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January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

NY Lawmakers Urged to Proceed with “Extreme Caution” on Gas Drilling

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Monday, April 11, 2011   

NEW YORK - Hundreds of New Yorkers head to Albany today to warn Governor Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers to proceed with extreme caution on natural gas drilling in New York. Dozens of environmental and health groups are asking them to put the longer-term issues of air and water quality ahead of any short-term gas profits.

Roger Downs, conservation program manager with the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, says states such as Pennsylvania are now dealing with toxic water problems because they did not have safeguards in place to regulate the hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" process used in natural gas wells to set free gas trapped in rock formations deep underground.

"From start to finish, fracking is an industrial process that threatens water, and in some cases radioactive waste water is produced. Fracking has poisoned water in other parts of the country, and we can't allow that to happen in New York."

Downs says there are also air quality concerns.

"We've seen in places like Wyoming, where the oil and gas industry has been booming, children on certain days cannot go out and play; they get nosebleeds from the air quality. It's serious stuff, and we don't want that in New York."

Rob Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York, says people who care about this issue don't have to trek to Albany in person. They can become "Water Rangers" and send their own messages about protecting New York's water.

"Deputize themselves to be a 'Water Ranger' and be part of the solution, helping state lawmakers understand that they need to make sure that the proper protections are in place to guarantee the public's health and safety, before any decision is made on letting fracking go forward."

New York's moratorium on horizontal fracking is set to expire on July 1. The industry says the process is safe and calls gas a natural energy resource for the nation. But environmentalists are urging the governor and lawmakers not to rush the Department of Environmental Conservation's review of the fracking process in New York.

An environmental coalition is running statewide ads this month inviting New Yorkers to become "Water Rangers."



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