New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned that his preliminary budget would be a tax on working- and middle-class New Yorkers on Tuesday. “Property taxes would be raised by 9.5%. This would effectively be a tax on working- and middle-class New Yorkers who have a median income of $122,000,” the mayor said. Mamdani unveiled his preliminary budget proposal for 2027, outlining a plan to close a projected $5.4 billion deficit. Under state law, New York City must pass a balanced budget. To bridge the gap, Mamdani proposed a 9.5% increase in property taxes and “raiding” the city’s Rainy Day Fund and the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund. “The city would also take $980 million from its Rainy Day Fund and take $229 million from the Retiree Health Benefits Trust,” he said. Mamdani’s proposal would increase the city’s overall spending from former Mayor Eric Adams’ $115 billion budget to $127 billion. Mamdani described the property tax hike and reserve raid as a last resort, preferring to instead raise taxes on high-income earners and corporations, which would require approval from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has promised New Yorkers she will not raise taxes in 2026. Without Hochul agreeing to raise taxes, Mamdani is left with raising property taxes as his administration’s primary lever. “To rely on a property tax increase and a significant draw-down of reserves to close our gap would have dire consequences,” stated Mamdani’s Comptroller Mark Levine. “Our property tax system is profoundly unfair and inconsistent, and an across-the-board increase in this tax would be regressive. Drawing down reserves during a period of economic growth would leave us vulnerable to economic turbulence next year.” Mamdani would not be the first mayor to draw from the reserves, as the city tapped the funds during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, however, the city would be tapping the funds “despite a strong economy and record revenues from Wall Street.” Mamdani attributed the budget shortfalls to former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration underfunding $7.54 billion in six key areas, including cash assistance, rental assistance, shelter, due process cases, judgement & claims, and the city subsidy structural deficit. Since the 1970s, New York has been legally required to balance its budget when the state legislature passed the Financial Emergency Act for the City of New York in September of 1975, mandating a balanced budget. The legislation was passed to prevent New York City from defaulting on its debt and going bankrupt after a decade of the city covering daily operations with short-term loans. Turning to reserves to meet Mamdani’s mandate could raise red flags with credit rating agencies. Using reserves to plug recurring deficits may signal structural imbalance, increasing the risk of a municipal bond downgrade. A downgrade would force the city to pay higher interest rates to borrow, ultimately driving up debt service costs and putting even more pressure on the budget the law requires to be balanced. Costs may continue to rise for New York City. Watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission reports more than $7 billion of taxpayer money has been spent to house and care for undocumented immigrants in New York City. ABC New York (WABC) reports the yearly budget for asylum seekers is larger than the budget for the city health department, the sanitation department, and the fire department.

The United States has presented new seismic data to substantiate its allegations that China tested a nuclear device in 2020, violating an international agreement against such tests. A seismic monitoring station in Kazakhstan registered a 2.75 magnitude seismic event on June 22, 2020, the date that Washington has said Beijing tested a nuclear device in northwest China. The reading may be minor, but it picked up on an event that happened over 450 miles away, according to Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw. “There is very little possibility that it is anything other than an explosion, a singular explosion,” Yeaw said on Tuesday, according to NPR. “It is quite consistent with what you would expect from a nuclear explosive test.” Yeaw said that the event that was measured in Kazakhstan originated from Lop Nor, long recognized as one of China’s main nuclear test sites. The revelation of the seismic data comes as the United States is pushing China to join in nuclear talks between Washington and Moscow. Earlier this month, an arms treaty that limited nuclear weapons expired between the United States and Russia. President Donald Trump said last year that China and Russia have conducted secret nuclear weapon tests. Trump said that the United States would begin testing, too. “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report,” the president said during an interview with “60 Minutes.” “We’re going to test, because they test and others test.” Days after the CBS interview, the president announced that he had directed the Department of War to begin conducting nuclear tests. “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” the president said in a Truth Social post. “This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term. Because of other countries [sic] testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.” In a video message, Trump added, “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do it, having to do with nuclear weapons, but I really had no choice. Russia is second in line, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”

Bayer said on Tuesday its Monsanto unit had reached an agreement worth as much as $7.25 billion to resolve tens of thousands of current and future lawsuits claiming that its Roundup weedkiller caused cancer. The German company said the proposed nationwide settlement, filed on Tuesday in state court in St. Louis, Missouri, would establish a long-term claims program funded by capped annual payments over up to 21 years. The company, which acquired Roundup as part of its $63 billion purchase of agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018, is facing claims over Roundup from approximately 65,000 plaintiffs in U.S. state and federal courts. The plaintiffs say they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other forms of cancer after using the weedkiller, either at home or on the job. Following the announcement, Bayer shares rose as much as 7.7% to reach their highest level since September 12, 2023. Frankfurt-listed Bayer shares were up 7.2% by 1839 GMT. Bayer said it expects its provisions and litigation liabilities to rise from 7.8 billion euros ($9.24 billion) to 11.8 billion euros. It anticipates around 5 billion euros in litigation-related payouts in 2026, and now expects negative free cash flow for the year. Roundup is among the most widely used weedkillers in the United States. Bayer has said decades of studies have shown Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are safe for human use. The deal covers the bulk of the lawsuits, but requires a judge’s approval and a minimum number of plaintiffs to opt in. It does not require Bayer to admit liability or wrongdoing and allows the company to back out if too many plaintiffs decline to participate. It is also designed to head off future lawsuits, and allows people who can prove they have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and were exposed to Roundup prior to Tuesday to file claims to receive a portion of the settlement up to 21 years from now. The agreement was negotiated with Motley Rice, Seeger Weiss and other law firms that would represent a nationwide class of plaintiffs, if the court allows the deal to proceed. Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said on a call with investors and reporters that he is confident the proposed class action settlement will resolve the vast majority of the claims, although he declined to say how many people currently support the deal. Attorneys who negotiated on behalf of the plaintiffs said the deal represents the best path forward. Payouts will be determined by a tiered system that considers exposure, age at diagnosis and cancer type. Individuals could receive up to $198,000 or more, according to attorney Eric Holland. The company said it had separately reached confidential settlements to resolve other Roundup cases with specific law firms, although the company would not name the firms or specify the amount of those deals. Tuesday’s proposed settlement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in a case that Bayer argues will sharply limit its liability in the litigation. The company said the Supreme Court case, scheduled for oral arguments at the end of April, remains essential to resolving the Roundup litigation. Bayer is arguing that consumers should not be able to sue it under state law for failing to warn that Roundup increases cancer risk because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found no such risk and requires no such warning. Bayer argued that federal law does not allow it to add any warning to the product beyond the EPA-approved label. A favorable ruling would wipe out several large verdicts that remain on appeal and could also prevent future claims from individuals who choose to opt out of the nationwide settlement. Bayer investors welcomed news of the proposed settlement but some, like Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Bayer shareholder Union Investment, cautioned it was “not yet the breakthrough that many investors had hoped for.” “The settlement buys Bayer time, but without a win in the Supreme Court, a new wave of lawsuits could roll over Bayer in a few years,” Manns said. The company had previously paid about $10 billion to settle most of the Roundup lawsuits that were pending as of 2020, but failed to get a settlement then covering future cases. It has had a mixed record with cases that have gone to trial. It prevailed in a series of Roundup trials, but has been hit with large jury awards in the past few years, including a $2.1 billion verdict in a case in the U.S. state of Georgia in March. The verdicts shattered both investor confidence and company hopes that the worst of the Roundup litigation was over, and put pressure on Bayer to find a comprehensive solution to the lawsuits. (Reporting by Diana Jones and Kirsti Knolle; Additional reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Writing by Linda Pasquini and Friederike Heine; Editing by Alexander Smith, Alexia Garamfalvi and Jan Harvey)

At least ten backcountry skiers were missing late Tuesday after an avalanche swept through northern California near the town of Truckee at Castle Peak, as powerful winter storms slammed the Sierra Nevada and created what officials described as extremely dangerous conditions for search and rescue crews. The avalanche was reported at approximately 11:30 a.m. local time and affected a group of 16 people, four mountain guides and 12 clients, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. Officials said at least six skiers survived the slide and were still at the site as of late Tuesday afternoon, awaiting rescue because weather conditions made immediate evacuation unsafe. Search and rescue ski teams from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Alder Creek Adventure Center were deployed to assist, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities emphasized that rescue efforts were being carried out cautiously due to ongoing avalanche danger, heavy snowfall, and near-zero visibility. Castle Peak, a popular backcountry skiing destination along Interstate 80 near Lake Tahoe, received intense snowfall as a conveyor belt of winter storms moved through northern California. Boreal Mountain Ski Resort reported roughly 30 inches of snow in the previous 24 hours, while forecasts say additional heavy snowfall is expected through Thursday. Avalanche danger across the region was rated high on Tuesday. In a bulletin issued before the reported avalanche, the Sierra Avalanche Center warned against travel in or near avalanche terrain, citing the likelihood of a widespread natural avalanche cycle. “Large avalanches may run through treed areas,” the center said, urging anyone attempting travel in non-avalanche terrain to ensure no steep slopes were connected above or adjacent to their route. The avalanche occurred as the Sierra Nevada experienced what scientists described as some of the worst winter conditions in years. According to researchers at the Central Sierra Snow Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, snowfall totals had already exceeded 28 inches in parts of the central Sierra by Tuesday morning, with another two to three feet expected by Wednesday night. High winds compounded the danger, with gusts exceeding 100 miles per hour along ridge tops and up to 45 miles per hour in mountain valleys, forecasters said. Combined with heavy snowfall, the conditions created near-whiteout conditions across much of the region. Transportation was also heavily impacted. Portions of major highways were closed, and ski resorts across the Sierra shuttered operations, citing unsafe travel conditions. The California Highway Patrol warned motorists that visibility along mountain roads had dropped to near zero in some areas. “This isn’t inconvenient weather. This is unsafe travel,” they said in a statement on X, warning that large avalanches were expected across backcountry terrain into at least Wednesday morning. Winter storm warnings remained in effect from southwest Oregon through much of Northern and Central California, with forecasters cautioning that travel could be dangerous to near impossible through late Thursday. Officials said search operations would continue as conditions allow and urged the public to avoid backcountry travel until the storm system passes and avalanche risk subsides.

Five years after Disney+ fired Gina Carano from “The Mandalorian” for expressing her opinion via social media posts, the actress and former MMA fighter is coming back into the spotlight, literally. Netflix announced on Monday that Carano will face off against MMA competitor Ronda Rousey in a live, professionally sanctioned fight on Saturday, May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The event marks Netflix’s first-ever mixed martial arts event and is being co-promoted by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the combat sports company co-founded by Jake Paul. The fight will take place at featherweight, 145 lbs, inside a hexagon cage instead of the traditional UFC octagon. The format will be up to five 5-minute rounds under the Unified Rules of MMA. Carano holds an MMA record of 7-1 with wins by submission, knockout, and decision, and her earlier Muay Thai record is 12-1-1. She has not competed since 2009. Rousey has a 12-2 record, but has not competed in the sport in a decade following a WWE career. “Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women’s combat sport history!” Rousey said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “And we’re partnering with the fighter-first promotion MVP as well as the biggest and baddest streamer on the planet Netflix. This is for all MMA fans past, present and future. More to come… much more.” “Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said. “She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.” This un-cancellation comes just a few short years after Carano was abruptly fired from “The Mandalorian” in February 2021 after Lucasfilm objected to her social media posts. The firing was widely condemned by conservatives as a case of Hollywood cancel culture. Carano filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging she was wrongfully terminated for her political beliefs. Shortly after the high-profile termination, Carano partnered with The Daily Wire for a movie deal that resulted in the feature film “Terror on the Prairie,” which premiered in June 2022. The actress settled her case against Disney in August 2025. “I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome,” she wrote on social media at the time. “I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career; you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud… yes, I’m smiling.”