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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress following a tax fraud conviction, is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament, according to friends who are raising funds to pay for the ex-lawmaker's medical care.

Grimm, 54, suffered the devastating injury in September and is now being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where the late actor Christopher Reeve was treated after a similar equestrian accident in 1995, according to Vincent Ignizio, a friend of Grimm's who is a former New York City Council member.

Two years after he helped orchestrate the CHIPS and Science Act, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday said he’s confident the legislation will remain intact despite the changes of power coming to the White House and Congress.

“The CHIPS Act has always been bipartisan so I believe it will certainly survive,” Schumer told reporters at an event highlighting toxic algae blooms in Penn Yan, New York.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing for a boost in federal funding to combat toxic algae blooms in the Finger Lakes region.

Speaking in Penn Yan on Monday, Schumer says the region has seen more harmful algae blooms (HABs) this year than anywhere else in the state. According to the majority leader, Seneca Lake reported a record-breaking 50 blooms from Aug. 24-29. Canandaigua Lake also recorded 42 blooms from Sept. 6-13 that led to the closure of two local beaches. There were also 16 blooms at Cayuga Lake and Keuka Lake saw 21, of which 11 were identified as harmful algae blooms.

New York Democrats are heading back home after traveling to Puerto Rico for the annual SOMOS political conference, where lawmakers convened and recounted what went wrong for the party in the presidential election.

Jessica Ramos, a state senator and New York City mayoral candidate, was among those in attendance and told "Mornings On 1" Monday that conversations around the Nov. 5 election dominated the conference.

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump said in a statement Monday morning he is “honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”

Democrats are celebrating the passage of New York state’s Equal Rights Amendment and three U.S. House pickups on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and in Syracuse. The congressional victories were quite a shift from 2022 when Republicans flipped those very same seats.

So what changed to make these seats winnable for Democrats?

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler joined "Mornings On 1" on Friday, reflecting on his reelection in a New York district long considered a Democratic stronghold.

Lawler, who received 52.4% of the vote, overcame a strong challenge from Mondaire Jones, who gained 45.6% of the vote, to secure a second term in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 80,000 voters. He attributed his success to high voter turnout in Rockland County.

Congresswoman-elect Laura Gillen promised to be an “independent” representative in Congress who focuses on bipartisanship, one day after she was declared the winner of New York's 4th Congressional District race.

The Democrat, whose district covers parts of Long Island, secured 50.9% of the vote, defeating Republican incumbent Anthony D’Esposito, who garnered 49.1%. Gillen's win marks one of three seats flipped by New York Democrats, though the overall balance of power in the House remains undecided. As of Friday, 25 races are yet to be called, with 218 wins needed for a majority.

His name was not on the ballot, but Tuesday’s election is costing Sen. Chuck Schumer a job he long sought: Senate majority leader.

After a handful of their incumbents failed to win reelection to the Senate, Democrats are poised to lose control of the U.S. Senate starting in January, ending a four-year stint in the majority. The loss will also amount to a demotion for Schumer, who has served as majority leader during that period.

Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who was reelected Tuesday, said voter dissatisfaction is behind the increase in Republican votes in New York City.

While New York’s 28 electoral votes were secured by Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump gained more votes in the city than he did in the 2020 election. Still, the city's largely Democratic congressional delegation will return to the House, with Malliotakis continuing to represent the 11th Congressional District, which covers southern Brooklyn and Staten Island.

U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro said Wednesday he will accept the results of the state's 19th Congressional District race, but will not concede to his leading Democratic opponent until election officials finish counting thousands of absentee ballots.

The Associated Press declared Democrat Josh Riley as the victor of New York's 19th District — one of the most expensive races in the country, and considered a toss-up throughout the election cycle.

The race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District went decisively to Democratic state Sen. John Mannion Tuesday night, unseating first-term Republican Rep. Brandon Williams. While a string of losses in 2022 had Democrats on edge in the state’s competitive congressional races, it’s becoming clear that Mannion was probably relatively safe from the beginning given how election night played out.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, said that he never believed the hype that this race was going to be a big tossup the way it turned out to be in 2022, and can point to at least 15 reasons why Mannion won.

The race between Democratic Onondaga County Legislator Chris Ryan and Republican Salina Town Supervisor Nick Paro to fill the open seat in New York’s 50th state Senate District remained too close to call Wednesday.

Ryan, with all districts reporting, leads Paro by 548 votes.

U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle has won a fourth term in Congress, the Associated Press declares. Morelle defeats Republican businessman Gregg Sadwick 65.1% to 34.9%, according to the latest unofficial results from AP.

Morelle, the Democratic incumbent, will return to Washington to represent the Rochester area in the 25th Congressional District seat, which encompasses all of Monroe County and parts of northwestern Ontario County, including Victor.

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler has earned victory in his bid for a second term in Congress, the Associated Press has declared Wednesday morning.

Lawler held back a challenge from former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones in the race for New York’s 17th Congressional District.

For Josh Riley, the second time’s the charm.

The fifth-generation Endicott native and lawyer will win the race for New York’s 19th Congressional District, the Associated Press has declared, unseating Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in a bitter rematch contest from two years ago.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will be reelected to a third full term representing New York in Capitol Hill's upper chamber, the Associated Press declares.

According to the AP, with approximately 96.29% of the expected vote tallied as of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Gillibrand had 58.1% of the vote, while the Republican candidate, Michael Sapraicone, had 41.5% of the vote.

Democratic state Sen. John Mannion will win the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District, the Associated Press has declared, unseating Republican Rep. Brandon Williams and becoming the first Democrat to win the Syracuse-based district since 2012.

The two-term state legislator was leading the congressman 54% to 46%, according to the latest unofficial results from AP. Rep. Williams called Mannion to concede.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan has been reelected to a second full term representing parts of the Hudson Valley in Congress, holding off a challenge from Republican Alison Esposito in the race for New York’s 18th Congressional District, the Associated Press has declared.

The freshman congressman was leading the former NYPD officer 59% to 41% with 72% of the expected vote counted, according to the latest unofficial results from AP.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-highest ranking House Republican, cruised to a sixth term in Congress on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Paula Collins in New York's 21st Congressional District, the Associated Press has declared.

Voters in the North Country preferred Stefanik, an incumbent Republican and staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, over Collins, a cannabis tax attorney, 62% to 38%, with about three-quarters of the vote in, according to the AP.

U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney will win a second term representing New York’s 24th Congressional District, the Associated Press declares.

The Republican lawmaker was defeating Democratic challenger David Wagenhauser in Tuesday’s elections 62.8% to 37.2%, according to the latest unofficial results from AP.

Rep. Paul Tonko handily won reelection to Congress on Tuesday, beating Albany Law School student Kevin Waltz in New York's 20th Congressional District, the Associated Press declared.

The Democrat, who maintains a robust presence in the Capital Region district and has been strong ally of the Biden administration, led Waltz 68% to 32% with more than a third of the expected vote in, according to the latest unofficial results from AP.

ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers could play an outsized role Tuesday in determining control of the U.S. House as Republicans cling to suburban seats they won two years ago by seizing on fears of crime, and Democrats try to claw them back by warning that a right-wing Congress might ban abortion.

If everything goes their way, Democrats hope to pick off a handful of Republican incumbents in congressional races on Long Island and in the Hudson River Valley, as well as a central New York district that state leaders recently reconfigured to make more favorable to Democrats.

The year 2024 has been an active one for New York’s delegation in the House of Representatives. A new set of congressional maps was submitted and approved, ending a years-long legal battle. Then there were two special elections — one of which to replace former Rep. George Santos after his historic expulsion — followed by a few bruising primary elections this spring.

It all comes after the 2022 elections in which Democratic House candidates across the country largely held their own and prevented an overwhelming “red wave.” But New York stood out in stark contrast. Republicans flipped four Democratic seats in the Empire State, the number that ultimately helped the GOP win their thin majority in the chamber.

A comment made by House Speaker Mike Johnson while campaigning in upstate New York is giving Democrats last-minute fodder for their final push to win control of the U.S. House.

After rallying in a Syracuse-area battleground congressional district Friday, Johnson told reporters that Republicans could try to repeal the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act if their party controls the levers of power in Washington after Tuesday's election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson walked back comments critical of the CHIPS and Science Act during a stop in upstate New York Friday, miles from where Micron plans to use billions from that law to fuel up to 9,000 jobs.

The question posed to Johnson, who was in Syracuse to rally with Republican Rep. Brandon Williams in his reelection bid in New York’s 22nd Congressional District, came after former President Donald Trump recently criticized the bill last week during a podcast interview.

It’s a high-stakes political rematch on the south shore of Nassau County, with Republicans and Democrats battling for control of the House of Representatives.

“The district is one that, of course, is getting a tremendous amount of national attention,” Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute, said of NY-04, which covers central and southern Nassau County.

This election, he has warned, is about the economy. Freedom. Stopping Project 2025 and the MAGA extremes.

And, after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, it's about democracy.

The race for the 19th Congressional District is one of the most competitive in the country and remains a toss-up just days before the election.

The 11-county district spans from the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes, and is one of five critical seats in New York that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A semiconductor research facility in Albany was selected as one of three national technology centers and will receive up to $825 million in funding as part of a broader federal effort to boost the United States' competitiveness in the industry.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer made the announcement Thursday.

It is one of the few congressional seats in New York where Democrats are on the defensive.

Hudson Valley Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat, is looking to rebuff a challenge from Republican Alison Esposito in New York’s 18th District.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should be brought up on criminal charges for providing false statements to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic earlier this year during its investigation into how his administration handled nursing home policies during the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the chairman of the Republican-led panel said in a referral written Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Cuomo made untrue statements in an interview with members of the subcommittee about his involvement in and knowledge of the drafting of a July 6 state Health Department report, “Factors Associated with Nursing Home Infections and Fatalities in New York State During the COVID-19 Global Health Crisis,” according to the letter, signed by subcommittee chair Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a Republican from Ohio.

New York is getting extra attention this year as Democrats in the solidly blue state work to avoid the red wave that hit certain congressional districts in 2022. As New York takes center stage less than a week out from Election Day, Republicans are spending a good deal of time here.

While former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday is unlikely to tip New York’s electoral votes in his direction, Republican congressional candidates have a lot riding on turnout as House of Representatives control is almost certain to run through the Empire State.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, will make appearances in several of New York’s competitive districts at the end of the week as the campaign season enters its final days with New York potentially being decisive in which party controls the chamber.

Johnson, R-Louisiana, will campaign on Thursday in Rockland County with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in his reelection bid in New York's 17th Congressional District, which is made up of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and southern Dutchess counties.

As Election Day approaches, candidates for New York’s 20th Congressional District are making their final pitches to voters.

The incumbent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, who has represented the district since 2009, is seeking a ninth term in office. He's being challenged by Kevin Waltz, an Albany Law student looking to bring a different perspective to this competitive race.

Outside of the race for the White House, the contest for New York’s 22nd Congressional District promises to be one of the most closely watched races in the nation on election night. It’s one of Democrats’ best shots to pick up a seat coast to coast.

The district covers Onondaga and Madison counties, as well as parts of Cayuga, Cortland and Oneida counties, including the cities of Syracuse and Utica. The race pits incumbent Republican Rep. Brandon Williams against Democratic state Sen. John Mannion.

CLARENCE, N.Y. -- Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy is wrapping up his freshman term in New York's 23rd Congressional District.

He said it's been a busy two years traveling across the large district that includes parts of Western New York and the Southern Tier.

Republican incumbent Claudia Tenney is being challenged by Democrat David Wagenhauser in the 24th Congressional District race.

Both candidates say they’re eager to work with both sides of the aisle.

In the race for New York's 25th Congressional District race, Republican businessman Gregg Sadwick is challenging Democratic incumbent Joe Morelle.

Both described their top priorities.

When New Yorkers tune in to watch the Yankees take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of the World Series Friday night, they will also see a campaign ad for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

The 30-second spot, which touts Gillibrand’s work on legislation to help 9/11 first responders and veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, is also scheduled to run during the second game of the series, Spectrum News has learned.

In the two years since U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams won election by just one percentage point in New York's 22nd Congressional District, the state's Democratic leaders have done what they could to make him the most endangered Republican in Congress.

The Legislature changed the boundaries of his district, taking out rural areas that strongly favored Donald Trump and adding Cortland, resulting in a new territory where voters favored Joe Biden by 11 points in the 2020 presidential election.

Democrat Paula Collins is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Elise Stefanik in the race for New York's 21st Congressional District.

Collins, a cannabis tax attorney, says her experience outside of politics is what makes her stand out.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In many ways, Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy has been campaigning for the better part of the year.

Kennedy won a special election to fill New York's 26th Congressional District seat in late April. He's once again running as a favorite in the heavily blue district with Republican candidate Anthony Marecki not actively campaigning.

Spectrum News will host a live debate on Wednesday, Oct. 23, between candidates for one of New York's two U.S. Senate seats.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Mike Sapraicone will appear in the debate, which starts at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News, and will be hosted by political anchors Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter.

In a blue state like New York, it can be tough for a Republican to throw their hat into the ring and win statewide.

In 2022, the GOP’s U.S. Senate candidate, businessman and political commentator Joe Pinion, put up the strongest challenge to Sen. Chuck Schumer since the Democrat was first elected back in 1998.

As their contentious race for Congress enters the final couple of weeks, Rep. Marc Molinaro and his Democratic challenger Josh Riley are still going at it over the issue of immigration in their race to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District.

Molinaro, a Republican, signed on to co-sponsor a bill this week that would prevent a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program used by FEMA from using any funds on transporting and housing migrants. Instead, the bill would divert money earmarked for those purposes to be spent on disaster relief.

Some fans disappointed with how athletes perform on game day will often let them know exactly how they feel. There's a separation between the field and the stands, but online, that distance can shrink to near nothing. Add in sports gambling losses, and it can turn nasty.

If sports weren’t exciting enough, add a wager to the mix and fans become even more engaged with the game. But in some circumstances, the engagement crosses a line.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was a marquee matchup of the 1998 election.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said he was sorry Thursday after The New York Times obtained photos of him wearing blackface about two decades ago at a college Halloween costume party where he dressed as Michael Jackson.

The images emerged as Lawler, a first-term Republican, is locked in a competitive reelection fight for his congressional seat in New York's Hudson Valley.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on federal agencies to put more resources into tracking mosquitos and mosquito-borne illnesses as New York has seen a surge in eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) cases, including one case in a human who died.

Schumer is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to outline a plan for working with New York state and local communities to track the bugs.

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

Democratic U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan and Republican challenger Alison Esposito will face off at 7 p.m. at Marist College in the race for one of New York’s most competitive seats in the House of Representatives.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday called on New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign, the first nationally prominent Democrat to do so amid escalating federal criminal investigations into the mayor's administration and a string of unexpected departures of top city officials.

“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on the social platform X.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is launching the first ad of her reelection bid.

In the 30-second spot, reviewed by Spectrum News ahead of its release, Gillibrand casts herself as someone who is willing to “work with both parties.” In it, she touts her work on anti-gun trafficking legislation and her support earlier this year of the bipartisan Senate-crafted border security bill, which ultimately failed to become law.

The latest effort to protect U.S. servicemembers from traumatic brain injuries involves the weapons they use.

The Blast Overpressure Safety Act is a bipartisan bill meant to protect military personnel from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) by implementing health measures.

There are just over 40 days until Election Day so candidates are shaking hands and delivering their message to get voters to their side.

One of those candidates is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Mike Sapraicone, who joined Capital Tonight on Monday.

Rensselaer County will receive federal help in combating its opioid problem.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Friday that the county has been identified as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and as such, will receive more technology and intelligence resources to aid both police and addiction advocates in fighting opioid use.

Newly proposed federal legislation aims to make supplemental breast cancer screenings more accessible.

U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle announced the new proposal at the Breast Cancer Coalition in Rochester.

Sen. Charles Schumer says Vice President Kamala Harris is handling herself “extremely well” in her White House bid.

In an exclusive interview Monday with Spectrum News, the Senate majority leader said he believes Harris is standing up to former President Donald Trump in the “right way” as she seeks to deny him a return to the Oval Office.

Despite predictions of a red wave in 2022, Republicans were able to narrowly secure a House of Representatives majority thanks to pickups in New York state.

Many political leaders and experts have touted the strong showing by the gubernatorial ticket of then-U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin and former NYPD Commanding Officer Alison Esposito as one of the main reasons for the New York showing.

Calling it “unserious and unacceptable,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected on Monday a proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson that links continued government funding for six months with a measure to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The response frames the spending battle to come over the next weeks as lawmakers work to reach consensus on a short-term spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Lawmakers hope to avoid a shutdown just weeks before voters go to the polls.

In Lower Manhattan, there are two memorials that represent where the World Trade Center once towered over the rest of the city. And around those sites are the names of the 2,753 people who died there more than 23 years ago.

But in those near 24 years, this has become a reality, too.

Americans for Contraception’s “IUD Express tour" stopped in Albany Thursday. It’s part of an effort to push Congress to pass the Right to Contraception Act — with some powerful symbolism.

That symbolism came in the form of a 20-foot inflatable IUD in the shadow of the state Capitol. The inflatable has been making its way to cities around the country, but this was really about getting people in Albany’s attention about a battle that is taking place in Washington.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a national Red Flag law, which would seize guns of people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, as well as a national assault weapons ban in the wake of Wednesday’s school shooting at a high school in Georgia that killed four and wounded several others.

New York has had a version of a Red Flag law, known formally as the Extreme Risk Protection Order law, which was passed in 2019 and expanded in 2022, and aims to prevent those who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or having firearms. Nearly two dozen other states have similar laws on the books.

With kids and teens headed back to school, Rep. Joe Morelle is pushing legislation to protect children online.

Morelle joined educators on Wednesday at East Irondequoit Middle School to ramp up support for the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act.

After an exchange of attacks over abortion rights, Republican U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro is moving to shift the debate in the race for New York's 19th Congressional District, rolling out a new TV and digital advertisement Wednesday hitting Democratic challenger Josh Riley on immigration.

The ad, previewed for Spectrum News 1 ahead of its release, invokes the recent arrest of a reputed Peruvian gang leader in Endicott, saying, “DC Insider Josh Riley helped write Biden’s open border policies that let him in.”

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to testify publicly later this month on Capitol Hill regarding his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak during his tenure.

The hearing, organized by the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, is scheduled for Sept. 10.