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Happy Monday in New York, where — wait, what happened?
After having spent months gearing up for a 2026 gubernatorial bid to oust Kathy Hochul, Rep. Elise Stefanik — perceived by many as the likely candidate to come out of the Republican primary — suddenly dropped out of the race late on Friday. Not only that, she is leaving politics altogether, announcing that she will not seek reelection to her congressional seat.
In an X post, Stefanik claimed she did not want to waste resources on a protracted primary battle with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who entered the race on Dec. 9, and indicated her desire to spend more time with her 4-year-old son.
Her decision may have been motivated in part by recent polling, which showed Hochul’s narrow lead in the state had expanded to nearly 20 points, as well as Donald Trump’s refusal to endorse her over Blakeman.
If you recall, Stefanik was Donald Trump’s original nominee for ambassador to the United Nations back in March, but the president pulled her nomination so she would remain available for reelection in Congress.
The runway is now clear for Bruce Blakeman to win the Republican primary for governor. Seems like Hochul is going to have to change the name in her attack ads.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) gained access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities at 26 Federal Plaza to conduct their congressional oversight duties, marking the first time under the Trump administration that members of Congress have been able to inspect these facilities. Read more below.
Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase announced it will work closely with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office to support the investigation into a $15 million cryptocurrency impersonation scheme tied to a Sheepshead Bay defendant, Ronald Spektor.
The City Council on Thursday passed Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s Cool Homes For All legislation, which requires landlords to provide cooling systems for tenants at their request.
Murder charges against a man convicted of a 2008 Brooklyn shooting were dismissed after work by defense attorneys uncovered that prosecutors had withheld key evidence at his trial.
The sister of a rabbi who was killed while saving lives during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack in Sydney, Australia, is resolute that her brother’s legacy will continue.
Citing skyrocketing energy costs, Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-9) joined fellow Democrats on Friday to introduce the Lowering American Energy Costs Act, which would direct the president to prohibit most U.S. exports of natural gas, a move designed to protect consumers from utility price hikes and reduce greenhouse gases.
Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker on Thursday appointed Paul Miano as Chief of EMS Operations, replacing retired Chief Michael Fields.
A federal jury in Brooklyn returned guilty verdicts against four national MS-13 leaders following a 10-week trial before United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall.
An artificial intelligence agent tasked with running a Wall Street Journal vending machine managed, in roughly three weeks, to lose hundreds of dollars, give away nearly all inventory for free, approve the purchase of a PlayStation 5 “for marketing,” order a live betta fish and briefly overthrow its own AI CEO.
Brooklyn resident Yongfeng Tian set a state record on Nov. 23 when he reeled in a 3-pound, 4-ounce white perch from Cross River Reservoir in Westchester County, surpassing the state record set in 1991 by three ounces.
Our World In Photos
Photo: David Goldman/AP
TEXAS — The Chinese surveillance state powered by American technology — what we might be accelerating to: Retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang, who openly criticized the Chinese government after seeing first-hand how surveillance technology built up the government's power and is now being accused of corruption by Beijing, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he stands for a photo, Oct. 11, 2025, in the oil fields of Midland, Texas, where he's currently living in exile.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a detained immigrant into an elevator after he exited an immigration courtroom, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in New York. Photo: Olga Fedorova/AP
As Donald Trump extends his immigration enforcement agenda to sanctuary cities — places like New York City that bar local law enforcement from aiding federal immigration agents — the strength of city policing policies is put to the test. Peter Mancina explores the roadblocks to enacting immigrant-friendly policing reforms in his new book, “On the Side of ICE: Policing Immigrants in a Sanctuary State.” Click here for an interview with Peter Mancina.
🔎 Today’s Peek Behind the Curtain
Inspecting ICE holding cells
For months, as immigrants have been detained in secretive holding centers across New York run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Congress members were repeatedly denied their constitutional right to inspect federal detention facilities.
That changed last Wednesday, when a federal judge ordered ICE to grant lawmakers access to its New York sites.
On Friday, Reps. Dan Goldman, D–10, and Adriano Espaillat, D–13, of New York became the first elected officials to be granted access to some of the most notorious holding rooms across Lower Manhattan, most notably the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, a longtime hotspot for immigrant arrests and detainment.
New Yorkers first caught a glimpse of life inside the holding centers in July, when two videos were leaked from inside 26 Federal Plaza.
The footage, taken by one of the detainees, shows dozens of men held in a cramped room, many lying on the ground with aluminum emergency blankets or clustered on hard wooden benches. A couple of toilets are separated from the rest of the room by a waist-high wall.
“Look how they have us,” the person filming says in Spanish. “Like dogs in here.”
At a press conference on Friday, the two New York congressmen described what they witnessed on their tour of ICE facilities.
Although conditions appear to have improved, with fewer detainees opening up more space to sit and lie down, Goldman and Espaillat reported a persistent lack of basic amenities, including limited toilets and no access to showers or beds.
“What we saw today only reaffirms the clear violations of both law and American values by the Trump Administration’s immigration dragnet. Law-abiding, nonviolent immigrants are still kept for up to three days without showers or beds and often no way to contact their families or lawyers,” Goldman said at the press conference.
“The Trump administration’s obsession with hitting an arbitrary and unrealistic number of deportations is creating a humanitarian crisis,” said Espaillat.
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Cartoon Sketchbook
By Randall Enos
For the Road
Looking Sharpe: Day’ron Sharpe, a center for the Brooklyn Nets, spent Friday evening running drills and scrimmages with local kids at the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center, a new facility that opened Downtown in October. Read more here.
Happy Birthday to the Lincoln Tunnel, which opened on this day in 1937!
On This Day in 1902, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — Opinion varies as to the termination of the blockade of the Venezuelan ports. In some quarters, it is assumed that if President Roosevelt accepts the duty of arbitrator, the allies will call off the blockade at once.”
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