NY rail funding

put on hold

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump’s administration is citing the government shutdown in explaining why it’s holding up roughly $18 billion for a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and an extension of the city’s Second Avenue subway.

The move is likely meant to target Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. To the White House, he’s the one to blame for the budget. He says the freeze would harm commuters.

The New York agency working on the subway line says it’s been blindsided by the announcement. Meanwhile, Trump’s budget director says $8 billion in funding for green energy projects in Democratic-led states would be canceled.

AG Bondi touts

Memphis arrests

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi have met with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in Memphis. The meeting comes as about a dozen federal law enforcement agencies ordered by President Donald Trump to fight crime have begun making arrests there.

Bondi says via social media that the Memphis Safe Task Force made more than 50 arrests over a two-day period. The agents include personnel from immigration and drug enforcement. They have begun serving criminal arrest warrants while teaming with state agencies on traffic stops. Bondi says more than 200 officers have been deputized.

The Tennessee National Guard is also supposed to begin working with Memphis Police, although it is unclear how soon that will happen.

Jane Goodall

dies at age 91

(AP) — Jane Goodall, the conservationist renowned for her groundbreaking chimpanzee field research and globe-spanning environmental advocacy, has died. She was 91.

The Jane Goodall Institute announced her death Wednesday, saying she died of natural causes while in California on a U.S. speaking tour. Goodall is best remembered for living among chimpanzees in Africa decades ago and documenting the animals using tools and doing other activities previously believed to be exclusive to humans.

She also noted their distinct personalities. Her observations and subsequent magazine and documentary appearances in the 1960s transformed how the world perceived not only humans’ closest living biological relatives but also the emotional and social complexity of all animals.