BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New York's 26th Congressional District has been without a representative for more than two months.

When Democrat Brian Higgins stepped down in February to take over as president of Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, he said it was in fact Congress that had become more about dramatics then results. Both candidates who are vying to finish his term agree.

A New York man has pleaded guilty to sending death threats to the state attorney general and the Manhattan judge who presided over former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud case, prosecutors said Thursday.

Tyler Vogel, 26, of Lancaster, admitted to one felony count of making a terroristic threat and one misdemeanor count of making a threat of mass harm on Wednesday in state Supreme Court, according to Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane’s office.

All twelve jurors have now been selected for the hush money trial against Donald Trump, signaling that the first criminal case against a former president in U.S. history could soon move into its next phase.

Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records around purported efforts to cover up his alleged infidelity with an adult film actress during his 2016 presidential campaign. The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

President Joe Biden will visit Central New York next week on the heels of an announcement of funding for Micron, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Spectrum News 1 on Thursday.

The president's planned visit has no details at this time, but comes as Schumer announced that Micron has agreed to a preliminary deal that would unlock more than $6 billion in federal funding toward its chip-manufacturing plans in the region.

The jury selection process in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial remains underway, with attorneys scrutinizing potential jurors' social media activity, political affiliations and personal backgrounds to ensure a fair and impartial panel.

Trump is facing 34 charges related to the alleged falsification of business records in connection with efforts to conceal an alleged affair during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied any wrongdoing.

For more than eight years, Basil Seggos had led the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, trying to help New York in its transition away from fossil fuels. Now leaving office, Seggos joined NY1’s Errol Louis to discuss New York’s pivotal 2019 climate law and his own tenure with two different governors. They also spoke about Seggos’ dramatic first day in office and his top priority for his successor.

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

Leaders in the state Office of Cannabis Management on Wednesday celebrated the opening of the state's 100th legal dispensary — putting on a brave face as the governor's office works to finish a review of the troubled department and needed changes to get New York's recreational marijuana industry off the ground.

State and local officials attended the grand opening of Big Gas Dispensary LLC in New Paltz, Ulster County, where emotions ran high.

Micron has agreed to a preliminary deal that would unlock more than $6 billion in federal funding toward its chip-manufacturing plans in Central New York and beyond, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday evening.

Schumer's office said the company has agreed to a $6.1 billion preliminary memorandum of terms, or a PMT funding agreement, covering its Micron project in Clay, near Syracuse, and one in Idaho.

Columbia University’s president and other school officials faced a grilling on Capitol Hill Wednesday over their handling of antisemitism on campus.

Officials acknowledged there is more work to do.

After announcing a conceptual agreement on the state budget earlier this week, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that only minor details need to be negotiated.

Some lawmakers said they were caught off guard by the announcement of a deal. However, in an interview with NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall,” Hochul said she has done this type of agreement with her last two budgets.

The New York state Legislature still hasn't voted on a state budget, despite Gov. Kathy Hochul announcing the "framework" of a conceptual agreement on Monday.

The governor has acknowledged that details still need to be ironed out, but it is still not clear when the budget process will be wrapped up. State senators meanwhile told reporters as they left conference for the day that they plan to pass another budget extender Thursday possibly bumping the budget deadline to next week.

State officials are investigating a major cyberattack on the government agency charged with drafting state budget bills.

The investigation comes as the Legislature and governor are finalizing the details of the $237 billion state budget.

While the presidential election is seven months away, the race is on to get enough petition signatures for third party candidates to get on the ballot here in the Empire State.

One of those candidates looking to make their mark this November is Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party's nominee in 2012 and 2016 who has a commanding lead in her party's primary for her third run.

Crucible Industries is a Central New York-based steel company.

President John Shiesley said because the company makes highly specialized products, it competes directly with Chinese companies less than other upstate mills but the country is a concern nonetheless.

Senate Democrats quickly dismissed impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, voting to rule each of the two impeachment charges unconstitutional on the trial's first day.

All Republicans voted no on the questions of dismissal, bar Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate who voted present on the first charge and voted against the second charge.

House lawmakers officially delivered articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the U.S. Senate Tuesday.

House Republicans, who first approved the articles back in February, are demanding the Senate hold a full trial.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state’s residents want to see a state budget “that delivers for them” and says there is a lot in the conceptual agreement reached Monday between her and legislative leaders that those residents can be proud of.

The governor sat down with Capital Tonight on Tuesday to discuss some of the parameters of that agreement that includes public safety measures, record funding in education and a housing plan.

New York budget conversations in Albany are winding down — and that's how Gov. Kathy Hochul wants it after announcing a budget framework without details while lawmakers continue to discuss parts left unfinished.

State lawmakers on Wednesday are scheduled to conference remaining details of the the $237 billion Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget, including parts of the housing package, mayoral control of New York City schools and proposed cuts to Medicaid programs.

One of the major topics this state budget cycle was K-12 education funding, and whether Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to make changes to the Foundation Aid formula would survive the negotiating process after legislative leaders came out against it.

The governor announced a “conceptual” budget agreement Monday that she said commits $36 billion to education, the highest in state history.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Democratic congressional candidate Nate McMurray submitted more than 1,400 designating petitions to the state Board of Elections as he pushes for ballot access in New York's 26th Congressional District primary in June, which would take place after the special election this month.

However, a lawsuit brought by his potential opponent, state Sen. Tim Kennedy, and a voter claimed, at best, 382 of the signatures McMurray submitted are valid. That would put the candidate well below the minimum of 1,250 needed.

After Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she struck a “conceptual” agreement on a $237 billion spending package on Monday, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie appeared to back her up.

However, fellow Democrats in the state Legislature on Tuesday had various questions because they still had yet to discuss final details tied to big-ticket items like housing and health care.

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

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The road to control of the U.S. House next year runs in no small part through New York, with competitive congressional contests on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and in the Syracuse area.

New York is also home to a bitter Democratic primary battle, in which the Israel-Hamas War is a defining issue.

For many New Yorkers, tax day isn't a day to celebrate but advocates in New York state used the day to call for higher taxes on the highest earners here in the Empire State.

Michael Kink, the executive director of Strong Economy for All, joined Capital Tonight on Tax Day to talk about tax revenue and spending priorities.

New York’s highest court will hear arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit that seeks to throw out a regulation requiring health insurance policies to cover medically necessary abortions — a case that could jeopardize a similar state law.

The lawsuit was filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other church groups that argue that the rule violates their religious beliefs.

Unhappy with Mayor Adams' response to the migrant crisis, the City Council is forming its own team of advisors who will draw up a blueprint to help the city deal with its thousands of newcomers.

The Council on Tuesday released a list of people and organizations that will comprise its “New Arrival Strategy Team" — which include former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messenger; former Deputy Mayor Lilliam Barrios Paoli; and Plachikkat Anatharam, who served in the Mayor’s office of Management and Budget for many years.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York legislative leaders have come to a preliminary agreement on the state budget that includes a comprehensive housing plan, record funding in education and increased emphasis on public safety measures, the governor said.

Lawmakers on Monday appeared to have found consensus on a spending plan worth $237 billion, which is up from $233 billion that the governor proposed at the start of the legislative session in January.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a conceptual budget agreement Monday that outlined the state's $237 billion spending plan, but as negotiations continue, it was largely void of details of one of the state's greatest expenditures: Medicaid.

Hochul's announcement of the budget's framework comes before leaders have solidified a deal on health care spending and other pieces of a housing package. The Senate and Assembly conferenced the issues Monday night, and will have additional discussions Tuesday afternoon.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tesla plans to lay off 10% of its global workforce.

According to multiple national media reports, CEO Elon Musk detailed the plans in an internal memo sent to employees over the weekend.

New York’s proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act got the endorsement from the Medical Society of the State of New York, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who sponsors the legislation in that chamber, announced Monday.

The act would allow terminally ill, mentally capable adults who have been given six months or less to live to take their own lives with a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs.

As the hush-money trial involving former President Donald Trump is poised to commence Monday in Manhattan, a former federal prosecutor on Monday shed light on the jury selection process set to unfold.

Step one in the trial is the task of handpicking an impartial jury, a task that Trump’s attorneys have argued would be difficult given the political atmosphere of New York City. However, their petitions to have the trial moved out of the city have repeatedly been rejected.

A researcher from Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations designed a free tool, The Wage Atlas Tool, that allows users to look at wage data by profession and different demographic variables. The tool shows that only half of New Yorkers are making a living wage.

Compassion Coalition is a non-profit that runs Bargain Grocery in Utica. He knows food insecurity is an issue across New York State.

Several prominent New York officials expressed support for Israel Saturday night after Iran launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country's highest-ranking Jewish elected official, held a press conference Sunday to share details from a Saturday night call he had with top U.S. administration officials.

Booms and air raid sirens sounded in Israel Sunday after Iran confirmed that it launched an unprecented and extensive drone operation on the country.

Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, was in Tel Aviv for a family wedding during the attack.

A fourth state budget extender was approved and signed, but a final deal proved elusive on Friday.

While the gears were turning and progress appeared to be made, the extenders are necessary to keep state government funded until whatever agreement is eventually reached makes its way through the legislative process.

Climate activists view the New York state budget as the best chance for passage of the Climate Change Superfund Act.

The bill (S.2129A Krueger/A.3351A Dinowitz) would force oil companies to help pay for damages caused by the climate crisis — damages that environmental justice communities have been dealing with for decades, in some cases.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and her husband raked in nearly $2 million last year, according to copies of the couple’s joint tax returns released Friday.

The pair reported a combined income of $1,902,102.

The New York state budget is now more than 10 days late.

On Friday, the state Assembly passed another extender. The measure passed in the state Senate on Thursday. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure into law Friday afternoon.

Of the 1.4 million adults who live in Manhattan, a dozen are soon to become the first Americans to sit in judgment of a former president charged with a crime.

Jury selection is set to start Monday in former President Donald Trump's hush money case — the first trial among four criminal prosecutions of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The proceedings present a historic challenge for the court, the lawyers and the everyday citizens who find themselves in the jury pool.

For the first time in history, a former president will be sitting in a courtroom next week as a criminal defendant. NY1 investigative reporter Courtney Gross and political reporters Ayana Harry and Kelly Mena weigh in on the upcoming trial of Donald Trump and what we should expect in a Manhattan courtroom in the weeks ahead. They also discuss how the trial may set a precedent for his other upcoming criminal cases.

After that, the investigation into Mayor Adams’ campaign fundraising is once again making headlines. Federal prosecutors are reportedly looking into upgrades the mayor received on flights with Turkish Airlines. Adams this week was asked by reporters about the investigation and continued to dodge questions. The "Off Topic" team looks at the investigation and also discussed why the administration is requesting elected officials fill out a seven-page form to get an audience with city commissioners.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Groups advocating for New York's transition to alternative energy sources are fighting back against what they say is National Fuel's outsized lobbying influence as state lawmakers consider legislation placing more restrictions and limitations on the market for carbon-based fossil fuels.

The Better Buildings NY Coalition is running digital advertisements in Buffalo criticizing the utility company for opposing the NY HEAT Act. The bill is aimed at moving the state toward its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by, among other things, eliminating ratepayer-subsidized incentives for the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, creating pathways for utilities to offer alternative options, and ensuring low-to-moderate income customers' bills are not more than 6% of their income.

One of the nation’s fiercest congressional primaries this year is unfolding in a district that stretches from Co-op City in the Bronx to Elmsford in Central Westchester County.

There, in New York’s 16th Congressional District, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a longtime local elected Democrat, is trying to unseat two-term progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman.

New York's final budget is expected to empower local law enforcement to independently padlock businesses that illegally sell cannabis to suppress thousands of illicit sales that burden its slow-growing legal market.

And a proposed fund to help distressed cannabis farmers remains on the negotiating table after advocates thought this week it was nixed from the final spending plan.

New York is currently taking a look at state liquor laws that many criticize as being antiquated and harmful to businesses.

Some of that is up for discussion in the state budget, including a pandemic-era policy allowing restaurants to sell to-go cocktails that is scheduled to sunset next year. Another would allow bars and restaurants to purchase a limited quantity of liquor from a nearby store.

Advocates for people living with disabilities are continuing their effort to shut down a proposal that that would reform the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP.

While the program has had some challenges, including unethical providers using it for their own gain, advocates argue a late-breaking proposal to eliminate all providers, including the disability-led and disability-staffed Independent Living Centers, and turn over operations to a single Fiscal Intermediary (FI) would mean an upheaval of a program that helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers with disabilities maintain independence in the community.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The real estate industry, home buyers and sellers are currently waiting on a judge's approval of a settlement agreement reached last month.

The suit brought by sellers against the National Association of Realtors argued the current commission process violated anti-trust rules. NAR, with more than one million members, denies wrongdoing but agreed to pay $418 million and develop a new set of rules.

After 609 days since he was detained by the Taliban, a resolution calling for Ryan Corbett’s immediate release was passed Thursday after both Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell introduced the bipartisan resolution.

Corbett had a business in Afghanistan and was going there to do some work when he was detained.

When he was elected two years ago as Manhattan’s first Black district attorney, Alvin Bragg spoke candidly about his unease with the job’s political demands. A former law professor, he’s more comfortable untangling complex legal questions than swaggering up to a podium.

But when the first of Donald Trump’s four criminal prosecutions heads to trial on Monday, about alleged hush money payments to cover up a sex scandal during the 2016 election, Bragg will be at the center of a political maelstrom with few precedents.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Early Voting runs April 20, 2024 – April 28, 2024.

A bill that would designate the Strong Museum as the National Museum of Play is one step closer to becoming law.

U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle says the House of Representatives approved the National Museum of Play Recognition Act on Wednesday. There is no word yet on when it could come up for a vote in the Senate.

The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time is imposing a national limit on per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in drinking water, an issue many New Yorkers are unfortunately familar with.

The measure should reduce exposure for about 100 milion people and help prevent illnesses associated with the “forever chemicals,” including cancer. That's something those who have experienced contamination firsthand say is bittersweet news.

Although it is not part of budget talks, several high profile so-called squatter cases have landlords on high alert. Lawmakers are trying to pass additional legislation to keep squatters from dwelling in homes unlawfully.

“Owning a home, that's the American dream. But some people have turned it into the American nightmare, and we have to stop it,” state Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat, said in Flushing on Wednesday.

Dozens of state Democratic lawmakers told housing advocates they will not support a state budget with a housing package that exempts certain tenants from stronger eviction protection laws or rollbacks to rent regulations passed in 2019.

As state leaders work on the state budget, now 10 days late, discussions to reach a housing deal continue to suck most of the air out of the negotiating room. State lawmakers up for election this fall are feeling a heightened urgency to finalize a deal to increase housing stock and strengthen tenant protections and rental assistance programs after major housing policy was removed from last year's budget.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said Israeli efforts to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza are still not enough.

His latest comments are part of the mounting White House criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, coming as the Israel-Hamas war hits the six-month mark.

Members of the state Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus are going to bat for members of the state Police Benevolent Association in the budget for the first time — showing a rare unity between downstate lawmakers and law enforcement.

PBA members, or the labor union that represents about 1,200 state parks police, ENCON officers, forest rangers and university police say it's time for Gov. Kathy Hochul to keep her promise and allow them to retire after 20 years like most other law enforcement across New York.

The late state budget is threatening to create challenges for schools, which are trying to finalize their own budgets that need voter approval.

Gov. Kathy Hochul indicated last week that plans were being made as part of a budget deal to ensure the Foundation Aid formula is updated by the passage of next year’s budget. That is expected to mean that the full impact of her initial plan to eliminate hold harmless, which ensures that districts don’t receive less Foundation Aid than the previous year, won’t be felt this year.

There are a series of moving parts that all need to fit together before a housing deal comes together in Albany. These include tenant protections, a wage deal between developers and construction unions, a tax break for developers, the removal of density regulations and new allowances for office conversions.

One new hurdle is a demand by developers to roll back certain tenant protections that were passed into law in 2019.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Since New York City awarded DocGo a $432 million no-bid emergency contract last year to coordinate housing and services for migrants, the company has drawn significant controversy and scrutiny.

Mayor Eric Adams said the city will not renew the contract, which expires May 5. State Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, is among DocGo's many critics.

Donald Trump is now 0 for 3 in last-minute attempts to get a New York appeals court to delay his looming hush money criminal trial. An appeals court judge Wednesday swiftly rejected the latest salvo from the former president’s lawyers, who argued he should be on the campaign trail rather than “in a courtroom defending himself” starting next week.

Trump's lawyers had asked the state’s mid-level appeals court to halt the case indefinitely while they fight to remove the trial judge and challenge several of his pretrial rulings, which they argue have seriously hindered the presumptive Republican nominee's defense.

New York towns and villages that have post-Prohibition bans on alcohol sales would be forced to lift such restrictions under a bill moving through the Legislature.

The bill, which is up for a state Senate vote after advancing out of a committee last week, would strike down a 1934 law passed right after Prohibition that allowed towns and cities to opt to stay dry.

New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez will take a new role as acting president and chief executive officer of the Dormitory Authority of the state of New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.

The agency provides financing and construction services to public and private colleges and universities, non-profit health care facilities and other public institutions.

Allen Weisselberg, a retired executive in Donald Trump's real estate empire, was sentenced on Wednesday to five months in jail for lying under oath during his testimony in the civil fraud lawsuit brought against the former president by New York's attorney general.

Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of perjury in connection with the suit. He admitted lying when he testified he had little knowledge of how Trump's Manhattan penthouse came to be valued on his financial statements at nearly three times its actual size.

New York City will move to end its contract with a medical services company hired to house and care for a recent influx of international migrants, following scrutiny over the firm's costly deal with the city and the quality of its humanitarian services.

Mayor Eric Adams' office on Tuesday said the city would not renew its contract with DocGo before it expires on May 5 and will instead search for a new housing provider for migrants.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday demanded Gov. Kathy Hochul release millions of dollars donated to New York veterans that continues to languish in state coffers.

Lawmakers are furious the state continues to withhold more than $3 million in tax check-off donations for services that benefit veterans from years ago — revealed in a January analysis by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office that showed the state has not disbursed more than $13 million in personal income tax check-offs.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump appeared in court Tuesday.

For the second time this week, an appeals judge denied Trump’s attempt to have his upcoming Manhattan trial delayed.

The city’s public school system is the largest in the U.S., with over a million kids and upwards of 1,800 schools, and the mayor is responsible for setting the agenda.

It’s called mayoral control.

New York advocates are pushing for passage of two bills sponsored by state Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assemblymember Latrice Walker that would change the dynamic between Child Protective Services (CPS) and families being investigated by the agency.

The first bill, known colloquially as “The Family Miranda Act” (S190 – Brisport/A1980 - Walker), would require that parents be informed of their legal rights before the start of any CPS investigation.

We still have no state budget deal.

It’s been more than a week since the April 1 deadline and it seems we will have to wait a bit longer.

The New York state Public Campaign Finance Board has certified 329 candidates this election cycle for the state's new matching funds program.

It went into effect Nov. 9, 2022 but the upcoming elections will be the first in which candidates can put the money to use. State Board of Elections Director of Public Information Kathleen McGrath said they had to register a committee, apply and be certified by Feb. 26 in order to qualify this year.

The Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC is reserving roughly $21 million worth of TV ad buys across New York ahead of the November elections.

The move comes as the Empire State could be make or break for Democrats in their push to win back control of the U.S. House. Losses in congressional districts across New York in 2022 helped cost the party the majority.

The need for volunteer firefighters in New York state is getting dire, according to President of the Firefighters Association of New York State (FASNY) Edward Tase.

He says recruitment efforts are critically low and that they have lost 4,100 volunteers in the last two years.

Twenty-six organizations across New York state have issued a memorandum of support for two pieces of legislation aimed at protecting children on social media as final budget negotiations continue.

The organizations, which include New York State United Teachers, the National Alliance on Mental Illness NY, the state School Boards Association, various Urban League branches and other organized labor, say the state Legislature should act now to pass the "Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act" and the "Child Data Protection Act."

A New York appeals court judge Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s latest bid to delay his hush money criminal trial while he fights a gag order, clearing the way for jury selection to begin next week.

Justice Cynthia Kern’s ruling is yet another loss for Trump, who has tried repeatedly to get the trial postponed.

The New York state Senate on Tuesday passed a series of legislation aimed to protect animals and the sale and treatment of pets.

If enacted into law, the bills would:

Four of the city’s top 10 largest capital projects are the borough-based jails set to replace Rikers Island.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the Brooklyn community jail site slated for Atlantic Avenue is two years behind schedule because of “unforeseen site conditions.”

As budget negotiations continue behind closed doors, advocates are rallying in hopes they can still push their priority investments across the finish line.

One of those is the NY HEAT Act. The bill is intended to limit costs to customers as New York state transitions away from natural gas, while protecting them from predatory practices.

When Monday's solar eclipse peaked in New York, state lawmakers in Albany stood together and lifted their voices in song — marking a rare moment of levity amid ongoing budget negotiations as the multi-billion-dollar spending plan remains unfinished more than a week past the deadline.

Lawmakers consumed by budget talks briefly left the state Capitol at around 3 p.m. Monday to join hundreds of people in the Empire State Plaza to view the historic solar eclipse. The sky turned completely dark in parts of upstate along the 124-mile path of totality, including Western New York and the Adirondacks, which peaked just before 3:30 p.m.

Brooklyn Rep. Yvette Clarke has been thinking about how to set up guardrails for artificial intelligence for years now.

She points to one particular case that jump-started her interest.

Mayor Eric Adams has inserted himself into a debate over whether raising penalties deters crime, as lawmakers are still working on a deal to finalize the already late, multi-billion dollar state budget.

“I just don't believe raising penalties is ever a deterrent on crime,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said on March 26.

Schools are breathing what will likely be a temporary sigh of relief.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week that changes she had recommended in her executive budget to the Foundation Aid formula, the primary school funding formula, would wait until next year’s budget.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Auto technicians are paid differently than people in most other industries.

United Service Workers Union Political Director Connor Shaw said techs are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and they get paid by the job instead of the hour.

A New York appeals court judge on Monday rejected Donald Trump's bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial while he fights to move the case out of Manhattan — foiling the former president’s latest attempt to put off the historic trial.

Justice Lizbeth González of the state’s mid-level appeals court made her ruling after an emergency hearing where Trump's lawyers asked to postpone the trial indefinitely while they seek a change of venue. Trump was seeking an emergency stay, a court order that would prevent the trial from starting on time.

Another state budget extender was passed Monday by the New York state Senate to keep the government running through Thursday, but will fund pay for state employees through next Tuesday.

The state Assembly approved the measure over the weekend. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law Monday afternoon.

The New York state Libertarian Party is gearing up to get their presidential candidate on the ballot in the Empire State. Due to new ballot access provisions, the Libertarians and other parties without automatic ballot access will need to collect 45,000 signatures between April 16 and May 28 to get their party on the ballot.

The Libertarian Party has placed a candidate on the ballot for president in New York every cycle since 1976 with their best performance on their own line coming in 2020 with Jo Jorgenson receiving over 60,000 votes. In 2016, the party’s ticket, which included former Massachusetts Governor and New York gubernatorial candidate Bill Weld, was cross endorsed by the Independence Party and received over 176,000 votes.

A new report from the office of the New York state comptroller shows shortfalls in juvenile justice centers across New York state. There are a number of contributing factors, including staffing shortages, which have led to more self harm and drug use among youth the centers serve, but there are some outliers, according to the report.

“No kids are bad,” said Vanderheyden President and CEO Karen Carpenter. “Individuals just grow up in different circumstances.”

Westchester County Executive George Latimer is releasing the first TV ad of his primary bid to unseat progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, touting “real progressive results” from his years in county government.

The 30-second spot, which is the first part of a seven-figure ad buy on cable and digital, was shared exclusively with NY1 ahead of its Tuesday rollout.

As budget talks to suppress New York's thriving illicit cannabis market continues, lawmakers are pushing to create a fund to help New Yorkers impacted by marijuana prohibition transition to the legal industry and curb operators without a license.

The Legislature backs Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposals to empower municipalities to expedite enforcement with the state Office of Cannabis Management and padlock illegal cannabis shops. Legislators held rallies in the Capitol throughout the week — pushing for different budget policies to close illicit stores for good and deter new unlicensed stores from opening.

Saturday is the 21st annual New York State Missing Persons Day at the Empire State Plaza’s Cultural Education Center. It comes as legislators continue to work to prevent human trafficking and kidnapping and assist crime victims and families, including in this year's budget.

“You just wish that somebody would see this and make that phone call and just say, ‘OK, this is where she is,’” said Mary Lyall, while holding a large print of a coaster with her daughter Suzanne’s photo printed on it.

It appears the full force of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Executive Budget proposal to end "hold harmless" won’t be felt in this year’s budget.

Hold harmless prevents school districts from receiving less in Foundation Aid than the previous school year.

While upstate New York has been mesmerized by athletic, seismic and astronomical activity this week, there are some mundane (but important) financial issues that need to be discussed, namely New York’s annual spending plan, which was due on April 1.

A veteran of multiple state budget negotiations, attorney Shontell Smith, a partner at Tusk Strategies and former chief of staff to state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, discussed how the budget process works in Albany with Capital Tonight anchor Susan Arbetter.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Canterra is a prospective Buffalo dispensary that was originally planning to build downtown.

Founder Matt Krupp said there were complications with that location though so his group pivoted and recently received approval from both the state and city to open what would be the first licensed shop in the city's busy Elmwood Village.

The chairman of the New York state Democratic Party, Jay Jacobs, will endorse former CNN political analyst John Avlon in the Democratic primary in New York’s 1st Congressional District, NY1 has learned.

Jacobs, who also chairs the Nassau County Democratic Committee, will back Avlon in his personal capacity.

The two architects behind New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act have amended added additional safeguards to the legislation in the hope it can soon become law.

The act would allow terminally ill, mentally capable adults who have been given six months or less to live to take their own lives with a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs.

New York state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would exempt the burning of wood, used for cooking or heating buildings, from restrictions under the state’s 2019 climate law.

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) mandates the state lower greenhouse gas emissions to 40% of 1990 levels by 2030, and by 85% by 2050.

NEW YORK — New York's cannabis industry was unsettled Thursday by a judge's ruling that appeared to strike down all regulations governing recreational marijuana in the state. But a key portion of the order turned out to be a mistake.

The Wednesday ruling was amended Thursday to reflect a much narrower decision after cannabis growers, sellers and other supporters voiced concerns about the implications.