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Ed Koch dead: Mayor who became a symbol of New York City passes away at 88 – NY Daily News
Ed Koch, the three-term mayor whose irascible exuberance and “How’m I doin’?” tagline made him synonymous with New York chutzpah, died
early Friday morning. He was 88.
Koch was in and out of the hospital in recent weeks, battling a fluid buildup around his lungs that caused shortness of breath and made
speaking difficult…
More at: Ed Koch dead: Mayor who became a symbol of New York City passes away at 88 – NY Daily News.
Obama takes on college costs, eyes young voters
President Barack Obama is on a blitz to keep the cost of college loans from soaring for millions of students. He is wooing young voters and taking his message to three states strategically important to his re-election bid.
Before Obama got his road trip under way, his Republican opponent Mitt Romney found a way to steal some thunder from the president’s campaign argument: He agreed with it.
The competitors are now on record for freezing the current interest rates on a popular federal loan for poorer and middle-class students.
The president speaks Tuesday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Colorado at Boulder, and then the University of Iowa on Wednesday.
All three universities are in states considered competitive in the election.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Arizona Birth Control Bill Penalizes Women For Using Contraception For Non-Medical Reasons
Arizona legislators have advanced an unprecedented bill that would require women who wish to have their contraception covered by their health insurance plans to prove to their employers that they are taking it to treat medical conditions. The bill also makes it easier for Arizona employers to fire a woman for using birth control to prevent pregnancy despite the employer’s moral objection…
Read More: Arizona Birth Control Bill Penalizes Women For Using Contraception For Non-Medical Reasons.
Weiner to resign after sexting scandal, source says – CNN.com
Rep. Anthony Weiner plans to resign from Congress in the wake of a “sexting” scandal with several women and lies he repeatedly told about it, a Democratic source with knowledge of Weiner’s plans said Thursday. Weiner, 46, was considered a possible front-runner to succeed New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2013 until the revelation of his online communications, including lewd photos of himself he sent to women he befriended on Facebook and Twitter…
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/16/weiner.scandal/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Sexting scandal inspires Anthony Weiner doll – AP
An online action figure company has jumped on the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal bandwagon with a doll of the New York congressman in two versions: censored and uncensored.
HeroBuilders.com of Oxford, Conn., is offering the “standard” doll for $39.95 and the anatomically correct “for adults only” version for an extra $10.
Both are dressed in a gym shirt and shorts with a label that reads “Tweet This.”
Weiner has acknowledged exchanging messages and photos that ranged from sexually suggestive to explicit with several women online.
Congress on Monday approved a two-week leave of absence for Weiner while he seeks treatment.
The action figure company also makes a plastic Sarah Palin, Barack and Michelle Obama and other talk-of-the-town figures.
Obama on Monday said he’d resign if he were in Weiner’s shoes.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Cuomo aims to cap school bosses’ pay – AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week will propose legislation to cap school superintendent’s six-figure salaries as way to save school districts and their taxpayers $15 million.
Cuomo tells The Associated Press his cap would be based on student enrollment. His bill would provide for a salary of $125,000 for the smallest rural districts and up to $175,000 for the largest districts, often in wealthier suburbs.
Cuomo’s bill would make superintendents subject to the cap once their current contract expires.
Currently, 31 percent of superintendents make over $179,000 with the highest being the Syosset schools superintendent on Long Island who is paid $386,868. Cuomo’s proposal, should it be passed by the Legislature, could force lower salaries for 319 superintendents, nearly half of the top district administrators in the state.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Obama signs temporary extension of Patriot Act – AP
President Barack Obama has signed a three-month extension of key surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act.
The law extends two areas of the 2001 act. One provision allows law enforcement officials to set roving wiretaps to monitor multiple communication devices. The other allows them to ask a special court for access to business and library records that could be relevant to a terrorist threat.
A third provision gives the FBI court-approved rights for surveillance of non-American “lone wolf” suspects — those not known to be tied to specific terrorist groups.
Obama signed the three-month extension of the provisions Friday. They were to expire Monday.
Lawmakers will soon start debating a multiple-year extension of the provisions, which have drawn fire from defenders of privacy rights.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Libyans have lost faith in Gadhafi – AP
The White House says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has lost the confidence of his people following brutal attacks by his supporters on protesters demanding his ouster.
Obama spokesman Jay Carney stopped short of calling for Gadhafi to step down. But he says it’s clear that Gadhafi’s legitimacy has been “reduced to zero.”
Carney’s strong words were a shift for the White House, which has thus far refrained from naming Gadhafi personally. The ramped up rhetoric came as the last U.S. citizens in Libya were evacuated Friday.
The U.S. also announced Friday that it was suspending embassy operations in Tripoli and moving forward on plans to implement sanctions against Libya.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Clinton: Gadhafi must stop bloodshed – AP
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is condemning the violence against anti-government protesters in Libya and calling on the government of Moammar Gadhafi (MOO’-ah-mar gah-DAH’-fee) to “stop this unacceptable bloodshed.”
Clinton says the world is watching events unfold in Libya “with alarm.” The strongly worded statement came amid reports from Tripoli that warplanes were swooping low over the city and snipers were taking up positions on rooftops. One witness said armed men in militia uniforms opened fire on a group of protesters gathering to organize a march.
In Monday’s statement, Clinton said Gadhafi’s government must respect universal rights, including the right of free expression and assembly. She said the Obama administration is working with international allies to convey the message to the Libyan government.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Libya Update: Evacuation effort for Americans begins – AP
The State Department says officials are processing U.S. citizens for a ferry trip out of Libya.
The government arranged the trip to evacuate Americans from Libya to the Mediterranean island of Malta.
The State Department believes there are several thousand dual U.S.-Libyan nationals and about 600 private U.S. citizens in Libya. Officials have also been trying to get 35 nonessential embassy staff members and family members of embassy personnel out of the country.
The Obama administration hasn’t yet outlined any steps to take against the Libyan regime for its violent crackdown on protesters. The U.S. has built an uneasy partnership with Libya, after years of accusing Moammar Gadhafi of backing terrorism.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
