New York has paid off the nearly $7 billion in unemployment insurance debt to the federal government that ballooned in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic after it was included in the state budget that was passed in May, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday.

After initially declaring the state would only pay off the interest on the unemployment insurance debt earlier this year, Hochul said she met with business leaders during state budget negotiations this spring and reasoned this payout would help businesses should an economic downturn take place. The funding came from the state’s reserves, which Hochul at the beginning of her tenure as governor labeled the state’s rainy day fund.

Lactalis USA will invest $75 million to upgrade equipment at their Walton and Buffalo plants in an effort to modernize their dairy processing facilities.

“New York will continue to work with businesses in the agri-food sectors as they expand and grow to ensure good-paying jobs remain in our communities,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press release Monday. “By investing in the Lactalis USA facilities and assisting with improvements, New York is retaining hundreds of jobs and adding new jobs, as well as helping to support the region’s dairy farmers.”

A bill will head to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk could shake up the way accountants become licensed in New York state, in hopes of filling a shortage of certified public accountants in New York.

According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the number of students taking the CPA exam nationwide dropped by 33% between 2016 and 2021. New York could be taking steps to reverse that trend.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that federal judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions.

But the decision still leaves unclear whether President Donald Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship could soon take effect in parts of the country.

Within moments of declaring victory Tuesday night, Zohran Mamdani — the Democrats’ presumptive nominee for mayor of New York City — became a target of Republicans of Congress.

Many attacked his affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America. But some on the right went further, zeroing in on his Muslim faith and hurling Islamophobic insults.

Acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon is dropping out of the Buffalo mayoral race, he announced Friday.

The decision to not run on the November ballot comes after losing Tuesday night's primary to state Sen. Sean Ryan.

A group of advocates, including two of the women who have accused former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, are calling on state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to turn off the tap on state funding of his legal defense, and for lawmakers to step up and take action.

“We are urging the state comptroller to show leadership,” said Erica Vladimer, founding director of Harassment-Free Albany. “It is up to the comptroller to look for ways that he can reduce the public cost.”

The reconciliation bill Republicans are currently negotiating in the U.S. Senate remains on track to cut $880 billion from Medicaid over 10 years. If it passes, it could hit New York like a freight train.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates the cuts will cost the state around $70 billion over 10 years.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a flurry of significant rulings on Friday, among them one that decided individual judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions, but the decision left unclear the fate of President Donald Trump's restrictions on birthright citizenship.

The president issued an executive order earlier this year that would deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of people who are in the country illegally, so-called birthright citizenship that is outlined in the Fourteenth Amendment.

The next U.S. census isn’t until 2030, but there’s already an important battle brewing in Washington, D.C. that could lead to a significant undercount in New York, a state that’s already lost 20 congressional seats since the 1940s and could lose more.

The fight is over whether to count people who aren’t citizens in the decennial census.

WASHINGTON — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students.

Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country.

Andrew Cuomo will not drop out of the race for mayor, sources tell NY1.

The former governor had until Friday to remove himself from the November general election ballot.

Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is poised to win the Democratic mayoral primary — easily outperforming Andrew Cuomo, Brad Lander and eight other candidates . NY1’s investigative reporter Courtney Gross, political reporter Bobby Cuza and political director Bob Hardt break down the results of primary day and discuss what this may mean for the November general election when incumbent Eric Adams is running as an independent candidate.

After that, will Andrew Cuomo stay in the race? And what will Mayor Adams' strategy be this fall? The "Off Topic" team weighs in on whether Adams can mount a strong campaign and if Cuomo will continue fighting.

While the battles and debates that drag New York’s budget process out sometimes weeks beyond the deadline vary year to year, education funding is always guaranteed to be a key topic of conversation as the process plays out.

It’s typically framed around whether there will be a continuation of a string of significant increases in school aid, and if so, how much.

Mayor Eric Adams officially launched his reelection bid.

He was surrounded by faith leaders and supporters on City Hall steps, as he looks ahead to the November general election.

On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams launched his bid for a second term in office.

“Not one more year, not two more years, not three more years, but four more years," he said.

A Florida man has been indicted for allegedly mailing a letter containing what officials called a "suspicious white powder" to the New York State Attorney General’s Office in Albany, the Department of Justice said Thursday.

According to federal officials, Henry Garcia, 63, of Vero Beach, Florida, is accused of mailing a letter on Feb. 22, 2024, that officials say was "reasonably believed to contain a biological weapon."

New York Attorney General Letitia James has released a new report outlining why she thinks high-speed police pursuits should be banned unless the driver’s conduct poses an imminent threat of death.

For minor infractions, police wouldn't engage in a dangerous chase.

The clock is ticking for New Yorkers who want a say in the building of Micron Technology’s anticipated chip-manufacturing megasite.

With the release of a long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) comes a 45-day public comment period.

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. –– Former New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who became a leading advocate for gun reform after her husband was killed and son wounded in a mass shooting aboard a Long Island Rail Road train in 1993, has died. She was 81.

Known as the "Gun Lady” of Capitol Hill, McCarthy served nine terms in Congress – representing Long Island’s 4th congressional district, which encompasses swaths of central and southern Nassau County, from 1997 to 2015.

The Empire State Development Board has approved $40 million to launch the second phase of the state's Empire AI initiative, a consortium of seven of New York’s leading research institutions tasked with developing an artificial intelligence computing center, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.

Known as Empire AI Beta, this second phase will be 11 times more powerful than current capacity, which the governor's office said will allow hundreds of researchers from the now 10-member institutions to continue to advance AI research. It will allow the Empire AI consortium to purchase the equipment needed to power the second-phase supercomputer, housed at the University of Buffalo. Empire AI Beta will use NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art Blackwell AI supercomputing platform.

With the 10-year anniversary of the prison escape at Dannemora this month, how it happened has been described as a complete failure from those inside the walls.

Those failures have led to massive changes within the system.

The surprising Democratic primary victory of 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has left many political insiders scratching their heads. What does this mean for the future of the Democratic Party and how did a young assemblyman who was polling at 1% in February defeat a well-known New York political giant?

NY1 political reporter Ayana Harry joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis to discuss the stunning results of this week’s primary. They also talked about Cuomo’s strategy of limited public engagement and reliance on traditional campaign methods, which ultimately failed. The conversation covered Mamdani’s effective ground game, enthusiastic voter engagement and modern digital tactics. Other topics included the impact of a super PAC’s spending, the role of minority and younger voters, and the implications for future elections in New York City politics.

Buffalo voters Tuesday decided to send new leadership to City Hall, marking a generational shift for Western New York Democrats as they grapple with a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

State Sen. Sean Ryan, who's represented Buffalonians in Albany for more than a decade, overcame a five-way primary challenge with 46.5% of the vote, netting more than a 10-point lead over Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon.

This week, Gov. Kathy Hochul put the wheels in motion for the construction of a zero-emission nuclear power plant upstate, directing the New York Power Authority to get to work.

Hochul has argued it’s a necessary step to support the state’s clean energy transition, insisting that the grid will need the extra support into the future if New York is really going to transition off of fossil fuels.

Zohran Mamdani announced his run for mayor last fall, with an almost singular focus on affordability.

“While corruption is engulfing City Hall, it’s the cost-of-living crisis that most New Yorkers are concerned about,” he told NY1 on Oct. 23.

Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is poised to be the Democratic nominee for mayor in a historic upset over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

All eyes will soon shift toward November as Mamdani looks to continue his momentum against Mayor Eric Adams, who is set to launch his reelection bid as an independent candidate Thursday afternoon.

Next Tuesday, July 1, is when the certified results of a too-close-to-call Republican primary race for Ontario County district attorney are expected to be announced, the county Board of Elections said Wednesday.

Ontario County assistant attorney Jason MacBride is leading the Ontario County district attorney Republican primary race as of Tuesday evening.

A day after Zohran Mamdani shocked the New York establishment and won the Democratic primary for mayor, politicians of every ideological stripe — including the president — were adjusting to a new landscape with reactions ranging from joy to disgust.

“I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City,” said Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic state assemblyman, declaring victory early Wednesday morning at his campaign watch party in Long Island City.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is directing the New York Power Authority to build a zero-emission nuclear power plant somewhere in upstate New York, where the state’s three other nuclear power plants reside.

The move comes as a surprise to clean energy advocates who have been waiting for her administration to come out with cap-and-invest regulations under the 2019 climate act which mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Less than 24 hours after losing the Democratic primary for Buffalo mayor, Erie County Board of Elections commissioners are taking Garnell Whitfield off the November ballot.

The former Buffalo fire commissioner lost Tuesday night’s primary by more than 10,000 votes to state Sen. Sean Ryan.

Syracuse Democratic voters on Tuesday once again picked someone to be their party’s candidate for mayor who wasn’t the one local party leaders wanted.

Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens cruised to victory in the Democratic primary over longtime Common Councilor Pat Hogan, who had been endorsed by the Onondaga County Democratic Committee as their designated candidate.

State Sen. Sean Ryan has declared victory in the Democratic primary for Buffalo mayor.

With 100% of precincts reporting, unofficial results show Ryan received 12,249 votes, or 46.5%. The next closest candidate was Acting Buffalo Mayor Scanlon with 9,278 votes, or 35.3%.

Incumbent Rochester Mayor Malik Evans secured a win in the Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.

Evans is seeking a second term in November and faced a pair of challengers in the primary, with current East District City Councilor Mary Lupien and political newcomer and businessman Shashi Sinha also running.

Political history was made in New York City on June 24, and once NY1’s live TV coverage wrapped early Wednesday morning, NY1’s Errol Louis, Courtney Gross and Bobby Cuza broke down the surprise results of the Democratic primary in this special crossover episode of "Off Topic/On Politics" and "You Decide."

Queens Assemblyman and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, 33, pulled off an upset over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an outcome few insiders predicted. The team unpacked how Mamdani’s grassroots movement energized young voters and what his win means for the future of the Democratic Party.

Zohran Mamdani had a significant lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night, leaving the young liberal upstart poised to land a stunning upset in a race still to be determined by a ranked choice count.

Cuomo, who was trying to make a comeback from a sexual harassment scandal, conceded the contest less than two hours after the polls closed, saying he had called Mamdani to congratulate him.

Syracuse Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens is one step closer to being promoted to the top job.

Owens declared victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary race to be the city’s next mayor, defeating Common Councilors Pat Hogan and Chol Majok.

Dorcey Applyrs declared victory Tuesday night in the four-way Democratic primary for mayor and will represent Democrats in November when voters determine who becomes Albany’s first new mayor in 12 years.

Applyrs, the city’s chief auditor, led businessman and political newcomer Dan Cerutti, Common Council leader Corey Ellis and Albany County Legislator Carolyn McLaughlin in the race to represent Democrats and succeed Kathy Sheehan as mayor, according to preliminary vote totals.

An important religious rights case out of Albany was decided last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v. Harris, the diocese argued it didn’t have to provide employee coverage for abortions on religious grounds.

New data shows tourism in upstate New York could take a hit as border crossings between the U.S. and Canada continue to plummet.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, nearly 400,000 fewer travelers crossed the upstate New York-Canadian border via land in May 2025 compared to May 2024 — a nearly 25% decrease.

Chautauqua County leaders are voicing their support for Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to develop and construct an advanced nuclear plant upstate and our recommending the NRG power plant in the City of Dunkirk as a prime site, executive PJ Wendel, Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor said Tuesday.

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will help identify a site and host community for the project upstate, Hochul said. The project would generate 1,600 jobs during construction and 1,200 permanent jobs.

This month after more than a decade of relentless advocacy, the New York state Senate joined the state Assembly in passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which authorizes medically assisted suicide for individuals in end of life situations.

Advocates like Corinne Carey, Compassion & Choices' senior campaign director for New York and New Jersey, have been pushing the legislation for years largely by communicating the stories of individuals who they argue suffered needlessly, dying in pain after being diagnosed with a terminal illness and leaving their loved ones to share their stories.

In May, the U.S. veteran unemployment rate was 3.8%, up from 3.7% the previous month and up from 2.9% in 2024. While veterans usually have a lower unemployment rate then the general population, the rise in unemployment is a concern.

One place many veterans find a home after service is in the New York State Police, among the largest employers of military and veterans in New York state.

New York will develop and construct an advanced nuclear plant upstate to help power a new generation of prosperity in the age of semiconductor manufacturing and artificial intelligence, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday morning at the Niagara Power Project in Niagara County.

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will help identify a site and host community for the project upstate, Hochul said, adding that New York state is looking for private partners for the project, will help finance the plant and buy power it generates.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition that would have stopped a retrial of the defendants in the "Buffalo Billion" corruption case.

The petition, filed on behalf of defendants Louis Ciminelli, a Buffalo developer, Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi, executives with Syracuse-based COR Development, and Alain Kaloyeros, former head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, argued that a retrial defied the double jeopardy clause.

More than 427,000 people took part in early voting for this year's primary elections in New York state, according to state Board of Elections numbers released Monday.

As of Monday, 427,440 state residents voted early between June 14 and June 22 when early voting was available, which is more than the 78,000 who voted early in 2023, the last year of off-year elections when turnout is usually lower.

Candidates for mayor crisscrossed the city Sunday, making last-minute pitches to voters on the final day of early voting, a day that also saw foreign policy take center stage on the campaign trail following U.S. military strikes in Iran.

The attack, reportedly targeting Iranian nuclear sites, prompted swift reaction from the Democratic mayoral hopefuls, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

A new poll released a day before primary day has Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani overtaking former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the final round of ranked-choice voting in the Democratic mayoral primary election.

The Emerson College, PIX11 and The Hill poll shows a neck-and-neck race between Cuomo and Mamdani during the first round of ranked-choice voting, with Cuomo holding a narrow lead at 35% and Mamdani close behind at 32%.

Sunday marked the final day of early voting ahead of Primary Day on Tuesday.

New York state has a closed primary system, which means residents can only vote this time if they are registered in a political party that has a contested primary.

With the hottest weather so far this year arriving, and voters heading to the polls for primary elections on Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday signed new legislation into law which allows voters to get refreshments, including water, while waiting in line at polling locations.

Under the previous law, New York State Election Law Section 17-140, people who provided items of small value to voters at polling sites, like food or water, could have faced criminal penalties.

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. conducted strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, New York leaders in Albany and Capitol Hill all responded to the strikes with mixed messages.

"Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons," Republican Rep. Mike Lawler said in part. "I fully supported Israel’s move to strike Iran, and fully support the deployment of US air assets to finish the job."

It was a legislative session which drained the patience of even some of Albany’s seasoned participants and observers in a six-month grind that came to a close this week.

“It’s been a long session,” Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said in his closing remarks as the Senate wrapped up last week. “I’ve been here 11 years and I feel like that’s just today.”

New Yorkers without U.S. citizenship who serve in the military and their families are receiving support from state agencies for the first time as they navigate the process to become naturalized citizens.

The most recent $252 billion state budget included half a million dollars for a new program to connect foreign-born soldiers in the state and their families to pro-bono legal assistance to streamline their path to citizenship.

It’s been quite a few days in the world of politics. At least once this week, national and New York state politics appeared to collide as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander into custody.

Joining Capital Tonight for the "Insiders" segment on Friday are two Republican veterans of the political trenches: Columnist and political consultant Bill O’Reilly, a partner at The November Team; and strategist and political consultant Dave Catalfamo, president at Capital Public Strategies.

CORNWALL, N.Y. — With hot and humid temperatures forecast in New York next week, some state officials are looking forward to new legislation aimed at protecting students and teachers.

State Sen. James Skoufis, of the Hudson Valley, said he has been advocating for climate-controlled classrooms for more than seven years.

With the June 24 primary almost upon us, could Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani pull off an upset over Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic race for mayor? Could City Comptroller Brad Lander capitalize on his arrest by federal immigration officials and make a last-minute push?

Gerson Borrero is a journalist, radio host and political commentator who appears weekly on NY1’s “Inside City Hall.” He’s also the former editor-at-large of City & State and former editor-in-chief of El Diario/La Prensa, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in New York City. He joined Errol to discuss various angles of the primary. Borrero shared his analysis of the slate of candidates, the influence of the Working Families Party, and the potential impact of alliances between candidates.

Cornell University will reduce its workforce and review its operations and programs to find ways to cut costs and address its "profound financial challenges" as a result of the federal government's slashing and freezing of funding since the Trump administration took office earlier this year, the university announced Friday.

"The spring semester was unlike anything ever seen in higher education, with hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research contracts at Cornell terminated or frozen, and serious threats to future research funding, federal financial aid, medical reimbursement, and research cost recovery, along with an anticipated tax on our endowment income, and rapidly escalating legal expenses," university officials said in a letter to the Cornell community. "These acute funding challenges come as Cornell has experienced a marked and unsustainable increase in expenses due to inflation, the expansion of our workforce, and other cost pressures. We have been using institutional resources to try to plug these funding holes in the short term, but these interim measures are not sustainable. We must immediately address our significant financial shortfalls by reducing costs and enacting permanent change to our operational model. This will require financial austerity in all areas of the university, as we comprehensively review and restructure university operations and programs, and it will require the participation and support of everyone at Cornell, as we seek the optimal ways to reduce costs while maintaining, to the maximum extent possible, the strength of our academic community."

Quirino, a Guatemalan immigrant, spent more than a decade working long days caring for hundreds of cows on a dairy farm in upstate New York. Now, he worries about the day that ends amid a rollercoaster of immigration policy changes.

“During the first [Trump] administration, it felt like there was an uptick in the people who were being detained and people being deported, but it was about one or two months and then it seemed like things started to slow down,” Quirino said in an interview this week through an interpreter from the Worker’s Center of Central New York.

As the sirens blared, Jules Shalhov couldn’t believe what was flying over him: a rocket was flying overhead, set to land somewhere in Israel, as he raced into his bomb shelter.

“A home got hit in Ramat Gan. Which is like 10 minutes away from where I live,” he said.

New Yorkers should prepare for the hottest weather of the year thus far – a stretch of "blistering" heat that will intensify starting Sunday and peak during the coming week with temperatures that could feel like up to 105 degrees, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Hochul on Friday updated what is a scorching weather forecast for across New York state that she said is not likely to break until Thursday.

BOSTON — A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from withholding billions of dollars in transportation funds from states that don't agree to participate in some immigration enforcement actions.

Twenty states sued after they said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to cut off funding to states that refused to comply with President Donald Trump's immigration agenda. U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. barred federal transportation officials from carrying out that threat before the lawsuit is fully resolved.

A new Marist University poll shows former Gov. Andrew Cuomo holding his lead in the Democratic primary for mayor, but the race is tightening. Could Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani have enough time to close the gap? Meanwhile, the shocking arrest of mayoral hopeful and City Comptroller Brad Lander at an immigration court made headlines this week. Will the high-profile incident give his campaign a boost? NY1’s investigative reporter Courtney Gross, political reporter Bobby Cuza and statehouse reporter Bernadette Hogan break down a high-action week on the campaign trail.

After that, the race for city comptroller heats up. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan share progressive values but differ in political style. Will a Bernie Sanders endorsement give Brannan the boost he needs to overtake Levine? The "Off Topic" team weighs in.

After a final week of the legislative session marked by frustration among progressive lawmakers and advocates that not enough was being done to counter the Trump Administration on immigration, some New York state lawmakers want another chance.

State Sens. Jabari Brisport and Julia Salazar are among the lawmakers on X calling for a special session to pass the New York for All Act.

The Citizens Budget Commission of New York (CBCNY), a state budget watchdog group, is concerned that the $254 billion state spending plan that passed in May spends too much money and does too little to prepare the state for possible federal budget cuts, or a downturn in the economy.

The group this week issued its analysis of the budget, highlighting five ways in which the state is inadequately preparing for risk, including by further eroding the state’s fiscal foundation.

There have been bipartisan calls to turn down heated political rhetoric in the aftermath of the shootings of two Minnesota state politicians and their spouses over the weekend.

Unfortunately, there are signs that those calls are not being heeded.

The number of private sector jobs in New York increased by 7,500, or 0.1%, in May, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Labor.

These put the total number of private sector jobs in the state to 8,471,200 in May. The number of private sector jobs in the U.S. also increased 0.1% over the same period of time, the department said.

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) replaced the superintendent of the Mid-State Correctional Facility last month, it confirmed Thursday, days after news broke that he is among those named in a federal lawsuit alleging systematic issues at the jail that led to an inmate's death.

DOCCS promoted Thomas Delmar, former first deputy superintendent at Auburn Correctional Facility, to replace Bryan Hilton as Mid-State superintendent on May 12, it said in a statement.

When it comes to mayoral primaries, few people know the terrain better than Bill de Blasio. As the 109th mayor of New York City, he served two terms from 2014 to 2021, the last Democratic mayor since Ed Koch to serve two terms in office. De Blasio joined NY1’s Errol Louis to discuss his thoughts on the 2025 Democratic primary. They also discussed the importance of a clear message and how he looks back on his relationship with the media.

Join the conversation, weigh in on X using the hashtag #NY1YouDecide or give us a call at 212-379-3440 and leave a message. Or send an email to YourStoryNY1@charter.com.

Reps. Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler spent Wednesday morning in Lower Manhattan, attempting to observe proceedings at immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza. They said they also wanted to see how detained immigrants were being treated.

Their visit came one day after mayoral candidate Brad Lander was detained in the same building.

Taking the podium a half hour after midnight Wednesday, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie officially called it a Session for the state Assembly.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “We came into this session this year laser focused on easing the financial burden on families.”

New York state lawmakers will hold a public hearing next month to determine how the Legislature should address continuing issues with a $9 billion Medicaid home care program after a controversial transition to one company.

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, known as CDPAP, allows disabled or elderly people to choose their own home caregiver. Company Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL, took over the program April 1 — a decision Gov. Kathy Hochul forced in last year's budget to put over 600 fiscal intermediaries out of business.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday hit back at the New York Times Editorial Board’s assessment of his time as mayor, criticizing what he called “the elitism and the out-of-touch reality” of the board.

The editorial board posted an opinion piece on the upcoming mayor's race earlier this week that said de Blasio “bears significant responsibility for the city’s problems.”

Environmental advocates are accusing EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin of betraying his own past record as a New York congressman, saying he has undermined water safety by rolling back restrictions on certain so-called “forever chemicals.”

Zeldin’s team counters this, arguing the changes EPA is pursuing will benefit all Americans, including those in Zeldin’s former congressional district on Long Island.

In 2018, as a relative unknown, Antonio Delgado unseated an incumbent Republican in an upstate, mostly white, mostly rural district to win election to Congress.

During COVID-19, he successfully advocated for New York localities by ensuring counties, towns and villages directly received $400 million in federal funding under the American Rescue Plan. He held over 60 town halls during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped secure money for rural broadband. In 2022, he was then plucked by Gov. Kathy Hochul to serve as her lieutenant governor, a spot he won outright in an election later that year.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation Wednesday that would provide mandatory annual funding for a initiative that aims to help end food deserts.

According to the junior senator from New York, her bill would give $50 million annually to the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture that offers loans and grants to incentivize grocery stores to establish locations in food deserts.

A bill that would have put a five-year moratorium on the use of sewage sludge on farmland did not pass the New York state Assembly before the end of this year’s legislative session despite bipartisan support early on.

“If you look at the votes, you’ll see it was unanimous ‘yes,’ bipartisan, and then last minute, the same people who voted ‘yes’ all voted ‘no’ in the Rules Committee,” said state Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, a Democrat and sponsor of the bill.

Unlike the eleven Democratic mayoral candidates, Mayor Eric Adams isn’t worried about the upcoming primary election.

“In a general election you’re not restricted by a party,” Adams said.

New York state has awarded the first round of funding for cannabis retailers with former marijuana convictions who opened a recreational store, the state Office of Cannabis Management announced Wednesday.

The 52 licensed dispensary owners receiving the funds are part of the state’s Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary Licenses (CAURD) program, which was created by the state to prioritize upcoming business owners with a cannabis conviction under former drug laws or people who have a family member with a previous conviction.

Despite efforts from defense attorneys to push back the federal trial in the case of Buffalo mass shooter Payton Gendron, lawyers are set to receive a start date next week.

Gendron killed 10 Black people and injured three others at a Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue in May 2022. He's currently serving a lifetime prison sentence after pleading guilty to state charges.

New York state Attorney General Letitia James is formally investigating how the Oswego County Sheriff's Office has been potentially working with federal agencies on immigration enforcement.

Spectrum News 1 has obtained a letter sent from the AG's office to Oswego County Sheriff Don Hilton.

A bill to loan the city of Dunkirk nearly $14 million to help the city's troubled finances has passed the New York state Assembly.

The terms of the loan include 7.75% interest with 15 years to pay it back.

A new fight between Republicans is brewing on Capitol Hill over the future of the federal deduction for state and local tax payments — or SALT.

Senate Republicans are threatening to upend a deal crafted by their GOP colleagues in the House, offering a counterproposal that some New York Republicans are dubbing “a non-starter” and “dead on arrival.”

Working to win over voters one week ahead of the Democratic primary for mayor, Andrew Cuomo toured Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights and Fort George Tuesday afternoon along with Rep. Adriano Espaillat.

After the Upper Manhattan campaign tour, Cuomo spoke exclusively with NY1 about his plan to vote early, his relationship with Mayor Eric Adams and cross endorsements.

A new Marist University poll shows former Gov. Andrew Cuomo remains a frontrunner in the Democratic primary for mayor, but the contest tightened between him and Zohran Mamdani.

According to the poll released Wednesday, Cuomo is the first-choice candidate of nearly four in 10 likely Democratic primary voters, including those who are undecided. Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman, placed second, with more than a quarter of the vote.

New York state assemblymembers Tuesday voted in the final hours of session to pass consumer protection reforms that expand the powers of the state Attorney General's Office to go after predatory lenders and scammers.

State Attorney General Letitia James made it clear to the Legislature this session to change state law to prohibit "unfair" and "abusive" business practices across the state. She lobbied for the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices, or FAIR Business Practices Act, which cleared the Assembly on Tuesday night with a vote of 94-48.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie began his closing remarks just before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, marking the end of the legislative session and any hope that the State Assembly would pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act, one of the most closely watched bills this legislative session.

The bill already passed in the state Senate. It also passed in the Senate last year, but never made it to the floor for a vote in the Assembly after Governor Kathy Hochul’s last-minute decision to pause congestion pricing upended the final hours of the legislative session.

X is challenging the constitutionality of New York state law which requires social media companies disclose how they handle hate speech, extremism, disinformation, harassment and foreign political interference. The company owned by Elon Musk argues it violates the First Amendment and points to its successful challenge of a similar California law.

Referred to as the "Stop Hiding Hate Act" by the law's sponsors, it was passed last year and signed into law with a number of other regulations for social media and protecting personal data online. The law gives state Attorney General Letitia James authority to enforce the regulations and impose fines. James is named as the defendant in the lawsuit as a result. Spectrum News has reached out to the attorney general's office for comment, but have not heard back.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, giving the progressive New York City mayoral candidate a boost as he challenges establishment forces in the 2025 Democratic primary.

Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman, welcomed the endorsement with praise for the Vermont senator's influence on his political vision.

Among the last cache of bills on the New York state Assembly’s plate are so-called good-governance bills, which are wonky, but important because they help improve government transparency and accountability.

Rachael Fauss, the senior policy advisor for ReInvent Albany, told Capital Tonight that a few bills addressing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIL) have passed in both houses and will now await Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature or veto:

WASHINGTON — A cohort of House Republicans representing districts in Democratic-led states are fuming over the state and local tax deduction cap included in the Senate’s version of what President Donald Trump calls his “one big, beautiful” bill, adding another layer to the uncertainty around its future.

In a post on X on Monday, one of those Republicans, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, blasted the level set by Senate Republicans, pointing out that the cap included in the House version of the bill was “carefully negotiated.”

City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was released from detention after being arrested at immigration court in Lower Manhattan Tuesday.

At a press conference after his release, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the charges against the comptroller were dropped.

A lawsuit has been filed against Mid-State Correctional Facility officials, correction officers and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision commissioner over the death of Messiah Nantwi, 22, earlier this year.

The law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel said Tuesday that its federal suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on behalf of Nantwi's estate. Nantwi, according to an indictment of correction officers charged in the case, was pronounced dead on March 1 at Wynn Hospital in Utica after beatings by correction officers at Mid-State.

New York state lawmakers advanced legislation in the final days of session to regulate the use of artificial intelligence, but one is unlikely to pass the state Assembly before time runs out.

Lawmakers defied big tech companies over the last week and passed legislation to protect the public when AI is used irresponsibly as Congress considers a 10-year moratorium to prevent states from regulating the emerging technology.

Less than a week after the Trump administration stripped the late Sgt. Henry Johnson's name from the Army's top combat training center, Capital Region lawmakers announced a new way to honor the decorated World War I soldier from Albany's Arbor Hill.

Elected officials and military veterans met Tuesday in the state Capitol to discuss introduction of a bill that would dedicate the Patroon Island Bridge spanning Albany and Rensselaer counties after Johnson, a Black soldier who fought valiantly in France but died largely destitute in 1929.

Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello on Tuesday announced the new proposed site for City Hall in a place that used to be the center of downtown – the former Proctor’s Theater.

City Hall would take up a space in Proctor's, but still leasing. Current tenants of the building include Rensselaer County Chamber and RPI.