STATE NEWS IN BRIEF

Poll: Cuomo holds huge lead over Nixon

ALBANY, N.Y. » A new poll conducted six weeks after Cynthia Nixon announced she was running for New York governor finds the actor and activist trailing two-time incumbent Andrew Cuomo by a wide margin in the Democratic primary.

The Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found 50 percent of registered Democratic voters favor Cuomo compared to 28 percent for Nixon.

Among Democratic women voters, 49 percent back Cuomo compared to 24 percent for the “Sex and the City” star, with 27 percent undecided.

In a two-way general election matchup, Cuomo leads presumptive Republican candidate and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro 57 percent to 26 percent.

The poll of 1,076 New York state voters conducted April 26 to May 1 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

First lady’s parents in immigration office

NEWYORK » First lady Melania Trump’s parents have visited a federal building in New York City with their immigration attorney.

The Slovenian couple had no comment Wednesday afternoon after about an hour-long meeting in the building which houses offices for federal immigration officials who help process citizenship applications.

Lawyer Michael Wildes says Viktor and Amalija Knavs are lawful permanent residents of the U.S.

The attorney and the White House have declined to comment on whether the first lady’s parents are seeking to become U.S. citizens.

A spokeswoman for the first lady declined to comment Wednesday saying Mrs. Trump’s parents are not part of the Trump administration and deserve their privacy.

Republican President Donald Trump has pushed to restrict immigration.

Arnold’s hair to be displayed at fort

ALBANY, N.Y. » A rarely displayed lock of American traitor Benedict Arnold’s hair will be exhibited at the New York fort he helped capture with the help of Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys in the Revolutionary War’s opening weeks.

Officials at Fort Ticonderoga announced Wednesday that locks of hair from Arnold and his first wife Margaret will be displayed this weekend when the privately owned upstate historic site and tourist attraction opens for the season. Curator Matthew Keagle said the hair was recently rediscovered among the museum’s vast collection of 18th century military artifacts, ranging from muskets and artillery to uniforms and documents. “There so much in the museum collection that’s not on display. It’s still an ongoing cataloguing process,” Keagle told The Associated Press. “Sometimes we rediscover things, and this was one of them.” Keagle said the hair was preserved by the couple’s youngest son Henry, who was living in Canada when someone sent him the keepsake after his father died destitute and forgotten in London in 1801. Margaret Arnold died in 1775 in Connecticut, Benedict Arnold’s home state. Benedict’s lock of hair was wrapped in paper inscribed: “Two locks of my Father’s Hair sent from London, 1801. Henry Arnold.” Saving a lock of a deceased loved- one’s hair was a common practice during the era, a method of preserving “a physical reminder of the presence of that person,” Keagle said. The locks of hair were acquired by Fort Ticonderoga from one of Arnold’s direct descendants in 1952, the curator said. Arnold was an officer in the Connecticut militia when he and a small force of frontiersmen led by Ethan Allen rowed across the southern end of Lake Champlain on the night of May 10, 1775, and captured the British- held fort, located 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Ticonderoga. The war had begun three weeks earlier in Massachusetts at the battles of Lexington and Concord. Arnold went on to become one of the Continental Army’s best battlefield leaders. Denied promotions and deep in debt, he turned traitor and attempted to hand over the American fortifications at West Point, New York, to the British before being discovered and fleeing to the redcoats’ side. Arnold fought for the British and moved to England after the war. He died at 60 on June 14, 1801, and was buried at a London church. His name has become synonymous with traitor in American lingo. Because of the fragile nature of the artifacts, Benedict Arnold’s lock of hair and the paper wrapping are only being displayed Saturday and Sunday, along with the original letter Allen sent to the Connecticut governor informing him that the fort has been captured.

Schumer: Combat tick-borne diseases

WOODBURY, N.Y. » U. S. Sen. Charles Schumer says New York communities girding for a jump in tick-borne diseases as the weather warms up need federal funding to combat the problem now rather than later.

The Senate minority leader, appearing Wednesday on Long Island and in Rockland County, is urging the Centers for Disease Control to unlock millions in additional funding included in the recently passed federal budget.

Schumer says Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley are epicenters of diseases caused by deer ticks and public health officials in those areas need money as soon as possible to improve prevention efforts.

The CDC says ticks are responsible for about 50,000 reported illnesses annually in recent years, most of them Lyme disease.

Fourth GOP senator won’t seek re-election

ALBANY, N.Y. >> A fourth Republican has announced he won’t seek reelection to the New York Senate this November.

Sen. Tom Croci of Long Island tells Newsday on Wednesday that he’s returning to active duty in the Naval Reserve.

Croci, who holds the rank of commander in the Navy, was first elected to the Senate in 2014. He chairs of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Military and Veterans Affairs.

Four Republican senators have now announced plans to retire ahead of what’s expected to be a tough election this fall.

Democrats already control the Assembly and hold all four statewide offices.

Democrats also won two special elections last week, leaving Republicans holding onto Senate control only through the support of a rogue Democrat, Brooklyn Sen. Simcha Felder.

Court reinstates no-fly lawsuit

NEW YORK » An appeals court in New York has reinstated a lawsuit by three men who say they were put on a nationwide “No Fly List” because they refused to be informants.

The 2nd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan restored the lawsuit Wednesday.

A lower- court judge had dismissed their lawsuit against 25 named and unnamed federal law enforcement officers. The 2013 lawsuit filed by Muslim men in New York and Connecti- cut had sought unspecified damages after they were put on the list for individuals deemed a threat to airline safety.

The appeals panel said the Religious Freedom Restoration Act permits individuals to recover money damages against federal officers sued in their individual capacities for violating sincerely held religious beliefs.

Government lawyers had no immediate comment.

Actress campaigning for congressional seat

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — Former “Law and Order” actress Diane Neal is seeking a new gig as representative of a sprawling congressional district in upstate New York.

The 42-year- old actress who portrayed assistant district attorney Casey Novak on “Law and Order: SVU” is launching her active campaign Wednesday for the 19th Congressional District. She has lived for four years and announced her independent candidacy in February.

The district north of the New York City metro region is a key battleground in the November midterm elections. First-term incumbent Rep. John Faso is one of six Republican House members targeted in New York by the Democratic Party, and the Republican National Committee is determined to defend his seat.

Seven candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination but Neal is running as an independent.

Police: Masked robber identified by mom

BELLPORT, N.Y. » Police in Long Island say a man who held up a string of businesses while hiding behind a surgical mask has been identified by his mother.

Officials say the 50-yearold Bellport man turned himself in on Monday, two days after Suffolk County police released a picture of the suspect during an April 24 robbery at an East Patchogue gas station. Police say the man told them his mother was able to identify him from the picture.

The suspect is accused of robbing at gunpoint several businesses in East Patchogue, Yaphank and Holbrook. The businesses were robbed between Feb. 17 and Saturday, according to authorities. He was arraigned Monday on five counts of first- degree robbery.

Cuomo announces plan to help homeless

ALBANY, N.Y. » Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released details of the next phase in his $20 billion, five-year plan to al- leviate New York state’s homelessness problem.

The Democrat announced Tuesday that the third phase of the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative will provide $30 million in operating funds for 1,200 supportive housing units statewide.

The plan Cuomo launched in 2016 calls for creating or preserving more than 100,000 affordable housing units and another 6,000 supportive housing units.

The state Office of Mental Health is issuing a request for proposals for the latest phase in providing the housing opportunities.

Advocates for the homeless have been critical of Cuomo’s efforts on issue, saying he’s not doing enough to address a growing problem despite the billions in state funds he says are being allocated to various programs.

Cox, Richards honored at PP annual gala

NEW YORK » Transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox was honored by Planned Parenthood of New York City at its annual gala.

Cox praised the organization at Tuesday night’s gala for providing health care to transgender people around the country.

“So often when we talk about women’s health care, we leave out transgender women,” Cox told the crowd. She said she felt that the struggle for safe and affordable women’s health care was strongly linked to the struggle of transgender people for the same thing.

In 2014, Cox became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Outgoing Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards also was honored Tuesday. She stepped down this week as head of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America after 12 years.

Richards told the crowd that when she began in the job, Planned Parenthood had 3 million supporters, and the organization now has 12 million. “For comparison, that’s now more than twice the size of the National Rif le Association,” she said, to cheers in the room.

Also at the event were actresses Uma Thurman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chloe Sevigny, and Molly Ringwald, among others.

Racing history part of Spa City exhibit

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is showcasing the history of the New York Racing Association this month.

It’s part of a new initiative to recognize and promote key thoroughbred racing organizations.

NYRA was founded as the Greater New York Association in 1955 and later renamed. The museum will place memorabilia from NYRA on display and also highlight milestones from the organization’s history through social media outreach and on- site events and programming.

NYRA hosts the third jewel of the Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes, which will be contested for the 150th time on June 9. The museum will open a new exhibit on that day to honor the rich history of the race.

Hasidic village hosts annual bonfire

KIRYAS JOEL, N.Y. » An ultraOrthodox Jewish village in the Hudson Valley was expected to host thousands of people for its annual bonfire celebration.

The bonfire at Kiryas Joel on Wednesday night will mark the Jewish holiday of Lag Baomer. The holiday marks the anniversary of the death of an ancient rabbinical sage who wrote parts of the Talmud.

People in the Hasidic village 50 miles north of New York City claim it’s the largest such celebration in the United States.

Kiryas Joel was formed in the 1970s by followers of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, who wanted to create a cohesive community that shared religious beliefs and social values.

Child Victims act passes Assembly

ALBANY, N.Y. » Legislation to make it easier for molestation victims to seek criminal charges or file lawsuits against their abusers has once again passed the New York state Assembly.

The measure known as the Child Victims Act was endorsed by the Democratled Assembly on Tuesday. Prospects in the Republican- controlled state Senate, however, remain dim.

Current law gives victims until age 23 to file civil cases or seek criminal charges. Under the act, victims could file civil suits until age 50 and seek criminal charges until age 28. The bill would also create a one-year window allowing victims to file civil lawsuits for alleged abuse now barred by the existing statute of limitations.

The last provision is opposed by institutions including the Catholic Church, who say it could cause catastrophic financial harm.