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sabato 25 novembre 2023
Ugandan woman advocates for her rights after ‘life of pain’ — Global Issues
In the first of a two-part series, Angela Muhindo spoke to UN Women ahead of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, marked annually from 25 November to 10 December, Human Rights Day.
“My life has been full of pain,” she said, surveying the green landscape where she spent her childhood in Kasese, in Uganda’s western region. “In my community, women have less power, but if you are disabled, you are even more vulnerable to exploitation.”
Ms. Muhindo, who has had a physical disability since childhood, said she has faced violence and exclusion throughout her life. Such treatment is the norm for many women and girls with disabilities, she said, noting that they also face challenges accessing education, employment and health care. Globally, women and girls with disabilities are at least two to three times more likely than other women to experience violence.
People think that “a person with disabilities cannot get married and have children” and that “you are going to stay in your father’s home [forever] because no one is going to take care of you”, Ms. Muhindo said. A brighter future: Angela Inheritance dispute
When her parents died, a dispute over the inheritance of their property set into motion events that changed how she lived as a person with a disability.
She said she was threatened and intimidated by her male relatives over the inheritance and felt powerless to advocate for herself.
Land disputes can be a catalyst for gender-based violence in Uganda, where it’s not uncommon for widows and children to be evicted from their home after the death of a husband or father, or in the event of a separation.
The effect of this is two-fold – violence may be used to evict women from property by force, and without a place to live or land to farm, they become more vulnerable to violence in the future.
Seeking to better understand her rights, she attended a Spotlight Initiative-supported training course implemented by the National Union of Women with Disabilities Uganda through UN Women.
At the course, she learned about inheritance rights and realized that she was the sole legal heir to the property, and she gained the confidence to stand up to her relatives.
“I realized that as a person living with disabilities, I can do whatever other people can do,” she said. “I can speak up just like any other person. I can buy land, have a job.” WFP/Marco Frattini
Disputes over land ownership can lead to violence. Advocating for others
It took over a year, but Ms. Muhindo successfully put the land in her name. She now has a safe place to live, food to eat and earns a living from the crops she grows. She also advocates for other women in her community, including those with disabilities, and speaks about gender-based violence on a local radio station.
“I do not want other women to go through what I went through,” she said.
The Spotlight Initiative aims to eliminate violence against women and girls through comprehensive programming that addresses all the key drivers.
This includes improving laws and policies that prevent violence, strengthening institutions, promoting gender-equitable social norms and strengthening women’s movements and essential services to survivors of violence. United Nations
SDG 5 SDG 5: EMPOWER ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS End all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls
Eliminate such harmful practices as early and forced marriages and female genital mutilation
Adapt and strengthen legislation to promote gender equality and empower women and girls
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in political, economic and public life
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care Globally, almost half of all married women currently lack decision-making power over their sexual and reproductive health and rights. ‘I felt empowered’
Spotlight and UN Women work with local organizations to help to change discriminatory attitudes and support those at risk of, or experiencing, violence. Since 2019, almost 300,000 people in Uganda have attended community programming on women’s rights with Spotlight Initiative support.
UN Women has also supported advocacy to change legislation that advantaged male children in inheritance and land issues. In March 2021, Uganda’s Parliament passed the Succession (Amendment) Bill, formally recognizing the equal rights of women to own land.
“I used to feel uncomfortable speaking up, but after the training I felt empowered,” Ms. Muhindo says. The global Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls is a United Nations joint effort with the European Union and other partners.
In fitness Uganda, it is implemented by the Government of Uganda, the European Union, UN Women, UN entities for reproductive health (UNFPA), children (UNICEF), development (UNDP) and refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with UN agencies for human rights (OHCHR) and migration (IOM), the UN Pulse Lab in Uganda and civil society.
Since 2019, the Spotlight Initiative has supported almost one million women and girls in Uganda to access essential services.
German photo festival cancelled after curator accused of antisemitism – ARTnews.com
The Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie, a Germany-based exhibition of contemporary photography has been cancelled after one of the curators posted content to social media that the German cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, where the event was set to take place, described it as “antisemitic”. The event was set to open March 2024. As first reported in the Art Newspaper, the Bangladeshi photojournalist and event co-curator Shahidul Alam posted “content that can be read as antisemitic and antisemitic content,” according to officials, including posts compared Israel’s assault on Northern Gaza to the Holocaust and accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people. Related Articles Authorities in the three German cities said in a statement that their “relationship of trust” with Alam “has been severely damaged” after his posts. According to the Art Newspaper, organizers from the host cities approached Alam, as well as his two co-curators, Tanzim Wahab and Munem Wasif, to discuss the social media posts “in order to sensitize the curators to Germany’s special historical responsibility for the state of Israel and its right to exist.” Alam continued to share his views on social media. “[He] sees himself as an activist and demands freedom of expression,” the organizers said. For their part, Wahab and Wasif refused to work on the biennial if Alam was barred from participating. “The consequences of the cancellation for the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie and the organizing team are far-reaching,” the organizers said. “They jeopardize the future of the entire event. In the time ahead, we will do everything in our power to maintain the Biennale as one of the largest and most important photography events in Germany and Europe in the long term.” The future of the biennale is further threatened by the announcement earlier this year that the German chemicals company BASF would be pulling its sponsorship of the fair. According to a press release, the cities and the exhibition’s board members are “holding talks with the invited artists, curators and advisors in an endeavor to find target-oriented solutions.” Earlier this month the entire selection committee of Documenta resigned, starting with Israeli artist and philosopher Bracha L. Ettinger and Indian poet and critic Ranjit Hoskote. The remaining four members of the selection committee, Simon Njami, Gong Yan, Kathrin Rhomberg, and María Inés Rodríguez, followed suit last week, saying in a statement that “in the current circumstances we do not believe gaming that there is a space in Germany for an open exchange of ideas and the development of complex and nuanced artistic approaches that documenta artists and curators deserve.”
All of the best Black Friday tech deals worth buying — save up to 70% on Apple, Playstation and more
Sure, the main event is over — but Black Friday tech are still deals available for your perusal. You know what that means, then: you need to start shopping! Cyber Monday deals also start this morning, too. We’ve seen multiple all-time lows on pricing across the board — from TVs to smart home tech to gifty items like AirPods. And, not to worry you, but it’s kinda urgent: More than 80% of consumers say they plan to shop this Black Friday weekend, so make sure you get on it early, before all the stellar stuff sells out. The scale we’re dealing with here: $3,000 off a TV, or a laptop for just $150. Yes, this is serious.
Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy are ready for you right now — no need to wait to take advantage of these over-the-top savings. We’ve taken the time to go through and curate a list of the best deals anywhere on the web.
The best Black Friday 2023 TV deals INSIGNIA This 24-inch TV is almost 50% off, with a price tag of just $65. That’s unbelievable on its own. But it gets better. In addition to being the perfect size for a kitchen or small bedroom, this model has Alexa Voice Remote that makes it easy to browse shows while you’re flipping pancakes or folding laundry. And at this price, it makes a great gift. $65 at Amazon Vizio We talk a lot about 4K resolution, but what that really means is that, thanks to more than 8 million pixels, images are recreated with stunning clarity and color. A fully backlit array, covering the entire panel, guarantees crisp contrast between light and dark areas, as well. Down from $319 to just $248, this 50-inch model won’t disappoint. $248 at Walmart Amazon With Amazon Alexa and the Fire TV interface built into the design of this TV, now 40% off, you get incredible performance and features at an amazing price (on par with the lowest we’ve seen for this model). Enjoy 4K resolution across 50 inches of screen — and a savings of $160 in your pocket. $290 at Amazon Amazon Got a gamer in the house? This Sony Bravia offers an absolutely beautiful display compatible with the most cutting-edge technologies—and also comes with exclusive features that enhance PlayStation 5 gaming. It’s greatly discounted right now. $898 at Amazon SAMSUNG At $3,000 off, this epic 98-inch set can be yours at the biggest discount ever. Sure, it’s still a splurge — but if you’ve got the space and the vision, it’s the last piece in the puzzle of a true home theater. With HDR+ resolution, it turns every family movie night into a magical, memorable evening. $4,998 at Amazon The best Black Friday 2023 earbud and headphone deals Apple AirPods are easily the most popular earbuds on the market. If you’ve never tried them, now is the moment. Normally $129, this set is down to just 90 bucks for Black Friday. Find out why more than half a million (!) reviewers rave about these earbuds. Spoiler: incredible fitness sound quality and a whopping 24 hours of battery life, plus impressive, easy-to-use features galore. $80 at Amazon ZIUTY The Ziuty Earbuds are a huge hit among Yahoo readers. The 50 hour battery life is a big part of the appeal, but being able to see remaining charge time at a glance also helps. Plus, they’re over 40% off for Black Friday if you have Amazon Prime — and even if you don’t, they’re down to $22 from $30. $17 at Amazon Tozo More than 177,000 shoppers give these buds — known for their comfort and stability, as well as their sound quality — five stars. Already discounted by a large margin for Black Friday, they’re even less for folks with Amazon Prime. All in, these Tozos are nearly 50% off. Available in six colors, so you can gift them within the same family, without confusion. $21 at Amazon Apple If the AirPods don’t appeal to you, the Pros might. These earbuds come with active noise cancellation, up to 30 hours of battery life, touch controls, and many more features, but the standout reason to try these? They’re comfortable and perfect for all-day wear. Oh yeah, and they’re at one of the lowest prices they’ve ever been. $190 at Amazon Bose These comfortable cans block out the world — and with up to 22 hours of battery life, you can take even the longest flights in blissful silence. There are also multiple EQs to choose from to customize your audio experience, and you should also note that these are on-par for the lowest price ever. $199 at Amazon The best Black Friday 2023 laptop and tablet deals Apple The MacBook Air needs no introduction. With 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, Retina display, and the loads of other features it brings to bear, this laptop has more than earned its reputation. This is also one of the lowest price it has ever been on sale for, so don’t miss this chance to snatch up a slightly older — but still incredible — laptop!
“Great commuter laptop that’s perfect for students,” one fan said. “I bought the 2020 M1 MacBook this year to work on my assignments on the fly. This thing is great — it’s lightweight, small and, most importantly, has amazing battery life. To be more specific, I’ve gotten about 20 hours of light use on one charge alone.” $750 at Amazon Asus This ultra-thin, ultra-light laptop is ideal for someone who needs easy access to the web on the go. What it lacks in power it more than makes up for with convenience, but it still comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage, as well as a one-year subscription to Office 365 — a $100 value on its own. While this isn’t quite the lowest price on record, it’s close to it. Where else will you find a laptop for $150? $150 at Amazon SGIN The always-popular Sgin is a budget-focused brand that brings a lot of savings to the table, especially when you consider that this guy is nearly 80% off. That’s a fantastic deal worth having another can of cranberry sauce over, especially when you consider that it also comes with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. It might not be the best choice for gaming, but it’s great for everyday use and low-level productivity. $260 at Walmart MSI This powerhouse of a laptop is a video and image editor’s dream. With an RTX 4060, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, it can handle high-end tasks with ease. To put it in perspective, this is often heralded as a Macbook Pro competitor. It normally sells for $1,600, but you can pick one up for just $1,222 right now. $1,314 at Amazon The best Black Friday 2023 smart home deals Ring With package and gift season in full swing, you want to keep an eye on what’s happening on your porch. The Ring Video Doorbell is an easy, wire-free way to know who comes to your door. Right now, it’s 45% off and at one of the lowest prices it has ever been. It comes with 1080p video, has night vision, tons of smart features, and can even be displayed directly on your Alexa. $55 at Amazon Amazon Have an old TV that you just wish had a few more features? The Fire TV Stick Lite is an easy way to make that happen. Just connect it to an HDMI port and you get full access to the Amazon Fire interface, including voice control through the Alexa Voice Remote. And did we mention this is the lowest price ever? $16 at Amazon Blink The best place to start with home security is a camera, and there’s no more affordable or easier way to begin than with a Blink Mini. This bite-sized security camera plugs into the wall and has night vision, motion detection, two way audio, and so much more. It’s over 40% off and at nearly the lowest price we’ve ever seen it. $20 at Amazon Kasa Smart These widely compatible smart plugs work with almost all smart home services outside of HomeKit (and even that can be configured through IFTTT), but the true selling point is the fact that you get four for just $23. That’s less than $6 per plug — an absolute steal with how useful these little gadgets actually are. $23 at Amazon Amazon The Google Nest Thermostat is one of the finest examples of smart home tech out there, helping you keep your home comfortable without sending utility bills through the roof. While we’ve seen it dip lower than this before, it’s not likely to do so this year. If you’ve been waiting on a chance to snatch one of these up for yourself, go for it. $90 at Amazon The best Black Friday 2023 gaming deals PlayStation The PlayStation 5 doesn’t see many discounts, but when it does, they’re worth paying attention to! This Black Friday sale nets you a brand-new PlayStation 5 along with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. It’s all also packaged into the brand-new slim version of the console. It takes up less space, has better cooling performance, and makes for the ultimate gift for the gamer in your life. $499 at Amazon JBL For a proper gaming experience, you need great audio — but you don’t have to spend a fortune to get it. At 50%, these JBL Quantums are a great choice that work with all platforms. Whether you’re a PlayStation or a PC gamer (or somewhere in between), these cans will help you stay competitive. $20 at Amazon Logitech G The Logitech G305 is one of the most popular gaming mice out there, and for good reason. Not only is it incredible affordable even at full retail price, but it’s also wireless, comfortable, and responsive. $35 at Amazon Meta Quest If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at virtual reality, this Black Friday deal on the Meta Quest 2 is your chance. It’s knocked down $50 from its usual price and comes with 128GB of storage — more than enough to download a whole slew of different games to try your hand at. While away the time in virtual worlds, experience movies like never before, and so much more. Make sure to use the code META50 to get a $50 Amazon gift card with your purchase! $249 at Amazon Best Buy Don’t be deceived by the price of this bundle! You get the Nintendo Switch, plus Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and three months of Nintendo Switch online, all for the price of the Switch itself — that’s an added $72 in value. $300 at Best Buy The best Black Friday 2023 tech deals LOVELEDI This is a pair — that’s right, TWO — of 15,000mAh power banks for just $18. That brings them down to just $9 each. These things are packed with smart features, like a built-in switch that automatically shuts off in the event of over voltage, overcharging, etc. Almost 11,000 fans have given these power banks a perfect rating for a reason. Save $22 with Prime and coupon $18 at Amazon SUUSON The Suuson is a Yahoo fan favorite. It has a strong, durable build, but the main selling point is that it can attack to the dashboard, the air vent, or the windshield — you have a wide variety of options in how to mount your phone, which makes this perfect for just about any vehicle. It’s down to $14 from $17 for Black Friday. $14 at Amazon Mongoora This car charger is just $12 — an impressive 30% off — and can charge two different devices at once. The output is up to four times as fast as the competition, which means this little charger can support faster charging technology. It works with both Android and iOS devices, too! $12 at Amazon Anker If you’re a fan of MagSafe charging (and honestly, who isn’t?) then this little gadget is for you. The Anker Magnetic Portable Charger gives you an extra 5,000mAh of battery life at over 30% off. It works with the latest iPhone, too, and all you have to do is set your phone atop the charger — no cables required. $40 at Amazon B&H If you find yourself running out of storage, a portable SSD might be the solution to all your woes. This can act as a way to backup your most important photos and documents, or you can use it to just give you storage a bit of a boost. It’s almost 80% off at B&H during their Black Friday sale — one of the best tech deals we’ve seen. $100 at B&H Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you. How we find and select deals: Our deal-hunting team of award-winning writers and editors are seasoned experts in their fields (tech, style, home, beauty), many with 20+ years of experience. This team works diligently to bring you the best sales, deals and price drops. Our unbiased experts maintain strict editorial integrity: We only feature items we believe will save you money. Here’s more on how we select deals for our Black Friday and Cyber Monday coverage.
Why Isn’t Landfill Mining More Popular?
Americans tossed 292.4 million tons of trash into landfills in 2018, or about 5 pounds of garbage per person per day. Once in a landfill, much of that trash undergoes some wild chemistry , often polluting the surrounding area. But amid all the stinking refuse is potentially valuable material, and some environmentalists and engineers see landfills as a resource to be tapped. This Summer’s Hottest Umbrella Landfill mining is the process of uncapping a landfill and sifting through its cells of garbage to reclaim any sort of e-waste, heavy metals, or other recoverable materials that can then be returned to manufacturers and recycled into new products. It sounds promising, but landfill mining has yet to take off widely . I asked some environmental scientists to explain why. Travis P. Wagner Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Southern Maine and co-author of “Landfill mining: Case study of a successful metals recovery project,” published in the journal Waste Management There are millions of tons (and billions of dollars in value) of recoverable health metals, plastics, and other materials currently stored in landfills. The simple reason mining does not occur is economics: for multiple reasons, the costs to mine a solid waste landfill are currently greater than the value of recoverable materials.
The cost of any mining operation includes extraction of the target ore, processing to concentrate the ore (beneficiation), managing the associated wastes, transporting and selling the material, and finally closing and reclaiming the mine. These costs must be lower than the revenues made from selling the mined material. While the mining of solid waste landfills has many environmental benefits, it is subject to the same economic conditions as traditional mining. At a typical solid waste landfill, there is inadequate knowledge as to what, where, and how much target material is there. This makes assessing the cost to mine and the potential revenues very difficult. Landfills also present an additional cost: not knowing how much and what types of hazardous materials are present and where they are located. Their presence raises serious worker safety and environmental risks.
Processing landfilled waste to concentrate the material is perhaps the highest cost. For example, with metals, the typical concentration of metal in solid waste is about 5 percent. The other 95 percent of trash has to be temporarily removed and subsequently moved back into the landfill. And, many metals are not isolated but are part of a multi-material article. The cost to remove all the non-metal components can exceed the market value of the steel. Finally, because of the significant environmental risks in mining a landfill, a landfill mining operation would be permitted only if there were sufficient contingency funds (or insurance). Sufficient funds would be required prior to the start of mining that would ensure the mining operator could cover the costs to properly close and reclaim the mined landfill and to remediate any environmental impacts. Lúcia Helena da Silva Maciel Xavier Senior Researcher at the Center for Mineral Technology in Rio De Janiero and co-author of “A comprehensive review of urban mining and the value recovery from e-waste materials,” published in Resources, Conservation and Recycling First, it is important to differentiate between urban mining and landfill mining. Urban mining is defined as the set of processes for the material obtained from secondary resources. Mostly from waste or post-consumer products. Mining from landfills is one of the possibilities of urban mining.
Mining from landfills presents some limiting aspects, such as the content of organic material that can ‘contaminate’ recoverable materials and also the diversity of materials that turns it difficult to identify and classify materials. Analogously, to the mining of low-grade deposits, which are economically unfeasible.
Finally, urban mining tends to gain space in new business models by the segregation of secondary resources at the source, such as from the selective collection and the carrying out of specific campaigns (e.g. e-waste, metal fractions). However, the main motivation for urban mining lies in the need to obtain materials classified as critical and available with frequency and quantity in secondary resources. For example, we have platinum in automotive catalysts, gold in printed circuit boards, and copper in wires and cables. Jeff Murray Vice President and Landfill Practice Leader at HDR I recently helped facilitate a public open house for a proposed expansion of a lined landfill requiring mining of a closed but unlined legacy landfill. While most attendees understood the need and appreciated the care the community took to remove a liability and provide disposal capacity, there were a couple of residents who were insistent that if a portion of the landfill could be mined, why not mine the entire site and move the landfill to another part of the county? Their motivation was not recovery of recyclable materials or remediation, but righting a perceived wrong when the property was established as a landfill site over 40 years ago.
This story showcases one of the issues facing landfill mining in the United States. In Europe, where they view landfills more negatively, they’ve been mining old landfill sites for decades. So why isn’t it more popular here? In simple terms, we have a separate set of motivations. Energy costs are still comparatively low because of the availability of fossil fuels and natural gas, so we don’t value the energy potential of waste buried in landfills. There is not a strong appetite for energy from waste in many locations that could benefit from the energy value of buried plastics and undegraded organic material. Landfill mining is expensive relative to the cost of developing a new landfill site or just transporting waste to a regional disposal facility in someone else’s backyard. The costs for excavation, physical screening, and managing odors and liquids can be significant barriers.
The recycling market demand for steel, aluminum, or precious metals is not high enough in most instances to offset the costs of mining and cleaning. Americans have been separating valuable plastic and metals from the waste stream poorly for decades, despite long-running education efforts. Our waste could contain valuable material, but once in the ground, that value proposition is significantly lower. Environmental, social and governance pressure is ramping up but isn’t as mature as in other parts of the world. ESG will certainly affect our transition to a more circular and sustainable economy, but it likely won’t initiate widespread landfill mining and reclamation activities. Greenhouse gas emission reduction is not a strong motivator as well. Much of the degradation of organic materials from old landfills occurred in the first decade or two following disposal. Unless the mined waste is less than 10 years old (then why did you bury it in the first place?), the net greenhouse gas reductions after considering the equipment and fuel required may be de minimis.
The popularity of landfill mining may increase over time, with some shifts in the factors above. In the meantime, we’ll continue to monitor Europe and Asia as they explore cost-effective methods. My 25 years of experience in landfills as a solid waste consulting engineer indicates that landfill mining is an intriguing proposition. But will it become a sizable portion of my practice in the next 15 years? Let’s just say I am not pinching my nose or holding my breath.
Susan Sarandon’s Son Asks Social Media to Stop Showing His Mom’s Breasts
Susan Sarandon ‘s son thanked his mom’s supporters after her controversial Israel-Palestine speech, but one thing is really bugging him … the darn video being shown of her breasts on social media. Miles Robbins posted a message on X, addressing his issue with Susan’s bosom overshadowing the message she’s trying to send about the Israel-Hamas war. As you know, Hamas rules over the travel Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Robbins said, “Ok I’m really grateful to see people on Twitter defending my mom amidst a new era of McCarthyist blacklisting but can you PLEASE stop using the clip of her getting her hair done with her honkers out.” In the 12-second clip, the actress is sitting in a chair wearing a bra that barely covers her boobs with one supporter on X remarking, “susan sarandon uncompromised and absolutely thriving.” Another defender said, “From the River to the Ds, you will never censor Susan Sarandon’s shakers.” Recently, Susan got herself into hot water after she spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in NYC, saying, “There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.” Her agents at United Talent Agency were so angered by her statements they dropped her . On October 7, Hamas launched a vicious attack on the Jewish state, indiscriminately killing hundreds of men, women, children and even babies. Israel promptly declared war on Hamas and retaliated with a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip as well as a ground invasion, killing thousands of Palestinians in the process. There appears to be no end in sight to the conflict as the death toll rises on both sides.
Andrew Cuomo lawsuit: Accuser who previously claimed former New York governor groped her filing suit
CNN — A former aide to ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who previously claimed Cuomo groped her breast, is filing a lawsuit against him alleging sexual harassment and abuse, according to a summons filed this week. Brittany Commisso, one of 11 women whose claims of harassment were substantiated by an August 2021 report by the state’s attorney general, is filing suit against the former governor under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, alleging “pervasive abusive conduct” and “continuous sexual harassment” during her employment as his assistant, according to the summons filed Wednesday in Albany County Supreme Court. Six months after it was signed in May 2022, the state law opened a one-year window for adult survivors of sexual offenses to sue their alleged abusers, even if the statute of limitations on their claims had expired. Cuomo is one of several high-profile figures who was sued in the winnowing hours before the law was set to expire Thursday at midnight. The former governor has repeatedly and vehemently denied Commisso’s claims. His attorney Friday calling the lawsuit an attempted “cash grab.” “Ms. Commisso’s claims are provably false, which is why the Albany District Attorney dismissed the case two years ago after a thorough investigation,” Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin told CNN in a statement. “Ms. Commisso’s transparent attempt at a cash grab will fail. We look forward to seeing her in court.” The summons lists Cuomo, the State of New York, and another former Cuomo aide as defendants and is seeking damages for the “substantial personal injuries and economic loss plaintiff suffered.” Commisso was one of the women who spoke to investigators hired by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by the former governor. The report triggered the eventual resignation of Cuomo, which he announced on August 10, 2021, a week after it was released. According to the state’s report, Commisso told investigators Cuomo grabbed her buttocks during hugs and a photo. The report also detailed an allegation, previously reported by the Albany Times Union, of an incident at the governor’s mansion in which Cuomo allegedly reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast. In January 2022, an Albany City Court dismissed the forcible touching complaint after the district attorney declined to pursue it. After the county sheriff’s office filed the misdemeanor charge against Cuomo, Albany District Attorney David Soares filed a letter saying the charge was “impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal court” despite finding Commisso “credible.” The summons filed by Commisso this week says the former governor’s behavior allegedly included “unwelcome sexual advances” and “sexual comments” about her appearance and personal life. It also accuses Cuomo of assigning “humiliating and demeaning tasks, hugs, kisses,” as well as the incidents of sexual misconduct detailed in the 2021 state report. It also claims she was subject to “objectively unreasonable and abusive” behavior, which she believed she was “required to suffer to maintain her employment.” The summons alleges Commisso suffered retaliation after rejecting Cuomo’s attempt to engage in sexual acts, and for later reporting the behavior. Commisso claims she was demoted by the then lieutenant fitness governor, now governor, Kathy Hochul, removed from the front office, and moved to the “demeaning task of answering telephones” for Hochul’s office, according to the document. Gov. Hochul is not a named defendant in the suit but is referenced in the summons description. A spokesperson for Hochul, Avi Small, told CNN in a statement: “The claim regarding then-Lieutenant Governor Hochul is clearly a mistake, as she had no control over Executive Chamber personnel decisions. We can only assume this allegation is an error in the preparation of the summons.” The State of New York is listed as a defendant, and CNN has reached out for comment. Meanwhile, Politico – citing eight people who have talked to him or his inner circle – reported this week that Cuomo was gauging how viable a potential mayoral bid would be against the backdrop of a pending FBI investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams, which is focused on campaign money, favors and possible foreign influence. News of Cuomo’s reignited political aspirations surfaced before Adams was accused of a 1993 sexual assault in a court document filed under the same Adult Survivors Act. Adams has repeatedly and firmly denied the accusation and says he doesn’t recall ever meeting the woman. In a statement to CNN, Commisso said: “It disgusts me that Andrew Cuomo is even considering running for public office in the wake of Mayor [Eric] Adams’ alleged sexual harassment when he himself will not accept responsibility or even acknowledge his sexual harassment of me, aside from numerous other victims, while the governor of our state.” CNN’s Michelle Watson contributed to this report.
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