Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year old member of the state Assembly who had a significant lead in the race Tuesday night.

Cuomo’s concession came even as the race’s outcome will be decided by a ranked choice count after none of the Democrats running got a clear majority in the vote.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist member of the state Assembly, started to pull ahead with more than an estimated 80% of ballots counted.

Cuomo, in a speech to supporters, said Mamdani “won” and that “we are going to take a look and make some decisions.”

“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said.

Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor if elected. Cuomo is trying to make a comeback after resigning in a sexual harassment scandal.

The primary winner will go on to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who decided to run as an independent and skip the primary amid a public uproar over his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent abandonment of the case by the U.S. Justice Department.

Cuomo, 67, had been the favorite throughout the race, with his deep experience, name recognition, strong political connections and juggernaut fundraising apparatus.

The party’s progressive wing, meanwhile, had coalesced behind Mamdani. A relatively unknown state legislator when the contest began, Mamdani gained momentum by running a sharp campaign focused on the city’s high cost of living and secured endorsements from two of the country’s foremost progressives, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, will be on the ballot in the fall’s general election. There is also a possibility that Cuomo would run on the November ballot as an independent candidate.

Florida executes murderer-rapist

A man convicted of raping and killing a woman near a central Florida bar was executed Tuesday evening.

Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, said Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gudinas was convicted of the May 1994 killing of Michelle McGrath.

Suspected bombing accomplice dies in jail

A Washington state man who was charged with aiding the bomber of a fertility clinic in Southern California has died in federal custody just weeks after his arrest, prison officials said Tuesday.

Daniel Park, 32, was accused of supplying chemicals to Guy Edward Bartkus of California, the bomber, who died in the May 17 explosion.

The two men connected in fringe online forums over their shared beliefs against human procreation, investigators said. The blast gutted the clinic in Palm Springs, east of Los Angeles, and shattered the windows of nearby buildings, with officials calling the attack terrorism. The facility was closed, and no embryos were damaged.

Park, of suburban Seattle, was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles Tuesday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.

Florida men accused in disbaility fraud scheme

Two Florida men have been indicted in what prosecutors describe as a scheme to steal more than $100 million from a nonprofit that managed funds for people with disabilities and special needs.

Federal authorities this week unsealed an indictment charging Leo J. Govoni, 67, of Clearwater, and John Witeck, 60, of Tampa, with multiple counts including mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all counts, they face decades in prison.

The case involves one of the nation’s largest administrators of special needs trusts, which are designed to manage funds for people with special needs.

The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration in Clearwater, which Govoni cofounded 25 years ago, managed more than 2,000 accounts containing about $200 million for people in Florida and around the nation. Clients were promised that the nonprofit would protect and invest their money, prosecutors say.

But Govoni and Witeck, an accountant who worked with Govoni, used the nonprofit as a “slush fund” to enrich themselves, court papers state.

No lawyers for Govoni or Witeck are listed in court files of the current case.

Paul Sisco, a Tampa lawyer who has represented Govoni in the past, said “there is a presumption of innocence which none of us should ever lose sight of here.”

Couple charged in California dog deaths

Eleven dogs died while in the care of a California dog trainer and prosecutors say he and his girlfriend tried to destroy the evidence by dropping off the dogs’ bodies at different crematoriums.

Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty Monday in Orange County Superior Court to 11 counts of animal cruelty, 11 counts of animal abuse by a caretaker, seven counts of attempting to destroy evidence and one count of destruction of evidence, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Tingfeng Liu, of Vista, who is dating Sit, pleaded not guilty Monday to accessory to a felony and destruction of evidence, police said.

Sit, 53, and Liu, 23, are both are in custody on $550,000 bail each. Each has been assigned a public defender, prosecutors said.

Disabled cargo ship sinks off Alaska

A cargo ship that had been delivering new vehicles to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean, weeks after crew members abandoned ship when they couldn’t extinguish an onboard fire that left the carrier dead in the water.

The Morning Midas sank Monday in international water off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain, the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement.

Fire damage compounded by bad weather and water seepage caused the carrier to sink in waters about 16,404 feet deep and about 415 miles from land, the statement said.

The ship was loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles intended for a major Pacific port in Mexico. It was not immediately clear if any of the cars were removed before it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not respond to messages Tuesday.

A savage crew arrived days after the fire disabled the vehicle.

Tropical Storm Andrea to dissipate in Atlantic

Tropical Storm Andrea, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was forecast to dissipate by Wednesday after forming at sea Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The tropical storm was far from land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Andrea was expected to become a post-tropical low as soon as Tuesday night.

Andrea was 1,110 miles west of the Azores, according to an afternoon advisory by the Miami-based hurricane center. The cyclone was traveling northeast at 20 mph.

Bobby Sherman, 1970’s teen pop idol, dies at 81

Bobby Sherman, whose winsome smile and fashionable shaggy mop top helped make him into a teen idol in the 1960s and ’70s with bubblegum pop hits like “Little Woman” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me,” has died. He was 81.

His wife, Brigitte Poublon, announced the death Tuesday and family friend John Stamos posted her message on Instagram: “Bobby left this world holding my hand — just as he held up our life with love, courage, and unwavering grace.” Sherman revealed he had Stage 4 cancer earlier this year.

Sherman was a squeaky-clean regular on the covers of Tiger Beat and Sixteen magazines, often with hair over his eyes and a choker on his neck. His face was printed on lunchboxes, cereal boxes and posters that hung on the bedroom walls of his adoring fans. He landed at No. 8 in TV Guide’s list of “TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols.”

He was part of a lineage of teen heartthrobs who emerged as mass-market, youth-oriented magazines and TV took off, connecting Ricky Nelson in the 1950s to David Cassidy in the ’60s, all the way to Justin Bieber in the 2000s.

— From news services