Susan Arbetter

Remember when the Supreme Court’s rationale for “absolute immunity” was that it would prevent politically motivated investigations against former political opponents?

A look at how mental health workers fared in the New York state budget Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association of New York State, spoke with Capital Tonight.

Our friend Glenn Liebman from MHANYS spoke eloquently and at length about the insufficient state investment in mental health and human services (among other things) in this year's budget with @sarbetter.bsky.social on Capital Tonight.
spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-...

In 2000, Joe Donahue and I started The Roundtable Show on WAMC. On Thursday May 1st we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show. Tomorrow I’ll be there, reminiscing with Roundtable favorites. Tune in at 9am!

This criminal complaint seems pretty thin on the statutes charged. She allowed the defendant to leave the courtroom by a different door in her courtroom. The arresting agents literally saw him in the hallway right after going to elevator 1/

Voters See Trump’s Use of Power as Overreaching, Times/Siena Poll Finds Skepticism has grown of his efforts to expand his authority and of his handling of issues long seen as strengths for him, including the economy and immigration.

New NYTimes-Siena poll-

Trump losing significant ground among independent voters. Only 29% of independent voters support him.

66% of voters call his term so far “chaotic”; 59% say it’s “scary”.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/u...

N.Y. bill would aim to counter threat of federal funding withholdings to state It would give the state the ability to withhold payments to the federal government if the Trump administration withholds funds from the state in defiance of court orders.

I spoke to @sarbetter.bsky.social about my legislation, the RECOURSE Act, which would enable New York to fight back when Trump illegally withholds federal funds from the state:

Constituents to Chuck Grassley: "Are you bringing back that guy from El Salvador?"

Senior Citizen: “If I get an order to pay a ticket to pay $1200 and I just say ‘no’, does that stand up? Because he just got an order from the Supreme Court and he just said ‘screw it’”

“I’M PISSED!”

.@PamelaHunter128 on the slow pace of budget negotiations:

“I am frustrated; I know that the rest of the leadership is frustrated. We want to get this budget done.”

Watch @CapitalTonight at 7pm.

I was told that Trump would be good for the economy.

This is an outstanding effort by the reporters at @nysfocus.bsky.social ->

Attorney Michael Rebell weighs in on Foundation Aid changes in one-house budgets Michael Rebell, executive director of the Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia, joins Capital Tonight.

Last week I reported that 24 school districts are at risk of losing $$ under the gov's budget proposal. The Center for Educational Equity's Michael Rebell speaks w/ @sarbetter.bsky.social about why the Foundation Aid formula needs to be overhauled:

spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-...

After President Trump's inauguration last month, he has steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep these education promises: combatting critical race theory, DEl, gender ideology extremism, and discrimination in admissions. President Trump has also been focused on eliminating wasteful bureaucracy and harmful programs in the federal government. To that end, today he signed [Executive Order XYZ, entitled "Eliminating the Department of Education,] which has given us a clear and final mission. We are to identify which of the Department's functions, programs, and offices are not mandated by statute, and eliminate them. This reorganization will impact staff, budgets, reporting, and more —and in coming months, we will determine how it can be accomplished with minimal delay and disruption. The President further tasked us with creating a plan to reallocate and reassign functions of the Department of Education that would be more effectively managed by other agencies. This plan will offer Congress a road map toward fulfilling the expectations of the President and the American people. The new vision—which I hope each of you will embrace going forward—can be expressed as four main convictions: Parents are the primary decision makers in their children's education. Students deserve to be protected from physical violence, racial discrimination, medical tyranny, and gender extremism ideology on campus. Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs. Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning: proficiency in math, reading, and core subjects, and patriotism in American history and civics. As we move to reduce the Department's middleman role in education, these four convictions must guide us toward conscientious and pragmatic action. The elimination of bureaucracy should free us, not limit us, in our pursuit of these goals Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make th

SCOOP: Now that Linda McMahon is confirmed/sworn in as secretary, Trump will be imminently issuing an executive order eliminating the Department of Education.

I’ve obtained a draft of an email that McMahon will be sending to staff re: the EO and the department’s “final mission”.

Here is a portion:

OMG

Many families in NY struggle to afford rent, groceries, and other essentials. The Working Families Tax Credit can help them achieve financial stability by providing significant assistance to cover some of these costs. Thank you to everyone who came to the Capitol to advocate for this critical bill.

Antonio Delgado on X: "https://t.co/k9xKnoIaTp" / X https://t.co/k9xKnoIaTp

LG Antonio Delgado is not running for LG with Hochul in 2026, which leaves the door open for him to challenge the Governor.

x.com/DelgadoforNY...

Trump administration tells agencies they can ignore Musk order on email reply The Office of Personnel Management told HR officials that employees wouldn’t be let go for not replying to an email asking what they did last week.

Looks to be the first big split between Trump & Musk ->

wapo.st/3F5KxeQ

NAACP lists companies that dump DEI in its tactical spending guide for Black Americans The NAACP wants Black Americans to steer their buying power toward corporations that haven’t pulled back from diversity programs under conservative pressure.

apnews.com/article/blac...

Person Killed in New York Was Tortured for More Than a Month, Police Say The remains of Sam Nordquist, 24, a transgender man, were found after he had been reported missing. The district attorney in Ontario County, N.Y., called the circumstances surrounding the death “beyon...

“Beyond depraved”

In Canandaigua, NY: 5 people have been charged with second degree murder over the death of Sam Nordquist, 24, who police say was tortured for more than a month in a case that investigators described as “beyond depraved.” www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/n...

Instead of prosecuting the mayor of America’s largest city with the ample evidence that he took bribes from a foreign government, the Trump administration decided to leave him in office, and use the threat of charges to blackmail him into carrying out their agenda. And they did it all in the open.

STATEMENT FROM SENATE DEPUTY LEADER GIANARIS REGARDING ERIC ADAMS NEW YORK, N.Y. – Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris issued the following statement this morning: “The last thing the people of New York want is for our city to turn into an annex of the Trump administration, yet that is exactly what is happening. Eric Adams is clearly compromised and can no longer be considered the legitimate leader of our city. He must step down or be removed.”

State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris says that Mayor Adams should resign or be removed

ICE is arresting immigrants at New York courthouses, top judge says The future of New York’s immigrant population has been a top concern for Democrats in the Legislature since President Donald J. Trump was elected in November.

Immigrants are being arrested at NY courthouses, top judge says

www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...

Coming up at 7pm on
@CapitalTonight
@zellnor.bsky.social, Codes Committee Chair and candidate for NYC Mayor, talks immigration, Discovery reform and Pam Bondi's suit against NY's Green Light Law. Check it out at 7pm on the Spectrum News app or your favorite device!

Asm Amy Paulin and Jeanne Chirico of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of NYS join me on Capital Tonight to discuss a bill to prohibit the expansion of for-profit hospice. The Governor has vetoed the bill 2x. Advocates say they want to protect NYers from fraud seen in other states.

Coming up at 7pm, @AmyPaulin and @JeanneChirico of @HPCANYS discuss a bill Paulin is carrying with @LizKrueger to prohibit the expansion of for-profit hospice in New York. The bill has passed the legislature 2x and Hochul has vetoed it 2x.

If you're a researcher in New York who's struggling to access NIH grant funds, please reach out! I'm a NYC-based health care reporter covering the local impact.

Tips are confidential.
#medsky

Opinion | The closure of a consumer watchdog will help Elon Musk — but hurt the rest of us The CFPB has proven time and time again the government can help people. No wonder oligarchs hate it.

"In short, the CFPB has proven time and time again the government can be effective on behalf of the welfare of the people. No wonder oligarchs hate it."

www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Asked about the dropped charges against NYC Mayor Adams, Gov. Hochul says, "I'm going to continue doing what I've been doing since September," talking about working with the mayor to "clean house" in his administration. "It's about what's happening on the streets," not who's in the office

US cyber agency puts election security staffers who worked with the states on leave Staffers at the nation’s cybersecurity agency whose job is to ensure the security of U.S. elections have been placed on administrative leave, jeopardizing critical support provided to state and local ...

This is troubling, but again not surprising. The dismantling of election security safeguards, including key work done by CISA to protect our election infrastructure was telegraphed 9in Project 2025. /1

Post-Visit Briefing & Recommendations No.22-10: Monitoring Visit to Marcy Correctional Facility | October 11-12, 2022 — Correctional Association of New York Link to Report

Coming up on @capitaltonight, the executive director of the Correctional Association (CA) Jennifer Scaife discusses the killing of Robert Brooks and CA's report on Marcy Correctional from 2022.

www.correctionalassociation.org/postvisit-br...