Albany | featured news

TROY – The city police department will have a new leadership named before the end of February and will begin new training with the federal government to improve its communication and interaction with city residents, Mayor Patrick Madden said Thursday.

NEW YORK — An energy firm's employment of Joe Percoco's wife prompted a fierce internal debate over the ethics and legality of paying $7,500 a month to the spouse of a top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a company executive testified Thursday."When the first answer out of somebody's mouth to a pretty basic question is 'there is nothing illegal about it,' it raises a red flag in my mind," Sean Finnerty, a senior vice president at Competitive Power Ventures, told jurors at Percoco's federal corruption trial.

ALBANY — The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of state regulations that prohibit many gun owners from carrying their firearms in public areas without judicial authorization.Buoyed by a recent federal appeals court decision that dismantled strict gun-control laws in the District of Columbia, the lawsuit filed in Albany this week seeks to open up a court challenge on whether constitutional rights under the Second Amendment extend beyond the home.

TROY – A 39-year-old city man pleaded guilty Thursday in Rensselaery County Court to one count of attempted second-degree kidnapping as a sexually motivated offense, District Attorney Joel E. Abelove said.

A maker of a strong opioid medicine approved for excruciating cancer pain is being sued by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for allegedly deceptive marketing practices. The lawsuit against Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics seeks penalties against the company as well as up to $75 million in what the attorney general claims was illegally earned revenue from its fentanyl-based drug Subsys.

ALBANY -- In the wake of yet another soaring spike in cases of influenza statewide, state officials are again urging New Yorkers who haven't been vaccinated against the flu to do so.

WASHINGTON _ Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, is not adverse to putting some space between herself and the GOP party line, especially if she feels the needs of her North Country district are in conflict with Republican orthodoxy.But the mushrooming brouhaha over release of the Republican House intelligence committee memo is not such an instance.

ALBANY – Health insurance enrollment in New York's Obamacare exchange was the highest this year since the website was launched four years ago. About 4.3 million New Yorkers signed up for health insurance through NY State of Health during this open enrollment season, which ended Jan. 31, according to data released from the state on Thursday. That was 700,000 more than did so last year.

Fashion retailer H&M opened a store at Colonie Center on Thursday, a day after the retailer announced it will close more stores this year amid sluggish sales and fierce competition from e-commerce players.

Ann's social life sounds so fun — happy hour in Albany, a Halloween party in Boston, a New Year's dance in Manhattan and a Cinco de Mayo celebration coming up in Florida, plus Buffalo buddies to camp with in the summer — a Kardashian might envy it. But there is one shared source of sadness for those in her social whirl; they have genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease. They met each other through private Facebook support groups.Albany's group with more than 50 members is smaller than other cities but growing.