All Over Albany

New details in Jacquelyn Porreca murder case, recaps of Clinton-Sanders debate, video of Albany meeting between Sanders and BLM Upstate, Cuomo signs MMA bill

Jacquelyn Porreca murder case
A few new details in the Jacquelyn Porreca murder case surfaced Thursday during a pre-trial hearing: Colonie police say they were approached by an informant who said he'd heard Michael Chmielewski and Sean Moreland talking about the case, and police then bugged the informant's car to record later talk by the two suspects. A Colonie police sergeant also testified that Chmielewski showed police where he's alleged to tossed the knife and gloves used in the fatal stabbing into the lake at Washington Park. Chmielewski's attorney says he was pressured to make admissions in the case, and Moreland's attorney is trying to get his client's case separated from that of Chmielewski. [TWCN] [WNYT] [TU]

Clinton-Sanders debate
Ahead of next week's presidential primary in New York State, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders appeared in a feisty and pointed debate in Brooklyn Thursday night. Topics included banking regulation, gun control, climate change, and Israel. The $15 minimum wage -- and New York's recent move toward it -- also came up. Here's a TWCN live blog of the debate and here's AP fact check of some of the statements. [NYT] [TWCN] [State of Politics] [TWCN] [AP/Troy Record]

MMA
Andrew Cuomo, joined by Ronda Rousey, signed the bill allowing professional mixed martial arts bouts in New York State Thursday. UFC is planning a bout at Madison Square Garden this fall, and another upstate. [TU] [TWCN]

Bernie Sanders in Albany
Black Lives Matter Upstate released a video of a meeting between representatives of the group and Bernie Sanders talking about the death of Dontay Ivy just before the presidential candidate's public appearance at the Washington Ave Armory in Albany this past Monday. One of the org's reps told the Times Union earlier this week she was disappointed Sanders had not specifically mentioned Ivy during his public comments. [YouTube] [TU]

State AG at odds with health plan over Hep C treatment
The state attorney general's office is challenging CDPHP's approach to selecting which patients will get the relatively new, and very expensive, treatment for Hepatitis C. The health plan says its "coverage decisions are made based upon the use of evidence-based clinical criteria, not upon political agendas or actions." [Daily Gazette] [TU+]

25 year sentence
A Schenectady man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the shooting death of Kusaan Tolliver last summer in Hamilton Hill, reportedly an act of retaliation for an earlier altercation. Said Tolliver's mother: "He, like other teenagers, sometimes lost his way and made wrong decisions, but by no means did that give anyone the right to take his life." [Daily Gazette] [TU]

911
Albany, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties are working to consolidate some of the systems used for handling 911 calls, which could save millions of dollars and allow for better data sharing. [TU]

Saratoga County supervisors
Anita Daly -- who served as a Saratoga County supervisor representing Clifton Park for more than two decades -- is stepping down. [Saratogian]

John Sweeney helping Trump campaign
Former local Congressman John Sweeney has joined the Donald Trump campaign to help with election law. [Daily Gazette]

Albany City Court
A look at some of the tangled web of connections related to the race for an Albany City Court judgeship. [TU+]

Shereesha Richards
In a bit of a surprise, UAlbany basketball star Shereesha Richards was not picked in the WNBA draft Thursday. [TU+]

Bring it on
A local all-star cheerleading team will be competing at the world championships in Orlando. [News10]