Various media outlets are reporting that Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman will not seek a fifth term. Lieberman became an independent in 2006 (after losing the Democratic primary) and won re-election; he was also on Senator John McCain's VP shortlist and spoke at the 2008 RNC. The NY Times reports that he "chose to retire rather than risk being defeated, said the person, who spoke to the senator on Tuesday," and a source said, “I don’t think he wanted to go out feet first." Lieberman will making some sort of announcement tomorrow. more ›

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is losing out in the polls to an opponent who hasn't even announced his candidacy yet. "We'll see down the road," said Republican ex-governor George Pataki, when asked if he would vie for the seat. Marist College research shows Pataki beating the former upstate congresswoman by two percentage points, 47-45. As for job approval, a scant 27 percent of the electorate believe Gillibrand, who critics say fails to connect with voters, is doing good work, reports the Post. Fifty-one percent rated her performance in the Senate as fair or poor, however the study suggests she could best other potential rivals like onetime Nassau County official Bruce Blakemen, American Idol dad Joe DioGuardi and former Wall Street economist David Malpass.
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Brooklyn politician Eric Adams is hoping to fight the crack epidemic by urging Crown Heights youth to pull their pants up. To that end he’s spending $20,000 in campaign cash to erect six giant bill boards issuing the commandment “Stop the Sag!” There’s an accompanying Youtube video (below) in which Adams announces “If we raise our pants we raise our image,” and “We are better than this.” Supposedly the trend has its origins in prison culture, where inmates’ pants sag, because they aren’t permitted to wear belts. more ›

With a special election for his old Queens seat scheduled for tomorrow, expelled former senator Hiram Monserrate is down 42 points in the polls with Democrat Jose Peralta favored to win. Monserrate was convicted of slashing his girlfriend Karla Giraldo in 2008, briefly abandoned the Democratic Party and voted for legislation to ban gay marriage, but some critics say Peralta is hardly an improvement. According to the Daily News, he's accused of directing $500,000 to a long-defunct nonprofit (he claims he realized his mistake and got most of it back), but that's not all. more ›

Almost a year after a 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis mauled Charla Nash, the cop that shot the violent creature has been denied a claim for workers comp for post-traumatic stress disorder. Why? Because the law was made for officers who shoot people, and doesn't extend to the rest of the animal kingdom, the AP reports. But for the anniversary of the chimp's death, a Connecticut state senator wants to amend it to include police who fire at animals, at least those "required to use deadly force on animals that attempt to injure them." (How about rabid raccoons?) Meanwhile Nash—who lost hands, lips, nose and eyelids when the animal attacked—is in the process of suing the state for $150 million. more ›

Remember that conservative kid who punk'd the community organizing group ACORN with a hidden camera, fueling a right-wing backlash against the organization that contributed to Congress cutting their funding? We don't want to disillusion you or anything, but it turns out he's kind of shady. On Monday, James O'Keefe and three pals—all 24 years old—were arrested in New Orleans trying to bug the phones of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu's office. Naturally, O'Keefe videotaped the whole thing, so there's that to look forward to. more ›

After a week of widespread Democratic opposition against his proposed Senate campaign, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. launched his own publicity tour, which got really interesting when he sat down with the Times for a lengthy interview yesterday. There are gems throughout the far-reaching Q and A, but it's likely that no part of it will be as closely scrutinized as his statements on gay marriage — which he twice voted to ban: more ›

Update Below: In another sign that he's serious about challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. went on the record in support of same-sex marriage. Though he twice voted to change the constitution to ban gay marriage as a congressman, the 39-year-old who moved to New York three years ago stated: "My support for fairness and equality existed long before I moved to New York." more ›

Five-term Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd is holding a press conference today to announce his decision not to seek re-election. Dodd's exit highlights the challenges Democrats face winning votes from amnesiac Americans blaming them for the Bush administration's wreckage. But Dodd was facing a tough re-election battle against a super-rich Republican named Linda McMahon, and Democratic party insiders had privately hoped he would step aside. The state’s highly popular attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, is expected to run, the Times reports. But Dodd isn't the only Democrat calling it quits. more ›

Queens Assistant District Attorney Scott Kessler delivered closing arguments yesterday in state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's assault trial—and he's sure somebody is a liar. According to the Daily News, the prosecutor argued that the senator's girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, was telling a lie or two in hopes of keeping Monserrate a free man—and from losing his Senate seat. more ›

Earlier this month, upstate Assemblyman Mark Schroeder said Bronxchester Senator Espada was a "thug" and should resign. Now state Senator Neil Breslin of Albany is piling on, telling churchgoers at a public gathering that Espada is a "crook" who "should be in jail." Espada is still under investigation by the Bronx DA (for allegedly residing in Westchester, outside his Bronx district) and the Attorney General (for whether he illegally used a nonprofit group he controls—Soundview Health Clinic—to promote his political campaigns). But both those investigations were launched back in May, and here we are on the cusp of October, with Espada still "doing a cha-cha" around the law, as one Albany insider put it. So while it's nice to hear Senator Breslin state the obvious, the dance grinds on! more ›

You may recall that State Senator Pedro Espada's son Alejandro—not the one who got hired by the Senate and then quickly quit, a different one—pleaded guilty to harassment against 76-year-old blogger Rafael Martínez-Alequin at a campaign rally last September. According to Martínez-Alequin, several people, including Alejandro, began shoving him and trying to grab his camera as he approached Espada with questions. Here's video, which shows the infamous Bronxchester Senator smugly telling Martínez-Alequin, "He's trying to teach you manners papa. He's trying to teach you manners." Alejandro was charged with harassment and criminal mischief for (allegedly) pushing Martinez-Alequin and breaking his camera, but he struck a plea bargain, pleading guilty to second-degree harassment and agreeing to pay $432 for the camera. Anyway, Alejandro was supposed to be sentenced yesterday, but that never happened because the judge was absent. So Martínez-Alequin didn't get to read his contemptuous victim's-impact statement, which calls the Senator "a common street thug. It is most unfortunate that a politician can resort to thuggish tactics and not be held fully accountable. Senator Espada encouraged his son to assault a defenseless 76-year-old man." Somebody sure needs a lesson in manners, among other things. more ›

Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island) was considering challenging Senator Kirsten Gillibrand next year, but now says he's not running. Why not? He can't compete with Gilly's money... or her blandness, saying that the new junior Senator "generates neither strong support nor opposition," thus making it "virtually impossible" to raise money against her in state that has many more registered Democrats than Republicans. more ›

The Kennedy family estimates (via Twitter) that 25,000 people paid their respects to Senator Edward Kennedy at the J.F.K. Presidential Library in Boston yesterday. The library was scheduled to close at 11 p.m., but stayed open until 2 a.m. due to the long lines. The family said, "We could not be more grateful for the amazing support. Thank you." more ›

Plans for Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral services have been made: The Boston Globe reports, "The path of remembrance for Senator Edward M. Kennedy will follow the trail of his celebrated life - from his beloved Hyannis Port to his fallen brother’s presidential library in Dorchester, from the Mission Hill church where Kennedy prayed for his daughter to survive her bout with cancer to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be buried beside his brothers after losing his own yearlong battle." more ›

Democratic State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.—who was just caught illegally residing outside his Bronx district in tony Mamaroneck—is in the hot seat again for what one Bronx political veteran describes as doing "a cha-cha around the campaign finance law—spirit and letter." After the Daily News's scathing report on Espada's conduct, Senate majority leader Malcolm A. Smith called him into a closed-door meeting, giving Espada one week to rectify illegalities with his campaign committee. But Smith is also downplaying the severity of the brewing scandal, telling the Times, "I don't think it's raining problems, the fact that a member has a challenge with his campaign finances, which he's had for awhile. So basically, he's got to correct it. He has until this time next week to correct it, or else I will take some action." Woah—a promise of action in Albany! more ›

Washington is all astir today at the bombshell news that Republican Senator Arlen Specter will leave the GOP and join the Democratic Party, bringing Democrats within reach of a filibuster-proof majority—if and when Al Franken is seated as Minnesota's senator. A 29-year senate veteran and the fifth-oldest senator, Specter is switching his party affiliation now so he can run in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary. more ›

CBS 2 just conducted a scathing sting on State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., discovering that the powerful politician actually resides in tony Mamaroneck, outside his Bronx district. The exposé found that Espada's Westchester home is worth almost $700,000, and that while he claims his residence to be a co-op in the Bronx (at 325 East 201st Street), tenants there say he's never around. One resident tells the news channel, "I have never seen him in the building, not ever. I do my laundry in the building. I come and go with my 1-year-old. Unfortunately, I've never seen him here." Espada could be violating state election law by making Mamaroneck his home, and the revelation may further exacerbate New Yorkers' anger at the politician for his role in blocking any MTA bailout. A spokesman for the senator insisted that while he's owned the Mamaroneck house for 18 years, the Bronx co-op is his primary domicile. But when approached by a camera crew outside the Westchester home, Espada, ever the politician, tried to disguise his identity by holding a baby in front of his face. more ›

Afternoon diners at the Indus Vally Indian restaurant saw their curry spiced up with some shattered glass Saturday when an SUV bearing a Haitian senator plowed into the enclosed patio after being clipped by a cab. Seven passengers from the two vehicles were treated for minor injuries at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, and no one in the restaurant was hurt. Waiter Kabin Hamal told the Daily News, "All the glass came flying. People were hiding under the tables." A hole had to be cut into the roof of the SUV in order to remove the senator—in town to raise money for hurricane relief—and her entourage. A produce seller across the street described the scene to the Columbia Spectator: "I heard some screeching, and then I saw the car turn really slowly into the restaurant. The glass just exploded out of the wall." Hamal added that two diners who were seated where the SUV crashed had vacated their table "like one minute before." more ›

Senator Charles Schumer believes that the oil bills for winter home heating will come as a shock to homeowners. Newsday reports that, based on his office's estimates, Long Island homeowners will have to bear a $966 increase while NYC residents will see a $720 jump. Schumer is working on a bill to help out low income families help cover the bills. The senior Senator from NY also defended his comments on IndyMac, disagreeing with regulators who think his discouraging remarks caused a run on the bank. more ›

Like the last party guest who lingers long after her welcome and leaves the hosts feeling a little awkward and anxious for her departure, Hillary Clinton finally conceded that she is not going to get the nomination of the Democratic Party in the 2008 Presidential election. In a fairly upbeat address at the National Buildings Museum in Washington, DC, Clinton pledged to work to unite Democrats after a long and bitter campaign. more ›

Rudolph Giuliani's apparent health scare that caused his campaign jet to turn around and land back in St. Louis, Missouri was allegedly not as serious as it was made out to be. The Presidential candidate and former Mayor of New York is begging ignorance as to why his staff members said he had flu-like symptoms, when he says he just had a bad headache. Someone told the press that Giuliani blacked out at some point, which he denies ever happened.

“You’re going to have to ask them,” he said, when asked about their statement. “I’m telling you what actually happened. I had a very, very bad headache. It got worse on the plane. I then got checked out. Went through a lot of tests. All the tests came back 100 percent normal. That’s the bottom line.”