audrey kemp
@audreygkemp.bsky.social
lead political correspondent for COURIER new york 🗽
www.courierny.com
www.courierny.com
Scoop: Rep. Mike Lawler took a campaign check from a man who once lobbied to keep 9/11 families out of court with Saudi Arabia, according to FEC and FARA filings:
courierny.com/news/lawler-...
courierny.com/news/lawler-...
NY-17: Lawler donor opposed 9/11 families suing Saudi Arabia
FEC and FARA filings show Lawler took a $500 donation from a former Saudi-registered lobbyist whose firm fought the law letting 9/11 families sue Saudi Arabia.
courierny.com
September 11, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Scoop: Rep. Mike Lawler took a campaign check from a man who once lobbied to keep 9/11 families out of court with Saudi Arabia, according to FEC and FARA filings:
courierny.com/news/lawler-...
courierny.com/news/lawler-...
The Seneca Nation is calling on President Trump to rescind his order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," saying it violates an 1794 treaty older than the U.S. itself: courierny.com/news/seneca-...
Seneca Nation says Trump’s Lake America order breaks treaty
The Seneca Nation is calling on Trump to reverse his order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," saying it violates a 225-year-old treaty.
courierny.com
September 3, 2026 at 8:43 PM
The Seneca Nation is calling on President Trump to rescind his order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," saying it violates an 1794 treaty older than the U.S. itself: courierny.com/news/seneca-...
US Rep. Mike Lawler revived his 2024 blackface scandal this weekend, posting a new Michael Jackson costume photo weeks before early voting in his tight NY-17 race against Democrat Cait Conley: courierny.com/news/mike-la...
Lawler revives blackface scandal with Michael Jackson post
Rep. Mike Lawler revived his 2024 blackface scandal with a new Michael Jackson costume post on X, weeks before early voting in his NY-17 race.
courierny.com
September 3, 2026 at 8:42 PM
US Rep. Mike Lawler revived his 2024 blackface scandal this weekend, posting a new Michael Jackson costume photo weeks before early voting in his tight NY-17 race against Democrat Cait Conley: courierny.com/news/mike-la...
Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million. A board-commissioned review found Epstein delivered him up to $2 billion in value. Today, instead of explaining why, Black sued Congress: courierny.com/news/leon-bl...
Leon Black sues Congress, defies Epstein subpoena
Leon Black is suing the House Oversight Committee and skipping his Epstein deposition, prompting contempt threats over withheld NDAs.
courierny.com
September 3, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million. A board-commissioned review found Epstein delivered him up to $2 billion in value. Today, instead of explaining why, Black sued Congress: courierny.com/news/leon-bl...
Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi wants the Democratic Party to distance itself from the Democratic Socialists of America as the DSA notches record primary wins from Michigan to Colorado to New York.
It's exposing real fault lines in the party ahead of November.
courierny.com/news/tom-suo...
It's exposing real fault lines in the party ahead of November.
courierny.com/news/tom-suo...
Tom Suozzi urges Democrats to fight the DSA wave
Rep. Tom Suozzi is leading a pledge to rebrand Democrats as capitalist, not socialist, as DSA-backed candidates keep knocking off Democratic incumbents in primaries across the country.
courierny.com
August 7, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi wants the Democratic Party to distance itself from the Democratic Socialists of America as the DSA notches record primary wins from Michigan to Colorado to New York.
It's exposing real fault lines in the party ahead of November.
courierny.com/news/tom-suo...
It's exposing real fault lines in the party ahead of November.
courierny.com/news/tom-suo...
Amid a weeks-long streak of masked ICE raids across New York, a federal judge has ruled that agents can keep concealing their faces. The one restriction that survived: 12 local police agencies must cut all ties with ICE by Aug. 25.
courierny.com/news/judge-b...
courierny.com/news/judge-b...
Judge blocks NY ICE mask ban, keeps police ties ban
Twelve local police agencies, including Nassau County's, are now legally required to cut all ties with the agency. Two are defying the order instead.
courierny.com
August 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Amid a weeks-long streak of masked ICE raids across New York, a federal judge has ruled that agents can keep concealing their faces. The one restriction that survived: 12 local police agencies must cut all ties with ICE by Aug. 25.
courierny.com/news/judge-b...
courierny.com/news/judge-b...
Record floods are slamming NY-19 farms, washing out roads, collapsing a 300-year-old mill, and colliding with an ICE crackdown that's left growers scrambling for labor. Said farms are still reeling from a $30M spring freeze.
courierny.com/news/ny-19-f...
courierny.com/news/ny-19-f...
NY-19 farms flooded weeks after $30M spring freeze losses
A record-shattering storm flooded fields, washed out roads, and collapsed a 300-year-old mill across the district, piling fresh damage onto farms still reeling from a ruinous spring freeze.
courierny.com
July 31, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Record floods are slamming NY-19 farms, washing out roads, collapsing a 300-year-old mill, and colliding with an ICE crackdown that's left growers scrambling for labor. Said farms are still reeling from a $30M spring freeze.
courierny.com/news/ny-19-f...
courierny.com/news/ny-19-f...
ICE and Border Patrol agents are stalking immigrant workers at a tomato farm in upstate New York with unmarked cars showing up at their motel before dawn.
They've arrested six people since June.
courierny.com/news/ice-bor...
They've arrested six people since June.
courierny.com/news/ice-bor...
ICE, Border Patrol stalk immigrant workers across upstate New York
From a Rochester-area greenhouse to a Syracuse-area factory, reports indicate immigration agents are tracking down immigrant labor.
courierny.com
July 30, 2026 at 9:17 PM
ICE and Border Patrol agents are stalking immigrant workers at a tomato farm in upstate New York with unmarked cars showing up at their motel before dawn.
They've arrested six people since June.
courierny.com/news/ice-bor...
They've arrested six people since June.
courierny.com/news/ice-bor...
"You are the gravediggers of public housing."
Tenants confronted NYCHA's board Wednesday, saying its plan would demolish their homes and hand them to private management.
It's part of a citywide push they call privatization, affecting 1,763 apartments.
courierny.com/news/gravedi...
Tenants confronted NYCHA's board Wednesday, saying its plan would demolish their homes and hand them to private management.
It's part of a citywide push they call privatization, affecting 1,763 apartments.
courierny.com/news/gravedi...
‘Gravediggers of public housing’: Tenants disrupt NYCHA meeting
NYCHA’s board voted Wednesday to demolish, sell, or convert 1,763 apartments citywide, part of a shift away from traditional public housing that residents say amounts to displacement and privatization...
courierny.com
July 29, 2026 at 7:34 PM
"You are the gravediggers of public housing."
Tenants confronted NYCHA's board Wednesday, saying its plan would demolish their homes and hand them to private management.
It's part of a citywide push they call privatization, affecting 1,763 apartments.
courierny.com/news/gravedi...
Tenants confronted NYCHA's board Wednesday, saying its plan would demolish their homes and hand them to private management.
It's part of a citywide push they call privatization, affecting 1,763 apartments.
courierny.com/news/gravedi...
Temporary Protected Status expired Monday for Haitians and Syrians in New York. 40,000 people just lost the legal right to work here, exposed to ICE. Salvadorans could be next.
courierny.com/news/legal-p...
courierny.com/news/legal-p...
Legal protection expires for Haitians and Syrians, exposing thousands to ICE
Temporary Protected Status has ended for Haitians and Syrians in New York, and Salvadorans could be next.
courierny.com
July 27, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Temporary Protected Status expired Monday for Haitians and Syrians in New York. 40,000 people just lost the legal right to work here, exposed to ICE. Salvadorans could be next.
courierny.com/news/legal-p...
courierny.com/news/legal-p...
A state-ordered review of New York's prisons confirms what watchdogs warned for years (a culture that punishes officers who don't use force and zero terminations upheld in arbitration in 2023 & 2024).
It took killings of two incarcerated men to get here:
courierny.com/news/report-...
It took killings of two incarcerated men to get here:
courierny.com/news/report-...
Report reveals New York’s prison system plagued by racialized abuse, cover-ups
A new 277-page review found racialized abuse reported at rates as high as 79% and a staged cover-up after guards killed Messiah Nantwi.
courierny.com
July 24, 2026 at 7:19 PM
A state-ordered review of New York's prisons confirms what watchdogs warned for years (a culture that punishes officers who don't use force and zero terminations upheld in arbitration in 2023 & 2024).
It took killings of two incarcerated men to get here:
courierny.com/news/report-...
It took killings of two incarcerated men to get here:
courierny.com/news/report-...
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reversed his pledge to arrest Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the city never had the legal authority—as Secretary of State Marco Rubio moves to dismantle the ICC that issued the warrant.
courierny.com/news/mamdani...
courierny.com/news/mamdani...
Mamdani says NYC cannot arrest Netanyahu, reversing campaign pledge
The mayor called the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal,” but conceded the city lacks authority to enforce an ICC warrant. He is urging the federal government to act instead.
courierny.com
July 22, 2026 at 6:46 PM
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reversed his pledge to arrest Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the city never had the legal authority—as Secretary of State Marco Rubio moves to dismantle the ICC that issued the warrant.
courierny.com/news/mamdani...
courierny.com/news/mamdani...
For 14 years, Rep. Mike Lawler kept his drunk driving arrest a secret. Now, in the tightest race of his career, he's talking:
courierny.com/news/mike-la...
courierny.com/news/mike-la...
Mike Lawler kept 2012 drunk driving arrest quiet through three runs for office
The NY-17 congressman did not mention it in three prior campaigns. It surfaced as he faces the closest race of his career.
courierny.com
July 21, 2026 at 8:21 PM
For 14 years, Rep. Mike Lawler kept his drunk driving arrest a secret. Now, in the tightest race of his career, he's talking:
courierny.com/news/mike-la...
courierny.com/news/mike-la...
A man is in custody after igniting an incendiary device outside 26 Federal Plaza, injuring two people. The building, home to ICE offices & an immigration court, has been a flashpoint over ICE detentions despite a judge's order barring courthouse arrests. courierny.com/news/man-in-...
Man in custody after setting off incendiary device outside Manhattan Federal Plaza immigration court
Two people suffered minor injuries after a fire broke out at 26 Federal Plaza Monday morning. The FBI is investigating the incident as a possible act of terrorism.
courierny.com
July 20, 2026 at 7:55 PM
A man is in custody after igniting an incendiary device outside 26 Federal Plaza, injuring two people. The building, home to ICE offices & an immigration court, has been a flashpoint over ICE detentions despite a judge's order barring courthouse arrests. courierny.com/news/man-in-...
Home care workers are staging a two-week sit-in outside NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin's home, demanding she pass the No More 24 Act as promised, instead of quietly carving union workers out of it.
courierny.com/news/end-the...
courierny.com/news/end-the...
‘End the torture’: Home care workers stage sit-in outside Julie Menin’s home
Speaker Menin vowed to end the 24-hour shift for everyone. Workers say her rewrite excludes union members from that protection.
courierny.com
July 15, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Home care workers are staging a two-week sit-in outside NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin's home, demanding she pass the No More 24 Act as promised, instead of quietly carving union workers out of it.
courierny.com/news/end-the...
courierny.com/news/end-the...
A Rochester, NY man has sued the Department of Homeland Security after agents tracked him down—including at a hotel where he was staying with his 7-year-old daughter—over an email he sent criticizing ICE's leadership in January.
courierny.com/news/rochest...
courierny.com/news/rochest...
Rochester man sues DHS after agents tracked him for criticizing ICE
David Streever fired off an angry email in January comparing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s former leader to a Nazi official. Five months later, federal agents showed up at his home and foll...
courierny.com
July 6, 2026 at 8:06 PM
A Rochester, NY man has sued the Department of Homeland Security after agents tracked him down—including at a hotel where he was staying with his 7-year-old daughter—over an email he sent criticizing ICE's leadership in January.
courierny.com/news/rochest...
courierny.com/news/rochest...
Today, 450,000 low-income New Yorkers lose their Essential Plan health insurance because of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. By 2027, 1.5 million more could lose Medicaid. Here's what to do if you're affected: courierny.com/news/450000-...
450,000 New Yorkers lost their health insurance today. Here’s what to know
President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act just eliminated health coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers. Find out where to get care, how to find a new plan, and what comes nex...
courierny.com
July 1, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Today, 450,000 low-income New Yorkers lose their Essential Plan health insurance because of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. By 2027, 1.5 million more could lose Medicaid. Here's what to do if you're affected: courierny.com/news/450000-...
101 lawyers and judges just filed a complaint to disbar acting AG Todd Blanche in New York—because he’s Trump’s former personal attorney and is now controlling what gets released from the Epstein files:
courierny.com/news/101-law...
courierny.com/news/101-law...
101 lawyers and judges file complaint to disbar acting AG Todd Blanche in New York
The coalition says Trump’s former personal attorney is illegally withholding Epstein files and running the DOJ to protect the president.
courierny.com
July 1, 2026 at 1:30 AM
101 lawyers and judges just filed a complaint to disbar acting AG Todd Blanche in New York—because he’s Trump’s former personal attorney and is now controlling what gets released from the Epstein files:
courierny.com/news/101-law...
courierny.com/news/101-law...
The Trump administration is pushing NYC's biggest hospitals to abandon trans youth. This Pride month, families and ACT UP NY are fighting back:
courierny.com/news/familie...
courierny.com/news/familie...
Families demand accountability as Trump admin pushes NYC hospitals to abandon trans youth
NYU Langone, Mount Sinai, and New York-Presbyterian cut gender-affirming care for trans youth under federal pressure. When prosecutors subpoenaed patients' medical records, families and LGBTQ+ allies ...
courierny.com
June 26, 2026 at 9:05 PM
The Trump administration is pushing NYC's biggest hospitals to abandon trans youth. This Pride month, families and ACT UP NY are fighting back:
courierny.com/news/familie...
courierny.com/news/familie...
The United Nations has declared NYC's 24-hour home care workday 'torture' and a violation of international human rights law. Gov. Hochul, NYC Mayor Mamdani and City Council Speaker Menin have not responded in kind:
courierny.com/news/united-...
courierny.com/news/united-...
United Nations calls NYC’s 24-hour home care workday ‘torture’ as New York’s officials stall to act
Immigrant women home care workers say they've been exploited for decades. Now the United Nations agrees.
courierny.com
June 25, 2026 at 7:11 PM
The United Nations has declared NYC's 24-hour home care workday 'torture' and a violation of international human rights law. Gov. Hochul, NYC Mayor Mamdani and City Council Speaker Menin have not responded in kind:
courierny.com/news/united-...
courierny.com/news/united-...
AIPAC spent millions and Gov. Kathy Hochul campaigned hard. The @DemSocialists won in New York's primaries anyway: courierny.com/news/democra...
Democratic socialist wave sweeps New York's primaries
From the 'Commie Corridor' to the Catskills, progressive and insurgent candidates swept New York's Democratic primaries Tuesday, delivering a string of victories for allies of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani...
courierny.com
June 24, 2026 at 1:10 PM
AIPAC spent millions and Gov. Kathy Hochul campaigned hard. The @DemSocialists won in New York's primaries anyway: courierny.com/news/democra...
Today is Election Day in New York. These five competitive House races, from Long Island to the Catskills, could shape the path to House control: courierny.com/news/five-ne...
Five New York congressional races that could decide the House majority
From Long Island's South Shore to the Catskill Mountains, a handful of New York congressional districts could help decide whether Democrats win back the House majority in November.
courierny.com
June 23, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Today is Election Day in New York. These five competitive House races, from Long Island to the Catskills, could shape the path to House control: courierny.com/news/five-ne...
Kingston tenants won the first rent reduction in U.S. history. Then their landlord struck an illegal deal with the mayor, rigged a vacancy study, and started evicting people who paid their legal rent. Meet the Hudson Valley Tenants Union: courierny.com/news/hudson-...
Hudson Valley Tenants Union launches with rent stabilization in Kingston on the line
Kingston tenants won the first rent reduction ever secured through a rent stabilization process in US history. After years of sham nonprofit deals, manipulated vacancy data, and retaliatory evictions,...
courierny.com
June 18, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Kingston tenants won the first rent reduction in U.S. history. Then their landlord struck an illegal deal with the mayor, rigged a vacancy study, and started evicting people who paid their legal rent. Meet the Hudson Valley Tenants Union: courierny.com/news/hudson-...
New York's comptroller race is the most competitive it's been in nearly 20 years: a 20-year incumbent, a housing nonprofit CEO, and a Kansas lawmaker fighting over $300 billion in public pension money. I talked to all three.
courierny.com/news/inside-...
courierny.com/news/inside-...
Inside the contested race for New York’s next comptroller
For the first time in nearly two decades, Tom DiNapoli is facing a real fight for New York’s comptroller seat, as two challengers force reckoning over what the state’s most powerful overlooked office ...
courierny.com
June 18, 2026 at 5:31 PM
New York's comptroller race is the most competitive it's been in nearly 20 years: a 20-year incumbent, a housing nonprofit CEO, and a Kansas lawmaker fighting over $300 billion in public pension money. I talked to all three.
courierny.com/news/inside-...
courierny.com/news/inside-...
A new investigation by @juddlegum.bsky.social has found that "Progressive Champions PAC," a group spending $1.5 million to attack Democrat @caitfornewyork.bsky.social in NY-17, is a Republican front tied directly to Speaker Mike Johnson.
courierny.com/news/fake-pr...
courierny.com/news/fake-pr...
Fake progressive PAC tied to GOP targets NY-17 Democrat Cait Conley
A PAC calling itself “Progressive Champions” has poured $1.5 million into ads targeting the congressional candidate ahead of the June 23 primary. According to a new Popular Information investigation, the group is a front for House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF).
courierny.com
June 15, 2026 at 11:21 PM
A new investigation by @juddlegum.bsky.social has found that "Progressive Champions PAC," a group spending $1.5 million to attack Democrat @caitfornewyork.bsky.social in NY-17, is a Republican front tied directly to Speaker Mike Johnson.
courierny.com/news/fake-pr...
courierny.com/news/fake-pr...