Here's the article from the Huffington Post about what happened in New York: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will ban hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in his state, officials announced Wednesday. "I will be bound by what the experts say," Cuomo said at a press conference. In his remarks at the conference, Cuomo lamented the emotionally charged nature of the debate over fracking, a process that uses a high-pressure blast of water, sand and chemicals to tap into natural gas reserves contained in shale formations. "Let's bring the emotion down and let's ask the qualified experts," said Cuomo, who quickly turned the press conference over to state health and environmental officials. The officials said the potential health and environmental impacts are too great to allow fracking to proceed in the state at this time, and pointed to a dearth of studies regarding the long-term safety of hydraulic fracturing. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will issue a legally binding, supplemental environmental impact statement next year outlining its findings on the issue. The potential adverse impacts of fracking are “widespread," DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens said at the press conference. He added that the prospects for fracking in New York are "uncertain at best," and the economic benefits are "far lower than originally forecasted." Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said that there are no longitudinal studies that provide an authoritative picture of the health impacts of fracking. The “bona fide scientific literature is only now emerging," he said. Zucker said that in other states where fracking is already happening, he found that state health commissioners "weren't even at the table" when decisions about the process were made. “I cannot support high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the great state of New York,” he added, noting that he would not live in a community that allows fracking and would not want his children to play in the soil in such a place. Cuomo agreed with that conclusion. "I think it’s our responsibility to develop an alternative … for safe, clean economic development,” the governor said. The state of New York has had a moratorium on fracking since officials decided in 2008 that more research was needed. Several towns in New York have used zoning ordinances to ban fracking, a practice which was upheld by the state Court of Appeals earlier this year. Wednesday's announcement is the culmination of a six-year review process by the DEC, including a study from the New York State Department of Health. The results of this review were expected to be released earlier this year, but were delayed until after the November election, in which Cuomo successfully sought a second term. Cuomo dodged a question on fracking at the New York gubernatorial debate in October. "I am not a scientist," he said. "Let the scientists decide." Cuomo said he would wait for the results of the state's study: "What the experts say is right, that is what I will do." Earlier in October, reports revealed that New York state officials had edited the text of a federal study about fracking's impact on water, in addition to delaying the study's release. Some descriptions of environmental and health risks were "played down or removed," Capital New York reported. The activist group New Yorkers Against Fracking issued a statement on Wednesday praising Cuomo's decision. “On behalf of millions of New Yorkers, we would like to thank the Governor for his leadership and keeping his word in listening to the science and protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers over the special interests of the oil and gas industry," the group said. The New York State Petroleum Council, a program of The American Petroleum Institute, issued a statement Wednesday calling the decision "the wrong direction for New York." The group's executive director, Karen Moreau, called it a "politically motivated and equally misinformed ban on a proven technology."

Instead of caving to pressure from the oil and gas industry, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Department of Environmental Conservation has just concluded that the health risks of fracking are too great, and it will not permit the controversial practice to move forward in the state. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial technique in which oil and gas drillers blast millions of gallons of water mixed with toxic chemicals into the ground to extract oil and gas from hard-to-reach deposits deep in the earth. Never before has a state with proven gas reserves banned fracking. This is a hard-fought victory that belongs to the brave people of New York who have been speaking out against fracking for years. By sending a strong message to Governor Cuomo, we can ensure that this victory will be one for the history books.

Huge victory in New York! It's official: The state of New York banned fracking! Now we're calling on Governor Hickenlooper to follow New York's lead. This victory is because of the years of education, mobilization and advocacy work to build the political power for holding Governor Cuomo accountable to the people, not the Oil and Gas industry. New Yorkers Against Fracking, a coalition co-founded by Food & Water Watch, and the strong network of allies and grassroots activists are directly responsible for this victory. After activists demanded that the health effects of fracking be studied, a two year investigation by the state's own commission confirmed what the movement has been saying all along, that fracking cannot be done safely. New York has set an example that the rest of the country should follow to make sure that families in every state are protected from fracking.

As a woman of color, I am deeply sickened by the way we are portrayed on television!! Women of color are being misrepresented by the shows Mona Scott-Young (Monami Entertainment) produces!! Let's put an end to the mockery of African Americans !!

It's official: the state of New York banned fracking! Maryland could make a decision on fracking soon, so we're calling on Governor Hogan to follow New York's lead. This victory is because of the years of education, mobilization and advocacy work to build the political power for holding Governor Cuomo accountable to the people, not the Oil and Gas industry. New Yorkers Against Fracking, a coalition founded by Food & Water Watch, and the strong network of allies and grassroots activists are directly responsible for this victory. After activists demanded that the health effects of fracking be studied, a two year investigation by the state's own commission confirmed what the movement has been saying all along, that fracking cannot be done safely. New York has set an example that the rest of the country should follow to make sure that families in every state are protected from fracking.

Following successful diplomacy to secure the release of U.S. citizen Alan Gross, President Obama has called on Congress to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba. [1] President Obama is right when he says that the 50-year U.S. embargo on Cuba has been a failure. [2] The embargo hasn't improved the lives of Cubans or Cuban-Americans; the embargo has imposed unjust hardships on Cubans and Cuban-Americans. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, President Obama moves to improve U.S. relations with Cuba and ease the embargo are already under attack by Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio. [3] Show your support for normalizing U.S. relations with Cuba and ending the embargo. References: 1. “Obama Calls on Congress to Lift Embargo,” New York Times, 12/17/14, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/12/17/obama-cuba-embargo/ 2. “Obama Calls Cuba Embargo a Failure,” New York Times, 12/17/14, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/12/17/obama-calls-cuba-embargo-a-failure/ 3. “Rubio Calls Obama ‘Willfully Ignorant’ on Cuba,” New York Times, 12/17/14, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/12/17/rubio-calls-obama-willfully-ignorant-on-cuba/

Many USAA members want to invest in socially and environmentally responsible ways. We don't want our money to help fund industries that pollute the Earth, companies that have inhumane or unjust labor practices or that produce harmful products, and corporations that support oppressive governments. USAA's website claims: "We have made sustainability a strategic priority, working to further reduce our effect on our planet without sacrificing fiscal responsibility. We are continually adopting greener practices and tapping into new energy resources and technology." Please adopt the greener practice of allowing your members to make choices about investing their money in funds that support sustainable companies.

Many citizens of Rockville are very concerned about the rush, on the part of some Council members, to weaken the City's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance/Standards (APFO/APFS). This is an issue about which many in the community feel passionately, because our APFO is essential for the protection of the education of our children. In Rockville, the APFO stops developers from building more apartments and adding more children to schools already well over capacity. Weakening it will have adverse consequences for the quality of life in our neighborhoods, including forcing the Montgomery County school system to teach children in portables, not classrooms. Montgomery County is already behind by 22 schools - how many more schools will be needed if the APFO is trampled by development interests? In the recent past there have been numerous attempts by development interests to water down or eliminate our APFO/APFS, but everyone who has studied the issue, including the APFO task force, the Planning Commission, and previous Mayor and Councils, have kept our strong City standards in place. But now our APFO is in jeopardy, due to the unfortunate efforts of several City Council members. This most recent proposal would weaken the current APFS standards by changing them to Montgomery County's standards, the most lax in the State of Maryland. Three inadvisable changes are being proposed: first, weakening the school test to allow 120% overcrowding in our schools; second, permitting "averaging" of overcrowding across an entire school cluster to water down the statistics from highly overcrowded individual schools; and finally, changing the "test period" from 2 to 5 years, which essentially allows developers to get credit for new school capacity which may never be funded or built. We believe that the proposed changes will severely diminish the quality of education our students will receive. Overcrowded schools are already a huge problem, and now is not the time to make the problem worse. Rockville's current strong APFO is a vital planning tool at the City's disposal to make sure that new residential development does not overwhelm our schools and roads. Please join us in standing up and making our collective voice heard. Tell the Mayor and Council to keep our City's APFO strong!

From civil rights oppression to sexually assaulting children, the moral elite and privileged have been running the empire of evil for too long. Time to bring back equality, justice and boils. Release Satan from Hell and reinstate his license to prosecute the wicked.

It's about getting sidewalks and street lights on some of the side roads where there are none and need to be, as well as stricter speed enforcement. My other half and I have been affected by there not being any lights or sidewalks on some of the roads. I got hit by a driver on King's Estate in November; two days after my accident, a guy got killed on Hilltop Road. We ride our bikes and walk these roads to get to and from work and stores as well as other places.. Pedestrians are disregarded by drivers on those roads, and feel unsafe walking, let alone riding bikes on the roads out of fear of being hit.

We seek transparency in the Eric Garner case.

It has gone too far and it's time to take back images of women particularly women of color.