![\"Hochul](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_29-1763107864-q80-2.webp\")
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The wheels are coming off the socialist bus.<\/p>\n
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is tapping the brakes on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani\u2019s $700 million plan for free city buses, casting early doubt on one of the far-left lawmaker\u2019s biggest campaign promises, The New York Post reported.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico on Saturday, Hochul said she\u2019s already spent heavily to support the city\u2019s struggling MTA and questioned how much further the state could go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free,\u201d Mamdani said Monday during an unrelated press conference. \u201cAnd I appreciate the governor\u2019s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Hochul\u2019s comments in San Juan marked the latest break between the moderate Democratic governor and Mamdani, the Democratic socialist she endorsed just two months ago.<\/p>\n
Hochul happily rode Mamdani\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The governor has rejected several of Mamdani\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Her caution could create a serious roadblock for the incoming mayor, whose ambitious plans rely on support from Albany to move forward.<\/p>\n
The top two Democratic leaders in the state Legislature \u2014 Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins \u2014 have signaled more willingness to help Mamdani pursue his agenda.<\/p>\n
That divide leaves Hochul increasingly isolated from the party\u2019s energized left flank, which has been openly pressuring her to embrace higher taxes on the rich.<\/p>\n
During recent public appearances, activists have twice interrupted the governor with chants of \u201cTax the rich,\u201d drawing a sharp rebuke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more you push me, the more I\u2019m not going to do what you want,\u201d Hochul told the SOMOS crowd in response.<\/p>\n
Still, Hochul did not fully reject Mamdani\u2019s wish list.<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s open to working with him on expanding free child care, though she made clear it would be an expensive and long-term goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be on a path to get there, because I\u2019m committed to this as \u2018mom governor\u2019 \u2014 I get it,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut also to do it statewide, right now, it\u2019s about $15 billion \u2014 the entire amount of my reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cautious tone was a reality check for Mamdani, who has portrayed himself as the champion of \u201ceveryday New Yorkers\u201d and promised to make the city more affordable through massive new public spending.<\/p>\n
Hochul\u2019s remarks also came as she continues her own political maneuvering ahead of a likely 2026 re-election bid.<\/p>\n
After the SOMOS conference, she flew to the Dominican Republic to attend a breakfast celebrating cross-cultural exchange \u2014 an event seen as an appeal to one of New York\u2019s largest and most influential immigrant voting blocs.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s left wing at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, considered one of the Court\u2019s liberal voices, denied an emergency appeal from a Mexican family facing deportation, siding with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
The family, who fled cartel threats in Guerrero, Mexico in 2021, claimed they risk death if forced to return. Despite detailed evidence of cartel violence, immigration courts denied their asylum claim. Kagan declined to block their removal, choosing not to refer the case to the full Court.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, legal analyst Kerri Urbahn criticized Chief Judge James Boasberg\u2019s handling of another deportation case, calling his actions \u201cdesperate\u201d after the Supreme Court vacated his order. The case involved a deported MS-13 gang member whose return Boasberg demanded despite the Court ruling it belonged in Texas, not Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
SE E MO RE<\/p>\n
In a highly anticipated legal move, President Donald Trump has filed a powerhouse appeal to New York\u2019s Appellate Division, challenging his conviction in the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s case.The appeal comes after months of legal battles and millions in taxpayer dollars spent on prosecuting Trump over thirty-four felony charges related to \u201cfalsifying business records,\u201d a case that legal experts from across the political spectrum have repeatedly criticized as weak and politically motivated.Now,<\/p>\n
Trump is determined to turn the tables, calling Bragg\u2019s case \u201cthe most politically charged prosecution in our Nation\u2019s history.\u201d The appeal, which spans an impressive 111 pages (some reports list it at 96 pages), blasts Bragg\u2019s case as nothing more than \u201cRadical Democrat Lawfare.\u201dTrump\u2019s legal team argues that the entire case, which centers on alleged hush-money payments to a former adult film star, is built on a flawed legal foundation.In the filing, Trump\u2019s legal team insists that the charges should be dismissed, citing the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision on presidential immunity, federal and state constitutional protections, and established legal precedent. The appeal is a direct response to what Trump\u2019s team describes as a politically motivated assault on the President.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s historic decision on Immunity, the Federal and New York State Constitutions, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately overturned and dismissed,\u201d a spokesman for Trump\u2019s legal team said in a statement to Fox News Digital.\u201cPresident Trump will keep defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn as he focused on his singular mission to Make America Great Again.\u201d The Manhattan DA\u2019s case, which was launched over a year ago, hinges on the payments made during Trump\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign to silence allegations from Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress.<\/p>\n
The case, however, has been widely criticized as weak because such financial transactions\u2014while controversial\u2014are far from unusual in the corporate world.Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are commonly used in various industries to protect privacy and silence accusations, making it difficult for prosecutors to argue that Trump\u2019s actions were criminal.Despite these facts, Bragg and his office pressed forward, framing the case as one of felony-level criminal conduct. The charges involve accusations that Trump falsified business records related to these payments, with Bragg asserting that the records were altered to conceal the true nature of the transactions.<\/p>\n
In New York, falsifying business records is typically classified as a misdemeanor, but Bragg argued that the charges should be elevated to felonies because they allegedly were part of a broader crime, one that remains unspecified. The court, however, ruled that this approach was valid, leading to Trump\u2019s conviction.Yet, even legal experts who are not aligned with Trump have voiced skepticism about the case. Many have pointed out that Bragg\u2019s case fails to meet the legal threshold for felony charges and is built largely on speculative claims.It is rare for such corporate transactions to be elevated to felony offenses, and many legal analysts believe Bragg\u2019s case is based on a broad and unsubstantiated interpretation of the law.<\/p>\n
For Trump\u2019s supporters, the charges are simply a tool to undermine his political influence and distract from his successes during his presidency.\u201cBragg\u2019s case was shaky from the very beginning,\u201d said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), who has been a vocal critic of the prosecution. \u201cThis is about weaponizing the justice system to target a political opponent.These payments are not inherently illegal. They happen in corporate America every day.\u201d Tenney\u2019s comments reflect widespread Republican sentiment that the charges against Trump are politically motivated, an extension of the larger effort by Democrats to weaken his influence and prevent his return to power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The wheels are coming off the socialist bus. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is tapping the brakes on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani\u2019s $700 million plan for free city buses, casting early doubt on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t