Top Stories from NCPR

Metropolitan Opera star Stephanie Blythe is back in Potsdam this week for the 6th annual Fall island Vocal Arts Seminar. Blythe is an alumna of the Crane School of Music. She's also and is founder and artistic director of the seminar, which brings together top emerging singers with leading artists.

With forecasters saying Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River are likely to remain very high for weeks, if not months, waterfront communities are doing their best to prepare for a summer of high water. Attractions, restaurants, and campgrounds are open, but it’s not business as usual. A lot is different on the water, and that presents unique dangers. There's no need to be alarmist here; you can still have lots of fun. But here are five things to watch out for as you’re out on the water during the Memorial Day holiday weekend and into the summer:

Former CIA director John Brennan dropped some bombshells yesterday about his concerns that members of the Trump campaign may have been recruited by Russian agents. Rep. Elise Stefanik asked no questions about that.

Faith leaders from around New York came to the Capitol to gain support in the state Senate to adopt a statewide single-payer health care system. It would be an alternative to the national Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump have been trying to dismantle.

It seems very likely that Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River will remain near historic levels well into summer. "It takes a long time to draw water off the lake," says Keith Koralewski, a technical advisor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As Spring arrives in the North Country some of us look forward to summer camping trips. Whether we camp in a little tent or a luxurious motor home, we’re all part of a long American tradition according to author Dan White. His new book, Under the Stars, has the subtitle, “How America Fell in Love with Camping.”

People are keeping a close eye on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, hoping they’ve reached a peak. Lake Ontario is higher now than it’s been since record keeping began a hundred years ago.

At a ceremony yesterday in Albany state officials officially ended a long-running land dispute in the Adironadacks affecting property in Raquette Lake in Hamilton County. The legal feud stretched back more than a century and involved 216 different parcels, including private homes and businesses.

After an embarrassing controversy over stipend payments, the beleaguered group of breakaway Democrats in the state Senate is trying to change the subject.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered himself as a global leader on climate change, unveiling an ambitious new environmental plan that includes phasing out coal-fired power plants, a tax on carbon, and big investments in renewable energy. But at the same time, Trudeau has promised to help expand Canada’s role as an energy exporter.