Damian Williams has announced he will resign from his role as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York next month.

In a release, Williams said his last day will be Dec. 13. Edward Kim, who currently serves as deputy U.S. attorney, will become the acting U.S. attorney when Williams steps down.

The state paid $14.5 billion for Medicaid home care services in the last two years that the state Health Department failed to verify took place, according to a recent state comptroller audit, showing the state must take more responsibility to restrain inflated Medicaid spending in the next budget.

This comes as state leaders look to rein in Medicaid spending, or one of the largest parts of the state's $237 billion budget.

Next year's mayoral race just got even more crowded: Michael Blake, a former Bronx assemblyman and onetime Obama White House aide, has announced his intention to challenge Mayor Eric Adams.

Blake is the seventh prominent challenger to enter the race, with candidates poised to run in June's Democratic mayoral primary.

The City Council passed “City of Yes” Thursday, an ambitious housing proposal from Mayor Eric Adams to help alleviate the city’s affordability crisis.

“I’m very excited that the Council, together with the mayor’s office, has taken very important and meaningful steps to make sure that every neighborhood in New York City shoulders the burden to build just a little more housing,” Councilmember Shaun Abreu said.

This week, Catskill Off-Track Betting notified customers on its Interbets website it would cease accepting bets effective Nov. 30.

This comes after the public benefit corporation, which serves 13 counties in the Catskills and Southern Tier regions, asked for an emergency meeting with the governor but state Assembly Racing and Wagering chair Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernor, said he was still caught a bit off-guard.

While Kamala Harris did not win the presidency, many Democrats in New York had a better election night.

“I believe that we continue to win even when there is something that may resemble a red wave,” Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters on Tuesday.

In 1940, New York state sent 45 congressional representatives to Capitol Hill.

By the year 2000, that number had dropped to 29.

A new computer system launched by the New York State Department of Health for providers of the state’s Early Intervention Program is encountering major issues. The frustration with the system has reached the point to where a petition to fix it has more than 12,000 signatures.

Providers say it’s on top of existing issues when it comes to reimbursement rates and employee retention, and the havoc it is wreaking is having an impact on their ability to do their jobs.

A group of New York state lawmakers, who are mothers and call themselves "the Mom Squad," are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign several pieces of legislation aimed to improve access to child care, according to a letter they sent to the governor this week.

The lawmakers say they are addressing legislation that would:

A court has found SiriusXM Radio, Inc. violated the law by forcing customers to undergo a long process to cancel their subscriptions, New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday.

James sued the satellite radio and streaming service in December 2023 after an investigation into complaints from customers found that SiriusXM forced subscribers to wait in an automated system before often lengthy interactions with agents who were trained in ways to avoid accepting a request to cancel service. She cited affidavits in which customers complained of long waits in an automated system to chat with an agent, and that it took subscribers an average of 11.5 minutes to cancel by phone, and 30 minutes to cancel online, although for many subscribers it took far longer.

NEW YORK — A judge confirmed Friday that President-elect Donald Trump won't be sentenced this month in his hush money case, instead setting a schedule for prosecutors and his lawyers to expand on their ideas about what to do next.

Amid a flurry of filings in the case since Trump's election win this month, it had already become clear that the Nov. 26 sentencing date wouldn't hold. Judge Juan M. Merchan's order Friday formalized that without setting a new one.

After several months of searching, Mayor Adams has picked a new police commissioner, Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who will officially take over the NYPD next week. This is the fourth police commissioner for Mayor Eric Adams in less than three years. What does her appointment say about where the Adams administration wants to go with policing? NY1 investigative reporter Courtney Gross and political reporters Bobby Cuza and Kelly Mena discuss Tisch’s career in city government and how it led to this position.

After that, this week saw a horrific series of deadly stabbings that were allegedly committed by a homeless man with a lengthy criminal record. The stabbing spree, which left three people dead, shocked the city. Mayor Adams claims the murders are more about how society handles people with serious mental illness than the actual safety of the city. The “Off Topic” team looks at how New Yorkers are feeling in the aftermath of these tragic killings.

Community members gathered outside the state Capitol Thursday evening, protesting the incoming Trump administration's immigration plans.

Members of the group, which included Assemblymember Pat Fahy, expressed that they braved the cold and rain to stand up for those they feel are directly in harm's way as a result of Trump’s victory.

Democrat Laura Gillen started her congressional career off with a win Thursday morning.

The incoming Nassau County congresswoman nabbed first dibs on vacant office space, in the lottery for incoming House members.

State lawmakers next session want to strengthen laws prohibiting PFAS, or the "forever chemicals" that have been found to poison ground and drinking water — and electeds on both sides of the aisle are on board.

The Legislature will consider a variety of proposals to prohibit the manufacturing and use of these chemicals in the state, which have been found to disrupt the endocrine and immune systems, child development, hormones and fertility, according to The National Institute of Health.

Before they declined to share how they would vote on President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations, you might have heard multiple U.S. senators state on last weekend’s Sunday morning talk shows that the Senate has the responsibility to provide "advice and consent" on appointments. It’s true. Under the U.S. Constitution, the Senate must confirm a president’s cabinet nominations. But what about Trump's demand for so-called “recess appointments?"

These kinds of appointments don’t need a vote by the Senate and could be in place for up to two years.

New York state will adopt new regulations for the middlemen negotiating prescription drug prices between wholesalers and pharmacies.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's office says the new rules for pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, will protect access to prescription drugs, prohibit practices that increase costs and help independent pharmacies compete with larger ones, which sometimes operate their own PBMs.

Congestion pricing is set to take effect on Jan. 5, 2025, but before the tolls turn on, the MTA is offering commuters the chance to ask questions and learn more about the program.

The agency will host eight public webinars next month to go over everything those who plan on driving into the tolling zone will need to know about, including discounts and exemptions.

Outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell gave U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik a glowing review after meeting with her Thursday regarding her nomination to be the next ambassador to the United Nations.

"The world’s largest international organization is in dire need of a wake-up call, and Representative Stefanik is uniquely well-suited to deliver it,” McConnell said.

The state pension fund is estimated to be valued at $274.6 billion as of the end of the second quarter of the state's fiscal year, New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced Wednesday.

The comptroller said fund investments returned an estimated 4.15% during the three-month period ending Sept. 30. At the end of the state’s fiscal year in March, the pension fund was valued at $267.7 billion.

GlobalFoundries is receiving $1.5 billion for chip manufacturing.

The money will be used to create a new, large-scale fabrication facility alongside its current facility in Malta. Funding will also be used to expand the existing facility.

Mental health experts in the state want lawmakers to rethink legislation they introduced this week in wake of fatal stabbings in Manhattan that have rattled New York leaders.

A new bill introduced this week would expand the pool of mental health professionals who can perform clinical evaluations to determine when a person with a mental health disorder needs involuntary hospitalization, or court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment created under Kendra's Law. Physicians, and namely psychiatrists, currently perform the required evaluation.

Members of the state Senate gathered in Albany Wednesday for a hearing on economic development with conversation largely anchored by a December 2023 state commissioned report examining the effectiveness of the New York’s tax credits and incentives.

State Sen. James Skoufis told Spectrum News 1 the key takeaway from the hearing and the report is that the state Legislature has work to do when it comes to parsing through which of the programs are actually successful in driving businesses to set up shop to stay in New York state, which are falling flat, and what to do about it.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand won reelection to her third full term in office just over two weeks ago, but she’s not letting any grass grow under her feet. Instead, the state’s junior senator has expressed an interest in chairing the Senate Democratic Campaign arm, and she’s urging students to apply for a Cyber Service Academy scholarship program which provides full college tuition.

Gillibrand, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke with Capital Tonight about the president-elect’s tentative nomination of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense – a nomination that she has serious concerns about, although she stated she is looking forward to meeting with each and every one of the cabinet nominees.

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. -- Jewish Family Services of Western New York said it has been in ongoing negotiations and discussions with New York City for the past couple of months regarding the final scope of work it would do on a Coordinated Entry Program for hundreds of migrants the city bused to Erie County more than a year ago.

JFS said a finalized contract is still pending but Mayor Eric Adams' administration notified the non-profit a few weeks ago it could resume work in hotel shelters in Amherst and Cheektowaga, including case management and housing placements. State Sen. Sean Ryan confirmed the process of finding more permanent housing is underway.

Mayor Eric Adams has appointed Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch the next leader of the NYPD.

Tisch will become the second woman police commissioner in the NYPD’s 179-year history when she officially steps into the role on Monday.

As New York leaders work to conserve 30% of the state’s land by 2030, conservationists are eyeing what could be a large piece of the puzzle, namely the 36,000-acre Whitney Park that's located in Adirondack Park.

Home to 46 high peaks, 2,800 lakes and ponds and more than 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, the Adirondack Park is one of a kind.

Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres is not ruling out a run for governor against fellow Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, telling Spectrum News NY1 “we have a leadership crisis in America, and nowhere is it more profound than in New York."

In an interview Wednesday, Torres said he has made “no final decision” but, he argued, the gains President-elect Donald Trump made in traditionally Democratic New York in this year’s election are a “vote of no confidence in the leadership of New York state.”

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump’s legal team on Wednesday told the judge in his Manhattan hush money criminal trial, in which he was convicted of 34 felonies in May, that the case should be dismissed entirely now that he has once again won the presidency.

A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record as well as a possible prison sentence.

Acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon was ceremoniously sworn in as the 63rd mayor of Buffalo on Tuesday.

Scanlon has been serving as acting mayor for a little more than a month after long-time Mayor Byron Brown stepped down to take over as the new head of Western Regional OTB.

Since Donald Trump’s victory two weeks ago, some people are worried about one of his main campaign promises — to launch the largest deportation operation in American history. What does that really mean, and how feasible is it that it will happen at the scale the president-elect is promising?

This week, NY1’s Errol Louis spoke to three experts — Lee Gelernt, the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project; Elora Mukerjee, director of Columbia Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic; and Luis Gomez Alfaro, an attorney in New York and New Jersey, with extensive experience in immigration law — about what Trump can truly do legally. They also discuss the possibility of ending birthright citizenship, what will be happening at the border and the impact Trump’s plans will have on millions across the country. And they provided some specific, practical information for immigrants who are worried about being detained.

In two months, President Joe Biden will be heading for the exits. And his would-be heir, Vice President Kamala Harris, will be following him out the door.

As Democrats regroup following this month’s elections, which left them out of power in Washington, many are turning to Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to help forge a path forward and lead their comeback.

Manhattan prosecutors Tuesday opposed efforts by President-elect Trump’s legal team to dismiss his 34-count felony conviction and are asking the judge to freeze the case while Trump serves out his four-year term.

Trump’s election victory has complicated the future of the case, and so did a Supreme Court decision back in July that gave presidents sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution.

The council tasked with reducing New York’s elevated child poverty rate plan to tell legislative leaders to expand the state’s child tax credit to lift low-income families across the state out of poverty.

New York has one of the largest economies in the world, but 18% of children in the state experience poverty — more than in 32 other states, according to the state comptroller's office.

Housing affordability will continue to be a major issue this legislative session. But according to one housing advocate, unless legislation is keenly targeted, rural areas of New York state will continue to lose out on state funding to wealthier urban and suburban communities which are better positioned to scoop up state grant money.

Michael Borges, executive director of the Rural Housing Coalition, shared a story with Capital Tonight of a $7 million grant acquired two years ago with the help of state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

A cryptocurrency plant in Central New York can continue operating after a court rejected the state’s effort to shut down the facility, but the debate isn’t over and both sides consider the ruling a victory.

Environmental advocates have been railing against the Greenidge Generation facility for years, alleging the operation works against the state's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mayor Eric Adams highlighted the need for more mental health resources at his weekly briefing with reporters Tuesday, following a fatal stabbing spree on Monday.

“This is the failure of our unwillingness to face the problem, address the problem and don’t be so idealistic that we’re not realistic. People need care,” Adams said.

NEW YORK -- New York prosecutors oppose any effort to dismiss President-elect Donald Trump's hush money conviction, but they expressed openness Tuesday to delaying sentencing until after his impending second term.

In a court filing, the Manhattan district attorney's office said Trump's forthcoming presidency isn't grounds for dropping a case that was already tried. But "given the need to balance competing constitutional interests," prosecutors said, "consideration must be given" to potentially freezing the case until after he's out of office.

At a gathering billed as “a fireside chat” with the Partnership for New York City’s Kathryn Wylde and sponsored by Crains New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul shook up the narrative that she’s to blame for congestion pricing. Instead, she said she inherited the issue from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“I have to clean up the mess,” she told Wylde in front of an audience of business leaders Tuesday in New York City. “I never gravitate toward the easy. I gravitate toward the hard.”

WASHINGTON — House Leader Hakeem Jeffries won reelection Tuesday as the Democratic leader, receiving support from his colleagues despite the party's inability to win back majority control of the chamber in the November election.

Jeffries of New York was chosen during an internal party vote of the House Democrats underway at the Capitol. Most of the Democratic leadership team is expected to be reelected for the new Congress.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bottle and can redemption centers play a unique role in our local economies, communities and environment, but the owners of some of these facilities say the handling fees they earn from distributors is not enough to offset the rising cost of living.

“We see a lot of containers. We see probably a quarter million containers come through each store every week,” said Steve Rohauer, owner of Abbott Bottle Return and R&R Bottle and Can.

State lawmakers plan to reintroduce a bill next session that would require police to temporarily seize firearms visibly present when they respond to a domestic incident.

Victims of domestic abuse are 400% to 500% more likely to be killed at the hands of their abuser when they have access to a firearm, according to the National Institute of Health.

The New York Power Authority is seeking public comment on a draft plan of their role in expanding the state’s renewable energy portfolio. It is part of the state’s work to meet ambitious climate goals and the expansion of NYPA’s authority was approved in last year’s state budget. The expansion gives NYPA, the largest state public power organization in the nation, the authority to plan and execute renewable projects.

Vennela Yadhati, vice president of renewable project development at NYPA, told Spectrum News 1 the draft plan identifies 40 projects that seek to move the needle.

With a new administration in Washington, drug policy experts are watching carefully who President-elect Donald Trump will nominate for a variety of roles within his cabinet.

Trump’s picks to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, DEA and FDA will affect harm reduction policies, policing and addiction treatment.

Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom providing little details about how the city’s plans to respond to potential mass deportations under the Trump administration on Monday.

“We’re talking to our lawyers right now,” Williams-Isom said. “We’re in conjunction with all people in the administration but like I said to you, I think it’s probably wise to keep some of those plans to ourselves in this period of time as opposed to talking about it because we want to make sure we’re keeping people safe.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Late last week, New York state Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo issued a preliminary injunction which will stop the state from moving forward with its plans to overhaul Buffalo's Kensington Expressway until he makes a final ruling on the merits of a challenge by a community group called the East Side Parkways Coalition.

The ruling comes after Colaicovo previously granted and extended a temporary restraining order. Attorney Adam Walters said the judge appeared to agree with the group's argument the state Department of Transportation was required to conduct a more thorough review called an Environmental Impact Statement it previously bypassed.

Incoming New York Rep. Josh Riley is joining a chorus calling on OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to rethink its proposed new safety standards for firefighters.

He said he was concerned about the possible impact on New York volunteer firefighters.

The MTA board on Monday voted to approve Gov. Kathy Hochul’s revised congestion pricing plan.

Under the new plan — which the board passed with a 12-1 vote — cars with E-ZPass entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will face a $9 toll, down 40% from the original $15 proposal.

The MTA board will vote Monday on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s revised congestion pricing plan, with MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber saying the program is “ready to go.”

“The MTA board is going to vote today. We're going to pursue the bureaucratic process with the feds, which we have to go through now because there's a tweak to the original tolling structure, and then we're going to get it going on the 5th of January,” Lieber said in an interview on “Mornings On 1.”

New state legislation will allow for greater access to fluoride treatments for pediatric dental patients, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Saturday.

This legislation allows registered dental assistants and licensed practical nurses to apply topical fluoride varnish to teeth.

A cryptocurrency plant in central New York can continue operating after a court rejected the state’s effort to shutter the facility over concerns about its climate impact.

The decision was hailed as a victory by Greenidge Generation, a large-scale crypto mine in the Finger Lakes region that has drawn the ire of environmental groups and watchdogs since it began mining bitcoin four years ago.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tyrell Ford, executive director of Voice Buffalo, a racial justice and equity organization, is also a supporter of the Clean Slate Act, which was passed by the state legislature and signed into law last year.

Certain criminal records will soon be sealed in New York, meaning those who've been incarcerated no longer have to ask their records be sealed and can freely seek employment, housing and educational opportunities.

In a banner year for Republicans nationally, New York Democrats managed to flip three Republican-held congressional seats on Election Day — offering solace and perhaps a path forward for the party as they look to regroup.

The wins came in a state that was a rare black eye for the party just two years earlier. During the 2022 midterms, Republicans picked off a handful of congressional seats across New York, helping them win control of the U.S. House.

New calculations from the state Division of the Budget show that New York will have a cumulative budget gap of $14.3 billion by the year 2028. The agency held what it calls s "quick start" budget meeting Friday afternoon.

The meeting gathers representatives from the state Division of Budget, the state Senate and Assembly and state Comptroller’s office to compare projections.

As lawmakers get back to work in Washington, there are a couple of issues that are front and center for elected officials in the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

The first is congestion pricing, which Gov. Kathy Hochul has reembraced, and President-elect Donald Trump has again panned.

New York’s population is declining.

According to a new report by Cornell University, the state’s population could decline by a little more than 2 million people over the next 25 years. That number is a little more than a 13% decrease from the current population.

Mayor Eric Adams made an appearance on The View on Friday, weighing in on the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

“If we love our country, then no one individual should take us away from our mission,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “Let’s love the country, let’s love our cities, let’s get away from the rhetoric of the professionalism that we know. Those are experts in this. They’re going to look at his proposal and do a real analysis and make these decisions. It happens every day.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — What could President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of Health and Human Services mean for New Yorkers, should he be confirmed? The state’s top health leader shared his thoughts.

Kennedy has promised sweeping changes to the department which oversees the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health.

Following a report from the state comptroller’s office, farmers agree they need more support from the state, however updated statistics are important to get an accurate picture of what is happening in New York agriculture.

DiNapoli cites a need to balance support for farms with other state priorities.

Democrat Chris Ryan declared victory and Republican Salina Town Supervisor Nick Paro conceded the close race for New York's 50th state Senate District, both campaigns said Friday afternoon following more counting of absentee and affidavit ballots a week and a half after Election Day.

"I am deeply honored by the trust the people of the 50th State Senate District have placed in me. With the majority of ballots scanned and the margin greater than than the outstanding ballots remaining, I am proud to declare victory," Ryan said in a statement Friday. "Throughout the campaign, I listened to your concerns and hopes for our future. You’ve called for a senator who will fight for good-paying jobs, quality schools, health care access, safe and affordable communities, and smart economic investments for the future. Now, I am ready to get to work delivering on these issues."

This week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she was reviving New York City's congestion pricing plan with a reduced base fare. Under the new plan, the toll for private vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will be set at $9 for E-ZPass users. If greenlit by the federal government, the toll would begin in January. NY1 investigative reporter Courtney Gross, political reporter Bobby Cuza and statehouse reporter Bernadette Hogan weigh in on the governor’s decision to revisit the plan and the divided reactions from lawmakers across the state.

After that, the City Council has passed a bill requiring landlords to pay brokers directly, unless their prospective tenant hires a broker independently. The Real Estate Board of New York opposed the measure, claiming landlords footing the fees will result in much higher rents for tenants. The “Off Topic” team looks at this new initiative and how it will affect New Yorkers.

The number of reported assaults on prison staff and incarcerated New Yorkers is at an all-time high, according to data from the state Department of Correction & Community Supervision. Prison violence has increased over the last five years, and the state correction officers' union wants the state Legislature to take action when session resumes in January.

But union leaders and the state are at odds over the next appropriate steps.

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was at Albany NanoTech Thursday to introduce industry research leaders to various funding opportunities the agency can provide for tech projects through a popup called DARPAConnect.

DARPA is a research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for developing technology for the U.S. military.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is now politically owning the future of congestion pricing, promising she’s committed to turning the tolling program on by January — arguing the fee will end up benefiting New Yorkers in the long run.

“This is New York. You gotta take the subway,” Hochul told NY1 in an exclusive interview Thursday.

New York’s U.S. House victories were among the few bright spots this election season for Democrats.

Democrats flipped three seats: the 22nd Congressional District in Central New York, the 4th District on Long Island and the 19th District in the Southern Tier and Hudson Valley. But it wasn’t enough to flip control of the House, which is still in Republican hands.

New York City’s congestion pricing plan is back on track, with a plan for it to launch at midnight on Jan. 5 with a reduced base fare, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.

The initiative, aimed at reducing traffic congestion and bolstering public transportation funding, had been slated for a June rollout, but Hochul abruptly paused it just weeks before its start. At the time, the governor said the originally proposed $15 fee for E-ZPass drivers was too steep for New Yorkers to bear.

The operators of four nursing homes in New York will pay $45 million to settle claims that they neglected and mistreated residents, including some who were forced to sit in their own urine and feces for hours, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday.

The Democrat filed a civil lawsuit last year that accused the owners and operators of Centers Health Care of using Medicaid and Medicare funds to enrich themselves, their relatives and associates instead of using funds for resident care. James claimed understaffing at the homes contributed to neglectful care. She said residents lived in squalor and were left unsupervised, leading to injuries.

The number of private sector jobs in New York decreased slightly — .01% — in October, 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 8,391,200 in October, a drop of 800 jobs from the month before.

As Gov. Kathy Hochul prepares to lift the pause on congestion pricing with revised fee structures, Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said that the "vast majority" of New Yorkers stand to benefit from the plan.

“People think this is just a tax for which they'll get nothing, and they aren't connecting it to what they will get,” Wylde said during an interview Thursday on “Mornings On 1.” “So, 82% of the folks who work in Manhattan commute by public transit. So the vast majority of folks are going to benefit because public transit is going to benefit by additional funds.”

One week after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris, many across the country are wondering how he won so soundly and what this means for the country moving forward. Trump has wasted little time naming cabinet members to his incoming administration, while Democrats are scratching their heads and pointing fingers about what went wrong. At the same time, while the president-elect won all of the swing states on his road to the White House, Democrats either held onto or won Senate seats in four of those battleground states that Harris lost. So, is it a red wave or just a Trump wave?

To help make sense of all of this, veteran North Carolina Spectrum News political anchor Tim Boyum joined NY1’s Errol Louis to share his perspective as someone who watched the race play out in a swing state where Trump won the presidential race but the Democrats won the race for governor. They also discussed the realities of mass deportation, and the GOP retaining its House majority.

Farmers in New York brought in $8.5 billion in gross income in 2022 — a 47.8% increase since 2017, but there is a continued decline in the number of farms and acres of farmland due to strains on the industry, according to a new report from the state comptroller.

“New York’s diverse farms are an essential part of the state’s economy but there are increasing challenges that are changing the agricultural landscape,” said New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is making her pitch to oversee the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm — and is citing her party’s successes last week in New York to help make her case.

Last Tuesday, on what was otherwise a tough day for the party nationally, Democrats flipped three congressional seats across New York. Several Democrats have credited a coordinated campaign initiative that Gillibrand co-led with helping tip the scales.

A scandal-plagued Florida congressman could lead the Department of Justice.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to nominate Matt Gaetz as the next attorney general of the United States on his social media channel, saying he would root out so-called systemic corruption at the Department of Justice.

Transgender issues played a significant role in messaging this election, particularly from Republicans. It was seen both at the presidential level and in opposition to New York’s Proposition 1, and now has worked its way into post-election conversation among Democrats.

Elisa Crespo, executive director of the New Pride Agenda, told Spectrum News 1 memories of Donald Trump’s first term in office have members of her community bracing for what’s to come as they absorb the election’s aftermath – and a largely unwanted spotlight.

New York agricultural leaders have concerns the state will see waning support for farmers under President-elect Donald Trump's next administration, they said Wednesday.

The head of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets did not mince words Wednesday while answering questions at a hearing held by four lawmakers on the Assembly Agricultural Committee.

While some Democrats are doing soul searching and blame-gaming this week thanks to the results of last week’s elections, there’s one New York state elected official who’s saying “let me show you how it’s done."

State Sen. James Skoufis won his Orange County-area seat by 14%, a district that Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket lost.

Ahead of Friday's legal deadline, Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to reveal on Thursday a new proposal to revive congestion pricing, a Hochul spokesperson confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

"Governor Hochul paused congestion pricing because a daily $15 toll was too much for hard-working New Yorkers in this economic climate. Tomorrow, the Governor will announce the path forward to fund mass transit, unclog our streets and improve public health by reducing air pollution," Hochul spokesperson Avi Small said Wednesday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Cracking down on illegal immigration was one of the key promises President-elect Donald Trump made during his campaign.

Trump has tapped upstate New York native Tom Homan as his "border czar" tasked with carrying out those vows.

As Spectrum News 1 reported last month, New York's higher education system is again seeing an increase in enrollment, as colleges and universities across the nation trend downward.

New data out from the State University of New York system on Wednesday shows an increase of 2.3% in enrollment from last fall. Last year, SUNY saw an increase of 1.1% from the year prior.

Democrat Paula Kay has officially defeated Republican Louis Ingrassia in New York's 100th state Assembly District to capture the Hudson Valley seat held for 20 years by Democrat Aileen Gunther, the Associated Press declared Wednesday.

Kay defeated Ingrassia with 26,117 (52.5%) to 23,656 (47.5%) votes with 99% of the expected vote tallied, according to the AP.

Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin’s nomination by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has fueled an already intense debate over how Trump’s second term will impact climate policy both at the state and federal level.

Environmental advocates like Judith Enck, former Region 2 EPA regional aministrator under President Barack Obama, are already concerned at the prospect of a Trump presidency and have expressed further concern with Zeldin’s nomination.

U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro left the door wide open to future public service after conceding his reelection loss Tuesday to Josh Riley in New York's 19th Congressional District, including not ruling out making a play for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s seat, which would be vacant if she were to be confirmed as U.N. ambassador.

"I am not done providing public service to the people of the state of New York, and quite frankly, considering what options might be available to me moving forward,” Molinaro told Spectrum News 1 Tuesday evening on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

A week after winning her re-election bid, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Tuesday she's inviting President-elect Donald Trump to tour the semiconductor manufacturing industry in New York.

"So that he can see for himself that these are jobs that will last for decades and that we want to be competitive with China, something he's said publicly many times, he wants to out compete China. New York is the way to do that," she told Spectrum News 1.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Slavery was not limited to the South.

Tuesday night, the New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies began its public hearing series in Buffalo explaining the region and the state's complicated history. Commissioner Tim Hogues said it's an important part of the process as the state considers reparations.

There are multiple narratives about what happened during the 2024 presidential election: Pollsters underestimated Donald Trump again; Democrats spent too much time and energy on niche issues rather than on bread-and-butter issues like the economy; Democrats lost touch with the working class, or the converse, that the working class has left the Democratic Party.

Or perhaps we should listen to the wisdom of Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion who claims it’s “all of the above."

Republican U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro on Tuesday evening conceded the race for New York's 19th Congressional District to Democrat Josh Riley, fully concluding the rematch contest from two years ago that was one of the most closely watched races in the country.

"Our race didn’t go the way we had hoped, but let me tell you, I am so proud of what we’ve built together," Molinaro said in a statement. "This campaign was about more than just winning a seat; it was about standing up for the people who make this state great, who work hard, who love their families, and who believe in the promise of New York and this nation."

Gov. Kathy Hochul gave her clearest indication she plans to unpause congestion pricing.

“I don’t break the law in New York state,” the governor said Tuesday. “That is the law. And I’m doing the best I can to ensure that all the requirements are met — the environmental issues, the congestion mitigation, and most important to me, funding the MTA.”

Mayor Eric Adams reiterated his criticism of the current immigration system at his weekly briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

“We can’t keep kicking the can, not down the road, but to cities. Our immigration system is a failure and in fact it’s an embarrassment and we have to do a better job,” Adams said.

A judge has postponed a decision on whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction as prosecutors consider how to proceed in light of last week’s election and his lawyers argue for dismissal so he can run the country.

The postponement announced Tuesday comes at a dramatic and dynamic point in the New York case, which focused on how Trump accounted for payments to a porn actor before the 2016 election and produced a first-ever conviction of a former commander-in-chief.

The New York state Office of Cannabis Management approved a six-month extension for provisional licenses for retailers with former marijuana convictions who want to open a recreational store, the office announced Tuesday.

Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary Licenses, known as the CAURD program, 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.

A week after Election Day, as President-elect Donald Trump announces cabinet nominees and the Senate Republicans gear up for a leadership race, control of the U.S. House of Representatives remains unknown.

The trendlines indicate, like two years ago, Republicans will maintain a narrow majority in Capitol Hill’s lower chamber, but the Associated Press has yet to declare the party has won the necessary seats to clinch control. As of Tuesday afternoon, AP has declared Republicans have won 214 seats while Democrats have won 205, with 218 needed to win a majority. There are 16 uncalled races, mostly on the West Coast, where California in particular has a number of purple districts that will be decided by close margins.

A Manhattan-based defense attorney shared analysis of President-elect Donald Trump’s request to overturn his conviction in the hush money case, as a decision from the presiding judge was expected Tuesday.

Judge Juan Merchan previously postponed his ruling to avoid any appearance of election interference. He is now set to decide whether to dismiss the indictment against Trump, order a new trial or uphold the conviction.

Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination by President-elect Donald Trump for U.N. ambassador brings up the inevitable conversation about who will replace her. While the official process of selecting a replacement has not yet begun, speculation certainly has.

The seat has been a Republican stronghold since 2014, but was represented by former Democratic Rep. Bill Owens for several years. The process will begin once Stefanik resigns and Gov. Kathy Hochul calls a special election. State law gives parties latitude in the methods by which they select their nominee.

On Monday, we commemorate the brave men and women who make up our armed forces and thank them for their service.

In exchange for their bravery and sacrifice, they are entitled to help and care through the Veterans Affairs system and the many organizations dedicated to helping them, yet some veterans aren’t getting the help they may need.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- J.C. Seneca is taking over as president of the Seneca Nation of Indians after garnering more than 87% of the tribal election vote.

The business owner, philanthropist and long-time council member, who lost his previous three presidential campaigns, said the time was right.