Good evening, New York City. We're wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know about for tonight and tomorrow, as well as your weather outlook.

Your Weather Planner

It's a great weekend to clean your closets! Scattered showers are in store this evening, with heavier, steady rain shortly behind. The city will see the heaviest rain and gusty winds overnight into Saturday morning. 

Saturday looks like a bit of a soaker, but we are not expecting widespread rain. There wil be a bit of a break late Saturday into Sunday, with rain returning Sunday afternoon and evening.

Our Forecast

Highs: Low 50s
Lows: Mid-40s
Rain, rain, not going away

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Today's Big Stories

1. Mother, two children die in Brooklyn blaze: officials

A mother and her two daughters were killed in a fire that tore through a Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment building early this morning, authorities say.

The blaze broke out on the third floor of a four-story building on Gates Avenue, between Throop and Tompkins avenues, around 5 a.m., the FDNY said.

2. MTA bailout included in Albany budget deal

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber visited Union Square station today, celebrating a budget deal in Albany that gives the transit agency a long-term bailout and extra money for more subway service.

“I said we cannot have our riders wondering whether the frequency is going to be there, whether the subway is going to be there, whether the buses are going to be there, commuter rails,” he said. “We have to solve the problem and solve it in the long run.”

3. Hunter Biden being unfairly scrutinized, says SoHo art dealer

Republican lawmakers want to hear from SoHo gallery owner Georges Berges on whether one of his artists is selling political influence to the presidency. That artist is Hunter Biden.

In an exclusive interview with NY1, Berges spoke about the investigations and why he believes Biden is being treated unfairly.

4. Who's taking paid family leave in New York? Many are low-income workers

Many of the workers who received benefits under New York's paid family leave program in 2021 earned less than $40,000 a year — an indication the program is providing support for low and moderate-income workers, an analysis released today by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found. 

The report assessed the state's expanding paid family leave program between 2018 and 2021 as the amount of time off allowed and cash benefits steadily rose as it was being phased in. New York's paid family leave law was first approved in 2016, and is meant to enable workers to take time off with partial pay in order to care for a family member or bond with a newborn child. 

5. New York budget watchdogs: Details will matter in state's spending plan

New York has a "conceptual" budget deal, as announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday. But what exactly does that mean?

The specifics — and the precise bill language for how the whole budget will work — are yet to be spelled out. 

6. MTA suspends real-time Twitter service alerts

The MTA suspended its real-time Twitter service alerts this week, citing the platform’s plan to charge some users thousands of dollars to send out automated tweets.

In a statement released Thursday night, the MTA’s acting chief customer officer, Shanifah Rieara, said the agency had “terminated posting service information to Twitter, effective immediately.”

7. For all the foodies: NYT critic unveils city's top 100 restaurants

New York City is known as a food lover's paradise, with endless options to choose from when it comes to dining out – and New York Times food critic Pete Wells is out with his new list of the 100 best locations for a bite to eat.

In an interview with “Mornings On 1” today, Wells explained his rigorous methodology for selecting the top 100 restaurants, and said his original draft included 200 locations.

In Case You Missed It

It's a 230,000-square-foot, $465 million expansion project that makes 33 connections among 10 museum buildings. (NY1/Roger Clark)

Making scientific connections on the Upper West Side

You wouldn’t think the American Museum of Natural History could fit any more science into its already massive campus on the Upper West Side. But the new Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation does just that.

Opening to the public on May 4, the massive $465 million project has been in the works for nearly a decade. NY1's Roger Clark got a sneak peek of the project.