Top Stories from NCPR

A state supreme court judge in Franklin County issued a ruling yesterday that overturns New York's controversial plan to create a new rail-trail in the Adirondacks linking Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

In Warren County, the Saratoga North Creek Railroad is drawing fire for a plan to store industrial freight cars on a section of unused track in the Adirondack Park. They plan to park hundreds of freight and tanker cars near a wild and scenic stretch of the Hudson River.

A separate bus service for people with disabilities in Plattsburgh is coming to an end this spring. Clinton County legislators voted last night to scrap the program known as paratransit. Those buses currently run like a door-to-door taxi service for people with disabilities.The county has a replacement bus program, but legislators and officials have acknowledged it'll be less convenient.

The latest version of a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is now dead in Congress, but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo remains worried about another potential cut in federal funds to hospitals that he said would blow a hole in the state budget.The money is known as the Disproportionate Share Hospital fund, or DSH, and the money goes to public hospitals and safety net hospitals that often serve the poorest patients.

Lawmakers and an advocacy group representing Fort Drum are warning about several proposed wind farm projects that are under development in the North Country. They say the wind turbines could threaten operations at the military base. That's welcome news to some residents in Jefferson County, who have been fighting one of the developments since it was proposed a decade ago.

Former state Senate Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam saw their federal corruption convictions overturned by a federal appeals court panel Tuesday.Skelos is the second former legislative leader to win his case on appeal in the past two months, after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling revised the laws under which they were convicted.

The Trump administration's decision to end DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, could have a significant impact on some of the North Country's many university students. The program lets some people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children stay in the country. It's protected about 800,000 people from deportation. Now DACA will expire in March unless Congress passes a new version. It's unclear how many students that would affect in the North Country. Most schools don't ask about immigration status. On Monday night, students were worried at a "Discussing DACA" forum at SUNY Plattsburgh.

September is National Hunger Action Awareness Month, and statistics on hunger show that 14% of households in St. Lawrence County don't have enough food each week.For more than 40 years, the Canton Church and Community Program's food pantry and thrift store have served individuals and families from Canton, DeKalb, Russell, Hermon, Rensselaer Falls and Clare. In December, its Giving Tree program provides gifts to children. The Main Street organization that provides food and clothing to the needy served 231 families in August and signed up 90 new families as clients this year.Todd Moe stopped by during a busy weekday morning as volunteers and board members were stacking boxes of canned goods, and fresh fruits and veggies in store rooms and assisting clients. Some have helped out for years, others for just a few months.

When you think of the environmental movement, what comes to mind? Preserving wilderness in a national park? Or guaranteeing safe drinking water in a city? The movement is changing - slowly.

Drones are more popular than ever before. The small remote-controlled aircraft can take photographs and shoot video and they're getting easier and easier to use. But drones are also more and more controversial. Critics say their buzzing propellers are an unwelcome intrusion in wild lands that are meant to feel remote and natural. New York state is now trying to figure out when and where these tiny aircraft should be allowed on public lands.