By GEOFF MULVIHILL

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must keep funds flowing to child care subsidies and other social service programs in five Democratic-controlled states — at least for now.

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U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick in New York, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, granted the states’ request for a preliminary injunction and a stay against the administration to bar it from withholding the money while a lawsuit works its way through the courts.

The states affected include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York. The five states said they receive a total of more than $10 billion a year from the programs.

Attorneys representing the federal government in the case did not immediately return emails seeking comment Friday night. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.

Two temporary rulings had been issued in January that blocked the federal government from holding back the funding, with the latest set to expire on Friday.

The programs in question are the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes child care for 1.3 million children from low-income families nationally; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant, a smaller fund that provides money for a variety of programs.

“Every day, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers rely on these funds to pay for necessities and provide their children a safe place to learn,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “This illegal funding freeze would have caused severe chaos in the lives of some of the most vulnerable families in our state. I am proud to have secured another victory in this case to put a stop to it.”

The government’s explanation of its actions has shifted.

When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it was withholding the money, it said there was “reason to believe” the states were granting benefits to people in the country illegally. It did not initially explain where the information came from. But in a court hearing, a federal government lawyer said it was largely in reaction to news reports about possible fraud.

And while the government’s initial news release said it “froze” access to money, federal lawyers told the judge that wasn’t what was happening. Rather, they said, the Trump administration was requiring more information from those states.

The government says it wants more records from the group of states, including names and Social Security numbers for beneficiaries of some of the programs.

Advocates warn that cutting off the child care subsidies could have deep impacts. Day cares that accept the subsidies could face the risk of layoffs or closures. And that would affect both the lower-income families who receive the subsidies and families who don’t. And for many families, losing child care can make it hard or impossible to work.

The Trump administration has targeted multiple programs in Minnesota due to previous fraud cases and new allegations, mostly involving members of the state’s Somali community.

Besides the heightened requirements for the four other Democratic-led states, the administration also has required all states to submit more information about how they’re using money in the child care program before they can draw down the funds.

Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

ST. PAUL — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Friday, Feb. 6, that his office secured an agreement with the President Donald Trump administration in a lawsuit over diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) policies in schools.

Ellison’s office says the agreement will protect roughly $530 million in education funds for Minnesota, according to a news release.

Ellison filed suit alongside other states on April 25 after the U.S. Department of Education notified schools that funds could be withheld if schools with policies in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts did not comply with the administration’s “interpretation” of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, according to the release.

“I remain deeply disappointed, though entirely unsurprised, that Donald Trump would try to unlawfully cut programs that support students from poor families, students with special needs, and students in foster care or without housing,” Ellison said in the release. “As Minnesotans, we believe that every child, no matter their race, gender, the wealth of their family, or zip code, deserves the best education possible. That’s why I sued Donald Trump to block those harmful cuts, and why I’m pleased to have won an agreement protecting over half a billion dollars for Minnesota schools every year.”

As of Jan. 22, Ellison’s office has filed 43 lawsuits against the administration since Trump took office in 2025.

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By GARY FIELDS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Repairs on a pipe rupture that has sent sewage flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C., will take weeks more to repair because of an unexpected blockage, according to the local water authority.

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In a release posted on its website Thursday, DC Water, which operates the sewer system, said a video inspection of the pipeline revealed the blockage inside the collapsed sewer line “is far more significant” than originally thought. It said it discovered a large rock dam about 30 feet (9 meters) from the breach in the sewage line, which requires treatment before the current spill can be addressed.

It will take an estimated 4 to 6 weeks longer than initially anticipated to get a system in place, including bringing in bigger equipment, to address the problem and begin removing the large rocks and boulders inside the sewer line, DC Water said.

The 72-inch pipeline, called the Potomac Interceptor, collapsed Jan. 19, shooting sewage out of the ground and into the river just north of Washington in Montgomery County, Maryland. In its initial announcement, DC Water said the leak was causing an estimated 40 million gallons a day of wastewater — enough to fill about 66 Olympic-size swimming pools— to escape into the Potomac River.

DC Water said it knew the pipe, first installed in the 1960s, was deteriorating, and rehabilitation work on a section about a quarter-mile from the break began in September and was recently completed.

The agency has been assessing water quality for bacteria contamination and said that while E. Coli levels are well beyond safe levels at the site of the leak, the levels are within safe levels at other sampling sites downstream into Washington.

The Washington Department of Energy and Environment said in an emailed statement that it was continuing to advise that the public and their pets avoid contact with the water until the situation is fully resolved and bacteria levels are reported as safe. “DC drinking water remains safe for everyone to drink and use.”

Sherri Lewis, a spokesperson for DC Water, said the overflow was initially 40 million gallons a day and stayed at that level for five days. Since then there have been limited overflows when pumps are taken out of service because of clogs caused by items such as wipes and grease that reduce pumping capacity.

“Most days we have had none,” Lewis said. “However, until we have full functionality restored to the Potomac Interceptor, there remains a risk of limited overflow, but the risk and amount are minimal.”

Lewis said the drinking water supply was never impacted. The primary intakes for the water system are upstream of the collapse and that system is completely separate from the sewer system.

The notice came the same day that the Potomac Riverkeeper Network and researchers at the University of Maryland announced they had found high levels of fecal-related bacteria and disease-causing pathogens in the Potomac River and were calling for public health advisories in Washington and Maryland on recreational use of the river.

Dean Naujoks, the Potomac Riverkeeper and part of an environmental nonprofit, said he was concerned about the additional bacterial and pathogenic dangers and criticized DC Water for what he said was misleading information and changing versions of what had transpired.

By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer was convicted Friday of second-degree manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing suspect, causing the man to fatally crash his motorized scooter.

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Judge Guy Mitchell handed down the guilty verdict Friday in Bronx criminal court in the case against Sgt. Erik Duran in the 2023 death of Eric Duprey.

“The fact that the defendant is a police officer has no bearing,” the judge said before reading out his verdict in a brief hearing. “He’s a person and will be treated as any other defendant.”

Members of Duprey’s family sobbed as the decision was read out. Orlyanis Velez, Duprey’s wife, said after that she was happy but also surprised.

“I was waiting for justice just like everybody, but when the moment happens, you can’t believe it’s happening,” she said outside of the courthouse. “It’s been a lot of time. These people been killing citizens, been killing everybody. They don’t give no reason.”

Duran didn’t appear to react when the decision was handed down, and his lawyer and spokespersons for his police union didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Duran had been suspended with pay pending the trial, but the department confirmed Friday he was dismissed following his conviction, as state law mandates. Duran now faces up to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced March 19.

State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office prosecuted the case, offered her condolences to Duprey’s family.

“Though it cannot return Eric to his loved ones, today’s decision gives justice to his memory,” she said in a statement.

The 38-year-old Duran, who was the first New York Police Department officer in years to be tried for killing someone while on duty, also faced charges of criminally negligent homicide and assault.

But Mitchell dismissed the assault count earlier, saying prosecutors failed to show he intended to hurt Duprey. He also didn’t deliver a verdict on the criminally negligent homicide charge as he’d already found Duran guilty of the more serious manslaughter charge.

Duran had pleaded not guilty and opted for a bench trial, meaning the judge, not a jury, would render the verdict.

Authorities say that on Aug. 23, 2023, Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer in the Bronx and then fled.

Duran, who had been part of a narcotics unit conducting the operation, is seen in security footage grabbing a nearby red cooler and quickly hurling it at Duprey in an attempt to stop him.

The container full of ice, water and sodas struck Duprey, who lost control of the scooter, slammed into a tree and crashed onto the pavement before landing under a parked car.

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained fatal head injuries and died almost instantaneously.

Duran, testifying in his own defense this week, said he only had seconds to react and was trying to protect other officers from Duprey as he sped toward them. He told the court he immediately tried to render aid after seeing the extent of Duprey’s injuries.

“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said in court. “I didn’t have time. All I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions. That’s all I had the time to think of.”

But prosecutors maintained Duprey didn’t pose a threat and that his death wasn’t accidental but the result of Duran’s reckless, negligent and intentional actions.

They suggested the officer had enough time to warn others to move, but instead tossed the cooler in anger and frustration.

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo