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The move to import foreign beef infuriated Republicans in farm states facing tough reelections — and gave Democrats and independents a rare opening with rural voters.

Respondents presented with 2 choices of candidates with various traits. Results represent the estimated impact of each trait on likelihood of selection.

They were already taking on data centers as a Big Tech boogeyman. Now, they have to take on artificial intelligence itself.

SESSION LESSON: Assemblymember Alex Bores would really like to take another swing at regulating Big Tech before he leaves office at the end of the year. The New York lawmaker faced the multimillion-dollar wrath of the tech industry after leading the charge on crafting state regulations for artificial intelligence, falling short in his quest to move on to the halls of Congress. But he said he’s optimistic about policymakers taking action amid growing public alarm over the risks of AI — and that he’d support a special session in Albany on the issue. “This is an urgent problem, and too frequently we have left it to California to set the nationwide standards,” Bores said. “We’ve got some pretty darn talented people here in New York … and I would love to give them the chance to lead.” The outgoing assemblymember, who has work experience in the industry, has positioned himself as a national leader on the issue with the launch of a $30 million group to develop the Democratic agenda on AI rules. There are currently no plans for a special session on AI, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. The lack of plans to return to Albany before January to work on AI rules contrasts with discussions in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has mused on the possibility of calling lawmakers back to Sacramento. Newsom signed an executive order today to speed up implementation of recently passed AI safety laws and consider proposals like requiring a “kill switch” for advanced AI models. New York regulators issued an order requiring gas, electric and water utilities to report on their use of AI yesterday, and New York Attorney General Letitia James urged employees at AI companies to report any rulebreaking. The jockeying between states to act on AI comes amid a crescendo of alarm, including from the industry itself, that the technology is outpacing humans’ abilities to monitor and control it. Hochul has also said she wants to take additional actions, but without offering specifics. The rhetorical flurry among state officials is also being sparked by the Trump administration’s dismissal of AI safety threats and a widespread sense that there’s little chance Congress will act on the issue anytime soon. Democratic lawmakers who’ll be returning to Albany in January are discussing their options — and gearing up for pushback from the industry. “The crux of the fight is in clawing back power from these oligarchs and putting real people in the driver’s seat,” said state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, chair of the Internet and Technology committee. Read the full story from POLITICO Pro’s Marie J. French. HEALTH CARESETTLEMENT WATCH: NYU Langone agreed to pay $8.5 million and stop providing puberty blockers and hormonal treatment to minors under an agreement with the Justice Department announced today. DOJ has announced similar agreements with five other hospital groups, including the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, as part of a nationwide investigation into gender-affirming care that came at the direction of President Donald Trump. NYU Langone spokesperson Steve Ritea said the DOJ agreement “protects our providers and secures the privacy and confidentiality of our patients and their families,” noting the health system denied any wrongdoing or liability as part of the agreement. “Under this agreement, DOJ has agreed to resolve its investigations, removing the threat that NYU Langone would have to provide the confidential information previously demanded about patients under 18 who received gender-affirming care at our institution,” Ritea said in a statement. NYU Langone’s statement echoes comments by Mount Sinai upon reaching a similar agreement with the Justice Department. — Maya Kaufman MEASLES ON THE RISE: In response to a growing number of measles cases in rural New York, state Health Commissioner James McDonald is calling on all New Yorkers to make sure they’ve received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. McDonald said yesterday at a Public Health and Health Planning Council meeting that there are 66 cases across the state, with roughly two-thirds of those in adults aged 18 years old and older. The state’s new measles dashboard reports 51 cases, but it hasn’t been updated since Saturday. The outbreak is primarily in rural and western parts of the state. Fifteen counties have reported at least one case, but the majority of cases are concentrated in Steuben, Seneca, Otsego and Allegany counties. McDonald said he’s been in contact with health officials in neighboring Pennsylvania, where 767 cases and four deaths have been reported in a fatal outbreak there, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health dashboard. “I can’t explain why the federal government is being as confusing as they are about vaccines,” McDonald said yesterday. “But I’m not confused. There was no new research or new science when they did their executive order. Nothing changed in New York State. States determine what the required vaccines are.” He said the state has been working with local health departments to distribute more than 700 MMR vaccine doses to people living in the affected counties, where health officials traditionally face skepticism surrounding healthcare and vaccines. The push is part of a broader effort to overcome confusion over an executive order signed by President Trump last month that directs federal agencies to reduce the number of recommended vaccines children receive and spread the shots out over a longer time period. The executive order has ignited renewed hope among parents seeking exemptions from the state’s vaccine laws, which do not include a religious exemption and have proven to be a challenge when attempting to qualify for a medical exemption. — Katelyn CorderoFROM CITY HALLSCHOOL SAFETY: A longtime union leader is demanding Mayor Zohran Mamdani come up with a plan to keep classrooms safe amid recent weapons seizures at public schools. Gregory Floyd, who heads Teamsters Local 237, pointed to several recent incidents, including a student caught with a loaded gun at a Staten Island high school. His union represents nearly 2,000 municipal workers, including school safety officers. “He’s yet to say anything, he’s yet to address it,” Floyd told Playbook. “Before we get further into the school year, we want him to come up with a comprehensive plan to make sure that no one in the public school system is seriously injured or possibly killed.” Floyd decried a shortage of school safety agents, noting that the city has lost 2,000 agents since 2022. And the Mamdani administration, he said, isn’t hiring. A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The city saw a decrease in major felony crimes in schools, according to the mayor’s management report released Thursday. Mamdani faced criticism over the summer after eliminating vacant school safety agent positions, drawing backlash from parents and advocates as felony assaults in schools rose. Floyd pointed specifically to a lack of metal detectors. The most current version in schools, he said, has proven incapable of detecting smaller scalpels, which he described as an emerging threat in schools. Fewer than 100 schools currently have full-time scanners, according to Floyd. — Madina TouréIN OTHER NEWS— STOKING SPECULATION: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans to campaign for candidates across New York, reigniting speculation she’ll run for senator or president in 2028. (The New York Times) — PRE-K PAY: After severe funding delays, providers of free childcare in New York City are finally being paid by the Mamdani administration, but some are still waiting. (Gothamist) — $10M PAYOUT: Family of Robert Brooks, man beaten to death by corrections officers, to get $10 million settlement. (WPTZ) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best of this week’s crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Bill Cassidy on vaccines, RFK Jr. and the fight for public trust lead image

AI BILLS BILLS BILLS: One of the architects of New York’s pioneering legislation to put guardrails around artificial intelligence says ominous warnings from industry leaders prove states need to act aggressively. “I’m very rarely one to say, ‘I told you so’ or ‘We told you so,’ But this is exactly … the things we had warned about,” said Democratic state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored the RAISE Act. The law is slated to take effect in January, requires the largest AI companies to report safety incidents to the state and establishes penalties for violations. New York lawmakers passed that bill last year, despite pushback from industry lobbyists. But now leading AI executives are ramping up warnings about the risks of their technology. “These are the exact same concerns that we were flagging: biological weapons, nuclear weapons, catastrophic harms,” Gounardes said in an interview with Playbook. “Not only were we right, but some of the very same people that were telling us that we were wrong are now the ones saying that we need to be doing these things.” President Donald Trump has dismissed AI safety concerns as a “HOAX” and Congress appears unlikely to act on the issue anytime soon. So lawmakers in New York and other states are weighing how they can respond. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has floated the idea of a special session devoted to the issue, but New York’s Legislature isn’t slated to return to Albany until January. Gounardes said he’s had an increasing amount of engagement with AI safety advocates, industry experts and others in recent weeks. He’s focused on two bills he’s sponsoring — one requiring third-party safety audits, similar to a measure enacted in Illinois, and another strengthening safety reporting requirements. “They’re good bills, they’re important bills, they should pass as is. But I think we can go further,” Gounardes said. There’s a clear appetite among other key policymakers to pass more measures to bolster protections for New Yorkers. Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters Tuesday she’ll be looking for additional action the state can take to reduce AI safety risks. State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, chair of the Internet and Technology committee, said she plans to push for a “rights-based” framework and focus on potentially high risk uses of AI. Her bills for next year include a data privacy measure and the New York AI Act, which seeks to address concerns about algorithmic bias in employment, courts, finance and other contexts. That measure also includes whistleblower protections for employees of AI companies. New York Attorney General Letitia James today urged AI workers to report safety risks or violations of current state laws, offering an anonymous tip line. Gonzalez also has a bill pending on Hochul’s desk that would regulate AI chatbots and assign liability to companies who develop them. “There are so many bills, and together, if we were to pass all of these that track out liability, we would be able to actually start fighting these companies, not just through slowing their development … but also mitigating more in court and having a foundation to claim damages,” she said. — Marie J. FrenchFrom the CapitolMERGER WATCH: The state Public Health and Health Planning Council voted today to approve a merger between NYC Health + Hospitals and Maimonides Health, a private hospital in Brooklyn. “We all need to get behind this and make it work,” PHHPC member Ann Monroe said during today’s meeting. The merger was set into motion last year, after Hochul awarded $2.2 billion from the state-funded Safety Net Transformation Program to facilitate the deal. Maimonides has for years relied on substantial state support to keep its doors open, and state health officials expressed optimism that the combination would stabilize the hospital’s finances. The transaction was expected to close by April 1, but a judge ruled earlier this year that NYC Health + Hospitals and Maimonides first needed to obtain PHHPC’s approval. Read the full story from POLITICO Pro’s Maya KaufmanFROM CITY HALLPENSION PADDING: Several top officials from former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration are raking in inflated NYPD pensions that should be lowered, a report from New York City’s corruption watchdog recommended Thursday. The Department of Investigation report revolves around the use of so-called 821 waivers under the Adams administration. The waivers allow NYPD employees to be “on loan” to other agencies, including the mayor’s office, so they can maintain a police title that comes with pension benefits while working in another capacity. In its report, DOI found the NYPD documented the waivers in an inconsistent way during Adams’ tenure, resulting in the city’s Police Pension Fund awarding overly large retirement benefits to former cops who served in top roles under Adams. But the watchdog agency determined the NYPD wasn’t squarely to blame for this, given that the pension fund also seemingly ignored 821 restrictions “in a manner inconsistent with the law.” The DOI findings come after a string of corruption scandals roiled the Adams administration and the NYPD. Adams himself faced federal corruption charges in 2024 before President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice stepped in to spare the former mayor from prosecution. The DOI’s latest findings don’t allege criminal wrongdoing, but the report lays out a number of recommendations for how the NYPD and the pension fund can prevent similar missteps. It also calls for all the allegedly inflated retirement benefits to be recalculated so the former cops in question aren’t getting taxpayer-funded benefits that are overly generous. Among the former NYPD cops who netted padded pensions are Kaz Daughtry, who served as Adams’ deputy mayor for public safety; Louis Molina, Adams’ commissioner of correction and citywide administrative services; and Juanita Holmes, Adams’ probation commissioner. “NYPD officials were treated inconsistently and some received a higher pension than they would otherwise have been eligible for, with taxpayers footing the bill,” Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia Shihata said. “Those pensions should be recalculated and adjusted properly.” Read the full story from Chris Sommerfeldt in POLITICO. PREDICTED PROTESTS: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said today she expects “multiple protests every day” next week as the city hosts the United Nations General Assembly. No credible security threats have been identified, she noted, though the department will remain on high alert. “The NYPD, as you know, handles thousands of protests and demonstrations each year, and there is no organization better trained to facilitate First Amendment activity,” Tisch said at a press conference with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “Every year around the UN General Assembly time, we do see an uptick in the amount of protest activity, and this year I do not expect to be any different.” The NYPD did not provide specific details on the number of protest permits filed or the exact number of demonstrations expected. Some of the largest and most tumultuous protests are expected to take place ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Sept. 24. Despite his strident anti-Israel rhetoric, Mamdani plans to skip next week’s protests, Chris Sommerfeldt first reported yesterday. When asked why he’s staying away, Mamdani cited a desire to focus on New Yorkers’ day-to-day transportation concerns during the assembly, which will cause significant traffic disruptions and road closures in Midtown. Mamdani will not skip the UN proceedings altogether, though. He said he’s in the process of setting up meetings with foreign officials in town for the assembly, but did not elaborate on which ones. His press team did not immediately share any further details either. — Molly ReinmannIN OTHER NEWS— POINTING FINGERS: Some City Council members blamed Mamdani for a crime spike in the Bronx. (New York Post) — SURVEILLANCE AND MURDER: Federal prosecutors accused five men of being part of a Kremlin-orchestrated network that planned to assassinate Russian dissidents and others in the United States and abroad. (The New York Times) — DATA CENTER DIVIDE: Despite hesitating on the issue himself, Rep. Mike Lawler launched a seven-figure ad campaign attacking his Democratic challenger, Cait Conley, for her position on data centers. (New York Focus) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Democratic consultants are warning their candidates in some key races not to lean into AI regulations out of fear that powerful tech groups could spend heavily against them.

The meeting with New York-based Sid Rosenberg comes as Vance tries to court skeptical Jewish Republicans ahead of a likely 2028 run.

JACOB’S LADDER: Otsego County Democratic Chair Caitlin Ogden is launching a bid for the top spot in the state party — the first time its current chair, Jay Jacobs, has had a challenger during his lengthy tenure. Jacobs, who also serves as Nassau County’s Democratic chair, has led the state party under the past three governors, with stints from 2009 to 2012 and 2019 through the present. But those stints have unfolded despite years of grumbling from the party’s progressive flank. “I came in as Otsego County chair about five years ago, and I’ve heard since then that Jay Jacobs has helped the party get by. And he definitely has,” Ogden said. “But I think the political landscape is shifting radically, and it’s time for a new leader to guide the party through the next phase and really deliver on Gov. Hochul’s vision of statewide, year-round party organizing.” The friendly footing toward Gov. Kathy Hochul is a bit of a shift for Ogden. She was a top supporter of Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado’s challenge to the governor. But expanding on Hochul’s efforts to use the party to help candidates up and down the ballot is now the focus of Ogden’s message as she attempts to win over party members. The Democratic Party has indisputably played a larger role organizing campaigns across the state in recent years, though numerous local officials have characterized this as a slapdash operation that emerges only in the run-up to congressional contests. Ogden said that in 2022 she “had been expecting there to be a coordinated campaign structure because I had been told there would be.” “There was not in any capacity — there was no organizational help from Albany or the state party,” she said. “We never got any literature for any of our Albany candidates; we finally got 40 signs for Kathy Hochul in the middle of October.” The party apparatus has since been more helpful, Ogden said. But it’s still absent more often than not. It played no role as Democrats in her county had one of its best nights in history last November and has been quiet so far in the county that’s at the heart of Rep. Josh Riley’s battleground district. “We don’t even have staff hired yet, at least to my knowledge,” she said. “And it’s so late in the game.” “Is it something that would be helpful?” Jacobs said in response to Ogden’s call for a more regular statewide effort. “Of course.” “But the big question is ‘where do you get the money?’ We raise millions now: This coordinated campaign is going to run through between $6 and $8 million. And that’s not easy to raise, so speculating that you’ll be able to fund not only election year coordinated campaigns, but also ongoing coordinated campaigns year-round every year, I don’t think is reasonable.” Jacobs highlighted several accomplishments at the state party, such as a grant program that’s given $1 million to county committees and “allowing resolutions to come to the floor, where before they were always tabled to not allow for debate.” He also acknowledged that while 2022 was a “tough year” for the party, it did “very well” in 2024. The party’s elected committee members select the chair. But historically, they’ve just gone along with whomever’s picked by the governor — a potential obstacle to the pro-Delgado Ogden, but one she thinks can be overcome. “The conversation has been happening for a really long time now … about whether or not our leadership is on the right path,” she said. Jacobs has faced calls for his ouster after the 2021, 2022 and 2025 elections, and easily survived a vote of no confidence six years ago. There were rumors last fall that his tenure was at an end after he declined to endorse then-mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, but Hochul said he was “doing a great job” and the party stuck with him. “Since I’ve been the chair for ten years over two different tenures, I have heard repeatedly that I’m on the way out,” Jacobs said. “The only thing is, it’s never come from me.” “It’s not that I need it for my livelihood — I like being involved in the Democratic Party and I find this a worthwhile endeavor. So as long as that remains, I’m happy to continue.” The state Democratic Party will decide on Oct. 1 whether Jacobs stays on or not. — Bill MahoneyFROM CITY HALLZO ON BIBI IN NYC: Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke publicly for the first time today on his plans to skip the protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Jewish head of state will be in New York City next week for the United Nations General Assembly. “I have made very clear about my views, my thoughts, my assessments,” Mamdani said when asked why he’ll sit out. “When it comes to the UN General Assembly, my focus is ensuring that our city remains prepared to host representatives from across the world, to keep New Yorkers safe, and also to ensure that we’re able to both address the global conversation and the very local concerns New Yorkers have about traffic and their ability to get from point A to point B over the course of the next week.” Mamdani’s nod to quotidian anxieties like gridlock is a far cry from his typically strident anti-Israel rhetoric and long history of pro-Palestinian activism. As recently as July, he was publicly railing against Netanyahu and entertaining the idea of having the NYPD arrest him on a controversial war crimes warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over Israel’s war in Gaza. The war, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis, has left more than 73,000 Palestinians dead. Mamdani ultimately walked back his calls, saying in a social media video that his administration does not have the “independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.” Still, he has continued to condemn Netanyahu, whom he called the “architect of a horrific genocide.” And he has appeared to call New Yorkers to action, saying that, “while we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon.” The mayor faced accusations that he was stoking antisemitism by continuing to talk about arresting Netanyahu despite knowing he lacked the power to do so. The mayor took a more measured tone today when answering questions about whether he would encourage critics of Israel to protest Netanyahu’s visit to the city. “To New Yorkers — I’ve never encouraged them to protest, but I always told them they have the right to do so, and we respect that right, and this city is proud of the first amendment,” Mamdani said. Regardless, sizable protests are expected ahead of and during Netanyahu’s Sept. 24 speech at the UN. The mayor said he has been in close contact with the NYPD and there are no expected security threats. — Molly ReinmannSEWER SOCIALISM: Mamdani’s administration plans to install 17 free public bathrooms across the five boroughs — part of a one-year, $4 million pilot project with the modular public toilet company Throne Labs. Each of the modular bathrooms will be climate controlled, have a toilet, a sink and a baby changing station, and will close at 10 p.m. To enter, New Yorkers can scan a QR code, use an app, send a text message, or use a physical tap card. “These 17 formerly bathroomless locations will soon become New York City’s number one place to go number two — or number one, you don’t need to tell me,” the mayor joked today. The pilot program is set to place five toilets in the Bronx, four in Brooklyn, three in Queens, four in Manhattan and one in Staten Island. The initiative builds on a January announcement from Mamdani and is an attempt to solve an enduring problem that’s bedeviled city officials for decades: How to construct a simple public restroom without taking years and spending millions of dollars. Former Council Member David Greenfield once highlighted a public restroom renovation in his district that — bogged down by municipal procurement and construction requirements — took nearly a decade and cost $2 million. The commodes announced by Mamdani today, by contrast, are projected to come out to under $250,000 per bathroom, inclusive of maintenance, for the year-long pilot. “We are essentially wasting taxpayer money,” Greenfield said at the time. “You can build a complete house in six months for $1 million.” — Molly Reinmann and Joe AnutaFROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAILEYES ON AI: Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan and former city Comptroller Brad Lander are among the signatories on a pledge to refuse cash from the big-money, pro-AI political group Leading the Future. Lander, who’s all but certain to serve in Congress next year after winning the June primary in a safe-blue district, said he’s “determined to pass strong safeguards into law and make sure the American people have a true say in the future of AI.” Ryan accused the “Big Tech oligarchs behind Leading the Future” of only caring “about their profits.” — an argument he made during the primary for NY-12. In that race to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, Ryan backed state Assemblymember Alex Bores, one of Leading the Future’s biggest targets. Bores finished in second place. The public condemnations from Ryan and Lander come amid heightened concerns about the existential threat potentially posed by AI. New York politicians have urged the federal government to do more to address the rapidly developing technology, and Hochul vowed that the state will fill the void in the absence of action from Washington. Leading the Future, which is backed by leaders at OpenAI and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has pushed back against criticism that it’s anti-regulation. It previously stated that it supports “passing a national regulatory framework for AI.” — Madison FernandezIN OTHER NEWS— GRACIE GATHERING: Students and teachers from two of New York City’s elite Orthodox Jewish schools will demonstrate Friday outside Gracie Mansion. (Jewish Currents) — FLOWERY PLANS: City officials are weighing plans to put rain gardens on top of bus stops after a prototype went up in Brooklyn. (Gothamist) — PROPERTY PAYOUT: New York City is spending $60 million to settle a 2019 lawsuit alleging a city-instituted program illegally stripped dozens of homeowners of their equity. (The New York Times) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.