He’s the Cornell graduate student at the center of a First Amendment case. Momodou Taal says his free speech rights were violated by the recent executive orders issued by the White House. A motion hearing was held Tuesday in Syracuse federal court as Taal's lawyers say he is facing deportation.

The case started recently when Taal sued the Trump administration over two executive orders targeting free speech and calling for the deportation of foreign student protestors.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A report released this week by the New York state Comptroller's Office shows a significant pay discrepancy between men and women in New York.

The report from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found that in 2023, women earned 87 cents on the dollar compared to men and that it would take women 53 days to equal that amount.

The National Transportation Safety Board is hoping to avoid future tragedies by learning more about the bridges Americans cross every day. This comes after six construction workers were killed a year ago on March 26, 2024, when a container ship struck a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

Spectrum News 1 dug into a new report drawing attention to infrastructure in New York state.

A Columbia University student who faces potential deportation for her involvement in a pro-Palestinian protest cannot be detained by immigration officials for now as she fights the Trump administration in court, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said in Manhattan court that the government had not laid out enough facts about its claims against Yunseo Chung.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is recommending 23AndMe customers contact the company to delete their data.

This weekend, the San Francisco-based genetic testing company announced this weekend that it has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to sell its assets. Sunday’s filing reported total debts of more than $214.7 million as of the end of last year.

Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed huge crowds over the weekend, joining Sen. Bernie Sanders in a series of rallies denouncing President Donald Trump and his agenda.

Her campaign-style swing, where the progressive star told rally attendees that Democrats need a party that “fights harder for us,” grabbed the spotlight at a time the party is hungry for a winning message and new leadership.

Gov. Kathy Hochul Monday stepped away from budget negotiations Monday to make a public pitch for her preferred plan for changing New York’s discovery laws.

The governor is trying to weed out issues related to reforms enacted in 2020 that she argues lead to dismissals on technicalities. Her strategy involves tweaking standards for what items must be turned over, timetables for compliance and easing penalties in cases where compliance is less than perfect.

As Spectrum News 1's Kate Lisa reported, the New York state Department of Health on Monday announced a plan for consumers and providers who need more time to transition to Public Partnerships LLC, the single fiscal intermediary under the consumer directed personal assistance program, or CDPAP.

This isn’t an extension, DOH is insisting; it’s a late registration window that is open until April 30.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A memo President Donald Trump issued Saturday directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous lawsuits against the federal government.

Western New York immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi said while fraud can be a concern, particularly in asylum cases, it's disturbing the administration is preemptively threatening action against attorneys.

State leaders Monday blamed disinformation campaigns as the reason the state Health Department will give thousands of New Yorkers who use or work for a $9 billion home care program another month to register with a new management company.

Thousands of people who use or work for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) who have not completed registration with Public Partnership LLC will get a 30-day grace period, health officials said, as many people await answers to their questions about the transition that takes effect April 1.

The New York state Conservative Party will be meeting three candidates this week in the eventual special election to replace Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik in New York's 21st Congressional District, but at this time, still prefers state Sen. Dan Stec, the party told Spectrum News 1 Monday.

Stec, R-Queensbury, represents New York's 45th state Senate District, which is made up of the eastern part of the state’s North Country, including Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Lake Placid and Lake George. He served in the state Assembly prior to being elected to the Senate in 2020.

Mayor Eric Adams delivered his most pointed criticisms yet of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo amid the mayoral race.

“He incorrectly handled the nursing home issue. I think those family members are right," he said Monday about Cuomo’s handling of the COVID pandemic in the city. “There was [a] racial disparity in how he even dealt with vaccines. Black and brown communities were not being fairly vaccinated. We were not giving out face masks to NYCHA residents. Many of our nurses and hospitals didn’t have PPEs as they were deserved.”

With the annual April 1 state budget deadline looming, Gov. Kathy Hochul says she’s warning New Yorkers about possible federal funding cuts to major services, including Medicaid programs and school lunches.

Meanwhile, a group of Albany Democrats want her to fight back by refusing to send regularly scheduled state tax dollars to the White House.

Three former state correction officers are back on the job — this time on the county level.

In defiance of Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive order barring correction officers who were fired for striking from being hired by local municipalities unless they go through a specific program, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said he would fill correction officer openings with those who had been fired in the wake of the officers' 22-day wildcat strike across New York prisons.

An international student at Cornell University involved in pro-Palestinian protests has been asked to surrender to immigration authorities as he seeks to block deportation actions by the Trump administration.

The government action against Momodou Taal comes as President Donald Trump ratchets up efforts to arrest and deport noncitizens who participate in such protests or who demonstrate against Israel's military actions in Gaza. In one of the most high-profile cases, the Justice Department recently lodged new accusations against a Columbia University graduate student who has been detained and targeted for deportation because of his participation in protests.

Five years ago on Sunday, Daniel Prude was arrested by police in Rochester during a mental health incident.

He lost consciousness during that arrest and later died in the hospital in what was ruled a homicide by a county medical examiner. Police were not charged in his death, but the city did reach a civil rights settlement with Prude's family afterward.

NEW YORK — U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia University is “on the right track” toward recovering federal funding after the elite New York City university agreed to implement a host of policy changes demanded by the Trump administration.

Appearing on CNN's “State of the Union” Sunday, McMahon described “great conversations” with Columbia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says he won't resign his post, despite pressure from some in his party after he voted to move forward with a Republican spending bill that avoided a government shutdown.

“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer said in an interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. The New York senator said he knew voting for the bill backed by Republican President Donald Trump would spark “a lot of controversy."

A new bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul seeks to strengthen New York’s shield law that protects abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution.

Legislation S.4587/A.5285 enhances New York’s existing shield law by allowing medical providers to list only the dispensing health care practice’s address on prescription labels instead of their own name.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislative leaders are wrapping up their first week of budget talks. By all accounts, discussions remain at a surface level, and headed in the right direction despite a curveball from the governor: a late push for some sort of restriction on wearing masks in public. A previous law went by the wayside amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jack O’Donnell, strategist and founder of O’Donnell & Associates, told Spectrum News 1 that even with the push for a mask policy, things still appear to be relatively tame.

Leaders with the New York Conference of Mayors said dozens of municipalities across the state are considering passing stricter local liability laws in wake of a recent ruling by the state's highest court that online applications to report road hazards count as prior written notice of a defect.

NYCOM attorneys are drafting possible legislative remedies for local governments that use apps to report road issues and other problems to make it harder to be held liable for hazards that go unrepaired.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education which oversees federal student loans, funding for low-income students and civil rights enforcement.

While only Congress can completely abolish a federal agency, the administration can begin to reduce the agency’s resources.

A coalition of groups that advocate for transparency and open government are urging passage of a handful of bills that would strengthen the state’s Freedom of Information Laws during this year’s celebration of Sunshine Week.

The coalition includes Common Cause/NY, the League of Women Voters of New York State, the New York Coalition for Open Government and the New York Civil Liberties Union, among many others.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center said it received more than $14 million from Seneca Casino gaming revenue between 2002 and 2023.

President Joe Ruffolo said it helped pay for a number of important facilities and jobs and continued funding would go a long way toward the hospital's $58 million in outstanding capital needs.

Under threat from the Trump administration, Columbia University agreed to implement a suite of policy changes Friday, including overhauling its rules for protests and conducting an immediate review of its Middle Eastern studies department.

The changes, detailed in a letter sent by interim president, Katrina Armstrong, came one week after the Trump administration ordered the Ivy League school to implement those and other changes in order to continue receiving federal funding, an ultimatum widely criticized in academia as an attack on academic freedom.

Members of the American Postal Workers Union across the country are protesting potential changes that could affect how you receive mail.

They say they're sending a strong message to Washington against the privatization of the United States Postal Service. The protest comes after the Trump administration weighs plans to transfer the USPS to the Department of Commerce and take away its independence. President Donald Trump also says he is thinking of privatizing the mailing company.

With fewer than 100 days before voting begins in the New York City primary, NY1 is sitting down with Democratic candidates challenging Mayor Eric Adams.

On Friday, former New York Assemblyman and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee Michael Blake joined “Mornings On 1” to make his case to voters.

As the June primary in the mayor's race gets closer, there was a pivotal campaign finance deadline for the candidates this week. Andrew Cuomo, not surprisingly, pulled in $1.5 million in less than two weeks. But filings showed that Mayor Eric Adams only raisied about $19,000 in the last two months.

Meanwhile, Adams is flirting with the idea of running on an independent line in the general election — perhaps a backup plan if he loses the Democratic primary. NY1 investigative reporter Courtney Gross, and political reporters Bobby Cuza and Kelly Mena break down the latest in the race for mayor.

The specific parameters of the partial ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia brokered and announced by the Trump administration are still being worked out, according to the U.S. State Department spokesperson.

“That’s what the technical meeting is about in Saudi Arabia in the next few days,” Tammy Bruce told Spectrum News Thursday, when asked about the scope of the plan.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York state is no longer seeking as severe penalties for correction officers who participated in the unsanctioned prison strike that ran from Feb. 17 to March 10.

Last week, the state said it would not seek incarceration of up to six months for officers and now, attorney Ralph Lorigo said the state indicated it won't go after the officers' money either.

A push to pass the Plastic Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act is once again picking up steam in New York. The "extended producer responsibility" legislation passed through the Environmental Conservation Committee in the state Senate and Assembly, and advocates held a rally at the state Capitol this week to capitalize on the momentum.

The bill would enforce regulations on companies with an income in excess of $1 million that advocates say will reduce plastic packaging by 30% incrementally over 12 years.

State lawmakers said they are not opposed to making future technical changes to the Good Cause Eviction law after tenant and landlord advocacy groups have called for amendments to clarify the policy.

Small property owners and tenant advocates said Thursday they've had discussions with lawmakers about a subsequent bill to clean up parts of the law, which caps rent increases to 10% or the rate of inflation plus 5%.

There was significant outrage among both moderate and left-wing Democrats over U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s decision last week to vote to advance the Republican continuing resolution without asking for anything in return.

At the same time, Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders are currently negotiating a state budget without explicitly addressing the probability of big federal budget cuts coming down the pike.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The New York State Comptroller’s Office has its sights set on making changes in the effort to help victims and survivors of human trafficking, calling for improvements in services for that population in a report issued this week.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released an audit essentially saying the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) needs to do better when it comes to overseeing services for victims and survivors of human trafficking.

Upstate New York is working toward becoming home to a bustling technology hub thanks to the planned Micron semiconductor manufacturing facility coming to Onondaga County. But President Donald Trump’s criticism of the CHIPS and Science Act have left some questioning if the projects will come to fruition.

Members of New York’s congressional delegation reassured stakeholders the future of tech in the state is bright.

The Trump administration on Thursday extended the deadline it set for New York to end congestion pricing, while simultaneously chastising Gov. Kathy Hochul for refusing to halt the tolling program.

In a social media post Thursday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency would “provide New York with a 30-day extension as discussions continue.”

Retaliatory energy tariffs imposed by Canada on the U.S. will, over time, raise costs for households and businesses across the state, and when combined with other tariffs, potentially lead to growing impacts, state agencies say in a report made for state leaders.

The state Department of Public Service (DPS), state Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) released the report Thursday in response to requests from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who asked for a review of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and return measures threatened by Ontario Premier Doug Ford on electricity, heating and energy reliability.

The New York state Office of Employee Relations released a memo Thursday instructing how state agencies determine eligible applicants for jobs to comply with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s March 10 executive order barring anyone who was terminated as a result of the recent correction officer strike from being hired at any state service job.

According to the memo, state agencies must confirm if an applicant was a correciton officer employed by the state at any point between Feb. 17 and March 10, and if so, contact the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to see if the applicant was fired for their participation in the strike.

New York state's top court put an end Thursday to New York City's effort to empower noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.

In a 6-1 ruling, the high court said “the New York constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday she is worried about the impact of President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the shutdown of the U.S. Department of Education.

The governor was at Eagle Point Elementary School in Albany, a place she said relies heavily on the federal government for subsidizing school lunches. According to Hochul, Albany County gets $6 million from the federal government for student school breakfasts and lunches and elimination of the Education Department could jeopardize that.

Building on the success of NY1’s documentary about the tumultuous two-term mayoralty of John V. Lindsay, NY1 and Hunter College’s Roosevelt House held an in-depth discussion about the former mayor that was moderated by NY1’s Errol Louis. Panelists included former Lindsay aides, Sid Davidoff, Ronnie Eldridge and Robert Laird, and Lindsay historian Joseph Viteritti.

The special live taping of the panel on May 14 was held at Roosevelt House — Hunter College’s Public Policy Institute and the former Manhattan home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

On the night of March 8, pro-Palestinian activist and former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by federal immigration agents and taken to 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

His attorney jumped into action, and by 4:40 a.m. had filed court papers seeking his release. But by that point, Khalil had been transferred to the Elizabeth Detention Center near Newark Airport.

State lawmakers said Wednesday they will examine how to remedy state law that allowed survivors of childhood sexual assault to hold their abusers accountable after New York's top court dismissed a lawsuit against the state filed under the Child Victims Act.

The state Court of Appeals dismissed a case Tuesday of alleged child-sex abuse a man claims took place at a state-run theater in the late '80s. Justices argued the case lacked sufficient information to bring a claim against the state.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones in schools in her executive budget, along with a $13.5 million appropriation to implement the ban.

While the proposal has the support of the teachers’ unions, there are a couple of other ideas floating around that aren’t as stringent as the governor’s that are gaining traction.

A state Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of a state law limiting the outside income of New York state lawmakers. The limit came along with a salary bump for the state Legislature that the governor signed into law in 2022.

The ruling upheld the restriction on income in excess of $35,000, but it struck down an element of the law that would strip the voting privileges of members who are found to be in violation of the law. Judge Alison Napolitano ruled that the voting element of the law created potential problems for constituent representation.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- With less than two weeks until the state plans to transition from roughly 600 fiscal intermediaries who facilitate payments under New York's Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) to just one, voices in opposition of the deadline are literally getting louder.

"For the love of all that is holy and heaven and earth, delay the goddamn date," state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, D-Bronx, said at a Wednesday rally.

Oneida County on Wednesday fulfilled its threat to sue New York state over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order barring correction officers who were fired for striking from being hired by local municipalities unless they go through a specific program.

County Executive Anthony Picente said the county is seeking a preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order and temporary stay of the order, which was signed by Hochul last week putting the ban into effect. He accused Hochul of "gross overreach and abuse."

A majority of New York’s 62 counties are led by an elected county executive, administrator or manager. Only a few are governed by a board of town supervisors.

In Columbia County right now, 18 town supervisors and five Hudson city supervisors serve as the county’s primary governing body.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo mayoral candidate Sean Ryan has picked up another important endorsement.

The Western New York chapter of the Working Families Party, after interviewing five candidates, has endorsed the current state senator in the Democratic primary. The party previously supported Ryan in both state Senate and Assembly campaigns and said his work in the state Legislature, especially with regards to affordable housing, was a key factor in the decision.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Josh Riley introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to lower egg prices by adjusting certain regulations for egg farmers, the congressman announced Wednesday.

The Lowering Egg Prices Act would address federal regulations that require farmers to refrigerate eggs immediately after they are laid, but current regulations do not distinguish between table eggs — raw products that need to be refrigerated — and breaker eggs — which are pasteurized for use in products like salad dressing, cake mix and pasta.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week escalated tensions with the MTA, threatening to withhold federal funding unless crime in the city’s transit system is addressed.

In a letter sent to the MTA on Tuesday, Duffy requested data on assaults against transit workers, fare evasion and subway-related criminal activity, including subway surfing. He warned that he could take action, including withholding federal funding, if the agency does not comply by March 31.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday that she is “excited” about efforts which she described as “redoing our prison system” in the wake of a three-week illegal strike by correction officers across the state.

The governor’s response to the strike may have ultimately sent 75% of officers back to work after days of back and forth, but it has infuriated advocates for the HALT Act as certain aspects of the law, which limits the use of solitary confinement and replaces aspects of it with rehabilitative programming, remain on a 90-day suspension. The governor blamed that suspension in part on the 25% of officers who refused to return.

Trying to portray party unity, prominent New York Democrats showed strong support Tuesday for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

When asked about Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Spectrum News, “We had a good conversation about the path forward.”

In 2010, 17-year-old Kalief Browder was arrested for stealing a backpack. Because of prosecutorial delays, he ended up waiting for his day in court, on Rikers Island, for three years, much of it while in solitary. The enormous emotional toll of his confinement was said to have contributed to his ultimate suicide.

Browder’s story was one of the reasons back in 2020 that New York passed discovery reform, a law designed to make the legal system fairer by ensuring that prosecutors disclose evidence to the defense in a timely manner.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Advocacy is a key tenet of new Seneca Nation President J.C. Seneca's approach to governing.

He's spent significant time over his first few months in office not only communicating with his people, but state and federal lawmakers about how their decisions impact the sovereign tribal nation.

Lawmakers expect a fairly peaceful budget process this year, but Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders are at odds over how much rental assistance to put in the annual spending plan as they look to reverse the state's ongoing shortage of affordable housing.

The governor isn't backing $250 million the Senate and Assembly proposed in each one-house budget to create a Housing Access Voucher Program and remains focused on building up a lacking housing supply instead.

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Rep. Pat Ryan is raising awareness about the concerns families across the Hudson Valley have regarding affordability. The congressman on Tuesday visited Alexis Diner in Newburgh for "kitchen table" conversations with housing experts, dairy farmers and child care experts.

The attendees held candid discussions about inflation prices, tariffs and the affordable housing crisis impacting New Yorkers.

Advocates in New York for the formerly incarcerated are pushing for the passage of the Reentry Assistance Bill, which aims to provide more monetary support to people reentering society after being in prison.

“I had to acquire an entire wardrobe, I had to acquire basic hygiene, I had to provide for my basic necessities and I only had $40,” said Christopher Wallace, who spent 15 years behind bars. He said he was lucky enough to have housing to return to, but not everyone does.

A lawsuit against New York alleging sexual abuse decades ago was tossed out by the state’s top court Tuesday because it lacked specific information, drawing criticism from advocates concerned about setting unrealistically high standards for survivors to recall traumatic events.

The state Court of Appeals reversed a lower appeals court and granted the state's motion to dismiss the claim from a man who says he was repeatedly sexually assaulted around a state-run theater in Albany from 1986 to 1990, starting when he was 12. The suit was filed under the Child Victims Act, a 2019 state law that temporarily allowed people to sue over sexual abuse they suffered long ago as children.

New York state Senate Republicans on Tuesday called for Gov. Kathy Hochul to rescind her executive order that prohibits the state from hiring at any state service job any correction officers that were terminated or resigned as a result of the three-week wildcat strike, according to a letter the conference sent.

The executive order also recommends these workers be removed from the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers for cause. It means they would also be prevented from being hired as a police or peace officer in state and local jurisdictions. About 2,000 termination notices were sent out when the state declared the strike as over on March 10.

The federal government and a Columbia University student threatened with deportation for his role in campus protests against Israel have been sparring in court over the Trump administration’s move to ship him halfway across the country to an immigration lockup in Louisiana.

The government says he could not be detained at an immigration facility near where he was originally arrested in part because of a bedbug infestation, so they sent him to Louisiana. The student, Mahmoud Khalil, says there was no such discussion of bedbugs and he feared he was being immediately deported.

New details have emerged in the court case against the gunman behind the 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo.

A U.S. District judge rejected a motion to dismiss the federal indictment of Payton Gendron, whose attorneys argue that the case violates the Constitution, specifically that it didn't meet procedural established by the 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Momentum is clearly with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — bringing in the largest haul in the latest fundraising period even though he just jumped in the race.

According to numbers provided to NY1 from many of the top-tier mayoral candidates, Cuomo led fundraising in the last two-month period — from mid-January to mid-March. He brought in more than $1.5 million into his campaign in just 13 days.

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko hosted a town hall at Schenectady High School on Monday, fielding a wide range of questions from the live audience with most involving Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration and cuts being made to the federal workforce.

“I will continue to fight this plan with every fiber of my being as it works its way through Congress,” Tonko said of President Donald Trump’s policies.

Several state lawmakers are making a last-ditch effort to give thousands of New Yorkers more time to register with the new company that will manage a $9 billion Medicaid program home care program at the end of the month.

Roughly 280,000 New Yorkers who use the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) and their caregivers must register with Public Partnerships LLC before April 1 — taking over for 600 smaller companies.

Sen. Charles Schumer abruptly postponed a tour to promote his new book Monday, canceling events this week in New York City, Baltimore and other cities.

The surprise announcement, which Schumer’s representatives blamed on “security reasons,” came amid the threat of protests and mounting backlash to his vote last week aimed at averting a government shutdown.

The "mothership" landed in Albany on Monday — the traditional kickoff of the budget negotiation process. Known more formally as the General Budget Conference Committee, the meeting has been billed in recent years as an exercise in transparency, but in reality the rest of the process outside of that 20 minutes of formality will take place almost entirely behind closed doors.

“Now that the [one-house budgets] have been passed, we’re ready to go to work,” state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters. “At some point, we’ll walk out holding hands.”

Mayor Eric Adams had no reaction on Monday in response to one of his closest allies endorsing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor.

“No reaction… Again, none of this is personal. She is one of my dearest friends," he said. “People are doing what they think is the best equation for them and we keep it moving.”

The Rockefeller Institute delivered its suggested overhaul of New York state's school funding formula in December. Since then, neither Gov. Kathy Hochul nor the two legislative houses have adopted more than a few of the think tank’s 32 recommendations.

According to attorney Michael Rebell, executive director of the Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia, the few data points that have been updated in the executive and one-house budgets have harmed districts that serve the most vulnerable students.

Dozens of New York politicians joined the St. Patrick’s Day revelry on Monday, parading up Fifth Avenue to celebrate Irish history and culture.

“There was a time in New York City when there were signs in places that said, ‘Irish need not apply.’ So we always need to remember that,” former Democratic City Councilman Daniel Dromm told NY1.

A Syracuse nonprofit farm whose mission is to improve access to locally grown food is now trying to figure out new funding sources after the U.S. Department of Agriculture ended programs that provided millions of dollars in grants.

The Brady Farm, a six-acre farm on Syracuse’s south side, is in their 10th growing season. For the last two years, they received funding through the New York Foods for New York Families program. The program, funded through the USDA’s Local Foods Purchase assistance program, was cut, along with the federal Local Food for Schools program.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is postponing several planned events this week to promote his new book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” after some liberal groups had planned to stage protests.

The cancellations of events in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and other cities came amid widespread criticism from the party’s liberal base over Schumer’s vote to move forward with Republican spending legislation last week. Risa Heller, a representative for Schumer’s book, said that the tour would be rescheduled “due to security concerns.”

Nearly 400 mayors and local officials from across New York sent a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislative leaders asking the state to continue increasing funding for small governments as state budget negotiations take place in Albany, the New York state Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM) announced late last week.

Known as AIM, or aid and incentives for municipalities, cities and towns received a $50 million boost in unrestricted funding in last year’s budget following an aggressive campaign from local leaders, the first increase in 15 years. These state funds are used by small governments to pay for things like supplies and wages for police officers and firefighters.

Andrew Cuomo may be from Queens, but he now has the backing of Brooklyn in a major way.

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn, head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, endorsed Cuomo for mayor of New York on Sunday during a rally in Downtown Brooklyn.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, a long serving New York Democrat who was the first woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has died. She was 87.

Lowey's family, in a statement shared by the Westchester County Democratic Committee, said she died Saturday after battling metastatic breast cancer with the “same tenacity and strength that she fought throughout her 32-year career in Congress for women, children and families."

Sen. Chuck Schumer is facing a massive backlash from fellow Democrats after he refused to block Republican legislation to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown.

In the 24 hours after he announced he would vote to advance the legislation, progressive and centrist Democrats alike are voicing frustration, even anger, with the New Yorker. Some went so far as to accuse him of betrayal and rolling over for President Donald Trump.

The heads of state agencies charged with sealing about 5 million criminal records did not ask New York lawmakers to target additional funding in the upcoming budget to complete the task, and maintain they have the required resources to get it done by the mandated deadline.

A policy known as the Clean Slate Law makes 5 million criminal records in the state eligible to be sealed by Nov. 16, 2027.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an emergency executive order Monday barring state agencies from hiring individuals formerly employed by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision who participated in the recent strike, including both those who resigned or were fired.

The order also directed the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers to revoke those individuals' Peace Officer Certification, and on a temporary basis, suspends laws that would allow counties and municipalities to hire them.

New York U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer had been quite boisterous all week regarding congressional Republicans’ plan to keep the government funded through September, which had squeezed through the House of Representatives almost exclusively on party lines. But that changed rather quickly.

In Schumer’s chamber, 10 Senate Democrats joined Republicans to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the budget with a deadline of midnight on Saturday. On Wednesday, Schumer said the GOP didn’t have enough Democratic votes to advance the funding stopgap bill past a filibuster.

WASHINGTON — The Democratic Party was fracturing Friday as a torrent of frustration and anger was unleashed at Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer, who faced what they saw as an awful choice: shut the government down or consent to a Republican funding bill that allows President Donald Trump to continue slashing the federal government.

After Schumer announced Thursday that he would reluctantly support the bill, he bore the brunt of that anger, including a protest at his office, calls from progressives that he be primaried in 2028 and suggestions that the Democratic Party would soon be looking for new leaders.

The Trump administration has delivered an extraordinary ultimatum to Columbia University, threatening to permanently end federal funding to the Ivy League school unless it cedes control of an international studies department and implements sweeping changes to other campus policies.

In a letter sent Thursday night, federal officials said the university must immediately place its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under “academic receivership for a minimum of five years.”

The U.S. Department of Education says it's investigating 45 colleges and universities for what it calls Civil Rights Act violations through partnerships with a higher education nonprofit, including Cornell University and NYU.

In a department release Friday, the department claims the investigations follow "allegations that these institutions have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964) by partnering with 'The Ph.D. Project,' " a nonprofit that seeks to diversify college business schools by increasing the amount of Black, Hispanic and Native American doctorate recipients. The department's claim is that the nonprofit "limits eligibility based on the race of participants."

Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead protests at Columbia University last year, was detained by immigration authorities Saturday and is now in an immigration jail in Louisiana. The arrest of Khalil, along with the Trump administration’s plans to deport the 30-year-old graduate student, has sparked outrage from many high-ranking New York officials, with the notable exception of Mayor Eric Adams. NY1 political reporters Bobby Cuza, Kelly Mena and Ayana Harry weigh in on Mahmoud’s detainment and the response from local politicians.

After that, as the race for mayor heats up, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been racking up endorsements despite the united anti-Cuomo messages from his opponents. Many of the endorsements find him cutting significantly into sitting Mayor Eric Adams’ base. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who also recently entered the race, may be the biggest challenger to the former governor. The "Off Topic" team looks at this very crowded primary, including where Eric Adams fits into the field.

After decisive rejection by the Legislature, the head of the state Office of Mental Health on Thursday defended Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposal to ease the criteria for involuntary committment, which would increase New Yorkers hospitalized with a mental illness.

The Senate and Assembly did not include the proposal in each chamber's one-house spending plans released earlier this week — aligned to fight the governor's push to keep severely mentally ill patients in hospital care.

Power Malu with Artist, Athletes, Activists has helped greet thousands of asylum seekers to the city since the start of the migrant crisis.

He says migrants he works with live in fear of the possibility that a wartime act will be used to deport them without due process.

Out of power in Washington, and with their brand in the dumps, House Democrats say they see a silver lining after the first weeks of the second Trump administration.

“I think a number of people who voted for the current administration are having second thoughts,” Albany-area Congressman Paul Tonko said.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s border czar came to Albany to stand with Republican lawmakers and discuss the new federal administration’s immigration priorities as they ramp up deportations.

The visit sparked protests and anger from Democrats, including state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsors the New York for All Act. The senator joined Capital Tonight to discuss how the legislation would work.

Both houses of the New York state Legislature on Thursday voted to adopt their one-house budget proposals, their rebuttals to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget pitch that will fuel the negotiation process as Hochul and legislative leaders work to come up with a deal by April 1.

Democratic leaders have aggressively pushed an “affordability” agenda this year in the wake of November’s election in which they were widely seen as being out of touch with voters.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- National lobby and trade group American Beverage Licensees is holding its quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C. this week.

Member Mark O'Callaghan, the owner of Exit 9 Wine and Liquor Warehouse in Clifton Park, New York, said most of the conversation is about tariffs.

The Department of Justice has served subpoenas to at least three Manhattan shelters this week.

“The city can challenge a subpoena if there’s something wrong with it, and we expect them to defend themselves and stand up for New Yorkers,” Josh Goldfein, a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society, said.

Demonstrators from a Jewish group filled the lobby of Trump Tower on Thursday to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at Columbia University.

The demonstrators from Jewish Voice for Peace wore red shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel” and held up banners as they chanted “Bring Mahmoud home now!" on the lower level of the Fifth Avenue building's public atrium.

The New York Farm Bureau, the industry’s main advocacy group, says they’re concerned about the impacts tariffs would have on farmers.

“Our policy at Farm Bureau is and has been that we oppose tariffs. I think there’s going to be impacts for sure. A lot of dairy cows are fed with canola (meal) that comes down from Canada, so that’ll be a tariff increase. We heard a few days ago that power is going up and electric costs are going to definitely impact our dairies and all of agriculture,” said David Fisher, president of the New York Farm Bureau.

The number of private sector jobs in New York increased by 14,500 or 0.2%, in January, 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 8,466,400 in January. The number of private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 0.1% in the same period, the department said.

A state Supreme Court has ordered the New York State Department of Transportation to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement for Buffalo’s Kensington Expressway redevelopment plan. The project was officially put on hold last month.

The court ruled that the DOT did not perform a thorough environmental review, and until they do so, the project can't begin.

WASHINGTON — A Muslim civil rights group said President Donald Trump’s use of “Palestinian” to describe Jewish Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in an Oval Office meeting Wednesday is a racial slur.

Trump made the comment during a meeting with the taoiseach of Ireland, Micheál Martin, as the Senate considers a stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government running and avert a possible shutdown at midnight Friday.