the scheme were also instructed to claim their children had learning disabilities so that they could take the ACT or SAT by themselves, with extended time, to make it easier to pull off the tampering.
Amazon distribution center in Schodack appears to be on track
Although a small group of residents tried unsuccessfully to stop the Schodack distribution warehouse in court by claiming there should be a more thorough review of the environmental impacts, the project was supported by local, county and state officials.
A spokesman for Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin issued this statement regarding the future of the Schodack warehouse: "We’re looking forward to working with Amazon and other partners to create 800 jobs and a significant new investment in Rensselaer County and the Capital Region."
Frank Robinson, MLB's first black manager and civil rights leader, dead at 83
Prolific slugger. Quintessential hard-ass player and manager. Baseball trailblazer.
Frank Robinson, who died in Los Angeles after a battle with bone cancer, was all of those things in a 60-year Hall-of-Fame career during which he hit (10th all-time) 586 home runs, was the only player in history to win Most Valuable Player awards in both leagues, became the first black manager in major league history, won the Triple Crown with the Orioles in 1966 and, as both a player and later-life MLB dean of discipline, was a vigorous proponent of how the game was supposed to be played.
In 1956, the Reds ended a streak of 11 consecutive losing seasons by hitting a major league record-tying 221 homers. Robinson, who won the left field job out of spring training, spearheaded the turnaround with a .290 average, a team-leading 38 homers and a league-leading 122 runs scored to win the National League Rookie of the Year award unanimously.
From there, Robinson went on to establish himself as one of the most feared – and fearless – hitters in the majors.
Frank Robinson
Baseball outfielder
Description
Frank Robinson was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five teams from 1956 to 1976. He became the first black manager in MLB history, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982. Wikipedia
Robinson was MLB's first black manager, and the only player to win MVP in both leagues. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Read more...
Elizabeth Warren announces 2020 presidential launch in Massachusetts: 'This is the fight of our lives' Warren's announcement comes after new fallout over her Native American ancestry.
Warren’s announcement comes on the heels of a tumultuous week after new fallout over her claim of Native American ancestry — a claim that, at times, has been a distraction in her political career and a potential impediment on her presidential ambitions. The issue this week arose from a Washington Post report that Warren had identified herself as "American Indian" on a 1986 registration card for the State Bar of Texas.Warren did not address the controversy in her speech, but a spokesperson had previously said the registration card was not an application to the bar and that it was only used for statistical purposes.
This most recent stumble in the saga over Warren's Native American heritage seemed to disrupt her momentum heading into Saturday’s announcement and it also raised questions about the durability of her campaign as she continues to confront negative headlines. Read more...
SC town honors black WWII vet 7 decades after brutal beating Nearly 73 years after a racially fueled beating at the hands of a white police chief left a black WWII veteran blind, a South Carolina town is honoring his memory By CHRISTINA L. MYERS Associated Press BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, S.C.Feb 9, 2019 6:46 PM ET
A South Carolina town has honored the memory of a black WWII veteran whose 1946 beating at the hands of a white police chief left him permanently blind and helped spur President Harry Truman's drive to integrate the U.S. military.
Distinguished guests and members of Sgt. Isaac Woodard's family gathered Saturday for a private ceremony before moving to the narrow streets of small-town Batesburg-Leesville for the unveiling of the "Blinding of Isaac Woodard" historical marker, which is located at the site of the old police station where the beating occurred. Read more...
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shunned by Democrats as pressure mounts to resign Fairfax camp says he's not resigning. By Soo YounFeb 9, 2019 6:25 PM ET
The fate of Virginia's lieutenant governor continued to hang in the balance this weekend as more leading state and national Democrats called on him to resign, one day after a second allegation of sexual assaultemerged -- and the politician responded one Saturday evening with a new statement flatly denying the allegations from both women.
In the statement, the increasingly-embattled state official called for investigations into the allegations.
"I am asking that no one rush to judgment and I am asking for there to be space in this moment for due process," Fairfax said.
Tearful vigil held for Valerie Reyes, 24, whose body was found in suitcase
The death of Valerie Reyes, 24, is being investigated by homicide detectives
By Emily ShapiroFeb 8, 2019 11:31 AM ET
Tears, embraces and prayers filled a candlelight vigil Thursday for a 24-year-old woman whose body was found in a suitcase along a Greenwich, Connecticut, road.
Valerie Reyes, 24, of New Rochelle, New York, was found Tuesday with her hands and feet bound, authorities said.
Convicted ex-lawyer on the run after allegedly killing mother, cutting off ankle bracelet Richard Merritt, 44, was supposed to turn himself in on Feb. 1. By Mark OsborneFeb 9, 2019 3:19 PM ET
The U.S. Marshals Service is conducting a nationwide manhunt after an ex-lawyer, who was supposed to turn himself in for a 30-year sentence, allegedly killed his mother, cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet and fled.
Richard Merritt, 44, is wanted for the murder of his mother in DeKalb County, Georgia, after she was found "violently killed" on Feb. 2, according to U.S. Marshals.
Millions of U.S. workers to see higher pay from minimum-wage hikes in 2019
"Fifteen dollars an hour has become the new minimum wage, meaning that that’s to afford the basics," one employment-law expert said. "It’s just a start."
With the federal minimum wage stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009, many states and cities have taken it upon themselves to raise the rate for the lowest-paid workers.
Former Walmart Santa Claus arrested after bodies of his 2 children were found buried in his backyard By BILL HUTCHINSON Dec 26, 2018, 6:59 PM ET
Elwyn Crocker Sr., 50, was arrested after sheriff's deputies went to his house in Guyton, Georgia, a suburb of Savannah, to conduct a welfare check on his 14-year-old daughter, Mary Crocker, authorities said.
Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie said that after questioning Crocker, he allegedly directed deputies to an area of his backyard, where they uncovered the bodies of Mary and her brother, Elwyn Crocker.
Until recently, Elwyn Crocker Sr., who had his 50th birthday in jail on Christmas Day, had served as a Santa Claus at a Walmart in nearby Rincon, Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
CHATHAM – Mayor Tom Curran addressed residents at the Village Board meeting last week about the failure of the village to pay employees’ withheld payroll taxes to the state since 2015, which amounted to more than $47,000.
The village now uses an outside company to handle payroll.
The Village Board discovered last summer that the village had a similar issue with payroll taxes owed to the federal Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $52,104.07 for the same time period. And, as with the state, the village now faces federal penalties.
Plans emerge to avoid new Amtrak’s fences
Amtrak’s plan is to construct eight-foot high fences and locked gates along sections of the railway between Poughkeepsie and Rensselaer to keep pedestrians and vehicles off its property, this has many communities concerned.
Local advocates want safety but believe it can be achieved without denying access to the river for boating, hiking and fishing as well as for the breathtaking views.
A transcript of the information session can be accessed at gatesgate.org. A video will be available from Panda Television 23, the Tivoli/Red Hook Public Access Station website, www.pandatv23.org
Knock, knock: Chatham prepares short-term rental rules December 14, 2018 by EMILIA TEASDALECHATHAM–The Town Board met with Planner Nan Stolzenburg to go over the town’s proposed new zoning law at a special meeting December 6. The board focused on section Z of the law, which deals with short-term rentals, and the section on home occupation.
Members of the board and Ms. Stolzenburg stressed while reviewing the proposal that since a law on short-term rentals like the ones the Airbnb website offers is not in the current town zoning law, short-term rentals are not allowed in the town.
“Anyone who has a short-term rental in Chatham is doing so illegally, according to the code,” said Councilman Bob Balcom.
Read more... NOVEMBER Former New York state Senate leader won't seek bail November 21, 2018 06:18 PM
Former State Senate leader Dean Skelos plans to report to prison in January, following his federal corruption conviction.
Skelos has decided to not seek bail, pending his appeal.
He's due to report to the Otisville Correctional Facility in Orange County on January 8.
Last month, the longtime Republican was sentenced to four years and three months behind bars, after he and his son were convicted of extortion, wire fraud and bribery. Funeral arrangements announced for Rensselaer mayor
Dan Dwyer File / WNYT
RENSSELAER - The funeral is set for Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer. The Dwyer family will receive visitors on Sunday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at W.J. Lyons Jr. Funeral Home in Rensselaer.
The funeral mass will be Monday morning at 10:00 at the Church of St. John the Evangelist and St. Joseph on Herrick Street in Rensselaer.
Dan Dwyer passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 84. He was a Korean War veteran who served the city of Rensselaer in various capacities starting in the early 1960s.
City Council President Rich Mooney now takes over as Rensselaer mayor.
A letter sent to Melvin’s parents by Colonel A. W. Foreman and published in the Albany Evening Journal, Wednesday, March 26, 1919 details the events leading up to their deaths.
Colonel Foreman goes on to say, “I felt on November 11th that something had occurred to prevent their return to the Fifth corps headquarters. I, therefore, determined to set out and find them. I was proceeding over this same road when I discovered Major King’s body and that of Private Roads along the side of the road. Both had been instantly killed by a bursting shell. After summoning a chaplain from the 89th division I had the bodies of both laid to rest, side by side, near the cemetery at Laneuville.
SEPTEMBER "One of Florida's, "most notorious drug dealers."
In July, Schultz was sentenced to 157 years for his role in fueling the most devastating public health crisis of the 21 century. Last year more Americans died of drug overdoses than in the entire Vietnam War.
In the early 2000s, Schultz was a pioneer on the wild west frontier of pain treatment. Doctors, drug dealers, opioid users and abusers were flocking to Florida, where powerful pain pills were being prescribed and dispensed by a new type of business, pain clinics.
In the early 2000s, Schultz was a pioneer on the wild west frontier of pain treatment. Doctors, drug dealers, opioid users and abusers were flocking to Florida, where powerful pain pills were being prescribed and dispensed by a new type of business, pain clinics.
Dave Aronberg: We had more pain clinics in the years 2010 and 2011 than we had McDonald's, in those years. There was one street in Broward County, Oakland Park Boulevard, that had 31 different pain clinics on the one street.
Florida state attorney Dave Aronberg's office prosecuted Barry Schultz. He told us pain clinics were loosely regulated medical offices where patients could pick up pills, usually for cash, few questions asked.
Dave Aronberg: You could get the prescription and get the drug right there on the spot. One-stop shopping. People would race down to Florida, because we didn't have the same controls as other states. We fed the entire nation's addiction.
AUGUST Simon often used his own experiences for comic material, from "Biloxi Blues" to "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound." Writing gags for TV, especially Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," would also inspire his play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor."
Marvin Neil Simon was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. Wikipedia
Aretha Franklin: a life of heartbreak, heroism and hope
The queen of soul’s fraught personal life informed songs that will endure in the hearts of people all over the world.
Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister.Wikipedia
State agencies update Hoosick Falls residents on PFOA contamination investigation
June 25, 2018 11:19 PM
HOOSICK FALLS - "This is another step forward in the process of becoming whole," Hoosick Falls Mayor Rob Allen said.
A resounding "yes" from the Hoosick Falls council to accept more than $195,000 for losses the village's water and sewer system incurred over the past three fiscal years.
The village agreed to allow a one year tolling agreement- providing Honeywell and Saint Gobain Performance Plastics a 30-day heads up, if they plan to sue.
"It was something that was requested from their side and we talked about in great detail and we're ok with that," Allen said.
Representatives from the Department of Health presented Round 1 Blood Testing results and what steps to take for another round of blood testing. They anticipate those levels of PFOA should be lowered by half.
"You see numbers from the beginning of the blood testing Round 1, toward the tail end you saw a noticeable difference in that level we anticipate we're optimistic that this next round will show a continued diminished number," NYDOH Spokesperson, Gary Holmes said.
Read more... Retrial set to begin for ex-New York Senate leader, son
A retrial is set to begin for ex-New York Senate leader Dean Skelos and his son on corruption charges.
Jury selection is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday in Manhattan.
Skelos and his son, Adam, were convicted by a jury in 2015 of extortion, conspiracy and bribery. Dean Skelos, a Republican, was sentenced to five years in prison. His son got 6½ years.
Prosecutors said the once-powerful politician badgered companies that needed his legislative support and political sway to funnel more than $300,000 to his son, through consulting work and a no-show job.
The prison terms were negated when a new trial was ordered by a federal appeals court in Manhattan after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the law regarding public corruption.
New York state to lead new offshore wind research effort ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York state will lead a new offshore wind research and development effort.
The new group will be known as the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium. Officials say the group will be funded with an $18.5 million grant from the federal Department of Energy.
When launched, the group will bring together energy researchers, utility companies and other states to discuss ways to improve the development and utilization of offshore wind. Firery East Greenbush crash June 15, 2018 06:43 PM
EAST GREENBUSH - Two men are lucky to be alive, after their car slammed into a tree in East Greenbush.
The frightening accident happened around 12:45 Friday morning on 3rd Avenue Extension.
Police tell NewsChannel 13 the car came around a bend, plowed through multiple yards, taking out mailboxes and a fence before crashing into the tree.
The passenger was able to get out as the car caught fire, but the driver was pinned inside. He was banging on the window, screaming for help.
APRIL Bill Cosby convicted of drugging and molesting a woman
Bill Cosby's lawyer says "fight is not over" and plans to appeal after comedian convicted at sexual assault retrial.
A prosecutor says Bill Cosby showed his true colors when he went on an expletive-laced tirade after his conviction on sexual assault charges.
Cosby called District Attorney Kevin Steele an “a--hole” in court after Steele asked the judge to revoke the 80-year-old comedian’s bail and send him to jail. Cosby remains free.
Steele tells reporters Thursday the outburst showed that Cosby’s good-guy persona was just an act, and “we got to see who he really was.”
Cosby was convicted of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
In a deposition he gave over a decade ago as part of Constand’s lawsuit, Cosby acknowledged he had obtained quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with, “the same as a person would say, ‘Have a drink.’” The sedative was a popular party drug before the U.S. banned it more than 30 years ago.
Constand’s lawyer, Dolores Troiani, thanked prosecutors and investigators for their diligence and praised Constand for her courage. She says, “Although justice was delayed, it was not denied.”
Nixon to visit Hoosick Falls Wednesday afternoon
Hoosick Falls
Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon is scheduled to visit Hoosick Falls on Wednesday afternoon to meet with residents of the embattled community who learned four years ago that their public and private water supplies had been polluted with a toxic manufacturing chemical.
Nixon announced last month she will challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic primary. Her return to the Capital Region this week is focused on the Rensselaer County community where residents continued drinking contaminated water for more than a year after health officials and elected leaders learned about the elevated levels of the dangerous chemical.
Candidate for New York governor Cynthia Nixon responds to a question during a news conference Monday, March 26, 2018, in Albany, N.Y. The "Sex and the City" star and public education advocate is challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo in September's Democratic primary. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Nixon, who is widely known for her acting role in the television series "Sex and the City," has characterized Cuomo as a bully and accused him of failing to clean up the Capitol's political corruption as he nears the end of his second term as governor.
Columbia County considers new approach to tracking overdoses through national mapping program Richard Moody Columbia-Greene Media March 22, 2018 11:33 pm
“There were more than 64,000 overdose deaths nationally in 2016,” Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett said. “And there was never a good way to track overdose deaths.”
“Right now, everyone is on a different sheet of paper and do not know what each other is doing,” Bartlett said. “This will create a centralized location for data and everyone will be working with the same program.”
The program will be administered by the county 911 Department because that is a central point that all agencies report to, Bartlett said
(CNN)Figures from the scientific community and beyond came together to mark the passing of famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who died at age 76 on Wednesday, the same day as Albert Einstein's birthday, also known as "Pi day."
The academic, author and noted scientist brought his complex theories to a wide audience through his bestselling book, "A Brief History of Time."
"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years," his three children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said in a joint statement.
"His courage and persistence, with his brilliance and humor, inspired people across the world. He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."
Neil deGrasse Tyson, another scientist who has made great strides in popularizing the field among the wider public, paid tribute to the Cambridge academic with a typically tongue-in-cheek physics joke.
"His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake," the astrophysicist wrote on Twitter.
"But it's not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure. Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018." FEBRUARY
[Aaron Feis:]Football coach reported dead after shielding students from Florida gunman
“He selflessly shielded students from the shooter when he was shot,” the statement read. “He died a hero and he will forever be in our hearts and memories.”
It is with Great sadness that our Football Family has learned about the death of Aaron Feis. He was our Assistant Football Coach and security guard. He selflessly shielded students from the shooter when he was shot. He died a hero and he will forever be in our hearts and memories
Florida school shooting suspect booked on 17 counts of ‘murder premeditated’ By Lori Rozsa, Mark Berman and Moriah Balingit
It is likely to revive a debate over gun control, though efforts to legislate restrictions on firearms following previous school shootings largely proved fruitless.
PARKLAND, Fla. — What is known about the Valentine’s Day slayings at a South Florida high school suggests the carnage was planned with chilling precision: The alleged shooter — armed with an assault-style weapon — pulled a fire alarm and waited as his victims began pouring into the halls.
What remained to be unraveled Thursday was what drove the teenage suspect, Nikolas Cruz, to bring his rage to a school he once attended and claim the lives of students he once called classmates — in what would become the nation’s second deadliest public school shooting with a toll of at least 17 lives.
WASHINGTON — A new front is opening in the battle to restore so-called net neutrality rules: state legislatures.
State Representative Norma Smith, a Republican, has introduced one of two net neutrality bills in Washington. “This is not a partisan issue here,” she said.
Lawmakers in at least six states, including California and New York, have introduced bills in recent weeks that would forbid internet providers to block or slow down sites or online services. Legislators in several other states, including North Carolina and Illinois, are weighing similar action.
They are responding to the Federal Communications Commission’s vote last month to end regulations that barred internet service providers from creating slow and fast lanes for different sites and services. The new policy will go into effect in the coming weeks.
Props being carried away after a protest last month outside the Federal Communications Commission in Washington. CreditChip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Hoosick Falls Water Woes
ALBANY (AP) — Hoosick Falls residents whose water supply has been contaminated plan to hold a demonstration in Albany to call for a new source of clean drinking water.
Organizers say many Hoosick Falls residents will be joined by union members and environmental protection advocates for Friday morning's gathering outside the state Senate chamber in Albany.
Almost two years ago, the residents of the community near the Vermont border learned that their drinking water had been tainted by PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid. The chemical has been linked to cancer and thyroid disease.
Earlier this week, village officials voted to sue two companies for costs related to the tainted drinking water. State and federal regulators are holding the companies responsible for PFOA contamination of public and private drinking water sources. Read more...
Some Rensselaer residents want landfill halted
RENSSELAER – A citizens group want to see dumping stopped at the state-approved Dunn C&D Landfill that’s been in operation for several years.
Rensselaer Community Action leaders said Thursday at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery that the city should halt the use of the landfill.
“We’re asking the city to shut the place down,” said David Ellis, another group member.
Kremlin says Putin thanked Trump for CIA tip on bombings By Associated PressPublished: December 17, 2017, 4:38 pm\ MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday to thank him for a CIA tip that helped thwart a series of bombings in St. Petersburg, the Kremlin and the White House said.
“The information received from the CIA proved sufficient to find and detain the criminal suspects,” the Kremlin said.
240 bags of heroin and cash recovered in Vermont Web StaffPublished: December 16, 2017, 7:58 pm Updated: December 16, 2017, 11:20 pm
BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) – On Saturday morning, the Bennington Police conducted a traffic stop on a Massachusetts registered vehicle.
The stop took place on School Street in Bennington.
As police inspected the vehicle and driver, they uncovered 240 bags or heroin and more than $300 in cash in the possession of 44 year old Dean Carbone of Springfield Massachusetts.
The heroin has a street value of about $3,000. The “stamp” on these 240 bags of heroin has been found at the scene of several recent overdose’s.
Carbone is being held on $25,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, December 18th, for the charges of trafficking heroin, sale of a regulated drug and possession of a regulated drug. Read more...
Homeless man dies after being turned away from housing centerALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – New York State has opened an investigation after a homeless man died after being turned away from a housing center.
By Andrew BanasPublished: Updated:
His name was Kendal Haight. For 18 years, he stayed at the Homeless Action Committee on North Pearl Street in Albany.
DeMaria said Haight was beloved by the staff, but like many of those receiving housing, he battled with alcoholism.
On December 7, Haight tried to enter the building.
“Kendal came to the door, and he was searched. A bottle of vodka was discovered.”
Protocol does not allow anyone to enter the building with drugs or alcohol. He was given the option to either ditch the bottle or stay outside for another hour and finish it. DeMaria said he chose the bottle and the cold.
“We would have let him in if he returned, but he didn’t,” she said. “That was the last time that we saw him.”
His body was found the next day. He had frozen to death overnight.
Abelove charged with felony perjury, official misconduct
Rensselaer County DA under investigation for conduct in shooting probe By Brendan J. Lyons
Updated 6:11 pm, Friday, December 1, 2017
The extraordinary prosecution of Abelove is the culmination of a year-long investigation by the office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
The indictment unsealed Friday charges Abelove with withholding evidence from the grand jury that investigated the fatal shooting. The Times Union reported last year that Abelove did not subpoena two civilian witnesses who were at the scene of the shooting and told investigators they did not believe the officer was in imminent danger when he opened fire on the motorist.
New York state awards farms $20M for manure management Published 8:51 am, Tuesday, December 26, 2017
ALBANY (AP) — New York has awarded $20 million for water quality projects on 56 farms across the state.
The funding is intended to allow large livestock farms to comply with new regulations for managing manure to protect ground water and nearby waterways.
The regulations apply to so-called concentrated animal feeding operations, most of which are dairy farms with 300 or more cows. New York has more than 500 such farms.
David Cassidy, Heartthrob and ‘Partridge Family’ Star, Dies at 67 nytimes.com David Cassidy, the actor, singer and teen heartthrob best known as the band member with the green eyes and the feathered haircut on “The Partridge Family,” the 1970s television show about a family band, died on Tuesday in a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 67.
“My father’s last words were, ‘So much wasted time’,” she tweeted. “This will be a daily reminder for me to share my gratitude with those I love as to never waste another minute….thank you.”
The former teen heartbreaker who starred on the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Familyand became a real-life pop star died on November 21, days after reports surfaced that he was suffering organ failure. He was 67 and had dementia, complicated by liver and kidney shut-downs.
Jim Nabors, a comic actor who found fame in the role of the amiable bumpkin Gomer Pyle in two hit television shows of the 1960s while pursuing a second career as a popular singer with a booming baritone voice, died on Thursday at his home in Honolulu. He was 87.
His husband, Stan Cadwallader, confirmed the death. He said that Mr. Nabors’s health had been declining for a year and that his immune system had been suppressed since he underwent a liver transplant in 1994.
At the time, Mr. Nabors announced that he had contracted hepatitis B in India several years earlier when he cut himself shaving with a contaminated straight razor, which he had bought there. Read more...
At least 50 killed as gunman opens fire at Las Vegas concert
Photo: John Locher, AP
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 50 people as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives, officials said Monday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
More than 400 other victims were taken to the hospital, authorities said. Read more...
SEPTEMBER Farewell Cassini:
Saturn spacecraft makes fiery, final dive
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA's Cassini spacecraft disintegrated in the skies above Saturn on Friday in a final, fateful blaze of cosmic glory, following a remarkable journey of 20 years. WNYT
MISSION'S END
The spacecraft was sent to unlock secrets about the band of ice and space rocks that circle Saturn.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn's atmosphere after a pioneering journey that could unlock the mysteries of the sixth planet from the sun.
The first of the spaceship's 22 deep dives between Saturn and its innermost rings began on April 26, and the mission came to an end in September.
Cassini Took One Last Look at a Mysterious Glitch in Saturn's Rings Before It Died
A Few Last Words On The Best Spacecraft of Our Lives, Before It Dies
(Image: NASA)
Cassini has taken over 453,000 images, collected 635 GB of scientific data, and named six Saturnian moons. It hasn’t slacked a day in its cold, metal, anthropomorphic life. Saturn's polar abyss Read more...
HARD TO HEAR anything newsworthy above the roar of distant hurricanes and the toll of their destruction. But there was news this week in New York State of a much more hopeful kind having to do with the future of public education.
by DAVID LEE CLAVERACK–Ralph Avery was a 17 year old kid on June 6, 1944, and he was a gunner’s mate on a Navy vessel that landed on Omaha Beach. The beach was the site of some of the most intense fighting in the Allied invasion of Normandy. Code named Operation Overlord, the invasion commenced June 6, when 160,000 American British and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in German occupied France. Nick-named D-Day, it is commonly thought of here as the beginning of the end of World War II.
This year, on August 19, the French government honored Mr. Avery with France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor medal.
CDTA recognized as a top public transportation system
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Capital District Transportation Authority announced Monday that the American Public Transportation Association has named the agency the "Best Mid-Sized Public Transportation System in North America."
It's the first time they had received the award.
CEO Carm Basile said it was because of the agency's innovation, severice design and community relationships.
The event Monday kicked off a year-long celebration of the award that will include numerous events.
Glen Campbell dead at 81 Published August 08, 2017 Fox News
The legend behind hits including “Wichita Lineman" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" recently released his final studio album. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six years ago.
He won five Grammys, sold more than 45 million records, had 12 gold albums and 75 chart hits, including No. 1 songs with "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights."
His performance of the title song from "True Grit," a 1969 release in which he played a Texas Ranger alongside Oscar winner John Wayne, received an Academy Award nomination. He twice won album of the year awards from the Academy of Country Music and was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Seven years later, he received a Grammy for lifetime achievement.
Kinderhook Creek designated as an Inland Waterway This story is excerpted courtesy of this week's The Columbia Paper andwww.columbiapaper.com KINDERHOOK — Village Mayor Jim Dunham announced at last week's board meeting that the state Legislature has designated Kinderhook Creek as an Inland Waterway.
He told his board at the July 12 meeting that he had talked with Valatie Mayor Diane Argyle about looking into a state Greenway grant to put a kayak launch at Pachaquack Preserve. Dunham said he was also planning to reach out to the supervisors in the towns of Stuyvesant and Kinderhook about the grant. He said there might also be a way that kayakers could get in and out of the stream as it passes the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.
Snooty the famous manatee dies in ‘heartbreaking accident’ days after his 69th birthday.
George A Romero, director of horror classic Night of the Living Dead, has died. He was 77. In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Romero’s producing partner Peter Grunwald said the director died in his sleep after a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer”.
Night of the Living Dead, a micro-budget zombie film combining horror and social satire, which Romero co-wrote with John Russo, was released in 1968 and became a cult classic. It spawned a series: Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead. The last was released in 2009. Read more...
UK girl left in tears after she's fined for selling lemonade
http://www.timesunion.com/news/world/article/UK-girl-left-in-tears-after-she-s-fined-for-11304791.php Andre Spicer said his 5-year-old daughter was left in tears after local council officers fined her 150 pounds ($195) for selling lemonade without a license near their home in London. MAY Truck bomb kills 90, wounds hundreds in Afghan capital
May 31, 2017 10:48 PM
AP photo
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide attacker struck the fortified heart of the Afghan capital with a massive truck bomb Wednesday, killing 90 people, wounding 400 and raising new fears about the government's ability to protect its citizens nearly 16 years into a war with insurgents.
"I have been to many attacks, taken wounded people out of many blast sites, but I can say I have ever seen such a horrible attack as I saw this morning," ambulance driver Alef Ahmadzai told The Associated Press. "Everywhere was on fire and so many people were in critical condition."
Teen dies following Guilderland crash May 31, 2017 06:40 AM
Authorities say alcohol did not play a role in the crash.
GUILDERLAND -- The teenager behind the wheel during a serious car accident over the weekend has died.
Police say it appears 17-year-old Alyssa Gelfand was speeding when she hit a tree on Hurst Road Sunday night.
Two passengers, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, were hurt and taken to Albany Med. Their injuries were not critical. Read more... Truck bomb kills 90, wounds hundreds in Afghan capital
by KRISTEN WELKER, HALLIE JACKSON and ERIK ORTIZPresident Donald Trump is leaning toward pulling the United States out of the global deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions, two administration sources told NBC News on Wednesday — part of the landmark 2015 accord that nearly every nation in the world signed on to. Read more...
APRIL United Airlines Forcibly removes passenger
CEO's response made the situation even worse
According to a statement from the Chicago Police Department, the officers attempted to carry the man off when he fell and hit his head on an armrest. He was then taken to Lutheran General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Watch here...
"I apologize for having to re-accommodate those customers," CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement posted to the airline's Twitter account.
Some people are now threatening to boycott the airline, using the hashtag #BoycottUnited. March
Rock 'N' Roll Legend Chuck Berry Dead At 90
First responders were called out to a home on Buckner Road around 12:40 p.m. and found a man later identified as Berry unresponsive “and immediately administered lifesaving techniques,” the statement reads. They were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m.
Berry penned a great number of hits in the 1950s and 1960s like “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Rock and Roll Music” that influenced generations of rock groups, including The Beatles. Merging a captivating stage presence with his own blend of blues, country and jazz, Berry helped define the fledgling rock’n’ roll genre, later becoming one of the first musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
Person in custody after incident at White House gates:
Secret Service
One person was in custody after a suspicious vehicle drove up to a White House checkpoint on Saturday night, the Secret Service said, after CNN reported that the driver claimed to have a bomb.
CNN, citing two law enforcement sources, said there was no confirmation of any device in the vehicle but that security at the White House had been upgraded.
The Secret Service said an unidentified driver was taken into custody after a suspicious vehicle approached a checkpoint, but made no mention of any claims of an explosive device.
ALBANY - The $78 million Capital Center at Howard and Eagle streets in downtown Albany opened Wednesday, in time for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments at the adjacent Times Union Center.
February Joseph A. Wapner, a California judge who became a widely recognized symbol of tough but fair-minded American jurisprudence during the 12 years he sat on the bench of the syndicated television show “The People’s Court,” died on Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 97.
Judge Wapner
His son David confirmed the death, The Associated Press said.
Police went on strike in a Brazilian state. The result was near-anarchy.
BRASILIA — The boardwalk along the beach in Vila Velha, a coastal town in northeastern Brazil, is normally swarming with tourists. But in early February it was deserted save for a few soldiers who marched down the road, guns held ready.
Shots punctured the eerie silence as thieves held up pedestrians for their cars and purses, local media reported. In commercial centers throughout the area, packs of looters drove trucks into shop windows and carried whole racks of clothes and appliances on their backs. Read more...
January Gene Cernan, an early NASA astronaut who was the last man to set foot on the moon, died
Monday, NASA announced in a tweet. He was 82. In the 2007 documentary "In The Shadow Of The Moon," Cernan spoke of the epiphany he experienced while standing on the desolate -- yet majestic -- surface. Cernan's death leaves six astronauts remaining who have walked on the moon. Read more... Biographical Data
ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) — After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.
The circus, with its exotic animals, flashy costumes and death-defying acrobats, has been a staple of entertainment in the United States since the mid-1800s. Phineas Taylor Barnum made a traveling spectacle of animals and human odditiespopular, while the five Ringling brothers performed juggling acts and skits from their home base in Wisconsin.
The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise.
Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season and will perform 30 shows between now and May. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.
The assassination came after days of protests by Turks angry over Russia’s support for the Syrian government in the conflict and the Russian role in the killings and destruction in Aleppo, the northern Syrian city.
The Russian envoy was shot from behind and immediately fell to the floor while speaking at an exhibition of photographs, according to multiple accounts from the scene, the Contemporary Arts Center in the Cankaya area of Ankara.
Rivers Casino & Resort "This is reality," beamed Dave Buicko with the Galesi Group. "You’ve got bricks and mortar. The inside is spectacular. This is going to be one of the nicest casinos." Rivers Casino and Resort is a more than $500 million project. Aside from the casino, there are hotels, restaurants and apartments. A new Marriott is already open for business, but many parts of the project are still under construction. It is expected to remain that way through the summer.
Man apologizes for vandalizing Saratoga Springs' Congress Park statue
It happened just before the sun came up.
A couple of them used the statues like their own playground.
Police say Sean Burke is the one who knocked over the statue of "Pan," then Spencer Cole finishes it off, destroying the $7,500 dollar artwork.
Shortly after NewsChannel 13 showed surveillance video, Burke and Cole were arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief.
wnyt.com
The Brouwer-Rosa House will soon become the property of the Schenectady County Historical Society. 300-year-old house donated to Schenectady historical society Bill Buell | December 10, 2016
Rosemary Harrigan, whose parents bought the house in 1970, confirmed that her family has set in motion plans to donate the historic Stockade home to the historical society. Harrigan’s father, Fred Kindl, died in 2009, and her mother Catherine passed away earlier this year in May.
“We are giving the society the house, and this is something my mother really wanted,” said Harrigan, who lives in Guilderland. “We’re going to help take care of the place, but eventually it will be self-sustaining. My sisters, all four of us, are on the same page. There’s no dissent. Mom was very clear that this was her wish.”
The leader of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe called on President Barack Obama to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline today, after a clash last night that protest organizers say left 17 people hospitalized and scores more injured after law enforcement unleashed water, rubber bullets and tear gas on demonstrators in below-freezing temperatures near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. President Obama, this cannot be your legacy."The easement to build the unsafe Dakota Access Pipeline has not been granted. But under the cover of darkness, North Dakota law enforcement continues to engage in unlawful and dehumanizing tactics to subdue peaceful water protectors with tear gas and water cannons," Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said in a statement today.
Read more...
Student stabbed at LaSalle School in Albany following altercation ByAyla FerronePublished: November 16, 2016, 11:07 am Updated: November 17, 2016, 2:50 pmALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Albany police say the suspect in Wednesday’s stabbing at LaSalle School has turned himself in.
He has been identified as 17-year-old Zai-John Vanhoesen. He is being charged with assault in the second degree, but police say he may face other charges.
The crime left one student in the hospital. Read more
Rensselaer Plateau Alliance is a community effort
Alliance draws on wide support to preserve key forest lands By Kenneth C. Crowe II Published 10:27 am, Tuesday, November 15, 2016
At 118,000 acres sprawling across 10 central and eastern Rensselaer County towns, the Rensselaer Plateau is an environmental treasure.
Protecting this landscape and promoting its use and viability is what drives the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance.
"Our mission is to facilitate the conservation of the forest and other ecologically important areas," explained Jim Bonesteel, the alliance's part-time executive director.
The East Greenbush School District released information today on its ongoing water testing results. One important finding today that was reported included no water sources at Columbia High School tested above the actionable level in the first round.
I asked our superintendent to comment on the water testing for the Times Union East Greenbush blog and he had this to say:
East Greenbush Superintendent Jeffrey Simons said, “The district began testing of its drinking water outlets in all schools last spring prior to the new state law which now requires testing of all water outlets in all schools.”
“The district has taken steps to remove from service or replace fixtures at any water outlets which when tested exceeded the actionable levels,” said Superintendent Simons.
“We want our parents and community to know the results and the remedial actions we’ve taken to ensure that the water consumed by our children, our staff and our visitors within our schools is safe,” Mr. Simons stressed.
The Election 2016President- Elect: Donald Trump After all her lies, and despite his antics and vile rhetoric, Hillary Clinton loses to a reality star....and the DNC is shocked. Thanks to the media's pushing their certainty that Hillary Clinton was 'destined' to be the historic first woman president.
SCHODACK — An armed robbery at Schodack jewelry store a [Jewelry Repair Center] Saturday resulted in a highway chase and two men in custody, Schodack police said.
Police said they recovered a loaded pistol and revolver from the men, who allegedly took an unspecified amount of jewelry from the store.
Laurenzo and Watson have been charged with first-degree robbery and third-degree grand larceny. They were arraigned in Schodack Justice Court and sent to Rensselaer County Jail without bail.
October
Corruption in Albany "Business as Usual"
How damaging to the body politic is the corruption of a public official? In a wide-ranging discussion Thursday evening at the College of Saint Rose, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska analogized the breach of trust to child abuse.
Revered Wildlife Biologist John Craighead Dies At Age 100
Yesterday we learned that legendary Montana wildlife biologist John Craighead died one month after celebrating his 100th birthday with family and friends. He passed on Sunday at his home outside Missoula. Craighead did pioneering work in and around Yellowstone National Park with his twin brother Frank, who died in 2001.The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act that Congress passed was largely due to his efforts. Just one more example of the sorts of things he did. He worked on raptors in India before World War II. He worked with the military during World War II to work on survival techniques for our servicemen during that time. Just a long, amazing life." Read more...
Rest in Peace Sweet Jaime
John Carl D'Annibale
Miracle League. "She was my hero," said her father, Burke Adams. He toiled for five years to raise funds and get approval to complete the facility in 2009 off Luther Road near the town park. It was one of the first of its kind and now there are about 60 in the Miracle League with dozens more being developed around the country. The family learned to draw strength from her example."She was an inspiration and helped us realize what was really important in life," said her brother, Scott. Read more...
The Sound of Music's 'Liesl' Charmian Carr Dies at 73
Charmian Carr, the actress best known for sweetly portraying the eldest von Trapp daughter in Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music," has died. She was 73.
Carr died Saturday of complications from a rare form of dementia in Los Angeles, Carr's spokesman, Harlan Boll, said.
At age 21, the actress portrayed Liesl von Trapp in the 1965 film version of the musical "The Sound of Music." She famously performed the song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen."Read more... Bypass pipeline to be installed at gasoline pipeline leak
Update announced Saturday UPDATED 7:29 PM CDT Sep 17, 2016
SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. —Colonial Pipeline shared an update Saturday afternoon regarding its ongoing response to a product release in Shelby County, and the interruption of service to Line 1, which transports gasoline from refiners on the Gulf Coast to delivery locations in the Southeast and along the Eastern seaboard. Read more...
‘’Like it’s been nuked’: Millions of bees dead after state sprays for Zika mosquitoes
Bees across South Carolina are dying by the truckload as the state attempts to control mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus.
The cause of the honeybee die-off is likely from the spraying of pesticides targeting the Aedes albopictusand Aedes aegypti species of mosquito, which carry the Zika virus. Southern states like Florida and South Carolina are spraying pesticides from trucks and airplanes in mosquito-heavy areas in an effort to control the virus that can cause serious birth deformities if transmitted to a pregnant woman, either by the mosquito itself or through sexual contact.
However, as the Washington Post reported, the spraying is having a devastating side effect on local bee populations. Read more...
One less smile in the world: Gene Wilder, star of ‘Blazing Saddles’ & 'Willy Wonka', dies at 83
“The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him ‘there’s Willy Wonka’, would not have to be then exposed to an adult, referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion,” the family said in a statement. “He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”
Fired Professor Shoots 2 Men Outside Chappaqua Deli, Police Say
“This is an extremely disturbing event,” Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, the chief executive of the Mount Sinai Health System, said in a statement. “Fortunately, Dr. Charney’s injuries are not life-threatening, and we expect he will fully recover.” Read more...
Lightning Strike Kills More Than 300 Reindeer in Norway
Officials surmised that an extremely high discharge of electricity from the storm on Friday afternoon — and the interaction of the lightning with the earth and water — had electrocuted the animals.
“Reindeer often huddle together in groups during thunderstorms,” Mr. Knutsen said. “It is a strategy they have to survive, but in this case their survival strategy might have cost them their life. The corpses are all lying in one big group, piled together.” Read more...
July
Wasserman Schultz Resigns As Democratic Party Chair The Florida congresswoman had faced calls to resign for months, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his supporters accused her of rigging the Democratic primaries against him.
“I know that electing Hillary Clinton as our next president is critical for America’s future. I look forward to serving as a surrogate for her campaign in Florida and across the country to ensure her victory,” she said.
“Going forward, the best way for me to accomplish those goals is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention.”
President Barack Obama expressed gratitude for her work in a statement.
“For the last eight years, Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has had my back,” he wrote.
“It goes without saying the function of the DNC is to represent all of the candidates to be fair and even-minded,” Sanders said on Sunday. “There’s no question to my mind, and I think no question to any objective observer’s mind, that the DNC was supporting Hillary Clinton and was at opposition to our campaign.”
The former Democratic National Committee Chairman who resigned in disgrace after Wikileaks released emails showing her and her staff doing everything they could to sabotage the Sanders campaign has now been appointed as an “honorary chair” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The timing and the optics of the statement have caused an uproar, with many calling this a reward for Wasserman-Schultz’s consistent efforts to torpedo the Bernie Sanders campaign. The e-mails show a pattern of deception, and a willingness to ignore party rules to do whatever was necessary to assure Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee for President, regardless of what the voters want.
Nice work if you can get it
ALBANY -- The Governor's Office announced Friday it's shelling out $450,000 to a former federal prosecutor -- for four months of work.
The governor's office released its contract with Bart Schwartz as a consultant on the Buffalo Billion Project Friday.
Schwartz was retained after Gov. Cuomo learned that two former aides were being investigated by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for possible conflicts of interest related to the revitalization project.
(CNN)Military units have attempted an uprising in Turkey, the country's prime minister told a Turkish broadcaster. Troops have been seen in the streets of Ankara and there have been reports of jets flying low over the city.
Attack in Nice: Truck driver, 31-year-old Tunisia native
By Angela Dewan, Jason Hanna and Euan McKirdy, CNN Updated 6:32 PM ET, Fri July 15, 2016
The investigation of the Nice attack is still in the early stages and we don't know the motivation of the killer. It is likely a case of homegrown terrorism, perhaps inspired by ISIS, similar to what we saw a month ago in Orlando. Also, in the past month we have seen ISIS-directed attacks in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Baghdad and very likely in Istanbul and Medina, Saudi Arabia. All of these attacks have moved terrorism to the forefront of political debate.
Authorities said Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a rented, refrigerated truck weighing about 20 tons into crowds along a roughly 2-kilometer stretch of Promenade des Anglais on Thursday night, killing 84 people -- including 10 children and adolescents -- and injuring 202 others.
Judicial Watch Asks Justice Inspector General to Investigate Loretta Lynch-Bill Clinton Meeting Attorney General Lynch’s meeting with President Clinton creates the appearance of a violation of law, ethical standards and good judgment. Attorney General Lynch’s decision to breach the well-defined ethical standards of the Department of Justice and the American legal profession is an outrageous abuse of the public’s trust. Her conduct and statements undermine confidence in her ability to objectively investigate and prosecute possible violations of law associated with President Clinton and Secretary Clinton. This incident undermines the public’s faith in the fair administration of justice.
Simply stated, Attorney General Lynch’s June 29, 2016 meeting with former President Clinton creates the broad public impression that “the fix is in.”
Prehistoric Cave Contains a Hidden, 6,000-Year-Old Telescope
Avery Thompson July 1, 2016
Much of our culture has been shaped by what ancient humans thought about while looking at the night sky. Myths and legends, gods and demons, all are influenced by our ancestors' observations of the movements of the planets and stars. And now, researchers have uncovered one of the earliest tools that they used to make those observations: a telescope from six thousand years ago.
Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say
NEW YORK (AP) — Dean Stockwell, a top Hollywood child actor who gained new success in middle age in the sci-fi series “Quantum Leap” and in a string of indelible performances in film, including David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas” and Jonathan Demme’s “Married to the Mob,” has died. He was 85.
The "Clueless" star told People Magazine he hopes he'll be invited to "some of those sexy dinners with Clooney and Pitt and B Jordan."
It was an emotional day in court, as his victims talked about a manipulative, controlling predator.
A protester takes a selfie at a burning barricade set by protesters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
WNYT StaffUpdated: October 04, 2021 06:49 PM Created: October 04, 2021 01:11 PM
More than half of schools across the country report "severe" bus driver shortage
Getty Images
Getty Images
Over the July 4 holiday break, a bipartisan group of senators tried to work out final details of the first piece of the infrastructure jigsaw puzzle, a plan they sketched out in late June. Agreeing on ways to finance the $1.2 trillion price tag was proving to be a challenge, according to lawmakers and congressional aides.
Mr. Volkmann pleaded guilty to fourth degree grand larceny for circumventing the state’s post-retirement income restrictions, cheating the New York State and Local Retirement System out of $74,222, according a press release from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office. Mr. Volkmann hid public-source income from 19 municipalities and school districts in excess of the statutory limit by funneling the earnings through a private business, PF Volkmann & Associates. The Times Union cited authorities who said he “funneled the government payments through his firm from about 2012 to 2019.”
Last year, a Memphis immigration judge ruled that Friedrich Karl Berger, now 95, could be deported because he assisted in "Nazi-sponsored persecution."
ALBANY (WRGB) Albany County announced 140 new Covid-19 Cases on Friday, the second highest number of new Covid-19 Cases in the county since the start of the pandemic.
Rudy Giuliani, lawyer to President Donald Trump, speaks about the president's legal challenges to his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the Republican National Committee Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Nov. 19, 2020 Read more..
Donald Trump Jr. seems to think that the shooting by Kyle Rittenhouse, the white 17-year-old from Illinois, of three protesters last month in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is just another case of “boys will be boys.” 
The space agency announced on Tuesday that Epps would be joining Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for NASA’s first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Williams, who will be embarking on her third expedition, and Cassada, on his first, were assigned to the mission in August 2018. On Twitter, NASA’s administrator Jim Bridenstine said that Epps is a “fantastic addition.” Epps responded with a video sharing her thanks.
The space agency announced on Tuesday that Epps would be joining Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for NASA’s first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Williams, who will be embarking on her third expedition, and Cassada, on his first, were assigned to the mission in August 2018. On Twitter, NASA’s administrator Jim Bridenstine said that Epps is a “fantastic addition.” Epps responded with a video sharing her thanks.
Work to upgrade and renovate the skate park at Chatham’s Crellin Park took place over the last two weekends. The genesis for this improvement came from Chatham Area Recreation Project (CARP), a local non-profit. In talking with some of the veteran skaters in the area CARP came up with several modifications to make the current park much more open, enjoyable and “skateable.” The skate park was created and funded by The Crellin Park Foundation in 2008. With the support of the town and the funding by The Crellin Park Foundation, CARP worked with Bonded Concrete, Herrington’s, ACP, Dan Crellin and Sam Gleason for the donations of materials and equipment to make the improvements possible. The park is now open sunrise to 9 p.m. Working on the upgrades were Tiger Coleman, Matt Fisher, Justin Smith, Mike Cerqua and Eammon McBride. Photo by Taylor Call
Is fungus the answer to climate change? Student who grew a mushroom canoe says yes.
Cohoes Company Manufactures Device to Help With Statewide Ventilator Shortage
Jerry Stiller, Comedian With Enduring Appeal, Is Dead at 92
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy holds his daily coronavirus news briefing on Monday, May, 4, 2020, at the Albany County Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)
Some businesses prepared on Thursday to reopen in Georgia and a handful of other U.S. states for the first time in a month, as another week of massive unemployment claims highlighted the grim economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
Is fungus the answer to climate change? Student who grew a mushroom canoe says yes.
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in the first known case of a human infecting an animal and making it sick, the zoo's chief veterinarian said on Sunday.
Mike Tyson attends a boxing match at The Grand Garden Arena at MGM Grand, Las Vegas on Feb. 22, 2020.Steve Marcus / Reuters
Lipton did all of his own research in preparation for each interview. A lover of words, he was known for his intricately crafted questions and precise manner of delivery. His style was so distinctive, it led to a number of parodies, most notably Will Ferrell's dead-on imitation in a series of Saturday Night Live sketches.
Douglas' progressive values may been the product of his upbringing as the poor child of Jewish immigrants from what's now Belarus — his birth name was Issur Danielovitch — who grew up in Amsterdam, New York.
Douglas' progressive values may been the product of his upbringing as the poor child of Jewish immigrants from what's now Belarus — his birth name was Issur Danielovitch — who grew up in Amsterdam, New York.
Andželika Jasevičiūtė
Read more...
"At this time, it does not appear that there is any foul play with the death of Mr. Amato," said Sheriff David P. Bartlett. "However, the investigation is continuing and Sheriff’s Office investigators are awaiting the autopsy results."
As students return to school this week, drivers are reminded it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus.
As students return to school this week, drivers are reminded it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus.
AUGUST
Prolific slugger. Quintessential hard-ass player and manager. Baseball trailblazer.
Prolific slugger. Quintessential hard-ass player and manager. Baseball trailblazer.
Robinson was MLB's first black manager, and the only player to win MVP in both leagues. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Read more...
Former State Senate leader Dean Skelos plans to report to prison in January, following his federal corruption conviction.
In the early 2000s, Schultz was a pioneer on the wild west frontier of pain treatment. Doctors, drug dealers, opioid users and abusers were flocking to Florida, where powerful pain pills were being prescribed and dispensed by a new type of business, pain clinics.
Simon often used his own experiences for comic material, from "Biloxi Blues" to "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound." Writing gags for TV, especially Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," would also inspire his play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor."
The queen of soul’s fraught personal life informed songs that will endure in the hearts of people all over the world.
Simon often used his own experiences for comic material, from "Biloxi Blues" to "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound." Writing gags for TV, especially Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," would also inspire his play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor."
The queen of soul’s fraught personal life informed songs that will endure in the hearts of people all over the world.
A retrial is set to begin for ex-New York Senate leader Dean Skelos and his son on corruption charges.
A retrial is set to begin for ex-New York Senate leader Dean Skelos and his son on corruption charges.
George A Romero, director of horror classic Night of the Living Dead, has died. He was 77.
ALBANY - The $78 million Capital Center at Howard and Eagle streets in downtown Albany opened Wednesday, in time for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments at the adjacent Times Union Center.
ALBANY - The $78 million Capital Center at Howard and Eagle streets in downtown Albany opened Wednesday, in time for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments at the adjacent Times Union Center.
BRASILIA — The boardwalk along the beach in Vila Velha, a coastal town in northeastern Brazil, is normally swarming with tourists. But in early February it was deserted save for a few soldiers who marched down the road, guns held ready.
Monday, NASA announced in a tweet. He was 82.
ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) — After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.
Revered Wildlife Biologist John Craighead Dies At Age 100
Authorities said Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a rented, refrigerated truck weighing about 20 tons into crowds along a roughly 2-kilometer stretch of Promenade des Anglais on Thursday night, killing 84 people -- including 10 children and adolescents -- and injuring 202 others.
