Jillian Jorgensen reports for The New York Daily News that a political action committee of General Motors donated $17,500 to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2018 re-election campaign three months ago. On Oct. 17 Cuomo announced GM would be the first car company to test self-driving cars in New York. GM previously gave Cuomo's campaign $3,000 on Oct. 31, 2016, and $3,500 in 2011, according to campaign finance reports. “No donation of any size influences administrative actions — period. Autonomous vehicles are being tested across the nation, and we are proud that New York will now be part of advancing this innovation,” Cuomo spokeswoman Dani Lever said. “Any auto manufacturer who meets DMV's criteria will be able to test vehicles, so the insinuation that GM was accorded any favoritism is not only obnoxious, but absurd.” In April, the state legislature passed a budget agreement that allowed for the testing of autonomous cars through a pilot program. This past June, Audi ran a first demonstration of an autonomous car in the state, with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul taking a test drive, Cuomo’s office said. And Cadillac, which is owned by GM, also ran a road test in Buffalo in June too. Read the full story in The New York Daily News.