Yes, the thing that you promised you'd do weeks ago right after you cleaned that area behind the toilet and started going to yoga every week is DUE TODAY. But for most people doing their taxes means hitting "send" shortly before midnight instead of waiting in line at the post office. more ›

If your stomach can handle it, think back to 2008 when there was panic about Wall Street banks, in the wake of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. The government gave insurance firm AIG an $85 billion loan in exchange for a 79.9% stake in the company, to prevent it from collapsing and taking other institutions with it (see: Too Big To Fail). Well, now former AIG CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg is suing the government, claiming the takeover was unconstitutional and that the "Fed breached its duty to A.I.G. shareholders when it unwound the company’s disastrous bets on mortgage securities," the NY Times reports. more ›

The USDA defines a "food desert" as an area where residents must travel a mile to reach an adequate grocery store, and even has a "Food Desert Locator" on their website. According to the agency, East New York doesn't qualify, but city officials beg to differ. While the USDA claims that only 26K New Yorkers are living in food deserts in Staten Island and Queens, the city's own figures bring that number up to 3 million spread over all five boroughs. "We think their map needs work," the city's food policy coordinator tells the Daily News, echoing the city's dismissal of the Fed's census count. more ›

In a move that will no doubt have a far-reaching impact, federal officials have decided to cancel the deportation of Henry Velandia, a 27-year-old immigrant from Venezuela, who is married to another man, 30-year-old Josh Vandiver. more ›

Yesterday, the feds accused the city of committing Medicaid fraud, by improperly approving 24-hour home care for thousands of poor, elderly and disabled patients, often without the approval of doctors. They were tipped off to the alleged fraud by whistleblower Dr. Gabriel Feldman, a 49-year-old Upper West Sider, who was contracted by the city to make patient treatment recommendations. And depending on the outcome of the case, Feldman stands to make millions from the settlement. more ›

Today is quickly shaping up to be inverse day: people are annoyed that Bloomberg did such an efficient job cleaning up the snow, Sarah Palin and her manga bangs tried to convice us she was a victim too, and to top it off, the federal government is suing NYC for providing too much care for the poor, elderly and disabled. more ›

Yesterday President Obama proposed a two-year pay freeze for most of the 1.9 million federal employees. Since this proposal (which exempts military personnel, though some argue it shouldn't) comes with a jump in health insurance premiums and a drop in transit subsidies the freeze would, if approved by Congress, in effect represent a pay cut for many. All to save roughly $1 billion a year, when the deficit is expected to top $1 trillion. more ›

Increased security during the trials of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspected 9/11 plotters will cost more than $200 million per year, according to the Bloomberg administration. The figure comes from a letter that Mayor Bloomberg sent to the director of the nation's Office of Management and Budget that outlines the anticipated security expenses and requests full federal reimbursement, the Times reports. more ›

Some good news about the billion dollar bailouts the federal government made last year. The NY Times reports, "The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times." Still, the Times adds, "These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies. The government still faces potentially huge long-term losses from its bailouts of the insurance giant American International Group, the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the automakers General Motors and Chrysler. The Treasury Department could also take a hit from its guarantees on billions of dollars of toxic mortgages." more ›

According to the Wall Street Journal, "Regulators have told Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. that the banks may need to raise more capital based on early results of the government's so-called stress tests of lenders, according to people familiar with the situation." The extra capital would be a "buffer" in case the banks' losses continue to grow. Apparently both banks are trying to develop arguments disputing the findings (for instance, BoA's shortfall is in the billions). The AP points out that, for the Treasury, "the easiest way to bolster bank balance sheets is to convert the government's existing stake from preferred shares — a form of debt — into common shares that carry voting rights." Last week, the federal government said capital needs weren't necessariy a measure of "current solvency or viability of the firm," but worries, coupled with swine flu concerns, have sent stock futures down. more ›

Sources say that the federal government may take over mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as soon as this weekend. The Wall Street Journal says this "would represent perhaps the most significant intervention by the government in the financial industry since the housing bust touched off turmoil in the credit markets a little more than a year ago." The NY Times adds the move, which includes the feds standing behind Freddie's and Fannie's debt, "could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and make any rescue among the largest in the nation’s history." Earlier this year, the feds bailed out Bear Stearns by orchestrating its sale to JP Morgan Chase. more ›

Sure Mongolia is a sparsely populated nation with a GDP just over 25% of what Wall St. alone pays out in bonuses, but this is New York City; and you gotta pay what you owe. So said a U.S. District Court judge Friday, when he ruled that India, Mongolia, and the Phillipines owed New York City tens of millions of dollars in back taxes. more ›

But a schedule does not mean things will happen the right way. NY State officials and the private developers have agreed to project's schedule, which means construction will start this fall, in anticipation of a 2012 opening. However, not all the i's are dotted, as there still needs to be formal approval from Albany. And then there's that whole thing about whether or not Madison Square Garden will move in the Farley Post Office space as well. amNew York lists "who's paying what" for the project, and the breakdown is thus: more ›

If news of that proposal wasn't bad enough, the pork from Washington D.C. is headed to plenty of places, with little money to New York. The Daily News has a plentiful list of where the money went, including to some projects in New York City. To this, Congressman Jerrold Nadler says, "There's kosher pork, and then there's unkosher pork." more ›