They're study drugs. Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse--you name it. The plague of prescription pills, with their often dangerous side effects, has been heavily reported by major media outlets but still continue to dominate finals week on college campuses across the country. And Senator Chuck Schumer wants to do something about it (in New York, at least).

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Who said the economy was at the top of our national priorities list? Who cares about Iran? The real problem in this country doesn't lie in our deficit or our debt; it's those damn laser pointers we use with our PowerPoints.
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WebMD describes whooping cough as a "disease that causes very severe coughing that may last for months." It is a respiratory infection that can spread rapidly if untreated. And, in recent weeks, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that cases have been popping up across the country of people coming down with the horrible sickness.More »

Sam Levin

City Councilman Jimmy Van Brammer with Sen. Chuck Schumer, representatives from Kaufman Studios, and other local elected officials.

New York City is oh so very close to being a better city for film and television than Hollywood -- if the federal government would just get out of the damn way!

At least that was the message today on the corner of 36th Street in Astoria, Queens, where Sen. Chuck Schumer, flanked by relevant neighborhood politicians, called on the National Park Service to stop making it difficult for a local film company to build New York City's first-ever outdoor studio.

This project -- which would convert 36th Street between 34th and 35th avenues into a movie studio lot -- apparently could make all the difference in attracting filmmakers and production companies to New York City, instead of Los Angeles, or Toronto, or New Orleans. That means, you guessed it, lots of jobs and economic development, all on one block in Queens.

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Sen. Chuck Schumer

Senator Chuck Schumer this morning called on the House to pass a bill called the "Violence Against Women Act," which he says literally saves women's lives.

A measure to reauthorize the act was approved by the Senate on Thursday with broad bipartisan support, despite some objections from Republicans about a few key provisions. The legislation includes grants to help train cops and legal officers in stopping domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. In addition, it also toughens federal anti-stalking laws so that digital stalking and "new forms of harassment" tied to the internet and social media are more harshly punished.

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Over 7 million students receive some sort of subsidized student loan from the U.S. federal government. That is a ton of debt and it's getting larger every year: eclipsing credit cards and car loans, the figure right now stands at around $870 billion nationally. And, on July 1st, it could double in size.More »

Watch out, drug store cowboys.
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Appealing to his iPhone-addicted constituents, Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on AT&T to do something about the steep uptick in smartphone thefts in the city. You might be thinking: "What can this little ole cell phone provider do to fight crime in Gotham?" Well, our senator thinks the company can do quite a bit -- starting with an invitation. We want in!

A week from today, AT&T will participate in a meeting of the (deep breath, it's a mouthful), Global System for Mobile Communications Association's North America Committee on Security and Fraud. Schumer says the company needs to bring the NYPD to the table to discuss the rapidly rising rate of smart phone thefts in the city. But wait, he's more than just an elected who wants some dialogue -- he's a tech guy, too!

In a letter that he sent out to AT&T yesterday, he also urges the company to consider adopting technology that permanently disables phones after they've been stolen.

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James Paul Oetken was confirmed to the United States District Court yesterday for the Southern District of New York. He was the first ever openly gay man ever appointed to the federal bench.

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Esther Zuckerman

During a question and answer session at Internet Week New York this morning, Senator Chuck Schumer quipped that he was of "the older generation." And even as Schumer looked forward in his keynote speech, which kicked off IWNY at its headquarters in the Metropolitan Pavilion, he made his age hard to forget.

With an AOL backdrop featuring drawings of donuts behind him, Schumer discussed his goal of boosting New York to the forefront of the nation's high tech centers, one day beating Silicon Valley. He announced the creation of a "working group" with the mayor, the governor and New York industry leaders with the aim of making that technology talking point a reality.

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