DEARBORN, Mich. — Two top Trump advisers privately pushed back this week on plans to open the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge, according to three sources familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had been appointed by President Donald Trump to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he is nominating Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence, following backlash over his selection of housing regulator Bill Pulte to serve in the role on an acting basis.

Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday he will try to get President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence confirmed “as quickly as possible.”

“I don’t know what realistic is, but we’re gonna probe the limits of it,” the South Dakota Republican said.

Trump on Thursday afternoon...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pulled back threatened military strikes against Iran, a stark reversal that came just hours after he vowed to hit the Islamic Republic “VERY HARD” and threatened to seize its oil infrastructure.

U.S. forces had already pounded Iran with airstrikes for two straight days when Trump on Thursday morning ...Read more

NEW YORK — After persuading state lawmakers to give it more time, New York City Public Schools released a plan to reduce class sizes that allocates $244 million to hire new teachers across 360 schools.

The 68-page draft is required by a 2022 state law, which set the caps between 20 and 25 students, depending on their grade level. City schools...Read more

MIAMI — The six jurors in George Pino’s vessel-homicide and manslaughter trial took a road trip to North Miami on Thursday morning to view his boat, which was wrecked in the crash that killed a teenage girl and severely injured two others.

The jurors arrived around 10:30 a.m. in a black Dodge van, escorted by three Miami-Dade Sheriff’s ...Read more

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions Thursday on Union Cuba-Petróleo, known as CUPET, Cuba’s state energy company, accusing the island’s communist leaders of “having weaponized energy” to control the population and for their own “kleptocratic” benefit.

CUPET, which owns refineries and storage facilities, has also come...Read more

Four tons of invasive Burmese pythons were removed from South Florida ecosystems during the latest breeding season, setting a record for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

The achievement marks a new milestone in the fight against the giant snakes, which are considered one of the greatest threats to the Everglades ecosystem because of their ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In the middle of mundane City Council procedures on Thursday, cheers erupted inside Council chambers.

Supporters were celebrating the passage of a bill that will outlaw horse-drawn carriages in Philadelphia. The ban would take effect after Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signs it into law.

The city’s last operating horse-carriage ...Read more

BOSTON — The U.S. Marshals Service in Massachusetts, partnered with local police agencies, recovered 35 “high-risk missing children” in “Operation Yellow Card” ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

“The upcoming FIFA World Cup is a monumental event for Massachusetts, but large-scale international gatherings historically bring a heightened ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis will go back to the drawing board in deciding what to do with the former Speedway gas station across the street from where police killed George Floyd.

The City Council on Thursday rejected a city staff recommendation that the land be sold to and developed by a community violence prevention group called ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia School District officials and public education advocates were relieved Wednesday when Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced she had reached a deal with City Council that will prevent 340 classroom positions from being eliminated amid the district’s funding woes.

But as limited details about the agreement began to ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Navy has spent millions of dollars on Idaho cleanup efforts associated with a fighter jet collision at a Mountain Home air show last month that involved two E/A-18G Growler aircraft.

Navy public affairs specialist Liane Nakahara told The Idaho Statesman in an email Thursday that the Navy has spent approximately $2 ...Read more

NEW YORK — The NYC City Council weighed competing visions for the future of the Central Park carriage horse industry Thursday, two days after a horse named Deniz collapsed and died Tuesday night.

One bill — a reintroduction of “Ryder’s Law,” named for a horse that died in 2022 — would bring an end to the tradition. The measure would...Read more

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the GOP front-runner for Florida governor, is endorsed by President Donald Trump and has an insurmountable lead in campaign contributions. Most credible polls of likely Republican voters show him with a commanding edge against his primary opponents.

But in a week in which his Democratic foe, former U.S. Rep. David Jolly...Read more

BALTIMORE — Federal immigration agents arrested two people outside a Southeast Baltimore school Thursday morning during a pre-kindergarten graduation ceremony. The incident triggered panic among students and parents, disrupting a celebratory day and drawing condemnation from city and state leaders who said federal officials had previously ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to slash property taxes on Floridians’ primary homes has attracted an unlikely coalition of opponents: anti-tax advocates.

After DeSantis revealed his proposed amendment two weeks ago, the right-leaning Florida TaxWatch said it was flawed and “unnecessary.” Former GOP Sen. Jeff Brandes, a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A man identified for years as a suspect in the 2023 mass shooting at Morgan State University was indicted Wednesday over the on-campus attack.

Baltimore Police linked Javon “Chewy” Williams to the shooting, which injured five people during the historically Black university’s homecoming week, within the first several days of ...Read more