Top Stories from NCPR

In 1943, Ed Fuhr was born in Hollywood, a hamlet in the town of Colton which now sits underwater, smack in the middle of the Carry Falls Reservoir. Before Ed was eight years old he would live on a dude ranch and watch Hollywood burn.

Cooler weather has arrived and some trees are beginning to show a little color. The fall foliage season will start soon in the High Peaks.

Five candidates are vying for two open seats on the Watertown City Council. They'll face off in a primary next Tuesday and the top four candidates will advance on to the November election.

The New York Civil Liberties Union says reforms in state prisons have cut the use of solitary confinement dramatically. The group issued a report this week pointing to a drop of 24 percent in the number of men and women held in isolation cells. The number of inmates held for long periods in solitary also declined.

Two hospitals in the North Country that are affiliated with a Vermont-based health network have lost millions of dollars in recent years. Since 2013, Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh have run huge deficits - $25 million combined. That's according to VTDigger, an investigative news site.Both hospitals are part of the UVM Health Network, based in Burlington. Now the network is trying to figure out what's next for the two facilities. It's not clear if that will mean layoffs. Zach Hirsch spoke with VTDigger's Erin Mansfield via Skype.

Two schools in the North Country have been offering free meals to students, and reducing the stigma some associate with free lunch in the process.

Birds and other creatures have a sly side and will use deceptive communications to create an advantage for themselves in finding food and finding mates. Blue jays can imitate the sound of a hawk, scaring other species away from the feeder. Some birds mimic the alarm cries of other species, making them think that another of their kind is warning them about a predator.But they can't pull the trick too often. "Crying wolf" has the same consequences in the animal world as it does in the fairy tale. Martha Foley and Curt Stager discuss the "tricksy" side of birds, and of cuttlefish.

A lot of kids across our region went back to school this week. That might come as a relief to some parents - no more kids around the house to entertain. But the new school year can also bring financial stress. That's where Canton's Church and Community Program comes in. Volunteers collected nearly 150 free backpacks full of school supplies for needy families.

One of the Adirondacks' iconic paddling events starts Friday morning. About 600 paddlers will set off from Old Forge for the 90 Miler Canoe Classic. It's a three-day race to the finish in Saranac Lake on Sunday.

One of the state's top agricultural lenders is warning President Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants could cost New York's economy billions of dollars.