Sam Levin

Adam Clayton Powell IV and Charlie Rangel on 125th Street today.

That's how Adam Clayton Powell IV brushed aside questions today about why he is endorsing longtime Congressman Charlie Rangel for re-election -- after running against him (and thus frequently and harshly criticizing him) in a crowded race two years ago.

In one of the most watched local congressional races, Rangel, the incumbent who has held his Harlem seat for 40 years, is facing tough opposition in the primary as he fights to be re-elected to Congress to represent a newly-drawn district that now includes parts of the Bronx and has a larger Latino population.

Sam Levin

Mayor Mike Bloomberg takes questions today at Google's headquarters in Manhattan.

Liu, who is expected to run for mayor in 2013, released a report today on income disparity in the city, finding that the top one percent of income tax filers receive one-third of all city personal income -- a share which his office says is nearly twice the national average. The report, called "Income Inequality in New York City," -- drawing on Occupy Wall Street rhetoric -- found that nationally, the top one percent accounts for 16.9 percent of income, while in New York, the richest percent account for 32.5 percent of reported income in 2009 (which is the most recent data available from the state).

Sam Levin

From left to right, Google CEO Larry Page, Cornell President David Skorton, Technion's Director Craig Gotsman, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

(FYI: New York City is still second to Silicon Valley, but it's trying!)

Today, Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined Google CEO Larry Page and Cornell President David Skorton to announce that Google will be doing something outside of its typical scope of activities: providing space for a temporary university campus in New York City.

As a central part of its Applied Sciences initiative -- aimed at attracting industry jobs and startups and expanding the Big Apple as a tech hub -- the city is building a campus on Roosevelt Island for CornellNYC Tech, an engineering and applied science campus that will be run by Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

"What would a Romney Presidency look like?"

That's what the narrator, who sounds a bit like the Republican nominee himself, asks viewers in the Romney campaign's first video ad for the general election (entitled "Day One") that went up on YouTube last night. The advertisement will be shown over and over again in the battleground states (i.e. Virginia, Michigan) to a people who presumably hate the word "swing." 

Most of us have no idea what the answer to that question is; predicting the future is a hard trait to come by for the non-clairvoyant demographic. Our fellow Voice writer Pete Kotz took a wack at it and, apparently, so did Mitt.

Interwoven with gleeful shots of Mitt shaking peoples' hands and workers that exist somewhere Bain Capital hasn't found yet, the video takes hypothetical politics to the White House, painting a first day on the job portrait for anyone who's interested. And, if the video is any indication, he has a lot planned.

Sam Levin

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Mike Bloomberg at a press conference.

At the center of the debate is the policy that requires all food stamp applications and recipients in New York State to be fingerprinted, which the governor, along with a group of advocates, says creates a stigma around receiving welfare, slows down the process, and creates barriers to reducing hunger. But Bloomberg, who butted heads with Cuomo on the policy back in January, has repeatedly defended fingerprinting, arguing that it stops New Yorkers from abusing the benefits and saves the city millions of dollars by stopping fraudulent recipients.

Today, there are two news items dealing with embattled Comptroller John Liu and Bill Thompson.

Beavan became known via No Impact Man, a life experiment/blog chronicling his decision to live in New York without making an environmental impact. During Beavan and his family's 12-month trial, they definitely did hearken back to simpler times by avoiding paper products (including TP! OMG!) and electricity.

We wanted to give Beavan the chance to talk to us about his campaign and indulge our predilection for potty humor. Anyway, click here to see what he had to say...

Jindal, a Republican and potential running mate for Mitt Romney, said Tuesday morning on Fox News's America's Newsroom that Obama: "hasn't run anything before he was elected President of the United States...never ran a state, never a business, never ran a lemonade stand." Jindal's criticism echoes that of Ted Nugent, who also argued in June 2011 that Obama couldn't sell the popular, citrusy drink.

Indeed, details about Obama's background with lemonade -- via stand or otherwise -- remain unclear, though evidence suggests that the president's backers have in fact used this summery, semisweet beverage during campaign fundraising.

Beavan, who calls himself a "newly self-proclaimed environmentalist," is running on the Green Party ticket for the Central Brooklyn Congressional seat, against Charles Barron, Alan Bellone and others.

Beavan's claim to fame is No Impact Man, a blog-turned-book-and-doc-deal chronicling his decision to live in Manhattan sans environmental impact. During Beavan and his family's 12-month experiment, they didn't just forgo paper products. They also avoided electricity and did laundry by "stomping on it in the tub."

The New York Times, which today details his congressional bid and current Brooklyn digs, apparently asked the question we all want answered: So what was wiping like during that period?