The U.S. Senate passed a major budget bill Tuesday without Democratic support. The bill slashes food aid and Medicaid while boosting deportation and border security funding.

The U.S. Senate is close to a final vote on the budget reconciliation bill. It’s unlikely to gain support from Connecticut and New York’s four Democratic senators.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York’s new cell phone ban for K-12 classrooms will improve mental health and learning as Long Island schools finalize their distraction-free policies.

Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement Monday in Niagara County.

Lawmakers in the New York state Legislature raced to pass more than 800 bills this year. The legislation now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for her sign-off.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY-01) is backing legislation to connect bile duct cancer in Vietnam War veterans to their military service.

President Donald Trump said he’s weighing all his options when it comes to how or if the United States gets involved in the Israel-Iran conflict. But at least one Democratic senator is speaking out and urging a diplomatic solution.

“I’m not a happy camper,” said Assemblymember Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat who leads her chamber’s Committee on Environmental Conservation, regarding the Assembly's decision to not vote on her bill to reduce plastic packaging in products.

The last-minute changes follow lobbying by business groups.

The regulations would require safety protocols — and more disclosure when things go wrong.