In Today’s Times
- The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings told the F.B.I. that he and his brother had considered carrying out suicide attacks and striking on the Fourth of July, law enforcement officials said Thursday. Eric Schmitt, Mark Mazzetti, Michael S. Schmidt and Scott Shane report that the suspect said he and his brother had finished assembling the bombs faster than expected and had decided to move up their attack.
- Vacancies in some of the top positions in Washington are slowing down policymaking, with many of the important posts at the State Department â€" including heads of embassy security and counterterrorism â€" going unfilled as lawmakers and administration officials trade blame, Michael D. Shear reports.
- Pushed to reduce its dependence on federal financing as it suffers financial losses, Amtrak must either persuade 19 states to help cover the costs of some of its rail lines by October or close 28 of its short-haul routes, Ron Nixon reports.
- What’s killing the American honeybee? A government report released Thursday points to a slew of causes including pesticides, parasites and nutritional problems, but officials from the agencies involved in the study say there is insufficient evidence to back a ban on one group of pesticides, John M. Broder reports.
Washington Happenings
- President Obama continues his visit to Mexico on Friday, speaking at a museum and meeting with entrepreneurs. Later in the day, he will travel to Costa Rica, where his schedule includes a bilateral meeting, news conference and dinner with President Laura Chinchilla.
- Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. joins Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department to speak at the American Foreign Service Association memorial plaque ceremony. Later, he travels to Columbia, S.C., to deliver the keynote address at an annual state Democratic Party dinner and attend Representative James E. Clyburn’s annual fish fry.
- The Labor Department will release its April jobs numbers at 8:30 a.m.
