Casey Seiler

Editorial: Time for New York's prison chief to go A federal judge’s decision paints a picture of New York's corrections Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III untilling or unable to address brutality and corruption in state prisons.

From the Times Union editorial board: A federal judge’s decision presents a damning case against NY’s corrections commissioner; Gov. Hochul should read it and proceed accordingly. www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

Live NYSPHSAA wrestling championship updates: Semifinal round approaches on Day 2 Action on the final day of the tournament starts today at 9:30 a.m. with semifinals. The winners will advance to the championship round, which is set for 6:05 p.m.

Back at MVP Arena for Day 2 of the @nysphsaa.bsky.social boys' wrestling championships. I'll have updates throughout the semifinals this morning and back for the finals tonight.
www.timesunion.com/hssports/art...

THIS.

2011:

With great photos from Jim Franco.

Hegseth needs to get a life.

My son is in Scouts. They're getting ready for the Pinewood derby and looking forward to their winter campout. There are some girls in his group, but there's nothing especially radical going on. My husband is going to teach them about fire safety in a few weeks.

UPDATE: @emiliemunson.bsky.social's reporting on New York's public campaign finance program — including her Slater bombshell — was just honored as a finalist for this year's Toner Prize for Local Political Reporting. newhouse.syracuse.edu/centers/robi...

New: As David Ellison prepares to take control of CNN, legendary CBS News producer Mary Walsh, who is exiting, sent a goodbye note to colleagues.

In the note, Walsh writes, "We’ve been told to aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum. Honestly, I don’t know how to do that."

Liverkeeper

Kitty Kelley was assigned a review of my Judy Blume biography, but did she read it? The best-selling biographer of Sinatra and Jackie O. filled her review of my book with invented quotations, possible hallucinations, and assorted Mad Libs

More of this to come, alas. Or, indeed, all over the place right now.

markoppenheimer.substack.com/p/kitty-kell...

But you can’t argue with success bsky.app/profile/just...

Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration released a new memo that claims forcing the state’s climate mandates would raise costs by up to $4,000 for New York households.

More here: tinyurl.com/mrpzz6jm

Prison watchdog group urges governor to restore funding The Correctional Association of New York is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to restore funding that the watchdog organization received last year to expand its work inside correctional facilities.

In light of all the murders by guards and whatnot, the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit that’s authorized to monitor prison conditions and report its findings publicly, is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to restore that the watchdog organization received last year to expand its work.

Editorial: A watchdog in disarray Many people are responsible for the ongoing chaos at Albany's Community Police Review Board, which for months has been beset by resignations and controversies.

From the Times Union editorial board: The chaos that has engulfed Albany’s Community Police Review Board is the work of many hands, mostly found at the ends of the arms of city elected officials. www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

There are two types of Trump II appointees. Guys you haven't heard of because they're 23 year old groypers, and guys you vaguely remember from some scandal revealing poor moral character.

Election officials say Senate candidate defrauded state of over $200,000 Election officials say a New York senate candidate Caleb Slater defrauded the state of over $200,000 during his 2024 campaign in the Syracuse area.

Republican state Senate candidate Caleb Slater rooked the state out of more than $200K in a 2024 political fundraising scheme, a probe by the NY Public Campaign Finance Board has concluded. New reporting from @emiliemunson.bsky.social, who exposed the scam last summer.

@ipostnews.bsky.social digging into this awful story with skill.

I scored this extremely disreputable-looking mass-market paperback of “Legs” at a very good used bookstore in Sarasota last weekend.

“Warners is just going to die faster.”
—cheerful comment from a media exec

Election officials say Senate candidate defrauded state of over $200,000 Election officials say a New York senate candidate Caleb Slater defrauded the state of over $200,000 during his 2024 campaign in the Syracuse area.

Republican state Senate candidate Caleb Slater rooked the state out of more than $200K in a 2024 political fundraising scheme, a probe by the NY Public Campaign Finance Board has concluded. New reporting from @emiliemunson.bsky.social, who exposed the scam last summer.

Court: No reason to overturn conviction in boy's freezing death Appellate Division rules jury should not have seen some photographs of Troy child’s injuries, but “overwhelming” evidence supports Kevin Cox’s murder conviction.

Chris Bragg wrote about this case a few years ago when he was doing a deep dive on children who fell victim to violence as they were being processed through the maw of family court. It was one of the most heart-wrenching cases he examined.

DM: Roll for charisma to determine the outcome of the negotiations.

MAMDANI: *rolls natural 20*

DM: That’s a D6 how did you

MAMDANI:

In this week's edition of The Short List, senior writer Steve Barnes highlights three upcoming events from the Feb. 26-March 4 calendar that he's excited about. From a rock 'n roll anniversary show to a 300-year-old cooking lesson to a classic film screening, it's all in there.

The next time honest police show up in an actual emergency situation seeking entry, this kind of thing could endanger lives.

"Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee... as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability. As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people. The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not. As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that. Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade. Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government's handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein's crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide. You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions. You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner's deposition. This institutio…

as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf. I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better. In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others - with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder. If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he's far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It's a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll. My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers. As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concrete…

Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House. That is a tragedy. It's a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight. A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008. A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files. It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies. It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes. It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the "wildest party" on Epstein's island. It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated. It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers. It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need. It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act. But that's not happening.

Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers. If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein's trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files. If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done. What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up? My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein's crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking."

Here is Hillary Clinton’s opening statement to House Oversight on Epstein.

Clinton says she does not recall ever encountering Epstein and says she knew nothing about his crimes.

She also says that Trump should testify under oath and criticizes the committee for not holding any public hearings.

Why Are So Many Teen Girls Still Tearing Their A.C.L.s?

My friend @craigwelch.bsky.social wrote this fascinating, lucid, sometimes enraging, sometimes heartbreaking but ultimately half-hopeful story about the spike in ACL injuries among teen girls — including his daughter. Gift link! www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/m...

I wish there was a way to block people who think access to journalism is important enough to complain about but not important enough to pay for. Oh, wait — there is!

Churchill: Why is Dan McCoy worried? The March 22 campaign event is designed to send a message: Don’t bother.

Chris Churchill: Why is Albany County Executive Dan McCoy announcing his decision to run for a fifth term almost a year ahead of his past announcements? www.timesunion.com/churchill/ar...