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Thursday, April 2, 2026

‘Dictator’ Mamdani has even his far-left NYC Council allies seeing red: ‘He’s flailing’

Even the Reds are seeing red.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has succeeded in at least one thing during his fresh-faced administration — infuriating everyone, including his typically ride-or-die lefty buds, over his bald-faced lie that the City Council’s budget plan cuts services.

Peeved City Council members roundly ripped Mamdani after he used one of his slick social-media videos Wednesday to call out Speaker Julie Menin by name and wrongly portray her budget proposal — an alternative to his doomsday version — as slashing billions of dollars from city agencies.

“This is deeply misleading and potentially harmful! I thought these four years were going to be different,” Councilman Kevin Riley (D-Bronx) — an obviously disappointed Mamdani backer — posted on X.

Councilwoman Virginia Maloney (D-Manhattan) also served up a blistering online rebuttal of Mamdani’s assertions.

“I know math is hard, but the @NYCCouncil finance team did the work—digging into the details to find real solutions,” she wrote.

“The Mayor’s proposed City budget is a whopping $127 billion. The City’s not broke, we’re just badly managed. And we can balance this budget responsibly without putting our long-term fiscal health at risk.”

The furious backlash led the thin-skinned mayor to then fire off irked texts to a council member complaining about the critical social-media posts, sources said.

A source said Maloney’s post appeared to prompt his texting spree, claiming, “That Virginia Maloney tweet really got under their skin.

“Even the socialists aren’t backing the mayor. He’s clearly over his head,” the source noted.

“The speaker’s press conference [about the alternative budget] wasn’t really attacking him, and then he instantly puts out a tweet and then drops a video of him sitting behind that desk like a dictator.”

A council insider added of Mamdani, “He’s lost the council.

“He’s flailing. He even texted one member to complain about their tweets.

“It’s a lie, he’s a liar,” the insider said about Mamdani’s head-scratching contention that the City Council plan would slash city services.

The brouhaha erupted as Menin and City Council members released their official response earlier Wednesday to Mamdani’s $127 billion proposed 2027 budget.

Their alternate spending plan argued Mamdani’s projected $5.4 billion budget shortfall could be bridged with a mix of re-estimated revenues, savings and creative funding sources — and without resorting Hizzoner’s preferred method of taxing the rich.

Even before Menin released the alternative proposal, Mamdani’s fellow travelers with the city’s Democratic Socialists of America launched a coordinated attack against her.

They sneeringly deemed her a “millionaire” who’d rather cut services for working-class New Yorkers rather than tax her wealthy compatriots.

Mamdani suspiciously echoed those broadsides in his later video response calling out Menin.

“If her proposal was adopted, it would result in slashing billions of dollars from agency budgets, and working New Yorkers would pay the price,” he said as he solemnly sat behind a desk in the video.

The mayor’s video retort — which was viewed 2.4 million times on X as of Thursday — baffled and infuriated City Council members of all political persuasions.

A council source said Mamdani risked burning bridges with lawmakers over standard disagreements during budget negotiations.

“Speaker Menin did her job, and the mayor responded with a wild personal attack, and that’s going to affect his relationship with the entire council moving forward,” the source said.

The council rose up to defend its leader and the budget proposal.

Councilwoman Jen Gutiérrez, a leader of the council’s Progressive Caucus, angrily shot down fellow lefty Mamdani’s assertion that Menin’s budget cut services.

“Slashing services? Absolutely not,” Gutiérrez wrote on X. “I’ve seen what that looks like under the last administration. This isn’t that; there are no cuts to services. There is waste, and we should be real about it.”

Gutiérrez’s blunt response was reposted by the council’s Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, another Mamdani ally who rebutted the mayor’s lie about service cuts.

“The City Council has not proposed to cut any services,” Abreu posted. “We’re fighting to protect programs that working families rely on. Let’s pass a budget that delivers for New Yorkers.”

Socialist council members Alexa Avilés, Tiffany Cabán, Shahana Hanif and Chi Ossé also issued a joint statement that pointedly didn’t repeat his attacks against Menin, even as they backed his call to tax the rich.

“We appreciate that the Council budget seeks creative solutions to closing the budget deficit,” the statement read. “We are also encouraged that the Mayor and Speaker are both working towards a balanced budget that maintains essential programs for New Yorkers.”

Ossé, in a statement of his own, shot down Mamdani’s assertion that Menin is pushing service cuts.

“It is the City Council’s responsibility to weight every possible solution to close the budget deficit we’re facing,” he said. “I have been in the room for many budget discussions, and I know that the City Council and Mayor ultimately share the goal of opposing any service cuts.”

City Hall officials did not return a Post request for comment.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/02/us-news/dictator-mamdani-has-even-his-far-left-nyc-council-allies-seeing-red/

Murder acquittal in killing of NYPD hero cop Jonathan Diller is ‘gut punch’ to city, Finest: Commissioner

Two years ago, career criminal Guy Rivera shot and killed NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller on a street in Queens while he was doing the job this city asked him to do.

He was 31 years old. A husband. A father. A police officer who understood what the work required of him and accepted it.

On that night, he stepped forward into danger with the same sense of purpose and nobility that defined his career.

This week, a jury returned its verdict. And that not guilty verdict of murder in the first degree landed like a gut punch to the entire New York City Police Department.

It was immediately felt in precincts and detective squads and patrol cars across the city.

With all the evidence presented at trial, it is clear as day to me that this was an act of intentional murder of a uniformed New York City Police Officer.

Mr. Rivera was convicted on all other counts, including aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder and weapons charges, and still faces the possibility of a 90-plus year sentence without parole.

But make no mistake here: justice was not fully served.

Even a significant sentence does not close this gap, because the result in this case does not reflect the seriousness of the tragedy that occurred.

Here’s the latest on the shocking mixed verdict reached for career criminal who killed NYPD hero Johnathan Diller

And it certainly does not resolve the sense that this crime was not fully recognized for what it was.

The jury exercised the responsibility our system places in their hands to weigh evidence and deliberate in private. We do not know, and will likely never know, what was said in that room or how the jurors ultimately interpreted the facts. That lack of visibility is part of our justice system.

But outcomes like this are profoundly painful. If there is any solace in this, it is that the judge, through sentencing, can still ensure that Mr. Rivera spends the rest of his life in prison.

What to know about the fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller:

Diller, 31, was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, on March 25, 2024.
Suspect Guy Rivera allegedly opened fire on Diller on Monday evening after the cop approached the vehicle Rivera was in for parking in front of a bus stop.
Diller was shot once in the stomach below his bulletproof vest. The married father of a 1-year-old boy was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Rivera was wounded when Diller’s partner returned fire. The suspect has 21 prior arrests and was found to have a shiv stored in his rectum during the shooting — in apparent anticipation of being sent to jail again.
Lindy Jones, the ex-con behind the wheel of the car during the shooting, was also arrested after a second gun was found in his car.
Mayor Eric Adams has renewed his calls for Albany to address criminal recidivism following the shooting involving two suspects with lengthy criminal records.

For the past two years, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and her office vigorously pursued justice for Jonathan, his family and the entire NYPD, and we thank them for that.

And we will continue to stand with Jonathan’s family. As I told Jonathan’s widow, Stephanie, no matter what happens, this department will always show up for her and her son, Ryan.

We saw that in the courtroom — officers filling every seat, with two overflow rooms beyond it — and it will not end there. We will be there for the birthdays, the anniversaries, and everything in between. That speaks to the power of the brotherhood and the sisterhood of the NYPD.

When a police officer is killed in the line of duty, it is not only a tragedy. It is a test of whether we are prepared to account for what that loss represents.

But the true measure of this department is not how it endures heartbreak, but how it turns heartbreak into healing and healing into hope.

Every day, the men and women of the NYPD carry on Detective Jonathan Diller’s legacy by stepping into situations that are uncertain and often dangerous, moving toward moments that can turn without warning and carrying responsibilities most people will never be asked to bear. They do it because they believe their work has value, and because this city relies on them to act when others cannot.

That belief is shaped in moments like this, and it endures. The job has not changed, and neither has our duty.

Clearly, there are things we can’t control. But what I can say with absolute certainty is that if someone chooses to target those who are sworn to protect them, the New York City Police Department will respond with every resource available to us as we did in this case.

Jonathan Diller understood the risks of this job. He chose it anyway. He held that responsibility deeply, and he met it with courage until the end.

No verdict alters that. No sentence restores what his family has lost.

But there is an obligation that remains — to be clear about what happened and to recognize the cost of this work.

Jonathan’s life and service will remain part of this department. His memory will endure in the officers who carry his work forward, and in a city that continues to rely on them.

May Detective Jonathan Diller’s memory continue to be a blessing.

Jessica Tisch is commissioner of the NYPD.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/02/opinion/verdict-in-killing-of-nypd-hero-cop-jonathan-diller-gut-punch-commissioner/

ISIS calls on Muslims to set fire to churches, synagogues across US, Europe in twisted Easter threat

ISIS has urged Muslims to set fire to churches and synagogues across the US and Europe this weekend in a sickening Easter threat.

The Islamist terror group issued the callous call, made in response to Israel’s closing of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, in the latest edition of its weekly propaganda outlet, al-Naba, released on Thursday.

“In the face of the tragedy of the closure of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, it is incumbent upon Muslims everywhere—those who yearn to come to the aid of the site of their Prophet’s Night Journey—to rise up and set fire to the Jewish synagogues scattered across America, Europe, Russia, India, and elsewhere,” ISIS declared, in a translation of al-Naba.

“The same applies to the synagogues in Tunisia, Morocco, the UAE, and Syria; their locations are well-known, and their details have been published,” the tirade continued.

It called for similar attacks on churches.

The twisted propaganda paper also called for attacks on “Jewish gatherings” around the world, ordering its supporters to “emulate the actions of the ‘Sydney Heroes,'” a disturbing reference to 2025’s Hannukkah terror attacks in Australia that left 16 dead, including one of the gunmen, and 40 wounded.

ISIS also claimed to have caused 60 casualties in “15 operations” over the past week.

Israeli authorities closed al-Aqsa mosque—the third-holiest site in Islam—in late February, citing the “security situation” amid the Israeli-US warn in Iran.

Authorities have also banned mass gatherings at other religious sites such as the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Muslims call the hilltop that houses al-Aqsa the Noble Sanctuary, while Jewish people refer to it as the Temple Mount.

Palestinian authorities have hit out at the closures to Muslims, as Jewish groups have called for access to the shuttered site to hold Passover rituals in April.

In the same newsletter, ISIS also discusses Palestinian prisoners and their experiences inside Israeli jails.

It comes days after Israel on Monday introduced a new controversial death penalty law that makes execution by hanging the default punishment for murderers who kill “with the intent to deny the existence of the State of Israel.”

The language has been accused of targeting Palestinian militants, while amounting to a de facto exclusion of Israelis who kill Palestinians.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/02/world-news/isis-calls-for-attacks-on-us-churches-and-synagogues-across-over-easter/

Lula wanted to cancel Petrobras' liquefied gas auction [but was overruled]

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazilian President, said that the government would seek to annul a Petrobras auction on Thursday where the state-run oil company sold liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at prices he deemed too high because of the war in Iran. Fuel prices are a concern for the leftist President as he runs for reelection in this year. Fuel prices are also a growing concern for Petrobras, as it attempts to satisfy the government and comply with internal rules that require it to make a profit from fuel sales.

Lula told TV Record Bahia that "people were aware of the government's and Petrobras guidance: we won't raise LPG prices".

"But they held an 'auction against the wishes of Petrobras management and we are going to annul this auction," he said, noting that premiums reached around 100% above local reference prices. Lula didn't provide any further information on the auction.

Petrobras cancelled the diesel and gasoline auctions in March after premiums of up to?2.00 per liter were found on diesel.

Sources said that it decided to sell diesel fuel at lower prices if the contract was renewed, rather than auctioning it off.

Brazil is still dependent on imports for its gas and diesel, which makes it vulnerable to price fluctuations.

Lula's government announced a number of measures to reduce prices, including a tax on oil exports, since the U.S. and Israel conflict began with Iran.

Petrobras didn't immediately respond to a comment request.

https://energynews.oedigital.com/energy-markets/2026/04/02/lula-the-brazilian-president-wants-to-cancel-petrobras-liquefied-gas-auction

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