Free Republic

Long Island Rail Road workers went on strike early Saturday after Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders failed to reach a deal on wage hikes with five labor unions. More than 3,500 LIRR workers across five unions, including engineers, signalmen and trainman, walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after a heated drawn-out battle over pay raises, with union leaders arguing higher wages are needed to keep up with inflation. “The LIRR owns this strike,” Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement Saturday. **SNIP** The work stoppage is expected to strand nearly 300,000 commuters, with limited shuttle buses...

San Francisco's BART rail system is facing the possibility of sweeping station closures and potentially an even wider shutdown, as officials warn the cash-strapped transit agency is running out of money. The Bay Area network, which operates 50 stations across five counties, is confronting a projected budget deficit of roughly $376 million next fiscal year as ridership remains far below pre-pandemic levels and federal relief funding expires. The cash-strapped transit agency is hurtling toward a financial cliff as ridership remains far below pre-pandemic levels and emergency federal funding dries up. Under a proposed emergency service plan, BART could eliminate rail...

The idea to unite New York and New Jersey’s busiest railroads has long been dismissed by elected officials on both sides of the Hudson River for logistical and political reasons. But now the time may finally come. As President Donald Trump pushes ahead with a federally run renovation of Penn Station and crews build a new set of rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River, supporters say there’s a rare opportunity to reorganize the entire rail network. Most of the attention to Trump’s redevelopment of the nation’s busiest train station has focused on converting its labyrinthine layout into an architectural marvel...

THE 2026 World Cup is shaping up to be expensive for fans. Depending on what stadium your ticket is for — if you even got one due to exorbitant prices — transit and lodging costs are cripplingly high. This year’s World Cup was marketed as a tournament to get Americans excited about soccer and be a place where all fans could come and watch their countries compete. Instead, it has become a bidding war with both Fifa and local governments setting incredibly high prices. The cheapest tickets for less favorable games start at around $140 for a seat, but can...

We now have confirmed reports of all commercial traffic into Canada are blocked. Here in the WNY area, we have Interstate 190 clogged, due to this delay. WE are told it's some kind of malfunction, but so far, it appears to be nationwide. No further details from Ottawa.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withholding over $73 million from the State of New York for failing to revoke illegally issued non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). “I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers. I’m delivering on that promise today by refusing to fund Governor Hochul’s dangerous, anti-American policies. My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: families must be prioritized on American...

As if World Cup tickets weren't costly enough, getting to those games is slated to cost plenty more than usual. NJ Transit tickets from MetLife Stadium to New York Penn Station after matches are reportedly set to cost more than $100, while prices in Boston are also set to surge. Currently, prices from East Rutherford to Penn Station are just under $13. The Athletic also reported that there will be no price differences for seniors, children or passengers with disabilities, and a final decision on the pricing is expected in the next few days. Last week, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation...

Construction of a “transformational” new railway line linking China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan will allow goods to transit from east to west across Eurasia a whole week faster. On the way, it’s also predicted to have a transformational impact on the economy of Kyrgyzstan, one of the slowest developing countries on the continent. Now, the “CKU” will give direct transit options for most of Central Asia while unlocking substantial natural resource opportunities among a depressed, mountainous region of Kyrgyzstan. The trilateral agreement to build the 300-mile-long railway was signed on December 27th, 2024, and construction began the following year. $1.1 billion...

Israel spent years hacking Tehran’s traffic cameras and monitoring bodyguards ahead of the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader

India's Chenab Bridge pushed the limits of modern construction. India (Finally) Finished its Impossible Bridge | 14:09 The B1M | 3.92M subscribers | 772,614 views | January 26, 2026

Indian illegal alien truck drivers aren't just killing Americans with their reckless driving; they're running drugs nationwide, too. Gupreet Singh of Fresno, CA, and Jasveer Singh of Santa Clara, CA were arrested in Putnam County, Indiana on Saturday on a charge of dealing narcotics after over 300 pounds of cocaine were found in the sleeper berth of the semi tractor-trailer during a routine DOT inspection. Now those both those drugs and the truckers are off the street, and both Mr. Singhs are subject to ICE deportation holds. From the Indiana State Police: Saturday, January 3, 2026, at approximately 1:30 p.m.,...

Putin's army would stretch out from Kalingrad like a sword swallowing Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia one by one. But this dream is being shattered by a hammer blow stretching from Riga to Vilnius. While the iron piece was being melted down in Riga's back rooms last month, now this iron is being forged into a hammer in Vilnius, shattering Putin's 50-year Baltic dream. Moreover, this time Belarus will not escape either. In the early days of December 2025, history is being rewritten in Europe's eastern flank, not with ink, but with shattered metal. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. These three tiny...

We are only now starting to witness the aftermath of the legislation and policies put in place by blue states as a means to control prices. California under Governor Gavin Newsom may have staged its own economic demise (the final nail in the coffin) after laws were passed requiring even greater state interference into oil refineries and gas stations. The Democrat crusade to divert blame for the stagflation crisis triggered during the Biden Administration led them down a path of economic lies. The central theme of their narrative was that corporations were “price gouging” consumers and inflation was actually a...

Rising imports have helped stabilize the fuel market, officials said at a meeting Tuesday.California’s petroleum industry regulators are anticipating that the state’s shrinking oil refining capacity could spur more competition in the gasoline market, potentially reducing the likelihood of price spikes at the pump.What happened: Top state energy officials said Tuesday during a meeting of the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee that increasing imports of gasoline to California this year are beginning to transform the market dynamics in the state.“It may be oversimplification, but that change from episodic imports after price spikes to steady-state imports seems to have resulted, at...

The Department’s nationwide audit exposed that Pennsylvania has issued licenses to ineligible and unqualified foreign drivers WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found Pennsylvania violated existing federal safety regulations by issuing non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) illegally – including to ineligible foreigners without verifying their legal status. The Department will withhold nearly $75 million in federal funding if the state does not immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses and correct dangerous failures USDOT identified in its CDL program. ICE’s recent arrest of a suspected terrorist illegally in...

Zohran Mamdani campaigned to become the mayor of New York City by promising a series of expensive plans including free child care, rent freezes and free buses. As I pointed out here, the cost of these proposals is unknown but is expected to be wildly expensive. The free child care element could cost the city around $6 billion per year, equal to the entire NYPD budget. His plan for free buses is expected to cost another $800 million, but again it could be more.So where is he going to get the money to pay for all of this? Well, most...

Zohran Mamdani campaigned on making MTA buses free, freezing rents, launching universal childcare, and raising the minimum wage to $30.New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promised during his campaign that he would make public buses free for New Yorkers as part of a wide-ranging list of ambitious goals, which included freezing rents, creating no-cost child care, and raising the minimum wage to $30 by 2030. The democratic socialist, who turned 34 years old last month, beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election on Nov. 4. The closely-watched...

Two planes collided on the tarmac at LaGuardia on Friday evening, according to The New York Post. This is the second time that planes have collided on the taxiway at LaGuardia this month. A United Plane bumped into another United jet on taxiway amid delays due to bad weather and staffing shortages on Friday evening. Emergency vehicles responded to the scene. No injuries were reported. The New York Post reported: Two planes collided on the tarmac at LaGuardia Friday as the airport grappled with intense delays brought on by weather and staffing shortages, The Post has learned. A United Airlines...

Investigators descended overnight on the New Jersey neighborhood of the terrorist who went on a rampage in a rental truck along a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center, killing eight people and injuring 11 others. Cops surrounded a block in Paterson, the hometown of Sayfullo Saipov, 29, an Uzbek immigrant who was shot by a cop when he jumped out of the truck brandishing fake but realistic-looking pistols and shouting “Allahu Akbar!” Authorities in Passaic County also cordoned off an area that includes a mosque, some storefronts and several other residences, as well as a parking lot at...

Do you spend too much time in your car? Your local state authorities think you do — and they’re quietly pushing through laws that will give them the power to do something about it. Meet Massachusetts Senate Bill S.2246. Introduced by state Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem, it sets the stage for a future where the government tracks and potentially limits how many miles you drive each year. This isn’t a fringe proposal — it’s working its way through the legislature right now, and similar ideas are being tested in other states across the country. Is this really about emissions...