By Noam N. Levey, KFF Health News

Mary Catherine Johnson is a retired small-business owner from outside Rochester, New York. She voted for Donald Trump three times.

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Lexy Mealing, who used to work in a physician’s office, is from Long Island. She’s a Democrat.

But the women share a common bond. They both survived breast cancer.

And when the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network organized its annual citizen lobby day in Washington last month, Johnson and Mealing were among the more than 500 volunteers pushing Congress to keep cancer research and support for cancer patients at the top of the nation’s health care agenda.

The day is something of a ritual for groups like the cancer organization.

This year, it came as Democrats and Republicans in Washington slid toward a budget impasse that shut down the federal government. But these volunteers transcended their political differences and found common ground.

“Not one person here discussed if you’re a Democrat, if you’re a Republican,” said Mealing, one of 27 volunteers in the New York delegation. “Cancer doesn’t care.”

Every one of the volunteer lobbyists had been touched in some way by the deadly disease, which is expected to kill more than 600,000 people in the U.S. this year.

Johnson said each of her mother’s 10 siblings died from cancer, as did a lifelong friend who died at age 57, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters.

After visiting lawmakers on Capitol Hill, hundreds of volunteers for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network gathered for a candlelight vigil at Constitution Gardens along the National Mall in Washington. (Charlotte Kesl/KFF Health News/TNS)

Like many of the New York volunteers, Johnson also said she’s worried about the state of politics today.

“I think we’re probably the most divided that we’ve ever been,” she said. “That scares me. Scares me for my grandchildren.”

Katie Martin, a cancer volunteer from outside Buffalo, also worries. She and her daughter recently drove past political protesters screaming at one another on the street.

“My daughter is silent and then starts asking, ‘What is this?’ And I don’t know how to explain it, because it doesn’t even make sense to me,” she said. “It’s very heartbreaking.”

Mealing said she can barely watch the news these days. “A lot of Americans are very stressed out. There’s a lot of things going on.”

Despite a steady rain, volunteers from across the country and across the political spectrum converged on the National Mall in Washington recently to remember people who have died of cancer, part of an annual volunteer fly-in organized by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. (Charlotte Kesl/KFF Health News/TNS)

Americans are indeed split over many issues — immigration, guns, President Trump. But helping people with cancer and other serious illnesses retains broad bipartisan support, polls show.

In one recent survey, 7 in 10 voters said it’s very important for the federal government to fund medical research. That included majorities of Democrats and Republicans.

“It’s rare in today’s environment to see numbers like that,” said Jarrett Lewis, a Republican pollster who conducted the survey for patient groups. “But almost everybody in this country knows somebody who’s had cancer.”

Similarly, a recent KFF poll found that three-quarters of U.S. adults, including most Republicans who align with the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement, want Congress to extend subsidies that help Americans buy health insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

These subsidies, which are critical to people with chronic illnesses such as cancer, are among the main sticking points in the current budget impasse in Congress.

As the cancer volunteers gathered in a conference hotel in Washington, they focused on their shared agenda: increasing funding for cancer research, retaining insurance subsidies, and expanding access to cancer screening.

“We may not see eye to eye politically. We might not even see eye to eye in social circumstances,” said Martin, the Buffalo-area volunteer. “But we can see beyond those differences because we’re here for one cause.”

The state delegations practiced the pitches they would make to their members of Congress. They ran through the personal stories they would share. And they swapped tips for how to deal with resistant staff and how to ask for a photo with a lawmaker.

After visiting lawmakers on Capitol Hill, hundreds of volunteers for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network gathered for a candlelight vigil at Constitution Gardens along the National Mall in Washington. (Charlotte Kesl/KFF Health News/TNS)

On the morning of their lobby day, they reconvened in a cavernous ballroom, decked out in matching blue polo shirts and armed with red information folders to leave at each office they would visit.

They got a pep talk from a pair of college basketball coaches. Then they headed across town to Capitol Hill.

The army of volunteers — from every state in the country — hit 484 of the 535 Senate and House offices.

Not every visit was an unqualified victory. Many Republican lawmakers object to extending the insurance subsidies, arguing they’re too costly.

But lawmakers from both parties have backed increased research funding and support for more cancer screening.

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteers from all 50 states decorated about 10,000 white paper bags with messages of hope and remembrance for people with cancer. (Charlotte Kesl/KFF Health News/TNS)

And the New Yorkers felt good about the day. “It was amazing,” Mealing said as the day wrapped up. “You could just feel the sense of, ‘Everybody stronger together.’”

When evening came, the volunteers met on the National Mall for a candlelight vigil. It was raining. Bagpipes played.

Around a pond near the Lincoln Memorial, some 10,000 tea lights glimmered in little paper bags. Each luminary had a name on it — a life touched by cancer.

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteers from all 50 states decorated about 10,000 white paper bags with messages of hope and remembrance for people with cancer. (Charlotte Kesl/KFF Health News/TNS)

John Manna, another New Yorker, is a self-described Reagan Republican whose father died from lung cancer. He reflected on the lessons this day could offer a divided nation.

“Talk to people,” he said. “Get to know each other as people, and then you can understand somebody’s positions.  We have little disagreements, but, you know, we don’t attack each other. We talk and discuss it.”

Manna said he would be back next year.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

“Unless we embrace the full potential of flexible, cost-effective collaborations between the city and civic-oriented non-profits, moments like the QueensWay setback will become the norm, not the exception.“

City officials announcing funding for the QueensWay proposal in 2022. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Earlier this summer, New York City lost out on $112 million in federal funding for the QueensWay, a project championed by a community-driven partnership that is working to transform an abandoned rail corridor in Queens into a vibrant new greenway. It was a devastating setback for a project that promised health, mobility and environmental benefits in one of the city’s most park-starved boroughs.

But the damage goes beyond the project itself and extends to the urgency and need we face in fostering and funding more partnerships that bring together the city and community-based non-profits. No matter who wins this fall’s mayoral election, we must address a housing crisis, modernize failing infrastructure, expand our parkland and build a more resilient, equitable city. 

It’s a lot to get done, but unless we embrace the full potential of flexible, cost-effective collaborations between the city and civic-oriented non-profits, moments like the QueensWay setback will become the norm, not the exception.

The Central Park Conservancy was a pioneer in this space more than 40 years ago, when the organization was founded to address decades of public disinvestment in Central Park, one of the most treasured public spaces in the world. The Great Lawn had become a dustbowl, the Harlem Meer a trash-strewn mud puddle, while graffiti marred virtually every structure and rock outcropping.

Over the years, the Conservancy has slowly restored the Park to its current, glorious state, culminating with the opening last spring of the Davis Center—a new pool and rink in Harlem that the Conservancy managed and delivered on time and on budget, thanks to a $60 million investment by the city and $100 million in private funding. 

Others have followed a similar path over the decades—from the High Line to Moynihan Train Hall and the new LaGuardia Airport. These new icons of our cityscape show what’s possible when the public sector sets priorities and the private sector helps deliver them. We can transform long-stalled plans into lasting civic assets.

To be sure, partnerships must be structured with transparency and accountability, and never in a way that elevates private interests over the public good. This is not about “privatizing” the public resources; it’s about harnessing private resources to enhance the public realm.  

The private sector can bring creative solutions, technical expertise, flexibility and long-term commitment that are often difficult to marshal within traditional public systems. But it’s the partnership—the alignment of public mission and private ingenuity—that enables these projects to succeed at the scale New Yorkers need.

It’s an approach that can be just as effectively applied to some of the city’s most pressing challenges—from housing to transit to climate infrastructure. Investing in 500,000 new units of housing, realizing a modernized Penn Station, and preparing communities to withstand intensifying storms all require imaginative thinking and funding well beyond what the city alone can muster, especially at a time when federal funding for urban projects is becoming less reliable and more erratic.

We also must not lose sight of forward-looking opportunities, such as the Interborough Express (IBX)—a transformative project that would connect transit deserts across Brooklyn and Queens. RPA has championed this project for years because it would reduce commute times, expand job access, and better connect millions of New Yorkers. To bring it to life, we’ll need serious investment—and creative partnerships to match.

New York is not alone in developing this approach. Los Angeles has leveraged partnerships to expand its Metro system. Chicago rebuilt and activated its Riverwalk through blended financing. Cities from London to Sydney are building the future through collaborations that align public interest with private capacity.

This is one of the most critical inflection points in our city’s modern history.  The next mayor has a rare opportunity to turn bold plans into lasting progress. But that will only happen if we use every tool at our disposal and build a city that works for all. 

New York’s infrastructure is not just about roads, rails or parks. It’s about people, possibility and the kind of city we choose to be. If we want to leave future generations with a more livable, just and connected New York, we must be bold enough to build it together.

That means embracing new models, removing unnecessary barriers and seizing every opportunity to align civic vision with collective investment. Our greatest moments of transformation have always come from this kind of partnership. The next administration has the opportunity to lead in that tradition—and to leave a legacy worthy of this city’s promise.

Tom Wright is president and CEO of Regional Plan Association (RPA). Betsy Smith is the president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy.

The post Opinion: Funding Infrastructure That New Yorkers Deserve appeared first on City Limits.

There have been 50 threats so far this year to Minnesota officials State Patrol Lt. Colonel Jeremy Geiger reported during a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security earlier this week.

The meeting Monday was the third since the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, as well as the attempted assassination of Sen. John Hoffman, his wife Yvette and their daughter Hope on June 14.

Geiger said the Capitol received 19 threats in 2024, and that in 2025, the State Patrol has already received 50 threats — 13 of which have resulted in criminal charges. In response, he said the State Patrol is appointing one of their officers in December to work with the BCA to investigate those threats.

“We’re not going to stop, we’re not going to kind of throw up our hands at some point and say, ‘Well, we’re done. Now we can just move on,’ ” he said. “This has been and will be a constant commitment to not only the people in this room but … the public who come and visit, everybody who comes on to this complex.”

Two of those threats made headlines following the lawmaker shootings in June. On June 17, a man was arrested and charged with allegedly threatening violence at the Capitol. On July 25, another man broke into the Capitol on several occasions and was found naked in the Senate Chamber.

Also Monday, the committee discussed other states’ open carry policies, heard from a firm that is working on a third-party review of the Capitol’s security and discussed whether lawmakers should be practicing active shooter drills in their chambers.

“This is something where we all should be prepared. And you know, know that this is never anything that we want to have to face, but we need to be ready,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, chair of the committee. “And unfortunately, there are second and third graders who are familiar with how to conduct themselves in an incident like this. We also need to … be ready.”

The State Patrol has hired 20 new Capitol security officers who will start training in November, Geiger said. Other security changes include updated cameras and “security kiosks.”

The advisory committee is expected to meet again in “about a month,” Flanagan said Monday. The committee is expected to send recommendations to the Legislature for any security updates to the Capitol to potentially be passed in the 2026 session.

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By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a tough time for the job market.

Amid wider economic uncertainty, some analysts have said that businesses are at a “no-hire, no fire” standstill. That’s caused many to limit new work to only a few specific roles, if not pause openings entirely. At the same time, some sizeable layoffs have continued to pile up — raising worker anxieties across sectors.

Some companies have pointed to rising operational costs spanning from President Donald Trump’s barrage of new tariffs and shifts in consumer spending. Others cite corporate restructuring more broadly — or, as seen with big names like Amazon, are redirecting money to investments like artificial intelligence.

In such cases, “it’s not so much AI directly taking jobs, but AI’s appetite for cash that might be taking jobs,” said Jason Schloetzer, professor business administration at Georgetown University’s McDonough School. He pointed to wider “trade offs” from employment to infrastructure investment seen across companies today.

Federal employees have encountered additional doses of uncertainty, impacting worker sentiment around the job market overall. Shortly after Trump returned to office at the start of the year, federal jobs were cut by the thousands. And many workers are now going without pay as the U.S. government shutdown nears its fourth week.

“A lot of people are looking around, scanning the job environment, scanning the opportunities that are available to them — whether it’s in the public or private sector,” said Schloetzer. “And I think there’s a question mark around the long-term stability everywhere.”

Government hiring data is on hold during the shutdown, but earlier this month a survey by payroll company ADP showed a surprising loss of 32,000 jobs in the private sector in September.

Here are some companies that have moved to cut jobs recently.

Amazon

Amazon said Tuesday that it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs, close to 4% of its workforce, as the online retail giant ramps up spending on AI while trimming costs elsewhere. A letter to employees said most workers would be given 90 days to look for a new position internally.

CEO Andy Jassy previously said he anticipated generative AI would reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce in the coming years. And he has worked to aggressively cut costs overall since 2021.

UPS

United Parcel Service has disclosed about 48,000 job cuts this year as part of turnaround efforts, which arrive amid wider shifts in the company’s shipping outputs.

In a Tuesday regulatory filing, UPS said it’s cut about 34,000 operational positions — and the company announced another 14,000 role reductions, mostly within management. Combined, that’s much higher than the roughly 20,000 cuts UPS forecast earlier this year. UPS also said it closed daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of this year.

Target

Last week, Target that it would eliminate about 1,800 corporate positions, or about 8% of its corporate workforce globally.

Target said the cuts were part of wider streamlining efforts — with Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke noting that “too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions.” The retailer is also looking to rebuild its customer base. Target reported flat or declining comparable sales in nine of the past eleven quarters.

Nestlé

In mid-October, Nestlé said it would be cutting 16,000 jobs globally — as part of wider cost cutting aimed at reviving its financial performance.

The Swiss food giant said the layoffs would take place over the next two years. The cuts arrive as Nestlé and others face headwinds like rising commodity costs and U.S. imposed tariffs. The company announced price hikes over the summer to offset higher coffee and cocoa costs.

Lufthansa Group

In September, Lufthansa Group said it would shed 4,000 jobs by 2030 — pointing to the adoption of artificial intelligence, digitalization and consolidating work among member airlines.

Most of the lost jobs would be in Germany, and the focus would be on administrative rather than operational roles, the company said. The layoff plans arrived even as the company reported strong demand for air travel and predicted stronger profits in years ahead.

Novo Nordisk

Also in September, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk said it would cut 9,000 jobs, about 11% of its workforce.

Novo Nordisk — which makes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy — said the layoffs were part of wider restructuring as the company works to sell more obesity and diabetes medications amid rising competition.

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ConocoPhillips

Oil giant ConocoPhillips has said it plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, as part of broader efforts from the company to cut costs.

A spokesperson for ConocoPhillips confirmed the layoffs on Sept. 3, noting that 20% to 25% of the company’s employees and contractors would be impacted worldwide. At the time, ConocoPhillips had a total headcount of about 13,000 — or between 2,600 and 3,250 workers. Most reductions were expected to take place before the end of 2025.

Intel

Intel has moved to shed thousands of jobs — with the struggling chipmaker working to revive its business as it lags behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

In a July memo to employees, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel expected to end the year with 75,000 “core” workers, excluding subsidiaries, through layoffs and attrition. That’s down from 99,500 core employees reported the end of last year. The company previously announced a 15% workforce reduction.

Microsoft

In May, Microsoft began began laying off about 6,000 workers across its workforce. And just months later, the tech giant said it would be cutting 9,000 positions — marking its biggest round of layoffs seen in more than two years.

The latest job cuts hit Microsoft’s Xbox video game business and other divisions. The company has cited “organizational changes,” with many executives characterizing the layoffs as part of a push to trim management layers. But the labor reductions also arrive as the company spends heavily on AI.

Procter & Gamble

In June, Procter & Gamble said it would cut up to 7,000 jobs over the next two years, 6% of the company’s global workforce.

The maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers said the cuts were part of a wider restructuring — also arriving amid tariff pressures. In July, P&G said it would hike prices on about a quarter of its products due to the newly-imposed import taxes, although it’s since said it expects to take less of a hit than previously anticipated for the 2026 fiscal year.