Albany

The State Attorney General’s office has filed a $70 million lawsuit against Federal Express, claiming the corporation unlawfully shipped nearly 80 million cigarettes to consumers across New York state in violation of federal and state laws...

State Senator James Seward has announced that the agreed upon 2014-15 state budget includes funding to reopen the NYSDOT rest area along I-88 eastbound between Exits 18 and 19 in Worcester. In 2010, the New York State Department of Transportation closed six rest areas on interstate highways in what was touted as a temporary measure...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York legislature's top Democrat says there's a "whole bunch" of unresolved state budget issues as negotiators race to meet a deadline next week. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver tells reporters at the state Capitol Friday that pre-kindergarten and other education issues still need to be agreed to...

State Assemblyman Cliff Crouch, as part of the Assembly Minority Conference, recently launched a website telling legislative leaders they must put “children before politics.” The site informs the general public about the APPLE Plan to reform Common Core and would keep them informed of conference-led initiatives on reforming education in New York state...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have approved a bill that would enter the state in an interstate agreement to award its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the majority of the popular vote. The National Popular Vote agreement is triggered when 270 electoral votes are reached, enough to give the states who signed the compact a majority of the electoral votes... Read Mo

The New York Senate has rejected a bill to open state financial aid to students in the country illegally. The 30-29 vote Monday evening was short of the 32 votes needed to pass. The Assembly passed the Dream Act last month and included it in its budget resolutions last week...

State Senator James L. Seward has been named to the education and higher education budget conference committees which held their first meetings Monday in Albany. Regarding his education conference committee assignment, Senator Seward said that the senate budget resolution increases school aid by $811...

A group of nearly 90 state legislators joined with county and town highway superintendents and other local leaders on Wednesday to call for increased state support for local roads and bridges. Assemblyman Pete Lopez  was one of the legislators asking for more funding for roads and bridges: At the news conference in Albany the legislators and leaders called for a $50 million increase in funding for

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — More than 160 women who are elected officials or hold other leadership posts have written to New York's top elected officials, all men, urging them to enact public campaign financing. Calling it "vital" to participation in politics by women in particular, they want Gov...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A producer of hard cider in Albany has become New York's first licensed farm cidery. The "Farm Cideries" law approved last year created a license for operations that make and sell no more than 150,000 gallons of cider annually from crops grown in New York...