*By Amanda Weston and Kate Gill*
Not only has New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reversed his stance on marijuana, he's expediting his timeline for legalization.
According to Joseph Spector, the Albany bureau chief for USA Today, Governor Cuomo committed to an accelerated schedule on Monday when he charted the agenda for the first 100 days of his new term in office.
"What Governor Andrew Cuomo did today was lay out his agenda for his third term, his first 100 days in office, and so having marijuana as part of this certainly signals he wants to do this in the near-term,"Spector told Cheddar Monday.
In Cuomo's address, he offered his most staunch support for legalization yet, saying 2019 is the year to eliminate the drug's "debilitating criminal stigma."
He may even beat New Jersey to the punch, which stalled its plans to legalize the drug in recent months.
"New Jersey seemed to be a little further ahead of New York in terms of moving ahead with legalization," Spector said. "Now New Jersey seems to have shelved their plan ... So can New York get ahead of New Jersey?"
Roughly a year ago, the climate for pot in New York was vastly different. The State Senate was controlled by Republicans, the majority of whom were opposed to legalization, and even Cuomo, a Democrat, called the substance a "gateway drug."
But Spector added that Cuomo's newfound enthusiasm for legalization doesn't mean that the process will be without its complications.
"There's a lot of factors at play here ... We've seen in Massachusetts, for example, it became law but it took several years that stores even started opening across the state."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/new-york-governor-pushes-legal-recreational-weed-in-2019).
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
