## Feds accidentally publish secret plan to kill NYC congestion pricing

Authored by gothamist.com

Lawyers for the federal government briefly published internal correspondence on Wednesday evening detailing a laundry list of flaws in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s legal strategy to shut down the MTA’s congestion pricing tolls.

DOT pilot program – the Value Pricing Pilot Program – that allows local governments to impose tolls on federally funded roads.

“It is unlikely that Judge [Lewis] Liman or further courts of review will accept the argument that [congestion pricing] was not a statutorily authorized ‘value pricing’ pilot” by the federal government, the letter states.

Still, the letter notes that argument isn’t airtight because the DOT did not give the MTA any money to launch congestion pricing.

MTA officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the filing suggests their bid to continue collecting the congestion pricing tolls is on solid ground.

Duffy at first gave the agency a March 21 deadline to kill the program, then pushed it back to April 20.

Congestion pricing was first authorized by state lawmakers in 2019, and is required to finance $15 billion worth of repairs to the MTA’s mass transit infrastructure. »

### After nearly 50 years cooped up inside, Rockalina the turtle finds the great outdoors

Authored by npr.org

After nearly 50 years cooped up inside, Rockalina the turtle finds the great outdoors.

A young boy found Rockalina, a wild eastern box turtle, while playing near his New York home in 1977.

When Garden State Tortoise, a reptile rehabilitation center based in New Jersey, got ahold of Rockalina in February, they worried for her survival. »

### Trump says Zelenskyy is prolonging war in Ukraine by resisting calls to cede Crimea to Russia

Authored by apnews.com

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. »

### Bangladesh reintroduces ‘except Israel’ phrase on passports

Authored by dawn.com

Bangladesh has restored an “except Israel” inscription on passports, local media reported on Sunday, effectively barring its citizens from travelling to that country.

Israel is a flashpoint issue in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which does not recognise it.

The phrase “valid for all countries except Israel,” which was printed on Bangladeshi passports for decades, was removed during the later years of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. »

### Syria is willing to join the Abraham Accords, Sharaa tells US rep

Authored by jpost.com

Syria is willing to join the Abraham Accords under the correct conditions, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told US Representative Cory Mills in a meeting on Saturday.

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025.

Notably, Syria still demands the return of the Golan Heights, which Trump recognized as Israeli territory in 2019. »

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