Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has released his health records and a letter from his physician.

The text of the letter is below:

DAVID L. SCHEINER, M.D.
Hyde Park Associates in Medicine, Ltd.
1515 East 52nd Place, Chicago, IL 60615

To Whom It May Concern:

I am David L. Scheiner, a board certified general internist licensed to practice in the State of Illinois. I am on staff at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Rush University Medical Center. I have been Senator Barack Obama’s primary care physician since March 23, 1987. The following is a summary of his medical records for the past 21 years.

During that period of time, Senator Obama has been in excellent health. He has been seen regularly for medical checkups and various minor problems such as upper respiratory infections, skin rashes and minor injuries.

His family history is pertinent for his mother’s death from ovarian cancer and grandfather who died of prostate cancer. His own history included intermittent cigarette smoking. He has quit this practice on several occasions and is currently using Nicorette gum with success.

Senator Obama’s last medical checkup was on January 15, 2007; he had no complaints. He exercised regularly often jogging three miles. His diet was balanced with good intake of roughage and fluids. A complete review of systems was unremarkable. On physical examination, his blood pressure was 90/60 and pulse 60/minute. His build was lean and muscular with no excess body fat. His physical examination was completely normal.

Laboratory studies included triglycerides of 44(normal under 150), cholesterol 173 (normal under 200), HDL 68 (normal over 40), and LDL 96 (normal under 130). Chem 24, urinalysis and CBC were normal, PSA was 0.6, very good. An EKG was normal.

In short, his examination showed him to be in excellent health. Senator Barack Obama is in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the Office of President.

Sincerely,

David L. Scheiner, M.D.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced a settlement this morning with Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions Inc. in response to accusations that its “BODIES” exhibits use corpses of Chinese prisoners.

Based on the agreement, Premier now has to obtain documentation that bodies have been obtained legitimately and with consent of the people who died. The company has to set aside money to return money to people who attended the New York City exhibition at South Street Seaport if they request can establish they would not have attended the exhibition had they known the bodies were of questionable origins.

The issue gained recognition in February, when the ABC show 20/20 reported there was an alleged black market for bodies in China, and they included executed political prisoners. Corpses have been sent to the United States for use in exhibitions.

“The grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals. Nor is Premier able to establish that these people consented to their remains being used in this manner.”

“Respect for the dead and respect for the public requires that Premier do more than simply assure us that there is no reason for concern. The settlement is a start,” Cuomo said.

With all the talk in state politics today about Gov. David Paterson’s directive to state agencies to provide benefits to same-sex couples, it seems that Paterson has quietly talked about the initiative publicly a few weeks ago.

On May 17, Paterson recorded a video played at the Empire State Pride Agenda in Rochester, where he announced he would allow same-sex couples who receive marriage licenses out of state to receive equal benefits.

“I’m directing our agency heads that we will recognize marriages conducted outside our state right here in New York state,” he said. “This is will be a strong step toward marriage equality right here in this state.”

The state Conservative Party is already railing against the move.

“Marriage in New York State is between a man and a woman,” said party Chairman Mike Long. “The California Judges overturned the will of the California people and Governor Paterson is apparently trying to do the same thing in New York.”

Here’s Paterson’s memo

Here’s the video (courtesy of the Daily Politics)

The revamped “I Love New York” campaign is calling on filmmakers to produce 60-second films about why they love the state in an effort to highlight attractions and lure visitors to the Empire State.

The inaugural “I Love New York” Short Film Competition is to be announced todayy at the George Eastman House in Rochester, where the Eastman Kodak Co. founder invented motion picture film.

Submissions will be accepted between June 1 and July 15 and must be filmed in New York. The entries will be judged by a star-packed panel, including “30 Rock” star Tina Fey and Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, a Fairport, Monroe County, native.

“We really want this to be an opportunity for New Yorkers to tell their own story as part of the re-launch of the campaign as to what’s their reason for loving New York,” said Thomas Ranese, chief marketing officer for the state Empire State Development Corp.

Entries can be submitted online at www.metacafe.com/iloveny. The contest is for anyone 14 or older.

Submissions will then be reviewed and posted on the “I Love New York” Web site; the winners will be announced in September.

The grand prize winner’s film will appear as a commercial during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast and on JetBlue Airways seatback televisions. The film will also appear on Independent Film Channel, which is one of the contest’s sponsors.

The contest will also offer a variety of other awards, such as best young filmmaker, best student filmmaker and best regional film. The contest will include an online sweepstakes where visitors can vote for their favorite film.

New York Gov. David Paterson tomorrow will be making his first public appearance in Westchester since taking office in March.
Paterson’s just-released schedule calls for him to deliver remarks and accept an award tomorrow evening at the Westchester Dinner of Yeshiva Ohr Hameir at the DoubleTree Hotel in Tarrytown.

Lawyers for the Democratic Party say that, at best, only half the delegates from Florida and Michigan can be counted at the convention in Denver this summer.

In a 38-page memo, party lawyers declared that Democratic National Committee rules require that the two states lose at least half of their convention delegates for holding elections too early, according to an Associated Press account.

The memo is obviously a blow to Hillary Clinton’s efforts to seat delegates from the two states and narrow the gap between herself and Barack Obama.

MOUNT VERNON — A lawsuit filed by supporters of former Mayor Ernest Davis seeking to overturn the November election has been dismissed by a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Charles L. Brieant rejected the lawsuit’s allegations that a federal probe of city business intimidated voters in the mayoral election.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of more than a dozen plaintiffs, including Davis, against the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the state and county boards of election, Mayor Clinton Young and Janet Snyder, the Republican candidate in the general election. It sought $600 million in damages.

Via reporter Desiree Grand. Read more here.

There was a time when raucous Yonkers City Council meetings were the best show in town. But what made for good for political theater, probably didn’t contribute much to good governance. Last night’s City Council meeting was a bit of a throwback. The meeting was enlivened by an unusual appearance there by Mayor Phil Amicone, who unsuccessfully called upon the City Council to enact a resolution urging the state Legislature to reform the state education funding formula and boost aid to Westchester’s biggest city. Read story.

It also featured a verbal dust-up between City Council President Chuck Lesnick and Councilman John Murtagh. Lesnick said Murtagh’s impassioned support for his fellow Republican’s request was more inspired by his run for the state Senate in the 35th District. (The Councilman won Westchester Republican Committee backing for the race last night.) That comment brought a low grumble of boos from the public and the call of “low blow” from one person. But if Lesnick started it, Murtagh didn’t let it die – though perhaps he should have.

“I resent any implication that I would play politics,” Murtagh protested, to which Lesnick said “Councilman Murtagh play politics? Never.”

Come to think of it, I had already seen the show.

From GNS reporter Dan Osburn:

State legislators and mental health workers applauded the creation of a new statewide autism agenda today.

A new multi-agency “autism consortium” will be formed and hopes to create a statewide registry of people with autism and increase research and training for teachers and other professionals who interact with people with autism, said state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter.

The consortium will “provide the infrastructure, resources and collaboration necessary to best advance basic and applied research in this critical area,” she said.

The new platform adopted by the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities includes provisions for increasing autism research and increased cooperation between the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the state health department and state education, she said.

The state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental currently supports more than 16,000 people with autism or autism-spectrum disorders in the state.

Westchester native and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was once Scott McClellan’s boss at the White House. During an interview with Alex Chadwick on NPR News’ “Day to Day”, Fleischer said he was “heartbroken” over McClellan’s new book.

“Scott was always a great deputy to me, very reliable, trustworthy, and never once did he come up to me and express any misgivings that he had or to anybody else that I know of about the war or the manner in which the White House prepared for the war,” Fleischer said.

A full transcript of the interview, courtesy of NPR, follows the jump.

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