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Bloomberg Calls Same-Sex Marriage the ‘Civil Rights Issue of Our Time’

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Speaking at Stanford University’s commencement on Sunday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg not only compared the push to legalize same-sex marriage to Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement but said he believed all 50 states will eventually legalize gay marriage.

Bloomberg spoke about two upcoming Supreme Court rulings on the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Prop. 8, a measure that prohibited same-sex marriage by ballot initiative.

“Marriage equality is the civil rights issue of our time–and I believe that it will become the law of the land in all 50 states if not in my lifetime, certainly in yours,” Bloomberg said. “No matter how the Supreme Court rules in these two cases, there is no doubt in my mind that both laws will soon be history. It is not a question of if; only a question of when.”

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Mayor Bloomberg Wants to Spend $20 Billion to Protect NYC from Global Warming

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Photo Credit: Newsmax

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a $20 billion plan on Tuesday to transform how New York City girds itself for storms and global warming, including removable flood walls that would be set up for much of lower Manhattan, a 15-to-20-foot levee to guard part of Staten Island, and a system of gates and levees to protect a Brooklyn creek.

Bloomberg’s proposals also include building dunes in Staten Island and the Rockaways, firming up the shoreline with bulkheads in various neighborhoods and considering building a levee and a new “Seaport City” development at the South Street Seaport that would echo nearby Battery Park City.

The mayor also is suggesting giving $1.2 billion in grants to property owners to flood-proof their buildings and $50 million to nursing homes to improve theirs; making hospitals even in rarely flooded areas to upgrade their pumps and electrical equipment; and expanding beaches and marshes.

“This plan is incredibly ambitious,” Bloomberg said in a speech at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, acknowledging that much of the work would extend beyond the end of his term this year. “This is urgent work, and it must begin now.

“Piece by piece, over many years and even decades, we can build a city that’s capable of preparing better, withstanding more and overcoming anything.”

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Walking Dead,’ ‘Vampires Diaries’ Actress Arrested in Obama-Bloomberg Ricin Case

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Photo Credit: CNN

By Tony Maglio. Actress Shannon Richardson has been arrested and charged for allegedly sending ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a law enforcement official confirmed to TheWrap.

The 36-year-old has appeared in small television roles on “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Walking Dead,” according to her iMDb page.

Richardson is charged with mailing a threatening communication to the President of the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement. According to the arrest affidavit, on May 20, 2013, Richardson is alleged to have actually mailed three letters containing the toxin ricin. The letters were sent to President Barack Obama and Mark Glaze in Washington, D.C., and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City. Richardson was arrested today in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and appeared before Judge Craven this afternoon in Texarkana, Texas, for an initial appearance. Read more from this story HERE.

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Texas actress first accuses husband, but she’s arrested in ricin case

By Michael Martinez. Susan Candiotti and Carol Cratty. A Texas actress in a troubled marriage was arrested and charged Friday in connection with ricin-tainted letters that were mailed last month to President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, authorities said.

Shannon Richardson, 35, also known as Shannon Rogers and Shannon Guess, initially told the FBI that her husband, Nathaniel, sent the ricin-laced letters, but a polygraph exam found her to be “deceptive” on the matter, court papers said.

Investigators found that her computer storage devices contained the text of threatening letters sent to the president, but the couple’s computer records show her husband couldn’t have printed them out because he was at work at the time, an FBI arrest affidavit said.

On Thursday, Shannon Richardson told investigators she mailed the ricin-tainted letters, but she claimed that her husband typed the letters and forced her to print and mail them, the affidavit said.

Her husband denied involvement and claimed his wife wanted to end their marriage and leave him, the affidavit said. He told investigators that his wife was “intentionally misleading” them, the court papers said. Read more from this story HERE.

Mayor Bloomberg Lets F-Bombs Rip on Constituent

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Photo Credit: FilmMagicMayor Bloomberg went on a spitting-mad rant against a city cab-fleet boss who won a court victory over Hizzoner’s planned “Taxi of Tomorrow” — vowing to “destroy your f–king industry” when he leaves office, The Post has learned.

A fuming Bloomberg made the threat against Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman at Madison Square Garden’s private 1879 Club during last Thursday’s Knick playoff game, a witness said yesterday…

Freidman confirmed the blow-up to The Post, and said Bloomberg’s tirade included the warning that, “After January, I am going to destroy all you f–king guys.”

“I said, ‘Whoa, Mr. Mayor, calm down! Why can’t I sit down with you and figure out something that works?’ He got back in my face and said, ‘After January, I am going to destroy all you f–king guys,’ ” said Freidman, whose company operates a fleet of 925 yellow cabs…

“He was very angry, very scary, very violent in a non-physical way. He was grinding his teeth, he was spitting, he was red and he was in my face,” the self-styled “King of the Road” claimed.

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Mayor Bloomberg Launches Vegetarian-Only Public School

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Photo Credit: APBlocked by the courts from banning big sodas in the Big Apple, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration has zeroed in on another target in a quest for healthier lifestyles: Meat.

Public School 244 in the Flushing section of New York’s Queens borough has gone vegan — the first public school in the nation to serve only vegetarian meals for breakfast and lunch.

Cafeteria workers at Active Learning Elementary School have switched out poultry for black beans, tofu and falafel. And the New York Daily News reported the elementary eaters actually like it.

“This is so good,” said 9-year-old Marian Satti of a black bean and cheddar cheese quesadilla served at Tuesday’s lunch, the Daily News said. “I’m enjoying that it didn’t have a lot of salt in it.”

School heads — led by Chancellor Dennis Walcott, a self-claimed fitness guru — tout the healthier eating as pro-kid. Healthy kids make happy students, administrators said in the Daily News report.

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Bloomberg Begins Multimillion Dollar TV Gun Control Blitz to Push Swing Senators

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Photo Credit: NY Times

The commercial is an unambiguous appeal to gun owners: a middle-aged hunter, rifle in hand, vows that he will fight to protect the Second Amendment. But in a sensible, father-of-the-house tone, he also urges voters to support comprehensive background checks, “so criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can’t buy guns.”

The man behind the advertisement is not known for his kinship with the gun crowd: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the nation’s fiercest advocate of restrictions on firearms since the December rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Determined to persuade Congress to act in response to that shooting, Mr. Bloomberg on Monday will begin bankrolling a $12 million national advertising campaign that focuses on senators who he believes might be persuaded to support a pending package of federal regulations to curb gun violence. The ads, in 13 states, will blanket those senators’ districts during an Easter Congressional recess that is to be followed by debate over the legislation.

In a telling sign of how much the white-hot demands for gun control have been tempered by political reality, Mr. Bloomberg’s commercials make no mention of an assault weapons ban once sought by the White House and its allies, instead focusing on the more achievable goal of universal background checks.

“You don’t want to lose everything in the interest of getting the perfect,” Mr. Bloomberg said in an interview, acknowledging his disappointment over the apparent unlikelihood of an assault weapons ban, but insisting he is resolved to push the legislation through at a time when its prospects are uncertain.

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Ted Cruz’s ‘Big Gulp Amendment’ Latest Mockery Of Bloomberg Soda Ban

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Photo Credit: AP

Mockery and scorn for New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s bid to ban big sodas came swiftly, and now conservatives are pouring it on: Freshman Sen. Ted Cruz proposed a “Big Gulp Amendment” Friday to prohibit the federal government from following Mr. Bloomberg’s lead…

The Daily News reported that the Texas lawmaker and tea party favorite submitted the resolution as part of the Senate’s debate over a new budget, and calls for “prohibiting federal regulation of food and beverage size and quantity.”

The legislature is largely symbolic. Even if it was passed by a Democrat controlled Senate, it would not be binding on federal agencies. The federal government has no plans for such restrictions.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Sarah Palin Brings a ‘Big Gulp’ Cup on Stage at CPAC

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In a comical twist, Governor Sarah Palin brought a “Big Gulp” cup with her on stage at CPAC yesterday.

After taking a sip she stated, “Oh Bloomberg’s not around, our Big Gulp is safe.”

“Shoot, it’s just pop! With low-cal ice cubes in it. I hope that’s okay.”

Apparently the crowd at CPAC thought it was, as they roared their approval.

Contrary to several predictions, Governor Palin did not announce a campaign for US Senate but instead entertained CPAC participants with a series of humorous one liners.

Watch video here:

Judge Halts New York City Ban on Large Sugary Drinks

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

New York City’s planned ban on the sale of large sugary drinks won’t go into effect Tuesday after a state judge blocked the restrictions, calling them “arbitrary and capricious.”

“The court finds that the regulation … is laden with exceptions based on economic and political concerns,” Justice Milton Tingling wrote. Mayor Michael Bloomberg quickly vowed to appeal the decision, countering that the city’s health department has the legal authority to use the ban to fight an obesity epidemic.

“We believe that the judge’s decision was clearly in error and that we will prevail on appeal,” Bloomberg told reporters.

Scheduled to begin at midnight, the law would have restricted the sale of sugary drinks to no more than 16 ounces in restaurants, fast-food eateries, movie theaters and stadiums. But the law would have exempted a variety of retailers, including 7-Eleven, seller of the iconic “Big Gulp” drinks, because it is regulated by the state, not the city.

“The effect would be a person is unable to buy a drink larger than 16 ounces at one establishment but may be able to buy it at another establishment that may be located right next door,” Tingling wrote.

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Bloomberg Booed At Annual St. Patrick’s Parade In Storm-Ravaged Rockaways

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Photo Credit: Michael HicksMayor Bloomberg was booed yesterday as he walked in the annual St. Patrick’s Parade in the hurricane-ravaged Rockaways.

The jeers grew so loud toward the end of the Queens parade that mayoral candidate and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn appeared to break away from the mayor to march separately.

A spokesman for Quinn later said she always intended to walk separately from the mayor. Locals didn’t spare their ire over the area’s slow recovery, hoisting signs reading, “Mr. Mayor, we need jetties” and “Listen to the Rockaways.”

“We’ve been dying down here, up to our ears in muck trying to rebuild, get back to a regular life,” one heckler told The Post.

“For the politicians to come down here and try to take our celebration and make it their thing . . . it’s disgusting.” At the end of the route, Bloomberg thanked the Sanitation Department, cops and firefighters who worked to restore the neighborhood after the storm.

Read more from this story HERE.