Former President Donald Trump will trade the rally stage for comedy Thursday night as he headlines the annual Al Smith charity dinner, where he was jeered eight years ago while delivering an especially pointed speech.

Vice President Kamala Harris is skipping attending the event in person as she campaigns in battleground states, breaking with presidential tradition. But she will appear on screen in a recorded video, organizers said.

New Yorkers are getting more involved with presidential campaigns as Election Day ticks closer.

Millions of votes are up for grabs in New York, but campaigners don’t seem too focused on them.

The number of private sector jobs in New York decreased over the month by 2,900, or less than 0.1%, in September, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted figures released Thursday by the state Department of Labor.

These put the total number of private sector jobs in the state to 8,392,500 in September. By contrast, private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 0.2% in September, the department said.

U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-NY-26) has introduced a new bill, the Homeward Bound Act, which would give military families, diplomatic families and service dogs an 18-month waiver from the CDC's new pet travel rule, which requires all dogs coming into the U.S. from other countries be at least 6 months old and microchipped to help prevent the spread of rabies.

The proposed bill would also eliminate the age requirement and require microchips for dogs born after enactment of the bill.

Just as the mayor’s legal troubles mount, his legal defense fund appears to be strapped for cash.

Almost three weeks after the mayor was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting foreign contributions, NY1 has learned Mayor Eric Adams raised only $92,500 for his legal defense in the last three months, according to the latest fundraising report filed with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board late Tuesday. The fundraising period covers July though the end of September.

Since 1984, American historian and professor Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted nine of the last 10 presidential races. Lichtman, however, does not use polling data. Instead, he has developed a set of 13 metrics — or, as he calls them, keys.

Lichtman appeared on the podcast in February to discuss his elaborate forecasting system, and he promised he’d return after he announced his pick for president. Now, Lichtman joined Errol to discuss why he believes Kamala Harris will be victorious in November. The pair also discussed the possibility of an October surprise, how past predictions have made him unpopular, and why it is governing, not campaigning, that ultimately matters.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan and Republican Alison Esposito engaged in a spirited debate hosted by Spectrum News 1 Wednesday evening featuring issues hotly contested on the federal level that are also central to the Hudson Valley congressional district both want to represent.

With immigration one of the top issues in this year’s elections and a top-of-mind issue for New York voters since the migrant crisis took hold in the spring of 2023, Esposito said the country needs to secure the southern border, reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy and pass legal lawful immigration reform.

Spectrum News hosted a debate Wednesday night between Democratic U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan and Republican challenger Alison Esposito for New York's 18th Congressional District, which includes all of Orange, and parts of Dutchess and Ulster counties.

The debate took place at Marist College.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams’s newly elevated First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer announced new housing development figures Wednesday — cheering it as progress made on the state and city’s housing crisis.

It’s also a show of support from Hochul that she’s working with City Hall during the mayor’s time of crisis.

All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives are up for reelection in November, including the 26 in New York. Spectrum News political reporters will be providing updates throughout the campaign season on New York's congressional races.

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Democrats in New York’s competitive U.S. House races built on their cash advantage in the third quarter of this year. They outraised their GOP rivals in all of the key contests.

With one exception, those Democrats also each reported having more cash on hand at the end of September, just in time for the final stretch of campaigning.

Spectrum News will host the only debate between the candidates for New York's U.S. Senate race on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican challenger Mike Sapraicone will face off at 7 p.m. at the University at Albany for one of the seats in the nation's upper chamber on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced a new $750 million preliminary investment for Wolfspeed from the CHIPS and Science Bill. Wolfspeed, located in Marcy, is the lead silicon carbide chip manufacturer in the U.S.

The funding is meant to boost Wolfspeed’s ongoing upstate expansion, as well as help to build a North Carolina facility that will send chip “wafers” to the Marcy Nanocenter to be finished.

Spectrum News will host a live debate on Wednesday, Oct. 16, between candidates for a seat in New York’s 18th Congressional District.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan and Republican challenger Alison Esposito will appear in the debate, which starts at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News, and will be hosted by political anchors Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter.

With less than three weeks until Election Day, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will rally with Democratic candidate Laura Gillen Thursday in New York’s 4th Congressional District, Spectrum News NY1 has learned.

The Nassau County-centered congressional seat, which President Joe Biden carried by nearly 15 percentage points in 2020, is a top Democratic target in next month’s election, as the party looks to win back control of the U.S. House.

As we draw closer to Election Day, the economy remains one of the top issues voters care about.

Although the national economy continues to grow after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates, here in New York, a new report from the city comptroller’s office shows a lack of growth in the city’s private employment over the past couple months. It also shows lower ridership on the MTA and increasing rent prices.

U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan and Republican challenger Alison Esposito will square off for the second time Wednesday as they battle for the Hudson Valley's 18th Congressional District — a highly watched race that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The debate at Marist College will air live at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News 1.

It was a marquee matchup of the 1998 election.

Democratic Congressman Chuck Schumer and Republican Sen. Al D’Amato were facing off in a nasty and costly campaign for New York’s senate seat.

Last week, U.S. Reps. Pat Ryan and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a joint press conference in the Hudson Valley urging the Environmental Protection Agency to do more to compel General Electric (GE) to clean up pollution from the Hudson River.

The company legally dumped PCBs into the river over the course of 30 years when it was an economic force in upstate New York.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. It comes as New York state and the nation are experiencing both an infant and maternal mortality crisis.

Lawmakers and advocates say New York is making progress when it comes to exploring and implementing solutions, but there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done.

“We will pivot and shift,” Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday. “We just had a small amount to raise.”

The mayor’s response to his latest fundraising haul — the smallest amount he has raised in any fundraising period since he started his re-election campaign for next year.

New York state is investing nearly $100 million to help improve drinking water infrastructure in several communities by replacing lead service lines.

The money comes by way of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act approved by Congress in 2021. New York is starting to see some of those dollars trickle in now.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — An era has ended in the city of Buffalo.

The city's longest serving mayor, Byron Brown, officially resigned Tuesday morning.

Two new grant programs have been announced by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to offer financial support for beginning farmers and socially and economically disadvantaged farmers.

“Access to capital is one of the largest barriers to the start-up and success of new and beginning farms,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Richard Ball in a press release.

One of the closest House races in 2022 was here in upstate New York when Republican Marc Molinaro bested his Democratic challenger by less than 2 percentage points in the 19th Congressional District.

Flash forward to today where the region is set for a rematch. Molinaro joined Capital Tonight on Friday to discuss his candidacy and some of the issues impacting the district that includes portions of the Hudson Valley and Southern Tier.

Mayor Eric Adams continues to maintain that his administration is not distracted as it faces turnover and as Adams fights federal charges.

This comes as the field of challengers seeking to take on Adams in next year’s primary continues to grow.

The state Health Department is kicking up efforts to get New Yorkers protected against contagious respiratory infections before the holiday season as apathy grows to get an updated COVID-19 shot.

Influenza and COVID-19 infections peak in New York around New Years Eve, state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. He was vaccinated for both illnesses at the same time last week to avoid severe illness this winter.

It was early September, and Sen. Chuck Schumer was in upstate New York for a big announcement.

The giant multinational company Siemens was unveiling plans for a first-of-its-kind high-speed rail production plant in the United States, bringing hundreds of jobs to the rural New York town of Horseheads, just outside of Elmira.

New York’s sprawling 19th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley and Southern Tier is considered one of the most competitive seats in the nation. The Cook Political Report rates it as a "Republican toss-up," which could be good news for the incumbent, first-term Rep. Marc Molinaro.

Molinaro’s challenger is Democrat Josh Riley, an Endicott native and an attorney who served as a policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Labor and as counsel in the U.S. Senate.

A new law hopes to make it easier for public libraries in disadvantaged communities to use state aid for building projects.

New York state Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara hopes it will in turn allow more libraries in those communities to keep their doors open. The legislation ups the percentage of a project that can be covered by state aid from to 75 to 90.

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York's Advanced Clean Truck regulations take effect in 2025, requiring manufacturers that make vehicles 8,500 pounds and heavier to sell an increasing percentage of electric vehicles each year moving forward.

The goal, when feasible, is for all new commercial trucks by 2045 to produce zero emissions. Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said it's a critical component for meeting the state's climate goals.

As Capital Tonight has been reporting, the Rockefeller Institute has been tasked with revising New York state's 17-year-old Foundation Aid formula, which determines the amount of funding school districts receive.

The public policy think tank held hearings with stakeholders including district leaders, elected officials and experts across the state over the summer where some voiced concerns about the formula.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday at the city’s annual Columbus Day Parade seemingly showing her strong support for Mayor Eric Adams — while all but admitting she’s playing a role in pushing for changes behind the scenes.

“The mayor has been very focused,” Hochul said. “We’ve been working very closely through this chaos and I had asked him to work to bring in new blood and new people to work to stabilize the city and calm it all down and he’s doing that.”

LOS ANGELES — Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries crisscrossed Southern California over the weekend in communities far from the presidential battlegrounds — Little Saigon in Orange County and the high desert of Antelope Valley — as he works to wrest control of the U.S. House from Republicans.

The Golden State is a Democratic stronghold, but the party lost House seats here in recent elections, giving the speaker's gavel to Republicans. Jeffries, who is in line to become the next House speaker if Democrats regain control in November, needs to pick up four GOP-held seats to win back the majority — and there are five being eyed here in California, more than any other state in the nation.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Thousands of water service lines across the state are made from the original infrastructure, at times, dating back 100 years. With infrastructure developments throughout the years, the state has passed a bipartisan bill to replace service lines made with lead pipes.

“Most of the lead services that we are replacing are 100 years or more old. Actually, the reason they got used 100 years ago is because they last a very long time. So it was a good material from that perspective, but, from a public health perspective, not so good,” said David Rowley, the manager of water production for the Rochester Bureau of Water.

The union that represents the state's forest rangers, encon officers, university and parks police is considering filing criminal coercion charges against Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia after union leaders said she made a threatening phone call to the group's president hours before legislation to bring parity to their retirement system was vetoed for the fourth time.

The Police Benevolent Association of New York State is accusing Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration of retaliating against its billboard campaign criticizing her public safety record.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Some financial relief is coming for three Western New York cities where Seneca Nation casinos operate.

Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Salamanca have not received funding connected to Seneca revenue sharing with the state since December when the gaming compact between the two sides expired. They agreed to extend the terms of that compact quarterly while continuing to negotiate a new deal.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The New York state Department of Transportation has awarded the first contract for a planned $1 billion infrastructure project on the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo.

The office of the state comptroller approved the $44.5 million contract to Union Concrete and Construction Corp. from West Seneca to replace the Best Street bridge over the expressway. Earlier this week, a state Supreme Court justice issued a temporary restraining order barring any construction on the Kensington project for at least two weeks.

Human trafficking is an issue in communities across the country, including here in New York.

According to the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, so far this year, there have been close to 300 confirmed victims of human trafficking. That’s just under 30 fewer victims than were reported throughout the entirety of 2023. About half of those for both this year and last were sex-trafficked.

Wall Street’s profits for the first half of the year were nearly 80% higher than last year. That’s according to a report from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

DiNapoli reported that Wall Street’s $23.2 billion in pretax profits for the first half of 2024 were a 79.3% increase over the same period last year. He said the increase, which he described as “dramatic” was buoyed by securities trading, underwriting and selling. The report indicated that annual profits are on pace to close out the year in a significantly stronger spot than 2023.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's final day will be sometime next week, according to a spokesperson for the mayor's office.

They say Brown's last day as mayor will likely be Tuesday or Wednesday.

As New York state grapples with record-breaking heatwaves and devastating floods, Siena College hosted the “Earth’s Cry, Humanity’s Call” symposium to address the pressing issue of climate change.

The event brought together global leaders, students and policymakers to discuss strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change.

The 2018 farm bill was extended last November, but now that extension has expired without a clear idea of when Congress will pass a new farm bill.

“We’re hopeful that before the end of the year, we can get the farm bill done in both the House and the Senate,” said Republican U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro.

BUFFALO - A Buffalo-area hotel has agreed to refund $9,000 to roughly a dozen customers after the New York state attorney general's office said it abruptly canceled reservations in March shortly before the solar eclipse.

The Western New York region was in the path of totality and was expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the country and world for the April 8 eclipse. The AG's office said it received complaints from several individuals about the Aloft Buffalo Airport hotel for not only canceling reservations but also not informing customers.

There have now been 11 departures from the Adams administration in the last month. Departures in the past week included First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor Phil Banks and Winnie Greco, the mayor’s embattled head of Asian affairs. NY1 investigative reporter Courtney Gross, political reporter Bobby Cuza and statehouse reporter Bernadette Hogan discuss the mass exodus inside City Hall and the recent federal investigation into the mayor’s liaison to the Muslim community.

After that, former President Donald Trump is planning a rally at one of the city’s biggest venues, Madison Square Garden. The rally is slated for later this month, just nine days before Election Day. The “Off Topic” team looks at Trump’s decision to hold an event in Manhattan, as well as New Yorkers’ reactions to the announcement.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a bill to examine whether there could be areas of higher-than-normal cancer rates across New York state.

The bill defines a “cancer cluster” as a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases that occurs within a group of people in a specific place within a certain time frame.

The state University at Albany unveiled Thursday a powerful new artificial intelligence supercomputer to prepare graduates to live and work in a world with the developing technology, or pursue careers in the field.

The unveiling comes as the University at Buffalo prepares to unveil the first phase of its Empire AI Consortium on Friday — marking the next step to define artificial intelligence research that will help people learn and come together to solve complex issues quickly.

With Mayor Eric Adams facing federal criminal charges and eight recent high-profile resignations in the mayor’s administration, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said that turmoil has not impacted the Council’s work with city commissioners and deputy mayors.

“Those communications, those relationships, continue, regardless of the resignations that have happened during the past week or so,” Speaker Adams said Thursday. “I can honestly say and thankfully say that we really have not seen, on the Council side, any negative imbalance because of what’s going on with the administration.”

Third-term Democratic state Sen. Pete Harckham of New York's 40th state Senate District is facing a rematch against Republican Gina Arena, a Westchester County Department of Public Works employee who has a compelling personal story and has created several foundations to support children with serious illnesses.

The district includes northern Westchester County and parts of Putnam and Rockland counties.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Common Cause NY advocates for expanding voter access.

Executive Director Susan Lerner said this year the state has done a good job of doing that, including launching a new vote-by-mail system.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — As the fight against gun violence rages on, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed a small package of related legislation to red flag laws and manufacturing.

With six bills signed, here's a look at what these laws are and how they could impact the lives of New Yorkers.

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the mayor’s right-hand woman and a close confidante for many decades, is the latest Adams official to catch the eye of authorities.

Her home raided last month and NY1 was the only one on the scene.

Congressman Adriano Espaillat’s office in Washington Heights was vandalized early Tuesday morning.

Police say two people damaged the exterior of the building and threw red paint. The vandalism appears to be connected to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

A group of civic organizations sent a letter to the New York state Board of Elections identifying what they describe as possible failures in state law mandating colleges with dorms and at least 300 registered voters have polling places on campus or nearby.

Blair Horner, executive director of good government group NYPIRG who was a driving force behind the effort, explained the study found 20 four-year colleges with 1,000 or more full-time students and on-campus housing had no polling place within a mile of campus, based on Board of Elections data.

Public campaign financing has been dragged in the media, rightly or wrongly, in the wake of the scandal hitting New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Among the charges Adams is facing is conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals.

New York State hasn’t voted Republican in a presidential race since Ronald Reagan was on the political stage, but that isn’t keeping former President Donald Trump from planning a massive campaign rally at Madison Square Garden for the end of the month.

“We just rented Madison Square Garden,” announced Trump on Wednesday during a campaign rally stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “We’re gonna make a play for New York, it hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in many decades. How could New York be run worse than it is, right?”

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New York state Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo has issued a temporary restraining order barring the Department of Transportation from beginning any construction on its estimated $1 billion Kensington Expressway project.

The judge did, however, allow the state to continue to enter into contracts for the project. Attorney Alan Bozer represents the Eastside Parkways Coalition, among many others, in the multifaceted case.

A new effort is building to reform New York's system that tracks alleged acts of abuse or maltreatment of children as state data shows the majority of calls are unfounded — putting thousands of families through unnecessary investigations.

Assembly Children and Families Committee chair Andrew Hevesi plans to introduce a package of bills by the end of the year to reform the Statewide Central Register, or SCR, managed by the state Office of Children and Family Services.

Federal dollars helped keep a struggling child care industry afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a new report says the state hasn't invested enough of its money into some of the most pressing issues, such as staffing.

Leading into the pandemic, child care workers and parents were already calling for more investment in the industry.

A coalition of groups in the New York business sector sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a bill that would significantly expand the state's wrongful death statute.

Both houses of the New York state Legislature passed a version of the bill this year, referred to by supporters as the Grieving Families Act, with broad support for the third straight session this year. Hochul has twice vetoed the legislation citing concerns about impacts on things like insurance premiums, hospitals and municipalities.

New York is deploying 65 National Guard soldiers and airmen to Florida Wednesday to assist the response to Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall on Florida's west coast Wednesday evening, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

The Army National Guard will send 41 soldiers from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Syracuse and 10 Humvees to provide general purpose support to Camp Blanding Joint Training Center near Jacksonville, Florida.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed several gun safety bills into law Wednesday in New York City.

One requires firearms dealers in the state to post a sign where weapons are sold, displayed or delivered, including a paragraph explaining how guns in the home increase the risk of suicide, death during a domestic dispute or unintentional death to children. It must also include contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and would be given to any gun purchaser at time of sale.

Two people charged with attacking former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were just trying to break up a confrontation, defense lawyers said Tuesday.

Diamond Minter and Travor Nurse pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony assault charges stemming from the fracas on Manhattan's Upper East Side Friday night.

The Dutchess County Board of Elections closed for three hours Monday while law enforcement authorities were called to examine a suspicious package from an "unknown foreign sender" that county HAZMAT determined contained mathamphetamine, or crystal meth, commissioners said.

The "malicious" package arrived via UPS, and commissioners soon contacted law enforcement, according to a Dutchess County Board of Elections statement.

On the economy — as on many issues — the candidates for president seem to live in different realities.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has said the U.S. economy is “the strongest in the world” by “virtually every measure,” former President Donald Trump has maintained Democrats have “destroyed the economy.”

With less than 30 days until Election Day and early voting already underway in some states, how we hold elections — and whether the results will be honored — is on the minds of many Americans. Ari Berman is the national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones magazine and the author of “Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It.”

Ari joined Errol to discuss his book, as well as the stakes of the upcoming election. They also talked about the influence of conservative firebrand Pat Buchanan on Donald Trump, how rural states hold disproportionate power in the U.S. Senate, and the ways in which Generation Z could affect future elections.

Officials with the Onondaga County Board of Elections confirm they received notice from the state Board of Elections with concerns about a backlog of voter applications in the county.

In a statement, Democratic Commissioner of Elections Dustin Czarny said that the board is working with the state and hopes to “have cleared the backlog shortly.”

As small businesses across the state steadily decline, lawmakers and business experts want state leaders to take action next session — starting with paying off New York's $6 billion in unemployment insurance debt.

Empire State Development officials Tuesday told lawmakers at a public hearing the number of small businesses in the state has declined by at least 3% per year since 2019. Lawmakers said the figure is difficult to measure, and is estimated to be higher.

After 20 years of public service, on Tuesday, Maria Torres-Springer began a new chapter. Mayor Eric Adams named Torres-Springer the city’s first deputy mayor.

Torres-Springer is stepping up to now manage day-to-day operations of city government. She sat down for her first interview as first deputy mayor with NY1, reflecting on the moment the mayor shared the news.

New York’s second-largest city is facing some major changes, but a long-time elected official is ready to help.

Mayor Byron Brown is stepping down to take a new job as president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Association, but he leaves behind a city facing financial uncertainty.

CLARENCE, N.Y. -- By his own admission, Clarence-native Solomon Schmidt was a little different than other kids.

"I was never into sports as a kid. I couldn't quite find what I was passionate about," Schmidt said.

A former New York City Hall official was charged Tuesday with witness tampering and destruction of evidence, according to federal prosecutors.

Mohamed Bahi, who served in the community affairs unit of the Adams administration, is accused of asking witnesses to lie to investigators and destroying evidence linked to a federal investigation into illegal contributions to a 2021 mayoral campaign, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced.

Sheena Wright has left her post as first deputy mayor, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed Tuesday, marking the latest in a series of high-profile resignations at City Hall.

Adams made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during a press briefing, where he named Maria Torres-Springer, who was serving deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce, as Wright’s replacement.

A New York state Supreme Court judge in Syracuse on Tuesday ruled that the new state law that will move many local elections to line up with state and federal elections in even-numbered years violates the state Constitution.

The judge sided with Republican-led challenges to the law arguing that it conflicts individual county charters. Twenty New York counties are chartered, meaning they have locally drafted and approved laws outlining the structure and authority of county government, and there have been three separate amendments in the state Constitution allowing for and protecting counties' abilities to govern through charters.

A bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team that defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union in Lake Placid, New York, at a period of high tension during the Cold War.

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., introduced the Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act along with co-sponsors Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Mike Quigley, D-Ill.

More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the popular short-form video app is harming youth mental health by designing its platform to be addictive to kids.

The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including California, Kentucky and New Jersey. All of the complaints were filed in state courts.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering three bills that are part of a bipartisan effort to solve New York’s child care crisis.

As a parent, Eduardo Hernandez stressed that he knows the struggle of securing child care in New York. As an organizer for the Alliance for Quality Education, he’s joining forces with lawmakers to urge Hochul to sign the pieces of legislation, intended to modernize the process and criteria for getting assistance.

One year ago, Hamas terrorists stormed Israeli settlements along the 25-mile border of the Gaza Strip, shooting, raping, beating, burning and kidnapping men, women and children in what many have described as a modern-day pogrom.

It was the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, with 1,200 people killed and over 100 prisoners still held hostage in Gaza. In the months of war that followed, upwards of 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, and Israel is facing war on multiple fronts.

While drug overdose deaths have slightly declined, state lawmakers and groups that focus on addiction recovery services have their sights set on a new target for the next battle: The workplace.

Creating work and home environments to help people in recovery succeed is the focus of a statewide recovery conference taking place in Albany through Wednesday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- There are a lot of questions about the city of Buffalo's financial health.

Some local leaders have suggested the city could face budget deficits exceeding $40 million to 50 million. But while announcing his upcoming resignation, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the projection was closer to $25 million.

Transitioning back to life post-pandemic was hard for many people, but it was significantly difficult for students.

“We noticed that students were not fully returning back to school,” said Aundrea Sanders, director of crisis prevention and intervention supports for Buffalo Public Schools. “We had parents that were concerned with the continued spread of COVID. We had to look at addressing student attendance in a different manner.”

Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks handed in his resignation to Mayor Eric Adams Sunday night, the mayor said Monday morning on “Mornings On 1.”

The resignation is the latest in a flurry of exits from the Adams administration amid federal corruption probes that resulted in prosecutors from the Southern District of New York unsealing a five-count indictment against the mayor two weeks ago.

Former New York Gov. David Paterson on Saturday described the Upper East Side attack in which punches were thrown at him and his stepson.

Paterson, 70, said at a news conference Saturday at the scene that the incident Friday night started when his stepson, Anthony Sliwa, 20, was walking their dog near Second Avenue and 97th Street. Sliwa noticed three young people climbing the side of the building and told them to get down or he was calling the police. The three came down and had a brief argument with Sliwa.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Mayor Eric Adams should not resign from his position as he faces a federal indictment on conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges.

“Mayor Adams, like every other New Yorker and every other American, is entitled to the presumption of innocence. And entitled to a trial by a jury of his peers who will ultimately determine his fate in the legal system. At the same time, it’s important for Mayor Adams to articulate to New Yorkers in a compelling way a plan and a path forward,” Jeffries said in an interview with MSNBC Friday.

Budget season is officially underway, as New York state faces a $2.3 billion budget gap heading into the 2026 fiscal year and a projected $13.9 billion hole by 2028.

Multibillion-dollar budget gaps for the next few years are shrinking, but there are still big question marks, including school aid, Medicaid and what to do about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is stepping down from the office that he’s held for almost 20 years to become the president and CEO of Western New York Regional Off-Track Betting.

One of the reasons OTB said that it was interested in hiring Brown was for his relationships with lawmakers in Albany.

On Thursday, The New York Times first reported on a nearly 20-year-old photo of first-term U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler dressing up as performer Michael Jackson while in college.

Wearing blackface as it’s called, is reminiscent of 19th century minstrel shows in which white performers made cruel fun of African Americans and it has long been considered racist.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Late last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General released a report detailing the cases of 42 different patients in the Buffalo system who did not receive timely care under the VA's community care program.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said she is horrified by the stories, including one case in which a veteran with terminal cancer suffered debilitating, uncontrolled pain over the last two months of his life as he waited for treatment.

Mayor Eric Adams downplayed a new poll that shows a vast majority of New Yorkers want him to resign.

“Let the process play out. Let New Yorkers see our response to this whole matter. And you know, it's a natural reaction for people to feel that way without getting the full depth of what is taking place here," he said.

It's been almost a year since New York state lowered the threshold for when farm workers qualify for overtime pay. While the early deadline to apply for a related tax credit has passed, some farmers have already seen some benefits.

On a farm, the work is nonstop.

With the recovery efforts underway after Hurricane Helene, we have seen that repair efforts can fall on taxpayers. Here in New York, local officials and activists gathered to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that supporters argue would relieve some disaster-related stress for local governments.

"Sign the bill."

If you ask your neighbor if he wants to engage in a conversation about politics, he’s likely going to say no.

Nobody wants to talk about politics these days, yet Jon Stewart and Bill Maher do it all the time. The difference is, they’re comedians. And comedy is a great vehicle to talk about hard things, including politics.

This week, Mayor Eric Adams made it clear that he has no plans to step down — even with a federal indictment hanging over his head. The exodus of his top aides continued, as advisor Tim Pearson became the fifth high-ranking member of the administration to announce their departure in just three weeks. Are the recent changes a response to a warning from Gov. Kathy Hochul? NY1 political reporters Bobby Cuza, Kelly Mena and statehouse reporter Bernadette Hogan discuss the likelihood of Adams surviving the indictment and the changes within his administration in the past week.

After that, much has been made about the mayor’s legal strategy. His lawyers tried to get the bribery charge against him thrown out and accused prosecutors of leaking details of the case. The feds, meanwhile, say it’s possible the mayor will face even more charges and that it’s likely others will be indicted. The "Off Topic" team looks at celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro’s strategy thus far and discuss how the feds still haven’t cracked the password on the mayor’s phone.

New York leaders intend to implement changes to a Medicaid home care program by the spring, but the state health commissioner on Thursday said there could be flexibility in the six-month timeline if necessary.

Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald's comments come after continued pushback from disabled and elderly New Yorkers who rely on the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program — a $9 billion Medicaid home care program that allows family members to help their relatives live independently.

By more than a two-to-one margin, a new poll shows that New Yorker voters want Mayor Eric Adams to resign in the wake of his indictment last week on federal corruption charges.

“I’m going to step up! I’m not gonna resign, I’m gonna reign!” Adams said in the Bronx on Sunday, Sept. 29.