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Fares for New Jersey Transit trains and buses will increase by 3% starting on the 1st.

According to the New Jersey Transit Authority, fares for trains, buses, and light rail will increase by 3% starting on this day. This is because the transit authority included a clause for automatic 3% increases starting in July of every year after the 15% increase in fares last July.

As a result of this 3% increase, one-way adult fares for buses connecting New Jersey Palisades Park and Fort Lee to Manhattan will increase from $5.15 to $5.30. Train fares from Princeton to Manhattan will increase from $18.40 to $18.95. The Hudson-Bergen light rail fare will increase from $2.55 to $2.60. The fare increase is expected to help New Jersey Transit’s fiscal year budget, which begins in July.

Transit officials expect the fare increase and increased ridership will generate an additional $33 million in revenue. Fare revenue accounts for more than 30 percent of Transit’s overall budget. However, civic groups such as the Tri-State Transit Campaign are opposing the plan, saying it is unfair to raise fares every year without any noticeable improvements in service. Civic groups are also demanding that a bill currently pending in the New Jersey Legislature to ban automatic fare increases be passed quickly.

The governor of Texas has signed a bill regulating self-driving cars ahead of Tesla’s planned launch of its robo-taxi service, Reuters reported on the 22nd.According to the report, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill regulating self-driving cars on the 20th that includes provisions requiring state permits for the operation of self-driving cars.

The law, which will take effect on September 1, requires state approval before self-driving cars can be operated on public roads, and allows permits to be revoked if the vehicles are deemed to endanger the public. It also defines autonomous vehicles as vehicles with ‘level 4′ autonomous driving functions that can drive themselves without a human driver in certain conditions such as limited areas and requires companies to prove that they can operate them safely.

This law is considered much simpler than California’s law, which requires extensive submission of autonomous driving test data to obtain a driving permit. However, Reuters analysed that it is interpreted as a cautious signal about easing robotaxi operation, as it is different from Texas’ anti-regulatory stance that it has maintained so far.

Texas prohibited the regulation of autonomous vehicle operation at the city level through a 2017 law. Earlier, seven Democratic state legislators in Texas requested Tesla to postpone the launch date of its robotaxi on the 18th.Tesla announced that it will launch its robotaxi in Austin, Texas starting that day.

There is speculation that Texas, which has maintained a very lax policy on autonomous vehicles, may act as a burden on Tesla’s full-scale launch of robotaxi as it clarifies the management and supervision of autonomous vehicle operation and safety issues.

A poll released on the 15th found that only one in five Americans think the Supreme Court is neutral.

According to the poll conducted by Reuters and polling agency Ipsos on 1,136 American adults from the 10th to the 12th, only 20% of respondents agreed that the Supreme Court is politically neutral.58% did not agree that the Supreme Court is politically neutral, and the rest said they did not know or did not answer.

Regardless of political affiliation, the response that the Supreme Court is not neutral was high. Only 10% of Democrats agreed that the Supreme Court is neutral, while 74% disagreed.

Among Republicans, 29% said the Supreme Court is neutral, while 54% said it was not.

Among Republicans, 67% responded positively, while only 26% of Democrats had the same view.

The favourable opinion rate decreased after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which recognized abortion rights, in June 2022, Reuters analysed.

According to a Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted in late 2021, 57% of Americans had a favourable view of the Supreme Court, but in a poll conducted in June 2022, immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned, that rate had dropped to 43%. The survey found that 24% of Americans supported the policy of revoking birthright citizenship while 52% opposed it. Among Democrats, only 5% supported the policy while 84% opposed it. However, among Republicans, 43% supported it while 24% opposed it, showing a higher percentage of support for the policy.

On the day of his inauguration in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order limiting existing birthright citizenship. Since then, a series of constitutional lawsuits have been filed, and after some federal district courts blocked it, the Supreme Court is currently reviewing the validity of these lower court actions. In addition, the survey found that 53% of respondents supported a bill that would block federal assistance for transgender minors to transition.28% opposed the bill.

The Supreme Court previously reviewed a Tennessee law banning hormone therapy and puberty prevention drugs for transgender youth.

Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has many conservative justices, with six of the nine justices.

The LIV Golf Tournament returns to Gainesville, Virginia, this week.

The tournament, which will be held at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (pictured) from Friday the 6th to Sunday the 8th, will feature a lineup of world-class players, including 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm, world No. 1 and Masters and U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, six-time winner Phil Mickelson, 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, and more.

The LIV Golf League, which debuted in 2022 as a rival to the PGA Tour, is supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. “This LIV Golf Tournament will be more than just a golf tournament; it will be an energetic festival in one of the most dynamic regions in the United States,” tournament organizers said in a press release.

Located just 45 minutes from the White House, this golf course is known as the most beautiful masterpiece among the 450 golf courses designed by Robert Trent Johnson, the greatest golf course architect of the 20th century, and last year, it hosted the Solheim Cup. “Built around Manasses Lake, it is beautiful but also dangerous,” the organizers said. “Players will face courage and challenges as they play along the contour of the lake.”

Tickets start at $50 and can be purchased online at LIVGolf.com. Along with the golf tournament, there will be live performances, meet-and-greet events, and more at the Fan Village.

You can also watch the players practice on Friday, the 6th at 12 p.m., Saturday, the 7th at 1 p.m., and Sunday, the 8th at 9:54 a.m. before the tournament.

As schools across the Washington area hold graduation ceremonies, Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, is making headlines after revealing that 20 of its roughly 600 graduating class are identical or fraternal twins.

“It’s incredible to think that we grew up with so many friends and didn’t realize that there were so many twins,” said Andrew Beckman, a fraternal twin who is one of the graduates. Niles and Victoria Brown were among the fraternal twins who walked the stage at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Centre in College Park during the commencement ceremony on Tuesday. But because they were fraternal twins, many didn’t even realize they were siblings.

Irrespective twins Andrew and Alena Beckman competed in high school, but they were also each other’s closest supporters. “We competed with each other, but we also helped each other out,” Alena says. “I was bad at physics, and Andrew was good. He helped me with my physics homework, and I helped him with his essays.”

Some of the twin’s plan to attend the same college. Identical twin sisters Taylor and Maria Gomez will attend the University of Pittsburgh together in the fall. “A lot of my friends are worried because they’re going to college out of state this August and they don’t know anyone, but my twins are going to the same college and we have each other to lean on,” Maria says.

Meanwhile, some twins are parting ways for the first time in 18 years. Andrew will attend North Carolina State University, and Alena will attend Vanderbilt University. “I’m really nervous and tearful,” Andrew says. “I think we’ll call each other often. I’ll think more positively, but there’s definitely a big change ahead,” said Alena.

The Donald Trump administration, which seeks to become an ‘energy dominant nation’, has begun to drive the ‘reconstruction of a nuclear powerhouse’. On the 23rd (local time), President Trump signed four executive orders to accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants and significantly ease regulations related to nuclear power plants. He said, “This executive order will make the United States a true power (country) in the nuclear industry again.”

The executive orders signed that day include

▶ reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

▶ streamlining the Department of Energy’s nuclear reactor testing

▶ rapid deployment of advanced nuclear power plant technology

 ▶ revitalizing nuclear power plant bases. The key is to quadruple the nuclear power generation capacity of the United States by 2050. This is higher than the previous Joe Biden administration’s plan to triple the capacity by the same period. To this end, the U.S. Department of Energy has decided to start construction of 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors by 2030.

President Trump instructed the Secretary of the Army to establish a program to operate and start nuclear reactors at military facilities within the next three years to supply power to artificial intelligence (AI) data centres designated as important defence facilities.

The White House pointed out in a reference material that day, “Since 1978, only two new nuclear reactors have been put into commercial operation in the United States,” and “Although nuclear power technology has advanced, it is safer and cheaper than ever, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has failed to approve new nuclear power plants due to an overly risk-averse culture that requires as little radiation as possible.”

President Trump has instructed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to lower regulatory barriers through an executive order, including shortening the approval process for new nuclear power plants to 18 months. President Trump said, “This is the nuclear era, and we are going to push forward very, very hard.”

This executive order also includes provisions to provide funding, such as loan guarantees, for the expansion of nuclear power plants, including the restart of closed nuclear power plants and the completion of construction of nuclear power plants that have been suspended. The Secretary of Energy was instructed to work with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to provide priority funding to companies with the ability to rapidly deploy advanced nuclear power technology. It also includes provisions to guarantee the mining, processing, and refining of nuclear minerals such as uranium. “

This action will turn back the clock on more than 50 years of over-regulation of the nuclear industry,” said Doug Burgum, the Trump administration’s “energy czar.” Since declaring a national energy emergency upon taking office on January 20, President Trump has continued to push for deregulation of fossil fuels, including expanding oil and gas drilling.

Despite concerns over a sluggish national economy, Virginia is seeing a surprising surge in state tax revenues, significantly outperforming expectations as the fiscal year nears its end.

According to a report from The Virginia Mercury on May 19, state general fund revenues for the past 10 months reached over $25 billion specifically $25,079,222,000 marking a $1.5 billion increase from the $23.6 billion collected during the same period last year. In April alone, Virginia collected $3.99 billion in taxes, an 8.8% increase compared to $3.67 billion in April 2024.

Governor Glenn Youngkin credited the growth to robust job creation and strong business investment across the state. “Virginia’s finances remain strong, reflecting strong job growth and business investment,” Youngkin stated. “Since I took office three years ago, there are now 265,000 more people working in Virginia, and corporate capital commitments have surpassed $100 billion, exceeding our initial projections.”

This revenue growth stands in stark contrast to the sharp decline in national real GDP during the first quarter of 2025. While the broader U.S. economy struggles, Virginia appears to be weathering the storm, thanks in part to steady gains in sectors like construction, health care, and transportation. In March alone, the state added 5,900 jobs in those areas.

However, Virginia’s economy is not without its challenges. The state also experienced a net job loss of 4,100 federal employees in March, and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.2%, up from 3.1% the previous month. More concerning is the April layoff of 9,000 federal workers, which state officials say could have ripple effects in the months ahead.

“We are closely monitoring the aftermath of the layoffs of 9,000 federal employees in April alone,” a spokesperson from the Virginia Treasury Department said. “However, we believe in the long-term resilience of Virginia’s economy, so we will continue to see continued growth.”

With just two months left in the fiscal year, the state remains cautiously optimistic. The unexpectedly strong tax receipts may help Virginia offset the impact of federal job cuts and provide a buffer against further economic uncertainty at the national level.

The Mexican government has firmly rejected President Donald Trump’s proposal to deploy U.S. troops to combat drug trafficking cartels in Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum made the statement during a public event on the 3rd of May, emphasizing that Mexico would “never tolerate” the presence of U.S. military forces on its soil. Her remarks followed a phone conversation last month with President Trump, where he suggested U.S. military involvement to help Mexico fight drug trafficking.

President Sheinbaum responded by urging the U.S. to focus on stopping the flow of illegal weapons from the United States into Mexico if they genuinely wanted to assist in the fight against drug cartels. The offer to send U.S. troops came as part of ongoing pressure from the Trump administration, which had designated several Mexican drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” These cartels are accused of smuggling fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, into the United States.

Despite the U.S. push for more military action, Mexico has been increasing security along its border and cooperating with the U.S. on intelligence-gathering activities, including the use of drones by the CIA. However, Mexico remains adamant about preserving its sovereignty and has stated that it will not allow unilateral military actions. A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council indicated that the U.S. is prepared to enhance cooperation with Mexico but emphasized that Mexico must take further action to combat the cartels.

President Donald Trump is pushing to eliminate in-state tuition benefits for undocumented college students, a move that could significantly impact access to higher education for thousands of young immigrants across the U.S. This initiative stems from an executive order signed on the 28th of last month, which directs the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to act against state policies that provide what the administration views as preferential treatment to undocumented individuals.

The order specifically challenges policies in roughly 20 states — including New York and New Jersey — that allow undocumented students to pay lower in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. Trump’s administration argues that such policies are unfair to U.S. citizens, especially those who must pay higher out-of-state tuition when attending schools outside their home states.

According to the higher education outlet Inside Higher Ed, the executive order could affect as many as 24 states that currently offer in-state tuition regardless of a student’s immigration status. While the order does not detail the exact enforcement mechanisms, it signals that the federal government may pressure states to reverse or modify these tuition policies.

New York, for example, has offered in-state tuition to undocumented students since 2002, if they graduated from high school within the state and meet other basic requirements. This policy has made college more accessible for many undocumented students who often face severe financial barriers. In-state tuition can be several times lower than out-of-state rates, making the difference between affording a degree or not.

Critics of Trump’s move argue that targeting in-state tuition for undocumented students is punitive and short-sighted, potentially harming students who have spent most of their lives in the U.S. and who often contribute positively to their communities. Supporters, however, contend that it restores fairness to U.S. citizens and discourages illegal immigration by removing financial incentives.

Despite the executive order, it remains unclear how aggressively the federal government will act or what consequences states might face if they continue offering in-state tuition to undocumented students.

As federal authorities ramp up arrests of individuals tied to illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the country, Virginia is increasingly being identified as a key transit hub for drug cartels operating on the East Coast. According to a report by ABC7 News on April 14, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has flagged Virginia as a strategic distribution point for narcotics—particularly fentanyl—being moved along the Interstate 81 and 95 corridors.

ICE agents operating in Washington, D.C., and across Virginia recently conducted a series of targeted operations to apprehend individuals involved in drug-related crimes. Agents involved in the operation emphasized the growing threat of the MS-13 gang in the region, specifically in Northern Virginia communities such as Herndon, Reston, and Upperbridge. The gang is said to have established a robust organizational network in these areas and is reportedly expanding its reach into southern parts of the state.

Authorities warn that drug cartels are growing bolder and more entrenched, using Virginia not just for trafficking but as a distribution base for fentanyl and other narcotics throughout the eastern United States. An official with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division noted that the agency is working closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to dismantle these networks, particularly in southwestern Virginia where activity has intensified.

The scale of the issue is evident in recent drug seizure statistics. In 2023 alone, law enforcement agencies confiscated approximately 639,000 fentanyl pills and 189 pounds of powdered fentanyl across the Washington metropolitan area, which includes Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. This marks a staggering 250% increase compared to 2022.

Virginia accounted for most of these seizures. Roughly two-thirds of the fentanyl pills—an estimated 415,300—were recovered within the state, highlighting the central role Virginia now plays in the cartel supply chain.

As federal and state law enforcement continue to intensify operations, the focus on Virginia underscores both the severity of the drug crisis and the growing need for inter-agency cooperation to combat trafficking and gang-related crime on the East Coast.