Now that the Obama Administration has signaled it will reconsider the requirement to make insurance plans offered by Catholic universities and charities provide women with birth control without charging them, Archbishop Timothy Dolan is happy... for now. He told the Daily News, "I would welcome the fact of the government saying we’re willing to rethink this... The federal government should do what it has traditionally done since 1776 and keep its hand out of the internal workings of the church." more ›

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo yesterday for using "false and misleading information" to foreclose on properties. more ›

The US Border Patrol is supposed to keep us safe from wars of Canadian aggression started by John Candy, but for the last several years they've been boarding buses and trains, arresting anyone who doesn't have proper "papers." more ›

New Jersey's once-lauded medical marijuana initiative, which passed in 2010, is now indefinitely ensnared in bureaucracy. Initially supposed to begin this summer, governor Chris Christie put off launching the non-profit dispensaries for three months for the health department to investigate, and now it's uncertain when they'll open. The Star-Ledger seemingly crippled the opening of one clinic thanks to its ties to a Ponzi-schemer, and now they report that the Foundation Harmony dispensary cites bogus diplomas from dubious universities and has a medical advisor who once faced fraud allegations in New York. more ›

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit earlier today to bar AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, the AP reports. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in a press conference that the deal would culminate in "tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for mobile wireless users." Aw, c'mon! We stockpiled nights and weekend minutes in preparation for AT&T-world-order for nothing? more ›

Like a truffle hog rooting for delicious evil, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been ordering thorough investigations of the five largest mortgage services in the US robo-signing and forging documents to kick Americans out of their homes. Bank of America (among others) and even the Obama administration are pushing for a settlement deal that they say would help homeowners, but would preclude any further litigation related to robo-signing and other odious aspects of the toxic mortgage-backed securities business. Now, because they mean business, Schneiderman's opponents have removed him from the group of Attorneys General charged with negotiating the foreclosure settlement. more ›

The Obama administration is reportedly working on a deal with senators that would shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay and make Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused 9/11 planners stand trial in a military court—not a civilian court. Although President Obama had initially supported Attorney General Eric Holder's plan to try the suspects in a Lower Manhattan federal courthouse, the administration began distancing itself from the proposed New York trial after Republicans and local electeds including Mayor Bloomberg spoke out against it. more ›

According to a new standard based on research by the National Academy of Sciences, the number of people classified as "poor" in New York city rose by nearly 160,000 from 2005 to 2008, from 20.6% of the population to 22%. This new standard takes into account things like housing, medical and child care expenses. However, the federal census reports a decline in poverty for the city between 2005 and 2008, from 19.1% to 17.6%. So what's with the difference? more ›

While much of the attention is still focused on Hillary Clinton and the increasing possibility that she will become the next secretary of state, another local politician has entered the fold as a potential cabinet member in the upcoming Obama administration. Sources say Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. is being considered for secretary of housing and urban development. Carrion's name had also been one of many thrown around as a possible senate replacement if Clinton chooses to leave her seat. As of right now, his political horizon is focused on the race for City Controller, which he decided to run for before Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council extended the term limits law that would have forced him out as borough president next year. And when not focused on his political future, Carrion is taking some time to welcome in the latest celebrity baby named after his home borough. more ›

Politico has announced that Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel has accepted President-elect Obama's offer to be his administration's Chief of Staff. Emanuel, a Sarah Lawrence grad, has probably been the second most visible Congressman after Nancy Pelosi since Democrats took control of the House in 2006. He was expected to be next in line for the Speaker job and Politico says that his accepting this job is a move to demonstrate just how historic and important this administration will be. The GOP is already crying foul over the highly partisan Emanuel, saying that the choice is hypocritical to Obama's calls for unity in Washington. Back at a dinner after President Clinton's first victory in 1992, Emanuel turned some heads by listing Clinton enemies one by one and putting a steak knife into the table, saying after each one, "Dead!" more ›