NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Blakeman, a Republican county official in New York City’s Long Island suburbs, is expected to launch a campaign for New York governor on Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of his plans.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plan publicly.
Blakeman's entrance into the race is set to kick off a heavily contested Republican primary race with U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, both allies of President Donald Trump. Stefanik announced her candidacy last month.
Trump on Monday declined to take a side in the incoming primary race when asked about Blakeman and Stefanik, instead telling reporters, “He’s great, and she’s great. They’re both great people.”
Blakeman, the executive of Nassau County, has gained attention for championing a policy that bans transgender athletes from using county sports facilities. He has also created a volunteer law enforcement unit that his critics have labeled as a militia and directed county detectives to work alongside federal authorities in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Stefanik represents a conservative congressional district in northern New York. She launched her campaign after Trump rescinded her nomination to be his ambassador to the United Nations, citing concerns about the Republican Party’s narrow House majority.
In a statement, Bernadette Breslin, a spokesperson for Stefanik's campaign, said Stefanik is a stronger candidate than Blakeman and that “it is unfortunate that he is putting his ego first to help prop up Kathy Hochul.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat, is running for reelection but faces a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.
FILE - Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, at podium, speaks during a news conference in Mineola, N.Y., March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo, File)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African soldiers deployed to high-crime areas have dismantled illegal gold mining operations in a community near Johannesburg, forcing some illegal miners to flee and abandon their equipment.
Police and the army recovered various tools used by illegal miners, including generators and drill machines — equipment documented by an Associated Press photographer on Thursday.
Makeshift trenches with food supplies and utensils belonging to the miners were also dismantled, with clothing items left behind after the miners fled the site in Randfontein, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the west of Johannesburg.
The operations were part of a rare move by the government to deploy soldiers in some of the country's most crime-ridden areas, including in the Western Cape province that includes the city of Cape Town and the economic hub province of Gauteng.
With dozens of abandoned mine shafts lining the outskirts of Johannesburg, illegal mining is rife in the area as heavily armed crime syndicates and informal miners known as “zama zamas” enter the shafts in search of leftover deposits of gold or other precious minerals.
It is illegal to mine without a government license, and in some places, the conditions are dangerous.
Other provinces with abandoned shafts, like the North West and Mpumalanga, have also experienced high levels of illegal mining, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Authorities say there are an estimated 30,000 illegal miners in South Africa, operating in some of its 6,000 abandoned mine shafts.
The government has noted an increase in illegal mining, which it estimates is worth more than $4 billion a year just in gold lost to criminal syndicates.
The trade is believed to be predominantly controlled by migrants from neighboring Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, stoking anger among South African communities against both the criminal bosses and foreigners living in the local community.
Responding to questions from lawmakers on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the deployment of the troops would take place alongside other measures, such as strengthening anti-gang units and illegal mining task teams.
“The police will also be working with the National Prosecuting Authority on multi-disciplinary task teams to target the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of these criminal networks,” Ramaphosa said.
South African National Defense Force soldiers recover a generator left behind by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A South African National Defense Force soldier patrols in a dense bush where illegal miners are operating, in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force soldiers retrieve clothing and food stock left by illegal miners, in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force soldiers and police officers cross a water stream used by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force soldiers and police officers load recovered generators and machinery left behind by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
