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A total of 82 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against a bill raising the nation's debt ceiling Tuesday night. Among those Democrats, North Country Congressman Bill Owens. Owens says he voted no because any increase in the nation's debt ceiling needs to come with a serious plan to cut federal spending. Owens adds he is looking for a bipartisan plan that would do both. Since being elected in 2009, Owens has voted against raising the debt ceiling three times. The measure was defeated 318 to 97, with all Republicans in the House voting against it. President Obama is scheduled to meet with House Republicans this morning where he's expected to repeat his reasons for increasing the debt limit.

11:08 AM

A new poll finds Empire State residents giving Governor Andrew Cuomo high marks for his job performance. The Quinnipiac University poll says Cuomo's approval rating sits at 61 percent, and when asked what they think of the governor as a person, 61 percent say they like him personally. Even 59 percent of Republicans say they like the Democrat Cuomo as a person. The poll found that 57 percent of respondents like the way Cuomo is handling the state budget, while 61 percent believe the governor has been successful in getting his policies pushed through the state Legislature in Albany.

10:23 AM

Yet another bank robbery in the City of Watertown has police investigating and looking for a suspect. This latest hold up occurred at the Key Bank branch on Mill Street just before 2:30 pm Tuesday afternoon. That's when police say a masked man entered the bank and demanded money from the teller. The suspect then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No weapon was displayed during the course of the robbery. The suspect is described as a white male, possibly in his late teens and early 20's. He was wearing a white bandanna over his face, as well as sunglasses and a baseball cap that possibly had the letter "D" on it. He was last seen heading north on Mill Street. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Watertown Police Department at 782-2233.

10:08 AM

A home in Jefferson County was destroyed following a fire Tuesday afternoon. It happened just before 3 pm on the Puntam Hill Road in the Town of Champion. About a dozen departments in all responded to fight the blaze, but were unable to save the home which was listed as a total loss. The homeowner was not there at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

10:08 AM

It appears Matt Doheny will be giving it another go. The Watertown attorney is planning another run for congress in the 23rd Congressional District next year. The Republican lost last year to the Democratic incumbent Bill Owens in a race that saw a third party candidate Doug Hoffman on the Conservative Party line. Despite actively ending his campaign weeks before the election, Hoffman still received over 900 votes. Political analysts believe many of those votes would have likely gone to Doheny if Hoffman was not on the ballot. Dohney has hired former Watertown Daily Times and WWNY-TV political reporter Jude Seymour for his campaign.

10:06 AM

The results of an autopsy are still pending in the case of a Massena woman who was found dead by her family early Monday. The bizarre case took an even more bizarre turn on Tuesday when the victim's husband spoke with the media of recent animal deaths that have occurred at their family home and that he suspects enemies of his family may be behind the death. The victim is 43 year old Vinira Farbotnik. Toxicology tests are planned and state police are continuing their investigation. They have not released any further information on the case.

10:00 AM

An orphaned cougar cub from the state of Washington is making Watertown home. Officials with the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park say they have been in contact with wildlife officials in that state and have accepted an offer to bring to the cougar to the North Country. The yet unnamed female cub is currently in quarantine before being allowed into the cougar exhibit at the zoo.

9:59 AM

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a suit against the federal government over the natural gas drilling practice known as "fracking." Schneiderman says the government has failed to commit to a full environmental review of proposed regulations that will allow fracking in the Delaware River basin.

9:59 AM

A new report expected to be released today finds that New York's university system has an economic impact on the state of at least 20-billion dollars. The report finds that the State University of New York supported 173-thousand jobs and created 460-million dollars in state and local taxes in 2008-2009.

9:58 AM

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