Governor Kathy Hochul revealed Thursday that the finalized state budget includes a massive boost in funding for New York’s subway network, with a central focus on bolstering rider security.
Hochul emphasized that the state will fully back the MTA’s entire $68.4 billion capital plan for 2025-2029, calling it the largest infrastructure commitment to public transit in New York’s history.
In addition to infrastructure funding, the state is allocating more than $120 million to expand the presence of uniformed law enforcement personnel, including both state police and members of the National Guard.
“The alternative is unfathomable—not to have a fully functioning, funded, efficient system to carry 6 million people a day,” Hochul said.

An Israeli engineering unit that had been conducting operations in the Morag Corridor—situated between Rafah and Khan Yunis—re-entered Israeli territory without realizing that one of their own had been left behind in Gaza. The mishap resulted in a soldier being stranded alone in enemy territory for close to an hour.
The soldier, a member of the elite Yahalom unit, eventually made contact with troops from the Golani Brigade who were stationed nearby. Fearing he might be mistaken for a threat, the soldier called out “IDF” repeatedly to alert them of his identity and avoid being fired upon.

Sergeant Shimon Tubol, a member of the chareidi Chashmona’im Brigade, tragically lost his life in a car crash Wednesday night while he was on leave from military duty.
The incident took place under civilian circumstances along Route 457, in the vicinity of Ma’ale Mikhmas in the Binyamin region.
Tubol’s death marks the first loss for the Chashmona’im Brigade, a newly formed unit established roughly half a year ago to bring haredi soldiers into front-line combat roles.
He had previously served in the Netzach Yehuda battalion, which also caters to haredi servicemen, before moving on to take part in the Chashmona’im Brigade as a combat soldier.

Mike Waltz is expected to step down from his position as national security adviser in the near future, a White House insider told Newsmax on Thursday.
The update was first shared by veteran journalist Mark Halperin, who said that Waltz, along with his deputy Alex Wong and several others at the National Security Council, are slated to be removed due to widespread dissatisfaction with how the NSC is being managed. According to Halperin, discontent has been voiced from officials across multiple departments, including the White House, State Department, and Treasury.
Halperin revealed the information during an episode of his podcast, “The Morning Meeting,” which he co-hosts with Sean Spicer, a former White House press secretary, and Dan Turrentine, on the platform 2WAY.tv.

The White House has debuted a new digital platform, White House Wire, aimed at amplifying news coverage favorable to President Donald Trump. The launch has triggered backlash from The Drudge Report, with its founder, Matt Drudge, accusing the administration of imitating his long-established news aggregation model.
“It takes an entire West Wing to compete with Drudge,” wrote Drudge in a pointed headline on his site. The top of the page featured the bold statement: “Trump Launching His Own Drudge Report Using Taxpayer Dollars!”

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir delivered a powerful address on Thursday during a special ceremony hosted by President Isaac Herzog to recognize exemplary soldiers, with much of his focus on the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Directing a clear message to Hamas, Zamir declared, “The Hamas terrorists still hold fifty-nine of our brothers and sisters. But they too know, their safety is not forever! The IDF is ready and prepared to strike them a decisive blow. We will use all the strength at our disposal, increase the pace of operations, and intensify their power.”
He underscored that the military is fully prepared to act, stating, “If necessary, we will do so soon, with determination and confidence in the righteousness of our path.”

An unearthed audio recording featuring the voices of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, and other prominent Arab figures was made public on Monday, sparking widespread discourse throughout Egypt. The tape, reportedly dated August 4, 1970—just weeks before Nasser passed away—has reignited interest in the late president’s private conversations.
During the conversation, Nasser is heard admitting that the Arab nations do not possess the military strength to go head-to-head with Israel. “The Jews are superior to us in everything—better than us on land and better than us at sea. If we want to achieve a goal, we need to be realistic and understand how to get there,” Nasser says.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke candidly this week at the Harvard Kennedy School, revealing that Kamala Harris selected him as her vice-presidential running mate in 2024 because of his ability to connect with a specific demographic of white male voters.
“I would argue,” Walz told attendees, “because we did a lot of amazing progressive things in Minnesota that improved people’s lives, but I also was on the ticket, quite honestly, you know, because I could code talk to white guys watching football fixing their truck, doing that, that I could put them at ease.”
He continued, “I was the permission structure,” adding, “to say, Look, you can do this and vote for this.”

Kamala Harris made a rare public appearance Wednesday night, using her platform to sharply criticize President Trump — before unexpectedly pivoting to a story about elephants reacting to an earthquake.
Speaking at the Emerge 20th anniversary gala in San Francisco, the former vice president began by addressing the uncertain political climate. “A lot of folks are wondering what’s going to guide us through this moment. How are we all going to figure out how to chart the course,” Harris said. Then she added, “Please allow me, friends, to digress for a moment.”

Israeli law enforcement officials have challenged Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s recent remarks regarding the number of people taken into custody over suspected arson in the Yerushalayim hills.
Contrary to Netanyahu’s claim, police say the figure he referenced does not reflect the actual number of arrests. According to official police sources, only three individuals have been apprehended in connection with the fires that erupted in the area in recent days.