Election

When it comes to voting in New York's state and local primaries, the statement "I normally don't vote" applies to a great majority of millions of voting-age residents. The turnout in 2016's state primaries topped out at around 11 percent, likely at least partially thanks to New York's tradition of holding federal, state, and presidential primaries on different days.

Blistered by bipartisan condemnation of his embrace of a longtime U.S. enemy, President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to "clarify" his public undermining of American intelligence agencies, saying he had misspoken when he said he saw no reason to believe Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

A former organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders is trying to unseat one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the House. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is hoping to pull off one of the biggest political upsets of 2018 in a primary challenge to 10-term U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's 14th Congressional District. She is challenging Crowley from the left, with policies calling for the total abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A 25-year incumbent and an ambitious political newcomer are fighting to represent New York's 12th Congressional District, which spans parts of Manhattan's East Side, northern Brooklyn, and northwestern Queens. Carolyn Maloney has served 13 terms in Congress and is seeking a 14th. But her challenger, attorney and NYU Professor Suraj Patel, is trying to convince voters to give him a chance.

U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel wants a new two-year contract with voters in Westchester and the Bronx. Jonathan Lewis is a Scarsdale businessman and one of three primary challengers hoping to unseat Engel in next Tuesday's primary. But it could prove a tall order. Engel ran uncontested in the primary last time around in 2016 and won the general election by 89 points.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Friday laid out the criminal charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He said the plot began back in 2014 and was funded by a Russian businessman with close ties to Putin. The indictment alleges the Russian defendants created phony identities online and using social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter started their sophisticated campaign to sway public opinion in the United States in favor of Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton.

When Donald Trump Jr. Released his email chain earlier this week about setting up a meeting with a Russian lawyer to get dirt on Hillary Clinton he said he was doing it to be transparent. But what he didn't say was that another Russian was at that meeting last summer who reportedly has ties to Russian intelligence agencies.

President Donald Trump said Twitter that he "did not make" and doesn't have any recordings of his conversations with ousted former FBI Director James Comey. Trump hinted that he might have recordings of his private conversations with Comey at the White House and over the phone. The tale of mystery began just days after Trump fired Comey, who was then leading an investigation into contacts before and after the election between the president's campaign and Russian officials.

The testimony from James Comey is the latest in a string of events that has kept the former FBI director in the spotlight for nearly a year. David Birdsell of Baruch College shared his analysis of the chain of events and the latest testimony.