Daily News - Politics

Watch out Mitt: Santorum edges ahead of Romney nationally

ALIYAH SHAHID — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:52:57 GMT

Rick Santorum is on a roll. The surging presidential candidate has edged ahead of rival Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new national poll.

Gov. Cuomo steps in on teacher evaluations

KENNETH LOVETT — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:23:25 GMT

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is intervening in the “toxic” negotiations for a new evaluation system of city teachers.

1.8 MILLION dead people still registered to vote in the U.S., study says

BRADEN GOYETTE — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:00:26 GMT

The shocking finding emerged in a report from the Pew Center on the States that concluded a whopping 24 million - or one in eight - of the nation’s active voter registrations have serious errors.

Pressure mounts for Gingrich to quit race

JONATHAN LEMIRE — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:38:39 GMT

Slumping GOP White House hopeful Newt Gingrich vowed to stay in the race Tuesday - dismissing the growing chorus of conservative voices begging him to drop out.

City kids lobby Albany lawmakers to pass state Dream Act

ERICA PEARSON — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:15:43 GMT

Hoping to put a face on the plight of undocumented college students, dozens of immigrant high school kids from the city went to Albany on Tuesday to lobby lawmakers. The teens from Brooklyn and Queens are pressuring the pols to pass legislation that would help young people without papers get their sheepskin.

President Obama demands extension of payroll tax

JONATHAN LEMIRE — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:50:21 GMT

President Obama kept the heat on House Republicans to pass an extension on the payroll tax cut Tuesday, hours after the GOP leadership abandoned weeks of hardline posturing and signaled they were willing to compromise.

Newt Gingrich reveals sexy V-Day plans for wife Callista

ALIYAH SHAHID — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:58:17 GMT

Newt Gingrich wants America to know he's a lover, not a fighter. The struggling Republican presidential candidate coyly dished on his Valentine's Day plans for third wife Callista, promising she would not be disappointed.

New oversight for redistricting

KENNETH LOVETT — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:01:42 GMT

ALBANY - Showing no faith in the state Legislature to get the job done on time, a federal judge on Monday formally called for the appointment of a "special master" to redraw the state legislative and congressional district boundaries.

Church and wait at city schools

Kenneth Lovett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:13:35 GMT

ALBANY — A compromise bill to allow religious groups to hold worship services in city schools will have to wait until a lawsuit over the issue is resolved, the Daily News has learned.

If deal can’t be made, I’ll grade teachers: gov

GLENN BLAIN — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:35:59 GMT

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is moving ahead with plans for his own teacher grading system if the state and union leaders fail to make a deal — but don’t expect Mayor Bloomberg to be thrilled.

Send drivers ‘tix’ message

Kenneth Lovett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:41:13 GMT

ALBANY — A new law to crack down on distracted driving has generated nearly 119,000 tickets statewide to motorists using their cell phones or texting while driving since July, Gov. Cuomo said.

Obama backtracks on birth control mandate

BY THOMAS M. DeFRANK and TRACY CONNOR — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:18:45 GMT

President Obama is abandoning a plan that would have forced faith-based groups to provide insurance coverage for birth control. An uproar over the new rule - led by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the political conservatives - turned into an election-year nightmare for the White House.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed at West Indies vacation home

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:30:28 GMT

Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Monday.

New cell phone app shows where to get free condoms

CORKY SIEMASZKO — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:49:10 GMT

Looking to get lucky on Valentine’s Day and in need of some protection? Now there’s an app for that.

City pays $500K to settle ‘Lipstick Bandit’ case

BARBARA ROSS, TRACY CONNOR — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:58:05 GMT

The “Lipstick Bandit” has cost taxpayers another $500,000. The city has settled a second lawsuit filed by welfare-office workers who alleged they were sexually harassed by a smooching supervisor, the Daily News has learned.

Israel blames Iran for twin bombs in India, republic of Georgia

TRACY CONNOR — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:17:03 GMT

Israel is blaming Iran for blowing up a car in India that was taking a diplomat’s wife to get her kids from school — and for a second bomb plot in the republic of Georgia.

Obama unveils budget, Republicans attack

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:14:39 GMT

President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion spending plan on Monday for 2013 that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade but does little to restrain growth in the government's huge health benefit programs, a major cause of future deficits.

Mitt bought caucus win, Santorum says

ALISON GENDAR — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:10:15 GMT

Mitt Romney had a key conservative caucus win over the weekend — but rival Rick Santorum says he bought the victory. Romney beat his fellow GOP presidential contenders in Saturday’s Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll in Washington, surprising some pundits who expected a surging Santorum to come in first.

Rudy hits Bam on Iran nukes

ALISON GENDAR — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:54:30 GMT

AMERICA’S MAYOR said Sunday that when it came to Iran and its nuclear program, President Obama acts like a naive teenager. Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News that Obama has been too soft on Iran, allowing it to develop nuclear arms.

Public Advocate blasts mayor over teacher evaluation impasse

REUVEN BLAU — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:57:39 GMT

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio blasted the Bloomberg administration on Sunday for failing to hammer out an agreement on teacher evaluations and jeopardizing federal aid.

St. Pat's priest blasts feds' rules on birth control coverage

ERIN DURKIN — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:31:48 GMT

Even with Archbishop Timothy Dolan absent from the pulpit, the flock at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Sunday heard a harsh condemnation of new federal rules on birth control coverage.

Harvard gives New York City award for poverty-fighting initiatives

TINA MOORE — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:29:46 GMT

The city has been awarded Harvard University's Innovations in American Government Award for its anti-poverty work, Mayor Bloomberg announced during his Sunday radio address.

Jeb Bush for President? Not yet.

Thomas M. DeFrank — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:00:04 GMT

Fear Rick Santorums sweater vest? Not really. Fear the Jeb? Absolutely.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan leaves for Rome to become cardinal.

RICH SCHAPIRO, MARK MORALES — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:57:05 GMT

Carrying a leather bag and a hankering for fresh pasta, Archbishop Timothy Dolan set out for Rome Saturday night to become a cardinal. "I can taste the pasta already,” a beaming Dolan said as he bounded out of his St. Patrick’s residence about 6:45 p.m. “Going to Rome is like going home.”

Voter mishaps and low turnout in caucuses is primary concern

JONATHAN LEMIRE — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:01:48 GMT

It may be time to kill the caucus. The quirky alternative to the primary has come under fire this election season, as states that run caucuses have experienced staggeringly low turnout and embarrassing vote-counting mishaps.