Senator Charles Schumer, everyone's favorite press conference convener and rainmaker, really loves NY State's beers, starting an "I Love NY Brew" campaign. So it makes sense that his Super Bowl bet with New England Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) involved six NY craft beers. Now that the Giants have proven victorious, Shaheen will be buying NY beer for the whole Senate! more ›

After pushing for tighter restrictions of prescribed narcotics and attempting to block a "super painkiller" ten times more powerful than Vicoden, Senator Chuck Schumer wants to allocate $140 million in federal funding towards developing a test that would catch drivers who are under the influence of drugs. "If people next year knew they'd be tested for drugged driving just like they are tested for drunk driving, it might deter them from doing it to begin with and save lives," Schumer told the AP. more ›

Top Democrats were upset that President Obama wanted to tax wealthy Americans, because as our own Senator Chuck Schumer put it, making $250,000 a year doesn't make you wealthy in New York. So now they are offering a new plan to tax the rich: A 5.6% tax on those making $1 million or more a year, which would raise about the $447 billion needed to fund Obama's American Jobs Act. more ›

GM's OnStar system is so concerned about finding you the closest car wash and finding you an Ethiopian restaurant that the company tracks the location and speed of its customers long after their subscriptions have expired. US Senator and Big Apple Juice enemy Chuck Schumer takes issue with OnStar knowing where you are and whether you're listening to Linkin Park. "OnStar is attemping one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory," Schumer tells CBS. "I urge OnStar to abandon." There's no point in abandoning your vehicle though: that OnStar computer chip lodged in your temple isn't going anywhere. more ›

First, he came for our prescription drugs, but we said nothing. Then, he went for our Prospect Park West bike lanes, but we were still pretty zonked out from the prescription drugs. Now, Chuck Schumer wants to regulate how much arsenic is in our apple juice. This is where we draw the line: it's not a tall glass of apple juice unless we're convulsing with joy! more ›

After questioning the credibility of reports that Libyan Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi is once again close to death, New York Senator Chuck Schumer has written a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to withhold aid to Libya's nascent governing body, the National Transition Council. "If the new Libyan government continues to shield this convicted terrorist from justice, then they should not get one more cent of support from the United States," Schumer writes. more ›

According to his family, Libyan Lockerbie bomber and murderer of 246 people Abdel Basset al-Megrahi is really really sick and can't come out to play or face extradition. Sure, he's been on death's door before, only to miraculously stop acting keep living to ensure safe passage from Scotland to Libya in exchange for sweet sweet oil. But Senator Chuck Schumer tells the Daily News that he isn't buying it this time: "We're going to need a lot more verification than the word of local Libyan officials." more ›

In the wake of the gruesome Long Island pharmacy murders which saw four innocent people gunned down in a prescription drug robbery, Senator Chuck Schumer is seeking to restrict the number of painkillers doctors may prescribe and increase the penalties for those who steal them. "If the events of last week don't wake us up to the severity of the problem, I don't know what will," Schumer told reporters. "The problem is more serious these days than heroin, than crack, than methamphetamine." Prescription drug abuse has increased 400% in the last decade, and doctors wrote 48% more prescriptions for narcotics in 2009 than in 200, the Daily News reports. Pharmacy robberies have surged 81% since 2006. more ›

After politicians decried 9/11 commemorative coins being sold for profit, the federal government is now selling its own 9/11 commemorative coin for $56.95. Ten dollars of the proceeds of each coin will go towards funding for the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. A law co-sponsored by Senator Schumer and Congressman Jerrold Nadler allows the US Mint to "strike up and offer for sale up to 2 million one-ounce silver 2011 September 11 National Medals." Sounding similar to some reprehensible infomercials we've seen, Schumer said in a press release, "These medals, commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11th, provide a unique way to honor the bravery of those who perish and recall the patriotism and community that their sacrifice inspired in the nation." more ›

While the recession has been over for quite some time now, if there was to be a recession, there's nothing like gambling to give the economy a shot in the arm. Yesterday the Interior Department reversed position on a rule that denied Indian tribes to build casinos "beyond commuting distance from their reservations," which means that the St. Regis Mohawk tribe may get that casino [pdf] 90 miles from New York City at the Monticello Race track after all. Atlantic City was just way too far! more ›

Now that a federal ruling has raised the amount that power generators can get, which would then result in a 12% rate hike for Con Ed customers, on top of another previously-scheduled 4% rate hike, we need a hero to stop this madness. And Senator Charles Schumer is signing up for hero duty: Schumer told the Post that he spoke to the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, "I told him how upset we were about FERC's decision, and how we thought they left out some very key information, and about how we wanted a rehearing. He said there will definitely be a rehearing." more ›

German company Deutsche Börse AG is in talks with the New York Stock Exchange to acquire the NYSE and merge the two companies. But Senator Charles Schumer, aka Wall Street's "go-to-guy," has some demands: NYSE would have to come first in the merged company's name. more ›

It was only a week ago that we first heard about the crazy new bath salts drug trend, but they're already being targeted by the man for permanent banishment. Senator Chuck Schumer announced a bill today to add the two active ingredients in the powders, mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV, to the list of federally controlled substances. more ›

Earlier this week, the news broke that those reusable bags we've all be toting around, in hopes of bettering the environment, might not be so green after all. But despite Senator Chuck Schumer's investigation into the possibility of these bags containing potentially harmful lead levels, New Yorkers seem relatively unconcerned. more ›

Yesterday, Senator Schumer announced that he wanted to close the loopholes that allow sex offenders to work with children. NY1 reports, "Laws nationwide prohibit sex offenders from working as school teachers and coaches. But most laws don't cover karate or dance instructors, youth coaches, carnival workers and children's entertainers in the provate sector when government funds are not involved." Schumer, who proposed the legislation after stories like this one, said, "These positions, whether paid of voluntary, put dangerous sexual predators in immediate proximately to kids and gives these predators positions of authority while interacting with kids. That is a combination just looking for trouble." more ›

So, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at today's United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) added his voice to a chorus of disapproval. While outside the UN yesterday, Schumer said, "This is the height of hypocrisy. My message to Mr. Ahmadinejad is to come clean on your nuclear ambitions or go home... To sort of give him a pass and let him join the family of nations while his country is building a nuclear weapon is outrageous." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will be speaking at the conference a few hours after Ahmadinejad, described Iran's record of violating the NPT as "absolutely indisputable." more ›

Senator Charles Schumer has an op-ed in today's Post, explaining the financial reform bill in the Senate. This comes just two day after Post slammed him and other Congressional Democrats in an editorial, "What's the point of having a high muckety-muck like Chuck Schumer sitting in the US Senate if he refuses to fight for New York's best interests? And that goes double for his hapless little poodle, Kirsten Gillibrand. Congress is poised to rip the heart out of New York's economy -- i.e., Wall Street -- while Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand stand by dumb as fence posts." more ›

Senator Schumer has saved the Brooklyn Pool Parties! We just received a press release announcing the news that will surely put a smile on disaffected hipster's faces borough-wide. more ›

Just call him Senator Get-'er-Done: between beseeching JetBlue to stay in NY and saving Bannerman Castle, Senator Chuck Schumer announced today that the Department of Homeland Security has approved funding for a program to protect NYC against a nuclear attack, calling the program "an indispensable tool used to protect the population, transit hubs, and commercial centers of New York City from the possibility of a devastating nuclear or dirty bomb attack." Another triumph for the Patron Saint of Pool Parties? more ›

Now that Senator Schumer is well on his way to saving the Pool Parties, he's set his sights off the coastline and is asking for federal funds to help restore Bannerman Castle. more ›

Yesterday, low voltage readings on train tracks in NJ forced Amtrak and NJ Transit to suspend service for three hours during the morning rush hour on a pre-Christmas Eve travel day. According to the NY Times, "The partial shutdown began about 8:30 a.m., disrupting an estimated 100 trains — about 20 from Amtrak and about 80 from New Jersey Transit." Though service was back up by noon, there were delays of 60-90 minutes in the late afternoon. more ›

Senator Schumer sent out a press release today regarding the future of the Jelly Pool Parties, which has been looking pretty dark as of late. Over the summer Schumer attended two of the parties, which he totally happened upon by accident whilst riding his bike down Kent Avenue on a scorching hot day in pants, a long-sleeve button-up, and not a drop of sweat on him! Now he will attempt to bring that sort of magic to the parties. more ›

Now that Williamsburg has become a popular destination for tour groups and fashion students, the hipsters who took over the neighborhood years ago are losing their precious Pool Parties. Circle of life. We're told that with the deadline quickly approaching to find a new spot, there's no agreement in place and "the end could be near." As such, Senator Chuck Schumer is requesting that the community show some support—this summer the very same Senator Schumer pledged to the audience at one show that the free concerts would be back on the waterfront in 2010. more ›

On November 1st, a new law banning texting or using electronic devices like iPods and laptops while driving goes into effect in New York State. But Senator Chuck Schumer announced yesterday at one of his patented Sunday press conferences that he's pushing for a nationwide ban on texting. Schumer cited data showing that text-messaging while driving has resulted in almost 100 teen deaths over the last five years in the city and on Long Island. more ›

Both Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will formally endorse City Comptroller William Thompson for mayor today in Union Square. However, City Room wonders, "But will Chuck or Kirsten actually say anything bad about Mike?" more ›

Senator Charles Schumer is speaking out against a bill that would allow people from states where concealed gun are legal to carry their concealed weapons in states where concealed guns are illegal. He said, "Right now you walk down the streets in New York or Nassau County or Westchester County, you can have the solace of knowing that if someone has a gun on them, they've gone through a rigorous background check. After this law, you can have no such comfort." The bill was proposed by Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota); the Washington Post has an editorial explaining, "It would make concealed-carry permits akin to driver's licenses. If you meet the requirements for concealed carry in your home state, your permit would be honored in another... Conservatives usually argue against the federal government telling states what they can and can't do. If approved, the Thune amendment would trample all over the rights of states and cities to enforce reasonable restrictions on gun ownership. There are already enough guns on America's streets. A vote for Mr. Thune's bill would make them that much more dangerous." more ›

Senator Charles Schumer wants Long Island Rail Road commuters to be more productive—and slams the MTA for not providing wireless technology to allow commuters to get online. Schumer, at a press conference at the Ronkonkama LIRR station, pointed out that other mass transit systems, such as ones in Texas, California and Utah, have wireless technology, and said, "Unfortunately, the Long Island Rail Road has been slow to adapt. The technology is ready and waiting and would easily be up and running by the end of the year." The senior Senator added that it would cost $1,000 per train car and that the MTA could take advantage of federal stimulus money if it acted quickly (ha!). Well, it certainly would keep riders quiet...maybe. In other wireless-MTA news, plans to put cellphone technology in the NYC subway system are still languishing. more ›

Well, well, well, look how the times have changed. Senator Charles Schumer, who famously championed Wall Street business to the point of protecting the industry, as the NY Times put it last winter, "from government oversight and tougher rules" (saving Wall Street ), now thinks the financial services industry, um, needs regulating. This morning at a Crain's Business event, Schumer explained that, per Crain's, "more aggressive regulation is needed in order to ensure New York maintains its standing as the world’s capital of finance... because jittery investors around the world are looking for places where they can trust that tough regulators will protect their interests." He also said that a regulatory reform bill will be sent to President Obama by April. more ›