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NY governor pours cold water on Mamdani free bus plan

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NY governor pours cold water on Mamdani free bus plan

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared to cast doubt on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s vision for free buses.

Hochul, speaking at the Somos Conference in Puerto Rico, said, “We’re spending a lot of money, so I cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways,” according to the New York Post.

The newspaper said Hochul made the remark in reference to funds the state has provided to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — which runs New York City’s bus system — for major projects.

“But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course we can,” Hochul reportedly added Saturday.

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MAMDANI’S SOCIALIST, CITY-RUN GROCERY PLAN FACES BACKLASH FROM HOCHUL: ‘I FAVOR FREE ENTERPRISE’

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alejandro Granadillo/AP)

The comments come about two months after Hochul endorsed Mamdani in the governor’s race. Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment.

“I continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free,” the Post quoted Mamdani as saying during an unrelated press conference on Monday. “And I appreciate the governor’s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability.”

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, has floated raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents and corporations to fund free buses and universal childcare.

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WASHINGTON POST BLASTS MAMDANI’S FREE BUS PROPOSAL, WARNS IT WOULD ATTRACT ‘VAGRANTS AND DRUG ADDICTS’

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani attend the SOMOS Puerto Rico conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.  (Alejandro Granadillo/AP Photo)

Under Mamdani’s plan, the personal income tax rate on the city’s wealthiest 1% would rise by 2 percentage points, while the corporate tax rate would increase to match New Jersey’s 11.5% rate, he said on Fox News’ “The Story” in October.

“I’ve said time and time again that I believe these are the most straightforward ways that we can actually fund universal childcare, making buses fast and free, and I’ve said that the two clear ways to do so: raising personal income taxes on the top 1% by 2% and raising the corporate tax to match that of New Jersey’s corporate tax of 11.5%,” Mamdani said. “Now, if there are other ways to raise this money to fund this agenda, the most important thing is that we fund the agenda.”

It currently costs $2.90 to ride a bus in New York City, while express buses are $7 per ride. However, the MTA has been trying to combat fare evasion for years.

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Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City.  (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

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The MTA said last year that, “In 2022, we lost about $315 million to fare evasion on buses.”

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

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Northeast

From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail

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From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail

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Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are spending their days for the foreseeable future at a notorious jail in Brooklyn known for housing high-profile defendants awaiting trial in New York City.

The Metropolitan Detention Center, known as MDC Brooklyn, is a sprawling, industrial-style facility that has faced a series of scandals in recent years involving assaults and poor prison conditions. Maduro, the Venezuelan leader arrested in his home in Caracas by the U.S. military over the weekend, is now being held at the jail on narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons charges.

MDC Brooklyn currently holds more than 1,300 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons. A BOP representative confirmed to Fox News Digital that Maduro and his wife were among that figure.

MADURO’S WIFE SUFFERED ‘SIGNIFICANT INJURIES’ IN DRAMATIC CAPTURE, ATTORNEY ALLEGES

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Federal officers stand guard outside the Department of Justice next to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, in New York City, Jan. 3, 2026. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

MDC Brooklyn inmates include little-known defendants and prominent ones, and they face a range of mild to serious charges. 

Maduro is likely to be held in what is known as the “VIP section” of the jail, according to Renato Stabile. Stabile is a New York-based criminal defense lawyer who represented former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was also held in MDC Brooklyn before he was freed in December as a result of Trump granting him a controversial pardon.

Stabile told Fox News Digital the VIP section is part of the east side of the jail, where high-profile figures like Hernández, rap artist Sean “Diddy” Combs and convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried were once held. Others at MDC Brooklyn include Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of murdering a top health insurance CEO. Jeffrey Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was also held there.

People celebrate in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 3, 2026, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

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Those on the east side will be “hanging out together every day and watching TV together and playing pingpong together and doing whatever they do on that side,” Stabile said. He said the west side, where general population inmates are held, might be more crowded but that treatment of them was likely otherwise the same.

One reason inmates are segregated based on their notoriety could be that they are more vulnerable to violence or extortion, he said.

MDC Brooklyn is a male and female jail, but the inmates are not intermixed by sex, so Maduro and his wife might not be able to interact much there, except during joint meetings with their lawyers.

AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA POWER VACUUM EXPOSES BRUTAL INSIDERS AND ENFORCERS

NYPD officers stand guard on a blocked road outside the MDC Brooklyn on Jan. 5, 2026, in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

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Maduro is being represented by New York-based attorney Barry Pollack, who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and now await their next court appearance, slated for March 17.

MDC Brooklyn has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its troubles, including a week-long power outage in the winter of 2019 that left inmates in freezing conditions, multiple inmate murders and assaults in 2024, and several allegations of inhumane conditions, including inadequate medical staffing and unsanitary food.

Stabile said, in his view, the facility is “run fairly efficiently.”

“But I can tell you that the east side is run a lot more efficiently than the west side, just because there are less people,” he said, noting that lawyers can see their clients with less hassle.

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Boston, MA

Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD

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Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD


Boston Police said they have nabbed the masked suspect who entered private office suites in City Hall during work hours and stole wallets stuffed with cash and credit cards from multiple employees.

The Boston Police Department identified Darrin O’Neil, 60, of Lowell as the suspect involved in the City Hall thefts, which occurred last month, on Dec. 1.

O’Neil was already being held after a prior shoplifting arrest at DICK’s House of Sport on Boylston Street when he was identified as the alleged perpetrator of the City Hall crime, following what the cops described as an “extensive investigation,” Boston Police said on Wednesday.

Three City Hall employees reported that their wallets, which contained cash, credit cards, health savings account cards, and personal ID were stolen from their offices, per Boston Police reports.

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One woman who had her wallet snatched out of her purse with two credit cards, her City Hall ID, Massachusetts driver’s license, insurance and library cards, and $100 in cash told police two of her coworkers saw an unknown man “in the area who was wearing a brown beanie, dark jacket, sweatpants, and a blue face mask.”

Two other employees told police that not only were cash and credit cards stolen from their offices, but the thief used the cards to rack up hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases — totaling $1,500 at Macy’s and Walgreens.

The incident led to calls from two city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, for the city to tighten up security protocols in light of the intrusion and theft, which occurred during work hours and was described by both as a “security breach.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said a day later that steps have already been taken to increase security after the incident, which involved unauthorized access to “several” office suites that are restricted to authorized personnel only.

Municipal Protective Services, which provides security for city buildings, has increased internal patrols throughout City Hall as a result of the incident, the mayor’s office said.

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O’Neil was arrested on shoplifting charges on Dec. 27 at 760 Boylston St., after he was seen inside DICK’s House of Sport concealing merchandise, police said.

Police said they had responded to the store at 11:39 a.m. for a report of a theft in progress.

While police approached, O’Neil was seen exiting the sporting goods store. The cops “were able to quickly stop the suspect and could see clothing with tags affixed to them inside of a bag,” police said.

During a search, about $408 of stolen merchandise was recovered, police said.

For the shoplifting incident, O’Neil was arrested and charged with larceny under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief, police said.

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After further investigation, police said they determined that O’Neil had seven active warrants for his arrest for charges of four counts of larceny from a building, three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200, two counts of larceny of a credit card, shoplifting by asportation, credit card fraud under $1,200, and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.



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Pittsburg, PA

2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme

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2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme


Two Pittsburgh business owners have been charged after an investigation by Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office found that they purchased electronic benefit transfer cards at a discounted rate and used them to purchase food for their businesses. KDKA-TV’s Chris Hoffman has more.



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