Less than three days after Maria Silva reported on the cancellation of naturalization ceremonies across upstate, an apparent reversal by USCIS. Journalism, amirite?

BREAKING: USCIS is reinstating halted naturalization ceremonies in several New York counties, per U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler. The move comes days after a @timesunion.com report revealed abrupt cancellations in at least seven counties. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

In other food news: Local businesses are helping SNAP recipients, two new bars open in Kingston, and Little Rye Bakehouse is launching an events program.

🧶 Trump’s tariffs are impacting many industries, even unexpected ones. I recently spoke with several New York fiber business owners, who said they are running low on inventory, being hit with surprise levies and seeing delayed shipments www.timesunion.com/business/art...

For the vibrant upstate fiber industry, which heavily relies on imported yarn and tools, the local infrastructure can’t keep up with rising costs and uncertainty.

BREAKING: An Afghan refugee whose family resettled in New York after fleeing Taliban persecution was detained by ICE agents following a routine asylum interview on Tuesday. @mariamsilva.bsky.social has the story www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

Where ICE arrested thousands of immigrants in New York this year. @timesunion.com mapped the arrests so you can see the enforcement action by county, court house and jail www.timesunion.com/news/article...

Important story by my colleague @mariamsilva.bsky.social: the federal government has stopped paying for new citizen naturalization ceremonies www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

SCOOP: Homeless people said they were paid to be listed as donors for a NY Senate candidate. Others told the @timesunion.com the candidate paid them with pre-paid cash gift cards worth 2x the value of their donation www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...

Back in June, my partner and I found an injured, fledgling robin in our yard. A Google search and some text messages later and we were driving up the Northway with a robin in a shoebox to a rehabilitator for passerine birds --- one of the few people who knew how to care for them, we'd soon learn

Plans are up in smoke

Beginning in September, the new rates will add roughly $14.29 to an average customer’s monthly electric bill and $7.66 to the customer’s monthly gas bill. National Grid provides utility service to 2.3 million customers in upstate New York.

Central Hudson admitted it did not provide safe and adequate service in the lead-up to a gas explosion in Wappingers Falls that hospitalized eight people, including children, two years ago. The company will also pay a $5 million penalty. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

A federal judge denied a Honduran immigrant’s petition to halt his deportation, but extended his restraining order by two days to give him time to appeal. Gerson Josué Santamaría Turcio’s arrest July 18 prompted an outcry in Rhinebeck, where locals have raised $75,270 to support his legal defense.

“Community concierge” Janet Nuñez is the link between social services and residents who can’t access them.

New York is suing Trump for states' rights, Tish says. Monday CapCon: www.capitolconfidential.com/p/letitia-ja... - Texas AG is suing the acting Ulster County clerk in NY - Former NYDEC commissioners pen letter over emissions - Hochul and the politics of MAID - & more

A Manhattan judge declined to pause deportation proceedings against Gerson Josué Santamaría Turcios, whose arrest prompted outcry.

U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan: "Trump said he’d focus on violent criminals; instead, he’s snatching law-abiding small-business owners off our streets, which is a betrayal of our country and our values.” @mariamsilva.bsky.social reports. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

A retired city police officer was allegedly involved in a shooting at a home on Rombout Avenue on Monday night.

The Office of Rent Administration said tenants at Stony Run still deserve rental protections.

Rhinebeck locals are coming together to rally behind a Honduran man arrested by ICE last week. They’ve raised $55,000 in two days to fund his legal defense. “He’s one of our own, he’s not ‘other,’” a woman who employed him said. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

New York is expecting a $3 billion loss in annual revenue because of the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Budget Director Blake Washington said Thursday. CapCon: www.capitolconfidential.com/p/new-york-e... - NY gun law upheld - Enviros launch ad campaign on 100-ft. rule - An AI ad of Stefanik - & more

A state-appointed arbitrator awarded a contract to workers at Porpiglia Farms in Ulster County after the farm’s owners refused to acknowledge the union.

Contrary to how it’s operated previously, ICE did not contact Kingston Police before a “targeted enforcement action” on Tuesday.

Play Airlines, the low-cost Icelandic airline that is one of the only commercial carriers at New York Stewart International Airport, has canceled North American flights starting this fall amid a takeover that will see it cease operations on the continent.

The Times Union's digital team, led by Erica Smith, put a TON of work into this comprehensive rundown of Tuesday's school elections, including budget votes and propositions. Scores of Capital Region communities are covered. Check it out: www.timesunion.com/projects/202...

The New York doctor previously charged in two southern states for allegedly mailing abortion medication to women is being investigated again for sending pills to a woman in Louisiana, according to that state’s attorney general, Liz Murrill. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

In the hamlet of Highland, residents are fuming over a proposal to build a pet crematorium near an elementary school. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

The latest state budget in 15 years was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday after more than a month of negotiations that resulted in a $254 billion package with tax relief, new spending and other key items sought by Democrats. (📝 @danclarkreports.bsky.social )

There's a lot of lousy news we need to pay attention to, but this story about perseverance and community is worth your time and then some. @mariamsilva.bsky.social reports.

“This is the family business … and the only job I’ve ever wanted,” Army Capt. Gordon Herrero said. Now the president is trying to drum him out of the military. Maria Silva reports. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

Trump’s demand for a new and more sweeping ban drew immediate legal challenges. A day after the executive order, six active-duty members and two others who were trying to enlist sued the Trump administration in federal court. Herrero is one of the plaintiffs. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

This week's The Eagle podcast: Reporter Lana Bellamy was in court every day of the trial of Edward Holley, the man accused of murdering Megan McDonald in 2003, and joins us to go over how it all went down. Capitol Confidential’s Dan Clark also sits down w/ NYS Budget Director Blake Washington.

The hefty hikes sent international markets spiraling. They also threatened ethnic groceries that import goods, like Asian Supermarket, as well as their consumers, particularly immigrant communities hungry for a taste of home. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

Following outrage from advocates and members of Congress and widespread news coverage, the Trump administration has reportedly reinstated Dr. John Howard as head of a federal health program for 9/11 first responders days after he was fired. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

Declining quality of care, increased fees and serious customer service issues at Optum-owned health care facilities were among the problems named by respondents to a community survey launched in late February by U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan. (📝 @phillippantuso.bsky.social )

First responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks may lose or receive delayed health care benefits from the World Trade Center Health Program after the Trump administration fired thousands of staff at the nation’s public health agencies this week. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

Two months after Crystal Run Healthcare workers voted overwhelmingly to unionize, the National Labor Relations Board dismissed their employer’s objections to the union election without a hearing. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

SCOOP: A New York county clerk has refused to file a ruling issued in Texas against a Hudson Valley doctor who mailed abortion pills, citing New York’s telehealth shield law. The decision will likely bring a challenge to that law. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

Labor organizing efforts of Crystal Run health care employees hit a roadblock after their employer filed an objection to their unionization election with the National Labor Relations Board, preventing the union from being certified. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

The two young talents are rising figure skating stars from the Hudson Valley who are finding success in ice rinks across the world. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

Great info from Lucy Hodgman's look at the economics of recycling. Several of the items on this list made me feel like I've been living a lie. www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...

The Social Security Administration confirmed its Poughkeepsie field office is expected to reopen within six months, quashing rumors that the office, which has been closed since January for renovations, was closing for good. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, which provides addiction, food, shelter and immigration legal services, will lay off almost half of its workforce, according to a notice filed with the state Department of Labor. (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

Poughkeepsie’s Social Security Administration office was only supposed to close temporarily, but then it appeared on DOGE’s savings list, sparking concern the closure could be permanent. If it closed, residents would have to travel 1 hour to Middletown or Hudson www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

In the past two years, private colleges have begun banning those relationships, but most SUNY schools still allow them. (📝 @bykathleenmoore.bsky.social )

A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Kingston resulted in the detention of a person living illegally in the US, while another city resident who holds a green card was contacted by an ICE agent who allegedly said he was “with the police department.” (📝 @mariamsilva.bsky.social )

“The individuals have been long-standing residents here in the U.S. between eight and 20 years,” said Bryan MacCormack, executive director of Columbia County Sanctuary Movement. “(They) do not have any criminal history, and one of them has U.S. citizen children.” www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

Refugees left to fend for themselves include a single mother from Burma with 5 children, a single Afghan mother caring for a disabled child, an elderly couple from Iraq and multiple families from Afghanistan who arrived on special immigrant visas due to the help they provided the U.S. government.

In the Hudson Valley, you don’t have to travel far to get good bagels. Partly because we can’t get enough of the bagels around here, but also because Jan. 15 marks National Bagel Day, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best bagel shops in the Hudson Valley. www.timesunion.com/projects/hud...