Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

 

How Cuomo’s Downfall Paved the Way for Kathy Hochul to Make History

Dana Rubinstein, New York Times

 

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation from office this week in the wake of a report conducted by New York Attorney General Letitia James’s team. The report found that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women. When Cuomo steps down in less than two weeks, current Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will become New York’s first ever woman governor. “That her ascension came by way of a man’s downfall is a testament to the state’s long history of male political dominance, and its equally long history of male misbehavior, something that has become a growing political liability amid shifting social mores around power and gender dynamics.”

Hochul has previously represented communities in New York as a U.S. Congresswoman. She also worked as a Congressional aide to Rep. John J. LaFalce and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. She also served as Erie County clerk.

Read the full story here.

 

Incoming New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says allegations against Cuomo are “sickening”

Scott Stump, The Today Show

 

In her first live interview since the announcement that she will become New York’s governor, Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul said that she intends to run for governor in 2022. Responding to Savannah Guthrie’s question of whether she will run, Hochul said, “”I fully expect to,” she told Savannah. “I’m prepared for this. I’ve led a life working in every level of government from Congress to local government. I am the most prepared person to assume this responsibility, and I’m going to ask the voters at some point for their faith in me again, but right now, I need their faith, I need their prayers, and I need their support to make sure we get this right.”

Watch and read about the interview here.

 

 

New Zealand to slowly re-open to the world from early 2022

Ben Westcott and Carly Walsh, CNN

 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced this week that New Zealand will begin to relax the strict border controls enacted to combat spread of Covid-19. Prime Minister Ardern addressed the shift in a speech in which she also spoke about border restrictions, and the factors—including closing the borders in March 2020—that contributed to New Zealand’s relatively low case rate over the course of the pandemic. The reopening will include a “tiered risk-based system” of low, medium, or high risk countries for classifying visitors and travelers to the country. Ardern also explained that New Zealand is ramping up vaccination timelines along with beginning to reopen.

Read the full story here.

 

 

It’s now Pelosi’s move on bipartisan roads bill

Mike Lillis and Scott Wong, The Hill

 

On Tuesday this week, the Senate passed a major infrastructure bill and sent the legislation to the House. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi plans to wait to hold a vote on this infrastructure bill until the Senate adopts a second bill (a “reconciliation package”).

“Speaking Tuesday at an event in San Francisco, Pelosi praised the Senate for passing the bill. But she quickly emphasized that it falls far short of what Biden and congressional Democrats intended when they launched their infrastructure push, and she dismissed calls to vote on infrastructure before the details of a reconciliation package emerge.”

Read the full story here.