Morning Edition on WAMC

The legislative session that’s concluding in Albany seems to be more about what’s not getting done that what is getting accomplished. As Karen DeWitt reports, agreements were not reached on several key issues.   

Governor Andrew Cuomo at this time last year was intensely lobbying lawmakers to pass a bill to legalize gay marriage. This year, he has taken a more hands off approach to the end of the current legislative session.

The governor introduced a bill on how to make teacher evaluations public, but said he would not push the legislature to approve it.

Vermont is getting a $5 million federal grant for a new automated system that will allow it to better gather and report on information from every school in the state.  WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley reports…

Officials say with the new system the state will be able determine, for example, how many students have taken geometry by ninth grade or attended full-day kindergarten.

Listen to Paul Caiano's WAMC Regional forecast.  Paul Caianois a meteorologist at WNYT Newschannel 13. He graduated from SUNY Albany in May of 1993 with a B.S. in the field of Atmospheric Science/Meteorology.

The state’s major environmental groups have formed a new coalition, urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to reject a plan to begin hydrofracking in select counties in New York’s Southern Tier.  Capitol Correspondent Karen DeWitt reports… 

Peter Hudiburg of the town of Plymouth, in Chenango County joined major environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Hudson Riverkeeper in a rally to persuade Governor Andrew Cuomo to drop a plan to begin limited hydrofracking in the state’s Southern Tier.

“Governor Cuomo, the science is in,” he shouted. “This is a very dangerous technology.”

Bombs over the Bronx…

With temperatures well into the 90’s yesterday, baseballs were flying out of Yankee Stadium.  The Bronx Bombers blasted four home runs, but the Braves slammed five – including two by Jason Heyward, as they doubled up the Yankees 10-5.    

In Queens, Dillon Gee extended the Mets' shutout streak to 29 innings before Baltimore broke through late, but the Mets were able to survive the rally attempt, dropping the Orioles 4-3 to complete a three-game series sweep.

Dissident and artist Ai Weiwei said Thursday that he has been forbidden from leaving China, despite the lifting of strict bail conditions imposed after he was released from detention last year. This comes a day after a hearing on his tax evasion case, which he was prevented from attending.

Some 12,000 Americans die every year in traffic crashes caused by speeding, according to government statistics. Officials have tried many strategies to get drivers to slow down. And now they might have found something that works, after researchers placed a GPS device inside cars that gives drivers an incentive not to speed.

Traffic safety experts have tried using big flashing signs to tell you how fast you're going. (The psychological subtext: Drivers are rational, and they will slow down if they know how fast they're going.)

As Americans watched their nest eggs sink during the Great Recession, many wondered whether they would ever be able to retire. Come this fall, millions of workers who invest in 401(k)s will learn their plans are probably worth even less than they thought.

"Fees take away from the accumulated savings of your lifetime," says Mary Beth Franklin, a contributing editor at InvestmentNews.