NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration has agreed to resume funding a key Manhattan subway project after New York officials sued.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a federal court filing Thursday that it has completed its review of the Second Avenue subway line project, and will begin reimbursing state transit officials again for construction costs.
Janno Lieber, MTA's CEO, said the reversal means “long-awaited transit justice” will soon come to neighborhoods in upper reaches of Manhattan. The Second Avenue subway project is building new stations northward along Manhattan’s Upper East Side, bringing subway service to parts of the Harlem neighborhood.
“It shouldn’t have taken seven months and a lawsuit to get here," he said in a statement.
The federal Department of Transportation said the agreement means taxpayers' “hard-earned dollars will not fund unconstitutional DEI initiatives,” referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles. The administration argued that use of DEI principles has led to soaring costs on federal projects and is unconstitutional.
“This has always been about securing the best deal for the American taxpayer and ensuring their dollars are spent efficiently and fairly,” the agency said in a statement.
Lieber, addressing reporters later Thursday, called the dispute "an “unnecessary waste of the public's time and money” since the state agency was complying with the administration's new rules regarding minority and women-owned businesses in federal projects.
“The whole point was they sent us a letter saying we didn't make the standards of the new rules before they even issued the new rules,” he said. “It was just a bunch of gamesmanship.”
The USDOT had withheld roughly $60 million from the Second Avenue project as it launched its review. Overall, the project is supposed to cost $7.7 billion, with the federal government covering around $3.4 billion.
The dispute over the Second Avenue subway was among a number of major transportation projects in New York and New Jersey that Trump has sought to scuttle as he feuded with Democratic leaders in those states.
The administration in October also halted billions of dollars in funding for a massive new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. A federal judge in February, however, ordered federal officials to resume payments for the tunnel project under the Hudson River.
Last year, the USDOT rescinded approval for New York's first-in-the-nation congestion fee and threatened to pull funding from the state if it did not abandon the toll, which is imposed on drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan.
But a federal judge ruled last month that the agency lacked the authority to unilaterally rescind approval of the $9 fee.
FILE - A construction worker is hoisted towards the ceiling inside the 86th Street cavern of the Second Avenue subway tunnel, May 1, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
FILE - A construction worker cuts stone near an entrance of the unfinished Second Avenue subway, Dec. 14, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — A student opened fire at a high school outside Bangkok on Friday, killing at least five people and wounding more than 20, according to authorities, who said he also appeared to have killed his two grandparents at the family home earlier in the morning.
The 14-year-old shooter took his own life at the school, officials said.
Five school staff members, including teachers and administrators, died in the shooting around 10 a.m. at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province northwest of Bangkok, Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said at the scene.
The boy also killed his grandparents at the home he shared with them prior to the school shooting, Polapee said.
Bangyai Hospital, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the school, said 23 people were wounded, of whom 10 were in critical condition, with most suffering gunshot wounds. Earlier reports gave conflicting casualty numbers.
A witness said students hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave the building.
Amporn Niamfuang, who owns a restaurant 50 meters (160 feet) from the school, said there was the sound of a single gunshot and then a pause.
“And then there were multiple continuous shots,” Amporn said, recalling the narrow road outside the restaurant filling with fleeing students. “Students were running scared and pouring onto the street. Young girls were holding each other’s hands and crying. I went inside to hide.”
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, speaking after touring the school, confirmed reports that the shooter was 14 and had killed himself. He said the student had shown signs of stress connected to school.
The gun, described by police as small and compact, was legally registered to his grandfather, he said.
About an hour after the shooting, people stood outside comforting one another as police and first responders walked around the co-educational state school, which has an enrollment of about 3,000 students ranging from 12 to 18 years old.
All classes will be suspended between Aug. 10 and Aug. 14 and school staff have been instructed to work from home during that time, the school said.
After the shooting, police went to his home and found both grandparents dead of apparent gunshot wounds, regional police Commander Wattana Yeejeen said.
The student appeared to have shot them before attending school as normal. He waited until classes started and began shooting inside his classroom before walking out and firing more shots, Police spokesperson Trairong Piwpan said.
The boy fired more than 20 shots and police found he still had 30 rounds after shooting himself, he said.
Several family members, including his uncle and sisters of the grandfather who were at the family home while police investigated, said he usually kept to himself and was a good student.
The family members said they were unaware of any troubles he faced at home or school.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia, second only to Pakistan and far surpassing its Southeast Asian neighbors.
Data collected in 2017 by the groups Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org in their last extensive international study found civilian gun ownership in Thailand was about 15.1 guns per 100 people, compared with less than one per 100 in neighboring Malaysia.
Thailand had 3.49 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people, according to 2023 statistics published by World Population Review. That puts it well behind parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, but relatively high in Asia. Only the Philippines is higher in Southeast Asia.
In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage in a two-hour attack that killed one person and injured two others.
A 14-year-old boy was accused of a 2023 shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall.
Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok and Kaweewit Kaewjinda in Nonthaburi, Thailand, contributed to this report.
Students arrive at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a day after the shooting at the school, in Nonthaburi province, Thailand Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A woman lays flowers and offers prayers at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a day after the shooting at the school in Nonthaburi province, Thailand, on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Police officers gather at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a day after the shooting at the school in Nonthaburi province, Thailand , on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A coffin containing the body of a victim of Friday's shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, is brought in a stretcher at a police hospital in Bangkok,Thailand, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
People offer prayers at the gate of Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a day after the shooting at the school in Nonthaburi province, Thailand, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A parent leaves after picking his child after a shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
First responders and others stand inside after a shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A schoolgirl cries outside her school where deaths and injuries were reported after a shooting in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A crowd gathers outside a school where deaths and injuries were reported after a shooting in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A schoolgirl cries outside her school where deaths and injuries were reported after a shooting in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
