Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)  The son of former U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins was spared a prison sentence Thursday after pleading guilty in an insider trading conspiracy with his father.

U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick ordered 27-year-old Cameron Collins to serve 500 hours of community service over the next five years. He also fined him $150,000.

Prosecutors had asked that he serve at least three years in prison and federal sentencing guidelines recommended it.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Healthcare interests are giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to political parties as New York's Legislature gears up for fights over how to contain soaring Medicaid costs, state records show.

The contributions are among others disclosed by politicians and political committees this week to comply with a Jan. 15 deadline for reporting campaign finance activity since mid-July.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Political leaders in New York have reached an agreement to pass new limousine safety bills inspired by deadly crashes in 2015 and 2018, officials said Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that the proposals target unsafe limos and lax regulations and will hold companies accountable.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  A judge has blocked New York state from enforcing an executive order banning flavored vaping products.

Acting state Supreme Court Justice Catherine Cholakis ruled that the state Public Health and Health Planning Council overstepped its authority last September  when it issued a ban on e-cigarettes and e-liquids flavored with anything other than tobacco or menthol.

NEW YORK (AP) An ex-U.S. congressman from Western NY is humbled and remorseful after pleading guilty to conspiracy in an insider trading scheme and should face no time behind bars, his lawyers argued in court papers Tuesday.

The presentence submission on behalf of 69-year-old Chris Collins was filed in Manhattan federal court, where the Republican is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his annual State of the State address Wednesday to advocate for a mix of "practical" progressive goals and urgent responsibilities, including waging war on hate crimes, spending $3 billion on environmental protection and legalizing recreational marijuana.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  As the 2020 presidential election nears, the race for who will represent New Yorkers in the state Legislature and Congress is shaping up.

Democrats are expected to hold the state Assembly, while Republicans hope to win back Trump-friendly congressional districts and maintain their seats in the state Senate chamber they once dominated for over half a century.

But New York’s increasingly diverse, shrinking and polarized demographics have long threatened to shake up state politics. 

HOUSTON (AP)  Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in regulation and then led the winning drive in overtime as the Texans added another comeback to Houston playoff history by rallying from a double-digit second-half deficit for a 22-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs Saturday.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he'll introduce legislation to ban all flavored nicotine e-cigarette products as well as vaping advertisements aimed at youth.

The Democrat announced Sunday that legislation he'll propose in his 2020 State of the State agenda on Jan. 8 will also prohibit online, phone and mail-order sale of e-cigarettes to anyone but registered retailers.

The legislation would codify emergency regulations adopted by state health officials in September to ban flavored e-cigarette sales.