Nassau County, New York

Nassau County, Florida's Fact-Finding Committee on Data Center Development released a draft report proposing rules for data centers, part of a yearlong moratorium adopted to let officials study impacts before new regulations take effect. At a public workshop, residents urged stricter oversight, larger setbacks, or an outright ban, citing concerns over water use, power demand, and land-use compatibility. County Attorney Denise May warned that a full ban could expose the county to legal risk and conflict with state comprehensive-planning requirements. Commissioners are instead considering tougher but legally defensible restrictions. The draft will be refined with additional public input before further workshops and a final decision on permanent regulations.

Several New York Democrats running in competitive House races are putting distance between themselves and Gov. Kathy Hochul weeks before Election Day. Rep. Tom Suozzi skipped a Hochul campaign stop on Long Island, citing a scheduling conflict, while Rep. Laura Gillen attended. In New York's 17th District, challenger Cait Conley was caught on video agreeing with GOP Rep. Mike Lawler that "Hochul has got to go," later calling Hochul to smooth things over. Blake Gendebien, running in the 21st District, declined to say if he'd support Hochul. Recent Siena polling shows Hochul's favorability underwater and her lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman narrowing in suburban and upstate areas, reviving concerns about coattail effects seen in 2022.

Ann Arbor's city clerk's office has outlined early voting plans for the Nov. 3 election. Early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 21, at two University of Michigan campus sites (the Museum of Art and Duderstadt Center) and expands Saturday, Oct. 24, to four branch libraries—Malletts Creek, Traverwood and Westgate—plus city hall. Early voting runs daily through Sunday, Nov. 1, with voting hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the library and campus sites, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at city hall.

Voters can register and check status online via the Michigan Voter Information Center, or register in person with proof of residency after Oct. 20. The clerk's office will extend hours in the final days before the election, and satellite registration is available at the UM voting sites. Standard polling locations are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots must reach the clerk's office by 8 p.m. on Election Day; the Veterans Memorial Park drop box has relocated to Fire Station 3.

Statewide, Michigan law bars release of early or absentee totals before 8 p.m. on Election Day, and bipartisan verification steps mean full results typically take time to post. Ann Arbor voters will decide local, state and federal races, plus ballot proposals.

President Donald Trump campaigned in Syracuse Friday night for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman, drawing about 2,500 supporters to the Oncenter while roughly 4,000 protesters gathered nearby. The rally came a day after an ICE agent shot and wounded Oscar Belgal, 28, in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood while he was driving with his 5-year-old son; federal authorities alleged Belgal had gang ties.

In a speech lasting more than 80 minutes, Trump attacked Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James over immigration, energy and tax policy, repeated disputed claims about election fraud and the Interstate 81 teardown, and promised Blakeman would sharply cut electric bills and taxes. Blakeman pledged to end New York's sanctuary-state status by executive order on his first day in office if elected. Hochul's campaign has branded Blakeman "Trump's puppet" and defended her record, including the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act limiting local cooperation with ICE, which some upstate sheriffs are suing to overturn. Immigration enforcement and affordability remain central issues as the governor's race enters its final weeks.

Three of Long Island's four U.S. House races will go without candidate debates before the Nov. 3 election, continuing a trend analysts call a decline in a longstanding American political tradition. Only one debate has been scheduled on the Island: a taped cable TV matchup between Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and challenger Michael LiPetri on Oct. 20.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) have both declined debate invitations, citing direct voter engagement over "staged" events. Garbarino's challenger Patrick Halpin says he's ready to debate "anytime, anyplace," while Gillen's opponent Jeanine Driscoll accused her of avoiding scrutiny. In a reversal of the usual pattern, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) wants to debate, but Democratic challenger Chris Gallant has refused. Experts, including former Rep. Steve Israel, warn the decline — tied to safer social media messaging and less competitive districts — deprives voters of chances to see how candidates handle pressure, even as debates continue in some other competitive New York races like NY-17.

New data released by the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) shows more than 200 public school buildings on Long Island had at least one water fixture exceeding New York's lead standard of 5 parts per billion. The interactive report breaks down results by county, district and school, covering testing conducted and reported to the state from 2023 to 2026. In Nassau County, 501 outlets (about 4.5% tested) exceeded the limit, with Northside Elementary in Farmingdale and schools in Valley Stream District 24 among the worst affected. Suffolk County had 519 outlets (about 4.6%) above the threshold, led by schools in Kings Park, Hauppauge, Three Village and Middle Country districts.

The findings follow a broader statewide study and an earlier Newsday review that found nearly 3,000 noncompliant fixtures across 123 Long Island districts. Affected districts say they have since installed filtered water stations or taken fixtures out of service, and that current drinking water tests clean. State law requires schools to test for lead every three years and remove noncompliant fixtures.

Democratic candidates in Nassau County, New York, held a news conference in Garden City accusing the New York State Republican Party of distributing campaign mailers with false and misleading claims less than three weeks before Election Day. Hempstead Town supervisor candidate Joe Scianablo and others said the mailers were designed to divide voters.

Specific complaints included a mailer that accused Sean McCarthy, a Port Washington police commissioner and candidate, of funding an "anti-American antisemitic agenda." Assembly candidate Kim Keiserman said she received a similarly misleading mailer. Assembly candidate Dean Tarulli objected to a mailer pairing his photo with Mayor Zohran Mamdani's under the word "insane," alongside quotes he said were falsely attributed to him rather than commentator Hasan Piker.

The state GOP defended the mailers, arguing Democrats have failed to distance themselves from Mamdani and Piker's rhetoric. Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs called the attacks guilt-by-association with no factual basis. Democrats said they sent a cease-and-desist letter, while some voters said they were simply disregarding the mailers.

A slow-moving nor'easter battered the Northeast coast through the weekend, leaving residents in New Jersey and New York's Long Island to deal with a second consecutive day of flooding. Tidal surges swamped low-lying neighborhoods along the Jersey Shore, while powerful wind gusts knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes across the region.

Coastal towns such as Sea Bright, New Jersey, saw significant flooding and erosion as high tides combined with the storm's persistent winds. Nassau County officials, including County Executive Bruce Blakeman, responded to flooding impacts on Long Island. The storm disrupted air travel, with delays reported at Logan International Airport, and prompted comparisons to past major coastal storms like Hurricane Sandy given the scale of shoreline damage. Utility crews worked to restore power as authorities urged caution near flooded roads and eroded seawalls. The event underscores the recurring vulnerability of Mid-Atlantic and New England coastal communities to storm surge and flooding.