The brothers Cuomo had a few moments of "serious" levity Thursday (April 2) at Governor Andrew Cuomo's televised daily COVID-19 status briefing. Brother Chris, the CNN anchor/host, has tested positive for the virus and is in "basement" quarantine.

Governor Cuomo said that because many people had asked how Chris was doing, he thought he would let Chris provide the answer himself remotely, turning the table to become the interviewer. 

What ensued in the next few minutes is clearly going to be an iconic moment in the family history, and made for entertaining TV amid the grim reality of the surrounding New York environs. 

Chris Cuomo said he had had a fever-induced hallucination in which the Governor appeared to him in a dream in "a very interesting ballet outfit." He said his brother was dancing and "waving a wand and saying: 'I wish I could wave my wand and make this go away,' and then you spun around and you danced away." 

A smiling governor Cuomo thanked him for that update, and suggested that there was "a lot of metaphoric reality in that one." A goofily chuckling Chris responded: "I can't get that picture out of my head."  

"Obviously the fever has affected your mental capacity," the governor joked. That and likely a dose of cabin fever as well, given his response. "And being alone all the time," Chris responded, adding "I think everything I say is funny," and breaking into giggles. Brother Andrew then gently asked Chris if he still had a fever.  

"I have a fever right this instant, governor," he said. 

Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) closed her press conference Thursday--about setting up a committee to look into the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic--with the following advice: "Don't forget: Hydrate, wash your hands, pray, [and] dance as if no one is watching." 

Charter Communications chair and CEO Tom Rutledge said the MSO is prepared to go to court with the New York State Public Service Commission over the agency’s recent decision to rescind its approval of the cable company’s 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable, adding that the battle could last a while.

The PSC announced on July 27 that it was rescinding its approval of the TWC deal, and gave Charter 60 days to come up with a plan to divest of its New York cable systems, which have about 2 million customers. The state said Charter has repeatedly failed to comply with approval conditions to extend its broadband network to unserved and underserved homes throughout New York.

Charter has maintained that it is in compliance, and Rutledge held his ground in a conference call with analysts to discuss Q2 results. Investors appeared pleased, driving Charter stock up more than 5% ($15.01) to $308.91 per share in early trading Tuesday.

“We believe we’re in compliance with the plain reading of the build-out requirements that the state imposed on us in merger conditions and we have a very strong legal case and ability to defend ourselves,” Rutledge said on the call. “It could play out over a lengthy period of time. 

"To put it in perspective, we’re operating in 41 states, we have thousands of franchise agreements, and generally we have good relationship with the communities we serve," Rutledge added. "We live up to our commitments and we have in New York State; in fact we’re well ahead of our obligations in terms of speed upgrades and in the build-out itself.

"We do have labor issues in New York City which we believe may have politicized the actions of the PSC and we’re concerned about that," he continued. "We have successfully negotiated other agreements with the same union, IBEW, in other parts of the country during this period. We're hopeful that we can work all this out, if necessary we’ll litigate and we believe we’re in the right.”

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers went on strike against Charter in March 2017, claiming loss of benefits and shoddy working conditions. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have shown support  for the union in the past, and Cuomo is facing a potentially contentious re-election campaign this November. 

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Rutledge also commented on Liberty Media chair John Malone’s decision to step down from Charter’s board of directors, adding that the cable legend will remain as director emeritus and will still have a significant say in the company.

“We think that John will continue to be engaged with the company, that he likes the  business. I like having him engaged with the company,” Rutledge said. “He brings tremendous insight to us. But he wants to reduce his work load, his 'over-boarding' so to speak and he's just reached a point in his life where he feels like he has to. We do board meetings in Denver and we may do them in Florida, so we think he’ll be involved with us for years to come.”

While a six-month strike by The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers against Charter Communications rages on, CBS said it has reached an early contract renewal agreement with the union, covering about 3,500 technicians across the country.

In a statement, CBS said the extended contract has been ratified by the affected workforce and will be effective Feb. 1, 2018 through April 21, 2021. The current IBEW agreement was set to expire on Jan. 31.

Major provisions of the new, multi-year contract include pay increases, increased benefit contributions and a path forward for new media.

“The skilled professionals of the IBEW are proud of our partnership with CBS, and this agreement reflects our joint commitment to good jobs and broadcasting excellence,” IBEW president Lonnie Stephenson said in a statement.

The IBEW represents CBS workers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami and Atlanta, in addition to supplying a skilled workforce for all events televised on CBS Sports and CBS News.

“We are very pleased to have reached this new agreement ahead of schedule,” said CBS chair and CEO Les Moonves in a statement. “Our new deal is indicative of the terrific working relationship and cooperation between CBS and the IBEW as well as our ongoing commitment to its highly skilled technicians.”

Related: Moonves Snags 22% Raise

About 1,700 Charter Communications workers in New York and New Jersey, members of IBEW Local 3, walked off the job on March 28, claiming they have lost benefits and endured shoddy working conditions ever since the cable company purchased Time Warner Cable in 2016. Charter has denied the accusations, adding that it has offered employees a 22% increase in wages – and up to 55% for some workers – as well as participation in a 401(k) plan with a dollar-for-dollar match up to 6% of eligible pay. On Sept. 18, IBEW workers participated in a rally in Brooklyn and Manhattan that included speeches by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.