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Last year, the USDOT rescinded approval for New York's first-in-the-nation congestion fee and threatened to pull funding from the state if it did not abandon the toll, which is imposed on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)
NEW YORK (AP) — Zheng Qinwen was on her back with her arms in the air, celebrating a U.S. Open victory maybe only she believed was possible.
Madison Keys fought off tears as she tried to explain how Zheng, way down and all but out, somehow got the win.
Zheng, the Olympic gold medalist, extended her return to the U.S. Open on Saturday with a spectacular and stunning rally, winning the final seven games to eliminate No. 22 Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
“I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really — I mean, got really scared, like I couldn’t swing,” Keys said. “I don’t know. Tennis just feels really hard right now, so I feel like that kind of took over.”
Hours later, 13th-seeded Naomi Osaka joined her in the fourth round by defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. The two-time champion from Japan put her head on her racket after the final point, stunned herself at the victory.
“Honestly, I can’t believe I won this match,” Osaka said. “I’m literally shocked that I won this match.”
Not quite as big a comeback as Zheng, but Osaka was down 4-2 in the third set and apologized for expressing so much frustration throughout a tough night.
“There was a certain point, I don’t know, I felt like I put my entire heart on the court and then I just kept trying every single point,” Osaka said. “I didn’t feel like I played amazing, and it was really getting me down. I was very negative on myself.”
Osaka avoided the kind of exit men's No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz endured, blowing a two-set lead and falling to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I don’t know how I let that happen today,” Fritz said.
Amanda Anisimova, like Fritz and Keys a past runner-up at the U.S. Open, also was knocked out when the No. 10 seed lost to No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5. No. 5 Flavio Cobolli, the French Open runner-up, lost in four sets to No. 28 Alexander Blockx to leave the men's draw without six of the top 10 seeds.
Keys won a three-set match in the previous round in a match tiebreaker when she fought off five match points. Two days later came a collapse that was as out-of-nowhere as that comeback.
The 2017 runner-up rebounded after losing the second-set tiebreaker to charge out to a 5-0 lead. Zheng held but Keys had a match point while serving at 5-1, and once she couldn't convert that, the turnaround was on, with Keys at one point banging her racket into her head repeatedly and pulling off her visor in disgust.
“I’m just telling myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there and somehow little by little it just happened,” Zheng said.
She won the gold medal for China at the 2024 Olympics after reaching the Australian Open final that year, and has been ranked as high as No. 4. But after elbow surgery, she is down to No. 121 and had to go through qualifying just to make the main draw.
“The hard work pays off,” said Zheng, who will play 2022 U.S. Open champion Iga Swiatek next.
Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4. She'll face 18-year-old Iva Jovic in a matchup of young Americans with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m definitely used to getting to Week 2s now because I feel like I woke up today and I was like, ’Oh, we’re already in Round 3,'” Gauff said. “So, I think that’s a good sign, just feeling like I’m not feeling tired.”
Jovic defeated fan favorite Alex Eala of the Phillipines 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted over three hours.
“The level was absolutely incredible from both sides,” Jovic said. “We definitely put on a show, and it literally took everything to get through that.”
Keys, who won the 2025 Australian Open for her lone Grand Slam title, said she was going to have to make some unspecified changes she has been putting off.
“I think she started playing better; I started playing poorly,” Keys said. “Then I felt like I couldn’t play tennis anymore, and it just felt like it was a much bigger deal than just playing a tennis match all of a sudden.”
Fritz stormed through his first two rounds, losing a total of 11 games, and there was no hint of trouble when he broke Cerundolo to open the third set. But Cerundolo broke right back and started to feel more comfortable in his first time playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I think fourth and fifth I played a really good tennis that I wasn’t finding that tennis in the previous sets and the previous rounds,” the Argentine said.
Anisimova missed repeated chances by converting just 3 of 16 break-point chances (19%). Potapova, a 25-year-old who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, went 6 for 8 and matched her best showing in a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the fourth round.
Anisimova made the final at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2025, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in Flushing Meadows. But after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the American was eliminated in the third round of the last three majors this year.
Potapova will play No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion.
Top-seeded man Alexander Zverev, who had to win five-setters in the first two rounds, is facing No. 25 seed Alejandro Tabilo in the nightcap on Ashe.
AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, celebrates after defeating Elise Mertens, of Belgium, in three sets during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Taylor Fritz, of the United States, sits during a break from play during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Madison Keys, of the United States, reacts after she lost her match to Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, celebrates after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Anastasia Potapova, of Austria, reacts after she won her match against Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, reacts during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Anastasia Potapova, of Austria, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Madison Keys, of the United States, returns the ball to Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, celebrates after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, gestures after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
