The wheels are coming off the socialist bus.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is tapping the brakes on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s $700 million plan for free city buses, casting early doubt on one of the far-left lawmaker’s biggest campaign promises, The New York Post reported.
Speaking at the SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico on Saturday, Hochul said she’s already spent heavily to support the city’s struggling MTA and questioned how much further the state could go.
“I continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free,” Mamdani said Monday during an unrelated press conference. “And I appreciate the governor’s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability.”
But Hochul’s comments in San Juan marked the latest break between the moderate Democratic governor and Mamdani, the Democratic socialist she endorsed just two months ago.
Hochul happily rode Mamdani’s coattails during the campaign as he energized progressives with promises of affordability and social programs, but she has shown far less enthusiasm for actually paying for them.
The governor has rejected several of Mamdani’s cornerstone ideas, including proposals to raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers to fund $10 billion in new benefits like free child care and fareless transit
Her caution could create a serious roadblock for the incoming mayor, whose ambitious plans rely on support from Albany to move forward.
The top two Democratic leaders in the state Legislature — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — have signaled more willingness to help Mamdani pursue his agenda.
That divide leaves Hochul increasingly isolated from the party’s energized left flank, which has been openly pressuring her to embrace higher taxes on the rich.
During recent public appearances, activists have twice interrupted the governor with chants of “Tax the rich,” drawing a sharp rebuke.
“The more you push me, the more I’m not going to do what you want,” Hochul told the SOMOS crowd in response.
Still, Hochul did not fully reject Mamdani’s wish list.
She said she’s open to working with him on expanding free child care, though she made clear it would be an expensive and long-term goal.
“We’ll be on a path to get there, because I’m committed to this as ‘mom governor’ — I get it,” Hochul said.
“But also to do it statewide, right now, it’s about $15 billion — the entire amount of my reserves.”
The cautious tone was a reality check for Mamdani, who has portrayed himself as the champion of “everyday New Yorkers” and promised to make the city more affordable through massive new public spending.
Hochul’s remarks also came as she continues her own political maneuvering ahead of a likely 2026 re-election bid.
After the SOMOS conference, she flew to the Dominican Republic to attend a breakfast celebrating cross-cultural exchange — an event seen as an appeal to one of New York’s largest and most influential immigrant voting blocs.
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers trace family roots to the Dominican Republic, making the outreach a politically savvy move for a governor seeking to rebuild her base while keeping the party’s left wing at arm’s length.
Whether Hochul and Mamdani can maintain their uneasy alliance may determine not only the future of free buses and child care, but also the balance of power within the New York Democratic Party.
Kash Patel, now serving as FBI Director under President Donald Trump’s second term, is pulling no punches.
Patel is making waves with explosive claims that the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago was a politically motivated hit job tied to the failed RussiaGate narrative.
In an interview with the New York Sun, Director Patel declared, “The FBI’s invasion of Mar-a-Lago was illegal. We are going to hold people accountable.”
The statement echoes what millions of Trump supporters have long believed: that the raid on the president’s private residence was not about national security but about neutralizing a political opponent.
Patel, a key figure in dismantling the RussiaGate hoax, called the raid “a continuation of a weaponized justice system.”
He also emphasized that there was “no predicate” for the raid, citing a lack of constitutional authority. “This was lawfare, not law enforcement,” he told Fox Business.
The raid, which occurred under Joe Biden’s watch, has drawn intense scrutiny. Conservatives argue that the DOJ never showed the same vigor when investigating Democrats.
“It’s clear that two sets of rules exist—one for Trump, and another for everyone else,” Patel said.
The FBI has yet to produce substantial evidence justifying the raid, fueling speculation that it was intended to derail Trump’s political comeback.
Patel pointed to his own experiences exposing the Crossfire Hurricane scandal. “The same people who lied about Russia collusion were behind this raid,” he said.
Trump has also blasted the raid, calling it “an unprecedented attack on American democracy.”
Patel insists that the documents in question were declassified. “I was there. The President had the authority to declassify, and he did,” he told Fox News.
He added, “If there was truly a national security risk, they wouldn’t have waited months to act.”
Legal experts sympathetic to Trump say the raid sets a dangerous precedent. “We’re criminalizing paperwork,” said former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman.
Even liberal commentators have begun questioning the raid’s timing and optics.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have launched investigations into the DOJ’s conduct. “The American people deserve answers,” said Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan.
As pressure mounts, Patel is calling for criminal referrals. “It’s time to prosecute the prosecutors,” he stated.
He also took aim at the media, saying, “These so-called journalists are complicit. They cheered on a raid they would have condemned under any other circumstances.”
With Trump back in office, efforts to root out corruption within federal agencies are ramping up.
“The deep state is real,” Patel concluded. “But we’re not backing down. Not now. Not ever.”
Warning: This article discusses discrimination against transgender people, which some may find distressing.
The mother of a transgender volleyball player is calling out California school officials, accusing them of ‘entertaining and welcoming harassment’ directed at her child after another school refused to play against her team.
AB Hernandez, a player for Jurupa Valley High School, was scheduled to face Riverside Poly High School’s girls’ volleyball team last Friday (August 15). But the game never happened.
Instead of competing, Riverside Poly forfeited the match. The school then released a statement afterward saying:
They also reassured the public by adding: “We remain committed to providing a safe, positive environment for all student-athletes throughout the season.”
Parents later told Fox Digital that the real reason for the forfeit was AB Hernandez being on the roster. According to them, the girls themselves didn’t make the decision—it came from higher up.
Amanda Vickers, a member of the Riverside Unified School District board, addressed the controversy and said: “Tonight, the girls of Riverside Polly High School, they’re not going to end up like Payton McNabb.”
Vickers referred to a 2022 case where a female volleyball player was permanently injured after being hit in the head by a spike from a trans athlete, using that as justification for her comments.
Following the forfeit and Vickers’ remarks, parents filled a Riverside Unified School District board meeting on Thursday (August 21) to voice their thoughts.
Some defended their children for refusing to play, while others criticized the district’s stance on gender inclusion in sports. According to the New York Post, the meeting quickly became heated.