Chris Cuomo – bother of disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who resigned from office this past August after also being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women – is said to have grabbed and squeezed former ABC News executive producer Shelley Ross’ buttocks at a party in 2005 without asking her permission first. File photo: Miro Vrlik Photography, Shutter Stock, licensed.
NEW YORK, NY – In a guest essay for the New York Times published on Friday, Chris Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment by a TV producer at his previous employer, ABC News, back when the current CNN anchor was hosting the eponymous show “Cuomo Prime Time.”
Cuomo – bother of disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who resigned from office this past August after also being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women – is said to have been grabbing and squeezing former ABC News executive producer Shelley Ross’ buttocks at a party in 2005 without asking her permission first.
“I was at the party with my husband, who sat behind me on an ottoman sipping his Diet Coke as I spoke with work friends,” Ross said. “When Mr. Cuomo entered the Upper West Side bar, he walked toward me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering one hand to firmly grab and squeeze the cheek of my buttock.”
The victim also has provided an email purportedly authored by Cuomo where he seems to admit to the groping and expressed his apologies.
Cuomo – host of “Cuomo Prime Time” on CNN since 2018 – had already courted controversy for his lack of coverage of his brother’s own harassment allegations, as well as advising him in private by reportedly telling his brother that he shouldn’t resign from office and blaming the entire situation on “cancel culture.”
Chris Cuomo’s former boss says he sexually harassed her and posts the copy of the email he sent apologizing for it. https://t.co/XJJbE2eW8d
One of Andrew Cuomo’s accusers, Lindsey Boylan, expressed her support for Ross on Twitter by thanking her for taking a stand over the alleged harassment, and asked Chris Cuomo to take responsibility for his actions.
Thank you Shelley Ross. Your focus on accountability is exactly right.
“Thank you Shelley Ross. Your focus on accountability is exactly right,” Boylan said. “@ChrisCuomo will you hold yourself accountable?”
Cuomo provided a statement to the New York Times prior to the essay’s publication, reiterating his regret over the incident.
“As Shelley acknowledges, our interaction was not sexual in nature,” he said. “It happened 16 years ago in a public setting when she was a top executive at ABC. I apologized to her then, and I meant it.”
As of press time, CNN has not issued any comments or statements on the allegation against Cuomo.
The Florida Heartbeat Law establishes a fetal heartbeat as the indicator of a fetus’ gestational age, and requires physicians to conduct a test to determine the presence of a viable fetal heartbeat and to inform a woman seeking the abortion if detectable fetal heartbeat is found. File photo: Art Babych, Shutter Stock, licensed.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL – A legislator in Florida has filed a bill that mimics the controversial anti-abortion measure that became effective in Texas earlier this month. Filed on September 22 by State Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-Volusia County) HB 167, The Florida Heartbeat Act, establishes a fetal heartbeat as the indicator of a fetus’ gestational age, and requires physicians to conduct a test to determine the presence of a viable fetal heartbeat and to inform a woman seeking the abortion if detectable fetal heartbeat is found.
FLORIDA HEARTBEAT ACT: The “Florida Heartbeat Act” was just filed on Wednesday morning. Here's what we know so far. https://t.co/jT9U6SRNYR
While he has not commented specifically about the proposed bill, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Communications Director Taryn Fenske released a statement saying that the Governor will keep an eye on the measure’s legislative progress.
“Governor DeSantis is pro-life,” Fenske’s statement said. “The Governor’s office is aware that the bill was filed and like all legislation, we will be monitoring it as it moves through the legislative process in the coming months.”
The proposed legislation also prohibits physician from performing or inducing abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Physicians who fail to conduct a test to detect a fetal heartbeat would be exposed to penalties.
The bill’s sole specific exemption is in the case of a medical emergency, but HB 167 retains provisions under current Florida law that forbids the use of public funds for abortions except in the cases of medical necessity, rape or incest.
Meanwhile, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the state’s Corner Office, vowed to support those who oppose the proposed measure.
“On the shoulders of all the female trailblazers let me say this,” Fried said in a Tweet. “If you’re coming for our bodies, we’re coming for you. I’m doing it as Florida’s next Governor and I’m not alone.”
On the shoulders of all the female trailblazers let me say this…
If you’re coming for our bodies, we are coming for you. I’m doing it as Florida’s next Governor, and I’m not alone. pic.twitter.com/1QoWatIK9u
Connecticut School Transportation Association, which represents almost 60 companies, sent a letter to the Department of Education informing them that by Monday the school bus driver shortage will be 10 times worse and will be a crisis driven by government. File photo: Greg Patton, Shutter Stock, licensed.
STAMFORD, CT – With a Monday, September 27 deadline looming on a state COVID-19 vaccine mandate, nearly 300 Connecticut school bus drivers are ready to walk off the job at the end of the day on Friday, many of them citing either religious or medical-related reasons for refusing to take the jab.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont had previously issued a executive order-backed COVID-19 vaccination mandate –due to kick in on Monday – for some segments of the state’s workforce, including all public school district employees.
If a school district disobeys the vaccine mandate, State COO and Commissioner from the State Department of Administrative Services Josh Geballe pointed out that non-compliance with the Governor Lamont’s executive order means that School districts could potentially run the risk of loosing their state funding.
“The driver shortage is going to be massive,” confirmed Connecticut School Transportation Association (CSTA) spokesperson John Hipsher on the impending walkout. “Moms and dads should have patience for sure on Monday.”
CSTA – which represents almost 60 companies – also sent a letter to the Connecticut state Department of Education, informing them that by Monday “The school bus driver shortage will become 10 times worse on that day, and it will be a crisis driven by government.”
A similar school bus driver walkout over vaccine mandates in neighboring Massachusetts has resulted in the National Guard being activated in order to provide transportation for children to and from school while officials scramble to find replacement carriers to take over.
The CSTA is requesting that Governor Lamont either allow bus drivers to be exempt from having to be vaccinated, or to give them a 60-day grace period and state funding to set up proper COVID-19 testing.
“I can tell you we’re in active discussions with the bus drivers,” Lamont responded. “I can tell you we’ve done everything to accelerate getting additional bus drivers in place.”
According to authorities, Davonte Barnes, 22, of Miami, was a look-out in a mass shooting at a Miami-Dade banquet hall that killed three and injured 20 in May 2021. He was charged with three counts of first degree murder and 20 counts of attempted murder. Barnes is being held without bond.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL – Detectives have arrested a Miami man on three counts of first degree murder and 20 counts of attempted murder in relation to the mass shooting at a Miami-Dade banquet hall that killed three and injured 20 in May 2021.
According to authorities, on Thursday, September 23, 2021, Davonte Barnes, 22, of Miami, was transported to the Miami-Dade police homicide bureau for questioning where he ultimately confessed to his involvement in the shooting. Barnes told investigators that he met with other subjects involved in the shooting before it happened, and that he was aware that at least one of the subjects was armed with a firearm and that another subject wanted someone killed. He stated that they also discussed that victim would be at 7630 NW 186 street, in Miami-Dade county, and told investigators he drove to the location of the shooting, in his mothers Nissan Altima and acted as a lookout before the shooting, and reported back to the other subjects whether the victim was present at the location.
On Sunday, May 30, 2021, at 12:36 a.m., the Miami-Dade police department arrived at the location of the shooting and discovered two victims deceased from gunshot wounds. Twenty-one other victims were on-scene with gunshot wounds and were transported to various hospitals in both Miami-Dade and Broward County. Ultimately, the shooting killed Clayton Dillard and Desmond Owners, both 26, and 32-year-old Shaniqua Peterson.
Barnes was booked into the Miami-Dade jail late Thursday night and is being held without bond.
Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez called the incident a despicable and cowardly act of gun violence. No other information was made available by police related to the other suspects in the shooting.
Swati Singh, Regional Political Director at Republican National Committee (moderator) Peter Kuo, Vice Chairman, California Republican Party, Bay Area Republican Activist Marc Ang, community organizer in Southern California and founder of Asian Industry B2B, and Jeff Wang.
LOS ANGELES, CA – This past weekend, I was invited to be a “trainer” for the CA GOP convention for a session called Asian Community Voices. While I am disillusioned by the GOP, which has slowly become a toxic fringe party that plays politics poorly, focused on infighting, and can’t achieve real results or tangible outcomes, I see glimmers of hope for the future.
I felt it was a good first step and I should be slightly encouraging but more importantly I needed to show up and speak my truth. Will they learn something new, break out of old habits and become a true viable opposition party to give checks and balances to the one party Democratic state or maybe that is just asking for too much? Walk before we run, maybe? I also know that enough people inside the party structure are hungry for the truth, many who are my friends and people I respect who are trying to save the sinking ship, but who are earnestly and honestly fighting the good fight. So I showed up.
Unfortunately, party leadership remains emblematic of just where the party is and has been for the better part of the last two decades, stuck in 1995 style campaign messaging. The party seems to have no clue how the brand is even perceived, and that’s the worst part. I have, in the past, stood up for Republicans and will continue to do so, but I’m under zero delusion that I’m contrarian to where the culture is. The insiders in the political party don’t seem to understand this, and are completely delusional about their own importance and think that anyone actually cares that they have some title for a brand that was beaten down by 25 points in an off year special election, when the opposition made it about the same brand they keep peddling nonstop, with no critical thinking.
I also really dislike the idea of “training”. Our segment was really a panel and I knew enough people in the room that did not need to be talked down to like they were dumb on who Asians are. My great friend and co-panelist, Jeff Wang, touched upon this simple fact and asked the question to the audience, “who are actually friends with Asians?” If you knew how to cultivate relationships as regular everyday people, all these racial barriers wouldn’t need to exist and I thought we achieved this in California. But political California Republicans seem to be lacking on regular social skills so I can fathom why this is foreign to them. This “training” should have been billed as a conversation. The word “training” comes off condescending, like I know better than you, emblematic of the political Republicans.
Asian community voices should not be about cynically waking up the dumb, but instead, gently guide people to vote Republican based on our values, something I have done in my organization, Asian Industry B2B, with business owners and those who have a freedom loving entrepreneurial bent. It should also not be about uninspired voter registration efforts when the greater brand is dying. Amplify a bad brand, and you’re actually doubling or tripling your work.
What the GOP has now attracted in the Asian community is those who are living in the past, or those who are interested in climbing some political structure or hierarchy. No wonder the Democrats have made so many inroads in the younger generation because they involve people and were previously low on condescension, though now, that is changing as they become more comfortable, lazy and hell bent on growing their power. Yet the GOP cannot take advantage of the opportunities of Democrats failing, because they themselves are doing similar things, unable to strike a real contrast.
But what gives me hope is that so many are registering out of Republican into Independent. Because in California, the NPPs are truly the “replacement” Republican party. Free thinkers who do not want to be associated with the party, which really is the “fringe” party playing politics instead of finding solutions. If you are intellectually honest, you cannot be a Republican or a Democrat, at this point. What finally made me register out of Republican was watching the good honest Republican grassroots donors donating $50 here, or a $100 there, sometimes, their own meager life savings, and then watching that same money spent ridiculously on salaries for consultants who actually were poor fiduciaries to the campaign and cause. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen this over the last few election cycles.
Right after our Asian Community Voices segment, the Vice Chair Peter Kuo, my co-panelist, posted his typical uninspired rantings on Twitter calling this training “historic”. It is this type of desperate hyperbole that turns off your average person. First of all, this is 20 years too late. The Democrats have made this outreach way back, and just now we are doing this? Second, do we even need to pander? I think issues like law and order, school choice, wildfires, affordable housing, etc., all affect all races equally. Using words like “historic” just made me cringe like I have never before. I reject this grandiose mentality – can we just be real?
Peter also had the nerve to make a quip that I should return to the party and not “sit on the fence”. That is laughable, if you look at my record of work in the community and in the media promoting conservative values. But this is par for the course. Meanwhile, Peter is symbolic of an out of touch older generation. My heart actually went out for him as he talked about not having a connection with his daughter. In contrast, I know so many parents, including my own late father, who actually took time to listen. After being around so many Republicans in my activism, I found a common thread: many had broken relationships with children. There was a disconnect because they didn’t bond and connect, and were too rigid and didn’t evolve with the changing world. It doesn’t mean throw out your values, but at least know what’s going on and talk to your kids. And this goes beyond race. This seems to be common in successful Asian families. I can certainly admire Peter’s immigrant story but this is not what we need in 2021, especially with a 2nd generation of Asian Americans who are intermarrying and overwhelmingly Democrat, breaking with their parents and concerned about other issues. I encouraged the party to start embracing things like cannabis or bitcoin, or at least having a conversation about it, to get to this new bloc of voters, who are open to not voting lockstep with Democrats. Stop thinking you know it all, Republicans.
A title doesn’t make you a leader. The current GOP leadership may look outwardly diverse, with a Latina and Asian as chair and vice chair, but after many years of poor results and no change in trends, is actually more indicative of how the CA Republicans seem to only uplift “yes” men and women. Can we practice meritocracy in a party that claims it’s all about it and the free market, and performance? Can we bring up leaders who actually have solid community connections and tangible credentials? Not titles, but true accomplishments.
Another person who attended texted me and told me to turn down my “anger”, focused more on the animation of my voice, while missing the point that she was projecting her own to me and that no one likes to be told what to do or condescended to. Funny that the ultimate response to my words on the panel was overwhelmingly supportive, because in the end, the convention goers and hardcore activists needed someone to match the anger and frustration. Once again, Republicans need to learn some humility and maybe look at results versus “Karening” what others are doing. I certainly wouldn’t have the nerve to tell someone else what to do with their own public presentations. Hey, you do you. But I’ll do me.
Both Peter and Madame Critique need to understand how out of touch they are, in general. The biggest takeaway is not that they are bad people, but that they are focused on being accepted by this dying structure and toxic political brand. I am not here to win a Mr. Congeniality award. I have never cared about that, and could care less about shallow accolades or titles, as I have turned down many opportunities to get involved in the political parties, because the community is my focus. There’s some serious work that needs to be done, in a state I have invested my life in. And the work doesn’t start or end in the political structures or elitist social clubs.
What the GOP has become is a cult of misfits, and has self-attracted myopic types of people, distracted by warped priorities, with a consultant class ripping flesh off the dead carcass of the roadkill. What is left are sycophants who are woefully clueless on how dead the brand is, and are busy brown-nosing other sycophants with titles that mean nothing, because the structure itself is compromised and is not even the 2nd biggest organization in California. The bottom line is the GOP in California isn’t even a viable party. Independents and NPP’s are higher in registration by 4 percent, while the GOP can’t even clear a quarter of registered voters, languishing in third place.
And this is not just limited to the establishment. The grassroots are just as misguided in a dying party. While I earnestly worked hard to get the grassroots engaged on our Facebook group for the recall election and in real life rallies, nonstop talk about electoral fraud became a quick defeatist excuse for those who are low on action, and high on rigidity, and are not even open to understanding the simple fact that our state is culturally liberal. In addition, there are many grifters who live on dead-end candidacies sucking up the money and oxygen from well meaning donors, and fake self-fashioned leaders who end up playing their own political games in the grassroots, the moment they are given a little bit of perceived power. This was so evident in the Recall Newsom campaign and I highlighted this on my Newsweek op-ed.
The fact remains that our once conservative state has had a huge demographic shift thanks to affluenza. Nowhere more evident than the formerly hardcore conservative Orange County, where the older generation is dying off and the newer generation is polar opposite liberal. Bottom line: electoral fraud cannot account for a 25 point loss in California, so it’s time we start cleaning house on the conservative side.
It’s not just about showing up, it’s how you show up. While Asian vice chair Peter Kuo is a nice guy, his flamboyant red suits and violin-playing as his gimmick, is once again a distraction from the real impactful work that needs to be done on a daily basis. It is almost poetic how in the Titanic movie, you have the people in denial playing music, dancing and having fancy dinners as the ship was slowly sinking. When Peter plays the violin, I picture Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet sinking into the ocean. The type of sycophantic hierarchy-worshipping behavior is also what I have seen in the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to infiltrate the San Gabriel Valley, which I have discussed in previous op-eds.
I had to also laugh at affirmative action hire, Latina Chair Jessica Patterson’s attempts to strip the California College Republicans from their charter status because they put out a few memes to make fun of her. I’m sorry but if you want to be a leader, you better learn how to laugh at yourself and maybe look at some harsh truths of why we are not succeeding in growing our movement. Humor does go a long way. Suppressing it is as bad as censorship in China.
Once again, we are post partisan and the GOP is playing catch up 20 years later, and now they’ve once again missed the pulse of the average person. The fastest growing bloc of voters in California are those with “no party preference”, mostly disaffected Republicans and Democrats, who don’t need to be boxed into partisan food fights and who actually want to work towards solutions. I am glad I went to the GOP convention to see exactly where the baseline is, but I see the enormity of the work that needs to be done. I will be fighting for my conservative values and commonsense solutions outside of their dysfunctional structure, but wish them all the best.
