National News at a Glance

Baltimore Fires Another Police Commissioner, After Record High Murder Rate

Besieged by the nation’s highest big-city murder rate, Baltimore named its third police commissioner in five years on Friday, with the mayor saying she was “impatient” for change. The surprise move came as the city struggles to control the violence that took the lives of almost 900 residents during the 2 1/2-year tenure of the last chief, who was fired Friday. The new commissioner, Darryl De Sousa, 53, inherits a long list of problems. De Sousa said he had already begun an initiative to flood the city’s streets with waves of officers from 9 a.m. to midnight.

Trump Envisions an ATF Without the A or T

The Trump administration has drafted plans to strip key authorities from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, senior administration officials said Friday. The modern ATF has focused its stagnant budget on violent crime and bombings, while tobacco smuggling goes largely unenforced. Under the plan, the Treasury Department would inherit the authority to investigate tobacco and alcohol smuggling. The ATF would need a new name. One possibility: the Bureau of Arson, Explosives and Firearms. The move would resolve a bureaucratic split: The Treasury collects taxes on cigarettes and liquor, but the ATF investigates efforts to evade those taxes.

Tom Petty Died From Accidental Drug Overdose Involving Opioids, Coroner Says

Tom Petty, the chart-topping singer and songwriter, died in October from an accidental drug overdose as a result of mixing medications that included opioids, the medical examiner-coroner for the county of Los Angeles announced Friday. Barely a week after Petty, 66, had concluded a tour with his band, the Heartbreakers, representatives said the singer had suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, California, on Oct. 2. In a statement posted to Petty’s Facebook page Friday, his wife, Dana, and daughter, Adria, wrote that Petty suffered from “many serious ailments including emphysema, knee problems and most significantly a fractured hip,” but that he continued to tour, worsening his conditions.

Revealing Details of Las Vegas Attack, Police Say an Arrest Is Likely

Las Vegas police on Friday released key details about the investigation into the Oct. 1 shooting that killed 58 people and wounded hundreds of others. Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that while he was confident that Stephen Paddock was the only gunman, there was another person under investigation who is likely to be charged. No charges will be filed against Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, Lombardo said. Paddock’s internet search history included child pornography and information about SWAT team practices. Officials believe Paddock had recently lost a “significant amount of wealth” and that that may have led him to open fire from his hotel room.

Retrial for New Jersey Senator Is a Midterm Snag for Democrats

The Justice Department announced Friday that it will retry Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, two months after a jury deadlocked on federal corruption charges against him. The move means Menendez will have to defend himself again in a year when he is up for re-election. A new trial for Menendez, a Democrat who has been in the Senate for 12 years, adds a wrinkle to the political map in the 2018 midterm elections. While the senator has not officially announced that he is running, he has given no indication he intends to retire.

President Reaches Out to Foes of Abortion

As thousands of anti-abortion marchers gathered on the National Mall in Washington in the annual March for Life on Friday, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to make it easier for states to cut off money for Planned Parenthood clinics that offer health care to low-income women. The move capped a week of White House actions that helped to further seal its relationship with the anti-abortion movement. “We are with you all the way,” Trump told marchers he had invited to the Rose Garden to mark the occasion. His remarks were broadcast to the Mall, the first time a president had addressed the annual March for Life on live television.

In Shift, New York Mayor Voices Openness to Congestion Pricing

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday voiced a cautious openness to a new proposal to charge drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan — a change from his previously firm opposition to such an idea. The plan would charge commuters $11.52 to drive into Manhattan's busiest neighborhoods on a weekday. De Blasio said congestion pricing would help discourage trucks from driving into Manhattan during the rush periods when streets are most clogged. Trucks would pay $25.34, and for-hire cars would face a per-ride surcharge of $2 to $5 a ride to drive in Manhattan south of 60th Street, according to proposals.

Guilty Plea Is Expected in Attack on Senator

A neighbor of Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky intends to plead guilty to a federal felony charge after he tackled the senator in November in an assault set off by the placement of a pile of brush, the man’s lawyer said Friday. The neighbor, Rene A. Boucher, 58, of Bowling Green, was charged on Friday with assaulting a member of Congress resulting in personal injury. Boucher has signed a plea agreement and will plead guilty, but no date has been set for his court appearance, his lawyer said. Federal prosecutors will seek a prison sentence of up to 21 months.