Commission sues Trump administration over refusal to restore New York tunnel funding

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The commission overseeing a massive $16 billion Hudson River tunnel, the linchpin of rail travel between New York and New Jersey, filed suit to force the Trump administration to ​restore funding just days before construction is set to halt on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in October ‌he had terminated the project and the Transportation Department has refused to release any funding for the project approved during the prior administration.

The Gateway Development ‌Commission, created by New York and New Jersey in 2019 to oversee the project, filed suit late Monday in the U.S. Court of Claims, saying the U.S. Transportation Department breached its contractual obligations by withholding more than $205 million without any legal basis and was seeking to punish Democrats over last fall's government shutdown.

The commission's suit said that, without federal funding this week, it "will be ⁠unable to pay its contractors to continue ‌construction activities, causing work on this critical project to grind to a halt—leaving unfinished work sites with massive holes in the ground, threatening the livelihoods of the many hundreds of construction ‍employees working on the project, burdening GDC with astronomical costs in delays and penalties, and putting into question the future viability of the project."

The White House and USDOT did not immediately comment, but the White House said last week that Democrats "are standing in the way ​of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration. There is nothing ‌stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track."

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Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said the "lawsuit would be unnecessary if President Trump did the right thing for New York and New Jersey and lifted his arbitrary freeze."

Trump's Republican administration has repeatedly targeted major transit and infrastructure projects in Democratic-led states. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill -- both Democrats -- praised the lawsuit and urged Trump to relent.

Any failure ⁠of the existing Hudson tunnel, which was built in 1910 and ​heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, would hobble commuting in the ​metropolitan area that produces 10% of the country's economic output and is used by 200,000 travelers daily.

Nearly $2 billion has been spent on the project. The initiative, which received about $15 billion in federal support -- ‍involves repairs to an existing ⁠tunnel and the construction of a new one for passenger railroad Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Gateway said it told USDOT that it was in compliance with federal law.

Trump, a former New York ⁠City real estate developer, refused to approve funding for the project in his first term. The Trump administration is also trying to kill Manhattan's congestion pricing ‌program introduced last year, designed to reduce traffic and raise billions in funds for mass transit.

(Reporting by David ‌Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry)

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

Commission sues Trump administration over refusal to restore New York tunnel funding

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The commission overseeing a massive $16 billion Hudson River...

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China to ban hidden car door handles made popular by Tesla in world first

Chinais banning hidden door handles on all cars sold in the country, becoming the first country in the world to target the feature – which was popularized by Tesla but has for years drawn concern over safety risks.

The hidden door handles are a signature feature of Tesla's vehicles, and the ban comes as Elon Musk's company reports declining worldwide sales and struggles with fierce competition in China, its second-biggest market.

On the outside, electric door handles sit flush against the side of the door, requiring a user to press down on the handle to release the lever; from the inside, riders press a button to open the door again.

Though Tesla is the company best-known for this type of door handle, otherelectric vehicle makers in China haveadopted similar designs, including some models by heavyweights Xiaomi and Aion.

The new policy, which does not single out any specific company, now demands that all cars sold in China must have a mechanical release feature for both interior and exterior door handles.

In a statement released Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology cited "the inconvenience with operating the exterior door handles and their inability to open after an accident," and laid out specific requirements for how these handles should function.

Exterior door handles should have enough space for a hand to operate its mechanical release from any angle. And interior handles should be "clearly visible from the corresponding occupant's position," it said.

The new rules come into effect on January 1, 2027.

CNN has reached out to Xiaomi, Aion, and Tesla for comment on the new regulations.

The feature has previously come under heavy scrutiny, both in China and elsewhere.

Last September, Tesla said it waslooking into redesigningthe way to open its car doors in an emergency, after several accidents where passengers were reportedly killed or severely injured in burning vehicles because rescuers could not open them.

Other Tesla owners have reported having to break their own car windows after buckling their children in and then being unable to get in the car again, according to aninvestigationby the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

An investigation byBloombergfound 140 incidents of people being trapped in their Teslas due to problems with the door handles, including several that resulted in horrific injuries.

Tesla cars do have a manual door release inside the vehicle, for when the regular handles fail.

Similar problems have cropped up in China. Xiaomi saw its stock value tumble last year after a fatal crash involving its sedan killed three people in March – with local media and government-affiliated outlets reporting there had been issues unlocking the car door.

Afterward, the Chinese governmenttightened rulesaround the marketing and testing of driver-assistance features.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

China to ban hidden car door handles made popular by Tesla in world first

Chinais banning hidden door handles on all cars sold in the country, becoming the first country in the world to target the feature – which ...

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See how Florida, Carolinas contended with cold winter weather

As parts of the nation were battered by anothermassive winter storm, the South found itself in an unfamiliar weather territory.

AccuWeather said blanketsof snowstretched from Charlotte, North Carolina, to High Point, North Carolina. The highest recorded total in the state occurred in Faust, which received up to 22.5 inches of powder.

The cold snap ranks amongthe worst Florida experienced in decades, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. The cold-battered regionsmay not see much reliefas the polar vortex could unleash another surge of bitterly cold air across the central and eastern United States around the middle of February, according to AccuWeather long-range expert Paul Pastelok.

Areas typically not accustomed to frigid temperatures and snowfall braced the frigid blast and, in some cases, made the best of it. Here's a look at how the South coped with winter weather.

Florida man covers himself in frozen iguanas

Iguanas 'freeze' in Florida

Snow reaches Tallahassee

The chill continues:February forecast calls for more polar vortex mayhem

People make the best of winter storm

Jose Castillo of Tarrytown, NY. walks through snow along Route 9 in Tarrytown during the early hours of the winter storm Jan. 25, 2026. The storm was predicted to drop up to a foot of snow on the lower Hudson Valley. A huge winter storm dumped heavy amounts of snow and ice across wide swaths of the U.S.

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See fun faces of people making the best of winter weather

Jose Castillo of Tarrytown, NY. walks throughsnowalong Route 9 in Tarrytown during the early hours of the winter storm Jan. 25, 2026. The storm was predicted to drop up to a foot of snow on the lower Hudson Valley. A huge winter storm dumped heavy amounts of snow and ice across wide swaths of the U.S.

Snow buries Carolina beaches

How cold was it?Just look at Niagara Falls.

See photos from the storm

A fierce Arctic blast of bitterly cold air is poised to overtake much of the central, eastern and southern U.S. over the next few days, dropping temperatures well below average as far south as Florida. See the impact.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Photos show heavy snow, frigid weather from Arctic blast

Afierce Arctic blast of bitterly coldair is poised to overtake much of the central, eastern and southern U.S. over the next few days, dropping temperatures well below average as far south as Florida. See the impact.

Groundhog Day 2026 results aside,here's what real forecasters predict

North Carolinians 'dive' in snowbanks

Read more about how to stay safe in the cold

• Shoveling snow safely

• Preparing for cold weather

• How to stay warm when the power goes out

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How Florida and the Carolinas dealt with rare winter weather

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

See how Florida, Carolinas contended with cold winter weather

As parts of the nation were battered by anothermassive winter storm, the South found itself in an unfamiliar weather terr...

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Sleep device maker ResMed ramps up doctor outreach to tap Ozempic surge

By Byron Kaye

SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Sleep-breathing device maker ResMed plans to take global a doctor education program aimed at promoting the screening of patients seeking Ozempic-style ​weight loss drugs for apnea, calling the GLP‑1 boom a lift, not a ‌threat, to sales.

ResMed, founded in Australia but now headquartered in California and which gains most of its revenue in ‌the U.S, last week reported an 11% jump in second-quarter profit. Weight-loss drugs had helped sales of its devices that treat sleep apnea - a common disorder characterised by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

Rapid uptake of GLP-1 injections in the U.S. is driving patients into primary care clinics where ⁠they are typically assessed for comorbidities, ‌including sleep apnea, to get health subsidies.

"It's a tailwind," Mick Farrell, chief executive of the maker of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, said in ‍an interview on Tuesday.

"The question is how much of that tailwind can we capture," he said. "We're starting in the U.S. because that's where pharma does (direct-to-consumer) advertising ... but we'll continue to go around the world on ​that as we can."

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Some stock analysts previously described ResMed as vulnerable to the explosion in ‌GLP-1 drugs which help with weight loss by suppressing appetite. Sleep apnea is strongly linked to being overweight.

Since the company started its doctor education strategy, ResMed's sleep‑apnea training module has recorded some 60,000 completions in the U.S. alone, Farrell said. The company has 1.95 million patients using its CPAP devices who also have GLP‑1 prescriptions.

ResMed products are exempt from tariffs due to being needed ⁠by people with a chronic disability. But Farrell, who ​started this year as chair of the U.S. medical ​device industry group AdvaMed, said he would lobby the Trump administration to remove tariffs throughout his industry - or at least stabilise them.

"I will be advocating in ‍DC specifically on trade ⁠and tariffs for zero-for-zero tariffs for med tech on a humanitarian basis," he said.

"This administration doesn't really like zero for zero. They always want to make a deal. ⁠So what we're talking about now is - whether the tariffs are 10% or 5% on med tech. Certainty and ‌locking down a number is better than the uncertainty of not knowing", he ‌added.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

Sleep device maker ResMed ramps up doctor outreach to tap Ozempic surge

By Byron Kaye SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Sleep-breathing device maker ResMed plans to take global a doctor educ...

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Commission sues Trump administration over refusal to restore New York tunnel funding

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The commission overseeing a massive $16 ​billion Hudson River tunnel, the ‌linchpin of rail travel between New ‌York and New Jersey, filed suit late on Monday to force the Trump administration to ⁠restore funding ‌just days before it is set to halt ‍construction.

President Donald Trump said in October he had terminated the project and ​the Transportation Department has refused ‌to release any funding for the project approved during the prior administration.

The Gateway Development Commission, created in 2019 to ⁠oversee the project, ​filed suit in ​the U.S. Court of Claims, saying the Transportation Department ‍breached its ⁠contractual obligations by withholding over $205 million without any legal ⁠basis to do so.

(Reporting by David ‌Shepardson in Washington; Editing ‌by Christian Schmollinger)

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

Commission sues Trump administration over refusal to restore New York tunnel funding

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The commission overseeing a massive $16 ​billion Hudson River tunnel, the ‌linchpin of rail...

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Alex Pretti’s death ruled homicide after Minneapolis shooting by federal agents

The death of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis man killed by federal agents, has been ruled a homicide, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office said.

Pretti was shot Jan. 24 during a chaotic encounter with federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.

Citing government records, ProPublica identified Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez as the two officers who fired at Pretti.

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The agents were part of Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement initiative launched in December in Minnesota.

Both men were placed on standard administrative leave following the shooting. No charges have been filed. The federal government has said an investigation surrounding the shooting is underway.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

Alex Pretti’s death ruled homicide after Minneapolis shooting by federal agents

The death of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis man killed by federal agents, has been ruled a homicide, the Hennepin County me...

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Iran’s president seeks 'fair and equitable negotiations' with the United States

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's president on Tuesday said he has instructed the country's foreign minister to "pursue fair and equitable negotiations" with the United States.

The comments from reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian represent the first clear signal from Iran that it may take part in negotiations being organized by Turkey.

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Pezeshkian made the comments on X.

"I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency," he said.

The U.S. has yet to acknowledge the talks will take place.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 02, 2026

Iran’s president seeks 'fair and equitable negotiations' with the United States

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's president on Tuesday said he has instructed the country's foreign minis...

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