News

  The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, WAMC Newsman Ray Graf and University at Albany Journalism Professor and Investigative Reporter, Rosemary Armao.

Topics include: President Obama in India, Elections in Greece, Blizzard, Reactions to American Sniper, and Medical Treatments Tailored to Patient's DNA.

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses the WAMC Locked Box and New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver temporarily ceding power.

The speaker of the New York state Assembly plans to temporarily cede power to a small group of top lawmakers as he fights federal corruption charges.

Here's NewsChannel 13 Meteorologist Paul Caiano's WAMC Regional Forecast:

Thickening clouds today with light snow moving into the Catskills and Lower Hudson Valley early in the afternoon, then spreading north toward evening.  Highs in the lower 20's.

Snow, heavy at times tonight.  Becoming windy.  The heaviest snow and strongest winds will be in the Mid and lower Hudson Valley and in New England.  Lows in the mid to upper teens.

Snow, heavy at times tomorrow.  Becoming windy.  The heaviest snow and strongest winds will be in the Mid and lower Hudson Valley and in New England.  Highs in the lower to mid 20's.

Estimated Snowfall totals:

D-2":   Northern New York, and Vermont, the Champlain Valley, the Western Mohawk Valley.

2-4":    I-88 at Cobleskill north into the Central Mohawk Valley and Adirondacks

4-8":    Central Catskills, Schoharie Valley, Eastern Mohawk Valley, Upper Hudson Valley and North Central Vermont.

8-12"    Eastern Catskills, Greater Capital District, South Central Vermont.

12-24"+ Mid and Lower Hudson Valley, Southern Vermont and the Berkshires as well as the rest of Central and Southern New England.

WAMC's David Guistina chats with Ken Lovett of the New York Daily News about Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's meeting with Assembly Democrats today where he is widely expected to temporarily cede his power as Assembly Speaker.

NFL:

Jimmy Graham grabbed two touchdown passes, including a 1-yard scoring grab from Matt Ryan on fourth down with 3:10 remaining to lift Team Irvin past Team Carter 32-28 in the Pro Bowl. Matthew Stafford was the offensive game MVP after throwing for 316 yards and two TDs. J.J. Watt came away with defensive MVP honors by intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble.

(Airs 1/25/ 1/26) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with WAMC's Alan Chartock, Albany Times Union Editor Rex Smith, and University at Albany Professor and Investigative Journalist Rosemary Armao. On this week's show they talk about Fox news apologizing for "no go zones", Megyn Kelly and sexism in the media, and much more.

In one of its first actions the new House of Representatives voted to approve a rule that blocks the transfer of funds from the Social Security’s larger retirement and survivors’ trust fund to the disability trust fund. Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders, a critic of the action, notes that such transfers have been done routinely in the past under both Republican and Democratic presidents.  Vermont’s junior Senator is working with The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare to assure the reallocation occurs.  WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley spoke with Max Richtman, the President and CEO of the National Committee, about its concerns over the House rule.

Vermont has passed the only law mandating the labeling of genetically modified — or GMO — foods. This week the state attorney general held a public hearing at the Statehouse on his proposed rule that would lead to the regulations to implement the law. It’s a law that is being challenged by some major food processing companies and supported by right-to-know advocates.
Dr. Vandana Shiva is an internationally renowned environmental activist, scientist and the author of more than a dozen books. During a visit to Vermont, she talked with WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley about her support for the state’s GMO labeling law.

Forecasters say blizzard-like conditions could drop a foot or more of snow across much of the Northeast at the start of the work week.