York

NEW YORK — When Varun Venkatesh cast his ballot in New York’s primary this week, he thought about “a good litmus test for me as a voter.” He wanted to know what the candidates are doing for the Palestinian cause.

The 27-year-old Brooklyn resident decided to support Claire Valdez, who was backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, over Antonio Reynoso, another progressive who was the choice of the Democratic establishment, because she had “a clear and more consistent stance.”

Valdez triumphed in her congressional primary, as did two other insurgent candidates endorsed by Mamdani, and Israel was a key issue in each of the races. Now the question for Democrats is how many more voters like Venkatesh are out there as the party charts its path toward the November midterms and the next presidential election.

The war in Gaza, which began during Joe Biden’s presidency and undermined Kamala Harris’ bid to replace him, remains an open wound, and how Democrats attempt to stitch it closed will help define their future. A step in any direction risks alienating pieces of the party’s unwieldy coalition at a time when it’s trying to unify around the mission of retaking control of Congress.

“The Israel question has become defining,” said Matt Bennett, who leads the centrist Democratic group Third Way and frequently criticizes progressives as jeopardizing outreach to independent voters. He said some in Mamdani’s camp have embraced “a new level of extremism,” warning that “Republicans are very good at weaponizing crazy ideas on the fringe against mainstream candidates.”

Mamdani has no such concerns as he tries to reshape the Democratic Party from the mayor’s office of the country’s largest city. He sharply criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for defending what he calls “a status quo of immorality” in Gaza, and voters who celebrated his slate’s victories on Tuesday night chanted “Free Palestine.”

The mayor, meanwhile, argues that New York should shape Democrats’ search for their national identity in the coming years.

“When does the race for 2028 begin?” Mamdani asked last week on a stage with his slate of candidates. “It starts now.”

Israel-Palestine conflict animates Democrats’ left flank

Even for a party accustomed to searing debates between progressives and moderates, the schism over Israel has been blistering. Although the U.S. alliance with Israel once had bipartisan support, the ascendancy of Israel’s right wing led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strained those ties over the years. Then the war in Gaza shredded them.

Biden was denounced as “Genocide Joe” by pro-Palestinian supporters, who shifted their attention to Harris once she replaced him as the Democratic nominee for president two years ago.

“She was trying to the right thing,” said Jamie Harrison, who led the Democratic National Committee at the time. “It was a hard and awkward place to be in.”

Harrison said the war in Gaza helped cost Harris the state of Michigan, which has a sizable Arab American population. However, he doubts that it was a defining national issue then or now.

“It’s one thing to be in New York. But I can tell you that most places, including where I am in South Carolina, it’s not what people are talking about,” he said. “They are concerned about affording gas and groceries and housing.”

Harrison expects Democrats to look for middle ground in the future, which includes “still supporting Israel’s sovereignty” while calling for “reducing U.S. aid to Israel and changing the nature of the relationship.”

One primary victor blasted the ‘hug Bibi’ strategy

Finding middle ground has been difficult so far, as demonstrated by the primary in New York’s 10th congressional district.

Brad Lander, the former city comptroller backed by Mamdani, successfully challenged U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman in the race.

Both candidates are Jewish, and both have criticized the Israeli government. But Lander says the war in Gaza is a genocide, and Goldman does not.

“Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden’s ‘hug Bibi’ strategy was a catastrophic mistake,” Lander said in his primary victory speech. He added, “We cannot keep paying for Netanyahu’s wars with our tax dollars. Democratic voters are saying this, loud and clear.”

Ari Rassouli, a voter in the district, said the incumbent’s views on Israel were “one of the many reasons that I didn’t like Dan Goldman.”

Describing the war as a genocide, she said “a candidate that is in support of that has no place in our democracy at all.”

While talking to reporters on Tuesday, Lander acknowledged that Israel was among the top issues along with affordability and immigration.

“I like talking to Jewish voters who feel anxiety about the times we live in and say, ‘I have these values, I want to treat everyone like they’re equal and with dignity and created in God’s image. How do we navigate the times we’re in?’” he said.

He added with a smile, “Those are probably the longest conversations at the polls.” ___

Barrow, Peoples and Offenhartz write for the Associated Press. AP writers Anthony Izaguirre and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.

The New York Knicks celebrated their first NBA title in 53 years with a frenzied ticker-tape parade through Manhattan. The Knicks, along with finals MVP Jalen Brunson were awarded keys to the city by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in front of thousands of fans.

Summer has barely begun, but Wowcher are already helping Brits to plan festive-themed escapes, with a £99 per person deal that could see you snag a bargain break to a destination such as Lapland

Wowcher’s mystery holidays have become a social media hit, with hundreds of videos circulating of Brits finding out their mystery sun-soaked beach or city break destinations.

But now the voucher site has given its mystery holiday packages a festive twist, offering a variety of Christmas market destinations across Europe, as well as the chance to snag a break in New York or Lapland for just £99 per person.

While most of us are looking forward to the upcoming sunny weather and planning activities for the six week school holidays, dedicated Christmas fans can already book a festive mystery holiday with Wowcher. The package includes a minimum two-night stay, return flights, and accommodation of at least three-stars.

And while the C-word is pretty far from our minds right now, the deal includes a number of destinations that will no doubt be more appealing once you’re in a festive mood. You could find yourself browsing Christmas markets in cities such as Paris, Rome, Prague, Vienna, Krakow, or Berlin.

A small number of lucky winners will find themselves in Lapland visiting Santa’s Village for a once-in-a-lifetime break, or staying under a glass dome and watching the stars in Finland. You may even find yourself all the way in New York, ice skating at the Rockefeller Center or watching the world-famous Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes.

Booking your break is easy. Just choose the number of passengers and pay for your mystery holiday on Wowcher. You’ll then be sent a link to redeem your code, and can choose your airport region and travel dates. Get your camera ready, as you’ll no doubt want to film your reaction as your mystery destination is revealed on-screen.

However, with these kinds of breaks it’s worth remembering there are a number of terms and conditions attached, so make sure you read the fine print before you book. One thing to note if you’re not in the south east is that departures from non-London regional airports will incur a supplement of £40 per person.

Breaks are either two or three-nights long, and Wowcher promise a minimum of 40 hours at your destination when departing from London or Manchester, 36 hours from all other UK airports, and 60 hours for selected 3-night stays.

It’s worth remembering that these mystery holidays are a gamble, and while there are lots of positive reviews out there, not everyone ends up happy with their destination. Around November and December, you can also sometimes find cheap deals and book your own break, giving you more control over your destination.

Also, check the dates for Christmas markets in your destination. Some cities only have markets running on limited dates or on weekends, so if you travel in late-November or early-December, it’s worth keeping in mind that these festive events may not be open. However, you can of course still enjoy your destination without exploring a market.

Find out more about these festive mystery breaks or book online with Wowcher.

There are other companies that offer mystery holidays, such as the simply named mysteryholiday.co.uk.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

NEW YORK — It was bedlam on Broadway as the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years on Saturday night, with exuberant celebrations marred by mayhem and violence, including a shooting in Times Square.

Outside Madison Square Garden, a crowd watching on a big screen roared as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Soon after, tens of thousands of people filled the streets and the rowdiest among them were clashing with police, smashing windshields, scaling scaffolding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses in Times Square and trying to hitch a ride on a moving fire truck.

Around 2 a.m., a 17-year-old was shot near 42nd Street and Broadway, police said. Bystander video captured the sound of at least seven shots and showed people crouching and running for cover. Police took the victim to the hospital because an ambulance could not get through the crowds, police said. A gun was recovered and three people were taken into custody.

Four people were stabbed or slashed, and one of the school buses, which was being used for World Cup transportation, was set on fire and engulfed in flames, police said. Other buses and five police cars were also damaged, police said.

In all, 63 people were arrested, with charges including assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Knicks owner James Dolan, speaking in San Antonio after the game, urged fans to stay calm.

“We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they’re celebrating, we want them to have a great time,” said Dolan, interrupting guard Josh Hart’s news conference. “Please be safe. Don’t get hurt; don’t hurt anybody.”

The city will officially celebrate the Knicks on Thursday with a parade and City Hall ceremony.

As the clock ticked to the final buzzer on Saturday night, anxiety that had dominated the game’s first three quarters gave way to euphoria. An orange-and-blue-tinted fever dream that started with the Knicks’ first playoff game two months ago ended in the third title in their 80-year history.

Fireworks boomed over Brooklyn and Central Park. Fans flocked to Times Square and ran through the streets. Outside the Garden, they sang the team’s anthem: “Go New York, Go New York, Go!”

Police officers and ambulance workers shouted, “Let’s go Knicks!” over loudspeakers in Brooklyn. Strangers shook hands and hugged. In the Lincoln Tunnel, where people were riding buses back from the World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, drivers honked their horns in celebration.

“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so happy,” said Mathieu Ogno of Long Island, who fought back tears as he soaked in the victory at a team-sanctioned watch party at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

Ogno wore the jersey of Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, whose 45 points propelled his team to victory and him to the NBA Finals MVP. Brunson’s gritty determination and chip-on-his-shoulder style have made him a fan favorite, embodying New York’s working-class ethos.

The Knicks’ championship — 19,392 days since their last — capped an extraordinary postseason for a franchise that hadn’t been to the NBA Finals since losing to the Spurs in 1999. Since April 23, the team has won 15 of 16 games, with its lone loss coming Monday in Game 3.

Their last title, in 1973, was also won on the road in a Game 5. Their first, in 1970, was won at home in a Game 7 thriller. Neither was celebrated with a parade.

“I’m happy to see my Knicks finally make it over the hump,” said Shawn Muoneke, 26. “I’ve seen them knock on the door. They were knocking on the door the past few years. But they finally made it over the hump, and I’m so happy to see it and I’m so happy I’m in the city to experience it.”

Muoneke, born a year after the Knicks’ last trip to the NBA Finals, started rooting for them when he was 10. He drove from Maryland to be in the city for Game 5 at the team’s Central Park watch party.

“I saw the ups, the downs and I watched the team come back up, and I was so happy to see them finally reach the highest echelon of stardom as a team,” Muoneke said.

After the Knicks’ win, he said, the vibes in the city “are the highest they’ve ever been.”

President Trump, a longtime Knicks fan who attended Game 3 at the Garden with Dolan, congratulated the team in a post on social media.

“What a year it has been but, even more so, what incredible playoff wins we have all witnessed, especially the last four — Maybe the greatest in the history of basketball,” Trump wrote.

With Brunson’s clutch performance, he added, “a superstar was born.”

After several dozen arrests throughout the playoffs and violence after Games 3 and 4 in New York that left officers injured and a teen in a coma, police girded for unrest as Saturday turned to Sunday.

“As we celebrate, be responsible, look out for one another, stay safe, be smart, and make this a night that reflects the very best of our city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media. “Let’s go Knicks.”

Sisak and Lum write for the Associated Press. AP writer Emily Wang Fujiyama contributed to this report.

NBA legend Charles Barkley branded the San Antonio Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilisation” after the New York Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

The Spurs led by 29 points as they aimed to level the best-of-seven series in New York before hosting game five, but the Knicks fought back to win 107-106.

London-born OG Anunoby claimed a tip-in basket with 1.2 seconds left to clinch victory, much to the delight of a star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden, which included Taylor Swift and Timothee Chalamet.

It gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the series and put them within one win of their first championship since 1973.

The previous biggest comeback in the NBA Finals was 24 points, by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.

San Antonio went 29 points up in the second quarter and their 27-point lead at half-time (76-49) was the largest for a road team in Finals history, but they then scored just 30 points in the second half.

“That was some of the most mismanaged, stupid basketball,” said ESPN analyst and former NBA most valuable player Barkley.

“When you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help, and the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game.”

Victor Wembanyama scored a team-high 24 points for San Antonio and claimed 13 rebounds.

“I can’t really explain it right now,” said the NBA’s defensive player of the year.

“I don’t know. I think it’s just execution, greediness of some sort. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”

The Knicks still trailed 90-75 heading into the fourth quarter but Jalen Brunson put them in front for the first time at 105-104 with 82 seconds remaining.

Anunoby then made a block with 11.1 seconds left, to stop the Spurs leading 108-105, before tipping in the game-clinching score after Brunson’s three-point attempt struck the rim.

“One word that caps that all is just ‘belief’,” Brunson told ESPN. “It was chipping away, one possession at a time. It wasn’t going to be one play to get us back.”

Game five is in San Antonio on Saturday (01:30 BST, Sunday).

Donald Trump’s appearance courtside at Madison Square Garden was supposed to be a historic moment, as, for the first time, a sitting president of the United States was attending an NBA Finals game.

Instead, his arrival became part of the story, drawing boos from sections of the crowd and triggering a massive security operation that reshaped the atmosphere around the storied New York arena on Monday night.

Trump watched from an executive suite as the New York Knicks hosted the San Antonio Spurs in a series that gripped the city and revived memories of the Knicks’ glory years.

When his image flashed up on the big screen during the national anthem, many fans jeered, underlining how sharply divided the country remains even in a space usually reserved for shared celebration.

Outside, Manhattan’s streets were locked down. Metal fencing, airport-style screening and a heavy Secret Service and police presence kept ticketless fans blocks away.

Long queues formed as supporters queued early, while others gathered at public viewing areas across the city.

Inside, however, the spectacle went on. Hollywood actors, musicians, former players and New York fixtures filled the front rows, turning the event into a star-studded night out.

Between the celebrity sightings, the political undertones and a tense 115-111 Spurs win, this was a New York basketball night unlike any other – on and off the court.

US President Donald Trump was loudly booed when he was shown on screens during the national anthem before Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks.

Two separate incidents of violence have left nine people injured in World Cup host cities in the United States, raising concerns over the safety and security of fans attending the tournament that starts in three days.

Six people were wounded in a stabbing on Sunday at New York’s Penn Station, the city’s mayor said, as the metropolitan area geared up to host two major sporting events, the NBA Finals and the FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, nine people sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting near England’s World Cup base camp in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday.

The New York City Fire Department said a suspect was detained and the victims, including one with serious injuries, were taken to hospital.

Fire Department officials initially reported five wounded, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X that “based on the information available right now, six people were stabbed and the alleged perpetrator is in custody.”

Circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear, but city Comptroller Mark Levine said on X that the suspect is “said to be an emotionally disturbed homeless person”.

All victims are expected to survive, he added.

State Governor Kathy Hochul described the attack as “an act of horrific violence”.

“New Yorkers deserve to feel safe wherever they go, and we will never stop working to make that a reality,” she said in a statement.

The incident occurred at one of the nation’s busiest rail and subway transport centres as the city prepares for two huge sporting spectacles.

Madison Square Garden, located directly above Penn Station in downtown Manhattan, will host games three and four of the NBA Finals on Monday and Wednesday between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

MetLife Stadium, outside the city in neighbouring New Jersey state, will host its first match of the World Cup on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend Monday’s NBA game at Madison Square Garden, saying recently that he accepted an invitation from Knicks owner James Dolan.

Security has been enhanced in the city before the two events.

New York’s official emergency notification system did not describe the incident but said people should avoid the area and “expect traffic delays, road closures, mass transit disruptions & emergency personnel near Penn Station”.

Before the stabbing, New York officials had already cancelled an outdoor watch party set for Monday outside the Garden.

Thousands of spectators descended onto the streets outside the venue on Friday for a game two watch party. New York authorities said a police officer was assaulted and 26 people were arrested as a number of fans turned rowdy.

Meanwhile, Kansas City police said there were no suspects in custody and that at least three of the shooting victims were taken to local hospitals.

The incident occurred about 6.5km (4 miles) from where England are set to train at the Swope Soccer Village. England have not arrived in Kansas City and are due to play a friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday.

What security measures has the US put in place for the World Cup?

The 48-team, 104-match World Cup comes with an unprecedented security challenge for the host nations, particularly the US, which is hosting 78 matches across 11 cities.

Overseeing the sprawling security apparatus is a legion of federal agencies, state and local police departments and private entities. Their responsibilities range from securing stadiums and fan zones to escorting teams and protecting dignitaries.

Their tools include hunter drones that can shoot nets over objects in restricted airspace, bag-inspecting robot dogs, giant X-ray trucks and thousands of AI-powered cameras trained on public spaces soon to be thronged by fans.

Drones are prohibited over stadiums and fan zones, and the FBI has a “full suite of options” to thwart incursions, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Kachhia-Patel.

On match days, the FBI will activate joint operations centres in each host city, bringing together local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and investigate threats.

The tournament has the same high-level federal security designation as the Super Bowl, just below a presidential inauguration or a national political convention, ensuring federal, state and local coordination. It coincides with other major events linked to the 250th anniversary of the US’s founding.

So far, there are no credible threats, according to Andrew Giuliani, executive director of Trump’s World Cup task force, which is overseeing the multiagency effort.

The Department of Homeland Security, focused on Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown and hit by a funding lapse only recently resolved, estimates that up to seven million people will visit the US for the World Cup.

The US Secret Service, under scrutiny after security breaches and attempts on Trump’s life, is in charge of protecting world leaders who show up to cheer on their countries. Trump has expressed interest in attending a match.

Gun violence is common in the US, where there were more than 400 mass shootings in 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Jalen Brunson drilled the go-ahead free throw as the New York Knicks held off a furious San Antonio rally to beat the Spurs 105-104 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

San Antonio player Victor Wembanyama had a crucial late turnover and missed a potential game-winner with two seconds remaining on Friday, leaving the Spurs in need of an unprecedented comeback when the best-of-seven series shifts to New York for games three and four.

No team has lifted the trophy after dropping the first two games of the Finals at home.

Michael Jordan’s 1993 Chicago Bulls and the 1995 Houston Rockets are the only other teams to win the first two games of the championship series on the road, and both went on to win titles.

The Knicks won their 13th straight game of the playoffs – the second-longest streak in postseason history – and will have a chance to close out their first title since 1973 in front of home fans at Madison Square Garden. United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend on Monday.

They had to withstand a scintillating fourth-quarter surge from the Spurs, who erased a 14-point deficit with a 14-0 scoring run.

Wembanyama shook off a slow start to score 22 of his 29 points in the second half, his three-point play with 57.3 seconds remaining giving the Spurs their first lead since the second quarter at 104-102.

It was tied at 104-104 with 9.5 seconds left when Wembanyama grabbed the rebound of a Brunson miss but turned it over with a bad pass into the back of teammate Stephon Castle.

Brunson scooped up the ball and was fouled, then made the first of two free throws to put the Knicks back in front.

San Antonio had one last chance, coming out of a time-out with 7.5 seconds left. They got the ball to their superstar, but his jump shot clanged off the rim.

“I threw that one away,” 22-year-old Wembanyama said. “I messed up. We didn’t play great as a team. We needed to win that game.”

Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the Knicks with 21 points and 13 rebounds, admitted he was praying when Wembanyama put the Spurs’ final attempt.

“A great player got a great shot, and it just didn’t go in,” Towns said.

‘What a ballgame’

For the second straight game, Towns delivered a stellar defensive performance that pushed Wembanyama out of his comfort zone.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation player,” Towns said. “You got to make it difficult on him. So, just utilising my experience, utilising my size, my skill, and just trying to make it difficult for him.”

Brunson and Mikal Bridges scored 20 points each, OG Anunoby added 17, and Landry Shamet scored 13 off the bench for the Knicks.

Wembanyama added nine rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals, and De’Aaron Fox scored 20 points for the Spurs.

Desperate not to head back to New York in a 2-0 hole, the Spurs attacked the paint early.

Wembanyama thrilled Spurs fans at the Frost Bank Center – where Knicks supporters were a vocal presence – with his first basket of the night, a left-handed dunk that gave the Spurs a 15-10 lead.

Fox’s alley-oop layup off a feed from Devin Vassell pushed the lead to 10 with less than two minutes to go in the first.

The Spurs pushed their lead to 12 before the Knicks responded in a tense second quarter, taking the lead for the first time, 49-48, on Landry Shamet’s layup with 3:39 left in the first half.

San Antonio regained the lead, but Towns’s three-pointer over Wembanyama gave the Knicks a 56-52 halftime advantage that they pushed to as many as 12 before taking an 84-75 lead into the fourth quarter.

“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “It’s a fantastic ballgame. They made a run. We made a run. They made a run. We made a run.

“We could have folded a few times, but our guys just kept fighting … No matter what run they went on, no matter what time of the game, our guys just kept uplifting one another.”

The Knicks are bidding to win their first Championship since 1973 and Karl-Anthony Towns said the fans have been inspiring their comebacks.

“It’s something that’s in the city, you feel that energy in the city,” said Towns, who posted 18 points and 12 rebounds.

“The grit, the grind, the hard work you’ve got to put in to make it in the city.

“I think we reflect our fans and their lifestyles and what it takes to make it in New York City, when we step on that court with the Knicks jersey.”

It was a quiet night for Victor Wembanyama. He was the top scorer for the Spurs but only scored six of his 21 shots from the field.

“We’ve been down in a series before – never in the Finals – but I’m not kicking myself about anything,” said Wembenyama.

“I was bad, it’s not more complicated than that. I’m not worried in the slightest.”

The best-of-seven series continues in San Antonio on Friday before the teams head to Madison Square Garden for Game three on Monday.

FLIGHTS to New York could eventually take the same amount of time as it does to fly to Tenerife – and passengers might be onboard sooner than you think.

X-59 QueSST, nicknamed the “Son of Concorde” has been developed by NASA to travel as much as 300mph faster than current commercial flights.

At the speed of over 900mph, the aircraft could travel from London to New York in 3hr45 – far less than it does to get to some of the Spanish islands.

Currently, flights from the UK to New York take around 7hr30, on average.

With the jet it could be under four hours which is even quicker than a flight to Tenerife at 4hr30.

Most commercial flights currently operate at around 600mph but the aircraft is set to conduct test flights where it will reach supersonic speeds of 630mph at 43,000ft for the first time.

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After that, NASA said that “mission conditions” will follow where the jet will go even faster.

If successful, it is hoped that supersonic flights could launch by 2029.

Don’t worry about hearing a sonic boom either – despite the sound barrier sitting at 660mph, the aircraft have been designed to avoid this.

Instead it will create a sonic “thump”, which is “about as loud as a car door closing”.

Up until now, NASA has been conducting tests in wind tunnels or in the skies but at slower speeds.

The jet is dubbed the ‘Son of Concorde’ as Concorde was the world’s very first supersonic airliner that first flew passengers in 1976.

Concorde’s fastest recorded flight was on February 7, 1996, when British Airways flew Concorde from New York’s JFK airport to London Heathrow in two hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds.

Around 20 Concordes were created, but the fleet was grounded in 2003.

This was three years after the crash of an Air France flight, in which all passengers and crew were killed.

Low passenger numbers and high costs were also cited as reasons for the ending of Concorde.

When Concordes were flying they would often break the sound barrier, causing the shaking of windows and creating a loud noise that replicated thunder when passing overhead.

Fancy seeing a real Concorde plane? You can see retired ones at Manchester Airport, Aerospace Bristol or Brooklands Museum in Surrey.

As Israel faces growing international scrutiny for its actions in Gaza and Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Ava Warriner takes a look at the Israeli and US officials who joined the annual Israel Day parade in New York – the world’s largest gathering in support of the State of Israel.

US States react following increasing criticism of football’s global governing body for the pricing of FIFA World Cup 2026.

FIFA faces a subpoena from the ‌states of New York and New Jersey as part of an investigation surrounding ticket pricing and ⁠accuracy of seat locations for the 2026 World Cup.

In a joint news release on Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport ⁠said prices for the 2026 World Cup matches “far exceeded the prices for any previous World Cup tournament”.

FIFA has detailed the first-time use of “dynamic pricing” to adjust ticket costs based ⁠on demand. Fan complaints and allegations of paying for tickets in one location of the stadium but receiving a less-desirable seat caught the attention of state officials.

When pressed to explain why prices of tickets, which went on sale in October, were so high, FIFA President Gianni Infantino ‌defended the governing body on multiple fronts by pointing to the limited ticket supply for an event with worldwide demand.

The state attorneys general confirmed they are seeking information regarding the general event pricing structure, location pricing structure, seat locations and other details related to the eight World Cup matches scheduled to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the United States. The July 19 final as well as group stage matches and early knock-out round games are to be held at MetLife Stadium.

“New ⁠Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to ⁠come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets,” James said in a release. “No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the ⁠tickets they purchased will be the ones they receive.”

The investigation seeks to soothe concerns for fans who’ve purchased – or hope to have an ⁠opportunity to purchase – tickets but feel misled about ⁠the final product.

“FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices – all at the expense of consumers and hard-working New Jerseyans,” Davenport said in the statement.

James said ‌watchdogs called on government officials for guidance to resolve disputes from fans who said they had selected a seat in one category of the four available at MetLife Stadium only to be ‌assigned ‌seats farther back from the playing surface.

FIFA contributed to elements of the seating location confusion with the late introduction of a premium ticket option, or “Front Category”, after initial tickets had already been sold.

A mile from the Manhattan jail where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in 2019, an unassuming Tribeca gallery at 101 Reade Street has been transformed into a physical archive of the disgraced financier’s many cases.

More than 3.5 million pages of law enforcement documents published by the United States Department of Justice have been printed, bound and stacked across 3,437 volumes to line the walls of a room from floor to ceiling.

The exhibition, titled “The Donald J Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room”, was organised by the Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit that says it focuses on transparency and anti-corruption initiatives.

Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2017 before hanging himself in his New York jail cell a month later, denying victims a chance at justice. The “reading room” is an attempt to shed light on the many cases connected to Epstein that never went to trial.

The shelves hold documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, alongside timelines, handwritten visitor notes, and a memorial space dedicated to survivors and victims.

Since opening two weeks ago, the gallery has drawn a steady stream of visitors, including survivors of a string of offences linked to Epstein.

Lara Blume McGee, who was only 17 when she was abused by Epstein, visited the reading room last week.

“I found something brutally human in the Trump-Epstein reading room,” Blume McGee told Al Jazeera. “Proof that our lives mattered enough to be gathered, cataloged, and finally seen.”

She described entering the room as walking into a “paper city”, with three and a half million pages on display, a sight that hit her “like a physical blow”. What she remembers most vividly is the silence.

“The silence was thick with memory,” she said. “Row after row, each bound volume a life, a name, a day that should never have happened if the US government had acted when he was reported to the FBI in 1996.”

The overwhelming scale of the archive is intentional. Organisers say the physicality of the documents forces visitors to confront not only the extent of Epstein’s crimes, but also the number of lives affected by them.

Thousands of victims have been identified in connection with Epstein’s abuse network. One of the most prominent survivors, Virginia Giuffre, died by suicide in April 2025.

David Garrett, a co-founder of the exhibition, said the project was built around survivors from the outset.

“We are centred around the victims and survivors more than anything,” Garrett said. “The biggest thing is transparency and accountability.”

Garrett described the exhibition as part of a broader effort to create “real-life pop-up museums” aimed at generating public pressure around corruption and institutional failure.

“Our goal is how can we drive public outrage in order to put pressure on Congress and the Department of Justice to get full and real transparency and hopefully eventually accountability,” he said.

The process of assembling the archive was itself chaotic. Garrett said organisers downloaded the files from the Department of Justice in March, believing they had received properly redacted documents. Only after printing the collection did they discover that many survivors’ names remained visible in the files.

“What seems to have happened is the Department of Justice modified its search function instead of actually redacting the names,” Garrett said. “The names of survivors were left unredacted while the names of witnesses and co-conspirators were hidden. They brazenly broke the law.”

Finding a venue also proved difficult. Garrett said several locations backed out after initially agreeing to host the exhibit, fearing controversy or retaliation. The Tribeca gallery ultimately became the fifth venue that organisers approached.

Despite these challenges, survivors and advocates quickly embraced the project.

On Tuesday, the gallery became the site of a 24-hour livestream reading of the files led by survivors, advocates and supporters.

Dani Bensky, an Epstein survivor, opened the broadcast Monday afternoon, standing at a podium inside the dimly lit gallery with one of the thick white volumes in her hands.

Her reading marked the beginning of a continuous public recitation of excerpts from the files – an attempt, organisers said, to ensure the documents are not quietly buried again.

Throughout the gallery, visitors have left flowers, handwritten notes, and messages of grief and anger.

Garrett recalled one woman who spent hours walking silently through the space before telling organisers she was herself a survivor of sexual abuse.

“She said this helped her realise that she felt seen,” Garrett said. “That meant a lot to us.”

For Blume McGee, that feeling of visibility carries both relief and frustration.

“For years we were told to be quiet, to accept settlements, to move on,” she told Al Jazeera. “Seeing our truths preserved in a public archive felt like a long-overdue acknowledgment of our pain, our abuse and our reality.”

But she warned that documentation alone is not justice.

“This exhibition gives real hope because the record is now undeniable,” Blume McGee said. “Finally, there is action: documentation, visibility, proof. But those same files map systemic failure — how many doors stayed shut, how many people escaped scrutiny.”

“Visibility without consequence only prolongs the wound,” she added. “We need both: the files on the table and the government to act — investigate, prosecute, reform — so that being ‘finally seen’ becomes finally safe.”

York: Dagger; Galeano, Wood, Mata’afa, Nofoaluma; Roberts, Hunter, Martin, Inman, Vuniyayawa, Buchanan, Field, McShane.

Interchanges: Balmforth, Va’a, Hudson, Hingano.

Catalans: Staines; Russell, Laguerre, Faataape, Cotric; Sexton, Aispuro-Bichet; Allen, Tison, Navarrete, Lipowicz, Maria, Garcia.

Interchanges: Satae, Condon, Wilson, Lis.

Referee: Matty Lynn

The New York Knicks scored 18 unanswered points on the way to a 109-93 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers as they took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.

The score was tied at 53-53 when the Knicks pulled away at their Madison Square Garden home to take a 71-53 lead on the way to a ninth straight victory.

Josh Hart scored 26 points, including five three-pointers, for the home side as he racked up a career-high tally for a play-off game, while team-mate Jalen Brunson added 19 points and 14 assists.

The Knicks, who last reached the NBA Finals match in 1999 and have not been champions since 1973, also had Mikal Bridges scoring 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 18.

“We don’t really care who gets the shine, the shots, the minutes, those kind of things – we’re focused on winning,” Hart said.

“I think everyone is willing to sacrifice their own personal agendas or performance for the betterment of the team. And when you have a group of guys that do that, sky’s the limit.”

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points for the Cavaliers and James Harden contributed 18 for the visiting side, who went 2-0 down to the Detroit Pistons in the last round before emerging 4-3 series winners.

“This isn’t our first time facing adversity,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been to two game sevens, so being down 2-0, it’s not the biggest challenge.

“It’s right there. So let’s go ahead and take advantage of it.”

Games three and four will take place in Cleveland on Saturday and Monday.

The winners will play either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, whose Western Conference final is tied at 1-1.

The deal, valued at more than $300m, gives Murdoch control of a storied magazine and a podcast division with a reach valued by advertisers.

Media scion James Murdoch has agreed to acquire New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network in a deal that will significantly expand his portfolio and stands to boost his influence over news and entertainment.

“This acquisition reflects both our interest in the forward edge of culture and our deep commitment to ambitious journalism,” Murdoch, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said in a statement on Wednesday announcing the transaction. His company Lupa Systems will buy both properties from Vox Media.

The deal, valued at more than $300m, gives Murdoch control of a storied magazine known for its coverage of culture, politics and fashion, and a podcast division whose reach, among a demographic coveted by advertisers, rivals that of cable television news networks, according to several people with direct knowledge of the acquisition. The politics news site Vox.com is also included.

Murdoch and his wife Kathryn Murdoch were intimately involved in courting key talent from Vox, specifically Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, stars of the popular Pivot podcast, as well as several other programmes on the company’s podcast network.

“I like James and Kathryn,” Swisher said in a phone interview. “Unlike many other media owners these days, they’re savvy about the business and willing to take smart risks.”

Vox’s podcast division was valued much higher than New York Magazine in the transaction, two of the people said, spotlighting the importance of making sure top programmes were locked in. Pivot, for example, has three years remaining on its contract, which will continue under Murdoch. Swisher met with the investor and his wife Kathryn several times before the deal came together.

“In a company like Vox, if its talent doesn’t like something, it’s not gonna happen,” Galloway said in an interview. He added, “James is the only Murdoch that this deal could have happened with.”

Several years ago, James was locked in a fierce dispute with his father over the editorial direction and future control of the family’s media empire. In 2019, he founded Lupa after stepping down as chief executive of 21st Century Fox. In 2020, he resigned from the board of News Corp, the publishing arm of the family’s media empire, citing “disagreements over certain editorial content”.

Vox’s podcast and publishing assets will operate as a subsidiary of Lupa Systems, which also owns Art Basel, which hosts annual events in Paris, Miami, Hong Kong, and Doha, and Tribeca Enterprises, the media and entertainment company cofounded by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal.

Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff will join Lupa Systems and will continue to lead the brands under the Vox Media label, he said in a note to the company’s staff, adding the deal is expected to close in four to six weeks.

New York Magazine’s publications include The Cut, Vulture and Intelligencer, with a digital audience of tens of millions and more than 400,000 paying subscribers currently.

The acquisition does not include other Vox Media brands such as Eater, Popsugar and The Verge. These brands, along with SB Nation and The Dodo, will become an independent company under a new corporate name.

James’s father, Rupert Murdoch, once owned New York Magazine from the late 1970s till he sold it in 1991.

Hotel operators avoid a ‘very real threat’ by signing a deal with 25,000 workers as the city hosts the 2026 tournament.

New York City hotel operators and ⁠unions have reached an eight-year labour deal covering about 25,000 workers, averting a strike over wages, workloads and staffing levels that had threatened to disrupt the city ⁠before the FIFA World Cup, said the head of the Hotel Association of New York City.

Vijay Dandapani, the association’s president and chief executive, said on Tuesday that the mood among owners was “overall positive” after weeks of negotiations, though the industry made significant concessions.

“We came ‌a long way from where things were,” Dandapani said.

The United States will cohost the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

While FIFA, football’s global governing body and tournament organiser, was not involved in the talks, the prospect of an influx of fans raised the stakes.

A union campaign had warned of a possible strike and urged visitors to avoid affected hotels.

The potential walkout was a “very real threat”, Dandapani said, noting recent labour actions in US cities including Los Angeles and ⁠Boston.

Dandapani said a figure of about $200,000 reflected compensation at the end of the agreement, not at the outset.

Hotel owners entered the talks aiming to preserve profitability, arguing New York’s lodging market has not ⁠fully recovered from the pandemic. Occupancy remains below 2019 levels, and inflation-adjusted room rates have yet to catch up, he ⁠said.

He also cited broader pressures, including the US-Israel war on Iran, tariffs and visa issues.

The deal follows the withdrawal of a proposed city measure that operators said would have sharply raised labour costs by limiting room attendants’ workloads and requiring double pay beyond certain ‌thresholds. Owners estimated it could have lifted wage costs by about 40 percent.

The new pact will still add costs, though operators expect tourism demand and major events to ‌support ‌revenue.

On the second weekend of May, Gustavo Dudamel gave the New York Philharmonic a salsa shock. He gleefully brought the startled players together with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, an uptown salsa and jazz band, for concerts at Lincoln Center and Washington Heights. The city‘s classical music fans treated it as a cultural breakthrough; Dudamel is expected to transform the orchestra as a cultural institution when he returns in the fall as its music and artistic director.

A day later he was back in Los Angeles to begin rehearsals at a Walt Disney Concert Hall that had been fantastically transformed by Frank Gehry for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s staging of “Die Walküre.” Transformation — be it cultural, orchestral, personal — has marked Dudamel’s 17 years as music (and more recently artistic) director of the L.A. Phil, which is now coming to an end with his three weeks of concerts in Disney to close the season June 7, followed by a celebratory weekend at the Hollywood Bowl in late August.

But meeting with Dudamel in his dressing room after a “Walküre” rehearsal (the opera begins Tuesday night at Disney and runs for six nights, an act a night, the full opera performed twice) , he says as he has said before, he does not think of this as a culmination, merely the beginning of a new adventure. He’s apartment shopping in New York. But he is keeping his house in Los Angeles.

He’s also departing with two very long new titles as “Die Walküre” premieres: the Diane and M. David Paul Artistic Cultural Laureate of the L.A. Phil and Jane and Michael Eisner Founding Director and Conductor Laureate of Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA).

Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Feb. 22.

(David Butow / For The Times)

“We are talking about projects,” he says. “Look, I’m coming back for two weeks in December,” when he will lead Beethoven programs. He returns in the spring. The Bowl will always be a second home.

“I’m living here and I’m not living here,” he explains. “The connection will always be here.”

The energy in New York is, he continues, “super exciting.” And what excites him the most is how comfortable he feels with the very real differences between L.A. and New York.

“As a Latino from Venezuela,” he says, “I have an immediate connection with the New York that is home of salsa. When I was in the womb I was hearing salsa.” His father, Oscar Dudamel, is a trombonist and salsa musician.

But he adds that mariachi, ubiquitous in Mexico and L.A., is also an integral part of Venezuelan culture. “What I have to say is that I am blessed. I’m blessed that both cities are now part of my life.”

Bringing ‘crazy’ ideas to Los Angeles

L.A., of course, has been the major part of his adult life. At 24, an unknown, he made his dazzling U.S. debut in 2005 leading the L.A. Phil at the Hollywood Bowl. Four years later, he became the orchestra’s music director and caught the world’s attention.

There is no doubt that Dudamel’s extraordinary talents would have meant a major career wherever he landed. But, here, he inherited the world’s most culturally open major orchestra, where fresh thinking and new music thrive. Disney Hall allowed him the extraordinary freedom to dream. Being back at Disney, Dudamel admits, is very emotional, especially conducting “Walküre” with Gehry’s sets of billowy, sumptuous clouds and fanciful white papery horses.

“Frank is here with us,” Dudamel exclaims about the architect, who died in December and with whom he had become close. Conducting Wagner’s opera, in many ways, sums up Dudamel’s ambitions, the way he has connected with more sides of L.A.’s cultural landscape than possibly any other artist.

In L.A., Dudamel grew as an artist and a person, he says, through his relationship with an orchestra that is uniquely flexible and a welcoming community. This allowed Dudamel to be what he likes to call “crazy.”

“I remember the first time I came here. I didn’t have a chance to do or see anything,” he says of his Bowl debut. “So, I remember driving from the airport to Sunset Boulevard, where my hotel was, and I didn’t understand anything. But immediately it was the connection with the orchestra.”

Frank Gehry designed the sets for a Jan. 18, 2024, performance of Wagner’s opera, “Das Rheingold,” with Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Flash forward 20 years from 2005 to 2025. In what seemed like a truly crazy idea, he brought the L.A. Phil to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where he led a varied set of classical favorites and appearances with pop stars, for 150,000 people shouting “L.A. Phil! L.A Phil.” Among the highlights was “Ride of the Valkyries,” the English title of “Walküre.”

The symbolism of doing “Walküre” is, for Dudamel, unmistakable. Wagner’s four-part “Ring” cycle, of which “Die Walküre” is the second opera, strongly influenced the “Star Wars” films Dudamel grew up with. The saga’s composer John Williams is another L.A. legend who became for Dudamel like family. Williams has, in fact, written a fanfare, “Bravo Gustavo!” that Dudamel will premiere on June 4 in a concert in which he celebrates the musicians of the L.A. Phil.

The “Walküre” production, moreover, further expresses his desire to remain connected with L.A. When asked whether he still plans to complete the “Ring” cycle with the L.A. Phil, which he began two seasons ago with “Das Rheingold,” he says, “completely.”

It’s a radical notion, to say nothing of an extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming challenge for any orchestra given to a former music director, but Dudamel has never been one to take no for an answer. “At my last conversation with Frank,” he recalls, “I said I was coming to talk about ‘Siegfried’ [the next opera in the cycle], and he said, ‘You are crazy.’”

“That was Frank. He freaked out about the operas every time I talked to him about them. And then he came up with fabulous ideas.

“You know I never dreamed about coming to the L.A. Phil. I was happy in Venezuela and guest conducting elsewhere. But when I met Frank and John [Williams], I knew I had come to the right place.”

One reason Dudamel was happy in Venezuela was his position as music director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, part of El Sistema, the country’s famed music education program. He brought a version of that to Los Angeles with YOLA, which offers free musical education to students. Bringing young people together to learn — and not just to play music but to listen to each other — has grown increasingly essential to him.

Gustavo Dudamel has fun with John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl as he conducts the L.A. Phil during “Maestro of the Movies: John Williams with the LA Phil” on July 9, 2023.

(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)

On Thursday evening, USC awarded Dudamel an honorary doctorate during its graduation ceremonies at the Coliseum, where Dudamel also gave the commencement speech.

“I will never tire of repeating this: music, art and beauty are universal rights,” he told the graduates, urging them to go out into the world listening to others, seeing others, paying attention to everything. These are the practices he has long championed as the essential need for youth orchestras.

This was, in fact, almost precisely what he said when he first arrived in L.A. “I was very young, but I grew up with these ideas,” he told me.

“You have to say to the students, ‘Stop! Let’s pause. Just listen.’”

“It’s a way to really connect with what surrounds you, but also connect with yourself. That’s the beauty of all the layers of listening we do as musicians. I now think that is our main tool. In the end it’s not listening only to sounds. It’s listening as connecting with others.”

Practicing what he preaches

As Dudamel plans for his next chapter, he indicates that the advice he gives students is what he is also saying to himself.

YOLA students perform on stage during a “Gracias Gustavo Community Block Party” at the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center in Inglewood on Oct. 11, 2025.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

What L.A. gave him, he concludes, is a greater depth of his own listening. There was the guidance of Deborah Borda, who, as the orchestra’s president and CEO, hired and mentored him. There were the opera productions with Peter Sellars, who made him look deeply inside himself. There were the communities to discover and with which to collaborate.

New York, he insists, will be a further continuation of this process. “There are a lot of things to do. As I did here, that will be not only conducting but spending a big amount of time doing other things. I will have to listen to the community. Every place is different.”

And every place needs to be, for Dudamel, connected. He began his last season in Disney in the fall with the world premiere of Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” a bicoastal co-commission between the L.A. Phil and the New York Philharmonic, sonically evoking the environmental difference between L.A. and New York. He recently repeated it with his new orchestra in David Geffen Hall in New York.

In L.A., Reid’s score felt like a vast, moving, spiritual soundscape of our fires’ fury as well as our coastal fancy. At Geffen, it became a gripping showpiece, like attempting to zoom in a Ferrari through Manhattan streets, were they ever empty — the thrill of taking it all in.

Dudamel says his favorite place in New York so far is the orchestra’s archives. Becoming absorbed in the history of America’s oldest orchestra gives him new ideas. He wants simultaneously the old, the new and the many.

He also insists on ever more connections. ”We are making, many, many projects together,” he says of the L.A. Phil and the New York Philharmonic. That includes bringing the two orchestras together in a further experiment in listening.

“That‘s very important to me, one of my dreams. And it’s not difficult,” he says. “We have plans and it’s beautiful. We have to do that.”

Israeli forces had been preparing the makeshift sites in western Iraq since late 2024, the US newspaper reported.

Israel built two covert military outposts in Iraq’s western desert in advance of the US-Israel war on Iran, The New York Times has reported.

The daily reported on Sunday that Iraqi officials had identified two covert Israeli-operated base in Iraq’s western desert, citing an Iraqi official and a lawmaker. It said Israeli forces had been preparing to build one of the makeshift sites since late 2024, citing a regional official.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that one base was established shortly before the war began and operated with the knowledge of the United States. It said the installation housed Israeli special forces and served as a logistical hub for their air operations. It also reportedly included search-and-rescue capabilities for downed pilots.

According to the newspaper, Israeli forces launched attacks from the base against Iraqi units that came close to discovering the site in early March. Open-source analysts cited by the report identified the suspected location using satellite imagery near Iraq’s border with Saudi Arabia.

The reports have added to months of conflicting accounts over alleged Israeli activity inside Iraq. On Thursday, Lieutenant-General Qais al-Muhammadawi, Iraq’s deputy commander of joint operations, said authorities had received reports of “individuals or movement” in the Najaf desert near Karbala, about 100km (62 miles) southwest of Baghdad, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.

The WSJ also referenced comments made in March by Israel’s former air force chief, Major-General Tomer Bar, who said Israeli special forces had carried out “extraordinary” operations during the conflict with Iran, though he did not specify where.

Iraqi officials have publicly denied authorising any foreign military presence in the area. “There is no agreement or consent for any force to be present in this location,” al-Muhammadawi said last week, before the details of the alleged Israeli outpost were reported.

However, the WSJ report said Baghdad privately lodged a protest with Washington in late March over suspected covert military activity, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

US officials quoted by the newspaper said Washington was not involved in the operation. On Sunday, a senior Iraqi security official again denied reports that Israel had established a military base in the desert, speaking to Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency.

On Tuesday, the commander of Iraq’s Karbala operations told Al Jazeera that an Israeli military group had been detected in the Najaf desert in March, although he said it had remained in the area for less than 48 hours.

The reports come as Iraq faces growing pressure amid escalating tensions between the US, Israel and Iran.

Washington has repeatedly urged Baghdad to curb the influence of Iran-backed armed groups operating in Iraq. In March, US forces carried out strikes against the Popular Mobilisation Forces after attacks on a US diplomatic and logistics facility near Baghdad airport.

Iran has also raised concerns over the allegations. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran would raise the issue with Iraqi authorities. He accused Israel of seeking to destabilise the region.

“Israel’s behaviour in the region shows that they do not respect any limits or red lines,” Baghaei said.

Round-trip train tickets brought down to $98 from $150, and bus fares to cost $20 instead of $80, state officials say.

Local governments in New Jersey and New York have reduced the cost of train and bus tickets for commuters travelling to the states’ joint World Cup venue during the tournament.

New Jersey Transit train tickets to the MetLife Stadium, renamed New Jersey New York Stadium for the FIFA World Cup, will now cost $98 as opposed to the earlier price set at $150 for a return fare, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced on Wednesday.

“Ahead of NJ Transit World Cup train tickets going on sale tonight, NJTRANSIT is lowering ticket prices to $98 without New Jersey taxpayer money,” Sherrill wrote in a social media post.

The move followed intense backlash from local and international football fans planning to attend World Cup games at the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the tournament’s final will be held on July 19.

The $98 fare, which will be charged during the World Cup matches hosted in New Jersey, is still significantly higher than the regular fare of $13 for the 29km (18-mile) round trip from New York City’s Penn Station.

When the $150 fare was announced, Sherrill defended it by suggesting the upcharge was necessary to ensure that her state’s commuters were not stuck with a “tab for years to come” for hosting the World Cup on its return to the United States for the first time since 1994.

NJ Transit officials said it would cost $62m to transport fans to and from the stadium over the duration of the tournament and outside grants had defrayed only $14m of those anticipated expenses.

“This isn’t price gouging,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said last month. “We’re literally trying to recoup our costs.”

Meanwhile, the cost of taking a shuttle bus from New York City to the World Cup venue has also been reduced.

“The cost of shuttle bus tickets to and from matches will be reduced from the initial $80 round-trip price to $20,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on the same Wednesday.

The move from the NYNJ Host Committee offers some respite for fans who would have already spent thousands of dollars on attending a World Cup game, largely due to the exorbitant match ticket prices, international and local airfares, and visa costs.

The host city officials said 20 percent of bus tickets for each match will be reserved exclusively for New York state residents. The remaining tickets will be available for all match-going fans.

The US is cohosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada. It begins on June 11.