Source: Business Insider

A slew of female aides to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo say they were either explicitly told or felt pressured to wear makeup and dress up to please the governor and get ahead professionally.

Twelve women told The New York Times that there was a general understanding that they should wear heels, dresses, and makeup when in Cuomo's presence. More than a dozen women who've worked for Cuomo told New York Magazine that the governor and his top female aides applied heavy pressure to dress well and in expensive clothing. Some said they were specifically directed to wear heels when in the governor's presence. Several current and former aides in the governor's office told The Times that women who are tall, thin, and blonde were favored in the hiring process.

Another former aide named Kaitlin, who asked that her last name not be used, told New York Magazine that the governor would criticize her physical appearance if she came to work with wet hair or otherwise didn't meet his standards. She said he would tell her, "You decided not to get ready today?" or, "You didn't put makeup on today?"

One former staffer, Ana Liss, said an executive assistant to the governor told her, "When the governor is here, you need to look really good."

A current senior aide and two former staffers told The Times they believed they were passed over for certain professional opportunities because of how they dressed. Three former staffers said they had to dress the way Cuomo wanted if they desired special attention from the governor. Staffers who dressed according to Cuomo's code would be seated at desks in view of his office in the Capitol building, The Times reported.

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/female-cuomo-staffers-reportedly-told-to-wear-makeup-heels-dresses-2021-3

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill, hours before he planned to address the nation to begin an extensive outreach campaign explaining the massive spending package.

The measure includes direct payments of up to $1,400 for individuals, billions to help schools and colleges reopen, and funding for vaccine distribution – along with many other measures aimed at helping America recover from the pandemic.

The White House moved up the bill signing to Thursday from Friday after Congress finalized the bill sooner than expected.

"We want to move as fast as possible," Ron Klain, Biden's chief of staff, tweeted when the new time was announced.

Read more: https://apple.news/AFJ7TrqssTGOBCLB-87odzA

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Source: Yahoo News

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), America's ultimate swing voter, told me on "Axios on HBO" that he'll insist Republicans have more of a voice on President Biden's next big package than they did on the COVID stimulus.

The big picture: Manchin said he'll push for tax hikes to pay for Biden's upcoming infrastructure and climate proposal, and will use his Energy Committee chairmanship to force the GOP to confront climate reality.

Manchin, 73, said Biden expects, and understands, the pushback: "He's the first president we've had to really, really understand the workings of the Senate since LBJ."

Manchin said that with just a few concessions, it would have been possible to get some Republicans on the COVID relief package that passed the Senate this weekend on a party-line vote. And he said he'll block Biden's next big package — $2 trillion to $4 trillion for climate and infrastructure — if Republicans aren't included.

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/joe-manchin-pledges-block-bidens-120433439.html

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He's always been a moderate to conservative Democrat, but lately has done a plethora of things that we disagree with him on. I'm worried that he may be thinking of switching...

Source: NBC New York

Karen Hinton, once one of NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aides and consultants in his days as HUD secretary, is speaking out with new allegations that Cuomo hugged her in an "inappropriate" and "unethical" embrace in a California hotel room 21 years ago.

Hinton says the then-Cabinet member made a pass at her during a meeting that was supposed to be about a news conference. She says Cuomo hugged her - and she says she could physically feel he was sexually aroused.

"He started asking me personal questions. I was uncomfortable with that conversation. So I stood up to leave and he walked across from his couch and embraced me intimately. It was not just a hug. It was an intimate embrace. I pulled away. He brought me back. I pulled away again and I said 'look I need some sleep, I am going,'" Hinton told News 4 in her first TV interview about the incident.

"It was inappropriate. We both were married. I worked for him and it was too much to make it so personal and intimate," she said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/two-more-former-aides-accuse-cuomo-of-inappropriate-behavior/2928705/

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Cuomo's Director Of Communications called her a "known antagonist," but Cuomo praised Hinton in his 2014 book "All Things Possible," calling her "one of his stars." Video in link.

Source: Newsweek

Senator Joe Manchin is looking to decrease the unemployment payments in President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan by $100, saying that giving people a financial boost at this point doesn't make sense.

The relief package would increase the federal unemployment benefit to $400, a $100 raise from the bill that was passed in December. Benefits are set to expire on March 14, raising the pressure for the Senate to pass another relief package, but Democrats face pressure from progressives to do more and moderates to do less.

Manchin told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that he supports $300 weekly unemployment payments because it's "consistent with what we've been doing."

The West Virginia Democrat said he would be fine with the payments going through August, as per the package. But with the assumption that most people will be inoculated against the coronavirus in June or July, he said businesses that are reopening will need their employees back at work.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-says-stimulus-packages-unemployment-benefits-should-stay-300-1573217

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Now he's messing with those who are out of work like me. I really was looking forward to that extra $100 a week.

Source: Business Insider

In a democracy, 50% plus one equals a governing majority. But in the US Senate, it takes 60 votes — or arcane maneuvers like budget "reconciliation" — to get much of anything done thanks to the filibuster, a Senate rule allowing a senator or senators from the minority party to hold up a bill, which has ossified into a permanent obstacle.

And that, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Monday, will "never" change so long as he's around.

Manchin, the senator from West Virginia, is one of two Democrats standing in the way of that (the other is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona). And he seems unlikely to change his mind.

"Never!" he shouted at a journalist who asked whether setbacks to the Democratic agenda might lead him to reconsider, per a pool report filed Monday night by Bloomberg News' Erik Wasson. "Jesus Christ, what don't you understand about 'never'?"



Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-manchin-says-he-will-never-support-ending-the-filibuster-2021-3

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)A third woman has accused Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of unwanted advances in 2019, The New York Times reported Monday, adding to an escalating crisis facing the governor in the wake of two sexual harassment allegations.

The woman, Anna Ruch, told the Times that Cuomo approached her during a crowded wedding reception in New York in 2019. Ruch told the newspaper she thanked Cuomo for his toast to the newlyweds, and in response, she says he put his hand on her bare lower back, which the Times said was exposed in an open-back dress.

When Ruch removed his hand, Cuomo allegedly told her she seemed "aggressive" as he put his hands on her cheeks, she recalled to the Times. Cuomo then asked if he could kiss her, Ruch said, and she distanced herself as he came closer.

"I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed," Ruch told the Times. "I turned my head away and didn't have words in that moment."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/politics/andrew-cuomo-anna-ruch/index.html

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Source: AM NY

As Governor Andrew Cuomo faces a probe into newly alleged sexual harassment against a second former staffer, a Bronx senator says it’s time for him to go.

Calling Cuomo a “monster” on Twitter, Senator and sexual abuse survivor Alessandra Biaggi expressed her disgust with the Governor in a written statement which called on Cuomo to leave his post after allegedly sexually harassing two former staffers, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett.

“I am especially horrified by the comments the Governor made to Charlotte about her experience with sexual assault – comments he did not deny making. They are the epitome of a hostile work environment,” Biaggi stated, adding that “the harassment experienced by these former staffers is part of a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation by the Governor, and that pattern makes him unworthy of holding the highest office in New York.”

Biaggi, who chairs the senate’s ethics and internal governance committee also criticized and questioned how truly independent this investigation could be as, in her own words, “the Governor’s influence touches all entities in New York that might review his conduct.”

Read more: https://www.amny.com/news/bronx-senator-calls-on-monster-cuomo-to-resign-amidst-new-harassment-allegations/

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The article didn't say, but she's a Democrat in case you're wondering. Here's her Tweet:

https://twitter.com/Biaggi4NY/status/1365813367374544899

Source: Newsweek

Criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra is largely coming from the Republican side of the aisle but at least one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, isn't sold on President Joe Biden's pick.

Confirming Biden's Cabinet picks requires a simple majority in the Senate, which Democrats have with the support of the two independents that caucus with them. However, there is no wiggle room, and Manchin opposing any of Biden's nominees creates a need for Republican support, an uphill battle for some of his picks.

Manchin's spokesperson, Sam Runyon, told the National Review on Monday that the West Virginia senator hasn't decided if he will support Becerra's nomination. His hearings are set to begin on Tuesday and Republicans are likely to target him for his pro-choice record, opposition to President Donald Trump and support for Medicare for All.

"Curiously, the president's candidate to run the Department of Health and Human Services is the famously partisan attorney general of California," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech in January. "His recent experience in health policies seems largely limited to promoting abortion-on-demand and suing groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, which dare to live out their religious convictions."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-throws-another-wrench-joe-bidens-nominees-not-sold-hhs-pick-becerra-1571101

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So Manchin's spokesperson is talking to far-right National Review?

Source: NBC NY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't mince words Thursday morning when asked about allegations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened a Queens assemblyman, saying he believed the charges "100 percent."

Ron Kim says he was yelled at and threatened by Cuomo after criticizing his handling of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes – which is now being looked into by federal authorities.

"It's a sad thing to say ... but that's classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York state have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new. I believe Ron Kim and it's very, very sad, no public servant no person who's telling the truth should be treated that way. The threats, the belittling, the demand that someone change their statement right that moment ... many many times I've heard that and I know a lot of other people in this state have heard that," De Blasio said in an MSNBC interview.

"It's just the script, it's exactly what a lot of us have heard before. It's not a surprise, it's sad. It's not the way people should be treated," De Blasio said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/de-blasio-on-cuomo-bullying-allegations-thats-classic-andrew-cuomo/2895771/