Politics

Investigators looking into sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo interviewed county officials about his “vaccine czar” calling them to assess their support for the embattled governor.

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will be returned to federal prison after federal authorities denied him home confinement, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been released from a federal prison on furlough, while he awaits potential placement to home confinement.

More than half of New York state’s county Republican chairs have now endorsed Rep. Lee Zeldin to become the party’s nominee for governor next year, with Erie and Niagara Counties putting him over the top Friday.

President Biden is addressing a joint session of Congress on the eve of 100 days in office. Watch his remarks live. Hear it live on WBFO or watch below., and read analysis in a live blog from NPR

NPR reporters are adding fact checks and analysis to his remarks live.

New York's loss of a congressional seat due to the 2020 census will again set off a once-a-decade game of musical chairs among those currently holding the state's congressional seats, and continue what political observers think will be a shift of political power from upstate to downstate.

Several Republican office holders who are interested in running for governor next year made their case to the state’s GOP county leaders at a meeting in Albany this week. The meeting comes as Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has said he wants to run again, has been weakened by a series of scandals.

Next year’s race for governor in New York has officially begun. Republican leaders gathered in Albany Monday to hear from potential gubernatorial nominees, who would go on to compete next year against either Gov. Andrew Cuomo or whichever Democrat lands on the ticket in his place.

The voting process has changed enormously in recent years and particularly in these COVID times, with the tens of millions of absentee ballots cast nationally in last year’s presidential election. Albany controls what’s in the state Election Law and could change it again this year, with more time in the legislative session.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Tom Reed.

Two Republicans have jumped into the race for New York governor.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hosted a press conference Monday in Elmira, where he continued taking a victory lap on the passage of the latest COVID-19 stimulus measure, but avoided questions about Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state budget and the SALT cap.

Activist India Walton's bid to run for mayor of Buffalo has been dealt a severe setback.

Opponents of legalizing marijuana in New York made a last-ditch attempt on Monday to stall the issue, saying concerns still remain over a handful of issues, including the ability to detect when someone is driving while impaired by the drug.

A political analyst said the loss of Rep. Tom Reed as a potential candidate for New York governor is a tremendous blow to the Republican Party. Reed had been publicly entertaining the idea of running for governor in 2022, but he announced Sunday that he would seek no public office next year.

Rep. Brian Higgins has announced the death of former longtime Erie County Legislator Mike Fitzpatrick.

Rep. Tom Reed has responded to an allegation made by a former lobbyist in a Washington Post story that came out Friday. In a statement released early Sunday evening, Reed, a Southern Tier Republican from Corning who has been in Congress since 2010, announced that he will not run for any elected office in 2022.

The growing calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment and a nursing home scandal have focused attention on the state’s second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.

At 12 p.m. Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is holding a live update on the current status of coronavirus in New York State. Watch it here.

More of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s close Democratic colleagues in New York are calling for him to step down in the wake of recently sexual harassment and misconduct allegations.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown gave his State of the City Address at 12 p.m. Friday. Watch it here.