Top Stories from NCPR

Today is the official deadline for thousands of handgun owners to register those guns with New York State Police. It's part of a new process called 're-certification.' By law, anybody who fails to contact state police and share updated information about their firearms could face criminal charges.

Two Adirondack artists will host an afternoon of traditional Tibetan music and Indian classical dance in Saranac Lake on Sunday.Born in exile and trained at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in India, Techung moved to the U.S. in 1987 to continue his musical career. He's given concerts and worked with students at SUNY Plattsburgh. Techung and his wife, Sisa Salgado, settled in Lake Placid. They own the Tibetan gift shop, "Vision of Tibet," and are working on a Tibetan music preservation project.Their concert Sunday will be held at Inner Quest Yoga & Wellness Center in Saranac Lake at 4:00 pm. Space is limited. For reservations: 518-354-2425.A trained classical dancer, Sisa Salgado has lead a cultural project called "The Dance Road" for the last few years. Techung and Sisa spoke with Todd Moe about bringing together centuries-old culture and historical connections between Tibet and India through their music and dance. Techung will share stories and music to celebrate Losar, the Tibetan Lunar New Year.

About 200 Canton and Potsdam residents got their first look Tuesday night at possible bypasses around the busy villages. The state Department of Transportation is three years into a $2.5 million study of traffic in Canton and Potsdam and along the eight miles of Route 11 that connects them.Opinions differed sharply about how to ease congestion in the area, and whether there's even much of a traffic problem at all.

A third Republican candidate has announced his intention to run for governor against Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Syracuse-area Sen. John DeFrancisco said he thinks it's time for a change.

We talk a lot about the things that cloud these Winter Olympic Games. The Russian doping scandal, the big corporate money, the complicated politics on the Korean peninsula. That stuff is all real.But it is important to remember that for a lot of American athletes, this moment is still about an ideal and an adventure. A case in point is Erin Hamlin, a luge sled-racer from Remsen here in northern New York whose history-making Olympic journey is nearing its end.

Plattsburgh Mayor Colin Read says he's working with Governor Cuomo's office to help residents of a flooded mobile home park in the city. More than 40 families who lived in Underwood Estates are still displaced because of an ice jam and flooding on the Saranac River this month. So far, the city hasn't identified any federal or state aid to help the victims. But the mayor hopes a state temporary housing fund is coming soon.

The head of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's economic development programs said he doesn't think federal corruption trials now taking place will have any effect on the projects.

Federal officials say they're pulling the eastern cougar off the endangered species list. Scientists say the big cats that roamed the eastern U.S. and Canada for thousands of years actually went extinct decades ago.

The Winter Olympics begin in less than two weeks, with the opening ceremonies in South Korea on February 9. We're previewing the roster of athletes, a dozen in all, who will represent the Adirondack North Country region in Pyeonchang.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut said they intend to soon file a multi-state lawsuit against the federal tax overhaul law over the partial loss of the deduction of state and local taxes.